Myarra looks utterly confused.  "I'm sorry, er, sir," she adds the 'sir', having come to understand that it's supposed to indicate respect, or some similar form of civilized crap.  How lying is supposed to show respect she's never figured out, but people out here seem to expect it.

"You have me at a disadvantage.  Have we met?"

"I too must confess, that you are not known to me." Lennox adds warily.

Sister Aliana blinked in surprise, then her eyes widened in recognition.
"You....You're a librarian!!"
She would recognize the protective behavior the man had towards the books, one that she had as well in the library in which she'd once lived.

The kinship she felt with the apparition, though probably only in her mind, drew her to the man, and she stepped closer to him, smiling like a young noble maid standing before a king.
"I LOVE your library, sir!  The books are tremendous and enchanting!!! "

I really don't know what to say. I remember you and the library, but I don't know how. It seems like it was long ago.

Nolan walks around the swirling stone, This is also familiar. Reminds me of the pink crystals in the towers.

Francis has no clue what was going on or how Nolan could know of a ghost in a place that hadn't been uncovered in decades. He walked over to Piebald and started whispering to the man.

Silver just followed Amara around as she was searching the bodies for loot. He noted that there wasn't any coin found and figured it might be in their bed chambers, since they have been sleeping here since the lizardmen were evicted. Silver felt uneasy about the ghost and how he seemed to know the names of several people in the group.

Once she had everything of value arranged beside the bodies, she cast detect magic, scanning it. "Silver, I can detect which are magic, but I am not as good at appraising things. Values on the surface are different than values below."

"I find it strange that only Nolan knows who I am. I guess you all haven't gone through the Weave Portal yet. Hopefully, it's been fixed and sealed permanently and if you find it on accident, don't go through. This city will be ruined no matter what you do. The best we can do now is preserve what is left and slowly take back what is ours."

Upon hearing Aliana speak of the books, Hanns smiles, "Yes, I'm the Librarian of the Northern sector. The Southern sector library is or was ran by Lyran in the Wizard Tower. When the Dragons were attacking, this building was damaged. I ran down here to retrieve the Orb to fight off the dragons, but I was severely wounded and then the stairway collapsed."

Hanns then points to the swirling stone, "That is a Teleporter Waystone. This one is one way back to the main Waystone. I died before I could reach it. There were three humans here before you showed up. One of them used the Waystone after he took my Orb, but I don't think his friends knew."

Weave Portal? Orb to fight... Lennox performs a double take. "Culver has a Dragon Orb?!" He asks, prioritizing all of the questions racing through his mind-- He bolts for the waystone, seeking to activate it and follow immediately.

In reply to Francis Orville (msg # 972):

Piebald just shrugged at what Francis whispered. There was a lot of information being thrown around at the moment and everyone needed to settle down to get things straight.

Aliana seemed a little lost, but nodded to the ghost.
"How can we help you?"

Amara looked up sharply, first at the 'ghost' as it explained itself, then at Lennox as he rushed toward a one-way portal. "Lennox!" she called. "It's one-way. Wait. We're safe here to regroup and figure out what is going on. Rushing in is a good way to get yourself killed. Especially if no one follows."

"One-way back to the main Waystone." Hanns explained "Once at the main Waystone, you can go to other one-way Waystones spread throughout the city, if they still function. I don't have any clue how long I've been down here, but I can assume it's been pretty long."

Seeing that Lennox is pretty anxious to get through and stop Culver,

"I'm surprised this Culver knew the power-word to be able to use the Waystone. Now he has a Dragon-Orb, yes. But, it will take him some time to figure out how to use it properly. Once back at the Waystone, which I know he hasn't been to before since they dug this place out, he'll have 72 choices on where to go next if he wants to use the Waystone again. Or, he could run away from there. Either way, going after him right now is very dangerous."

Amara and most of the others may have only just met Lennox, but she and anyone else looking at Lennox as he skids to a stop in front of the stone just learned almost everything they'd ever need to know about the spellsword-- All sumed up in his devil-may-care grin that appears as Amara lists off the dangers involved in rushing headlong after Culver. Lennox was clearly a man who relished testing his mettle no matter the risks, a man who recklessly dove first and looked later... A true man of action.

Piebald would have another insight born from earlier that day, reinforced by his words: Lennox might be a dedicated foe of The Cult, but he had an unhealthy facination with Dragons!

His smile lit by the glow, he places a hand on the stone! Then looks crestfallen when nothing happens, and Hanns cites needing a command word. "Dangerous? Are you kidding me right now? That orb will make him thrice as dangerous should he get in range of a creature to use it upon!" He exclaims, taking a step away from the waystone but points at it as though he could see Culver inside of it.

