Crossing the Worldwalls: Prologue [IC]

[Ellas Aramond]

Prologue: The Meeting on Gallifrey

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If you want to enhance this, listen to this while you read. It makes it moi awesome.

At first glance, the island known only as Gallifrey seems to be normal enough. But to most, there is just something about that comes off as a bit odd. It could the the fact that the small piece of land is more like a mesa rising out of the sea then a standard island. Or it could be the fact that the waters are unnaturally blue, as though it was more like liquid sapphire then a normal ocean. Of course, considering the sheer amount of different worlds, normal is a relative thing. The entire island appears to be at the eye of a storm. Although, instead of wind and rain, there is instead a thick wall of fog about a mile from the island at all points.

A better look of Gallifrey makes it seem more like a stranded building made of stone rather then a simple island. Where the waters touch the land is a ring of docks encircling the entire island. The docks house ships that share the island's oddness, and are all different from each other in design. But they have one similarity. They all seem to have a miniature lighthouse somewhere on them.

The island's walls have all kinds of things on them. Balconies, windows, unidentifiable contraptions, identifiable contraptions, and doors; all of different sizes, shapes and designs.

The doors and arches level with the docks lead inside the building-like island, into what seems like other worlds, even though it has been explained to you that through the world's magic, you have actually entered into one of the massive amounts caverns in the island, each one replicating a different ecosystem. Although, there are smaller ones that are not like this and used as rooms.

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Alright folks, here's the breakdown. Your characters have been on the island for at least a month. You've been told to keep away from the docks until now, and have been inducted into the shields, while being told of the rules and what exactly it is that the Shields do; which you all have most likely picked up from what I said in the recruitment thread.

Now, it is time for your first mission. You have all been instructed to go down to dock #13 and meet with the members of your new team. You'll know you're at the right dock because a woman with long, silver hair will be waiting for you.

Considering the sheer size of the interior of Gallifrey, there's a good chance that you have not yet met each other; or a few of you could have bumped into one another; either is fine with me, if you've got any questions, feel free to ask over on the OOC thread.

[Storm Bringer]

Talask Tallerhand hand never seen a dock up close before. He'd been to port towns before, but always to do business with the merchants in the markets or to visit a noble in his manor, never to talk to a sailor or board a ship. The sheer bustle of the place caught him off guard. Thier were sailors everywhere, loading ships, unloading ships, sitting on the floor playing dice games, and singing. work chants, tavern drinking songs, ancient shanties as old as sailing.....all in the rough, off key voices of a thousand sailors. It was something else to those who had not seen it before.

Talask threaded his way though the throng, trying to find the pier that his ship was berthed at. He had to ask for directions a few times, having come out of the wrong portal and ended up a long way form the right dock. however after a brisk walk he was nearly at the right dock. It wasn't all bad, Talask thought. the walk allowed him to get a better view of the island, something he'd not really had a chance to do before. He'd entered the island via a plane shift, and this was the best view of the island he'd got in the 2 months he'd been on the island. It was a big place, but even so it seemed like it was almost too small for the sheer number and scale of the inertior rooms.


Talask could just about make out the Silver haired woman who was thier contact. Dodging a trio of sailors manhanding a large barrel onto a huge ship with great banks of oars down it's sides, Talask walked over to the waiting woman and bowed deeply.

"I am Talask, samurai of the Tallerhand family. But I am told you may address me as the Ebony." His voice was deep, and carried well dispite the softness with which he spoke. "Am i the frist to arrive?" He asked, looking around

[MorkaisChosen]

Erasmus follows the paths through Gallifrey, marvelling at the variety of architectural styles- mostly totally unfamiliar to him- and the many different beings he met upon his way. The latter he seems somewhat uncomfortable with- after all, much of his life has been spent trying to avoid this sort of creature getting into his world.

Although he has been on Gallifrey for some time now, he still seems torn between a scholarly fascination and a touch of fear- although the latter has largely been worn down by his constant contact with other races.

As Erasmus nears the docks, he notices the woman and greets her, saying, "Good day to you, my lady. I am the Academe, and I have been instructed to make my acquaintance with you at this point."

Noticing the armoured samurai, Erasmus adds, [color="Sienna]"I take it this is one of my compatriots in the approaching assignment?[/color]

[Ellas Aramond]

The young woman nods to the two, letting a small smile play out on her lips at Talask's formality.

"Greetings Ebony, Academe. You have come to the right place. Forgive me if I do not say more. I would like to wait until you all arrive before I start explaining things."

At first glance, the woman seems to share some of Gallifrey's oddness. For one, unlike everyone else traversing the docks, she carries no weapon or armor. In fact, she is clad in only a simple, white dress, with a belt around her waist the same color as her hair.

