Day 56: Schism

[Iron Dragoon]

Session Start: Tue Feb 10 11:57:22 2015
Session Ident: #dunes
* Now talking in #dunes
* Topic is 'Ithea(34)>Lief(33)>Muirfinn(31)>Kina-ja(26)>Antenora(25) '
* Set by Kotono on Thu Jan 29 20:02:43
<Kotono> -----
<Kotono> In a mental tatter, the party returns to the ship. Here they meet up with Veren, fresh from wandering the town. Kamhoff's also there, waiting with arms crossed, "Bolethon said all of you were more fucking worked up than a bee in a bonnet," he remarks.
<Lucy> "Not to worry! I am myself!" Lucy brightly reports.
* Veren blinks at this.
<Moore> "I think he just chooses to not communicate normally sometimes." Moore concludes.
<Veren > "I... assume there is a story behind that."
<Lucy> "He is what might colloquially be called an asshole but his reason for it is really good so we should let him be as he likes."
<Kotono> Jetina shakes her head, "It has been a vexing day, but we're fine now."
<Pepo> Once safely aboard Pepo speaks into Lucy's mind. 'Aria heard every word of our earlier conversation, so it would be wise to discount the plans we made as no longer reliable.'
<Lucy> 'Ah. Well, she did save my mind so I can't begrudge her that much,' Lucy muses in response. 'Do you think she believed us?'
<Moore> Moore looks over to Veren. "Oh, right, you weren't here. Um... to make a long story slightly shorter, Mister Pepo was attacked by a Light ...clone, I guess? Of himself. Somehow, a copy of Pepo was placed on our boat. The copy rescued the real Pepo from the Light. Umm... Miss Lucy went to Freeport Rock and apparently got attacked by something when she saw that it was in some sort of bizarre phase
<Moore> where time had stopped and there were no living creatures."
<Moore> He takes a breath, "We just got back from investigating with Miss Aria and found out that the spell that modifiers memories can restore what Miss Lucy and I would guess Mister Pepo lost. Also, Lucy isn't a Light clone. I... think that about covers it."
<Kotono> "Oh, what the fresh horseshit is this?" Kamhoff mutters, "Is this going to lead to this place blowing sky high?"
<Veren > "I... see."
<Lucy> "I don't think so. Unless we were to leave it for a while."
* Veren shifts his shoulders.
<Pepo> 'She did imply you were delusional,' Pepo says. 'But more to the point, if the people of Freeport are simulacrums, why shouldn't Aria be? Or Jetina, or Kamhoff... even myself. You are the only one that can be definitively called real at the moment.'
<Veren > "Well... In any case, I've come across some information on work that we might be interested in."
<Moore> "Either way, I think we were going to try and have Mister Pepo perform a divination and see if it might lead us somewhere." Moore says. He nods to Veren. "Miss Lucy and I were asked to retrieve some moss from Rossalund as well."
<Lucy> "Oh. Yes. That happened." Lucy blinks. "I don't think I can bring you along unless you become more compact, Moore."
<Pepo> 'I will attempt it now,' Pepo says, settling down and using Moore's earlier wording. 'How can we find the truth of what Lucy saw in Freeport Rock?'
<Pepo> roll 1d100 wild surge, CL 11 divination
<Serith> Pepo roll for Serith < 95 > 12 [d100=95]
<Veren > "Back to Rossalund? Hm. I wonder if we might find other survivors. In any case, I don't know the details of what you're talking about. If it's important, then we should likely attend to it first, before we move on any of the information I've found."
<Kotono> Pepo receives the following, 'When one is the one that is not one.'
<Lucy> "What did you find?" Lucy asks curiously, since divinations take ages to cast anyway.
<Moore> "We could always just travel back there. Mister Kamhoff, have you ever heard of purple moss from Rossalund by any chance?" Moore asks. "Oh, that's right, we have someone who might want to join our crew I wanted to ask you about."
<Veren > "There is apparently a haunted manor in town. I'm unsure who owns it, if anyone. There's someone looking for a staff of fire. Supposedly he, one Marte I believe, is offering a large payout for it. The staff is somewhere outside of town, getting more details would take time. Lastly, someone's offering mercenary work to find the ruins of a place named 'Amambo.' The rumors I've heard name it a place of great wealth in gems and metals."
