Crossing the Worldwalls: Prologue [IC]

[Storm Bringer]

after Erasmus had finished, talask began to speak.

"Well, I'm just a lesser son of a warrior clan. I've spent my life alternating between the courts of the great lords and the camps of the western nomad tribes, mostly as a retainer to a son of the Imperial family. We happened to save a party from the Sheilds operating on my world, and i was asked to join up. So, here I am." talask gestured around him.

[Illiterate Scribe]

Azariah

Again, nothing special here. The only reason that I'm here at all is because the elite order that enslaved my parents forgot about us.

Reclining against a bulkhead, the Blind Observer sheds a mock tear, then quickly looks up, smiling at the other Shields.

[MorkaisChosen]

"Rather a motley crew we make, isn't it?"

[Ellas Aramond]

"Magic is nothing new among the Kanithans." Silvara says, breaking out of what seems like a trance. "They just go about it differently. Arcane gestures and phrases have no place in their world, they usually just mutter the name of the spell they wish to cast. But in place of gestures, their casting usually lifts them slightly off the ground for a few moments."

None of the other members have made contact with Donahall, so we know very little about what he is aware of." She turns to Talask. "In fact, we are unsure of his location, besides the fact that he is in Kaineng City."

"We are Currently traveling through the upper layer of the Ethereal Plane. It is the easiest way to bypass the worldwalls."

"And as for you all as a group, I have certainly seen stranger. The council had the wise idea of teaming up a paladin with a half-demon. You can imagine how well that worked out."

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Sorry this has taken so long guys, my router has basically decided to stop working, so until I can get a new one, things will be going slowly.

[Krimm_Blackleaf]

"Astral Plane! Of course of course... Hardly took this method in the past." He turns to the rest of the group with eyes wide, but in an unsurprised sort of way. "Used to traveling through a sort of wibbly wobbly tube."

[MorkaisChosen]

"I have no real experience of cross-planar travel myself- before I met the Shields, that is. My organisation was mostly concerned with sending whateveer came through back, not going there ourselves."

[Neftren]

The deck rumbles as Hargil stomps around the deck.

[Illiterate Scribe]

Azariah

Azariah turns to Huu.

A ... tube? I perceived it more as some sort of multidimensional net, full of tangles and swirls. Must be different for different folks, I suppose.

[MorkaisChosen]

Erasmus seems very interested in the differing perceptions of planar travel, perhaps a surviving element of his more scholarly days.

[Storm Bringer]

"how long is the trip? will we be landing soon or do we have time?" talask asked

[Ellas Aramond]

"Well, it is really more like traveling through a prismatic mist. Although, the tube you are talking about could be attributed to a temporal flane that is...well, I probably should not go into the the details..."

A few minutes later, the telltale key on piano string sound starts up again, as well as the lighthouse column pulsating with blue light.

"Well, it looks like we are here."

Chapter One: The City of War


"Just a few more things to tell you before you go out." She says before you exit the vessel, "Those cuffs I gave you, while they are passes onto the ship, also serve to negate your natural anchor, so don't take them off while you are not on Gallifrey or the ship, otherwise there will be some unwanted results."

"They also bestow a sort of magical link between you and the ship. With them, you will be able to understand and language of the worlds, and they also let you draw upon the knowledge contained in the ship."

"Also, one thing the council asked me to tell you. This world is in a civil war, but try not to get involved. Good luck."

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Basically what she's telling you is that the ship's presence is what allows you that understanding of languages I talked about in the recruitment. Also, knowledge checks (such as Local and Nobility and Royalty) made about the world represent how well you can draw upon the facts contained in the ship.

As you walk outside, you notice that the exterior of the ship has changed, but still keeps the miniature lighthouse.

The docks you are on appear to be close to a shipyard, as the racket of banging and sawing give it away. The docks open to a open area resembling a marketplace, with many people buying and selling wares.

[Krimm_Blackleaf]

Huu looks up at the somewhat dilapidated city with utmost excitement and cheer on his face, intaking all this knowledge as they reach the docks. He only half listens to the voice of the woman, until his mind decides to focus a tad more. "I'm sorry, what about a war?" The smile still on his face, his eyes questioning...

