Day 26A: Lost Heroes and New Knowledge

[Iron Dragoon]

Session Start: Wed Nov 26 11:40:19 2014
Session Ident: #dunes
* Now talking in #dunes
* Topic is 'Lief(27)>Man Alone(25)>Muirfinn(24)>Balyss(23)>Ellese(18) '
* Set by Kotono on Wed Nov 19 21:39:16
<Kotono> -----
<Kotono> > Veren can notice that there's a semi hidden door on the left wall. Not quite a secret door, more just well made to blend in without being easily noticed. Meanwhile, Lucy feels antsy here. Things are off, wrong. It makes her skin crawl. As you stand about, an older man approaches. He has pale blue skin and no ears, but otherwise looks normal for a human. He wears mundane clothes and walks with
<Kotono> a fancy cane, despite having no limp. "Welcome to the House of Qupan." A smile twitches on his lips as he looks to each of you.
<Kotono> <Moore> "Salutations, sir!" Moore says with a polite nod.
<Kotono> * Veren memorizes the location of the door...
<Kotono> <Pepo> Pepo pays him little mind, just sitting with his eyes barely open.
<Kotono> <Veren> "Hello."
<Kotono> <Lucy> That certainly gets her to be more alert and pay more attention to her surroundings!
<Kotono> "Omawah," Jetina bows low to him. Lucy can tell the word isn't one from a normal language - which means it's probably just a ritual word or some such they use, since her tongues isn't translating it.
<Veren > "Omawah?"
<Kotono> "Omawah," The man returns to her, slightly bowing forward. "A greeting," he answers, "Amid the faith."
<Veren > "Ah. I understand."
<Kotono> "Yes. I serve Qupan, but recently lost my holy symbol. I'm looking for a replacement wood one." Jetina says.
<Lucy> "I would suggest a metal one, they last longer."
<Kotono> "Then..." He offers a hand out, to which Jetina shakes her head, "Unity is not our cause, for it is Qupan's." He then withdraws a small bag, jingling with coins. Jetina shakes her head again, "Charity is not our cause, for others not so favored need it more." The coins are put away and he raises his hand up, as if to strike. But Jetina merely says, "Violence is not our cause, for siblings together
<Kotono> must not quarrel."
* Lucy observes this strange cult with the fascination one usually reserves for studying wild animals in their natural habitat.
* Veren too watches this with an oddly intense curiosity.
<Kotono> The man smiles at this and takes out a wooden holy symbol, which he passes to her. Together they intone, "Together, we will be Qupan's instrument on this world." After that he looks down at Pepo, "Bringing a cat into this holy house?" he says, just a hint of good natured chiding in his voice.
<Pepo> Pepo looks back at him but says nothing, not as surprised as he was when the guard insinuated his involvement earlier.
<Kotono> "Pepo is a special cat," Jetina says with a hint of her own smile, which soon turns into an outright one. "I'm fond of him," she reaches down and pets Pepo, "So please excuse it, sir."
<Veren > "The cat does as he wills. Woe be unto those who oppose that will."
<Kotono> "That does sound like a cat," The man chuckles as he looks down at Pepo, "Woe onto those that oppose a cat, for they will scorn you forever. Or until you bring them dinner."
<Veren > "Tribute."
<Kotono> "Tribute," Jetina giggles at this, "Exactly so!"
<Pepo> No, Pepo's been the one providing dinner more than anyone else on the ship, he thinks as he goes back to grooming himself.
<Kotono> "But all of that aside, could you not bring him here?" He clears his throat, "Propriety aside, I'm allergic to them."
<Kotono> "Of course, sir," Jetina quickly agrees, "Actually, I'll come back later today. We're just in port and Lucy and my friends," she looks in their direction, "Have things to do here."
<Pepo> What is with people being allergic to things in this land? Affronted, Pepo leaves these people and their weak immune systems behind as he walks back out the door.
<Lucy> So she's not a friend? Or she is the most important friend? Lucy distracts herself from her unease by pondering Jetina's words.
<Kotono> "Hawamo," The man intones, Jetina echoing him before turning to go. OOC: Okay, what's next on y'all's agenda here?
<Lucy> OOC: Tower!
<Veren > OOC: I don't have anything personally, except for a random encounter thing. Or an assassin guild type dealio pops up.
<Kotono> OOC: Okay.
<Kotono> roll 1d100
<Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 70 > 12 [d100=70]
<Kotono> The party begins to walk towards the Tower of New Knowledge. As you walk down the streets, you happen to catch sight of something unusual. A tall man - too tall to be a man, with skin the color of green seawater. White wings come from his back and he wears well maintained, polished armor. People give him a wide berth as he walks.
