Geekdom Hearts IC [Group 1]

[Colt]

You slowly wake up to find yourself lying on a strange beach. The world looks strangely bright, and a little over-saturated color-wise. You can’t remember how you ended up here, or who you are generally. You can only remember your first name - you know that you had a last name, but you just can’t seem to remember it.
As you slowly begin to stand up and look around, before you have a chance to talk to the strangers with you, or even look around much, a short humanoid in a very concealing cloak appears behind you. He appears to have some sort of parchment hanging in the air before him. His face is obscured by a large hood as he slowly looks over the 5 people in front of him. As he begins to speak, his voice sounds strangely distant, as if through a long tunnel. "You have arrived. Please gather your things and follow me, any questions you have, I will try to answer on the way." He then turns and walks up to the edge of a thin palm forest that borders the beach. He then turns and waits for you to follow. "Please don't do anything rash that might make me have to kill you. It is a far less pleasant task than your would imagine."

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And we're off! For the first little while here, I'll be waiting on everyone to post before advancing, so stay tuned!

[The Necroswanso]

Garin wakes up, on a beach? Laying next to his sword? This was new. atleast, he thought it was. Now that he was able to ponder it, what was new? He eyed his balde, it spanned his body length, with the handle almost two feet long. He couldn't remember where he got it, but he definitely knew what it was for.
He stood up when the voice behind him speaks up. After the stranger finished their first set of statements he began to laugh uncontrollably, as though he had just heard the joke of his life.
"So it's true what they said! You can forget everything you know, even your beloveds face, even your name, but the Burning Blade technique will be stamped on your very soul."
After a moment he follwoed the short man.
So, tell me, tiny, what exactly is this place?"

[The Maverick]

Gilgstrom wakes up slowly, opening his eyes and staring up into the sky. Without sitting up he begins to mutter, "Unknown location, nice day, on a beach no less..." He slowly sits up, still muttering quietly to himself, "Run down the checklist I suppose... sword," he reaches for the hilt of a sword larger than he is lying next to him in the sand, "check. Studies," he feels for a small book hanging from his belt, "check. Strinberg," he looks down as a small weasel pokes its head out of the front of his shirt and squeaks at him, "check."

He stands up, paying no attention to the people around him, and stares out across the ocean, "Complete amnesia... check." At this point the strange being appears behind the group and begins to speak. After it's finished, Gilgstrom continues to stare out to sea for a moment, shrugs his shoulders with a "Huh.", turns, and says, "So, who royally botched their summoning spell?"

[Yuki Akuma]

[I forgot to buy gauntlets... *deducts 4 gp*]

Neil's hand twitches lightly, as he begins to come to his senses. The night gets up off the ground, slowly, kneeling for a few moments before shakily making his way to his feet. One gauntleted hand comes up to brush some sand from his face, while the other clutches tightly to a rather large scythe, with a greyish, dull-looking blade. It looks... more like a farming implement than a weapon, to be honest.

The knight shakes his head, looking about with a confused expression. "By Ehlonna, what has happened to me...?" He then pauses, taking note of the few people in the same predicament as himself. He turns to them. "...I would hazard a guess that you are my companions, sirs, yet I am rather embarassed to admit that I cannot remember a single one of you..." Here he pauses for a few moments. "Or much of myself, to be honest. I am Neil... Neil..." A frown. "...of Ehlonna," he finishes, lamely.

[bchilders]

Chandy

Chandy wakes up with a start and has the most unusual sensation he has ever experienced. Wel, he thinks it's the most unusual sensation but his memory is a little foggy. He checks his weapons: the boot knives, daggers in his sleeves, vest and belt, and throwing axes across his back. When finally he notices all those around him, a strange figure approaches and speaks to them all.

As the others start talking he realizes that they are suffering from the same amnesia. He decides to not let the others on to his own affliction. "The name's Chandy, there is no more daring and capable adventurer alive, but I wouldn't have to explain that to ya'll if your minds were as sharp as mine," Chandy shakes his head in mock dissapointment as he heads off after the cloaked figure.

[Rogue 7]

The first thought in Oskar's head as he woke up was something he'd been told many times before: "Never fall asleep in armor. It feels like waking up in a stew pot." His second thought, of course, was "Where in the nine hells did I hear that from? Boy, I must have drunk a lot last night." He stirred, opening his eyes and lifting his visor. "A beach? But how in Kord's name could I have gotten washed up here? I'd sink in this armor and my cloak's not wet. And I would say I distinctly remember falling asleep somewhere last night, but that doesn't seem to be an option right now. What did I drink?"