[Storm Bringer]

Kalask looked out at the city, an expression of awe on his face. the city was big, much bigger than any city talask had seen before. form the top of the gangplank, talask could see several miles inland over the top of the slums, and more buildings beyond. the population of the city must be immense, millions strong without a doubt.

and they were to find one person in this?

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for those who haven't played guild wars, the City of Kaineng covers something like 20% of the entire game map, form the northwestern corner of it some way east and south. This city is like the scale of a modern city, spread out with large suburbs. Think London, or other huge city of your choice.

Now think that we have no means of transport faster than walking/riding. you get the idea.

[Neftren]

Walking off the ship, Hargil wondered how anyone could ever live in an expanse like this. His homeland was merely a huge tower carved out of a mountain, and he had never seen anything larger than that in his travels.

"So ... does anyone have any ideas as to where we can track down this fellow and be done with? Perhaps we should also find some means of transport. I would suggest we find the nearest inn or tavern and ask about. We could also find what makes up the central marketplace and ask around there about this wizard who apparently controls everyone..."

[Illiterate Scribe]

Azariah

My ... so many, many, people!

That's ... more people than I've seen before. In real life, anyway. City of Brass? Might be comparable. But still.

You are right - one person, in this - could be quite hard. We could, however, take advantage of his status as a wizard - if he came from outside, as I suspect - would I be right, Silvera? - he will be stuck using our schema of magic, and so will be looking for components. A place to start, and an identifying hallmark, I should say. This market looks promising.

Hargil - I agree utterly. And that is why -

Azariah tip-toes behind Talask.

- we hereby (well, with the tacit and assumed agreement of the rest of the group anyway) nominate our noble friend here -

She gently pushes him forwards, out of the boat.

-as our speaker. He is already posing as -

The Observer adopts a dramatic tone.

'the Ebony, an exotic condottiere seeking his contract in the metropolis of Kaineng; what more natural that he should have a group of travellers with him?'

[MorkaisChosen]

The Academe frowns. "As a scholar, I may be able to gain entry to some institutes of learning if I can prove my credentials- that could help us find this waizard."

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I want psychic paper for that, I think... Also, Knowledge: History check about this civil war: (1d20+14)[29]

[Illiterate Scribe]

If he is expecting some sort of intervention, that might alert him. That said, that might actually be a good idea, since it will allow us to misdirect him.

[Storm Bringer]

Talask smiles at Azariah suggestion

"An intresting ploy. I suggest we go with it for now, and ask around this marketplace for intresting rumours. Those of us trained in the arcane arts, I suggest you ask about some of the more extotic spell components, the stuff that would need a specailist retailer to get. They'd be a good place to try and find info on him."

Talask moved off into the crowds, glancing at the stalls. Fish were in abundance here, being so close to the docks, and the area stank to high heaven of salt and rotting fish.

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ellas, can i subsitute diplomacy for gather infomation?
if i can: 1d20+8= 28 (that's my luck used up for the month)
If not: 1d20+1=13

looking for clues to the wizards location, news about the wars progess (which side is winning, how are off is the front lines, etc), and general gossip, in that order.

[Illiterate Scribe]

On it right now.

She turns to the Academe.

I could certainly use some help, Brother Academe, but I suspect that we should divide and conquer. Dornahall sounds like a fairly powerful wizard; since such wizards, regardless of tradition, never forfeit their clairsentient skills, I suspect that he will be scrying fairly regularly. If so, he'll need materials. But what, precisely ...

Azariah ticks them off on her fingers, and begins to walk round the deck, talking to herself:

Eagle, roc, hawk eyes? Could probably acquire them on the sly. A, large, finely polished, silver mirror? More likely, but, as a focus, he would still have only needed to purchase the one. Nevertheless, it would be a good idea to browse stores selling them. But ah, here's a thought - copper, zinc, aqua fortis. The first - well, I do not know the purity of the currency here (although I see 'copper' shillings), but it is unlikely that it would be sufficiently elemental to use for the spell. As far as I know, zinc isn't found natively, so, unless he has a private source, he's getting that from somewhere. Aqua fortis ... well, that stuff is nasty; suppliers shouldn't be too hidden.

The question now lies in how to be one of the only others looking for such materials, without being spotted.

