Storyteller: Mnemon Koal

Players: Mnemon Lok

 

     Mnemon Lok attempts to solve the mystery behind a geomantic irregularity he accidentally detected while wandering the satrap.  Unfortunately, petty bandits delay his progress.

 

     The tables of the Logos Academy Library are covered with maps as Mnemon Lok tries to figure out where the anomoly is that his lens system detected. Surprisingly, many of the maps are older and underused. Clearly, the focuss of developement was in the trading harbor and specific goods from the surrounding districts while avoiding much else due to the wildness of the region. The Great Nellens road systems effectively encompasses 1000 squared miles, most of which is wilderness...sometimes dangerous wilderness. The anomaly was recorded on the Briarwood road, one of the least patrolled in the satrapy, having only 3 garrisons along its entire length. It is known for its brigands, but the satrap doesn't bother enforcing the rule of law so far from Greyfalls town. For any more information a direct trip to the region would be needed."

-= OOC =- Mnemon Lok blinks and tries to parse what Koal said versus scene setting. :)

-= OOC =- Mnemon Koal says, "I wasn't sure how to say it, this is what you were after and I saved us wondering about roles because you would have discovered this all with time"

-= OOC =- Mnemon Koal says, "the question is, what are you going to do? and how?"

-= OOC =- Mnemon Lok ahhs. :)

     Mnemon Lok hmms, glaring at the wrongly bent line of essence on the map, as if it were somehow the invioable nature of Creation's fault. Then, shrugs, and begins making the grumbling preparations to leave the Halls for that most hated and dreaded of things. Work.

Field work.

-= OOC =- Mnemon Koal says, "how are you traveling? are you going alone? what are you bringing?"

-= OOC =- Mnemon Koal says, "are you telling anyone, or do you want to seize a what might be a demense for yourself?"

-= OOC =- Mnemon Lok hms. "Definitely not on foot, and definitely not into an unsettled region alone. I'll hire a pair of mercenary-bodyguard types. Not super elite types, given that I can't afford them. And I travel as light as is feasible. But no, no one else at the school gets to learn about this, yet :)

-= OOC =- Mnemon Koal says, "haha ok; guard types are easily purchased at the docks...we'll assume you have a salary that covers everything..."

-= OOC =- Mnemon Lok does :)

-= OOC =- Mnemon Lok awaits?

     Your passage along the Briarwood road is long and lonely. Offerings and a quick prayer at the roadside shrines speed your journey tremously, keeping you refreshed untile you leave what is known as the inner circle. The inner circle is the road artery that surrounds the regions considered "developed", i.e., not complete wilderness. Beyond that is road, and dense foreboding forest on either side, interspersed with clear cut areas...although these disappear along with signs of people the farther out you go. At this point it is more likely a traveler will encounter a trading tribesman cautiously walking the road with some rare eastern commodity hung in a sack, than someone from the actual satrapy."

-= OOC =- Mnemon Koal says, "you need a perception plus occult plus geomancy roll"

(Judge) Mnemon Lok rolls Perception + Occult + 3: [ -1- 2 2 5 5 5 6 8 8 <10> <10> ]

         Resulting in 6 successes.

-= OOC =- Mnemon Koal says, "great"

-= OOC =- Mnemon Lok should hope so :)

-= OOC =- Mnemon Koal says, "there is a dragonline, an absence, and then what appears to be the same dragonline flowing the other direction miles up the road....something has either bent or reflected it if your readings are accurate, but whatever it is is probably miles into that forest on your eastern side"

-= OOC =- Mnemon Koal says, "if you want to pose a geomantic stunt I'll let you roll more dice"

-= OOC =- Mnemon Koal says, "just cause I like poses"

     Mnemon Lok hmms, gazing in vauge dismay as the trail leads into the forest, then hesitates. "Hold on a moment," he says to the guards, who give the man an impatient glare. Lok doesn't care overmuch; it's not like he's been a gracious traveler thus far, complaining constantly about the bugs, the heat, the humidity, the bugs, the blazing sun, the chilly nights, the bugs, the quality of the food that he brought, and the bugs.

But in this, he seemso to come to life. He carefully sets up a tripod of silver, hanging a heavy pendulum on a golden chain. The bob swings freely in a circle for a moment, before settling into a pendulum motion. He then pulls out five small pieces of incense, lighting them in a precise pentagram points around the tripod- the bodyguards shift nervously as he lights each, and the smoke begins to twist together in an altogether unnatural fashion. Slowly, both the smoke and the bob begin to 'push' along the dragon line. He nods to himself, then grunts in frustration. "Looks like we're headed into the woods."

-= OOC =- Mnemon Koal says, "beautiful, roll 3 more dice"

(Judge) Mnemon Lok rolls 3: [ -1- 8 9 ]

         Resulting in 2 successes.

