Aether Uncovered

[KevLar]

Myriam

As soon, as the assistant takes the coin, Myriam composes herself. She'll try to talk nice, be polite, act calm and as detached as possible. As if she doesn't care personally, but represents someone else. As if she wants to get the job done, but isn't personally affected.

Entering the strange room, she's momentarily taken aback, but immediately reminds herself that someone who poses as a fortune teller is pretty much required to have a relevant scenery. So she takes a seat, refrains from fidgeting no matter how she wants to, smiles professionally and responds to old man's inquiry.

Information about aether, Master Payne. And how people are changed by aether. I am here on behalf of a man who wishes to remain anonymous, and he has a few questions.

Myriam pauses and looks at the old man, waiting for a nod of understanding before continuing. If she sees an expression of surprise or alarm instead, she'll have to spin a different story, and spin it fast.

They say that our great lords have been... transformed by aether, and can do anything the mind can think of. They say that some of their children and their children's children have some of that power. The Touched.

But is there another way? Can someone be... gifted without relation to any of the lords? Can aether... rub off to someone a bit, without him even noticing it? And is there a way to know that?

Simple, general questions like that, are all he needs answered, Master Payne.
From a reliable source, for once.

In reality, Myriam has many more questions, an endless string of questions for that matter, but these will do for now. She doesn't want to say everything without giving Payne time to respond, and she certainly doesn't want to get carried away and show how much she cares. She's just a messenger. On behalf of a mysterious stranger. Nothing personal. Right?

Spoiler

Show

1. It's been so long since the beginning of the story, that I forgot what I meant to ask, exactly. Hope this makes sense.

2. Of all the times I've had to remind myself that my character doesn't know what I do, this was the first time that the piece of knowledge in question was "recessive genes".

I guess I need a bluff check here, for claiming to represent someone else : Bluffing Payne (1d20+9=18)

EDIT: Apparently, Invisible Castle changed the Notes process, and you need to register to write notes. I did that, and now Myriam's previous rolls are gone, at least if you link to them from this die roll. They are still there if you link to them from the previous one, though. *sigh*

[AmberVael]

-Jadyn-

Serge takes a single, smooth step forwards and flings his knife at Jadyn, piercing her shoulder before drawing two more in a single hand, watching her with deadly serious eyes.
"No playin', love. Ya wan' a sli' throat, I'll provide. Else, ya shoul' come quiet like."
He gestures for the thug behind him to just stand ready, giving Jadyn one more chance to make a decision.

Spoiler

Show

Serge wins initiative by virtue of surprise (I'm not going to give a surprise round- if you want to turn this into a fight, it's your turn, but Serge has already acted, so he's not flat footed.
Serge dealt 5 damage via thrown knife.

-Myriam-

Old man Payne watches her with complete calm and knowing, moving the coin between them and then meshing his fingers together, placing his hands before him. He shows no surprise to her introduction, and gives a faint gesture with one hand for her to continue, simply waiting. The various novelties that testify his oracular trade lie around them- unused, yet not unmarked, somehow still significant.

Payne smiles a little, a smile that conjures the image of a lion looking down at his domain, prideful and masterful, completely in charge. It's rather smug, honestly... as he's shown nothing but flair and dramatics so far, it might be a bit exasperating.

"Your friend was wise to send for my knowledge in this, for I know more than many.
"But little there is known on the subject of which you speak. There are those infused by Aether, and there are those who are descended from the infused. The rest of us make do with harnessing the powers of inert aether...
"There was one a man who wondered what your friend did- he and strange scholars and scientists conducted an experiment, giving constant exposure to Aether in many bizarre and dangerous ways... in the end, they believed something had changed him, but they did not know what."

Payne raises a finger, his eyes dark and dangerous as he adds to his story.
"Yet... they never truly know how, or if, he was changed, for in their pursuit of power and knowledge, they killed him."
He is solemn and grave, letting those last words hang in the silence for a time before continuing.

"There have been more experiments since- some, they say, have even been successful. But these tests were more than simple contact with Aether- there was always much more to it."
His voice is final, cutting off any possibility that it could have been otherwise.

[DarkLadyOfTheSith]

Willow

Willow looks over the people in line, trying to determine if any of them had any small abrasions or other equally minor injuries. A display of power would probably get her some preferential treatment, but she didn't want to do anything that would appear hostile either.

[wxdruid]

Jadyn

Jadyn stumbles back a step or two in surprise as the knife thunks into the meat of her shoulder. Her eyes widen and her breath catches as the pain begins. In a short, pain filled reply, Whatever! Fine, if you want it that way. She backs against the wall, letting it hold her up.

[KevLar]

Myriam

Myriam listens carefully to Payne's speech, and her mind races. If there is "much more to it than simple contact", I don't think it has anything to do with me.

