IC V Against the Current

[Admiral]

Father Renyi leads Miriam down a short flight of stairs at the back of the cathedral, where they come out onto a small courtyard. The courtyard opens onto a larger field, where several paladins in majestic full-plate are riding their horses in circles, in some mixture of training and recreation.

In front of the stables stand two dozen monks, standing in three lines in some form of synchronized exercise. Among them are males and females, humans, elves, and a halfling, but what they all have in common is their outfits of plain cloth, and their expressions of quiet serenity. As Renyi, Kurt and Miriam approach, each executes the same synchronized arc with his foot, then follows with an overhand stretch towards the ground.

As Renyi approaches and gives a quick wave, one of the monks at the front finishes his motion and then drops out of the line to approach them. He chats with Renyi for a quick moment before the priest excuses himself, and then steps towards the visitors.

"Hello there, Miriam and Kurt. My name is Arden, Groundskeeper of the Cardonne Cathedral." His tone is more casual than the priest's: he talks to the pair as though they're already friends. "I understand you are interested in learning more about the Church. I would love to share what I know, and also get to know a little more about you, but I was just about to start my rounds- would you mind joining me for the walk?" He beckons the pair to follow him with an inviting smile.

As he starts to walk, he turns to Miriam. "Forgive me if I am intrusive, but you seem a bit tense. Might I ask why?"

[Admiral]

Izzik nods with a smile at Mithril's demonstration of the see invisibility spell. Then he takes his glasses from his pocket as he takes a look at the blueprints Natalia hands him. For a moment he furrows his brow with a confused expression, glancing back up at Natalia with a frown.

Then his face clears, back into a polite smile. "Oh: you're looking for the engineering department. They handle admissions separately. Step outside, walk into the courtyard, then enter the second door on the right, across from the Ancient Languages office." He nods at Mithril and Shiny. "You should stay here, we'll finish up our chat."

[achinca]

Miriam is taken back by the monk's perceptiveness. "Well... Sir ... Father .... Mister ... Arden .... Well yes a little. Well, a lot actually. See, I am a simple person, a cleric of St. Cuthbert who knows little and owns nothing by choice. However, I always knew I was free and not owned by anything. I have immigrated to your country and I must join one of the organizations to be a lawful citizen but in order to do that, I must be branded, showing that I am now owned. I will do what it required by the law but the idea of being owned and branded make me very uncomfortable. I have no mark on my body other than what St. Cuthbert decided to give me. You seem like a simple wise man and I know from Father Renyi that you took a Vow of Poverty like me. You are a wise man. How do you cope being branded and owned? And how do you reconcile your vow of poverty with the luxurious environment you live in?"

She stops and takes a step back. "I hope I did not offend you, Sir ... Father .. Mister Arden. I am just really curious about the issue." She takes another step back and does a little bow to the monk.

[CoffeeIncluded]

Natalia's spin straightens. Her face cracks into a broad smile; there's a place for her here. With a little squeak of happiness she says, "Thank you," hugs her friends, then runs to the engineering department.

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Thanks, Admiral!

[Admiral]

"Just call me Arden," the monk says with his usual smile. He then examines the mark on the back of his right hand. The pair of crossed lines shimmer with a thousand colors. "Would you believe, I've never heard the term 'branded' before with regard to a guildmark. For starters, the process is painless, and it's possible to remove should you wish to change guilds or emigrate. But more importantly, a guildmark doesn't represent ownership in any sense. It represents fidelity to a code of laws- a code no different than the laws of any country or government you've seen."

"You might ask why the guildmarks are necessary. When the guilds were first formed, over a century ago, guild membership was designated by an amulet worn around the neck. But guild citizenship offers many benefits and protections. Thus, a black market of stolen and forged amulets developed, allowing the dishonest to walk freely between guilds and take advantage of them. This market became so profitable to the point that innocent civilians were terrified of wearing their amulets in public lest they be killed for them."