[Illiterate Scribe]

Azariah

A hooded figure trails Talask at a distance of approximately thirty feet. It glides, gracefully, towards the ship, moving with poise - until walking straight into the barrel being carried by the three soldiers. Dried fish goes everywhere.

Sorry, sorry, sorry - can I help clear that up?

A rather contemptuous, and unrepeatable, response is heard.

Uh, yes, fine, I shall leave it to you then. Sorry!

The figure hurries, trying to be inconspicuous, up the gangplank; not exactly succeeding, because inconspicuous people generally don't wear flowing hooded robes.

When it reaches the small gaggle of Shields on the deck, it stops, and pulls off its cloak - revealing a young woman, fairly short, with skin the colour and texture of liquid stormclouds, wearing a slightly dazed but excited expression.

You would be Talask the Ebony, and Erasmus the Academe, yes? I've heard so much about you. Azariah, the Blind Observer; pleased to meet you!

A small hand is extended. It is cool to the touch.

And our host?

[MorkaisChosen]

Erasmus seems excited by this new companion.

"It looks to me as if you are not entirely a mortal- if it is not rude to ask, may I inquire as to whether you have an elemental in your antescedents?"

[Storm Bringer]

"Your memory serves you well, my lady. I am indeed the Ebony. " Talask bowed again, his forehead nearly touching Azariah's hand. his grip was firm but not hard.

"You say you have heard of me and my deeds? It gladens my heart to know that my repuation proceeds me. Pray, tell, what do they say of me?" he asked. his tone light and inviting.

Obviously, someone spent a lot of time knocking courtly manners into his head.

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dammit, the thread is inactive for over an hour, and someone STILL ninjas me

[Krimm_Blackleaf]

Walking through the paths of Gallifrey is a relatively handsome young man. He is average in height and a little less than average weight. His hair is brown, with sideburns going down the sides of his face and in front of a pair of brown eyes he wears a set of thick glasses. He appears to be wearing a deep-hooded, dark brown coat, but with the hood down and beneath that is what looks like a stylized pinstripe business suit, probably picked up on some other world altogether.
As he walks toward his destination he notices someone he doesn't particularly want to meet... and the sullen expression on their face and their apparent lookout for someone means he really doesn't want to be found. He takes a moment and changes his appearance dramatically and removes his glasses(apparently not even needing them). Walking past and giving them a nod, and turning back to his previous form once out of site.
Before long, he comes to the docks and shows a smile full of pearly whites. "Well then folks, 'ow are we doing?" he speaks in a charming Tanzenian accent and keeps his hands in his pants pockets.

[Neftren]

A tall, thin and imposing figure slowly makes his way through the bustling city. He appears to carry no weapon, and nothing much is known about him. It is all concealed by a dark and ominous cloak. A small black rose is pinned to his chest. You smell the scent of more roses coming from within his cloak.

As he gets nearer to the docks, he senses the presence of several other individuals. "My apologies to you. Gallifrey is a large place, with much to learn about." Bowing low to the silvery haired woman, he speaks quietly and softly, "What is to be our mission?"

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Ooh sorry guys. The subscriptions links weren't updating for some reason.

[MorkaisChosen]

Erasmus glances around, pushing a strand of his long brown hair back into his headband, and a glint of shining metal emerges from the sleeve of his plain brown habit.. "Yes, I would be interested to know of our mission, should you feel ready to divulge any pertinent details," he says.

[Illiterate Scribe]

Azariah

She turns to Erasmus, throwing up her hands in mock surrender.

Yes, you have me. My mother was Ahiam, the elemental wyrd aboard the Observation; my father was Abiathar, a storm elemental aboard the same. Suffice to say that I am as surprised as you are to be born a genasi. You would be a scholar of such matters?

You, on the other hand, Talask - I wouldn't have to hear tales about you to see your chosen métier. The elegant fighting style is evinced by those two beauties of the smith's art, the pragmatism of their unadorned blades - a samurai, yes?

As she speaks, the other neophyte Shields draw up.

Greetings, comrades! I believe we are all here now.

[Storm Bringer]

Talask smiled a warm smile "Something like that. I am a noble-born warrior, sworn into a lord of cause, so the name is suitable. Technically, am a niten warrior, who trains in the use of both my swords, and I am proud to say I am a master of the niten form."

Talask then turned to the two new arrivals, and bowed, once agian (if a little less than he had to the sliver haired woman and Azariah. womanhood hath it privilages). "And welcome, my fellows."

