Czlaplon Quest

[arcomniflash]

"That's just it." I'll say with a hint of exasperation. "I have no idea. It seems like something that a wizard would understand, but I certainly don't. It may be relevant, it may not, but I decided to discover which before discarding the information. Much like if you pick up a book which may contain relevant information but is in a language you can't read. In any case, if he has no horror mark, and is not magicked in any way to speak like this...then I'm less inclined to believe that what he is saying is relevant at all. If you don't know, then I'm at a loss."

- Isaac

[TarlimanJoppos]

Gudrun shrugs with just her right shoulder, briefly, dismissively. "I am not a wizard. If you wish to send him on to one, that is your concern, but you should not delay our work with that effort. I have more relevant matters to attend to." And she turns and goes back into the Breaching Sunfish.

"Ouch," says Mekhitar, having arrived quietly for once. "Our large friend does not seem impressed with your eloquent alley rat." He doffs his hat with a flourish to Alston. "I don't believe we've met," he says. "Mekhitar the Magnificent, Troubadour, at your service." He sweeps his hat back up onto his head and gestures grandly to Garsevan. "My floating friend here is Garsevan Pakhalov, Swordmaster." Garsevan tosses Alston a two-fingered salute.

The professor tugs at Isaac's sleeve. "The sublimation of the image is, in the most fundamental sense, the disintegration of the master-slave dialectic," he says plaintively.

[Kasbak]

I'll give a quick nod to the light sprite, until I remember the visual doesn't translate. Still getting used to that. "Understood. Thank you." Again, short and to the point. Now that the security protocol is out of the way, I'll try to find somewhere back from the conversation just a bit to observe and listen, probably a window sill.

The professor is certainly a frustrating one, and my thoughts are much the same as Gudrun's. This man just keeps cloaking his meaning with obscurity. He is branches reaching out in the way to hide the surest path. If he has a target with the group, he should aim true rather than create a puzzle of words to unravel. Again, not my call, but I will give an obvious look of agreement to Gudrun as she turns back.

Of course, not everyone is going to have the same opinion. Ugh, Troubadours. The only ones consistently worse at getting to the point are Illusionists. Still, if he's part of the group, I'll at least need to get along with him. Besides, he hasn't done anything to make me actively dislike him yet. "Alston Yahi, Fifth Circle Archer." I'll reply, returning the flourish and the salute with a nod that borders on a bow. "I've been referred by the Light Bearers to your group for some Horror hunting. Oh, and Gundrun has verified me." Not sure if they'll be interested in the security clearance, but since they weren't here for it I figure it's best to get it out of the way.

[arcomniflash]

With a quiet sigh, I'll turn to Mekhitar. "No...she's right. Whatever this man's story is, it's none of our business and we don't have time to help him. If he isn't horror marked or magicked in some way then what he's saying must simply be....madness. Unfortunately, we don't have time to deal with that." I'll turn to the professor. "I'm sorry, my friend, we can't help you." I turn away from him, no more wasting time...though getting rid of him will probably be tougher than bringing him with us - perhaps if he could explain himself clearly...

"Personally, I believe we've spent enough time in this city. True, there are a few more avenues to pursue, we could look up those nethermancers and check their reports, but we have other places to survey further afield, places where the Horror has actually been sighted, and that's probably more lucrative. We've a boat chartered already, though I expect we'll need to see the Captain and inform them that we have one additional passenger." I'll glance at Alston.

[TarlimanJoppos]

Alston, Mekhitar gives you a quick looking over. "Traveling togs? You have something better, a little flashier? Or do you need to go along with us" - he indicates himself and Isaac and possibly the other three with a languid wave of his hand - "in the morning for a visit to the tailor?"

Shaliko nods agreement with Isaac. "We're very nearly prepared to depart. We should spend this evening finishing up the documents Gudrun brought back. Kolbeinn? What's left of that?" He switches to Sperethiel for the question to the Elementalist.

"A couple of journals and a few loose scrolls," Kolbeinn says. "We should be able to get through it all tonight, at least for skimming over it. We can take most of it with us and peruse it more intently aboard ship."

"Ah, yes," says Mekhitar in response to Isaac's comment. "I'll make sure to let the captain know we're adding an Archer to our team. He shouldn't mind, windlings don't take up that much space. Why, I heard about one fellow, a Seeker, whose windling friend rode in his backpack. He was an Elementalist, like friend Kolbeinn here, and would hide down in the top of the pack, and do his preparations, and then pop up and toss spells over the Seeker's head at whatever it was they were fighting." He crouches down a bit and then jumps up, illustrating with extravagant flourishes of his hands. "You don't mind," he continues, directly to Alston, "putting on a bit of a demonstration? A fire arrow or two from the railing launched out over the water?"

"The nostalgia for the parent-child dynamic thematizes the differentiation of civil society," the professor pleads with Isaac, tugging on his sleeve again.