"That was a dark time, until the guild founders came up with a miraculous solution- they developed a magical marking that could not be sold or stolen, and that was nearly impossible to disguise or imitate even by the most talented illusionists. The integrity of our guildmarks is what keeps our society together."

He points towards a winding staircase at the side wall of the courtyard, encouraging the two of them to step in first. Once they do, he follows behind them, continuing his speech.

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You're welcome to respond, or he'll continue soon.

[Admiral]

Natalia skips out of the door and heads into the courtyard, quickly spotting the door that Izzik was referring to. A few mages turn their heads at seeing the eager girl dash past them.

Once Natalia finds her way into the office, she is directed to an aged, wrinkled dwarf seated behind a desk, scribbling in a notebook. He glances up at Natalia as she approaches, and shuts the notebook. "Good morning, young lady. I am Dresden Damore. And you are?"

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The Institute always had an engineering department (and history, and languages, and so on) ever since I came up with the setting- I had just neglected to mention it at the start. And I thought I would allow some suspense to be built.

------

Once Natalia has left, Izzik sits forward to continue talking to Mithril and Shiny- Shiny has reappeared into view, but for some impenetrable reason is now wearing an eyepatch again.

"Those interested in magic, in improving their own mastery of it, in understanding its deeper secrets, and in spreading that knowledge, are always welcome in the Institute. But I would love to hear your questions. Is there anything you'd like to know about our guild?"

[Athedia]

Mithril shifted a little nervously. "How are relations with the Church?

[Admiral]

Izzik's face falls slightly. "Like all guilds, the Institute's relationship with the Threadmyr Church is peaceful and professional and based on mutual respect." He speaks as though reading off a legal document. "Why do you ask?"

[Athedia]

"Well as I said I worship Boccob and would like to visit his temple on occasion." That and I want to visit out friends.

[CoffeeIncluded]

Natalia sits down, calms her breathing, again tries to measure out her words. "Natalia Bolts. With friends in Institute...Looking for knowledge, learning. Good with machines, traps, dancing lightning." Again she looks down at the guild brand and feels a pang of nervousness. She wants to join, but she doesn't like idea of being shackled. She needs to ask about this, especially since it seems like she and her friends didn't have much of a choice in the matter.

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I thought that would be the case, but I just wasn't sure. And yeah, thank you! I agree with the suspense.

Natalia has much the same reservations as Miriam does, but I'm worried about asking them because I don't want to take up even more time doing this.

[Admiral]

"Is the common language not your native tongue?" the dwarf asks kindly. He repeats the question in Dwarven, then Elvish, Halfling, Gnome, and even stilted Undercommon.

[CoffeeIncluded]

Natalia squirms, and says, "Native, but...poor. I hear, I understand, I say the words but...don't come out." She winces, and mentally braces herself.

[Admiral]

"All right," the dwarf says, before apparently noticing her discomfort. "Oh, quit squirming," he says, with the tone of a seasoned professor. "You're more articulate than half the dwarven engineering faculty."

"So, machines and traps. Well, you're in the right place." his eyes dart to the blueprints clenched in Natalia's hand. "Do you have something there you'd like to show me?"

[Admiral]

"Well as I said I worship Boccob and would like to visit his temple on occasion." That and I want to visit out friends.

Izzik thinks for a moment, then an idea seems to occur to him. He picks up a quill and starts writing on a pad in front of him. Even from across the desk, Mithril notices that the ink is absorbed into the pad and disappears almost immediately. "There's someone I think you'd like to meet- he should be here in just a few minutes" he says.

Izzik then turns to Shiny. "So, what is your story?" he asks, unwisely.

Five minutes later, Shiny has just reached the tale of his eleventh birthday and third royal pardon when there comes a knock on the door. Izzik opens it, grateful for the respite from Shiny's tale, and a middle-aged halfling steps in. "Mithril?" he asks cheerfully. "I'm Quart, and I'd love to talk to you a bit."

As they leave the room, he walks with her and asks, "Would you be willing to tell me how you came to worship Boccob?"