He stands up, loosening his joints and making sure that everything still moved properly. He looked himself over. Armor seems good, sword is secure in its sheath, dagger in the belt, scrolls and potions secure. "All set for a campaign. But what was I fighting?"
At the sound of the voice of the mysterious man, he looks up and begins to trek, giving cursory nods to the others, particularly those with the large weapons (which is most of them, come to think of it.) At the end of his speech, he wryly comments out loud- "It's probably a hell of a lot less pleasant for us than for you, chum.

[Colt]

As soon as everyone is with him, the cloaked figure sets off through the forest into the mainland. He seemingly ignores Oskar's comment, and instead responds to Garin's question. "In order to understand where we are, you will need to understand something about the nature of universes. Universes are not usually stationary. They swoop and spiral around each other like some giant bees nest. However, some are stationary, they drift a little, but not enough to notice in the whole of the multiverse. The problem with these stationary universes is that they often get hit by other universes, resulting in sudden changes to each that are often very unpleasant. This dilemma spawned the Author to create a sort of holding point for all the stationary worlds. He linked the majority of them to a nexus world, which was barren, but in motion. Thus setting the stationary worlds in motion again, and lowering the chances of collision. That is where you are. Now, assuming you don't have any more existential questions for me to answer, we will enter the Nexus." Up ahead you notice a low building surrounded by high columns. It is made of some kind of brilliant white stone the likes of which you have never seen before.

[Rogue 7]

Oskar

"All I heard from that was blah blah blah something about space. That doesn't tell us why we're here, bucko. And despite my crippling amnesia, I'm somewhat doubtful that heavy armor and massive swords are the latest fashions wherever the hell we are-which means we're not from here. So, could you be so kind as to tell us what we're doing here?"

As he says this, Oskar will begin walking towards the shiny light along with everyone else.

[The Necroswanso]

"So....We're on a beach next to a forest then? And a place with apparetly no name?
Thank you, thank you for such a simple answer."
Garin nudges Oscar with his elbow.
"Can you beleive this guy?' The barbarian was fully aware that he was speaking as though the figure were not with them.

[Rogue 7]

"At least he's not attacking right out. M'name's Oskar, by the way. Yours?"

[Yuki Akuma]

Neil stares at the robed man for a few moments, then shakes his head, his free hand rubbing at his left temple. "Ehlonna... I have absolutely no idea what is going on..." He sighs to himself, and then sets about walking along with the others, clanking slightly in his armour.

[The Maverick]

Giglstrom takes notes in the back of his spellbook as the little man gives his explanations. "Right then, so we're stuck in some sort of waypoint plane in between dimensions. Wonderful." He looks up at the rest of the party, "Well I suppose I'd like to know the names of the people the laws of magic have inexplicably thrown me together with. And as a plus, I'll make note of your distinctive features so we'll know which blob of undulating flesh you are when we come out of the other side of this portal." He gestures towards the glowing building the party is heading towards.

[The Necroswanso]

"Th'name's Garin. I'd give you a last name but unfortunately I seem to have lost mine. Good to know you Oscar."

[Rogue 7]

"Aye, likewise. That's a mighty fine-looking sword you have there- I doubt I could lift the thing, never mind fight with it. How do you do it?"

[The Necroswanso]

"As far as I can recall, muscle. Good strong chest and arms. A style revolving around it works too. You know, all that philispohical junk. Dance with the blade, don't swing it.
Tell me, good Oskar, if you can recall, what works do you do?"

[Rogue 7]

"Well, I'm well and truly stumped. I can tell you that I am a priest of the most strong and mighty Kord, doing his will and carrying out his purpose, but what exactly that purpose is and how I'm going about it is pretty much gone for me. I do know how to use this sword here, so I doubt I was some village priest, but as for the rest, I'll get back to you. Now what do you suppose we've got here- some nut is telling us to go into the light and has made a not-so-veiled threat to kill us all. Only explanation we've got was a long line of mumbo-jumbo about space or some such nonsense. Keep your guard up, mate."

If I were a modern, more genre-savvy character, I'd say that this sounds like the perfect hackneyed plot device to get everyone together and adventuring without trouble for backstory, coherency, or players going off the rails, but I'm not so I won't.

[The Necroswanso]

"You can bet I will be ready for whatever is to come.
And what about the rest of you three? What's your story? Or, a possible lack there of."