-= OOC =- Mnemon Lok woos :)

-= OOC =- Mnemon Koal says, "outstanding, you know exactly where you want to go...its only twenty miles through vine and thorn choked forest...your going to have to camp in there overnight at least once"

-= OOC =- Mnemon Lok greats. I send the mercenaries in first, to better clear the path for my delicate skin. :)

     The hired help, looking somewhat suspiciously at you after the ritual, whisper prayers to their patron gods and dismount. They take turns systematically clearing a path for your group through the choking underbrush."

     Eventually night falls and the group makes camp under the thick canopy, a small fire keeping the bugs away for once. The guards take shifts on watch, hoping to catch catnaps the next day after reaching what they hope is a destination."

     On the bright side, there was no problem finding firewood."

     Mnemon Lok sleeps through the night. Snoring.

     The night passes smoothly, not even Luna opening an eye, as the sounds of furred moths whirl passing far overhead in their mating rituals."

-= OOC =- Mnemon Koal says, "I need a perception, awareness roll for as you're having your morning tea the next morning"

(Judge) Mnemon Lok rolls Perception + Awareness: [ -1- -1- 3 3 4 6 ]

         Resulting in a Botch!

-= OOC =- Mnemon Lok says, "Oooh. A pretty butterfly. :)"

(Judge) Mnemon Koal rolls 7: [ 2 2 3 3 4 4 9 ]

         Resulting in 1 successes.

= OOC =- Mnemon Lok gets ready to replace Lok. :)

(Judge) Mnemon Koal rolls 6: [ 2 4 8 8 9 <10> ]

         Resulting in 5 successes.

-= OOC =- Mnemon Koal says, "one of your guards is really lucky, it's good you brought two"

-= OOC =- Mnemon Lok whews. :)

     With surprising swiftness, one of your cheap rent-a-guards displays skill far above his station and leaps in front of Lok with shield held as cover, sword drawn. "Get down you foo..." as the other guard takes an arrow shaft to the leg, stumbling, but managing to pull his own shield up and crawl over to your position to join his shield coverage to the other.

     Mnemon Lok blinks, looking up from a wonderfully engaging and very rare Eight Spotted Golden Butterfly. "Why, is something happening?"

     "Well isn't this convenient." a somewhat musical voice says as a five and half foot dark green cloaked and cowled individual appears from the bushes opposite you, arrow drawn but not yet firing, apparently not sure about getting around the shields, and keeping distance. "These are /our/ woods travelers. Empty your pockets and leave the way you came or things will get unpleasant.""

     "Sir, there is only three, maybe we can take them." the uninjured guard says. "Yeah", the injured guard says, "show them what it means to attack one of the exalted.""

     Mnemon Lok huhs, glancing at the cloaked figure, then at his two- well, one and a half -guards. "Of course," he replies, walking over to his pack, and exhaling a deep breath. "Shame to part with these, though..." he mutters, carefully laying out a series of small, relatively valuable gemstones. He gives the leader figure another look, then the two asistant-thieves. "Oh, it's possible," he says. "They're standing in fairly poor locations now, after all."

     He grins, and gives another deep breath, pushing his essence- through the gems, and to the bows of the bandits. With any luck, they'll be snapping soon enough, an overabudence of dry, burning fire Essence flowing into them.

-= OOC =- Mnemon Koal says, "is that some sort of stunt, where is the essence coming from"

-= OOC =- Mnemon Koal says, "I mean is it a charm of some sort?"

-= OOC =- Mnemon Lok says, "Oh, right, sorry. No, it's using the Geomantic arts to curse the archers. I burning Essence to make the ritual cheaper, since it's normally a Resources 4 'purchase', which is a bit beyond me."

-= OOC =- Mnemon Lok says, "Basically, I roll Intelligence + Occult + Geomancy vs difficulty 3, and the next time they shoot their bows at any of us in the context of robbing us, their next failure becomes a botch."

-= OOC =- Mnemon Koal says, "if your trying to use the dragon line, I think it is wood essence, be more descriptive about what the curse is doing and think wood essence...you'll get a tremendous boost right here"

-= OOC =- Mnemon Lok hmms.

-= OOC =- Mnemon Koal says, "or do you just want the standard curse you mentioned"

     Lok continues laying out knickknacks and gegaws. Little actual money- why bother, out in the wilds? "Funny thing," he adds. "I mean, three robbers, three of us. Say," he asks, turning to one of his guards. "Have I told you about the Second Procession of Elements? It's actually rather similiar to the First Inhibitation." The guard spare Lok a brief, bewildered look, which Lok just brushes past. "Basically, it's where you use a small amount of an inhibiting element, in an area where what it inhibits is in far greater abundence. You usually get a brief flare-" To those who could see such a thing, the firey essence flowing into the bows surges for a second "-then, a cascading resonance, as the inhibited elements overwhelms the inhibation, with far greater force. Like water breaking down a dam. This can have... somewhat unpredictable effects," he says reflectively, as wood essence- normally inhibited by fire, casacdes into the bows. They start to vibrate, with the amount of untrammled life entering them.

-= OOC =- Mnemon Koal says, "I guess I'm required to have you make a roll, go ahead with int + occult + geomancy"

-= OOC =- Mnemon Lok ohyeahs.