[CoffeeIncluded]

Natalia sits up, and shows him some of her sketches. "Just ideas. Always wanted to learn, magic, machines, everything."

The blueprints contain several theoretical sketches of a weight-distribution system that would make carrying heavier loads easier. There's also something with gears, but it's badly smudged--it must have gotten damaged when Natalia was trying to make her way back.

[Admiral]

The professor takes the blueprints and lays them out on his desk, then peers down at them with deep concentration. After a minute of studying them, he takes a carpenter's pencil from behind his ear and absently starts writing calculations in the margins of the schematic, and then begins annotating the diagram itself. Five minutes pass as he studies (and, to some lesser extent, vandalizes) Natalia's diagrams.

[CoffeeIncluded]

If she's allowed, Natalia goes over to the desk to get a better look at what the professor's doing. She wishes she made another copy.

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The sad thing is I kinda made up what Natalia was doing on the spot. I guess now she's was making a device for raising carrying capacity beyond given strength scores. And I just got an idea for another mechanical device. Is it too late to show that one too?

[Admiral]

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Not too late, go ahead.

I can multithread so anyone else is welcome to take an action (as long as Shiny is on his own he doesn't need to be narrated). I will get back to Miriam and Kurt's side once I'm off the train

[CoffeeIncluded]

"Um..." Still a bit nervous, Natalia hands the professor another, much less finished sketch. It resembles the hidden blade sheath she made Mithril, but appears to be larger, and upgraded.

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A hidden blade sheath that can handle shortswords as well as daggers, and takes less time to reset. Thanks, Admiral.

[Cavelcade]

"Uh, if you don't mind - what exactly are the...laws, the rules of the Church? I have an idea but I don't know what we're expected to do." Kurt is mostly keeping an eye on Miriam, though, wondering how she'll take it all. He hadn't realised how much it might feel like Calric's attempts to tattoo her.

[Athedia]

Mithril walked alongside Quart, suppressing the urge to slump down to make herself feel less like a giant."Well an old man, a traveler, showed me some tricks one day. When I asked how he did it, he directed me toward the temple. I used to spend my days after helping my parents exploring the library. At first I just read the old stories, of mages and knights and their adventures. But soon I started sneaking into their restricted section, no children. One of my brothers would distract them and I would hide, reading all the texts I could before they found me. The clerics convinced my parents to let me study magic. So I would still just be a fabric merchants daughter if Boccob's grace had not interceded."

[Admiral]

Natalia

The professor finally finishes his study and looks back up. His expression is hard to read, but Natalia's first sense is that he is impressed.

"You know that every schematic is like a signature? No, that's not quite right- it's like an autobiography. You can learn a lot about someone from looking at their work. Since you're a bit shy to talk about yourself-" his expression makes it clear he means no malice- "perhaps I can talk about yourself for you."

"First, you're clearly brilliant." The dwarf's delivery makes it obvious he's not in the habit of giving compliments he doesn't believe. "Your work shows creativity, originality, a capacity for nonlinear thinking, and a good grasp of the theoretical laws of mechanics."

"Second, I can tell you don't have formal training. You've invented your own notation that took me a few minutes to decipher, and your organization scheme is- nontraditional. Beyond that, on this page-" he points to one of the diagrams of the weight-balancing mechanism- "you're reinventing Gilgram's Ratchet- creatively, but a bit clumsily. Anyone who had taken a class in mechanics would be familiar with it."

"Thirdly, I know you've done more designing than you have actual building." He circles one of the central springs on the weight-balancing mechanism. "Every time the carrier takes a step, this spring will take almost all of the load. Real springs don't work like theoretical ones- they wear out when overused and overstrained. Unless you want to replace it every week, you would need a much thicker spring, one you can't fit without a complete redesign. Not to mention these load-bearing arms- made of wood they'll end up snapping. Made out of iron they're too heavy. Made out of mithral and they're too expensive.". He continues pointing out a few more issues he'd uncovered, politely but firmly, and for a minute the two get lost in design.