<Lucy> "Yes, we found a few trinkets from it before," Lucy muses. "Plus wasn't that ghost ship originally from it?"
<Kotono> "Yeah, it's a useful reagent," Kamhoff remarks, "The market's probably ruined with what happened in Rossalund," he says.
<Moore> Moore nods. "Well, we've been asked to get some for someone here in town. I think it might be worth our time, especially if you like it. As for the gentleman who wants to join... he works in the city but I think he's looking for something else. I wasn't sure if we had room. I think he's an accomplished spellcaster, at least."
<Pepo> After ten minutes Pepo stirs. 'My divination implies that only a copy can know the truth of what Lucy saw. Specifically, 'When one is the one that is not one.' We could ask Bolethon as he fits the criteria.'
<Lucy> "Why not?"
<Pepo> 'Then again he has been prone to obfuscation...' Pepo admits, not expecting a clear answer, but it's better than sacrificing himself.
* Lucy decides to look for Bolethon and bring him over.
<Kotono> Bolethon's found and brought to deck without incident.
<Kotono> Jetina quietly comes up to Veren, "Just go with it," she murmurs softly, "The past day has been one of unsurpassed oddity."
* Veren continues to look confused, but nods.
<Lucy> "Questions!" Lucy says once she has properly retrieved him. "We came across all sorts of people here in Hillmar. Who else is like you, and not his real self?"
<Kotono> Bolethon kneels, touching the ground. Lines of light extend out, connecting everyone here save for Bolethon. "Shining, drooling, twisting path..." he murmurs, "The Pepo that is not Pepo is gone. But I can't stop looking."
<Lucy> "That was the only one? No one else? Not even Mister Lost Hero?"
* Veren leans towards Jetina and whispers to her.
<Veren > "... This is why I'm happy not being able to use magic."
<Moore> Moore tries to cast Detect Magic to see if he can figure out what that spell was, if it even was a spell.
* Lucy studies the magical pattern of the light all the same, in case it is a detection spell she can replicate.
<Kotono> OOC: Spellcraft.
<Pepo> 'What could cause a formerly populated town to suddenly become empty, and then just as abruptly regain its population with them being none the wiser?' Pepo asks, since that drooling path is going nowhere.
<Lucy> roll 1d20+18
<Serith> Lucy roll for Serith < 28 > 12 [d20=10]
<Moore> roll 1d20+14+5
<Serith> Moore roll for Serith < 32 > 12 [d20=13]
<Kotono> It's some sort of supernatural effect. But understanding it is beyond the both of you.
<Moore> "Huh." is all Moore can really say.
<Kotono> "I can't stop looking," Bolethon repeats, then shakes his head, "Please, I beg of you: STOP LOOKING. Knowledge isn't worth it. Know your limits." He then turns and goes back downstairs.
<Lucy> "Can we help the real you, or is it already too late?" Lucy calls after him.
<Kotono> Jetina chuckles and smiles to Veren, but says nothing else.
<Kotono> No reply.
<Lucy> "I have rarely been driven to such a desire to commit violence as by this situation."
<Kotono> "This is some fucked up shit," Kamhoff mutters, rubbing his forehead.
<Moore> "So he does have periods of lucidity." Moore says with a shake of his head.
<Kotono> "Or maybe we weren't listening and he was lucid the entire time?" Jetina hmmms, "Just that we weren't clued in enough to appreciate it?"
<Lucy> "No. While we might not have understood him, a 'shining, drooling path' is in no way a lucid statement."
<Pepo> 'In any case I will not heed his warning. As far as I care, nothing else matters except for finding what's at the bottom of the Light.'
<Lucy> "The problem lies with how to defend ourselves. If we assume that Mister Pepo and myself were beset by the same thing, then both of us failed quite spectacularly. It is a sobering thought."
<Veren > "That sounds... Slightly obsessive."
<Lucy> "To put it differently, Veren, the Light has things living in it that come out at random to abduct you and are strong enough to do it. Are you filled with confidence to sail over it in a ship?"
<Pepo> 'Darkness weakened it significantly when I made my escape,' Pepo volunteers, ignoring Veren. He just doesn't see what sort of fake world they're living in.
<Veren > "What? This is what happened to you?
<Lucy> "Darkness, was it? I can do that."
* Veren looks a bit alarmed.
