You didn't like magic. You forced me to get creative. Thanks!!!!!!



Heracles woke up Noah's woodworker shortly after you disappeared into the woods. They've been working on making wheels together. There's a bunch of less than perfect wheels laying scattered about that were made before they got the hang of it. They're almost finished putting wheels on Heracles' sled.

When you emerge from the woods, Heracles greets you jovially. He's been up all night but has no plans to sleep yet. The rest of Noah's crew is waking up and they invite you to have breakfast with them. Heracles is showing off one of the wheels they made. It's getting a lot of "Ohhs" and "Ahhs" from the people.

The giants of course are less than impressed. It's nothing new to them.

But you have a hearty, meaty stew for breakfast and then someone offers to let you sleep in their tent.

Two hours later you wake up refreshed. Heracles has been working on making a wheeled cart for Noah to ride around in.

Noah is an old man. Thin, long, snowy white beard. High-pitched, gravely voice.

I watch Hercules do his thing with the wheel, and listen to Noah.  I disagree with the giants but inside my head.  Sure, its old hat to them, but this is the first time for these folk...it is actually an important Moment in History I'm witnessing.

Heracles says "HERACLES!!!! HERACLES!!!! My name is HERACLES!!!!! I do no know this HERCULES person you refer to!!!!!!"

He's not upset, he's laughing. He's just trying to make his point clearly.

Noah of course is the undisputed boss of the people. Everybody who interacts with him are like "Yes sir. No sir. Is five minute ago soon enough sir? Jump? How high sir?"



And just think. You inspired it.

In reply to JohnA1nut (msg # 98):

"Sure thing, Hercules. I mean Heracles. Sorry." I smirk.

If I think of a question to ask Noah, I do so, but very respectfully.

Heracles jovially punches you on the arm and says "Ah, Tadeusz, if I didn't like you so much, I'd have to hurt you." and smiles.

He says he's going to go Raptor hunting tomorrow. He asks if you're going to join him. For the moment, he's going to be working with Noah's woodworker on perfecting the wheels.

The giant leader asks if you'd like to make Isis iron or learn to use your armor. He can teach you either one.

In reply to Tadeusz (msg # 99):

"I'll go with you Heracles."  and to the giants 'Let's learn more about iron.'

So he puts his hand on your shoulder and stares intently into the forest. The world tastes purple, you cease to exist, and you're standing in the forest. The energy counter on your chest piece has dropped about a thousand points.

And you're not too far from his blacksmithing forge.

The giant says "The boots'll let ya run real fast, and let ya fly. Gotta be careful though, cuz running outta power flying can be dangerous. The chest piece will protect against most any weapon. It'll let'ya teleport to any place you can see. Line of sight. Can't go somewhere ya can't see though. Shield will deflect just about any blow. If ya throw it at somebody, it'll bounce right back to ya. Gauntlet makes ya stronger, gotta bunch a weapons on it too. The sword'll cut through just about anything. By now you know the helmet, I'm sure."

Once he's got the forge lit though, he tells you make a blacksmithing hammer.

Nod. I heat up a likely piece of metal.  Then using the tongs, I put it on the anvil.  Judge it as being in a good place.  Breathe in, bring up the hammer, take a soft blow.  Breathe out, harder blow.  Breathe in, hit hard, breathe out, hit hard....now that I'm settling in to a rhythm, its good.

Pause to heat the iron back up. Grumble to myself about that, but its just the job.  Get back to hammering.  I should learn to do t his left handed as well, the thought crosses my mind, and then I focus back on hammering.

Every time the hammer strikes, your energy counters drop maybe 10 points. After a while, the iron starts to turn blue.

Maybe the helmets let you read each other's minds, but the giant tells you that in order to do it left handed, you'd need a left handed gauntlet. You could certainly make one. And if you made it yourself, you could decide what powers to imbue it with. None of the giants are left handed though, so that's something they don't have.

In fact, you could make for yourself an entirely new set of armor and imbue it with whatever powers you wanted to give it, within certain limitations.

You get the feeling the giant wants to tell you something rather important, but he can't bring himself to do it just yet. Something about The Prophesied One.

