This is a placeholder post for Mentat's new thread, GMed by Magnus.  :)

You are relaxing home at your apartment after a hard days work. When you hear a knock on the door. It's a UPS Guy with a package that is about one foot cubed. he says it is from a guy named Magnus.
Thinking that it is from your friend Eli. You sign off for the package.
Inside is a one foot diameter metal sphere with futhark runes covering it. As soon as you touch it the runes start glowing.
You hear a message in your mind. it sounds like Eli when he was younger.

I'm sorry about this. But the Multiverse needs more Heroes. I hope you can learn to enjoy being a verser

A golden beam shoots out of it and hits you in the chest. You black out.

You dream a strange dream
"For ten thousand years, The Lady of Pain has silently ruled the city of Sigil, master of the hub of the Portal network despite the petty wars of the gods. The city of Sigil is the largest metropolis in the Astral Sea, untold millions making sacrifices to sustain it and ensure the continued survival of their people. in the face of a hostile multiverse. From hundreds of Crystal Spheres, teeming with Clueless and monsteers, refugees and oppressors alike come to find their place in a larger galaxy, to find treasure fame and fortune amongst the planes. Beset on all sides by foes of such malice it would sear a man's soul to know but a fraction of their blastphemies, only the strongest and most ruthless survive. Foes from within and without seek to overthrow the Lady's rule, throwing themselves on the Throne of Blades in vain efforts to destroy in a moment the eons of her rule. The Great Devourer comes from the Far Realm beyond the Astral Sea, driven to consume all before it and Ork savages surge from their barbaric empires to pillage and slaughter. The vengeful Eldarin cite prophetic visions as they raid and destroy even their own cousins, and an ancient evil arises from tombs sealed at thee dawn of creation.

In the Grim Darkness of the Great Wheel, There is only war."

You are starting to come to. You hear the sound of water waves breaking on sand.
you feel a gritty substance below you.

I have got to lay off of the Warhammer gaming. Seriously. These are my first thoughts. Opening my eyes is my second, taking in what I see, and seeing if it is my expectation; namely, that of an ocean and a beach. How I got here is irrelevant for now. I am here, this must be dealt with.

You see a beach of black volcanic sand. The island slopes gently to a top where steam is coming out. there appears to be bamboo up there. Your things lie on the beach around you.

You feel a need to met someone towards the center of the island

I gather my belongings. I secure each item in its place, with the jackknife moved to my pocket. Won't do me any good in a fight, due to the draw time, but if I need it, I'll want it fairly quickly. I ensure the pack won't shift or break. My manual should be on the top of the pack. When the sun...there's a sun, right...when the sun goes down, I want to make sure the book is in easy reference range. Lighter's useless right now; it needs lighter fluid. Didn't think I'd need it, and when I did, I'd just scavenge or trade for it.

I also make a note to look for a water source along the way, as that will probably be where I make my camp. If I can find a river that goes towards the center of the island, I'll follow that up. And if the water is clear, and devoid of fish or plant life, I'm NOT drinking it.

On the way towards the feeling you find a small river with smallish fish flowing towards the ocean.

You enter a clearing and find the source of the feeling.
You recognise him as your friend Eli. but he looks different.
He looks several years younger than you remember. And is now built like even more of a tank.
He is wearing a tattered shirt and pants. There is rather ornate sheath with a spiral pattern on his belt. it has a dagger in it. He has a sheathed two-handed sword by him on the ground.
For some unfathomable reason, he is wearing a torc made of coiled electrum around his neck.

He is currently cooking fish over a fire.

He looks at you and then looks confused for a moment.
"...ah Ha! I remember now! Long time no see Ed! ... well. at least for me. When did you become a verser? oh. Want some fish?"
This message was last edited by the player at 02:50, Wed 16 July 2014.

"Wouldn't mind, at all." I'm wondering why he's so nonchalant. "I don't know when I became a 'verser' as you call it, but you killed me, or tried to. With a bomb. Something about the universe or what not needing more heroes."

No, I don't care that it shot a laser into me. It was a bomb. I'll take the fish, though. I doubt he intends to poison me on purpose.

He looks honestly confused for a moment.
"Huh? Why would I try to kill you with a bomb? Unless...the universe needing more heroes does sound like something I would say... Ok. Apparently future me build a bomb that makes you into a verser. First thing you need to know is that there is an effectively infinite number of different universes. You are now a verser. You will not age anymore and when you get killed you'll wake up in another universe as good as new. It has something to do with a substance called scriff. It gets into your body somehow and then makes you effectively immortal. Second thing you need to know. Magic and psionics exist. And every verser I've met so far can tap into those powers to some degree or another. You just need to figure out how or have someone show you how. The only problem is that magic and psionics are dangerous. I've lost count of how many times I've exploded from a mess up."

"Magic and Psionics are double-edged swords, I'm theoretically immortal. Midichlorians are responsible for it, and I'm gonna travel a lot before I get home." If that fish is ready, I'm eating it. Food is food, regardless. "That's the long and short of it. Any other inhabitants on this island? Any information about this location is pretty important towards me getting back home."

Yes. The fish is ready. It is rather salty but otherwise bland.

"I've heard of versers that are older than me looking  a way to their home dimension. I've thought about it... but you would still be unageing. And I concluded that it would be too painful to watch my friends and family grow old and die. Furthermore, Some people would not appreciate being turned into versers. I'm really sorry for my future self's actions

... I haven't found any sentient inhabitants on this island. I have no clue where this island is other than it is on the border between the tropical and temperate zones. You don't want to go to the central part of this island. The adamantortoises there eat any kind of iron they can find. Including the iron in your blood. They really like processed iron. The iron in my sword and dagger  them into a frenzy. Apparently they feed on the bamboo in the center of the island, it has a lot of iron in it. I blame the high magic here for allowing them to work. The material in their shell would make great armour though. "

Adamantortoise. I'm not entirely sure how he pronounced that correctly. Still, I've heard the name: it's from Final Fantasy, and it is shorthand for 'I'm a powerful monster, and do not screw with me until you are postgame powerful.' Only a complete moron would ignore Eli's advice and go to the middle of isla-

"You said the bamboo has iron in it?" Yup. I'm going. "Which way is the border? I might have an angle for getting through this, but I need something to bargain with."

Eli Raises an eyebrow at your question.
"Meh. I've been getting bored relaxing on this island.
The center of the island is that way."

He points to the peak with steam coming out of it.

"I will help you out in anyway I can.
So. what is the plan?"
This message was last edited by the player at 01:33, Fri 27 June 2014.

"Plan? I'm making this up as I go. I figure if I can get the bamboo, I can distill it for iron. Even if I can't go that, I'll have iron bamboo, which I can do stupid things with. And who knows? If I can study these adamantorti, perhaps I can kill one and eat something other then fish. If they aren't poisonous as a final middle finger, anyhow."

"I figure we'll need to uproot the bamboo, though. I doubt I can cut it with any of my tools. I wonder if these things don't like it cold? They live next to the volcano, so that tells me they don't heat up in the sun. If they are cold-blooded, their metabolisms are slow. We hit them during the night, if we fight them at all."

I'm shooting all over the place topically. I'm excited at the prospect of hunting a big indestructible force of nature, and stealing its food without being detected.

"Well. I can cut the iron bamboo with my sword. I enchanted it and then made it pretty much indestructible. I don't have the equipment to forge the iron normally  I could shape it with magic but it'll be ether slow or dangerous. Hmmm... What would you want.

If we fight one, focus on the head or legs. Because their shells are very hard to hurt but the armor on the other areas is a lot thinner. I can only nic it's shell when I hit it as hard as I can. Try to ham string them if you can. Because they are a lot quicker than you would guess from a tortoise that size...if two show up just run."

Eli isn't very good at stealth. The two of you make your way the the edge of the iron bamboo forest. There are small metallic shoots scattered around you. It looks like they get bigger the further in you go.

It's just like Jurassic Park 2, the one that didn't happen. Don't go into the long grass indeed. Still, I only need some of the six foot long ones. I'm not overly greedy. "We kinda lucked out." I say to him quietly. "Mind your step. The babies are probably like pungi sticks, go right though your footwear." I'm following my own advice, as this just occurred to me as we arrived that this could be a thing. Of course, it doesn't slow down what's going to be chasing us.

"In fact, make sure we have a easy path out secured. We might need to run really fast in a few seconds." I will not be killed by spikes on my first expedition.

He whispers back "ok"

He draws his sword from it's sheath. The first thing you notice is that the blade is made of a blood red metallic material. The second thing is that it's a fairly standard zweihander design. You get two distinct feelings from it: One, It's extremely eager for battle.; Two, It's very protective of things Eli cares about.

Eli starts expertly stabbing the bamboo at it's base to clear a path. The sword goes though them like a hot knife though butter. Unfortunately the stabbing makes a fairly decent amount of noise.
You're getting a feeling of annoyance from the sword
You make it in to where the bamboo is 6 foot tall.
(I'm guessing that you mentioned sometime that you wanted the 6 foot long ones.)
He starts chopping them down.
How many are you gathering?

As many as I can carry, and keep a decent speed. Probably not a lot, but better then nothing. I get out of here, and stay away from any trails. Come to think of it, I actually have no clue what these things look like. It isn't like I asked.

Oh well, cross that bridge when its important. "Let's turn these into weapons. I can turn these into spears by simply removing the heads at an angle. It can be done with regular bamboo with lethal results, so I should be able to do it with these."

When you mention turning them into spears. Eli picks one up, cuts the end off at a good angle and then trims the limbs off of it.
"Here. It's quick and rough. but it'll work for now. I got all the sprigs so you won't stab yourself when you stab something with it

Achievement Unlocked:Beginnings of an Arsenal

You manage to pick up 10 of them.

You hear something crack behind you.
You turn around and see a huge tortoise with a metallic green shell that is about 10 foot across at it's widest point.
The Tortoise roars at you

Eli shouts out "How in the World Did You Sneak Up On US?!?!"

The Tortoise is blocking the way you cleared out.

You have the Initiative.

That's actually a good question. Likely, we weren't paying attention to it. I'm going around this thing. I'm not attacking it from the front, because I don't have to. It's a tortoise on an isolated island. I'd be surprised if it had any natural enemies beyond the volcano itself. My solution is simple, flank it, don't get bit (highest priority), stab it in the back leg joint. I know tortoises have a bit of reach, and keeping out of that deceptive range is rather important.

"Kill it patiently. We don't need to blitz it." I'm circling to its backside. "Any pits we can drop this thing down? It's own weight can kill it quick."

Oh, beloved square-cube law. Killing mammoths off since the stone age. Hell, a small drop might kill this thing off.

You start to move around it but misjudge just how far it's reach is. It's much longer than you would expect. It lunges at you with a bite but bounces off an glimmering barrier that surrounds you for a few seconds. You make it to it's backside before it can try again.
Eli says
"None that I know of."
He them proceeds to get it's attention be hitting it as hard as he can.
His weapon bites deeply into it's neck.
It roars in anger and then does a devastating smack with it's forelimb.
Eli gets knocked back 3 meters. A hit like that would nearly kill most people.
Eli looks like he might be able to survive one more hit

You then stab it in the back of the knee with your spear. It bites deep into the tender flesh there.
Eli stands up and then goes into a defensive stance. There is a glittering white light around his wound.
The Tortoise smacks Eli with a forelimb; Powers Though his parry and his barrier; and then pins him under its limb.
It then bites Eli's head off.
Eli disappears with his sword
This message was last edited by the player at 02:19, Fri 04 July 2014.

That's one. I've lost Eli, and that barrier my brain is still comprehending the brief existence of. But I've wounded it, and its time is limited, as long as I can keep it moving and panicking. It's an animal, and I need to confuse it.

I proceed to mount it from my position. Not to be cavalier about the death of a companion, but this creature will probably be distracted by that. From it's back, I can harass it if it doesn't retreat into its shell. This will take all day, but I don't have anything better to do right now than to establish myself as the alpha predator on this island.

You climb onto it's back and then manage to stab it's head. It's a minor wound but you still hurt it.

It's starts bucking like a bull and it take all of your effort to hold on.
You manage to hold on for a minute. before it throws you off in front of it.
It actually looks tired.


OOC Achievement Unlocked: Ride a Turtle
This message was last edited by the player at 02:53, Fri 04 July 2014.

I'm not done yet. It's still alive. I move around to its wounded side, slow and steady. I want it to move and reposition itself, and I need to catch my breath. I want it to favor the wounded leg, so it will bleed out faster and die. If it doesn't move with me, I'm remounting it again and stabbing the base of its skull, or at least where I think it is.

You prepare yourself to continue fighting it and then time seems to slowdown and stop for you. The soft silver light of the moon fills the area. A beautiful lady with pale skin, long silver hair and silver eyes that glow with moonlight appears before you.
"You have shown an extraordinary will to live. I like that about you. Unfortunately I need you in another part of the Great Wheel. Hmmm..."
Her expression turns thoughtful then it turns into a very scary toothy grin.
You can't seem to move ay the moment.
She walks up to you and holds your head with her hands. She then kisses you on the the lips.

You feel a pit of rage well up within you. Greater than you have felt in your entire life. With that Rage is Power. Power to change the world.

She steps away from you.
"Come see me sometime Hotlips"
She disappears.

Time starts up again.
You are surrounded by a corona of pale silver-white light. You feel yourself change and transform. You are growing larger and your clothes rip to shreds. Your dog-tags are tight around your neck.
Your nose and mouth have elongated into a snout full of lethal teeth. Your hands are now tiped with large rending claws.
And you are covered in fur that has various shades of grey in it. And ypu have grown a tail.

Of course you don't recognized this consciously. Instead you are filled with a need to kill the thing in front of you. Your ability for tactical thinking is severely limited.

OOC: Achievement Unlocked:Kissed by a Goddess, Exalted!
This message was last edited by the player at 04:14, Sat 05 July 2014.

OOC: I can roll with this. You give me power, I'll use it, drawback or no.

Finally out of the cage. My turn at the wheel. I want to kill this thing in a dozen ways. I want to tear this creature limb from limb and eat its heart raw. I am death incarnate, and none shall stay my wrath.

I rush for the wounded leg, seeking to remove it as fast as possible. No more attrition, no more "bleed." I'm tearing it off right now with claws and fang, and I want to hear this creature's cries of pain and dismay when I do. If it is stunned from the pain, I'm digging into this monster from the leg hole I make, burrowing inside of it like a parasite until I hit the other side.

You charge the wounded leg and rip off a hunk of flesh from it. It turns and delivers a crushing blow that sends you flying. That really hurt. Three or four more hits like that will kill you. But you feel the wound immediately start to heal on it's own. You feel like you could use the rage to force it to heal faster  You get up and charge the leg again and rip off another chunk. It turns and grapples you.

IT wants to grapple ME?! I take a page from Hercules. I might be in a psychotic rage, but that doesn't mean I can't think classically.

I seize its tongue with my claws and pull it out of its mouth with one hand (not aiming to tear it out, but kinda ambivalent), and with the other, I strangle it, digging in the claws if I can in a one-two opposing force motion. Feet are going onto anything that lets me pull. If it bites my hand (somehow without hitting its own tongue), I'm biting its face, eye first.

You try to maneuver into an controlling position with the grapple, But didn't quite get it.
It gets a bite in on you that would have killed a lesser person but only severely wounds you.
You force it's jaws open and pull out it's tongue. Grabbing it's neck with your other hand, you start to strangle it.
It offers a titanic struggle against you but you maintain the upper hand.

I draw it back as far as I can go, trying to draw its head away from it body faster then it can move after it. I'm too angry to use "Rage" to heal, my plan is nonexistent. I bite it right back in the face, targeting its eye, while maintaining my grip on its tongue and throat. If I'm capable of coherent speech, I'm not going to use it. The snarls I'm giving out will likely be enough to get my point across.

But I'm not letting go unless it shears my arm off or kills me.

You Bite and Bite and Bite its face. Then You rip it's tongue out. Your next chomp caves in it's brain pan. Killing it instantly.It falls over backward.You feel yourself shrink back to normal.
You still have the silver-white corona.