<Kotono> "Still...no one's heard of this before? Perhaps it's a warning. I think that's what Bolethon was trying to tell us. Maybe what's at the bottom of the light is best left undisturbed?" She hmms, "I think I need to consult with Qupan and better ascertain his will."
<Moore> "Well, the circumstances were slightly different, right? One where a copy was made and another where it wasn't... but... Is that just because Mister Pepo was in the Light when it happened?" Moore considers. "It seems like the issue came up when Mister Pepo ventured into the Light, right? It hasn't returned since you've been on land or on the ship?"
<Pepo> 'Yes, I hid in the light to escape the 'threat from below' I was told about. There I was greeted with a copy of myself made entirely of light. It assaulted me, and then another copy of me awoke aboard the ship with all of my memories up until this morning. When it realized its situation from Bolethon, it expired and I regained consciousness as I was being dragged deeper by my light-copy.'
<Lucy> "If there are in fact two different and unrelated phenomena in this world that can incapacitate one of us with such ease and erase our memories of the event, that would be even more troubling."
<Pepo> 'Not just erase memories, produce a clone such that no one would realize the danger.'
<Moore> "I wonder if Modify... wait." Moore taps his chin. "That spell that can be used to modify memories. I wonder if it could be used on someone like Bolethon? Except he seems to want us to stop 'looking,' as it were..."
<Lucy> "I can at least theorize on how to do that with an advanced enough spell," Lucy says, having indeed planned on doing it to herself eventually, "but to flawlessly remove all the living creatures from an island? To return them seamlessly? I don't even know what sort of magic can do that."
<Veren > "Hm... That sounds fairly well planned. Could it be the light itself has will and intelligence?"
* Lucy shudders.
<Kotono> "The light is a living organism?" Jetina also shudders, "What sort of creature could that be, and what would it be like?"
* Veren shrugs.
<Lucy> "Maybe you could ask Qupan?"
<Kotono> "I will," Jetina resolves, heading below decks herself. OOC: Okay, now what, y'all? Any plans?
<Veren > "I know almost nothing of magical beings. But to replace a person who enters a place they shouldn't be with an exact copy, including memories, is more than just a phenomenon. Copies don't simply 'come to be,' as far as I know. Things like that take planning and intent, do they not?"
<Lucy> "The intent could be as simple as 'turn those who come into the Light into just like us', the way undeath spread," Lucy notes.
<Moore> "I suppose the question we ask ourselves now is what exactly we're going to do. I mean... perhaps we should just continue on our various adventures until we gather more information? It seems like we all may simply not be strong enough to do anything about the issue as it stands anyway." Moore says. "So perhaps if we just gather more information and strength, we'll be able to unlock the mysteries
<Moore> that way? It seems like it's... not a fruitful endeavor to try and solve this sort of mystery right now, so I think we should set it as a goal and constant reminder to look for something to help."
<Lucy> "I would prefer to stay here and conduct research. I'll just need to take care while teleporting across any distance."
<Pepo> 'We would require to act in pairs. So that if I am struck again someone could see what occurs exactly,' Pepo suggests. 'I feel getting involved in any other concerns is a diversion from what is truly important now,' he adds, going to symbolically stand by Lucy.
<Lucy> "I will agree that there is some merit to be found in examining ruins," Lucy voices. "Perhaps this Amambo was destroyed, in truth, because they got close to the answer we seek. But I feel our time would be best spent working on concrete research, be it of knowledge in this library or of the arcane sort to, perhaps, reproduce Bolethon's little display."
<Veren > "If you say it's that serious, then I'll help in any way I can."
<Moore> Moore scratches the side of his head. "I don't know what research will reveal that hasn't already come to pass in the few centuries this place has existed, but... Maybe you can connect some dots that no one knew were connected. I don't really know what the best way to proceed is... hmm... Mister Pepo, what if you performed another divination?" Moore asks. "Something like, 'Would going to Amambo
<Moore> shed truth on the Light'?"
<Moore> "I don't know if that's specific enough, so my apologies if it isn't."
<Lucy> "This happened enough times," Lucy tells Veren, "that there is a whole category of people who were abducted by the Light and replaced by fakes. People call them Light Mages. I'd say it's serious."
<Pepo> 'Anywhere with a shore is good enough for my investigations. And as I am already here, this shall suffice,' Pepo says resolutely, no longer interested in dungeon delving for money and treasure he'd never use anyway.