Several hours pass. Your energy counters have dropped significantly. You're going to need to recharge them in the sun. Out here in the woods, you're not getting enough sunlight to balance it out. But you complete the hammer.

Holding it in your right hand, the giant tells you "Think of a sword."

So you do. The hammerhead changes shape into a short sword.

The giant tells you solemnly "Now you see why we cannot give this technology to the humans, and why you must seal us in the Vaults of Isis at the prophesied time."

That's the thing he wanted to tell you.

So you were the one who sealed the giants in the vault. That's why you found their skeletons.

In reply to JohnA1nut (msg # 104):

Pause. I stare into the distance, and try to absorb the information.  Its still there, just sitting there.

"When?"

"At the prophesied time."

And that is all he will say on the matter. You get the feeling he might not know exactly.

You find you can manipulate your Isis iron hammer into anything of equal weight/mass. Swords, clubs, ball and chain, etc. Just thinking about it.

(Doing Therapy)

In reply to JohnA1nut (msg # 106):

I nod. Ok, that makes sense.  God does not always tell us His exact time for His plans.  So, I set out to make the things that will be needed to be made, that is, if the giants are lacking anything in the way of armor.  If not, I'll practise making basic geometric shapes to hone my skills.

So you make a triangle and inflate it to a four-sided dice type of shape. You make a square a inflate it into a cube.

At lunchtime the giant returns holding an Isis iron kettle full of water. He hands it to you and tells you to put the lid on it. When you take the lid off, it's full of one of those Taco Bell salads with extra jalapenos you had last time I was there.

After lunch, the giant tells you to take a break. Your energy counters must be pretty low by now. Recharge in the sunlight.

He tells you that they don't need any more armor made. He tells you that the Vaults of Isis are full of all of the trees from the gardens of Isis. So the giants will live inside there eating very well until they live out their natural lifespans, to await a time when humanity is ready for what they have to offer.

You get the distinct impression that he is the giant who was laying in the doorway, the one Campbell told you not to touch, who you saw standing up right before you hit the ground.

OOC) What do you think of the Isis iron? You didn't like magic, so I had to get creative!!!!
This message was last edited by the player at 07:31, Wed 04 July 2018.

In reply to JohnA1nut (msg # 108):

I look at the food with almost whimpering joy.  Gently, I taste it, hoping that its not something like a soy burger.  That is, it sorta looks ok, and smells okay, but its not the real thing.  When I find its real, I have to force myself not to grab it, and hold it tight.  Instead, with some effort, I politely offer to share it.

I'll try and see if I can make a hollow ball.

OOC: Isis iron is fine.

The giants insist that you eat it all yourself. "It is what you were craving most at that moment."

The taste might be slightly off, but it's pretty close. Not like soy burger off.

But you're going to have to make your own Isis iron kettle to have more. Fill it with water, put the lid on, and think of what you want the most.



You've done that already. Inflated a flat disk. That's the only way you can make a hollow ball. Or did you mean something else?



OOC) No, I mean what do you think of it as a story mechanic? Nanotechnology.

In reply to JohnA1nut (msg # 110):

Hmmm. Hollow ball. Vaccuum.  Why not. This could be cool.

I make a ten inch wide circle and then being careful try to expand it to a hollow ball without letting in any air.  If it works right, it should have a vacuum inside.

Now, does the ball survive, because we do have air pressure on the outside.  Fourteen pounds per square inch.

Also, is the difference in volume enough to make the ball float, like a hot air balloon...

With the first problem, I'd think of struts on the inside.  With the second, I'd go for a thinner wall.  Of course thinner wall means more likely to collapse from pressure....

When you go to inflate it, you just happen to look at it though your HUD microscope vision. Tiny air holes open up in the walls to let air in. Then they close when it's inflated all the way. So no, you cannot create a vacuum inside it.

What you can do though is manipulate the ball's outer surface. Turn it into an animal or whatever.

But your energy counters are too low to do any thing more. Best to spend the next day or two in the sun recharging.

Especially since Heracles still wants to go raptor hunting.

