[Acro] GLoG 48: From the Ashes

[The Bushranger]

Brendan waves at Ashna and Magtok from where he's taking down the Christmas lights.

---

Crissy waits on the president.

[Lord Magtok]

Magtok blinks.

Who's...are you serious? Reinholdt? Apoca-Kitty? Treasure-Hunter Extraordinaire, as he calls himself? That damned talking cat who's nearly brought about the end to the Acroverse several times, and only lives today because nobody has the time and energy to put him in his grave? You know, that Rein?

[Recaiden]

Ashna smiles wider and shakes her head.

Nope. Never heard of him. Are you sure it isn't just one of you in a cat suit? The description seems to fit, other than the treasure hunting.

[The Librarian]

Magtok shakes his head.

Ugh, magic. See, now that you've said that, I'm going to be spending the next two weeks looking for enchantments on those trees, to find out exactly how and why they work, and who put those spells there, and how it might turn against or for me in the future, and whether it remains constant all year or shifts with seasons or the drop of a hat and stuff. Magic is stupid, it works in a bazillion different ways, comes from a ridiculous number of places, and can never make up its mind as to whether it can or cannot be used to do something.

If I use a disintegrator ray gun on someone, they get properly disintegrated, but if I point a disintegrate spell wand thingy at someone, they get hurt or killed or wounded or the spell fizzles out or is deflected and lights a tree on fire or something else that doesn't make sense at all. Why can't you magic people just follow the same damn rules and make sense like science does?

Lowan overhears the statement by Magtok while making small repairs to his VS and chuckles at his comment.
Apparently you've don't know about Arcane Elves...

[Lord Magtok]

Magtok turns his head towards Ashna, trying to scan her face for some sort of sign of deceit.

You're kidding. I mean, you hafta be just messing with me now, he's almost as infamous as Calublufiok with the whole wanting to end the world for no particularly valid reason. And I only put the entire world in jeopardy once, and that was a long time ago! Nobody remembers the Star Wars Christmas Special anymore anyways.

[The Librarian]

((Stormtroopers dressed in black rappel down on Magtok stealing him away from server))

Lowan walks over to the Magtok and Ashna intrigued.
I've never heard of a Reinholdt until I had recently arrived in this dimension a month or two ago. Perhaps you could enlighten us both on that.

[Recaiden]

No sign of deceit. She heard about Cal from some people in the Taverna, and she heard the name Rein once with no context. That's it.

I guess I managed to miss your cat-alter-ego somehow. Next time he (you) tries (try) to end the world, I'll pay more attention. Good job getting to be so infamous. I bet it's just that I'm relatively new to this world.
She turns to the elf.
Hi Lowan. Thanks for backing me up on not having heard of this Reinholdt. And don't explain to Magtok about the magic in the trees, okay?

[Lord Magtok]

Magtok sighs, and sets about explaining nearly everything about Reinholdt that he knows of, with emphasis on their deadly duel in the heart of the MagCave, and a precise maneuvering around the fact that the most recent version of Reinholdt is a clone that he himself made to fill him in on some info about Calublufiok. He also manages to insert small accusations against Lowan and Ashna, subtly implying that their ignorance makes them awful people and that they should feel bad about themselves for it.

((Deadtime))

[The Librarian]

Lowan smirks.
I wasn't going to explain that, I'd rather be more interested explaining how my kind works with both technology and the arcane arts. Just look at my VS for example.

Lowan points to his Vital Suit
That is a artificial suit that acts as a weapon, tool, anything its needed to be for its user. The power source though comes from the individuals mana whether they can use their mana or if it still lies dormant in their body. Mana also allows the suit to almost completely sync with the users mind and neural system, literally making both the VS and the person act as one.

[Recaiden]

Ashna laughs, ignoring his accusations. Magtok, why were you fighting against yourself? Just to look better when you won? Having decided earlier that Maggy and Rein where the same person.

She then looks at the suit. Nice, it looks even better than what we have. We can't do the sync to a neuron system without getting ghosts to help interface.
Maybe I should bring you some of our powered armor to look at. It doesn't use mana, since our world doesn't really have it, but our channeling-magic should do just as well, right?

[Reinholdt]

Ashna laughs, ignoring his accusations. Magtok, why were you fighting against yourself? Just to look better when you won? Having decided earlier that Maggy and Rein where the same person.

He'd probably look pretty bad if that were the case, seeing as how both of them lost.

IC... right...
Err...
A ghost floats by! It doesn't talk to anyone. And disappears quickly.

[Ashen Lilies]

It's conclusive! Ashna's bat**** insane!
...
...

Reinholdt's ghost may be stopped by a more different ghost, in a fancy uniform with a blue cap and a whistle.
"Halt, ghost! Are you aware that this is a no haunt zone?"

[Reinholdt]

"But... but... there are ancient burial grounds here. How can this not be one?" Old grampa ghosty replies.

[Ashen Lilies]

"Tell it to the judge."
Says Authority Ghost, scribbling on a clipboard and handing the paper to Grampa Ghosty.

Said judge is a 17 foot tall, four-armed, jackal headed ghost alight with hellfire.

[The Librarian]

Well one thing is that the VS has some pretty complex interfacing, but the idea is that it run essentially by absorbing a portion of your mana and utilizing it for as a power source. Depending on how well you can control your mana it can act as a near limitless energy. That leads to the first sort of big problem. Synchronizing with a VS takes almost 5 years for most people to do successfully and being able to maintain it for long periods of time. The second problem is that because a VS connects with your mind. It picks up an persons feelings and thoughts. Like say if you thought about catching a bird, or transplanting a tree, the VS will respond to that thought and conduct the given activity. If you can understand that, then you must see where I'm going with this...