You hear clapping behind you. You turn around and see the same silver lady.
"Bravo! Bravo! I love it when Exalts and mortals surprise me. That fight was almost impossible, But you pulled though with guile and savage power. Quite Remarkable. Oh.I forgot to introduce myself. I am Luna,Holder of many titles that don't matter at the moment. It's a pleasure to talk to you Hotlips"

I spit the blood and viscera out of my mouth. Not sure who's it is at this point. The world falls back into place, the other gets quiet again, and my thoughts are now returning.

"I'm married. Do not do that again, goddess."

I kind of kick myself mentally for that one, but it was the first thought on my mind, and I don't regret saying it. I just regret making it the first thing I said. I'm also still coming down from the high of being a giant murder machine. That's not an experience I'm used to having, and I want to go back to it. I now have some insight as to what went through Dr. Jekyll's mind went he kept drinking that potion.

She just smiles at your statement.

"Hmm... You are sort of needed elsewhere but... there is a Hearthstone on the center of the island that would interest you."

OOC: Some information was dropped on me, dear reader, that puts this situation in perspective.

I realize, like in a bad dream, I am not wearing pants at this point. I also realize how little I care at the moment. "At the volcano? Not sure how I'm reaching that. You have any other tricks you'd like to tip to me beyond the ability to turn into a murderous giant wolfman, and healing while in that state?"

"And while your at it, what's a hearthstone?" I've got vague memories of them from other game systems, but I want to hear her take on it.

Indeed, You are not wearing anything at the moment besides your dogtags. Luna seems to be enjoying the view.

"Indeed, this is a volcano but it hasn't erupted in a long time. So you'll find hot springs instead of lava. You can also transform into a cute wolf. You also regenerate in that form. So you might want to finish healing your wounds in that form. That regeneration has some limits though. It can't heal wounds caused by magic, silver, explosions and fire. You can heal even those wounds by focusing your rage into healing. You are not going to like silver much from now on. It can hurt you more than anything else.oh. You can also talk to spirits. Like you are doing now.

Gems of crystallized magic. If you mount them in a hearthstone socket, they give unusual abilities."

"So, if I find something compatible with the gems, I can make the item or whatever better. Turn into a wolf to not die, and don't get blown up, set on fire or play with silver bullets, or only my fury can heal me." I pause to think about that last. So, if I get angry enough, I can't die?

What cosmic force in the universe thought giving me this power was a good idea?

I attempt to turn into a wolf by thinking about it really hard. Can't be too hard, right?

You feel yourself shrink, go into a quadruped stance, grow fur and a tail. For some reason you retained your colour vision as a wolf.
Your sense of smell has drastic improved. You have never smelled so clearly.
Luna smells inexplicably good.
You feel your wound start to heal again

Luna claps
"You catch on quickly. I knew you would make a cute wolf. You Have all that you will need to get the Hearthstone."

I snarl at her. Then I focus on my tasks. First off, I need to get my things gathered up. Get my gear all in one place, put the Iron Bamboo Eli just got himself killed getting in a spot a little ways of from that point, that way if something eats it, my gear won't be eaten as well. Hopefully by the time I finish that up, my wounds will have fully healed.

No, I'm not going straight for the stone. Not until I feel my wounds are healed and my belongings are secured. My instincts are to bury them in the sand. I am a canine. What did you think I was going to do, brain?

Luna smirks, says "See you later, Hot Lips" and disappears.
You wounds heal completely in about 15 seconds. It takes a minute or two to get your things arranged the way you want.

Either that wasn't as bad as I thought, or this regeneration really works fast. Either way, the question: clothes, or no clothes? If I need to change form, I'll just destroy my spares. On the other hand, I really like clothing, and wearing it.

No clothes for now. In wolf form, I bound up towards the volcano. My instincts really hate this; I can SMELL everything near that volcano. The metallic odor of the surrounding bamboo, the musty smell of-

Huh. The creature I killed. That's right. Can I...eat it raw? For now, no. Desperation. I'll consider this one practice. I'm loath to leave it to rot, but I don't know how much time I have. I'm racing that volcano, as far as I'm concerned.

I move to the volcano, clearing my thoughts of all but the task at hand. Get the stone.

You move quickly and stealthily toward the center of the island. Your increased agility in wolf form combined with your talent at stealth make it easy to slip by the tortoises unnoticed.

You find a clearing. There are a bunch of little girls playing childish games. You note that all of them have wings of some sort. Most are fae-like glossomer wings. Some are stranger, you see some made of wood, metal or fire.

You see a circle of stones with a pedestal in the center. There is a egg sized round object that glows cherry red on the pedestal

Okay, so they are fae, likely dancing around the target item I'm after, or they've made an illusion of it to mess with any observer. Anything is possible with the fae around.

Now, I could point out that I don't believe in faeries, but the faeries in front of me would like to disagree with my beliefs. Also, I really don't want to walk up to them in the buff, so wolf form it is, out of a misguided sense of modesty.

On the other hand, I'm betting my capacity for speech is limited in this form. Mentally sighing, I walk right out of my vantage position in a straight line to the stone. Not a lot of options here that I care to take. Besides, maybe they will just assume I am a wolf of some kind. I can roll with that.

Your instinct is that you can speak in Spirit-tongue but not any other language while in wolf form.

When you step out, one of them points to you and says "Look! Look! A cute Wolf!"

A lot of them start flying around you and speaking in that strange spirit-tongue.
"Can we pet him?"
"Naw. Let's play fetch with him"
"He was heading to the stone, let's use that to play fetch. "
"Dummy. We are not supposed to touch the stone."
"Why?"
"... I don't remember. Something about an old man telling us not to"
This message was last edited by the player at 20:53, Sun 13 July 2014.

Eh. Time to roll with it.

I bark at the stone and leap from side to side like an eager dog/wolf, hoping they will get the message and play fetch with the stone.

"Oh look at him! He's so cute and eager!"

 One of them goes to the stone and throws it as you. You catch it with your mouth with ease. It's very warm but it is a comforting heat.
The whole mountain rumbles and all the fae scatter. Except one. Who looks very familiar to you.

She has short fiery red hair. A simple red dress with white triangle decorating the edges and six flaming crystals as her wings. She has a fairly innocent looking face

"Cowards! How can you save your own skin and leave this wolf here to die?"

She turns to you.

"I'll try to save you...but how..You are to big for me to carry."

The rumbling is becoming more violent.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:52, Mon 14 July 2014.

Odd she's familiar. Likely an angel of some sort, although the fact it has a gender of female and only one face instead of three throws that off. Illusions? Certainly a mental effect of some kind to ensure I'm at ease...

Oh right. The island is exploding.

Well, the best plan I have is fleeing from the center of the island. I jump twice into the air, twisting in the direction I wish to run in (towards my supplies), hoping she'll follow or something.

If she goes or not, I'm running that way. This island will not be safe for long.

She follows you to your supplies

The shaking is very violent now.

Well, she's followed me this far. Time to shock and antagonize her, intentional or not.

I dig up my supplies as quickly as I can, and if I do this before the island explodes, I'm changing back into human form. I need to get as much as I can into hand as quickly as possible. And that stone is going in my backpack. Secure.

My plan is to go beach side, as far from the volcano as I can get. Way I see it, the poison gases might not come out this far. Before I go, and assuming I have time to change at all:

"You have any great ideas for getting out of this mess? I'm open to suggestions." No, I don't care about the lack of clothes. If she does, means I'm not getting a coherent answer after all.

You dig your things up and secure everything.

"Dwhat? How did you change into a human?... I have no clue..."

"I'm not sure how I changed into a wolf. Not really important right now. I can't breathe poisonous volcano gas. If it erupts, I will die." I'm not even bothering getting dressed. No time. No shoes, either. Warform destroyed those. "I'm going to the ocean. Maybe I can get under the waves and hold my breath a bit. If the air disperses quickly, I live. If it doesn't, I'm dead."

I start heading that way while talking. "Seriously, if you know something that will get me out of this, I'm all ears."

I pause a moment and look at my umbrella. I half unfold it and prepare. I'm going to try and trap some air under it as I submerge. It won't buy me a lot of time, but more then I would have otherwise.

Of course, if the water superheats, then I'm toast no matter what I do.

She looks rather depressed.
"I can't do anything to help you... and I can't think of anything that might save you.
I'm too close to it to get away now...
I guess I'll give you company as we die... well die is not the right word for me...I'll reform. But I will not be me anymore...Sigh...would you like the Company?"

Oh, confound it. My survival instincts are screaming at me, telling me "It's a trap!"

What I say instead is: "Can you swim?"

"Not very well and it is very painful for me."

"So is being killed. A bad chance is better then no chance at all. To the beach it is."

I pause. "How quickly can you knock some trees down for me?" I drop everything I have. "Knock down as many trees as you can. We aren't going under the water, we are going away from the island. Get some food, too, if you can."

I change into warform. I really hate these trees right now, because I need them to be LOGS! I'm making a raft, and getting off this island, at least for a little while.

"I can't knock the trees over but I'll gather the food."

She starts to go and then you change into warform and MURDER the trees into logs
(She looks scared of you now.)

Smoke is coming out the top of the volcano now.

I hurl them rather haphazardly to the beach. Don't have time for precision. I change back into human. Hey, Luna gave me the resources, and although I don't like her much, I'm taking what I've been given.

Now for the hard part, getting them to stay together long enough to make a raft. "Hey, cancel that food order! I have a new and better idea. Get me as much of this bamboo as you can and bring it back. I'm going to get us the food. Hope you like Tortoise!"

I go into Warform one last time. Shouldn't need it after this. I NEED that adamantortoise I killed earlier. I'm getting it now, and dragging it's corpse to the beach.

You hurl the logs to the beach.

She goes to the center of the island to get the bamboo.

You go to the Tortoise and drag it to the beach. But you are burning though your rage to maintain Warform. By the time you get to the beach you are nearly out of rage.

OOC: My entire plan revolves around her being able to generate heat. Here goes...

Guess I had to rely on my natural strength eventually. I change back into human, because I need to think clearly to live through this. "Okay, I need you make the bamboo into things that can hold these logs together. I'll sharpen the tips, and I will drive them through the logs. If you can burn holes in the logs themselves to make this faster, do that. If you can't, heat the tips of the bamboo. We don't have a lot of time, and this raft likely won't last a few days at sea, but it's better then what I had."

I'm using the iron on this island to make strap and bindings for these logs. If I have the time, I'm going to ask her help in gutting this creature as fast as possible. I don't need its organs, except maybe the heart. I just need the meat and the shell. The meat for food (she can cook, I hope), and the shell for not being killed by debris. It won't save us from large debris, the kind of hits that will just destroy this makeshift raft, but it will save us from being pelted to death by smaller stuff.

You quickly put your raft together with her help. She doesn't have the precision to burn holes in the log. So she heats up the tip of the bamboo.
you get the meat and heart out of the Tortoise.

You get the raft next to the water and push it in.
She pulls you in
then the Island Explodes.
You are knocked unconscious in the violence
You come to with gentle rocking of waves.
You smell the meat covered with salt

She thought of salt? That's actually awesome. Or she can conjure it, either way.

I stay low. I'm going to be crawling during most of my time on the boat, as I cannot fly, and balance can be a tricky beast. I don't recall us having any rope, and I'm going to need to make some guard rails, or something to stop myself from being swept overboard. I did not escape a volcanic eruption just to die from being cast adrift on the seas.

"Hey, if you are still around, what's your name?"

You crawl out of the shell onto the raft.
You see her sitting on top of the shell resting.
"My name? It's Iridessa. But you can call me Iri. What is your name?"

Eh. What the heck. "Call me Ed." Cue the horse jokes. "Where did you get the salt from?"

I'm going to be asking her a million questions. Of course, staying on the raft itself is my highest priority right now. I'm surprised it's seaworthy, and I'm surprised it hasn't capsized. Don't know what power is looking out for me right now, but I'm grateful it's giving me a hand.

I'm keeping a hand on anything it can grab. I don't need a rogue wave sweeping me away, and it won't be long before the waters here change from coastal to shallow seas. The island likely has parts of it left below the waterline, but within a day, we can easily end up in deep sea, if we haven't already.

"I evaporated the seawater to get salt. I've been pushing the raft. but I haven't found the Island or anything else... I'm glad you are ok."
This message was last edited by the player at 13:26, Mon 14 July 2014.

Evaporated...I can use that. I point out a few things to her, since we have a lot of time right now. Like if she evaporates water under the shell, nightfall will come and when the morning arrives, we will have water...provided we have a container to put it into, like my inverted umbrella. Yes, I insist on finding a use for that thing.

The tortoise meat will last, but shallow fishing will be tricky this far out. I'll need to keep an eye open for birds. And I'll need to make something on the boat that will allow me to not get swept overboard. Since they are logs, I use my knife and start carving out places I can grip. That will likely take all my time up.

Fishing...I'll have to think on that one...if she has any ideas on that, I'm all ears.

"Hey, I'm glad your okay too. Maybe we can get through this after all. What happened to the rest of the fae?" My thoughts go back to the stone that I risked my life for, and further back to my friend fading out from being killed for the carapace I'm under.

She looks enlightened by your explanation on how to get fresh water.

She doesn't have any ideas for fishing.

"They scattered when the island started to erupt... We where blown quite a ways away."

Okay, so they won't be any help. I ask her what the limits of her abilities are, how often she can use them, what intensity, degree of mastery and control; the million questions I promised no one in particular I would ask. I need to know her limits, because right now, she represents my best chance at survival.

"I'm good with magic. I can use it pretty much as often as I want. I can play it safe with magic but it doesn't work all the time. I can do it normally, but bad things might happen. Or I can Push myself for more power, But bad things are likely to happen. There are a few spells I know well and can do reliably.I'm good with making fire in various forms.I'm decent with making protective spells.

Sometimes I can Improvise with magic and do what I need to do. But it takes a lot out of me.

...Would you like me to demonstrate?"
She seems eager.

I put on my pants (OOC: assuming I haven't been presumed to have done as much), and the clothes that haven't been destroy. No way I am crawling around on a bunch of bark covered logs. That would hurt me in locations I don't like getting hurt in; namely, anywhere. No footwear, though.

"Yeah, actually. If you haven't done so, get us as far away from the island as you can. I don't want to be in the cloud zone, and I don't want to be near its debris. Just prop your back against the shell, and blast fire in the opposite direction you want us to go in. Just be careful, because I don't know if the raft can handle that kind of speed without flipping over."

I keep being reminded of how unseaworthy this raft is. Seriously, her raftmaking skills must be impressive, or I managed to accidentally create a masterpiece of terrible boats.

ooc I presumed you put them on before coming out.

The sky is very dark. there is one section of the sky brighter than the others.
You have your spear and two pieces of iron bamboo.

She thinks for a moment. the gets a bright smile on her face.
"I'm going to make the raft better."
She does some arcane gestures and mutters to herself.
The raft shapes itself into a more sea worthy design.
"ok this next bit is going to be harder"
She mutters some more
The Area around you becomes total darkness for a few seconds and then clears up.
She commands something you can't see
"Push the raft that way"

The raft starts to move in the direction she indicated.

We didn't sink. Success! Now, for the next phase...what's pushing the boat? No clue. I'll find out in time.

Sanitation: Very important. Need to make sure the deck remains clean.
Water and Fire: Covered, as long as my fae ally doesn't somehow die. If that happens, I have three days, maybe longer if I am lucky and resourceful, then I'm dead.
Food: Limited, scurvy is a real issue if this is a prolonged trip, and unless she can summon oranges or something with citrus acid, there is nothing I can do about it. I have maybe a month, perhaps longer. Scurvy was an unpleasant way to go out. Unless wolf form grants me some resistance to that. I never calculated for the survival odds of myself if I could transform into a dog. Their anatomical limitations aren't something I'm well versed in.
Boredom: Covered, same situation as fire and water, unfortunately.

Most of my survival is due to my ally. Really, I had no plan at this point, other then get away from the volcano. I didn't think the island would actually detonate, though. Most of the time, the volcano erupts, the lava goes down a particular path, life on the island resumes afterward. Islands exploding usually precede noticeable climate change. When one island detonated on my home world in the 1800s, it created a miniature ice age.