* Veren inspects the 'man' for anything telling or interesting.
<Pepo> Pepo gives no one any kind of berth. He is a noble cat and may go where he pleases without fear!
<Kotono> OOC: Perception, Veren. What knowledge skills do you have, Lucy?
<Lucy> OOC: All of them
<Veren > roll 1d20+13 Perception
<Serith> Veren roll for Serith < 14 > 12 [d20=1]
<Kotono> Veren doesn't note anything interesting on him.
<Moore> Moore glances over and waves at the man good-naturedly.
<Kotono> With Pepo in his path and Moore waiting, he slows and nods. "Good day," he says in a rich, musical voice. The trained voice of a singer, full of emotion and charisma. He nods to the party, even Pepo. His eyes settle on Lucy last, pure pools of green that linger on her longer than the others.
<Moore> Oh, a singer! "Good day to you!" Moore says with a smile.
<Kotono> "Good greetings," Jetina greets, giving him ab it of space as most others do.
<Lucy> "Good day," she returns, tilting her head as she openly studies him. "I don't know you and I know everything. Why is everyone avoiding you?"
* Veren inclines his head to the man, but watches the crowd, considering their history with pickpockets.
<Pepo> Pepo slinks around the man's ankles to get past, only stopping and circling back around once it seems they've engaged him in conversation.
<Kotono> Here the man stops, a warm smile on his face. He draws something unseen from his back - it becomes seen once he does, a golden blade covered in red and white writing. He plunges it into the ground, sinking a foot in as if the stone wasn't there. "Let it be known that I am known as the Lost Hero. I do not hide myself and I do not hesitate to strike those down that oppress others." His gaze lingers
<Kotono> on Pepo, then Veren and finally Lucy. "There are no secrets from my gaze. Know well that if you engage in wickedness here, that your true forms are already known to me."
<Lucy> "O... kay." She blinks. "So you're with the authorities here?"
* Veren raises an eyebrow, but considering he has yet to do anything even remotely 'wicked' since arrival, he almost blatantly writes the threat off.
<Pepo> This intrigues Pepo, and so he manifests his recently gained ability to pierce deception. He didn't know he had any other forms, but now he'll find out!
<Kotono> He pulls his sword back up, putting it away and out of sight. "No. I am my own authority. Do not think your laws will protect you, should you use them as a shield to hide your evil." He then turns to leave, going past the party. OOC: Pepo, since it's purely on your end and you know what's up, I'll leave reactions there to you.
<Pepo> OOC: i take it hero dude is what you see is what you get?
<Kotono> "O...kay." Jetina stares at the entire spectacle, as do other passerby's. "Thank...thank you for telling us?"
<Kotono> OOC: Yes.
<Moore> Moore looks down at himself and checks around on his back to see if he suddenly has a tail or something.
<Kotono> Moore doesn't see a tail or other unusual appendages.
<Moore> He wipes his brow. "Whew..."
<Pepo> "Mrowl!" Pepo makes a startled noise as he first discerns his own alternate form and then sees Lucy's extra limb, though Veren's featureless grey form is a bit more surprising than a tail and horns. But him being some sort of small human is just horrifying, so he scuttles backwards as if to escape it, green eyes wide and shocked, fur standing on end.
<Lucy> "I think everyone avoids him because they know he is cryptic and rude," Lucy muses. "Well then, we should be off! To the Tower!"
<Veren > "Amusing. Touting law on one hand and then ignoring it when it ceases to suit your desires. 'Justice.'"
<Moore> Moore blinks and flies down to land next to Pepo. "Mister Pepo, are you all right?"
<Kotono> Jetina goes from Lost Hero to Pepo, gaze sweeping back and forth. "Eh?" she says again, "It's like I'm here, but I'm not really a part of any of the conversations."
* Lucy just starts walking, the others will eventually follow if they have a shred of sense.
<Kotono> Veren's remark back doesn't get a reply - the winged humanoid seems content to simply leave.
<Pepo> Now that he sees it it's impossible to ignore. Even more so, he *knows* how to access that form, even more easily than accessing his psionic powers. This is demonstrated when he transforms into a small slender-limbed man with skin the color of ash and a messy crown of black hair atop his brow - though his ears do protrude somewhat like a mix between cat and man from that mess. "This is horrifying!"
<Pepo> he declares in a voice as deep as his mental one, standing naked but for a black collar around his neck.
<Kotono> "Oh what the fresh hell?" Jetina says, completely deadpan a moment, before blushing and adverting her eyes from Pepo.
* Veren sighs and reaches into his pack, pulling out a blanket and offering it to Pepo.
<Kotono> There's a bit of a bustle from the crowd, but besides the ladies averting their gaze, they seem unusually accepting of the oddity.