"Where was I... oh yes- as I always tell my students, theory is nothing without practice. If you don't start building these things yourself- and I mean complicated machines, not just some woodworking- your designs will never go beyond pretty drawings."

Mithril

The halfling smiles at Mithril's story, seeming somehow touched by it. The two cross the courtyard, where Quart unlocks a gate and beckons her to follow him down some stairs.

"I am a follower of Boccob as well," says Quart. "In one way you could even call me a priest of his. Let me tell you the story of how I came to him- and to the Institute as well."

"I grew up in Falcor, a land with a more traditional government than found here. My father was a wizard, but cared little for the gods. And the few times I found myself in the local temple of Boccob, I found myself similarly apathetic. And why shouldn't I have been? His own followers call him Boccob the Uncaring- if he's too selfish to care about mortals, why should we care about him?"

"My father was a skilled conjurer, but a clumsy teacher. After a few fruitless years of trying to teach me magic, he grew frustrated and decided to leave me in more professional hands. And so one day, he teleported me to the Guildsquare of Cardonne and then vanished, leaving me with only a small purse worth of gold and silver. I almost gave up the pursuit of magic on the spot, but decided to give it one more try by exploring the Institute. And what I found there made me understand Boccob at last." The two reach the end of the stairs and step into an ominously long corridor.

"Boccob isn't uncaring because he's selfish- he's uncaring because he's selfless. He doesn't need prayers, he doesn't need sacrifices, he doesn't need devotion or attention. He doesn't need warriors to crush his enemies or clerics to carry out his will. The one and only thing Boccob desires is the advancement of magic and knowledge. The way we can celebrate and worship him is to learn and expand that knowledge. And now, here we are..." Quart pushes open a pair of large wooden doors, and extends his arm to invite Miriam inside.

"I came to follow Boccob the exact same way you did- through a library. Like I said, I am a sort of priest of Boccob: I am the Librarian of the Cardonne Collection. And this..." he extends his arm to point to the vast chamber they have entered. It is the grandest library Mithril has ever seen- stacks of books multiple stories tall, with studious wizards flying from shelf to shelf. Mithril can see signs dividing the library into sections based on magical schools- Divination, Evocation, Transmutation- and knows the books are filled with more magical knowledge and research than she could consume in a lifetime.

"This is my temple."

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I promise the rest of the campaign won't have this many NPC monologues (and I'm just starting the latest batch). There is just a lot of introduction to do at this stage.

[Admiral]

Kurt and Miriam

"The laws are almost entirely like the laws of any government you've experienced, not to mention the rules of your deities." says Arden as he climbs behind them. "Don't kill, don't steal, don't cheat- that sort of thing. There's a tribute you're expected to pay- though of course it's waived for those who have taken the vow- and there's the guildmark, but other than that, unless you choose yourself to take a more active role in a Guild, you might find that life in Eldgar is no different than anywhere else."

"Oh, one rule that some newcomers have trouble with," Arden adds, almost as an afterthought- "there's no worship of the so-called 'evil gods.' That's a foreign superstition we've moved beyond in Eldgar- it's considered rude to even bring them up by name."

"Now, Miriam, as to your other question-" The churchbells ring, and Arden halts on the stairs. "Ah! Noon," he exclaims. "That means the orchestra is about to begin their afternoon hymns. Have you ever heard an orchestra? he asks with a sort of excitement. "I know that overseas anything larger than a quartet is rare, but music is important to the Church, and among our ranks are some true pioneers..." Through the stone walls, they can make out the sounds of a choir starting to sing, accompanied by an organ and soon joined by what sounds like a harp.

[achinca]

Miriam follows Arden still holding on to Kurt. "No I have never heard an orchestra before. It should be interesting."

She stops before asking "So the brand, the mark, if I return to Hulburg, would it automatically disappear? Or do I have to go through a process? And where on my body am I supposed to get marked?"