[Reinholdt]

"..."
"Screw it. I'm moving to the Bermuda triangle."

Grandpa ghosty tears up his papers and turns to leave GLoG to go haunt ships.

[Recaiden]

It's conclusive! Ashna's bat**** insane!

Yes, yes she is.

Ashna nods slowly. Ah. Maybe our way isn't so bad after all.
Our suits are just to respond to our movements, not our thoughts. Some are made to connect to a ghost that's also connected to the person using it. So they can respond to thoughts, but with some level of judgment. They're harder for people to use though.
She shrugs.
It'll get improved over time, I'm sure.

[The Librarian]

Lowan nods.
Its not all bad, its just a matter of controlling your emotions a bit.
Lowan chuckles a bit.
Some people would say were turning are kind into robots but its a really just a state of mind you have to be in when controlling the VS. Besides...if you have a strong mind then you can esaily prevent the VS from...leaping before thinking

[Recaiden]

Ashna smiles. Well, it would be better if it didn't respond when your human body wouldn't, and you didn't need a strong mind. ... But it's an improvement, I suppose.
And people will always be afraid of new technology and ideas.

[billtodamax]

Susan's still lying in the infirmary, getting better slowly!

[happyturtle]

Happy fills out an application for a payment plan from Erin's and wonders how they are going to pay all the bills this month.

[Lord Iames Osari]

"When can we expect delivery?" Anshu asks Crissy, looking around for Nimai, or failing her, Blue.

[Rebonack]

Blue's present. Hasn't really gone anywhere. Seems she's been trying to make sense of the rather ineffable tangle of fate that exists so close to the Nexus. If she can just crack how the blasted thing is organized she might be able to add some useful information.

Meanwhile!

Avatar grins a rather foxy grin. "Glad you think so! I've got quite a bit to overcome when getting people to trust me is concerned. This place really doesn't have a very good track record with unnatural abominations being friendly. 's why I try to make myself look normal most of the time. If I don't appear to be from the Wyld then generally speaking people won't assume I am."

He begins hopping from rock to rock now, inspecting the inscriptions on each of them. "I think this place is supposed to be aligned to the stars..."

[Neon Knight]

Something wicked this way comes...

Or not really. Perhaps saying that something ex-wicked this way comes.

To begin with the information presentation, we will state the basic nature of the figure making its way down the path to GLoG. Female, tall, and statuesque, seemingly sculpted from marble by the hand of a master, so perfect and idealized is the form, but her skin, although flawless and white, is flesh. Dark auburn hair spills down slender shoulders in a splendid fashion, and wings feathered in a matching color sprout from the shoulder blades. The eyes are red and glow, and the features are well defined. The similarities to an angel or other being are obvious, but something is somewhat off about it. Her clothes are formal business attire, well tailored to the peculiarities of her form, and she makes good progress along the trail in a graceful gait despite the impractical heels. An attache case is held in one hand.

Once she arrives, unless spotted or intercepted immediately, she'll look around for someone to inquire as to where the GLoG president is.

[happyturtle]

The president is just coming out of the lodge. "Hello. May I help you?"

[Neon Knight]

The woman makes a slight bow and offers a hand to shake. "I'm Thera, the representative from the First Bank of Inside. I just stopped by to see how you were doing."

[Lord Iames Osari]

Blue's present. Hasn't really gone anywhere. Seems she's been trying to make sense of the rather ineffable tangle of fate that exists so close to the Nexus. If she can just crack how the blasted thing is organized she might be able to add some useful information.

"Did you see where Nimai went to?" Anshu asks his Sidereal companion.

Avatar grins a rather foxy grin. "Glad you think so! I've got quite a bit to overcome when getting people to trust me is concerned. This place really doesn't have a very good track record with unnatural abominations being friendly. 's why I try to make myself look normal most of the time. If I don't appear to be from the Wyld then generally speaking people won't assume I am."

He begins hopping from rock to rock now, inspecting the inscriptions on each of them. "I think this place is supposed to be aligned to the stars..."

"Really? What do you think will happen then?"

[Rebonack]

"She said she was going exploring," Blue replies, taking his gaze off the stars for the time being. Heh... one thing he figured out quickly was the fact that time of day is somewhat relative around here. So if you can just filter your perceptions correctly... "I believe she was headed toward the lake."

Meanwhile!

The fox glances up at Nimai, quirking his head off to the side slightly. "What... When the stars are aligned properly? I dunno..." he hops down off the rock and peers up through a hole in the ceiling. One of several. "I don't think it really does anything. It doesn't seem to harness any magical power. At least none that I can smell. It might have just been built as a calender of sorts to keep track of solstices."

[happyturtle]

The woman makes a slight bow and offers a hand to shake. "I'm Thera, the representative from the First Bank of Inside. I just stopped by to see how you were doing."

Happy shakes her hand. "Happy Amakirr. We're doing well. As you can see, the refurbishments are coming along rapidly." The wooden trim of the lodge has a fresh coat of paint, and the paths to the bathhouse and the nearer cabins are cleared. "Would you like to come inside?"

[Neon Knight]

Thera nods, a warm yet fierce smile on her face. "That would be lovely. You certainly seem to have done some good work with the place."