"An artifact like that can't just be..." He wrings his hands in frustration, looking to the others-- Clearly dismayed that he's the only person so concerned.

"Lennox, I'm bleeding from twelve frigging places at the moment," Myarra half snarls at the impetuous human.  "I'll be happy to go and help you kill him in a moment.  But I'd like to stop leaking first, if that's alright with you."

She turns back to the ghost.

"So, what you're saying is that sometime in the future, Lennox, Nolan, and I all go back into the past, where we meet you?  But now you don't want us to do that at the time when it's supposed to happen?  But if you're here and telling us about it, hasn't it already happened?  How can we not do what has already been done, even if it hasn't happened yet?

And, more to the point: what, by Bane's festering nipple ring, is a Weaver Portal?  And why, by Eilistraee's prodigious rack, would I be caught dead using one?"

And why would she choose just Nolan and Lennox to be her companions is another question, but one best left to a time when they are't around to object to it being asked.

"There are eight magical items here," Amara replied to Lennox. "At the very least, I'm sure you understand the advantage of having what magic you can to support you when facing a dangerous foe. Although information is even more valuable."

Hearing her winged friend complain about her wounds, Aliana rushed to Myarra's side to help her.
OOC:
01:32, Today: Sister Aliana Farwalker rolled 24 using 1d20+5.  healing check.

"It can be very confusing to explain what could happen since you all now know about it, which has already changed the past." Hanns explained "I do not know if I told you in the past or a possible future about the conversation we're having now, so it's best that if you encounter the Weave-Portal somewhere in the city, do not go into it."

"The Weave-Portal, as I call it, is a tear in the Weave. If you know about it, fine. If not, don't worry about it. The Weave is weak in places and the Gods are constantly repairing it. Sometimes a section will open up. Don't go into it. You'll know it when you see it, believe me."

"No one asked you to follow." Nox snarls in return, never one to cower from a flared temper. "If I can catch the bastard before he finds suceptible dragons, problem solved. You want to stay and lick your wounds, by all means do so.

"Me? I have a job to do-- and it just got a little more personal." Lennox turns his inhumanly angry eyes back on Hanns: "Knowledge and foreknowledge have their time and place. Time Travel isn't on my bucket list, thanks all the same. Do all the stones have the same command word, or are they individualized?" Clearly the spellsword was intent on pressing onwards.

Myarra looks back at Lennox incredulously.  "Piebald, if you have any influence with your companion, I'd suggest you start trying to use it.  I've met some hot-heads in my time, but this one takes the scone.  If he wants to run off by himself and die, that's his call. But it would be waste of talent.

Besides, we already have an incredibly dangerous dragon breathing down our necks as it is, and it would be folly to forget about her.

Nolan, Amara, I bow to your magical knowledge.  If we can get this stone back from Culver, do you think it would help protect us from she-who-must-not-be-named?

If Tursk and his people can hold this place long enough for the rest of his tribe to arrive, we might be able to get out of her claws. But, if that stone would be effective, it wouldn't be bad to keep in case she isn't as grateful as she should be."

Sister Aliana will start praying to her god to heal her winged friend.

Nox snorts at Myarra. "Ignorance is no excuse to drag your heels or throw insults. There isn't always time to stop and hold the hands of those who cannot add two and two..."

When she defers to Nolan and Amara on matters magickal, Lennox mutters: "Maybe one of you can explain to her what's at stake here, clearly she just doesn't get it." That said he moves closer to the ghost, impressing upon it with body language that he's waiting for an answer to his query.

To Lennox: "I haven't thrown any insults ... yet.  I've just pointed out what is bleedingly obvious."

To Aliana:  "Was the 'bleeding' pun too obvious or too subtle?"

Nolan looked at the Waystone and started talking to himself, despite Lennox being highly upset, which he should be. Dragon Orbs are very powerful, but Hanns was right. It would take time to learn how to use the artifact.

Seventy-two possible choices because he's not going to come back here. And out of the possible choices, how many waystones are still functioning and which one did he take? If I was him, I would use one that took me to an area that looked safe or familiar. That might require multiple trips back and forth until you felt comfortable. That would take too long. Posting a guard in case he came back to the main stone is definitely a must, while we go through to a waystone that took us close to Daak would be the next step so I can look through the crystal to locate Culver. First, we need to scare off the dragon that is outside, then bring back the Lizardfolk to this place.

Turning to the group, Let's read that book Bache was so fond of.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:19, Tue 29 Dec 2015.

Continued in another thread...

link to a message in this game
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:27, Tue 29 Dec 2015.