She does not follow up on the Vow question because she sensed it made Arden nervous.

She whispers to Kurt "I will do it. As much as I will hate myself for getting branded, I will do it. I am here to stop the evil machination we uncovered in Hulburg. I have lives to save and if I need to let myself disfigured and owned, I will do it. I knew the path to good is sometimes painful, degrading and humiliating. I will let them mark me."

[CoffeeIncluded]

Natalia's speechless by the praise. Finally, someone outside...Though didn't Torin and Karik say they were from here?

Natalia asks, "At home, no chance to learn, study, not beyond the bakery, beyond Torin and Karik...Here?"

She spends time looking at the professor's notes and listening to him, taking pride in the fact that she can understand most of his revisions.

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It's fine with the monologue; Natalia really needs the praise, heh. I'd gush OOC but I can't exactly do that right now.

[Admiral]

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It's unlikely Miriam would ask where the guildmark goes, as Arden and everyone she's met so far has the guildmark on the back of their right hand. I should have made that clearer.

"The guildmarks vanish beyond the borders of Eldgar, though they reappear if you return to the continent. But anyone who would like the guildmark permanently removed can come to the Church and ask- outside of criminals and fugitives, we will always remove it. The spell is brief and completely painless."

"But let's talk about the vow of poverty. And let's talk about this cathedral, and let's talk about 'luxury.'" The three then reach the top of the stairs, where they come out onto the ramparts of the cathedral. The sound of the orchestra below rises to them, distant but beautiful. Arden closes his eyes and takes a deep breath as he listens.

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If this post had a soundtrack, I like to think it would be this.

"Do you hear that harp?" Arden asks, his fingers following the melody absent-mindedly. "The young lady playing it so masterfully is named Vera D'Acura- a worshipper of the sun god Pelor. You know, she was born without the power of sight. But she tells me that when she hears the melody conjured by her harp, she knows in her heart what a sunrise looks like, and when the orchestra responds, she sees the sunset as clear as anyone." He opens his eyes again to look at Miriam. "For Vera, this music is anything but a luxury. She speaks to her god with every note."

"Or consider the choir. Among them are seven farmers, four dockworkers, maids, streetcleaners... these men and women come and sing every day because this is their form of service. They don't have the gift of divine magic that your god has granted you- they have only their talent. Does that make them less worthy of our respect?"

"Let's consider the rest of this cathedral." As the three of them walk along the ramparts, Arden points to an ornate stone statue- a depiction of the god Odin, seated in his throne atop a pedastal, watching with his one eye over the Guildsquare.

"This is a lovely piece." Arden notes. "Its sculptor is Dreydol Wildwood- a local elf, over 200 years of age. Dreydol is a worshipper of Correlon Larethian- the elven god of the arts. He's devoted his life, his work, and his truly exceptional talents to the celebration of the divine, in all its many forms."

Arden points above the statue, to the frescoes and mosaics adorning the cathedral. "There you can see Moradin at his forge, creating the first dwarves out of the raw minerals of the earth, and at his side is Berronar Truesilver, his wife, blessing his work. Over there is Boccob, Archmage of the Deities, his staff at his side." He then points to a stone depiction Miriam recognizes immediately. "And of course, St Cuthbert of the Cudgel, brandishing his mace. All of these frescoes were donated by Dreydol."

Arden turns to Miriam with a friendly smile. "Dreydol's gift of his talents will live on in this cathedral for centuries after he has joined his god- that's how he's chosen to serve the divine. Hundreds of thousands of worshippers will enjoy his work every morning. Can you or I judge him for that choice? Can we demand that these works be torn down, so he can be as humble as we are?"

Arden continues to walk, beckoning Miriam to come along. "You may have noticed the stained glass windows- a popular artifice that in my understanding is rare outside of Eldgar. These were constructed by another talented artist- Ellyl Winterbrook of Marvel, who has also devoted her life's work to depictions of the gods. The art that adorns the interior of the church was painted by Helton Black, a follower of Baldur. The swords and shields of our paladins were forged by many hardworking blacksmiths, under the leadership of Boron, a dwarf cleric of Moradin. You and I will never touch a sword or shield. Should we thus think less of their work?"