At this point, I need to think. Perhaps I could just go towards the horizons, or maybe...

"Hey, can you track your friends down? We might be able to find them." Perhaps I just need to give myself a direction. At least until I can find an interdimensional map or navigational technique.

The invisible thing pushes the raft for about an hour. Iri uses that time to rest.

"That would be hard to do. They scattered in all directions and I'm not sure where to start looking"

Sounds like my own issue. I go back into the shell, rummage in my pack, and remove the hearthstone. Now that I have some time to myself, perhaps I can divine what it is used for, and more importantly, how it will help me.

No faerie quest for me. Crying shame.

But, I have a different quest. If this world has an edge, I intend to sail off of it. In fact...

"Hey! What the moon like? Have you ever been there?"

You examine thr stone and for a brief instant you felt like it was simultaneously inflaming your rage and tempering it.

She looks at you funny.
She flies up to you and puts her hand on your forehead. She is very warm, almost uncomfortably so.

"You're freezing. You must be getting sick. That must be the reason for the weird question.anyway. I don't know what the moon is like. I haven't been there."

She has a concerned look on her face.
"If you are that cold, maybe you should rest for a bit. How are you feeling? "

I have an idea for a simple spell I can probably pull off. hold on."

She mutters to herself.
For a brief moment you hear things whispering at the edges of your perception.
"The spell says that the current direction we're heading will have a good result for us."

Mentat said


I knew I forgot to mention some details

Thinking back to when you where building the raft.Nether of you have much in the way of skill in building things. But she seemed rather intuitive with the process. But at that time she seemed better than she is normally. Whatever she did make her draw attention to herself.Most people would have stared and watched her work on it.

"My health is fine. There is a reason I ask questions like that, even if the reason is not apparent. My next question is related, and I'll reveal how in a moment: how much rope can you conjure up for us? Or rather, what are the limits on what you can conjure?"

If I have a magus, I need to be specific. All of my resources are going to help me, even if I cannot see how.

"I'm not good at conjuration. I can try improvising a spell to make rope. But I'll need to rest before I can improvise spells again."

Drat. "Don't worry about it then. I had this idea of flying up to get a better view of what was going on, and I recalled the story of Baron von Munchhausen and his trip to the moon. Had to ask if that was a thing. Not sure why, but it felt like a good idea. But we do need to know if there is anything around us, and a vantage point is a nice thing to have."

Yes, I wanted to convert the raft into a hot air balloon and fly. No, this would not have worked, as logistical issues would have stopped me. Still, anything that bypasses my present limitations is something I'll go for.

She thinks for a bit and smiles.

"I can go up and take a look."

She starts flying up and up and up.
Until she is a speck you can barely see.
She comes down.
"I think I saw land that way."

Land that way is better then nothing. Still might take a while to reach it. "Well then, let's get there as soon as possible!"

I ready myself for landfall. Spear ready, check. Knife ready, check. Backpack secure, check. If I am lucky, then this will be a series of islands. Hopefully, the others will be more tectonically stable then the last one. And I've fought the Adamants once, now I have no fear of them.

What new adventures await me? I wonder if I'm going to be a grim servant of death, with everyone I meet just dying after getting to know me. I hope not, because that would get bothersome.

It looks more like a forested mainland as you get closer.
You make landfall on a beach.
A group of people with obvious bionics and silver tattoos appear on the edge of the forest.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:34, Wed 16 July 2014.

Well, I have a welcoming parade. Let's get sarcastic.

I drag the raft as far on the shore as I can, then I turn to the others who have arrived. "Your savior has arrived! You are most fortunate that I have arrived at your hour of most dire need, to save you all, and to be your salvation!"

Yup. That should win them over. Charisma? Negotiation? Yeah, I have those skills, but nothing forces me to use them. Probably not the best thing for me to say, but when I get on a roll of good fortune, I tend to push it until my fortune stops being good.

"The Prophecy was right. He is the Darksteel Shepard. The Great Wheel is in dire need of you and we have been entrusted to prepare you for your trials and tribulations. We are the Iron Masters tribe."

Huh. You know, universe, I was just stating something completely random and stupid, and that was exactly what happened.

And now, my stupidity has just got me in way over my head. 'Darksteel Shepherd' is not a phrasing I like, as I know what that is in Exalted; in short, it is the signature metal of the Underworld made from ghosts. Nasty stuff. Which means I'm apparently prophesied to be some kind of walking engine of murder.

Calm down, brain, just roll with it.

"Well, that's...excellent news. When do we begin?" I need some time to pick my jaw up off the ground, mentally speaking.

Iri's jaw is hanging wide open

"We must begin you training immediately. Now where do you want to focus your training?"

ooc:It's time for down time. What do you want to train? They have low level of ablity in nearly everything you can think of.

Discussed ooc. Montage with Highlights incoming
This message was last edited by the player at 06:40, Wed 16 July 2014.

They take you to the main tribe encampment. And Explain some of what they can teach.
They begin your training. And the best way you can describe it is that it is Training from Hell
Which is very close to the truth. Because sometimes they hold your training in the Umbra, Which they describe as sort of a shallow end of the Immaterium. It's between the solid reality of the Materium and the fluid chaos of the Immaterium.

One day during your training they decide that it is time for you to go and get your totem spirit.
They bring you into the Umbra.

It's a shadowy refection of the forest you where in

I leave as many of my things behind as possible. I won't need books or supplies, and the only thing that might help me I won't be able to use. I adopt the form of a wolf. Natives can usually spot a tourist, but perhaps I'll survive one glance.

I then remember they didn't tell me what my totem spirit was. I then remember what vision quests entail. Put simply, I wander around until I find something I think is what I'm looking for, and that's pretty much it.

I choose a direction that feels about right, and I go that way. Besides, I'd like to explore this form and this environment. How does it interact with the world I am from, and vice versa? Study and analysis.

You did some experiments before this with your wolf body. You found out that you can run nearly forty miles per hour. You van also eat raw meat with no side effects while you are a wolf.(tastes pretty good too) but you get a bit of an upset stomach if you change back into an human before it's done digesting. Your intuition was right about being able to speak Spirit but not any other languages. You are way more dodgy and agile while in wolf form.

They did some demonstrations with the Umbra before. They showed how it is roughly parallel to the physical world. But some spirituality significant things can survive the destruction of the physical. The also demonstrated that destroying something in the Umbra tends to give the physical counterpart bad luck. (They destroyed a tree and it's parallel got hit 10 times with lightning a week later.)

What sort of experiments would you do?

You pick a direction that feels good. In about 30 minutes the skies darken like before a thunderstorm. In the distance you hear a roar that sounds simultaneously like thunder,an extremely loud roar and someone shouting "I AM THUNDERBEAR!"
This message was last edited by the player at 13:37, Sun 20 July 2014.

Thunder Bear, huh? Bears really aren't known for getting along with anything. More then anything, though, they are guardians, defensive creatures in the lore that usually features them.

Of course, I've been pretty lucky. Hopefully, it will not be covered in armor and launch lightning bolts everywhere when it is antagonized.

And hopefully, it won't be antagonized by the presence of a wolf. I investigate, like a moron, the direction of the sound.

As for experiments, the main objective of the experiment is to test what kind of areas I can enter and exit. Some areas might be safer or more dangerous in one world then in the other. I'm seeing if walls twist, or distort. I'm also curious as to what happens to water. Am I in Soul Reaver, where spirit water has neither heft nor lift?

double post
This message was last edited by the player at 17:44, Mon 21 July 2014.

You find that distances in the Umbra are a funny thing. Often the distance is determined more by how spirituality close two points are rather than the physical distance. Most of the time things behave like you would expect them to...assuming the spirit of the item wants to act that way. For example if you could convinced the spirit of the wall to let you though, you would be able to go though that wall. (That's difficult to do because the purpose of a wall is to stop things from going though.)

Water is about the same...except the water spirits are rather playful. one of them desided to tickle you while you were swiming in the water.


You find a clearing and finally see it.
It's huge. No huge is an understatement. That bear is easily a hundred feet at the shoulders. It is also covered in an odd electric blue armor. It is fighting a Thunderbird and is spewing out lightning everywhere.

You sense a presence near you
This message was last edited by the player at 18:47, Sun 20 July 2014.

Never heard of a Thunder Bear in native legends, but I've heard of the Thunderbird. Bad, bad news. Basically an avatar of death, probably a pterodactyl or one of its really huge and dangerous cousins. The legend generally concerns it being slain, rather like Beowulf and the dragon.

And of course it is covered in armor and shoots lightning. Why not? Still, it's fighting the bird and not me, so that's a good sign. Doesn't mean its on my side, but at least the bear hates the bird too.

Let's locate that presence, first. That is going to distract and annoy the hell out of me until I do.

This Thunderbird is a giant bird with electric blue feathers that is also shooting lighting everywhere.

You don't have to look for the presence because it reveals itself.
A three foot tall bear cub steps out from behind a tree. It is also wearing that weird electric blue armor.

"You're braver than a lot of people. Most people would run from the sight of Thunderbear and Thunderbird fighting. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm ..."

He suddenly goes into a super sentai pose.

"THUNDERCUB!!!"

Oh Crap^TM.

You see, I wasn't afraid of the two super beings fighting, because I might be beneath their notice. However, bears are notoriously defensive of their cubs, particularly if Thunderbear here happens to be female. Bear cubs are curious friendly creatures who run up to new things and say hello. Bear adults are not, and hate people who are around their cubs.

The formula: Bear cub + unknown human + Bear parent = human killed by enraged bear parent.

"Listen, Thunder cub, right?" I'm trying to be friendly. "I'm going to need you to get between me and your large friend or parent there, because if they see me talking to you, they might decide to kill me, deciding I'm more important then the bird. I'm going to try and back away from you, not out of fear of you, but mostly because I don't want to confuse and distract your friend."

That, and I have an aversion to being killed by giant elemental bears.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:42, Thu 24 July 2014.

Thundercub returns to a more normal stance.
"That's part of the reason I'm going to help you out. You see Thunderbear is my dad but he doesn't really notice me because he has a lot of sons. But when I seen you, I came up with a cunning plan. You see, You are a Hero and you are going to do great things in the Great Wheel. And now you are looking for a Totem Spirit."
He smiles.
"I won't ask much as a totem spirit. Maybe an occasional super sentai or tokusatsu show video. Or maybe fight crime or monsters. In exchange, you get my services as a totem spirit."

So, just like that? I was expecting a little more starvation to come with this territory. Really, I'm not complaining. And thank goodness that Thunderbear is the dad. They generally aren't the one's that will kill you.

So, in exchange, he wants to watch anime and for me to fight crime or bad things. One of those I do a lot more then I used to. The other...

"I can't always guarantee access to television, but I'll see what I can arrange."

And his plan is to be noticed by his dad. Hmm...

"He got T-bird there under control? Or is he going to need a bit of backup?" I wonder at the same time if there is something about this world I can exploit to take down the bird. It reacts to ideas, conception, belief. More then anything, belief shapes this side of the world. How can I exploit this?

Apparently also, my wolf form fooled no one. Likely I have a human smell to me, or something.

Thundercub looks at the battle.

"I wouldn't worry about it. Thunderbird and my dad fight nearly all the time. Apparently it's what causes thunderstorms in the material world."

He looks back at you.

"Well. I'm ready to go when you are."

I'm not so sure I agree with my totem's assessment. The Umbra reflects the physical world, so this fight might be more symbolic of a different problem rooted in my world. The emotions from that conflict would draw them both in, and they'd play out the fight here as the fight played out in the physical.

That, or Thundercub is spot on, and this is just normal. Worth a look, though.

"Alright, I'm going to head back to my world. I just want to see this site from the other side." I head back the way I came, and leave the Umbra in my wake. I'm staying as a wolf until I can get my clothes. Which reminds me as I travel...

"By the way, how'd you know I wasn't a normal wolf?" My disguise might need work.

Thundercub thinks for a moment.
"You smell like a werewolf.And you felt stronger than most wolf spirits."

You return to the reflecting pool that you used to go into the Umbra.
The Tribes Elders are there. They look rather surprised at your totem.
They teach you a method to step-sideways into the Umbra though any reflective surface.
You step though on your first try but it takes a minute to go through.
Thundercub stays in the umbra but you can communicate telepaticaly with him.

You head in the same direction in the physical world and it rapidly turn into a thunderstorm.

Huh. Okay, so my knowledge of spirits in my know when are of no use here. Perhaps shades of that might come in handy, but ultimately my Earth knowledge is useless here. So in this case, an event in the Umbra is superseding the world.

This could get rather confusing. It's rather like dealing with a mirror that can kill you with the reflection itself, rather then the object in the real world killing you and the mirror just showing it.

That, or the two fighting when the weather conditions lined up is just a thing. Still, I need to find out what tribes have those as their totems. This could be symptomatic of a deeper problem.

Of course, I could wind up discovering that these two factions need to fight as some kind of cosmic keystone created by stupid gods that I will later have to punch in the face, assuming its that kind of story, and not a cosmic horror story.

I return to base, having learned what I wanted to know.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:17, Wed 30 July 2014.

You Return to base and continue your training exterminating vermin.
Eventually you end up joining a group of mercenaries that are associated with the Iron Masters Tribe. They are called The Son of Iron. and tend to be made up from the tribes kinfolk and young Werewolfs. You quickly move along and pick up various skills.

One day the Tribe's Elders call for you. You arrive and find five of them at the place they told you to met them.One speaks
"You have trained long and hard Darksteel Shepherd. We have determined that you are ready to try the Tower of the Sun. It is said that there is a weapon blessed by Pelor, The Unconquered Sun Himself at the top of the tower. But the tower is designed to test you in many ways."

Pelor, the Unconquered Sun...okay, this is both, and I now think I know what's going on. Although, the implications of this being a game are rather unpleasant. Besides, right now this feels too real, because it is too unreal, if you can follow me.

"What kind of ways are we talking about? I might not be able to pass your test, if it involves lifting a mountain or something crazy like that."

The elders look at you funny
"No, You don't need to lift up a mountain or anything like that.
The tower will test your cunning, skills and character."

"Well, that sounds reasonable." Except that character is an entirely arbitrary test, solely based on the whim and values of the culture in question. I remember Harry Potter and his class getting points on "merit". So, in short, these guys are probably going to declare me a moral failure, because I already plan on cheating back, even before I know the rules. Not sure about cunning and skills; I kind of drift in and out in regard to those.

"So, where's the tower, and is there any advice you would give? Anything that increases my odds is appreciated." So, I get to the top of the tower, grab the weapon and get out. Fair enough. I just need to find the entrance, and study the outside of the tower first.

"The Tower's tests chang based on what time of day you enter the tower. Your skills lay in fighting and stealth. I would recommend entering the tower at Dawn or Night. Oh. It is said that there is a tool in the tower that will help you complete the tests. An artifact from a bygone age."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:08, Fri 01 Aug 2014.

A tool in the tower, eh? So much for my original idea of just getting climbing equipment, going to the top, and then forcing my way in through the roof.

Might do it anyways, if the entry goes bad enough. As for times of entry, I get the entry times. Dawn would be for the warriors, Zenith would be for the priests, Twilight would be the mages, Night is for the criminals. If I were a diplomat, would I honestly have to wait until a solar Eclipse occurred before I would be advised to take this test? Exalted and it's silliness...

Nevermind. He said fighting and stealth were my strong suits. I think he's got me pegged wrong. My strength is the ability to tell the world to go to hell. That's why I'm entering at high noon, during the Zenith. I'll become the worst priest ever...

...and then I think a bit more. That talent would really be shared by any of these. I suppose I'll do it wrong and break into the tower of the sun at night. I'd rather not get into a fight I can avoid. Besides, night time is likely when the Sun Tower's defenses will be weakest. I need to hit just before sunrise, in case the defenses are solar powered. That way, they will be wound down a bit before I come in. I also need to leave before sunrise, too.

...then I overthink, and realize that's what's expected of me. Breaking in at high noon is not playing by the rules. I'll do that....until I over-overthink and go back the plan where I break in at Night.