(Judge) Mnemon Lok rolls Intelligence + Occult: [ 3 4 5 6 6 6 8 9 <10> ]

         Resulting in 4 successes.

-= OOC =- Mnemon Lok grs.

(Judge) Mnemon Lok rolls 3: [ 9 <10> <10> ]

         Resulting in 5 successes.

-= OOC =- Mnemon Lok BLINKS.

-= OOC =- Mnemon Lok wow.

-= OOC =- Mnemon Koal says, "wtf? now I have to roll to see if they survive with that, the dragonline is reflected on itself here"

(Judge) Mnemon Koal rolls 6: [ -1- 2 3 3 9 9 ]

         Resulting in 2 successes.

(Judge) Mnemon Koal rolls 6: [ -1- 4 6 6 7 <10> ]

         Resulting in 3 successes.

(Judge) Mnemon Koal rolls 7: [ 2 2 4 5 7 9 <10> ]

         Resulting in 4 successes.

     With a resounding snap, the thieves goggling the nice crystals they've won are surprized as their bows explode into masses of tangly thorny vines. One of the thieves actually has his head caught in the mass and collapses spasming to the ground. Another just about loses an arm before throwing the thing into the still burning campfire where it continues to spasm and crackle, sending glowing sparks into the air along with acrid smoke (no fresh pine scent here). The leader isn't fooled and tosses hers at your main guard who deflects it before he charges to do a body slam with the shield before she can recover.

 (Judge) Mnemon Koal rolls 7: [ 2 2 5 6 6 7 <10> ]

         Resulting in 3 successes.

     Mnemon Lok begins recollecting his geomancy supplies as the fighting carries on quite well without him.

(Judge) Mnemon Koal rolls 7: [ -1- -1- -1- 7 7 9 9 ]

         Resulting in 4 successes.

(Judge) Mnemon Koal rolls 3: [ 6 8 <10> ]

         Resulting in 3 successes.

-= OOC =- Mnemon Koal says, "that guard is /amazing/ for a mortal"

-= OOC =- Mnemon Lok hearts.

(Judge) Mnemon Koal rolls 5: [ 2 2 6 9 9 ]

         Resulting in 2 successes.

-= OOC =- Mnemon Lok says, "Remind me to pay them extra when we get back to Greyfalls :)"

(Judge) Mnemon Koal rolls 6: [ 2 3 3 6 6 7 ]

         Resulting in 1 successes.

(Judge) Mnemon Koal rolls 7: [ -1- -1- 2 5 5 6 6 ]

        Resulting in a Botch!

(Judge) Mnemon Koal rolls 5: [ 3 8 8 8 9 ]

         Resulting in 4 successes.

(Judge) Mnemon Koal rolls 3: [ 5 6 9 ]

         Resulting in 1 successes.

(Judge) Mnemon Koal rolls 5: [ -1- 2 5 8 9 ]

         Resulting in 2 successes.

(Judge) Mnemon Koal rolls 6: [ -1- -1- 2 8 9 <10> ]

         Resulting in 4 successes.

(Judge) Mnemon Koal rolls 3: [ -1- -1- 9 ]

         Resulting in 1 successes.

-= OOC =- Mnemon Lok says, "So... what just happened? :)"

     Your guard slams his shield into the leader, sending her flying back into a tree where her head strikes and she is knocked out. The last thief standing manages to stab your guard in the gut as they tussle, falling to the ground and rolling around until your second guard crawls over and sucker punches the thief in the face. The two guards tie up the two thieves remaining alive and do the best they can with their own wounds. The third thief is dead with a root stabbing through his windpipe."

-= OOC =- Mnemon Koal says, "your guards are both at -1 and have looked better"

     "Sir, should we just execute them?" Your guards seem unsure at what to do."

     Mnemon Lok presses his lips together, glancing towards the woods in frustration, then towards his troops. "No," he says acidly. "We'll bring them back to Greyfalls, and the justice of the Satrap."

     For expediencies sake the guards ask to build up the fire and leave the one body there to cremate while they tie the other two onto the horses. "We can make the last fort by night fall if we return now, Sir. It's obvious the guard is asking you to turn back.""

     Mnemon Lok nods once, frustration clear in his eyes. "Right. Then stop dwalding. Let's get the hell out of this mosquito infested pit."

     That next night you make it back to the last garrison post, stars glistening overhead, and Luna just barely peeking down on your party. The garrison takes your prisoners and accomidates your party for the night, disinfecting and bandaging your guards wounds. "This is a nice catch. We haven't been able to catch them in a while since they usually strike quickly at weakly armed travelers and then retreat into the forest. Good work citizen.""

-= OOC =- Mnemon Koal says, "do you want to end there or return to the woods"

     Mnemon Lok snorts quietly at the thanks. "Sure," he says, distractedly. Gazing out into the forest, and wondering what secret still hides in it's depths.

"Damnation," he mutters. "This is going to take Kyrie's help."