<Moore> "So you're just going to trap yourself on this island?" Moore says with a frown. "I don't really see the merit in that..."
<Lucy> "When you have magic you are never trapped."
<Pepo> 'And I don't see the merit in doing other people's errands.'
<Kotono> "Now I don't know about that," Old Kamhoff grunts, "You need money for supplies and magical items. Even if you don't, the others do!"
<Moore> "The entire point of 'doing other people's errands,' as you say, is to try and find more leads on what exactly is going on with this... world." Moore says with a gesture of his hands to the surrounding light sea. "But if you're convinced you'll find answers here that no one else has, then... well, I certainly hope you'll find them."
<Veren > "I'll agree that finding an answer is of the highest importance, but I don't think confining myself to this city will let me assist in finding that answer. I am no mage and I am of limited use here."
<Lucy> "It may not be as difficult as you believe, Moore," Lucy muses out loud. "Even after we came to the most prominent mage on this island, she merely humored us and never truly considered the possibility. It may be that no one is looking, or asking the right questions, not that they do not exist."
<Pepo> 'The city is unimportant. Nothing is important except from finding what's at the bottom of the Light.'
<Moore> Moore nods to Lucy. "You're right. There may be dots that no one has thought of connecting yet."
<Moore> He continues, "But I don't think that pinning myself or anyone else here is the right solution either. You said you can't take me on Teleportation trips... can you take Pepo?"
<Kotono> Kamhoff grunts and hmms. "If you're so deadset on finding out more, what dots do you think you know already?"
<Lucy> "That things come out of the Light to abduct you and leave copies behind, and that those copies are what are commonly known as Light Mages."
<Moore> "Um... but wait a minute. This copy Pepo was exactly like Pepo, right?"
<Lucy> "There is the matter of a soul, which would normally not be cloned."
<Pepo> 'Presumably it did not have time to learn light magic before discorporating. Though it did pass on one piece of insight. 'Being dragged down, past the shimmering illusion, the momentary phantasm of reality in the light.' That is the impression I got as I roused within the chains of my light-copy. It suggests that the light, perhaps this entire demiplane, is an illusion, a fake. Lucy's experience
<Pepo> with Freeport bear that out.'
<Lucy> "Even with Modify Memory recovering my own, I still remember nothing of the period reality shifts. One moment I was flying in the air through an empty Freeport Rock. The other, I was in the populated version. Focusing on anecdotes of memory loss or powerful debilitating effects might lead us to more cases."
<Moore> Moore nods. "Right. Well, it's like you said, maybe Amambo might hold solutions. It also might not. We have no way of knowing... but I think it's worth looking into."
<Veren > "I think we lack information as well. While this city may hold a large library, the fact that no one here has connected the dots may mean something vital is missing here. We may find it elsewhere."
<Lucy> "How about questioning more light mages?"
<Kotono> During all this, Macaron comes on to the deck. He looks about and in Pepo's mind, 'I will go into the city. Would you like to come with me?"
<Moore> "Well, if Miss Lucy can just teleport back and forth, then it's a non-issue for her." Moore says. "But for Mister Pepo... well, I don't know that there's much we can do if he wants to stay here."
<Pepo> 'Not right now, we are discussing splitting ways,' Pepo tells Macaron. Though really his mind's made up and he won't be swayed. To the group then, 'I am resolved, this will be where we part ways. If I discover the truth, perhaps we might all be freed from this place.'
<Lucy> "Yes. To be honest I was fine with taking it easy at first since I'm immortal, but I don't want to spend eternity in a creepy place where I can't even relax wherever I go. I think I'll work at getting out of here properly."
<Kotono> 'You should be wary of breaking up the pack,' Macaron replies in the depths of Pepo's mind. 'Allies are not easily replaced and friends even less so.'
<Pepo> 'I presume I had a life, before I awoke here. I would like to get back to it, whatever it was,' Pepo tells Macaron. 'No longer will I waste time being diverted by this realm's attractions.'
<Moore> Moore nods to Pepo and then to Lucy. "You're right. If this place is some sort of... elaborate hoax, then finding out why it's here... why we're all here... Well, it's something I'd like to find out. I think we all just have different ways of getting there."
<Veren > "If I find anything related to your investigation, I will return quickly to bring it to you."
Session Close: Tue Feb 10 13:33:42 2015