I need to find a map or a blueprint of this place. I begin my search immediately, starting by asking the elders in front of me were such a thing could be found. That way I can just pick one plan and go with it. I need more knowledge. I can here someone in my brain saying "heroes don't need plans" to which I give two replies: Shut up, Snow, and that's because detailing a plan to an audience is boring, so it's omitted from the telling of the tales, unless the plan is going to go wrong.

"If such a map or blueprint existed, It would be useless. The tower changes based on who enters it."

Oh. Of course it would be one of those. Well, I guess I'll break in at night time. I'm not interested in fighting past a horde, I'm not able to craft or magic a solution to problems (I consider the raft a fluke, one I am not sure if I can repeat), and I'm not waiting for a solar eclipse. I might be able to survive whatever happens during the noon, but I'm not into taking a punch I can avoid.

So, night and the lazy path it is. I just have to work fast, if it works like I think it will. I need a look at it, and I need to find an entry point not the front door. In fact...

I need to speak with Thundercub, ask if he's ever broken into this building, or knows of an entrance that isn't taken often. I'll also need to give the tower a look from the Umbra as well as the physical. I have six ways to approach this problem, and I need to see which one is preferable. I just need to recall where the reflective surfaces are, so that I can switch worlds as needed. I have three forms: as myself, I can carry gear. As the wolf, I have speed and a low profile. As the warform, I can kill my problems and likely survive them as well.

And lately, I have training. That might give me an edge I would have previously lacked.

Thundercub says.
"I haven't gone to the tower before. And I haven't heard much about it besides that it is a really bad idea to use the main entrance at night."

You go to the tower at night. It is a five story structure made out of silver and gold material.
The silver seems to flow into itself oddly. The gold seem to glow with an inner fire like the sun.
There is an obvious main entrance. Going into the umbra is easy.
The main entrance has many lingering ghosts haunting it.

I'm simply on a scouting mission, nothing more nor less. In addition, the elders specified no time limit, and I intend to abuse this. I need to speak with Iri, and to be fair, it has been a while since we have had the chance to talk. A ghost might be a good source of information, provided it isn't one of the "hostile on sight" varieties. In fact, the ghost is closer then Iri, so that's what I'm doing.

I just need to get one of them away from the others. I am aware the interior rearranges itself for each individual. The tower is a creature of Chaos, and can take many incarnations. I get that. I still need to know what level of force to expect. I'd also like to know what tends to kill these guys. Death may or may not be a thing I need to worry about, but it is something I would like to avoid anyhow.

"Hey, Thunder." I'm not looking at the cub, but I do speak to him. "What can you tell me about those ghosts? I'm rather new to this, and I can't tell hostile spirits apart from the others."

"A spirit's appearance is close to it's nature. Most of the time if a spirit looks like it would try to murder you then it will try to murder you. It's possible for a spirit to be deceptive with it's looks, but It takes a lot of effort for a spirit to alter it's appearance.
Since those ghosts look like fairly normal mortal creatures, they are probably ok to talk to. just don't make them mad. some of them look fairly old too."

I relocate myself to find one of the ghosts that is a bit removed from the others. I don't need all of them talking to me at once. One at a time, ladies and gentlemen. I only have one mouth.

On the other hand...eh, I walk right up to the entrance. I'm going to forgo subtlety at the moment. "Hello! Do any of you feel like discussing the tower with me? I'm about to enter, and the more I know, well, the better the odds I emerge alive. And if I can help make your existence easier, I'll do what I can."

One ghost floats to you. He looks to be a small human man in leather armor full of holes.
"What do you want to know about the tower?"

"Specifically, an idea of what to expect. I am aware the building changes to the individual. I have a theory that some things remain consistent, and that the more I learn about the experiences of those before me, the better this will work."

"Namely, what is the power source of this building? I suspect it is solar powered, but does anyone know where the generators are at?"

"The Tower itself absorbs sunlight during the day and runs off of reserve power during night.
I'm not sure where it stores it's power."

That might change the moment I enter the building. That's the trick. I need to find out where its power source is as of this moment, and take it out without entering the building.

"Say, if you don't mind my asking, how come none of you have finished your mission with the building? Are you capable of interacting the world at large?" I'd like to know what they can do, because a very silly plan is forming in my head.

"We died trying to finish the Tower. The Tower needs a living being to finish it
It is hard to affect the living world, But it is possible."

"Fair enough. So, two questions, then. One, what happens if you go in there? And two, what happens if more then one being at a time goes in?" Last thing I need if for Thundercub to trip the defenses into "murder mode" because they weren't designed for more then one being.

"The Tower ignores us for we have failed.
Once Two people entered, the tower combined their tests.They are over there now."

He points to a pair of ghosts with very severe death wounds.

Okay, so my theory is correct: the more people that enter, the more fiercely the tower defends itself. I don't know if it will react to Thundercub, but it will ignore the ghosts. That's interesting, and I might be able to use that.

"Okay, let's just ask this straight up, and I'm not trying to anger anyone. What keeps everyone here, pinned here, and how many of you actually want to move on, or whatever happens when you are not fettered here?" I'm making some presumptions about the nature of ghosts in this world, but I do need to know.

"We want to see the Tower finished. We can't move on until that happens."
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 04:58, Sun 03 Aug 2014.

"Excellent. I'm going into the tower. When I enter, it will change structure, form and shape. I need eyes and ears to help me get to the goal, and maybe the occasional distraction. Do this, and I'll finish the tower in your stead, and you can move on. In fact..."

I look for something to write on and with, and then I raise my voice so all can hear me. "I need the names of everyone who will be helping me with this! Your role will not be forgotten, or undermined! I cannot do this without your help, and you cannot rest without mine! Aid me, and you will have peace and be remembered! This I swear on myself!"

All of them line up and sign their names on the paper you had
"Command and we will obey."

Well, well, now. This changes things. I can enter the tower and recon it in real time. I choose human form, because I have a feeling I will need the gear. Besides, clothes. I like wearing them. It's petty, and will probably get me killed, but I like not being nude.

Supplies: well, I can't take the backpack with me, so its a matter of what I can use.

Jack knife, unidentified Rage Hearthstone. Leaving everything else, including the tags. They won't help me. I have a strange feeling about the Hearthstone, so I'm bringing it. I'd bring the Zippo if it had any lighter fluid in it. I keep forgetting to solve that problem. Oh, and a nice big rock, something that fits in my hand well. Hey, I do have a use for the backpack after all. Just not anything else in it.

So that leaves one question: will I have time to talk to Iri and return before the night ends? If yes, I explain that I'm leaving momentarily to speak with a powerful friend to the ghosts, and I go. If not, I look for the nearest entry point not the front door, and I'm breaking in.

You have time to go and talk with Iri.

You return to camp and find her making her bed. She greets you with
"Hello Ed. How has your training been going?"

"Excellently. And how have you been? We haven't really spoken much since we got here. I've been really busy with this 'Darksteel Shepherd' nonsense that I walked myself into. I'm not gonna lie to you; I think most prophecies are just hermits getting high and seeing 'the future.' That or dumb luck conspiring in their favor."

I could just ask her for what I want, but I'd like not to see her as just another tool. Seeing everyone as a tool comes way too easily to me than what is likely healthy.

"I've been good. I've been talking to the tribe. But I'm starting to get sort of bored. I was going to see if you wanted to do something."

I grin. "I do. I'm going after that tower over yonder. I have a bunch of really creepy friends who are going to help me crash it, and I'd like you to help crash it too. No matter what, I will need you to cover my retreat, but I have one question: what happens if you assault the tower's exterior with magic?"

"It usually falls down. That sounds like fun though."

Huh. That is an idea if I can't do this. "I don't need the tower destroyed." Not yet. "With that in mind, I'm not confident in my breaking and entering skills. If I can't get in, I need you to blast a way in. Once I'm in, whether by your means or mine, I need you to attack random parts of the structure. The added chaos will only help our cause."

"Oh, and two more things. One, I'd like it if you could torch some names into a big stone. Part of a promise I made. And two," I allow myself a smile. "Try not to get yourself killed."

Funny, you forgot to tell her "Try not to accidentally kill us or our allies."

"Ok, I can attack the tower. What names do you need torched on a stone?... Where can I find a big stone?"
She smirks with confidence.
"It takes a lot to kill me!"

"Let's get the stone first, the ones who need to be recorded will tell you." I head off to the tower, and then I remember two more things. What is it with me and forgetting things in pairs?

"Oh, and two MORE things. One, once you finish with them, add my name to the list." Morbid on my part, for sure, but hey, I'm not above them. I'm trying this too. "And two, and this is more important then anything: do not go into the tower, no matter what happens. Seriously, the tower's defenses intensify if the living go in there. In fact, I'm going to need a second opinion as to whether Thundercub can go in there or not."

Has she met him yet? "I think you and Cub will get along well. He's a spirit bear."

To the tower I go. To success, or to another failure.

Thundercub manages to make a somewhat hazy image of himself in the real world.
Iri goes
"Squee! He so Cute!"
And attempts to tackle hug him. She goes right though him but manages to slow down to a stop before she hits anything.
"Huh? Oh. It's an Illusion."
Thundercub rubs the back of his head.
"Sorry, I'm not strong enough to materialise."
Iri smiles and says
"That's ok. My name is Iridessa. But you can call me Iri. It's nice to met you."
Iri does a little curtsy in the air.
Thundercub bows back
"It's good to met you too. My name is Thundercub...Hmmm I need to comeup with a shorter name."
Iri turns to you
"If the tower detects life in the real world it won't react to a spirit in the umbra. or an immaterial spirit... If he could materialise then it would register him as alive."

You head back to the tower. Iri found a large stone and started lasering the names into it.
It looks like it'll take her an hour to get them all in it.
You arrive at the tower. it's been fifteen minutes since you left Iri lasering the rock.
It's about three hours until sunrise.

Almost perfect timing. If the defenses are solar powered, they will likely be as low as they are going to get. "Okay, Iri, I just need you to blast the sides of this tower as soon as I go in. Shake the place up. I'm aware I'm going to be inside. All the rest of you, its been a privilege. I simply need you to serve as eyes, ears and maybe the occasional distraction if you can manage it. Watch out for any light based defense systems, they might be able to destroy you.

"And Thundercub? I need you somewhat behind me. If anyone comes up behind me, give me a warning. Don't engage yet."

"Good luck, one and all."

"Iridessa, blow a hole open for me." Windows are likely to be covered, the door is likely heavily defended. Let's make a new entry point. Besides, this will let me know if something horrible is going to happen with my plan right now, as opposed to learning later. There are no living defenders in here until I arrive, if then. I might be able to use that.

Iri floats near the bottom of the tower rears back her fist and shouts out "Fist of a Thousand Suns!" A bright white light surrounds her fist and then she punches a hole though the wall with a thunderous explosion. The silver is slowly flowing back into the hole. It's fairly dark inside with a door on the other side of the room. You don't see any enemies.

"Get ready." I step into the breach, seeking cover, and preparing for the room to warp. If or when it does, I need to move to a position where I am in cover relative to any guardians.

The hole quickly seals shut as soon as you enter. The room warps before your eyes. The Architecture now resembles a Gothic Cathedral With two rows of pillars leading to an arching doorway guarded by two beings that look like they are made of harden clay. Their body is a round ball with a cylinder like head and short and stumpy arms and legs.

You immediately hide behind one of the pillars. And they didn't notice you.

Excellent start. Now I just need to wait a bit. The dead should be coming in any moment now, and raw spellpower should be battering the exterior shortly.

They remind me of Dwemer Automatons from the Elder Scrolls series. Likely exactly what they are, with an ace up their sleeves from some other source. I have three goals, and I mentally review them:

Primary - Acquire Weapon. Secondary - Acquire device that helps acquire Weapon. Tertiary - Find the power and cut it.

The Primary goal makes the other two meaningless. Secondary and Tertiary goals order is negotiable; they might change in importance. Right now, they are opportunistic goals.

You hear a ghostly whisper in your ear.
"We've found a chest we can't see inside of. It is a room north and a room west from here."

You hear explosions outside and occasionally the building rocks from the explosion.

The two clay things seem to be looking around in confusion.

I need to find the light source, if any. For all I know the light is just here, and there are no shadows, only obstruction. I stick to the side that casts more darkness, and I move closer, from pillar to pillar, each time I think they are looking more at the areas I'm not looking at. They don't have a body language for me to read, so they might be a little harder to sneak by. Hopefully something will happen that will inspire them to move away from the door already.

There are lights in the roof between the two rows of pillars.

You get to within about 20 feet of them. They don't seem to be moving from their position.

Oh, this is very annoying. I only brought one tool along, and now I'm wishing I had brought more. I pull my tool out of my backpack, the rock, and I hurl it at the wall behind one of the pillars on my side.

I hope I'm heading the right direction. If they move after the sound, I'm going to the door they are guarding. Otherwise, I might have to just run for it.

They investigate the sound and you make it to the door.

There are four doors in this room in each of the directions.
There are four pillars in each of the corners.
There is a clay thing on the other side of the room. It seems to be patrolling clockwise around the room.

First, I have to figure out which way north is. Or is it west? Did he mean north first, through the door, then west in this room? Or did he mean north here, then west? Let's see, sense of direction says...go north from here, then west.

The guard should be easy to avoid, as long as the two coming back don't spot me. I move quickly, and if luck is on my side, that won't be an issue.

You make it across the room without being spotted.

You enter the next room. There is a door to your left. There are four pillars like the last room. There is one of those clay things in front of the other door.

So, that's four so far. If this goes south, I'm going to be overwhelmed in short order. Coming to think of it, why in the world did they react to the rock and not the explosions? Was it because the stone came from a location within the room, or was it because I expected it to work?

I wonder how Ari and the Ghost Brigade are doing. I hope I'm going the right way. I just need to get rid of this guard somehow too...I check the urge to sigh. Is playing a hybrid between Hide and Seek and Ring around the Rosies seriously how I'm going to get past this thing?

I draw my jackknife, position myself behind a pillar far from the sentry, and tap "Shave and a Haircut": Tap, tap, taptap, Tap. If he actually investigates that, I'm going past.

He goes to investigate the sound in the most direct way possible. It's quite easy to tell where he is from the soind he makes against the stone floor. You easily sneak past him and enter the next room.

There is a chest in the middle of the room.
There is an stairway up on the other side of the room.

I move clear of the doorway. Last thing I need is the guard seeing or hearing me. Seriously, my nerves are a bit shot from the progress, and how well this is going.

So, we have a treasure chest, just lying here unassumingly out in the open. It is singularly unguarded....right. Of course, I did just go by four guards just to get to this point, so perhaps it is unguarded. But let's pretend for a second it is trapped. How would I trap it?

Pressure plate trap? One look at the floor can dispel that notion. Besides, the trap would be set up with convenience in mind. Would you want to make a trap that could kill you? The keyhole? Perhaps the trap is set to go off if the springs in the lock are not thrown properly (picking the lock instead of using the proper key). This would probably be the most reliable, so which method would I use?

Poison dart trick?...actually, my trap would be a fake chest. I'd keep my treasure in a safety deposit box in a bank. Or several banks. I move to the chest's side and open that puppy up. Seriously, if a dart flies towards me, at the side, I'm calling hacks.

When you open the chest a dart flies out the front.
Inside you see a golden bracer with silver inlays in a pattern like a keyboard

Well, I guess I'll find out if this is the real trap or not. I glance at the door and make sure the dart didn't trigger something else. Not everything here obeys my expectations, there is a theme to this place, a pattern alien to my own mind.

Haven't heard any explosions, and the Ghost Brigade hasn't gotten in touch with me for a while now. I hope everyone is okay. I have an oath to fulfill, and I actually like Iri.

I put the bracer on. For Science!

(Sorry. There is quite a few things to track)

You have been hearing explosions but they haven't been significant enough to mention. not like Iri's first hit.

You put the bracer on. It seem like it it meant to go on your left arm. as soon as you put it on a holographic keyboard appears over the keyboard like inlays. A holographic screen also appears over the keyboard.
It displays

Welcome to your Resplendent Personal Assistant
Please enter a username


you hear another ghostly yet familiar voice.
"Snake here. There is nothing else interesting on this floor. Except that box there.If I had a box like that while I was here then I would still be alive. I think I'll hide in that box for old times sake"

The chest lid suddenly closes on it own.