Firstly, aqua fortis; if you mix it with Muriatic acid, I believe that one obtains the wondrous aqua regia, the solvent that not even gold or platinum can withstand. Muriatic acid ... doesn't one obtain that from mixing salt with vitriol? And vitriol-

She tugs at a dyed strand in the fabric over her costume.

-must be in demand here. So it's unlikely that I'll be conspicuous searching for that ingredient, or if I am, there's nothing to show why I was acting suspiciously. Pure copper? They'd have me down as a forger, most likely. Zinc would be a good fall back, though, albeit more specialised, and thus more easy to identify that I was looking.

By this point, she has circled back to the deck. She stops, blocking Talask before he leaves.

One quick check, if I may, to see that all this theorising has not been in vain.

With a, slow, smooth, gliding motion, she passes a hand close over the samurai's forehead, and then lightly touches the back of his armour. She then concentrates for a short while, and repeats the gesture, this time clutching a short length of black thread.

There - that should help you in your search.

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Before you make those checks, consider adding +5 to the diplomacy roll, as I just cast the infusion 'skill enhancement' on your armour/clothing, giving you said insight bonus on diplomacy checks made in the next hour. Also, the two attempts were to see if I can cast without components, like the Kanithans. If it worked the first time, without the thread (the material component), then all the above theorising is come to naught.

[MorkaisChosen]

"A masterful summary, I believe, Observer- do you mind if I call you that?- and one to which I think I can add little, other than some theories on possible other sources for his materials."

Erasmus stops and thinks hard, trying to remember any extraplanar sources for copper, zinc and the acids.

[spoiler]Know:Planes check: (1d20+14)[28]

[Ellas Aramond]

For Morkais' eyes ONLY:

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The Luxons, like their sworn enemies the Kurzicks, have long been "vassals" of Kanitha-politically and economically absorbed by the empire long ago, but allowed to maintain distinct cultures and ways of life. All Luxons are united in their distrust of the Kurzicks, their competitors for power and territory, and vice versa. But there was a time when the two vassal cultures were at peace. That peace was shattered when Shiro Tagachi killed the 27th emperor 200 years earlier. Though the Luxon and Kurzick champions slew Shiro and avenged the emperor's death, they died along with thousands of others when the Jade Wind washed over the land. The Luxons and Kurzicks have been at odds ever since.

And the largest planar deposits of the minerals have been found in the caverns of the plane of earth. But most if not all have been claimed by the Xorn.

Azariah's first attempt comes to naught, as she does not notice the slightest bit of arcane power.

People give Talask odd looks as he asks around, but never the less give him information after 4 hours. By imperial decree, the Luxon and Kurzick fighting can not be held anywhere in Keineng, so much of it is fight in what the city-dwellers call the Vassal Lands: the lands of the Luxons and Kurzicks. Despite this, the fighting has been drawing very close to the city limits recently. During all the years of fighting, the Luxon-Kurzick border has yet to shift significantly.

When you ask, the city-dwellers have no idea what a wizard is, and the first thing that they think of when you describe one to them is a elementalist. No one seems to know where Dornall is, or that he even exists, but they advise you tor take it up with the Ministry of Earth.

((I hate to waste good luck, Storm, but this was just a simple gather information check. I added Illiterate's bonus to the roll though.

I'm assuming that the rest of you are accompanying Storm in his information gathering. If you are doing something different, you have 4 hours before he completes his task.))

[Storm Bringer]

talask leaned on a wall, looking out over the market and the city beyound. His shearch had found him little of intrest. He sighed thinking hard.

"okay, our target is in a position to influence the course of the fighting. thiers two ways he can do that: actaully going out on the battlefield and fireballing troops, or inlfuencing the leaders of one or both sides. A wizard who was powerful enough to change the coruse of a contient-spanning war by direct Intervention is not going to be able to do so without being talked about. We've not heard a single word about any such wizard, so I'm guessing he is in a position to inlfuence the leaders. That means, to find him, we're going to have to find the leaders he's influencing." talask looked at the others. who had regrouped.

"Any ideas?"