I see. And the powers of the Touched, are they hereditary? Would the son of a man who can harness lightning develop the same power - if he's fortunate to be Touched himself - or is it random?

[AmberVael]

-Jadyn-

"I coulda been nice abou' this, bu' ya had ta make it difficul' for me. Keep tha in mind, little girl."
Serge says unpleasantly, glaring at her.
"We'll be watchin' you."
He gestures for his thug to go over and collect her- which he attempts to do. Unless Jadyn decides to struggle, he's going to yank the knife out of her and sling her over his shoulder.

-Myriam-

"Hereditary, with slight variants."
Payne frowns to himself, thinking as she asks that question.
"That's fairly common knowledge- everyone knows of the powers of House Vesper and House Adamant. Your friend... he's not from around here, is he?"
The old man looks at her narrowly, possibly guessing just who her "friend" is.

-Willow-

There might be someone with an injury within the crowd, but if there is, Willow is having a hard time spotting them. If she wants to make a display of power, it might be best to do it in some other way, or just try and be persuasive about things.

[wxdruid]

Jadyn

No, Jadyn isn't going to argue, she's busy trying to not fall over due to shock. She grunts when the thug pulls out the dagger and again when she's thrown roughly over his shoulder. Once up there, she closes her eyes and tries not to throw up, although the urge is strong (and it would get an amusing reaction).

[DarkLadyOfTheSith]

Willow

Fortune favors the bold, someone once said. Willow starts to push her way to the front. If anyone objects or complains she adopts the haughty sort of attitude she's seem among the nobles of House Vesper and announces that she's on business for House Vesper. In a sense, it's even true.

[KevLar]

Myriam

Myriam smiles as if she realizes why Payne would ask that, and it's only a misunderstanding.
My friend wishes most of all to separate truth from rumor, Master Payne.

[AmberVael]

-Jadyn-

Serge and his henchman take Jadyn up and out of the hideout, every step coming with a jolt of pain. The henchman obviously doesn't care for her comfort, and nor is he paying much attention to whether she bleeds to death or not.
Luckily for her, the wound isn't very serious. It wasn't so much damaging and deep as it was shocking and painful, so she'll survive, and hasn't even really suffered in capability from it... though it did serve as a warning against whatever she might try to do.
They seem to be move through somewhere darker now- lots of ups and downs as they've been moving. As she's closed her eyes, however, she's not entirely certain where they are.

-Myriam-

"Mmm."

Payne strokes his beard with one hand, eyeing her curiously.

"Does this friend want to know anything else?"

-Willow-

Willow begins making her way up to the front, and has some success before she bumps into someone.
It's a lady- not a noble, or someone who looks like an assassin or mercenary or anyone important or intimidating. Just a typical peasant woman.
"Now just you stop there, dearie. I'm aheada you and I don't plan to be moving."
She seems pretty stubborn, and looks up at Willow with a hard, wrinkled old stare.

[DarkLadyOfTheSith]

Willow

Willow decides to try to be reasonable before displaying a show of power. "And how do you know that this prophet speaks truth? What proof do you have? I'm here to determine the truthfulness of his power. Let me pass, and you'll know whether you can trust the words you'll hear."

[wxdruid]

Jadyn

Jadyn is carried along, she doesn't care where they're taking her, it's just another place to work on escaping from. And this time, she's not coming back here. Not to Craze, not to anyone else. All this goes through her mind, but since there's little she can do about it at the moment, she just thinks about it all and how she got into this mess and vows not to let it happen again.

After about 20 min, she opens her eyes, only to watch things bounce up and down upside down and disorienting her further.

[KevLar]

Myriam

Myriam doesn't actually mind if Payne understands that she's not really there on behalf of anyone else. She imagines that, in his line of work, such excuses from the customers are common, and some discretion from his part should be part of the services. But if she lets slip that she has a bit of a gift herself, now that would be a cause of alarm.

"Just a little more of your time, Master Payne. He'd like to know about other, lesser Houses, and their powers. And about the experimenters. Do they have headquarters? And perhaps a contact with a name?"

[AmberVael]

-Jadyn-

They seem to be moving through some underground passage- what might be a long unused sewer, actually. It's a bit dirty, but there are no overhanging cobwebs, meaning that the place has been used relatively recently.
Serge and his cronie stop under a ladder, a Serge slips up to take a look, leaving Jadyn with the single thug, who is staring up after Serge, paying no attention to Jadyn at all. He adjusts his belt, the a few dark pouches rustling with strange contents, and a dagger shifting a bit with the movement.

-Myriam-

"There's only one lesser house left, my dear- House Radiant. It's fast on the decline though, as only powerful houses survive. Most of its members possess some kind of power over light or darkness, which was the power of their founder.
"Experiments are mostly carried out by those in possession of aether- such as the houses. However, I've heard tell that the Order has some who have looked into the matter as well.
"However, the experimenters are typically people of higher rank- since they need access to aether. A common man wouldn't be able to talk to them- but I can still provide names, if you wish..."