"Thanks, Snake. Rest easy." I'll have to look at the list, and figure out which Snake he was (Solidus, Liquid, Solid, Naked, Gaseous, Plasma, Atomic, Pizza...). I'm going upstairs.

Username, eh? "Mentat Muad'dep." As long as I'm going for the Dune reference, why go halfway?

Username Accepted.
Associating Genetic Material
Associating Aura Signature.
Exalted detected. Unlocking All Systems
Downloading Mental Map...Done.
All systems up and running.


On the next floor you find a closed door on each of the three other sides. There is an electronic panel beside each door.

Study of the panel is in order. If I recall the capabilities of the RPA (Resplendent Personal Assistant) correctly, it has the ability to interface with any electronic device, modifying itself to accommodate for the device in question.

Translation: It should be just as capable of interfacing with a IBM floppy tower from the 1980s, as well as the stuff from Shadowrun, which should be an impossible task due to system compatibility issues. Welcome to magic science.

Of course, just because the device can hack doesn't mean I can. Still, let's see what I actually can do before I get ahead of myself.

The panels are stainless steel held onto the wall with four screws with a hexagonal socket in them.
There is a slot for a credit-card sized card near the top and a digital keypad below it.

Well, let's see if this device can simulate a card being swiped. I just need to analyze the strip somehow.

Let's see: memory says I should be able to get the screws out. Carefully, I prop my hand against the panel and screw it loose...wait a minute. Why am I doing that?

Oh, right. I'm too scared to just check the doors and see if they are already unlocked...are they? I test each door first. Then I go back to unscrewing the panel from the wall. I don't want to drop the panel, so I make sure it goes into my bag of empty tricks.

You check all the doors and they are locked.
You hear a ghostly whisper in you ear.
"Hey Boss. North and south of here the rooms only have one monster looking at the door. To the west is a long room with a pit you have to cross."

I'll assume that you go to the west door and unscrew the panel.

It's full of electronics but there is an obvious data port.

Presumption accurate. No need to engage with foes. Data port, let's see...eh, I'll just set the device to try pretty much every shape until it gets one right. Let's attempt to enter under administration and open that bad boy up.

Assuming the code isn't written in Wingdings or something weird like that. For all I know, these things could be written in Swahili. And why would there just be a pit? Usually, something is at the bottom of those things, or it's incidental to the structure. Other then corpses, of course, from former dumb explorers like myself.

The RPA immediately switches to the right jack that you intended. You plug it in and the RPA displays 'Connection Set Up... Attempting to Grant Root Access...Root Access Granted...'
You use your knowledge of computers and technology in general to bypass the security on the door. You hear the door unlock.

You open the door to find a long room the pit starts about 20 feet from the door. the pit extends to about 30 feet out from that. There is a long rope dangling from the ceiling in the middle of the pit. On your left a small ledge extends out of the wall about a foot. It goes about 15 feet into the pit. There is a similar ledge on the other side of the pit that starts on the opposite side.

Well, I knew I was going to miss clothes before this night was over. I strip down and put the clothes in the bag. I remove the PDA and set it in the bag as a precautionary measure; don't want to destroy it. Yeah, it might change with me, but it might not, and I won't be able to make sense of the data anyways.

I channel fear and fury, adapt a warform, set the other side as my goal while changing, and swing across the rope...

Ropes? Too slow. GO! ...or so I would have done, if I didn't just use my running start in an attempt to jump 15 feet across while throwing the backpack to the other side. So much for the PDA; maybe it survived the impact, and maybe it didn't. Warform doesn't care, has nothing to do with getting across.

You pack your things and transform. You charge and jump. You throw your things across at the halfway point and easily clear the gap. You just jumped 30 feet with a running start.

There is a door on this side.

Enough for now. We transform back. Not an idea the beast likes to hear, but I'm still in charge enough to at least go back. I change back, with the intent of putting clothes back on, getting the knife and PDA back on and continuing onwards.

I open the door. Quietly, which is something I could not have done as a rampaging monster.

You open the door quietly. There is a stairway up. You hear singing from up the stairs. It sounds like a woman singing a vaguely familiar tune a cappella. The tune sounds rather sad and slow tempo.

I carefully move up the stairs. The music might block my movement's sound, so I try to keep those movements in time with the music, at half pace if it gets too hectic for me. Not sure if that will honestly matter, but I'm going to do that anyways.

I ready the knife. Not sure what I will experience, so I'm ready for all the obvious pitfalls: guard, trap, observing walls and stairs for irregularities, light source patterns. I wonder how everyone is?

Basics, really. Have to stay focused.

You head up the stairs and detect no traps. As you climb, you hear the singing more clearly. The voice sounds like a young woman. You reach the top and it sounds like she is in the next room behind the door. You can hear the song welll now. It's heart-achingly sad and beautiful. You can feel the loneliness that the singer is putting into song.

She probably has the most beautiful singing voice you have ever heard.

So, much for focus. Seriously, this song is making me depressed on a near suicidal level. Is that what killed the ghosts? They made it here and died of heart break?

No, no, no, no no nononnonononononoononoonoonononono!

I am not dying like this! I change back immediately, without concern for clothes, backpack or the PDA. I will not be destroyed by some trap designed to turn my will against me! At this point me and the Beast are in consensus, that singing has to stop, or it's going to kill me.

I channel Rage into Warform, shred my eardrums, I'm destroying this door and probably whatever or whoever is behind it. No more subtlety, no more ghostly communication; I'm probably about to kill something beautiful and irreplaceable in the universe.

You transform and your cloths rip to shreds. your RPA pops off your arm and clatters harmlessly on the floor.
You pop your eardrums and can't hear anything now. You feel the pain even though the rage of the warform.

You burst though the door and enter a huge cathedral like room with many pillars and pews. On the other side you see a bone white long rifle that is inlaid with gold that reflects the fire of the sun. But that doesn't matter to you in warform.

Instead your focus is on the woman in the central part of the room. If you where not in warform, you would say that she is beautiful. With long jet black hair and a tall willowy build. But her eyes seem to glow with a unnatural red colour and she has a large eye-like gem on her chest. But her most striking feature is the large raven black wings on her back.  But none of that matters to you in warform.

She looks surprised at your entrance. You charge at her and she is into the air as soon as she recovers her wits. Her right arm morphs into a large cannon. She is halfway up at about 25 feet off the ground.

In some back corner of my mind, I wonder why that character is here. That, however, is a topic to be explored later when I'm not constantly thinking killkillkillkill or something along those lines.

I use claws to clamber up the pillars so I can leap at her better, and do so. My...yes, my plan...is simple: get to her, and tear her wings off. Ground her, and maybe I can fight her better. If I can pin her during the crash, all the better to kill her. Again, I'm not sure if I'm in the right. Yeah, she pointed a cannon at me, but I can't say I wouldn't have that reaction myself if I saw what she did.

Of course, all of these musing are pointless when I'm a giant wolf-man leaping off a pillar with the intention of dismembering her right now.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:15, Sun 31 Aug 2014.

She opens of with a unfocused pattern of energy bolts that seem to moving slower than they should be. It seems to be meant to force you into cover... But you ignore it due to warform rage. at the cost of taking a bolt to your right leg. it barely hurt you. But it had a more insidious effect. You feel the shot drain your energy and you feel fatigued now.

You immediately heal the physical damage
You Charge up the pillar though the hail of energy bolts and leap at her. She vents raw magical fire to barely dodges your claws. You grab onto another pillar

There is clearly an aura of heat around her. You can feel her heat from here.

She seems to be trying to talk to you. But you can't hear her and are too full of rage to read lips.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:52, Sun 31 Aug 2014.

Okay, new plan, big guy. This ain't working. I transform into pure wolf, and allow myself to slide down the pillar, giving in to the fatigue a bit to help me down. I need two things: evasion and the gun. It's all I'm here for. I'd like that PDA, but it is expendable in the face of the goal.

I bolt as quickly as my body will let me towards that rifle. I intend to grab it with my teeth, change back into human, and drop it to my hands. Hopefully when I do this I'll have some cover.

You transform into a wolf and slide down the pillar onto the other side from her.She continues the barrage but you are in cover relative to her.

You rush to the rifle and she aims her barrage at you. But you weave though the bullets.
You pick up the rifle, get into cover and transform back into a human.
The Rifle feels warm in your hands. You feel the inner warmth from the inlaid gold and the hatred the gun had for undead and and especially vampires.The porcelain like construction feel light but strong in your hands.

Huh. I'm not dead. I suppose that will be something when I don't have someone aiming to correct that problem. I heal the damage to my ears, take aim from the cover of a pillar, and yell:

"Surrender! I have what I came for!"

If she doesn't give up, I'm shooting her.

She considers and lowers her arm cannon and let's it morph back. She lowers herself to the ground and lands.
"You have passed the trials of the tower. I have orders from Pelor to take you to your Ship."
This message was last edited by the player at 22:16, Sun 02 Nov 2014.

I'm not leaving cover yet. "What ship?"

Technically, I should just shoot her to death while her guard is down. Nothing stops her from reactivating that arm cannon and atomizing my naked rear end as soon as I step out from cover.

I am far, far too nice for my own good, so that is not, in fact, a thing I will do. Even though I honestly think I should. I wasn't really sold on killing someone who didn't know the effect was lethal. As far as she knew, she was alone, and not hurting anyone.

Maybe. Or she was another sentinel just doing her job.

"My former ship... The Righteous Fist of the Dawn. Pelor declared that the Darksteel Shepard shall use it to save the Great Wheal."

No bluff detected so far. Odd.

"Alright, I'm coming out of cover." Before I do so... "You don't happen to have something clothlike lying around, do you? I know I just gave you a full frontal view, but somehow it feels wrong now that I'm not trying to kill you anymore."

"Hold on a second..."
She stands there a moment and then a set of cloths appear in her hands.
"These might be too large. But I also included a belt as a temporary solution."

"They'll do. Toss them here, I'll put them on. You don't mind if I get something from just outside of your now...broken...door before I leave, would you? That singing of yours was really, really good. To the point that recalling it is...actually having an adverse effect on me." Tears away, here it comes. "I'm so sorry I attacked you."

I am blubbering now. This is a new low for me. "If...you want...I can...fix...the door..."

Her eyes widen a bit from your statements. She tosses the cloths near your pillar.
"There is no need to fix the door. I do not mind if you retrieve your item... I am sorry that my song had an adverse effect on you... I did not know that anyone was listening... I am responsible for the final test of the tower. So a confrontation was inevitable. I would have preferred a more controlled start though. Honestly I'm glad you beat me...  I injured you during the confrontation. May I heal you?"
This message was last edited by the player at 05:28, Tue 02 Sept 2014.

"Sure. That would be appreciated." I move out of cover after putting them on, wiping my face clean. Likely a combination of memory and an adrenaline crash, causing me to tear up and emotionally overload. I have to be careful with myself. If something were to attack me, right now, I'd probably just freak out and warform it without any strategy in mind.

"By the way, may I get the PDA? That looks very handy." Even though she just told me I could, I ask again. Seriously, was I even listening?
This message was last edited by the player at 05:35, Tue 02 Sept 2014.

She cocks her head to the side in apparent confusion.
"I do not mind if you get your PDA"

I'm moving towards to door. I'm actually having a hard time looking at her right now, all considering my prior actions. Hell, I'm kind of in a confused state. Calming down is essential. I begin breathing exorcises, meditations, anything to force me to relax, and just get my stuff.

Some "Darksteel Shepherd" I'm turning out to be.

I actually laugh at this. Probably freaking her out a bit, not a good idea given the arm cannon that nearly just killed me, but I need to let out some steam. "I'm sorry...hehehehehe...I'm so sorry...but this is all so...hehaahahahhaha...stupid...!"

My laughter has gotten a ^little manic maybe. "I'm the worst savior ever! Hahahahhahahahahha!"

She looks more confused.
"Why is this stupid?
Why do you think you are the worst saviour?"

You are next to the RPA.

I cuff it on. I think I've calmed down a bit. Just needed to let that out.

"I'm going to be clean about this. When I arrived here, I blurted out that I was these people's savior in a half-delusional haze of idiocy. They took me seriously. I honestly had no answer for that, and have just been playing along. So, you have this 'Darksteel Shepherd' wolfman, and I am still not sure how in the heck that happened, trained as a wannabe assassin going into a tower which killed all of his predecessor's backed up by a pyrotechnical faerie, a pack of spirits, and a bear cub, to get a weapon to help him save a universe he isn't from against a threat he doesn't entirely understand! At all!"

My voice has been rising to a pitch. "I have, literally, no clue what I'm doing. I nearly killed you because I lacked the will to listen to a SONG. I nearly ended your life because you were singing to yourself. I nearly broke one of the rules I don't break, because I wasn't sure if you were doing it knowing I was there. Did you know I was there?"

"I had no idea you where there...I was just singing to ease my mind...
...It is said that a threat that will wipe out all of the Great Wheel is coming. And that The Darksteel Shepard will prepare the Great Wheel to fight that threat. Then he will lead us against the threat... Sorry the Prophecy is vague on the nature of the threat...
I'm Sorry... That didn't help at all..."

She brightens up a bit

"Maybe... Would a hug make you feel better?"

Then it looks like she realizes something and then her wings droop.
"ah... I'm radiating too much heat for that to be comforting... "

Glad I got that off my chest. "Don't worry about it." I'm curious, me: what would you have done if she had told you she was trying to kill you? Pick up where you left off?

"I need to speak with the spirits at the base of the tower, and show them this." I gesture to the rifle. "I made a promise, and if I have to take this one to the gods themselves I'm keeping this one."

I had no way of knowing if my actions would help them in any way. Really, I'm not sure how the rules of ghosts work here. If it didn't help, though, my next actions would. "What's the best way out?"

"I could use the Teleportarium on the ship to get us out."

"If that gets me to the ground, then sure. It is really important that I let these spirits know I kept my end of the deal. I also need to see that I did this." Teleportarium, huh? If memory serves, it's basically "beam me up."

That could be really useful.

There is a moment of distortion and nausea and a glimpse of things best left undescribed. Fortunately it was too short for your brain to comprehend what you saw.

You are outside with her. Iri is still blasting the tower and dodging it's anti-air defences.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:51, Thu 04 Sept 2014.

"Yo! Iri! Chill with the attack! We got it!" I raise the rifle and wonder if she can even hear me. I'm now looking around for those spirits. Are they still in the tower, or did they just move on, without seeing the proof?

Or, you know, they could be right in front of me, and I'm too busy being distracted by explosions to notice them properly. That and the fact that I apparently own the Enterprise or something like it. That's...a bit much, but I'll use it.

No Prime Directive excuse for me, though.

Iri stops her attacks and dodges the last parting shots of the towers Anti-air defences.
She floats down to you and smiles.
"Yay! You did it! Who is your friend?"
The winged girl stays silent for a moment and says
"ah. I didn't introduce myself. I have had many designations before. but my first one is Utsuho Reiuji. I would be grateful if you would call me that but you may call me what you like..."

Iri says
"Hmm...That name is a bit hard to say... oh well. I'm glad to met you. My name is Iridessa but you can call me Iri!"

The Ghosts are materialising around your group.

I show off the rifle, raising it above my head one handed like Charlton Heston. "This is it, ladies and gentlemen. Now, if the knowledge that somebody got the weapon you died looking for isn't enough to send you on, I'm giving Death some very hard words. Perhaps a few bullets; I haven't completely decided yet."

"Short version: you're free. Go in peace, and with the knowledge I could not have done this without you. Your role in the wheel of fate is over."

Hopefully, that will be enough to send them on. If it isn't, I don't care what the Unconquered Sun wants, I'm taking his ship for a detour to the Underworld or whatever passes for it here. I said I'm putting these spirits to rest, and that's my mission until it is done.

This isn't my world, and their priorities are not mine. That's what they get for seeking a "Darksteel Messiah" instead of being their own heroes. They got what they where looking for: me.