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in short: any NPC who could alter the course of a war between two nations with large magic using populations (magic users are rather common in guild wars.) is so far beyond our ability to defeat we can discount that option. Egro, he's doing a Wormtongue and convicing the leaders of one side (maybe both sides) to do his bidding.

the above is the non-meta gaming version, which goes that nuke the armies of your foes is not something that can be done stealthly. we'd be getting rumours of armies he'd wiped out, outposts he'd helped to take, etc.

[Illiterate Scribe]

I'm trying to think of ways of stopping this threat which don't involve unseating the government, if what you say is true. So far, I'm drawing blanks, I'm afraid. Still, my little test with the components gives me hope - they work the same. We may be able to track Dornahall by them - it may be a better way of remaining undercover. That said, it might be a good idea to try to cultivate some contacts for the Shields here. I just don't know!

Azariah throws up her hands in mock desperation.

[Storm Bringer]

Talask smiled slightly.

"Thankfully, my dear, we do not need to unsteat a government, just remove the influence of one member of it, possibly just a simple advisor, albeit a high placed one. the real question is which side has he joined with and who on that side is he manipulating."

[MorkaisChosen]

"He may not be all that powerful directly- consider, he could be an enchanter and illsuionist of considerable skill. More effective a manipulator, certainly, but far easier to defeat if we can find and unmask him. Another thing- if the governments have anti-magic operatives, unmasking the wizard could be enough for us, if his actions are detrimental to both sides in the conflict- it could bring them together under a common cause, to have someone manipulating both of them."

[Neftren]

"Well, maybe we should begin by thinking of where a wizard such as our quarry would hide... I wonder, do wizards or magic users tend to build towers here?"

[Storm Bringer]

"my guess is that he's physcially present at the headquarters of one of the factions. It's the simplest way to influence the war, particularlly if he can offer some magical abilities not pocessed by the native spellcasters. And, if he is pulling strings on both sides, then he'd be well placed to gather intellgence on the war plans."

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Continuing the line of thought with the addition of meta knowledge (specifically, the abilites of GW Magic users), A DnD wizard would have access to divination magics to which the locals would have no reply. Form thier point of view, he'd also be a polymath, able with preperation to compete with the masters of any magic useing class at it's speciality. Ultility spells like arcane lock, fly, and such are also unknown. but divination is the real biggie. it'd fit right in with the 'manipulating b*****d' image we seem to have settled on.

let's hope the DM has gone for the same plan.


for those who'd like to know, a run down of the Guild Wars classes:

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the gw classes are:
Elementalists: Blaster caster, closest to a xykon style scorucer: nuke now, ask questions never. elemental theme but not locked to any one element.

Mesmer : Illusionist with skills that reflect your attacks back at you. wierd purple glows effects are a hallmark

Necromancer: Very Ronseal: does exactly what it says on the tin. bit of a Minion master, attacks with hordes of animated copses

Monk: Equivlent to the cleric class, with the same heal-bot/holy smiter approach

Ritualist: Erm..sort of summoner, really. they conjour up these totems that buff allies/curse foes who are nearby. I think. didn't really play them that much.

other classes, for completness:
warrior: more book of the nine swords than fighter class, with lots of OTT weapon moves.

Ranger: Like the Dnd class, with a hefty dose of druid thrown in. Big on bows, animal companions and a respect for mother nature

assassin: flippin leathal for the first few rounds of combat, rather pants afterwards. can deal a LOT of damage very quickly, but can't substain the rate for long. tend to use hit and run attacks. Oh, and they can teleport up to targets.

Dervish: not likey to meet these, their form a later add-on. scythe wielded nutters who work by buffs that they can kill prematurely to gain extra effects.

Paragons: another post-factions class, a 'leader' build with throwing spears and a range or group buffs.

[Ellas Aramond]

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Of course, Storm, this is assuming that I've copied the classes to the letter, and since this is D&D, I've most certainly haven't. But what I've changed is up to you to find out.

[Storm Bringer]

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true, but it's the best grounding i've got on which to theorise form. plus, since I think thee and me are the only ones who've played Guild wars, I might as well tell the others the basic class ideas, even if the mechanics have changed a bit. or even a lot.

[MorkaisChosen]

Erasmus stands resolved, saying, "I think we need to get started. I will go and talk to the local wizards- hopefully I won't make any huge mistakes."

That said, he takes his leave and goes off to find the nearest Wizards' guild or similar establishment.