"Monks like me built this church, stone by stone, back when this city was a tiny fraction of its size. These men had nothing to give to their gods but their strength, and they granted it gladly. Can you imagine what it was like for them to climb these stairs for the first time, and to be closer to the heavens than they could have ever dreamed?"

"You could ask what good these gifts do when there are people who are sick and starving," Arden continues. "But even now, our afternoon service is starting- over a thousand in attendance- and donations are being gathered. Millions of gold pieces are collected every year by the Church's many houses of worship, all for the purpose of feeding the poor and healing the sick and wounded. As I've described, every piece of this cathedral is donated, from the construction to the art to the Men of the Vow who maintain it. And so the donations go to those who need them- from the slums of the capital city to the struggling villages in the Outerlands, our traveling clerics do their good works."

"Some clerics are coordinated by the Church, but others follow their deities in their own way- free of any obligation to the Church outside of their guildmark. The Horizon Walkers are clerics of Fharlanghn, god of roads, who wander Eldgar and find what adventure they can. The Woodland Circle are druids of Ehlonna of the Forest- they have taken it upon themselves to preserve the natural forests and its inhabitants. The Servants of the Sun are clerics of Pelor who travel the continent offering healing to all the ill and wounded, regardless of their guild affiliation."

The three then reach a loft situated above the cathedral. Looking down they see the services beginning, and at the front the orchestra begins to crescendo.

"Worship is not a contest, to be won by the greatest sacrifice," the monk muses. "Worship is a symphony. Just as every instrument in an orchestra offers a different piece of the melody, everyone who worships contributes whatever they have- their talent, their time, their gold, their prayers." He looks deeply at Miriam. "You and I have given everything we have to give. And yet every day on the battlefields of the world, there are those who give more."

"Everyone takes the vow of poverty for their own reasons. Some are punishing themselves for sins of the past, some are rebelling against corruption and greed they see in the world, some simply cannot stand to consume while others go hungry. My own path does include some of those reasons." Arden closes his eyes, and smiles as the music reaches its final peak. "But in the end, I guess I took the vow because I learned that the greatest pleasure- admiring what gifts the faithful have to give- is free."

[achinca]

Miriam looks at the mark on Arden's hand and her immaculate hand and cringes.

"Father Arden, can someone wear gloves in Eldgar? What would happen to the bra.. the mark?"

She listens to Arden eloquent speech and at the end, says nothing. She is speechless. She feels petty and unworthy in front of such a Holy Man. She opens her mouth but says nothing.

"Damn priests. Leave it to them to continuously make me feel like a simple farm girl who knows nothing. I am so humiliated."

She just nods at the monk, having no answer or counter arguments to his speech.

[Admiral]

Natalia asks, "At home, no chance to learn, study, not beyond the bakery, beyond Torin and Karik...Here?"

The dwarf nods as he returns the blueprints to her. "Here there is a place for you to study, to build, and to develop your skills- if you want it. But it would require focus and work on your part."

"You mentioned before that you were interested in merging the magical with the mechanical. That is not my field, but there is a department that specializes in it- Magical Technology. If you do join the guild, and you are interested in learning more, I can set you up with an appointment."

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Please see OOC for discussion.

[CoffeeIncluded]

Natalia just sits, stunned. This can't be happening. No way; this is just a dream. She somehow nods, and says, "...Okay. Or even just machines."

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This...Is not an easy decision to make.

[Athedia]

Mithril walked into the room slowly, spinning around to view the vast array of books. She slowly stepped up to the closest bookshelf, cautiously reaching out as though it would disappear as she touched it. She stood that way for a little before turning back to Quart. Tears of joy running down her face she smiled, her face saying all that she felt.