There is a quiet chuckle among the dead.
"Thank you Darksteel Shepherd. We can go in peace."

They start breaking up into motes of ectoplasm and drift into the sky

"Huh. That went better then I thought it would." I lower the weapon, and turn to the other two. "Not gonna lie: still making this whole thing up as I go along. So, you two wanna come with me on rousing adventures on a spaceship...wait, who's crewing it?"

My train of thought was kind of interrupted by that thought, and absolutely would not resume until the question was answered. Also, I still don't know exactly what I'm supposed to do. I'll have to ask later.

Utsuho fidgets a bit.
"Ah... It doesn't have a crew. I didn't know how long I would be guarding that. So I dismissed them...I've been running the automated systems. but that isn't enough to make a warp jump. You will need a new crew. I would like to go with you though."

Iri says.
"This sounds awesome! No way I would miss this!"
This message was last edited by the player at 13:18, Mon 15 Sept 2014.

I knew there was a catch to this. "Okay, so how would I go about replacing them? I doubt auto systems are going to take me very far. And I don't know how long the people here are going to follow me when they realize my value and ethics are not theirs, and might be actively opposed."

What you are really trying to say is that you think the locals who trained you (mind that detail, by the way, I'm going somewhere with this, me), might have some objections to your tactics at completely their goals.

Actually, yes, self. You see, I need to ask someone what's expected of me. It might not even be what they want. In addition, if they are religious, I might end up in hot water when they find out I've been lying the whole time. I'm playing a very dangerous game.

"As an aside," I look at Reiuji, whom my brain is shortening to Rei. "what am I expected to do, anyways? Surely the person who's being trained as the equivalent of a living ballistic missile, that would be me, is being aimed at a target?"

Reiuji responds to you
"We can you the auto system to move around the crystal sphere but a warp jump would be too much for us. As for getting another crew... If I could get in contact with my superiors in the Police, I might be able to get some funding or manpower. Otherwise we need to acquire manpower on our own."

Iri chimes in
"How about the Sons of Iron? You made a bit of a name for yourself while working for them. Maybe you can convince them to be your crew."

Reiuji continues with your question
"... Yes. You are expected to prepare the Great Wheel against a threat from beyond it. And lead the fight against the ones that the prophecy calls Reapers"

The Reapers. I remember this game. And these ones somehow manage to be equally or more terrifying than their inspiration from Mass Effect, because they add Lovecraft, Phyrexia, and actual magic into it.

Ask them to be my crew...not sure...oh, yeah! I have to talk to them before going. They did ask me to get through the tower and get the treasure, in this case, a rifle. And a PDA, although they will likely be more interested in the rifle.

I'm going to keep this success low key until asked. Last thing I need are angry werewolves who don't like my lack of humility.

You return to the tribe and the elders look surprised.
"We see that you where successful on your quest. You are truly the Darksteel Shepard."

It takes all of my shaky self-control to keep my mouth shut, because at this point, I'm really not too sure anymore.

"Well, apparently a spaceship gifted from the god of the sun is a part of that package. I need a crew. Science, tactical, engineering, officer: whatever you can afford. I only need a skeleton crew. If I can get to a starport, I'll fill in the rest from there."

Based on what I know from the game, what would be a good point of recruitment to fill in the blanks? Cadia might be a good choice, as even the castoffs of a society engaged in endless war with the Abyss itself might be pretty useful, although authorization and not being seen as a force of subversion might be a trick there. Sigil...roll of the dice, might be good, might be bad, probably will be average. Baator, Gehenna, Pandamonium and Cammoragh (assuming I could even find that last at all) are not ideal choices, the cliche of these places is their citizens have Chronic Backstabbing Disorder (except Pandamonium, but it is almost a prison plane and anyone there probably doesn't like people).

I need a navigator. A guide, someone to give me a start. Of course, if it is up to me and nobody has any ideas, I'm starting with Cadia if the crew is shorthanded. If we are not, I need to know the history of my enemy. What have they done in the past? What worked for them? What mistakes did they make then, and can I use that knowledge to anticipate what mistakes they will make today?

"hmmmm... A crew you say? You did make quiet an impression on the Sons of Iron platoon you served with. They would be capable Marines, Voidsmen and Engineers. Hmmm... You will need a Navigator. We have one that just finished her training. This will be a good learning experience for her.
as for the other stations...We have an engineer... Tech Priest Scott... He can be difficult. but he is a good engineer.
we really don't have anyone to fill the other roles."

Reiuji speaks up.
"I could serve as ether a Tactical Officer or Science Officer. And Iri can serve as a science officer with some training. You are obviously the Captain"

Captain? Not my first choice, not going to lie. I'm not really an inspiring figure once I get rolling; I tend to err on the side of mortal terror. Still, take what I get. The other posts are likely good choices; I'm simply going to have to trust they know what they are doing most of the time.

I also need something I'm not sure who I can trust with, but I need spies. I'm going to need information regarding the foe, and I'm going to have to find a way to infiltrate the ranks of my foe, or find a discontented foe and turn them. Based on the Reapers, I'm really not sure how I'd do that, and I think they would be better at it then me. Still, I've got some ideas, and I definitely have some counter-intelligence ideas. Not sure if they are good, though.

"I'll take whoever you can afford. I'm aware I'm basically a...foreigner who is shaking things up. I'm grateful for the assistance at my most sacred mission." I give a slight bow of gratitude.

Are you seriously still saying garbage like that? After what you just went through? Do you have the memory of a goldfish?

The Elder smiles
"Indeed."

Reiuji say
"If you can gather them together, I can Get the ship to transport them up."

Elder replies
"I'll get them together as soon as possible. I'll send a message when I have them together."

Well, that's settled. Don't know if I would trust Iri to be the Science Officer, unless science here is magic. I'm going to have to figure out who is good at what. I'm Captain, that rank is pretty clear relevant to vessals. I'm also going to need a recruiter (to deal with the attrition of a battle vessel) and a supplier (someone who can get us what we need at low prices). Logistics...I'm going to need the advice of someone experienced. In short, I need to know my crew, earn their trust...wow.

I was never good at leadership. Guess I had to learn sometime.

The Elder leaves.
Iri seems to be excited.
Reiuji's expression seems neutral.

Do you want to talk with them or should I move on?

Iri I can pin down, but it Reiuji I need to speak with.

"What's on your mind?" I intend to get from her the concerns she might possess. Maybe leaving a powerful superweapon from a sun god of being a total bro in the hands of a person who's ethics take a goodbye trip when he is frightened? Which is pretty much all the time in this place.

Shut up, brain.

"...Could you walk with me for a bit, Ed?"

Assuming that you go with her. She start talking when you are out of earshot of the others.

"Do you ever worry that you will be replaced and then thrown away?"
This message was last edited by the player at 19:54, Sun 12 Oct 2014.

I actually laugh at this one, and its genuine instead of contemptuous. I hope, anyways, because I'm trying to empathize.

"Yeah. You encountered me as I really am. I'm not a savior, and literally anyone with training could do what I'm doing right now. I'm just lucky, for better or worse. Give it time, though. 'Lucky' isn't the blessing others make it out to be. Getting hit by a meteorite is 'lucky,' too."

"So, yeah. I can be replaced in the long run. Today, however, I'm indispensable, and if you want to travel with me, you can be indispensable today as well."

"Mainly, I need someone to tell me what I should be doing. I also need to read this prophecy for myself. I actually have a really stupid idea involving them."

Tears start coming from her eyes after you tell her that.

"Sorry, my optics seem to be malfunctioning...
Thank you. I can advise you on your path... reading the Prophecy is going to be more difficult. It is in an ancient language. Would a translation be sufficient?"

"Even if it doesn't translate smoothly, the Prophecy would be nice to know. Everyone seemed to think I already knew it, and I really didn't know how to break it that I didn't. Also wasn't given the shot." Any wiggle room I have, I'll take. And if I go against it, I'll just later claim that I know better, being the actual prophet in question.

I've got to work on my act if I'm going to pull this one off. Still, I've done it for months. Now I'm under more intense and personal scrutiny.

She replies
"In that case I will tell you the translation we have. There was some damage to the text so we don't have the full prophecy...

An Ancient Evil is Awakening to march against The Great Wheel until nothing pure remains.
But a savior will appear from beyond the Astral Sea even beyond the Far Realm.
On the Planet of Forests ruled by the descendants of the Eldar.
A savior will appear who's will will become as Darksteel to Shepard the Great Wheel and lead it to victory. The Bound Sage will reveal to The Darksteel Shepard the nature of his existence. They will Fight a Great Beast of Adamant and the Bound Sage will be slain. The Darksteel Shepard will fight with savage cunning and The Fickle Lady will Exalt him according to his nature. The Compassionate Fire will aid him from the Destruction of Fire and Earth. Then the sky will darken with ash.
He will come from the sea on a Shell of Adamant. The Tribe of Silver and Iron will train him in great and terrifying arts. He will brave the Tower of the Sun for a weapon against the Darkness and lay the spirits of the dead to rest. The abandoned Oricalcum Bird will follow him out of the tower and carry him among the crystal spheres. He will go to planet deprived of the Unconquered Suns light by the Tribe of Darkness and the Immortal White Reaper. He will bring the Glory of the Sun to that dark place and free the People from Darkness. The Tribe of Darkness will struggle mightily against them but he will overcome them with the spirits of the planet...

There is damage to the text here that makes it unreadable. But the last sentance is

And thus the Darksteel Shepard will lead the Great Wheel against the Reapers and save it against destruction."

Tribes of Darkness and Immortal White Reaper? Likely someone who doesn't have a use for being nice. I likely could figure this one out with more time. As long as I don't get killed before getting through that liberation part, the rest I can work with. It's vague enough that I can use it to my advantage. Heck, I could probably pick a target, rationalize it, and lead a crusade against what might be the wrong target.

I'd like to at least come close to hitting the right targets, as long as I'm just going to make this up.

"Who do you think the tribes are? They sound like the Baatorians to me, but that description is kind of vague. This 'Immortal White Reaper' might be the clue to learning who they are." For those not in the know, Baator is one of the systems in this setting, modeled closely after the Nine Hells of D&D, but with some important differences; namely, the tiefling natives use Chaos as a means to an end, rather than opposing it on principle. They are much more unpredictable and dangerous in this setting, and this world's hat is "ambition". I'm hoping that's not the world I need to go to.

She replies
"The pollution is extensive on Baator but it hasn't gotten to the point that it shields then from their sun. Based on the line part "He will go to planet deprived of the Unconquered Suns light" I fine it unlikely that you need to go there. I'm not sure where it is refering though..."

"This is a surprisingly high number of potential worlds if that's the criterion. It could even be an Abyss world or the Dark Eldar world of Commerragh. Let's get a look at a galactic map, and listen to news. Maybe something will turn up."

My thoughts? No matter, really. Sigil's still a good first stop, for the information, if nothing else.

"Yes Captain."

She looks distracted for a moment.

"It seems that the elder has gathered your crew together. Let's go and see them."

I've got no issue with that idea. Learning my crew will be the hardest part, beyond actually learning the difference between what phrases they will use that are serious, and which ones they have invented just to mess with the guy who doesn't know better. They might be convinced I'm the Shepherd now, but a few months out, and they might start having second thoughts.

Still, that prophecy of theirs was pretty specific. I can see why they would be convinced.

She Leads you to the elder and your crew. About forty men are standing in formation. You worked with quite a few of them before. There is one man stands seperatly you haven't seen before. He is short but broad and wear the red Techpriest robes. He has three Mechadendrites sprouting from his back.

The Elder turn to you.
"Allow me to introduce you to Techpriest Scotty."

He Speaks in a thick Scottish accent.
"oi. I heard that you have a old ship that has ancient technology. And You need a Techpriest to work the damn thing."

Techpriest Scotty? Oh, boy...

"Pleasure to meet you. And you heard correctly." I'm guessing, anyways. Techpriest sounds pretty useful. Probably like a mechanic who takes his job really seriously. I'm holding the smarmy remark asking about First Mate Spock and company. For all I know, the universe might decide that's who my first mate IS, and they'll just use it as affirmation of who I am. If that is who I am, and I'm becoming increasingly convinced it is, I'd like it to be because of my actions rather than because someone said so.

Reiuji speaks up.
"Captain. Since most of the crew is here, Should I use the Teleportarium to move the crew to the ship?"

Scotty's eyes widen a bit and he says
"You got a Teleportarium? By the Omnissiah I must see it!"

I smile at the Techpriest. "You're about to get an up close look of it. Beam us up, Reiuji."

First, she probably wouldn't appreciate the shorthand of her name. Second...it's close enough to something everyone has wanted to say. You know of what I speak, dear reader.

You feel space distort and you don't see anything too terrible during the trip.
You see a large room with metal walls. There is hardly anything in here besides your crew, Scotty and Reiuji

There are a few mechanical doors.

"Alright, let's get a look at our new home, shall we?" Captain's quarters, bridge, communications, exactly what my job is...things like that.

Reiuji says
"Welcome aboard the Righteous Fury of the Dawn.
Allow me to give a tour of the ship. Please Follow me."

As you follow her you notice that the bulkheads of the ship are unusually thick.
"This ship was constructed five hundred years ago by the Blessed Pantheon and then gifted to the police to spread law and order across the Great Wheel."

You can hear a hint of pride in her voice as she speaks about the ship.
"She was created with many ancient Syrneth technologies and the best craftmanship that the Blessed Order has to offer. She is Unrivalled in her class and can take on Battleships, Destroyers and Dreadnoughts on an equal or better footing. She is a Threasher-class Frigate and is 1521 meters long. Her main power source is an Oricalcum Reactor. She is without a doubt the most advance ship in the Great Wheel."

You enter the Bridge of the ship. It looks rather advance compared to what you would expect from a 40K ship. It has an obvious solar aesthetic with gold decorations and sunburst designs.

"This is the Bridge. Communications is over there. the Captain's seat is over there and there is the helmsman station...oh the Captains quarters is down the hall here. Would you Like me to show it to you, Captain?"

Thresher-class...I'd have to brief myself on a sense of scale, so I could tell what all of these terms meant. The Captain's Quarters would probably have a datalog of some kind in them, something I could use to access information. Surf this world's web.

"That should be the last stop we visit. Once I've seen everything else, I'll relax in captain's quarters until the crew is situated." I do need to learn a lot, and maybe the tour will help.

"Yes sir. I should probably link up your Resplendent Personal Assistant to the ship's computer. Anyway, Please follow me."

She leads you and the crew around the ship and explains how various machines work on the ship.
She leads you deep into the guts of the ship then you enter a huge room with a large spherical cage made of a golden material in the middle of it with cables tethering it to the floor and celling.
Inside of the cage floats a Irregular shaped piece of the same golden material. It is surrounded in a corona of golden-white fire with arcs of golden lighting shooting out to the cage.
The golden material seems to glow with an inner fire like the golden material on your Long Las.

"This is the Oricalcum reactor. The Heart of Gold that powers the entire ship...
There was an ancient Promethean named Righteous Oricalcum Fist. She served the Blessed Order for 600 years. It was said that she was as kind as circumstances allowed but ultimately she was a weapon against Chaos... One that was willing to be forged into a better weapon...
She sacrificed her Pyros reactor to allow this ship to be constructed around her heart...
She is what allows this ship to be so advanced and strong.
So please treat her well."

Huh. The ship is literally alive. And it has a heart of gold. There is a song here, but my brain can't quite recall it.

"And the ship has a gender. I'll keep that in mind. I'm ready to visit quarters. I'll learn more as the crew explains things to me." I know only the basics of seamanship, and a lot of that will not apply here.

She takes you though the crew quarters and it looks like there is enough rooms for about 400 people.

She takes you back to the captain's cabin. The door opens and the room is sparse. with just a bed and a desk. You are a bit surprised to see a few stuffed animals on the bed.

Reiuji fidgets a bit and looks embarrassed.
"Sorry Captian... I told my crew to put them into storage... I didn't expect them to leave them here..."

"That's...quite alright. You'll probably be wanting those more than me anyhow." Okay, so the bed has been tested. I'm assuming it's comfy given she set up base here.