<Moore> Moore blinks... then blinks again... "...Oh, so you weren't a magical cat after all..." he says with some hint of disappointment.
* Lucy turns at that booming voice, blinks, and then just keeps on going rather than get stopped by the authorities for aiding and abetting public nudity or something equally ridiculous.
<Pepo> Making a strangled noise halfway between a yowl and a sob, Pepo falls onto all fours and runs off wildly, seeking to be alone in his horror!
<Kotono> Jetina just follows Lucy after a few moments, stopping as Pepo runs off, staring at it before slowly rubbing her temples. "Lucy, wait up," she finally says, "Magic has to make more sense than what's going on."
<Lucy> "I am not chasing down a naked man cat."
* Veren puts the blanket back in his pack and turns to follow Lucy.
<Kotono> OOC: Okay then, into #evil, Pepo.
<Moore> Moore rubs his face but then moves to fly after the others. "He... er... will figure it out, I'm sure..."
<Lucy> "If Mister Pepo is not back on the ship by the time we return, we can check the local jail for any naked people," Lucy offers, and deeming the matter closed continues on her way once more.
<Kotono> It's a rather puzzled party that soon reaches the Tower of New Knowledge. As you enter in, musical chimes play - the same as at the temple of Qupan. Within is a rather large reception room, a desk, several banks of chairs to wait and multiple doors leading deeper within. People of all odd stripe and type are about, including a rather cute woman. She has elven ears but a muscular body more like
<Kotono> a dwarf, standing about six and a half feet tall. She wears tightly wrapped white cloth over her body, save for her head, feet and palms. Said head, feet and palms are covered in tattoos of dragons. "Welcome," She speaks in five overlapping voices, "Your visit was foreseen."
<Lucy> "Of course it was!" Lucy happily agrees. "It was set in stone from the moment I heard of this island!"
<Veren > "That's the second time we've heard mention of that."
<Moore> "Divinations must be very popular here." Moore says with a nod
<Kotono> "We are gifted seers, for the future prepares the present." She smiles, eyes open as she offers a hand out to Lucy. "All of you are more than welcome. Our city thrives on those who contribute arcane knowledge. So long as you add anything here, you're more than welcome. Or the powers of the mind," Veren gets a glance, but then a frown, "There should be another here, a small one."
<Kotono> "A cat?" Jetina says with a shrug, "He's having personal...difficulties, I suppose."
* Veren coughs a little at that.
* Lucy is all too happy to shake her hand.
<Kotono> Once that's done, "The library of knowledge is where we store all we learn. It is divided in layers, and the more you contribute, the deeper into the layers you can go."
<Lucy> "Can I get a tour?!"
<Moore> Moore rubs his chin. "Shouldn't you all already know how much any individual is going to contribute?"
<Kotono> A nod to Lucy, as meanwhile Moore gets a look, "The farther future is harder to see. What may happen is many potentials. Another was supposed to be here, yet is not."
<Moore> "Hmm..." He shrugs and leaves it at that.
<Lucy> "Sometimes lost heroes make a mess of things," Lucy elaborates for Moore's sake, before offering her hand to the other woman with a smile. "Shall we be off? Ah, my name is Lucy, in case your divinations never caught that."
<Veren > "Veren."
<Kotono> The woman's face darkens at that, but turns to lead them in. "Yes, that is a problem."
<Lucy> "Are there many of them, Miss... ah...."
<Kotono> "Aria," She replies as she leads you do a door, "Our Lost Hero complicates matters. He has a talent and disrupting divination and ruining the effort of seers. But he has contributed and the Association of Chaos Wizards vouches for him."
<Kotono> *at
<Lucy> So his blood would be very useful, if use in the right way. Lucy files that away as she follows. "Eventually he must leave, Miss Aria?"
<Veren > "He does seem to enjoy placing his own justice above the city's. That'll cause problems for him. And sadly, for those who get caught up in it."
<Kotono> "Yes," Is her answer to both, as the party heads through a door, down a decorated hall - pretty but mostly skipped over in a hurry - and to a circle on the floor. "An actual teleportation circle, one that will never expire," she says, "It'll take us to the library."
<Lucy> "How extraordinary!" Lucy exclaims. "Might I study the magic, or would it be too rude on the first visit?"
<Kotono> "It's no great secret," she offers, "Any of you are welcome to study it. It's actually extremely well studied."
<Lucy> How nice! She casts Detect Magic and looks everywhere she possibly can!
<Veren > "You have texts on mental abilities as well?"
<Moore> Moore decides to follow suit with Lucy and casts the same Detect Magic spell!
<Moore> OOC: I'll also give her a +2 bonus with Inspire Competence.