(Doing Therapy)

In reply to JohnA1nut (msg # 112):

Time to raptor hunt...and consider a way to solve my vacuum ball problem.  Hmmmm.

Why are you trying to fill it with a vacuum? It won't make it float, if that's what you're thinking.

You could always asking the giants......

As far as the raptor hunt, Heracles thinks you should wait another day for your armor to recharge. Tonight they're throwing a party.

(Doing Therapy)

In reply to JohnA1nut (msg # 114):

I was thinking it would make it float.

I do ask the giants.

OK, let's party.  Why are we partying I want to know.

OOC) No, it wouldn't make it float. It would just be like making the flat disk an ounce lighter. To make it float, you'd need to fill it with something lighter than air.



Which the giants say you can do.

"The food kettle transmutes the water molecules into whatever you desire. Water is made up of protons, neutrons and electrons. It simply reorganizes those into something else. To make it float, you simply need to think of reordering the air going in into helium."



Heracles proclaims "WHY ARE WE PARTYING?" Then he turns to the giants and laughs. "My friend, we are partying because it's fun!!! It is NEVER a bad time to party!!!! Even when things are at their darkest, it is a brave man who can kick back and party!!!!!"

He laughing at that. "Why are we partying indeed!!!!" and claps you on the back.

But Noah's men bring out food and wine. The daughters sing and dance. It's a fun time to be had.

(Doing Therapy)

Actually a vacuum is even lighter than helium.  But its up to you.

Transmutation of elements.  Wow.  I look at the cauldron with new respect. And more than transmutation.

I shake my head, and smile.  Ok Heracles, you're the man. Let's party.  I try some horrible dance moves.  And see if I can remember what I've seen on TV of The Robot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlW5cGdOr60

OOC) Watch that video. You might be right. However, since we're not sure, how about we just say that you can transmute it into helium, which we know will float? I mean, if all you want is floating metal balls........

Sound good?



OOC) That's kind of how I wanted my Order/Chaos kettles to work. Reorder the water molecules into something else.



Heracles watches you do the Robot with fascination. After a minute or two, he's doing it alongside you. Soon, he's inventing his own moves. Then he does a backwards handspring, landing on his back, and breaks into a backspin.

Two other giants are dancing like Russians. Kicking their feet out. You know what I'm talking about.

It's a good time. Your armor is recharging.

With dinner, you are offered some of the giant wine. You are reassured that it is no more addictive than that it is so delicious, you might crave it occasionally, as you would any super delicious food.

Before the festivities are over, the giants offer you and Heracles each a handcrafted, wooden crossbow and about 30 wooden bolts for them. To use on your hunt. The bolts have razor sharp copper alloy heads.

Heracles is in awe of the weapons once he gets the hang of using it.

"To kill a raptor with such accuracy......."

He's proud.

OOC) And just because I think you might raise objections with the giants about giving Heracles crossbow technology, and I don't want to lose this thought if you don't.

"Cherneth was able to make gunpowder. He left coded books which would have eventually been decoded. Giving them crossbows will delay man's manufacture of the more dangerous gunpowder by centuries."

It's a lesser of the two evils kind of decision. They will either have gunpowder in 50 years, or crossbows for 300 years. It will temporarily satisfy their desire to kill at range with accuracy. So they won't want to look into gunpowder for a while.

(Doing Therapy)

In reply to JohnA1nut (msg # 118):

Sounds good.

As to Order/Chaos kettle, I know.  Its just certain things are very hard with Order magic.  Other types of magic, thats not that big of a deal.

I nod to the giant.

"I understand.  And crossbows are a type of weapon that tends to flatten social hiearchies.  I'm not sure how gunpowder would do." I shrug.  "I don't know and nowadays I find myself drifting with the current.  Its an interesting river anyways to drift in.  Its been good to meet you."

OOC) Well, with all due respect, who decides that it's difficult? Could that person decide that it's easy? Just saying is all.



He nods in understanding. He tells you that when your armor recharges, you should try to make an Isis iron crossbow.

For the moment though, you're out in the sun. Your armor is recharging. Heracles wants to go raptor hunting tomorrow.