Other than that, spartan quarters. Good. The fewer distractions, the easier it will be for me to just absorb what I'm doing.

That bed reminds me. "Reiuji, I'm taking a nap. I've been up all night, and I am really tired. See you when I wake up. Don't launch the ship without me. I want to be awake when it leaves this planet."

She picks up the stuffed animal off the bed.
"I'll get the ship ready to go as you sleep, Captain."
She leaves though the door
So are you going to sleep are are you going to read with your RPA?

Sleep time. RPA can wait; I've been up all night. Mythic heroes need rest too.

You go to sleep in a comfortable bed and dream strange but meaningless dreams of a golden woman talking nonsense to you.

You are coming to. You feel rested. You think you hear Iri's voice in the distance say "This is Amazing!"

Okay, the ship is sentient, and trying to tell me things. That's a wonderful thought to wake up to in the morning.

In any event, I shake myself awake, get dressed, and prepare to meet the crew. But first, I test out the new RPA. I need to be have at least cursory familiarity with the vessel, so when I give an order, I have some idea what I'm talking about. I'll have to learn when Scotty says "We don't have enough power!" if he is saying 'that will be difficult' or 'we don't have enough power,' meaning impossible.

I was never very good at being authority, unless it is being an attack dog. This will take some getting used to.

You get dressed and start learning how to use the RPA. The operating system is remarkably intuitive and easy to use. Everything is arranged in the way that makes the most sense to you. Honestly it feels like a team of the best programmers to ever exist got together for 5 years to program an operating system that would be perfect for you.

Anyway it is easy to figure out how to access the ships library computer and from there learn an overview of the ships systems.

After about an hour of the wikiwalk. You feel like you would know the bacis of what you are talking about with the ship.

Well, time to go to the bridge and see who is assembled. I need to work on a rousing speech or something. It feels right for the maiden voyage. Or maybe I should just shut up and proceed as if this is all normal for me.

I'm personally presuming the ship is reading my mind while I'm sleeping, and remodeling its systems just for me. I pity anyone else; when I do organize things, it tends to be a bit strange. It makes sense to me, but not really to anyone else.

Back to the bridge journey: Speech, or no speech? I never thought this would be difficult...

You return to the bridge. You see Scotty hard at work with a console. He's cussing up a storm at it.
you see a young looking elf near him she is wearing a robe and carrying a staff. She has a headband over her forehead.
There are a few other people monitoring other systems.

Okay, everyone is busy. No speech.

I move up to the Captain's chair and I start experimenting with it. Interface, all that. What functions it has, and who knows? Maybe I'll discover something innovative with it.

You start messing with the controls.
The screen flashes red and then says 'Error Error. Warp Drive Engaged'

You feel space distort and one moment in time feels like it stretched out for two weeks. then you feel space return to normal and time resumes it's normal flow.

Scotty is now really going at it with the swearing and the elf now looks sick.

I fumble for the intercom. "Calm down, everyone. This is your captain speaking, I seem to have...accidentally engaged the hyperdrive and sent us through the Warp. I don't know why that button is on this chair. Scotty, do me and favor and ensure I need more approval before I can do that again. If an enemy gets in this chair, I want him to work his rear end off making this thing move anywhere, am I understood?"

I am having to restrain myself from laughing my head off at the situation. I was hoping for a bit more drama and got this instead.

I add cheerfully. "On the other hand, we are well underway, crew! We have made it out off port, and the journey has begun in earnest. Be ready for anything. Consider this a security test, and I will be armed and going from room to room looking for anything and anyone out of place. If I don't like what I see, I'm probably killing it, so be on your best form!"

I exit the chair, and go for any weapons and armor I have acquired. The crew is going to remember the captain's first tour of his ship. I need to make them wonder if I am honestly that stupid, or putting on one hell of an act. I need them really wondering the second more than the first.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:19, Wed 26 Nov 2014.

You grab your laser Rifle and iron bamboo spear.
Your first stop is the mess hall. Five crew members are here.
Where you enter, One of them immediately stands at attention and shouts "Officer on Deck!"
The others stand at attention.

Close enough. "At ease. We have engaged in an unexpected warp jump, and we are checking for any signs of warp sickness, possession, or anything else that could demoralize the hell out of the crew should it come to pass. In addition, if anything strange has been seen, reporting it would be wise."

Likely, after I'm finished making my crew wonder about my mental state, we will have bearing on just where in the galaxy at large I am.

You go throughout your ship and the crew are prompt and disciplined in their greeting. You detect no sign of Warp contamination and return to the bridge. Iridessa, Reiuji, Scotty and that young elf from before are there. When you come in Reiuji notices you and walks up to you.

"Active Augury indicates that there is no Warp corruption in the ship. Unfortunately our Geller Field was damaged at the end of our transit... We are outside an unknown Crystal Sphere. It has a yellow sun and 7 planets. One of which is inhabitable but there is strange warp reading coming from it."

"Get more detail on that. And you." I point to the elf. "We have not introduced ourselves yet. Who are you?"

Time to get underway. I also sit in the captain's chair again, making sure the buttons are not something I will accidentally hit.

Reiuji replies "We would have to enter the crystal sphere to get a more detailed scan."

The elf bows slightly to you. She is about as tall as you but thin and frail. She has pale skin, blue eyes and blond hair.
"Greetings Captain Edward. I am Aenel, the new navigator of this ship."
You feel her starring into your soul.
"Hmmm... Interesting. "

------------------

You sit in the captain's chair.

"I've given that response to people quite a few times. I now understand how infuriatingly vague that is to your opinion of what you see." I'm smiling as I tell her this, because I get the joke, intentional or not.

"Enter the system. Who dares, wins." I think for a second after I make that rather awesome statement (thank you, SAS). "Also, is there an instruction manual for this chair? I'm afraid I might confuse 'contact personnel' with 'purge the vessel of breathable air.'"

And there goes all aspect of me being awesome. Did the previous captain have this kind of trouble?

She laughs quietly at that. "Well said."

Your RPA Displays an instruction manual to the ship.

the Others move to their stations and guild the ship into the crystal sphere.
You approach the inhabitable planet. it is sorounded in a blood red shroud.

Reiuji says
"Active Augury indicates that the shroud is blocking the vast majority of the sunlight to the planet and seem to be filtering Pelor's influence from the sunlight.

"Right. Any clue as to the cause of the shroud? And second question, how much of the life on the planet hates sunlight? This is important before I do anything rash." I'm still not liking this chair. It doesn't like me back.

"Cause Unknown. But it seems to be coming from the planet itself. There are large concentrations of Undead on the planet. They seem to be vulnerable to sunlight... What's going on here? How did humans survived down there."

"Vampires, or a variant thereof, if I had to guess. Humans survived because they are necessary for 'life' to perpetuate down there. The shroud is likely due to ritualistic sorcery." I shrug. "Admittedly another guess. But I'd rather have a guess with foundations in logic than nothing."

Vampires or not, I must confess to balking at the idea of opening up the shroud with onboard weaponry like the vengeance of God. First off, that's a lot of collateral damage to the planet below. Second, that's an act of war, and I'd rather talk to the parasites before I start killing them. They could be useful allies against the greater threat I'm prophesied to deal with.

"Find an open broadcast channel. Diplomatic. I'd like to talk to their representative." I'm just making this up. I have no idea if they even have one. They do on Star Trek.

Reiuji says "There seems to be very little in the way of vox communication down there. I'll try hailing them on a few frequencies."

After a few minutes you get a response.
You hear a deep male voice that drips with arrogance.

"Who dares use the aristocratic communication channel without permission?"

"That phrase keeps coming up. It is a good omen." I smile as I speak. "I am Mentat, Darksteel Shepherd, captain of the Righteous Fury of the Dawn, and present representative of the Iron Masters tribe. Your aristocratic channel requires better encryption, if you really have an issue with potential allies talking to you on it. I have a man who could help you with that, if you are willing to talk."

"Oh? Darksteel Shepherd and You have a Voidship. I would suggest that you leave the system and let us tend to our serfs. Your kind are not welcome here."


Reiuji indicates that she is not broadcasting for a moment.
"We are running on a skeleton crew. If they can project force in space. We'll have problems fighting them."

"'Your kind?'" I am a little intrigued. "Sir, my voidship came here after a malfunction got me here. I'm not interested in interrupting any relationship you have with your serfs. In fact, this could be an excellent opportunity for the both of us to work out a mutually beneficial deal: if you have problems on your world, I can offer to assist with them."

"Maybe something about a Reaper?" This is me gambling.

"Reaper? What are you talking about? I..."

Another voice interrupts him.
"He's a mere baron in the Vampire's hierarchy. He won't know what you are talking about. There are ancient ruins down here with lost technology. Maybe there is something down here that can fix your ship. The Vampires arn't good with technology though, as demonstrated by the lack of encryption on this channel . Sort of make's you wonder how they got that Parasol System up or made their Casket armours.They got them about thirty years ago."

Time to acquaint myself with the new voice on the line. "You know who we are, and who might you be, Mister Mystery Guest?" Any dialogue I can make and non-hostile force awaiting me will be appreciated.

"I am Trinity. Leader of the Solar Gunslingers. The Name of your ship suggests that you would be sympathetic to our goals."

"We shall see. Give us coordinates and we will send a landing party." The only question will be who will make up this landing party.

This also reminds me I have no idea who my First Mate is: a rather important role considering it is my second-in-command, and the person who commands when I am away for whatever reason, like being asleep or not on the ship.

"I'll send you the data in a narrowcast"

It seems to be an out of the way part of an city.

Reiuji asks.
"Who shall go on this landing party?"

This is what I get for being asleep when my crew formed. I have no idea who has what role.

"I'm going. Security officer should pick out-" I pause to consider a number. "-four to go with me. Our security officer shall remain on board." Qualifications for second in command. Not warrior; that's security. "Who knows about every role on this vessel, and can do any of them in an emergency?"

Reiuji says
"We haven't determined who is the head security officer yet. I could serve in most every role except Navigator."

"Welcome to your new post, First Mate Reiuji. You have full discretion while I am away. Find the best warrior on the ship, one other than yourself, and assign them the role of Security Officer. He will assign four men to the position of honor guard while I am below. One caveat: I need them to have a brain, and to know when NOT to use force. You have one hour, and I am trusting you to this task."

I return to my quarters to prepare for the trip below. I'm leaving the spear behind, although I honestly should mount the tip as a bayonet on my rifle at some point.

She does a perfect salute and says "Aye aye Captain" And walks to do the task.

What are you doing to prepare?

I like the backpack, but it will be cumbersome for what should be a diplomatic mission, so it's getting left. Keeping the rifle. Weapons are perfectly suited for diplomacy; makes sure no one gets the dumb idea of bringing hidden weapons to assassinate, unless they are of the suicidal persuasion. I need to attune the teleport system to my device on my arm, as well as communications, if that is not already done.

And a knife. Always need my knife.

You finish your preparations and return to the bridge to find that Reiuji has selected the most senior officer for the post of Security Officer. He is a grizzled old human warrior named Leoardo Ferrus. You served under him for a bit during your time with The Sons of Iron. He has already selected the four men that will go with you.

Suits me. We shall see what myself and these men are like when we get planetside. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are going into what might be a potential ambush situation. Remember: it's only paranoia if I am wrong. I have no idea how these sun worshipers or whatever they are calling themselves survived on a vampire controlled planet long enough to get a device that lets them communicate with a starship, when the main government themselves seems to have all the political power and financial strength of a tin pot dictatorship."

"Be on your guard. Make no friends until we have established their intentions; that's my job until then. To the teleporter."

You head to the teleporter chamber and Scotty operates it and with a moment of nausea you appear in front of a bar in a run down looking town.

"I am not in the mood for a drink after that. This is a terrible choice for a meeting place." I draw my weapon. "Cover!"

I am getting out of the open spaces and moving towards cover immediately. I'm looking for vantage points and am presently paranoid about an ambush.

Your men go for cover with trained military precision in the ruin of a building next to the bar. You have a good vantage point here.

After a tense minute, you see three men in old western dusters and weird sunglasses walking down the street out in the open.

I have a hard time believing that they'd just walk down the street without some form of covering fire. They have an angle to be that fearless. That, or they don't believe the force they claim to be fighting is smart enough to fake a call from outworlders to flush them out.

I'll roll with this.

I pantomime "wait here," and move myself down to them, rifle in resting position. If all else fails, I can become a rampaging terror monster, so if they get the idea of taking me prisoner, or something dumb like that, I can leave at will.

I wave when I am down at street level.

They look around a bit and the main one raises an eyebrow when he notices something.
He waves back at you and then walk to within ten feet of you.
"Captain Edward I presume?"

He is about as tall as you with short brown hair and slightly tanned skin.

And I lower my weapon to him, finger on the trigger. "I don't recall giving anyone on this planet that name. Explain."

In my mind, I'm counting down from five. I'm also looking for the nearest cover I can roll into, then I'll shoot him if I don't like his answer.

"My Star Reader... You would call her a Divination Specialist. Has told me a bit about you. She keeps going on about you being our only hope and that I'm the one that needs to explain the situation to you"

I need to ask if navigators can steal ideas from each other. That would be both a breach of security and an asset.

I do not lower the weapon. "She didn't divine to you that I'm easily spooked by strangers knowing information about me. Again, explain away." Funny that, given how I reacted to a tribe expecting me.

I shift slightly to a nearby corner, so to give my backup a better shot at them if they feel the need to take it. I don't want to make my movements too suspicious, though.

"True. Star Reading is imperfect. Anyway, You are currently on a Planet called Magiddo. The Planet is ruled by vampires. They have ruled for a long while but our group The Gunslinger Guild has opposed them for just as long. We where doing fairly good up until about ten years ago. They got a new system that they call The Parasol. It blocks the spiritual part of sunlight that kills them and their minions. The brightest it gets now is twilight. They also got Casket armor around that time. Before we could take on a vampire if we worked together. But if they have their Casket armor, then it's suicide"

I balk at telling them I could probably tear one of these monsters apart by myself. That would not be helpful at all. Instead, I raise my weapon.

"So, you either want off this planet, you want reinforcements, supplies...either way, you have something in mind, since you've been expecting me." Hopefully they will drop their guard. If they have hostile intent, I don't intend to let them know I'm being covered.

He seems calm and at ease but you feel like that can change in a split second.

"Well. Technology doesn't come from nowhere. And Vampires are not known for being technological innovators. I think that something gave them the technology. I was hoping that you would help us strike at the root of the problem."

"I have a guess as to what might be behind it. I'm just still trying to figure out what that is. Sounds cryptic as hell, but it's all I've got right now." I lower my weapon. To be honest, they are probably doing the same thing I'm doing. "You still haven't told me what you have in mind for me. Just what you expect the result to be."

"Well, since you can conveniently show up wherever you want on this planet. I was hoping that you would run some covert operations against some major vampires."

"I can show up, until they realize I'm in orbit, which they already do, and until they realize how anti-aircraft technology works. At that point, I cannot show up whenever I feel like it."

I think a moment. "On the other hand, I could use to know where their tech is centered at. So if that was what you had in mind, sure, I'll go for that."

"Yes, That would be helpful in the long run. Another one of our concerns would be taking out the Parasol System. Fighting vampires is almost impossible without a source of sunlight."

I wonder for a moment if my foes of the moment, the vampires, are actually stupid enough to keep all their high-tech in one place. For that matter, I wonder if they actually understand it, because I get the impression they do not. I don't either, but I haven't played with it yet.

I also noticed that I haven't actually been given any information. "Sooooo...I don't know where I'm supposed to be looking for any of the things you have talked about, aside from the Parasol system, which is clearly visible from orbit. A planet is a rather large body to search. Would you mind narrowing my search down a few thousand kilometers for me?"

"We'll do better than that. The first Vampire with partial control of the Parasol System is in The Hunting Mansion two miles north of town."

Miles. I can work with that measurement, and I'm glad. Thought I might need to go metric or something.

Of course, I'm just glad it translates as miles instead of something like gladnis, or something crazy like that.

"I'll be back in a moment. I need to talk to my team." I wave to the team hiding out and then activate my PDA. "Reiuji, report. What's my situation look like from your position?"