[Ellas Aramond]

"Indeed, welcome." The young woamn says, finally breaking out of her silence. "Academe, Warper, Blackrose, Ebony, Blind Observer; now that you are all here, we can start. Oh, before we do, allow me to summon the ship.

The wind starts to pick up and blow around the group. Anyone actually looking at the woman notices that despite the gale, not a single thread of her dress or hair is being buffeted. In fact, her eyes are giving off a dim glow.

Off in the distance, a ship appears out of the mist, barreling towards the group.

[Neftren]

"That's a cool trick. Anything else we can do here on Gallifrey other than summon ships?"

[Storm Bringer]

talask looks thoughtful for a second."I'm sorry, but i seem to have missed your name." he says regarding the seemingly spirt like woman who could summon ships from thin air and ignored the wind.........

[Illiterate Scribe]

Azariah

That ship ... it's amazing, I just have to get a closer look. Hope you don't mind ...

Out of a pocket of the robe, Azariah draws a pair of lenses. One of them is a fairly mundane, if finely made, slab of glass, but the other is a smaller, gem-like tool of near-perfect clarity. Holding them both up to an eye, she stares at the boat.

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Rollin' some dice.

Because I feel like it.

To identify what magic brought the boat here:

(1d20+18)[28]

[Ellas Aramond]

The woman grins as the barreling ship slows down and drifts perfectly into the dock. It is complete with the lighthouse that all the others have, and all of its metal pieces are a gleaming silver.

"You can call me Silvera, and this is my worldship. Welcome to your home away from home."

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You have no idea what kind of magic she used to call the ship to her is, but you do notice that whatever it is, her entire body is radiating it.

[Storm Bringer]

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....
I'm too used to 40k. when you said worldship, I instantly thought she'd summoned an eldar craftworld. (for those not in the know, the eldar craftworlds are on the 1000km+ scale).

"hmm....." talask looks thoughful for a moment, shrugs, then moves to board the now-waiting boat.

[Illiterate Scribe]

Azariah

A home away from home ...

She falters, but then soon brightens again - even chuckling slightly.

Indeed, that's truer than you think. May we? Oh, also, thank you, Silvera. A great pleasure to meet you.

[Krimm_Blackleaf]

Huu looks up as the ship approaches, his eyes brighten and eyebrows raise. He smiles again showing all of his teeth and he exclaims, "Fantastic!"

[Neftren]

"Well, that's a dandy looking ship! Any idea where we're going?"

[Ellas Aramond]

"To you as well." She says to Azariah, before fishing a few items out of a nigh invisible pocket in her dress.

"For your first mission, we will be going to a world known as Kanitha, but I shall explain more once we set sail. All I ask now is that you get yourselves situated. There is a room for each of you, of course. But you each need to wear one of these." Opening her hand, she gives each of you a silver ear cuff, emblazoned with the same curved rune that can be seen on the front of the ship.

"These are basically your keys to get into the ship. As long as you wear one, you will have full access.

We will set sail once the five of you are ready. I will see you onboard." With that, she starts to glow and shrink until she becomes a small ball of silver light, then flies into the ship.

[Krimm_Blackleaf]

He blinks and looks just a little surprised. "Huh, well you don' see that every day, do you?" He takes the ear-cuff and fits it on comfortably as he walks up the gang-plank onto the ship, "Alright folks, let's set sail!"

[Storm Bringer]

talask takes the ear cuff and dons it without word. As he moves to board the shi;, the others noticed for the frist time the small, well-made lute nestled amoung the equipment on his back.

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so, what's this ship like? classic eruopean square rigged sailing ship? mid east lanteen rig? a chinese junk? a roman galley, or something else entirely?

[MorkaisChosen]

Erasmus takes the cuff and examines it, looking at the rune for a few seconds.

"Oh, sorry," he says, looking up suddenly, "The ship. Yes, I'm ready to set off."

With that, he puts on the cuff and boards the ship.

OOC:

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Many rolls...
Using Read Magic, Spellcraft check to identify the rune: (1d20+13)[30]
Knowledge: Arcana to see if I recognise the silver-globe trick: (1d20+14)[27]
Spellcraft for same: (1d20+13)[21]
Knowledge (Planes) for same: (1d20+14)[28] (haven't got access to my sheet right now, so that might actually be +16- not sure...)

[Neftren]

Donning the cuff, Hargil boldly steps onto the ship, wondering what exactly would happen to him.

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Eew, ear piercings? Can't we get like... bracelets?

[Illiterate Scribe]

Azariah

Like the Academe, the Blind Observer does not immediately don the earing, instead turning it round and round in dusk-coloured fingers. She begins walking up the gangplank, but, just before crossing the threshold, she hefts the bag that she carries on her back round, and surreptitiously whispers into it, while pretending to search through it for something..

