The Royal Artificery Society - OOC II: electric boogaloo

[WindStruck]

How far is it from Aiden's home/workshop to the crown's gate guard precinct?

[DeTess]

How far is it from Aiden's home/workshop to the crown's gate guard precinct?

Let me just consult the city map that I totally actually have :P

Some distance actually. Aiden lives in one of the outlying poorer parts of the city, and the military district is near the city center. Maybe an hour on foot?

[WindStruck]

Oh. I was just wondering if it was too late to try to find Whitecliff and consult him on what she was working on. Maybe it's too late.

Or maybe we could flag down a taxi carriage or something..

[DeTess]

Oh. I was just wondering if it was too late to try to find Whitecliff and consult him on what she was working on. Maybe it's too late.

Or maybe we could flag down a taxi carriage or something..

You would have to leave the current district to find one, but you could definitely flag one down (would cost a couple silvers and bring the time down to about 35 minutes al told). Also, based on your last visit, he seems to work till quite late in the evening, so chances are good he'll still be there.

[DeTess]

@windstruck, the spell isn't yet at the prototype stage. You have detailed notes on how it should be able to work and are about halfway done working out the actual spell part, but you're still missing some details.

[WindStruck]

Okay. I guess that's fair.

Now I'm just waiting to see if I'll have a little chat with Whitecliff or not...

[DeTess]

@windstruck, Would it be correct to say that, right now, Shandara is a less wary of Whitecliff, given that he's been surprisingly reasonable during this discussion?

If so, could you give me the cliff notes on some kind of serious trauma Shandara suffered in the past, maybe something that happened before surfacing?

Also, you've read some stuff about storing memories, which you might be be to apply to your approach. Let the informations till come as quickly as usual, but then store it so you can then look through them slowly without needing to keep the psychic ability up. Or you could try to add in buffs to mental ability to more easily parse the rush of information during the short window. The first would require an additional tool to function as storage medium, the second one would have less complete results.

[WindStruck]

That's probably true. You could say that Shandara might actually like Whitecliff. At least for now... no telling when his subtle needling about homework will get to her, or what else he might pull later though.

As for serious trauma? Hmm... I have at least three options, which I think were written in Shandara's backstory...

Spoiler: DeTess

Show

1) Mother attacking her
2) Father being taken as a sacrifice
3) The school incident where she was kicked out.

But I think Whitecliff's condescending little remarks on homework would make #3 more likely to be detected. Think of it like one of those nasty shows where people are confronted with ridiculous challenges and end up dying. Squid Game or Hunger Games might be similar, but I think the situation might not come up all the time, and it was more like "think your way out of this situation" rather than make everyone fight each other to survive.

Homework. Homework...

Shandara remembered actually doing 'homework' at home: studying borrowed volumes which her family was too poor and not prestigious enough to own.. memorizing many facts, some trivial and forgotten, others the foundation from which her magic knowledge was built upon. She remembered many grueling hours spent sitting at their table, often times alone. Sometimes with the wafting smell of cooking she was doing in the mean time, or interrupted by several other ... 'chores' she needed to take care of. Sometimes her mother hovering over her, offering her 'encouragements'. Sometimes her brother returning from a shift, wearily looking her way and avoiding interacting with her.

All this, of course, not only to learn but to prove herself at the Lhalabar Academy, to one day become a prominent mage herself and perhaps take on a similar role passing her knowledge on to others (for exorbitant fees) or in the service of a House. Shandara's work was not only diligent, but more than satisfactory. It was a great example of what a star student could achieve. Except, Shandara herself was not a star in any drow sense of the word. She was small, and frail, and weak, and quiet, quieter than she is now. Because her work was good, other jealous students began to notice. Her belongings went missing several times. She was bullied, and tripped, threatened, ganged up on. She didn't offer any resistance or malice back. They laughed at her and threatened to come to her home and slit her throat in the night.

Shandara was often met by these bullies, extorting answers from her, essentially getting her to do the work for them. She tried to hide this from her mother and brother, simply as.. acquaintances, peers to help each other study. But her professors and the headmaster wouldn't be fooled forever. One day Vierna Lhalabar, the headmistress of the academy herself, burst into their class for an important announcement. This cheating had been going on long enough, with almost everyone in the class having practically identical answers. She was immediately thrown under the bus, and then having come forward, tried to explain how she was threatened and coerced into providing others with information. The headmistress was enraged at this, but most of the ire was directed at Shandara.

Slapped around and beaten again, Shandara was rebuked as too weak, a disgrace, unfit to serve any house. Vierna Lhalabar would not have the reputation of her academy tarnished, and so expelled Shandara then and there. For all the bullies, they merely got a slap on the wrist, and business and learning (and brutal deaths) would continue as usual. For Shandara, however, she was humiliated, laughed at as one of the few who actually got expelled, and the headmistress, who also happened to belong to the clergy of Lloth, threatened to sacrifice the young drow should she ever see her again. So Shandara ran. She bolted out the door, leaving all her things behind. Her feet echoed through the silent academy halls, as she was overcome with panic. Bursting out onto the streets, she began to realize the implications of everything that happened: how everything her parents and family had worked so hard for, the planning so that she might one day achieve something came apart. She had utterly failed. Tears began to stream down her eyes as she hurried back home...