-Willow-

"I reckon I can determine how truthful he is just as well as you can. What makes you think you're so special?"
Asks the woman.
Willow begins to wonder if the fat little lady would move for Lord Vesper himself- she looks as stubborn as an ill tempered, lazy mule.

[DarkLadyOfTheSith]

Willow

Willow sighs. It was so much easier in Fringe. She didn't understand the dynamic here nearly as well, and it seemed that only power was respected. So, if a show of power was what it would take, that's what she'd do. "What makes me so special? Oh, just this." A muttered word and she brings her arm up above her head. From elbow to fingertip, her arm is coated in a hissing and bubbling layer of acid. A few drops slip from her elbow and sizzle into the floor at her feet.

[wxdruid]

Jadyn

Quite a few thoughts flit through her mind, but...escaping is rather useless at this point and they might just decide to plant the dagger elsewhere. So instead, she looks down at the pouches and if her hands are free...she'll see if she can search through them without the thug's knowledge.

If she gets away with her somewhat clumsy attempts...she'll slip any items into her shirt or sleeves.

Spoiler

Show

Move Silently (1d20+7=8), Search (1d20+5=23), Sleight of Hand (1d20+3=12), rolls that you might need

[KevLar]

Myriam

Myriam bends forward in apparent anticipation and stares at the old man, elbows resting on her knees and hands knit together, fingers tapping. As if this is what she's been waiting for the whole time. Which of course, it isn't.

"Yes, please." she says, while her mind races.

Spoiler

Show

Meanwhile, a discreet spot/listen check to see if there seem to be any other exits in the room (or hidden people or other such weirdness):
Spot/Listen checks (1d20+2=5, 1d20+2=15)

Huge success. If I can take 10 there, I will.

[AmberVael]

-Jadyn-

The man holding her doesn't appear overly attentive, and for a few moments Jadyn scrambles through his pouches- there's bits of gold, a wadded up piece of parchment, and what might be some kind of seal, but before she can get a good glimpse at it, the man happens to glance around, noting her movements just by pure luck as she fumbles an item.
"You little brat!"
The thug snarls, twisting at her legs to hoist her higher and give her a bit of pain.

Spoiler

Show

Grapple check- you can make an opposed one if you want to resist his movements or get away.

-Myriam-

The old man begins rattling off a list of names and associations, which goes from rather difficult to follow to boring in short order. A few things stick out though- leads that Myriam could follow and use to her advantage.
House Vesper has quite a few resources related to inert Aether, and the archivists there are in charge of such matters. Anyone there who has started an experiment has been associated with the archivists, so if she goes to investigate that route, they would be the ones to look at. However, they seem to emphasize using the Aether in its current state rather than manipulating a person with it- Lady Aery has had much success with this route.
The Order has apparently experimented with modifying and improving people with inert Aether, and has a scientist devoted to the cause, but many, many disturbing failures have come along with his research. However, there have been rumors of one or more successes...
House Radiant, desperate to retain any of its power, has turned to modification via Aether in order to tap into their remaining resources, and are rumored to have developed something which is in the works, though its success is yet to be seen.
"Of course, there are many people underground who do such experimental work as well- some more successful than others, I believe. But most of them are very difficult to track down. They have a way of slipping out of notice even when caught, you see. You might say that their method of hiding is golden; it would take quite a bit to learn more of them."
Old Payne smiles thinly.
...and then people begin screaming outside.

-Willow-

Willow has gotten quite a bit of attention- after all, only a few people can conjure up acid from their fingertips, and she looks about ready and mad enough to use it. Apparently no fortune is worth that trouble, so people begin running from the tavern, except for a few drunken louts who don't seem to get the gist of what is going on, and the bartender who looks terrified of her and horrified at what that acid might do, but really is kind of caught behind the bar.

[DarkLadyOfTheSith]

Willow

Willow's had a long, and somewhat difficult, evening. Still, she has no real desire to harm anyone, and once the obstruction is out of her way, she approaches the door, the acid absorbing back into her skin. The floor of the tavern has a few small scorch marks where it dripped, but no real harm to it. When she gets to the door, she tells the door warden (assuming he's still there), "I believe I'm next."

[wxdruid]

Jadyn

Jadyn grunts as he 'readjusts' her body on his shoulder. She struggles a little, to ease the pain. At least it was amusing to go through his stuff, even if she got caught doing it. After all, he should have known better...carrying around a thief and all. Perhaps it passed a little bit of time as well. By now, all she wants is to get down and be done with these people.

Spoiler

Show

grapple to ease the pain (1d20+1=10)