"You've gathered quite a bit of info on the local situation. I wish he told more about the Vampires Casket Armor. I sound dangerous and I have not heard of it before."

"Sounds like some kind of powered armor designed to deal with sunlight, or other vampire weaknesses. Might be a new tech relative to this world. Probably hand-to-hand, or possesses some kind of siphoning systems designed to let the vampire enjoy blood while armored. See if you can access some kind of outside information on it, or promote someone to be in charge of that, like Iri or someone similarly inclined to study the arcane. Unless you have a recommendation to the contrary, I'm taking the team to this location. If nothing else, I can give it a look."

A lot of that was extropolation. No basis in reality or fact at present. Still, my brain is inclined to guess. Hopefully, it's a lousy armor made by and for primitives who think tech is just the coolest thing ever.

"I'll promote Iridessa to research the Casket Armor. But I don't think she'll find much in the ship's archives. I'll have Techprist Scotty try to access the computers on the surface of the world for information. Be careful Captain, outside of the town you are in, there are high concentrations of undead. Thankfully Your Longlas Is consecrated by the Unconquered Sun to fight the undead. And Undead vulnerable to sunlight are especially damaged by your weapon."

"Thanks for the update. Continue research and keep me posted on any changes." I look back to... "By the way, who are you?"

Reiuji responds with.
"Affirmative. Over and out."

The guy smiles a bright and sunny smile
"My name is Aaron. and I'm a Gun Master of the Gunslingers Guild.
I haven't seen anyone with a Vindicator Sniper Rifle like yours before."

Edit: I messed up on the name. That's what i get for not reading though the thread to refamiliarize myself with it. oh well. I can roll with this instead.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:42, Thu 04 June 2015.

"To be honest, neither have I." I signal to my team to return to me. My words are to them now. "Gentlemen, we are hunting feral undead. My weapon is apparently exceptional at killing them."

Once I walk out of the town, and arrive at the perimeter like I'm actually going vampire hunting, out of earshot of Aaron, I speak anew to my escorts. "Gentlemen, I say a lot of things, and what I say and what I intend aren't always the same thing. All I know of the situation is that my communications were severed and redirected towards these 'gunslingers' and that I have yet to open a diplomatic channel with any legitimate power on this planet. If I'm to fight these Reapers, I'll take any allies I can get. So, no killing until attacked. This is a scouting operation only."

I get back on broadcast. "Reiuji, we aren't quite done yet. I need someone to open up a diplomatic line with one of these vampires. I don't care about morality, or that they are condescending and arrogant. This is their world at the moment, and if the Reapers are here, they are a threat to vampiric sovereignty. That makes them at least the enemy of my enemy."

you are at the edge of town when you talk to your men and call Reiuji

Reiuji responds over your RPA "I'll work on getting in contact with one that is willing to talk to us."

In the distance you hear a horn sound out.
The few humans you see in town scatter into the buildings.

"Gentlemen, to the town. Let's get into killing positions. It will start clean, and then devolve into a close combative disaster." I get on the comm once more. "If you get word that this town is lost, torch it. Make our funerals into pyres."

I'm moving quickly back to the building we started in. That was a pretty good position, and we will pick off many foes. "Set up explosives, traps, whatever we can get just past the entry points. I want them to try and avoid them, or warn the others. The point of these traps isn't to kill, it's to delay and terrorize. And if they turn around to scream a warning, shoot them in the back, and thank God they are stupid for doing so."

Time to set up traps.

You fall back to the building behind the bar and your team sets up some claymore mines.
In the distance you see what appears to be a robotic centaur galloping towards town.
it's armor is predominately painted red and is carrying a lance.

I cock my head at the sight of the thing. "Didn't expect that. Guess I'll be saying that a lot."

My traps are simpler: anything that is sharp, or can be made sharp, is set up as a second line behind and around the claymores.

I line up a shot with my rifle, and take the time to use my Bracer to run a formula adjusting my aim for wind. I seriously need to learn how to aim like that. "Let's say hello. Let's aim for their toy's skull and bust it open on my mark. It might not kill it, but hopefully we will make it blind and stupid."

Once I feel my aim is good enough, I'm shooting it, just after whispering "Now".

Your RPA informs you that since a Long Las fires a bolt of coherent light it is not affected by wind. Gravity affects it a very small amount but at this range you can ignore it. what you have to worry about is atmospheric conditions. Fog or smoke can really affect the power of your shot.

You aim for the perfect head shot. It is unaware of you or your men as they line up the shots with their Lasguns. it is about 55 yard away.

You give your signal and fire off a bolt of coherent sunfire. It strikes the centaur armor in the head and it burns deeply into it and produces a large amount of black smoke. Your men fire and four find their mark  while one glances off the armor.

You hear an inhuman scream of pain and it turns around and flees extremely fast. You feel like you'll have one or two potshots at it before it gets really hard to hit.

Two shots? Nah, let his men see him run with his tail between his legs. I'm aiming my next shot for a target I don't like that isn't smart enough to run from my lasers.

Of course, if he's my only target, I'm aiming one lone shot into his buttocks. I don't need him dead anymore; this is actually better.

You see a skeleton that is watching him run away and blast it for being to stupid to run itself.

Ah, skeleton. Wonder if they are sentient here. Might have implications later.

I wonder if they are getting reinforcements. "Watch the sides. They might have been scared off, or they might be forming plan B." I start scoping for additional people, those they might have been chasing.

You don't see any ambushes from his forces. But Thundercub speaks in your mind.

I sensed something from that armor. Like an elemental spirit was trapped within it and in pain.

The other people are still hiding in their homes.

So, destroying these armors is a public service. Or at least modifying the creation process so that it doesn't have a nasty effect on the spirit. The first will be done until the latter is established as possible.

"Reiuji, you are my eyes in the sky, how's the perimeter look up there? Are those unlife forms leaving, or are more on the way?"

If she gives me an all-clear, I'm talking to these people in the houses. I need to know what the rulers on this part of the planet are like.

Reiuji replies
"They seem to be retreating away from the town Sir."

How are you approaching the first one?

I get off the roof, walk up to the front door...have a second thought on that one and attempt to sweep for traps, because people do not exist in vacuums and aren't stupid, and if I'm satisfied with what I see, I knock, like a civilized person.

"They are withdrawing. Are you okay?"

My weapon is shouldered. Having it ready might unnerve them a bit.

You don't find any traps on the outside.

You knock and after a bit a small window opens up on the door so that a young woman looks out at you. She studies you for a bit and the main door opens.

"Yes. They haven't taken anyone from my family."

"Good. See to it that it stays that way. Now, who has authority here, and isn't trying to kill you. Please do not say 'you, sir.'"

I keep an eye on my surroundings. I'm also rather paranoid about this door. I'm not standing in front of it.

She replies
"This town has a mayor but he doesn't have much real power. The Gunslinger guild helps keep the law in this town."

You see past the woman that the door it trapped. it looks as if it would shoot a stake though the heart if you opened the door the wrong way.

Huh. I was right. Might not kill me at this point, but good that I noticed all the same.

"And where would the Gunslingers be at right now? And should I be looking for them?" I likely already spoke to them, but I want to hear her take.

"Most will be around the edge of town killing the undead that get too close. If you want to fight the undead I would recommend talking to them."

Edge of town. Right. "Team, we are relocating once more. Let's insure we have a clear zone back to our building in case we need to fall back to it. I'm fairly sure the undead should be on the run now. Move out."

We march. Should be hearing gunfire.

As you approach the edge of town you hear the occasional sound of a gun that is like yours firing. Not quite the sound of a lasgun but close. Following the sound you find a unit of twenty guys firing on the undead that get too close.

I gesture to the team for low profile, and I crawl towards the sound of gunfire. Don't want to get shot on accident. From this direction, they should be safe, but these folk likely don't know that, so I'm waiting for the gunfire to either die down a bit, or for the sounds of attack to make themselves clear. I need to know who is where.

Difficult from down here, but I'll try and manage something. I hope.

Your team takes cover from the direction of gunfire and then you crawl towards the direction of gunfire.

One notices you.
"Halt! Who are you and what do you want?"

"An ally, provided your cards are played right. Dealt with the one inside the battle suit. He lived, but his minions won't ever respect him again." Keeping cover for now, don't see any reason to tip too much of my hand. If I'm seen, let them figure out what they can for themselves.

"You caused the Margrave to retreat? How did you do that? Most of the time our solar guns are ineffective against him."

"Well, apparently I happen to have a weapon they hate. Something about 'concentrated sunlight' if I had to take a stab at it." I maintain cover. They are still fighting something. "By the way, what are you shooting at, and do you need me to kill it from a particular direction?"

"Our weapons fire that too. but it's not enough to go though his armor."

He fires off a few shots.

"We're fighting off a raid from the undead. We could use some help."

"Okay, let's try this again." I am not bothering to hide my irritation. "What would make you happy, that I can do right now? I swear if you say 'we are fighting them' or anything that obvious again, I'm shooting at you."

He looks a bit irritated at your comment.

"Sneak into a flanking position and start firing. We'll give you covering fire"

"Gotcha. See you once they are dead or routed." Well, I'm off to a fantastic start with my would-be allies.

My unit and myself will be moving away from his unit, and we move with our heads down to flank the enemy force. This is when most of the stupid things in battle happen: when two forces with a tenuous alliance converge on a foe. We need to be very careful not to shoot one another.

You move out to flank the enemy and find them to mostly be skeleton archers and zombies with putrid green skin that spit our gobs of purple liquid at the defenders. they are using cover against the defenders Unfortunately they are not in cover against you although you are somewhat exposed out here.

Archers? Okay, so the vampire overlords normally disdain tech. The robot suit is not normal for them, and normally these holdouts do what they can because they are not held back by some misguided notions of "superior" magic and "fair play."

That balance is changing, and I'm thinking even Captain Kirk would say his non-interference law doesn't really apply here: someone else beat me to the punch.

As long as I'm exposed, I might as well do what I do best. I get prone, and open fire, taking shots at the zombies. I figure liquid could behave like a grenade, or make poisoned zones that burn your feet off while the archers kill them with direct shots. So I say, change that equation: kill those rotters.

You aim...and boom Headshot! The Undead turns into dust from the force of your solar bolt. This alerts the others but they don't know where you are yet.

Well, hopefully, the other guys will start actually threatening them before my team gets turned into pincushions.

My tactic is simple: keep firing rounds into them until there are no more enemy. I can't readily shift my position, because I might roll into my own team's line of fire. My weapon is also not an assault weapon, so moving and firing are out of the question.

You blast a few more as your team moves into position. By the time they figure out where you are, your team opens fire on them and forces them to retreat with heavy loses.

Me and my impatience. And here I thought I was going to have to resort to harsher measures. I calmly shoot anyone among the targets who is dumb enough to look backwards.

I rally with my newfound allies. "So, now that they are gone, and I've picked a side in your dispute, you mind filling me in on details? I'm all ears about that battlesuit in particular."

"We've been fighting the vampires for most of our history. It was always back and forth with no side staying in the lead. That changed with their introduction of the Casket Armors. Most solar guns can't put a scratch in it. And that Damn Parasol system they have makes it hard to gather a charge. I hear the Casket armors have something to do with it. But We don't know much about them."
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 01:09, Tue 29 Sept 2015.

"If I had to guess, they are foreign to this world. Any outsiders come in other than me, ruins get dug up, vampires known for being open to new ways to subjugate his cattle? This is probably the source of your armor."

Maybe I can give this guy some ideas. At the very least, he might be able to point me to someone who does know.

"We've have many people die trying to find that info out. We suspect that someone off planet is helping them but we haven't found out who yet. The Alchemist Sheridan probably knows the most about the armors though."

A name. That's a good sign. "Where is Sheridan at? They sound like someone we should both be talking to more frequently."

"His Mansion is about 30 miles northeast of here. Be careful though, going in a straight line will take you by The Hunting Mansion of the Mangrave."

"That's rather direct. So why would I go in a straight line with that knowledge in mind? I'm not in any rush, unless you are about to explain why I should be." I can think of one reason I need to hurry.

"How much added time would it take to go around?"

"Eh. It's just a warning. You seem like a offworlder. It should add about 3 or 4 hours to the trip if you go around."

"And the Hunting Mansion of the Mangrave, as you call it. What is a Mangrave?" These are need to know things. If it is an ally of my present foes, I will end up dealing with it anyways.

"Rymer Mangrave is the vampire that rules this area. His Hunting Mansion is where he is based. He goes out in his centaur like Casket Armor and hunts down humans to send to the Vampire city of New Culiacan."

"He has a custom battlesuit? That's news. Just how long have these vampires had access to this kind of tech for variants to exist? Or have I only encountered the one?"

"Scratch that question: how many types of these armor exist that you know of?"

"There is four casket armors that I know of. One for each of the elements of Earth, Fire, Wind and Ice. There may be more but they don't take them out of the Vampire City. They got the Armors and the Parasol System about Ten years ago."

"Ice?" Guess water only counts if it's zero Celsius. "Nevermind. What element is this Mangrave? I don't think I'm bypassing this thing in any event."

"He uses a fiery crossbow and produces flames behind him as he charges."

"In my native language, we call that 'fire.'" I smirk, realize what I'm doing, and shape myself up. "In all seriousness, though, thanks. Don't use a tactic that involves a ground pursuit of him; that's good to realize now instead of on the fly. Any recommendation regarding an engagement? A tendency he has, some kind of quirk he has? Anything that seems minor might be a scale tipper."

Intimidating. I can see why the pilot likes these things. I wonder if I can't capture one, instead of blowing it up. The crossbow, however, is an odd choice. That's a weapon that's intimidating to vampires, not humans. Combined with the fire, and I wonder if this Mangrave might be useful to me.

"He enjoys the hunt above everything. That's why he wanted to come out here to hunt us humans. Otherwise I can't think of anything else."

Enjoys the hunt. He is going to love me, then. "Thanks for the warnings. I'll be up there soon enough."

When I am away from him, heading towards this Mangrove, I give my team in the sky a call. "Sorry I've been a while. What's the word from above on the region I am heading towards?"

Reiuji answers.
"The region your heading to is forested. Although I do detect a castle 10.2 miles north east of your position. I detect major concentrations of undead within the area."

"Sweet Christmas." I mutter that to myself. I call her back. "Anything that can be done about them, that you know of? I'm getting seriously tempted to request an orbital strike on that section and call it a day. There should be a mansion in that section, or a residence of some kind. Any info you can give me about the geography, or any tech you can locate would be nice to hear.""

"I'm detecting most of the undead between the Mansion and the town. If you swing wide and double back you can avoid most of them. As for the geography I'll transfer the map to your RPA. I'm not detecting any major energy readings though."

A local map shows up on your RPA

"Team." I turn to my guards. "Call for an extraction. I'm staying a bit longer. I need to scout ahead, and I can't bring you with me. Give a full field report: anything helps."

If they are ported out, I'm going to mark a tree with a hollow in it, put anything in it that requires hands or a human biology, and shift into a wolf form. I need a low profile, and if I am lucky, there are wolves on this world, and I'll be ignored. If that isn't the case, at least I'll be quick and low to the ground. I'm going on a bit of a scouting run, to see this area for myself, and hopefully see what the present enemy is like when they are not in combat.

Who knows? Maybe right now, I'm on the wrong side.

Your team calls in a teleport and goes up to your ship.

You put a mark in a hollow tree and put your things in it.
You start heading into enemy territory stealthily.
The first undead you encounter are patrolling an area. They don't notice you.
You move on and find a fairly wide path.

Always on duty, these undead. Let's see if I cannot go farther. I am in no particular rush, so I'm simply going to go off the path, and keep foraging deeper towards this mansion. I need to see them relaxing, or someone in a command position doing so.

You Spot a few more undead on patrol. they don't seem to relax as far as you have seen.
You find the Mansion. The architecture is Gothic in style and it is fairly big

There should be some movement here, or at the very least, something that is not a slave. Even a master who is misanthropic will do something outlandish out of boredom. I need to see a sentient being, or find some evidence there is one.

I patrol the perimeter. Should I find nothing, I will draw the conclusion there is only one being here who will perish should I destroy this site.