"Look, old man, we've done with you," Shaliko tells him. He takes the professor's hand, presses a few sheets of parchment into it and a silver piece. "Go on with you now."

The professor looks at the parchment and the coin. "Shaliko's barely disguised disregard for the relationship between the nostalgia for the parent-child dynamic and the differentiation of civil society might seem a project fraught with risks -- among them presumptuousness, imprecision, and mystification," he says sadly, and mooches off.

[Kasbak]

Mekhitar will get a slightly raised eyebrow at that. Something flashier? And the others need something to fit that description too? Is there something else going on, or does he simply not want to travel with people that aren't as flamboyant as him? "In my profession, it's frequently more advantageous to blend in to one's surroundings than to stand out from them." I'll answer simply. I should have a couple different colored coverings to provide better cover for different environments - grays and blacks to match stonework and shadows in cities, greens and browns for the woods - but not anything that's likely going to be deemed flashy by his standards.

"I'll present myself where ever needed." I'll reply when seeing the Captain is mentioned. Whether they need me to go with or not I'll leave to their judgement on the relationship with the Captain. "And no, I don't need much space. I can make do with a ceiling corner for a hammock and a place to stow my pack. I've spent time on a riverboat before, so I'm used to the protocol. Comforts really aren't something I require." Passions know there's precious few of those when space is limited.

I will relax a bit more as the conversation carries on and makes it clear that I'm being accepted into the group. I expected a bit more questioning on my contributions given that this is a Horror Hunting mission, but if the security clearance will suffice, then I won't argue. Well, Mekhitar does ask for a demonstration, but this doesn't sound like a test. "I have no problem displaying my abilities." I'll answer quickly, up for anything needed to prove myself. "But by how you ask, it seems you've got another target than simply seeing what I can do. What exactly will I be giving the demonstration for?"

[arcomniflash]

"I'll field this one..." I'll say, raising a hand. "Mekhitar has booked us passage aboard a passenger ship ferrying some of the local rich folk North for a cheaper than normal rate. In exchange we have to tell them stories, demonstrate our abilities and generally entertain them. It seems that they also want us to 'look the part' so we have to get some clothing that is a little more...um...expressive than our regular travelling gear."

With a little sigh I'll turn away. "I'm more of a function over flair man, myself, I've never seen the need to impress anyone. I do my duty. However, if we need to do this to continue North, then it cannot be avoided." Heading back towards the inn, I pull my cloak tightly about myself despite the weather not being particularly cold. "Let's hurry and get these scrolls looked over, this will also be a good opportunity to brief you Alston, now that you've been verified."

[TarlimanJoppos]

Garsevan drifts up next to Alston as the rest of the party heads into the Breaching Sunfish. "Yeah, cheaper meaning we're working our passage instead of paying coin for it. Captain calls it an adventure cruise or some dumb shit like that. Basically, we dress up in glad rags and strut our stuff, tell the paying passengers our legends and show off a bit. Make them feel like they did something dangerous, hanging out on a fancy cruise ship and drinking wine with real adepts." He shrugs. "We get to spread our legend and we don't have to pay for the trip. I can show off. I'm a Swordmaster, after all." He grins.

"And we get to go shopping for fancy clothes!" Mekhitar says, from ahead of you. "I just don't understand people who don't like to dress well."

You all follow Gudrun into the private room at the back of the common room. She's had dinner sent in, and there's a lot of books and scrolls and maps on the table as well. She parcels them out to everyone. "Just skim through for anything that catches your attention. Let the magic of your Discipline guide you. When you've gotten through an item, pass it to your right. We should be able to get through most of this by the end of the evening."

[Kasbak]

"Well, anything that saves some coin without sacrificing the mission is fine by me." Saving up is a primary goal of mine after all, and if I only need to do a few trick shots to further that along, I have no objections. As long as we're not taking non-combatants into known danger areas. "And I'm not against dressing fancier." I am still a Windling, even if I didn't grow up immersed in my race's culture. "It's just typically not the best way for me to operate. Difficult to snipe when you stand out from your surroundings."

Writings aren't exactly my strong point, but I'll certainly give what assistance I can. Having more eyes on the same area always helps to pick out hidden targets. I'll just need space to lay items out in front of me and make sure I've got some sort of weights to keep the maps and scrolls held flat. Kind of hard to hold up materials made for the larger races.

[arcomniflash]

"Agreed. When hunting horrors stealth is of utmost importance, though many of them can see you by your aura. Harder to hide that, though I'm told it's not impossible." I say in response, once we're all reading the scrolls I'll do so quietly. "Before we read through these scrolls, Alston, I should probably let you know what you're looking for..." With that I'll describe the horror to him given what we know of it so far. I won't speak the name aloud, of course, just in case.

(This information can be found in the previous pages on the forum).

"...so we're looking for any reference to something like that, particularly habits, weaknesses, etc." I'll go back to the scroll I was given, and hand Alston one from the pile to read as well.