[bchilders]

Chandy

"As I said earlier my names Chandy, I've been called a rogue, an outlaw, a hero and far worse. Seems to me we don't have much choice but to follow the cloaked mystic here into that shining temple. But what I can control is doing it with a smile on my face and a hand on my blade...one of them at least," Chandy says with a large grin as he begins walking with the rest of them.

[The Maverick]

Giglstrom continues to scribble in the back of his spellbook as everyone speaks, and looks up when Garin asks his question. "Eh? Oh I'm Gilgstrom. Like the rest of you that's about all I can say about myself other than I apparently studied magic and learned how to wield a sword somewhere. I can't for the life of me remember how or why though... this is all very frustrating." He looks back down at his book and goes back to his note taking.

[Colt]

"Let me attempt to answer all of those questions at once. The place where you stand is called Everwhere. As for why you are here, you have been chosen by the Author. He needs your help. The worlds connected to this nexus are undergoing changes, revolutions you might say. The Author has brought you here to help stabilize these worlds. I am merely your assistant while you are here. I will help you to find your way around the Nexus, but I cannot accompany you for very long in the worlds. Now, come, enter the Nexus." the figure says, beckoning you to follow him as he enters the building. The Nexus is an impressive building, on the interior, it appears as a single room with a door at one end up a short flight of stairs. In the center of the room, on three pedestals sit three keys. "The three keys are the gateways to the first three worlds the Author would have you balance. You may pick which one you would prefer to enter first. I can tell you little regarding each, but if you hold one of the keys it will show you a brief image of the world to which it links. If you decide you would prefer to back out of this, You may, and the Author will return you to whence you came, but you will have no memory of this place. However, the Author also offers you great rewards to those who would balance the worlds. Now, choose."

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Now I suppose would be a good time to explain the Knowledge (Geekery) check. What this allows you to do, is to, to a certain degree, metagame. For most if not all of this campaign, you will be dealing with creatures and settings from geek culture, Movies, TV Shows, Games, etc. At any point, you may attempt to roll a Knowledge (Geekery) check to try to identify the origins of a creature or setting, and depending on how well you roll, extra pertinent information. Your character knows this information subconsciously, and while he may not know exactly what Star Wars is, he will know the general setting, and what to expect. Hope this explains it well.

[Rogue 7]

OOC- What if we know an inordinate amount about the setting we find ourselves in, Out of Character?

"That's a bit better, bucko. Keep that up and you'll do just fine. Now, what exactly does "balancing" entail here? Would showing up and kicking the snot out of the nearest thing we see count, because that's not Kord's style. How exactly are we supposed to do this?"

[The Necroswanso]

Garin sighed.
"Whatever, let's do it. We'll solve this 'Arthur's' problem with pain."

[Yuki Akuma]

Neil closes his eyes, letting out a deep breath. "If Ehlonna has permitted me come, then it is my duty to do what this 'Author' wills of me." That decided, he opens his eyes again. "And I would defer to those of our party with more experience in these matters than I. I do not trust myself to make the correct choice, at the moment." Even though he hasn't actually revealed his Paladin status, it's becoming rather obvious.

[bchilders]

Chandy

"Well these rewards you speak of sound quite enticing and if the others want a spokesperson I say let's go for it. Nothing like a little bit of the unknown to put a spring in your step. Though I would care to know what you mean by balancing because a knife in the wrong throat might do more harm than help," Chandy says with the same big grin although at the talk of killing the smile changes just a hair.

[Colt]

"The Author will drop you into the world in the right place to help. Once you are in the world, there will be someone to direct you. If you are all in agreement, then you may examine the keys."

[The Necroswanso]

"********and the*************it.
Gods know we'll have to handle all of them eventually. Let's just pick randomly and do it."
He was anxious to get the work done, even if he had no clue what it was. The sooner it was done, the better.

[Rogue 7]

"I shall now proceed to use the ancient tradition of making choices passed down from one generation of the disciples of Kord to the next, invented by the great God himself so that his followers could reliably choose............Eeeny Meenie Miney moe, catch a drunkard by the toe, if he vomits, let him go, Eeeny Meenie Miney Moe!

Oskar will pick the center one.

[Colt]

As Oskar picks up the key, suddenly his vision is replaced by a vision of two men on a path leading up to a castle. The surrounding moors are foggy and hazy.

[bchilders]

Chandy

Chandy looks carefully at the images that flash, trying to discern anything of value.

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Knowledge geekery:(1d20+7)[16]

[Colt]

Chandy Only:

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You recognize this as the first scene of a British movie