If I'm allowed to get another day of research in tonight, I'll try to explore the 'storing memories' avenue.

Probably no investigative mind this time. (1d20+16)[30]

[MrAbdiel]

Taking all my willpower not to read that spoiler.

[Prehysterical]

I guess we can say that Bolten will get straight to work on the second one, then.

That would also serve as an excellent buffer time for all of us to meet up in a scene later. I'm happy to wait until Aiden and Shandara are done with their bit, but I've Bolten has been pretty antisocial for a group game. It would do some good (and get me more honest about keeping up with the game) for the three of them to be together, even if it is not working together on a project.

[WindStruck]

How about an alternate scene that takes place at a different time and place where all three of us can meet, while other stuff is still simultaneously going on?

[WindStruck]

Just a note. I'm not sure if this is relevant. But that cliffsnotes thing you wanted wouldn't have been on Shandara's surface thoughts. I can only assume Whitecliff was actually trying to pry into someplace he shouldn't have, so, uh.. enjoy the bad memories!

[DeTess]

Just a note. I'm not sure if this is relevant. But that cliffsnotes thing you wanted wouldn't have been on Shandara's surface thoughts. I can only assume Whitecliff was actually trying to pry into someplace he shouldn't have, so, uh.. enjoy the bad memories!

Yeah, I know. The mechanisms involved are less about reading your mind and more similar to the object reading spell you encountered before, where it grabs things that have left deep impressions. Als, before this sudden reaction you didn't pick up on him actively doing anything except discussion those matters with you (remember him repeatedly talking about the problem with gaining a sense that you can't then get rid off :P).

[WindStruck]

Yeah, I know there's a big problem with the psychic effects being unintentional, but if you can just pick up a traumatic memory from the past.. one that's not even being thought about, oh boy. That will be very rough to deal with day to day...

[DeTess]

@windstruck, Whitecliff's lab(and various other facilities such as the precincts interrogation rooms and prison) is in the basement, it's where you currently are. Stairs go up and down, but the steps seemed to go up.

You remember that the higher areas are a bit mazelike though, and Whitecliff both knows the area and has a headstart.

If you do want to follow, can you roll me a perception?

[WindStruck]

perception: (1d20+7)[27]

[MrAbdiel]

Hmm. Maybe Bolten and Aiden can meet up for a pint/tea so Aiden can try to sell him helping with his art project. Or better yet, perhaps we can set it up like it's meant to be a meetup for the three of them, and Shandara can join when Windstruck finishes her present quest and she can snap forward in the timeline to join us. What do you think, Prehysterical?

[DeTess]

(1d4)[2]


@windstruck, if that's not a 4, could you roll me another perception check?

[WindStruck]

hmm okay.

(1d20+7)[15]

Remember, dark vision if it helps. And unfortunately, I don't think Elu is close enough for a further bonus for dark environments.

[DeTess]

(1d20+8)[9]
(1d20)[19]

[WindStruck]

So.. are there multiple rooms or doors to this storage room now? Or are you saying the door to the archives is being opened?

I'm rather lost here, so would you describe where Shandara is and what she is seeing?

[Prehysterical]

Hmm. Maybe Bolten and Aiden can meet up for a pint/tea so Aiden can try to sell him helping with his art project. Or better yet, perhaps we can set it up like it's meant to be a meetup for the three of them, and Shandara can join when Windstruck finishes her present quest and she can snap forward in the timeline to join us. What do you think, Prehysterical?

Either one works for me, really.

[DeTess]

So.. are there multiple rooms or doors to this storage room now? Or are you saying the door to the archives is being opened?

I'm rather lost here, so would you describe where Shandara is and what she is seeing?

Okay, so there's Four doors, two on each side. 2 storage rooms, 2 archives. You opened a door to a storage room and are looking inside, maybe thinking of going on, maybe not. Then you heard a noice from behind one of the other three doors.

Does that make sense?

[DeTess]

(1d2)[2]

tenmorecharacters

[DeTess]

@windstruck, what is Shandara's current mental state, specifically where Whitecliff is concerned?

[WindStruck]

Probably confused and worried?

[Prehysterical]

I'll get Bolten's response up tomorrow night. The winter program we are running right now has me tired.

[DeTess]

Today I learned gitp has a swear filter XD

[DeTess]

Oof, now I feel sorry for doing all that to Shandara XD

Is there anything else you wanted to do this night?

[WindStruck]

Well the night is still young so to speak. Shandara can probably squeeze in a bit more research.

For now, why don't we work on the financial analysis of the report she was making?

She can probably compile some numbers from her own records and experience, or take yet another trip to the archives?

Appraise: (1d20+11)[13] or (1d20+11)[13]

arcana: (1d20+17)[35]