Abiasaph? Are you awake in there?

A voice, like a slightly atonal and odd piece of symphonic music, answers -

As ever, Miss L'Imre.

Good. You've got good senses; could you stay in the bag, and see if anything feels odd as you enter? If you hear anything, alert me telepathically.

I shall be vigilant.

Thankyou.

Closing the bag, she produces a pouch of miscellaneous spell components, and tucks them into an inside pocket.

Then, with an innocent, wide-eye glance around her, she takes her ear, pushing the cuff on, and steps inside.

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Wikipedia suggests that an ear cuff is just something that sits atop the ear, rather than piercing it. Don't worry Neftren!

Abiasaph is Azariah's Dedicated Wright homunculus, who lives inside a bag of holding; although, of course, having cost her a whole bunch of Con points of blood, it's more of an extension of her). She's looking to see how the ship interacts with the extraplanar field of the bag.

[Ellas Aramond]

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Illiterate's right. I went with ear cuffs because they are usually worn on the top or side of the ear, and can be inconspicuous, especially when hidden by hair, or the brim of a hat. And this way, they don't take up a body slot, unless it is enchanted with something extra.
Also, theres a pic I found that the worldship is based off of. I'll post it on the OOC thread. And I believe that Krimm is working on a group shot that includes the modified version of the ship in it.

For Morkais' Eyes ONLY

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You are unable to identify Silvera's magic. The rune, while unique, it's design can be traced to a race that you've only recently learned about, known as Mistwalkers

For Illiterate's Eyes ONLY

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<You have no need to worry.> Silvera's voice echoes through your mind. <This ship has been created with the needs of the Shields' in mind. Items such as your bag will not be tampered with.

As the five of you walk up the gangplank and onto the deck, nothing seems to change, besides the bits of silver continuing their gleam. There is only one door leading belowdeck. When you enter, this is when things turn a bit strange.

You find it as though you've entered Gallifrey again. The room is much bigger then the entirety of the ship, and many closed doors lead to rooms beyond. The room is decorated poshly, with many pieces of furniture. At the center, is a sloped, pentagonal console, covered with many different colored gems. In the center of it, a fat tube rises out of it into the ceiling, filled with what appears to be a blueish-white fog.

"Yes, it's bigger on the inside" Silvera says, appearing behind you. "Your rooms ae through those doors. Take as long as you need, then meet back in here so we can fully discuss your mission."

[Storm Bringer]

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Were he not with us already, I would expect David tennant to pop out of a door any second now......

"Magic...." Talask muttered under his breath in a long suffering voice. He moved towards one of the cabins and looked in. the room was fairly large, with a elegant bed in a style unknown to talask up on one wall, and a floor lenght mirror on the other, with a table and a few chairs in the same style, and a suprisingly large empty space in it, and cupboards nad stoarge areas around the walls.

"perfect" talkask said, nodding aprovingly. He put his pack down and carfully placed his lute out of harms way, then removed his armour, placing it in a cupboard. He put on a modratly elaborate robe on on over his undergarments, stuck his swords into his waist sash, and returned to the main room a few minutes after leaving it.

[Illiterate Scribe]

Azariah

In reply to Silveras' words, Azariah forms her own mental reply:

For Ellas only -

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I am sorry for doubting your intentions, but, in my life so far, I have seen the worst in people's treachery with regard to cursed objects, rings, and jewelry. Needless to say, however, this does not excuse my own hostility; I seek your forgiveness for this.

As she crosses the threshold, the Blind Observer gasps in wonder. Whereas the Observation was an utterly utilitarian craft, made of whatever filled the two conditions of being the most satisfactory for purpose, and of actually being present, this ship is a work of art.

Seeing the doors, and the larger rooms behind them, elicits more surprise. She spins round, made slightly by the thought of them.

Doors within doors, spaces within spaces, nut something's ... odd. That might just be the extra-spatial geometry of this place, but nonetheless, it is still a fairly amazing place.

There's only one way to resolve that.

And she barrels off into one of the rooms.

* * *

The room may be large, but, once Azariah has finished unpacking the multitude of bizarre objects from her pack, it's not much smaller. That's because the entirety of her belongings - the lenses, the eldritch vials, the small, but finely crafted bell, among other things - have been neatly compartmentalised upon a corner of a blanket. It's a throwback to living in tight spaces, she would explain should anyone question it - or, perhaps, a reserve from encroaching on the open space of the cabin.

Drawing out a single long, simple want, adorned with a single rune of healing, and tucking this into her belt, Azariah leaves the room and begins wandering round the central pillar of the ship.