fadethecat has made fadethecat's local name Draco

Jesdyn materializes out of thin air.

fadethecat has made fadethecat's local description A silver ferret in a 
knit cap and scarf. Or possibly a mongoose.

StevenE materializes in a burst of blackness as he teleports in from 
elsewhere in the MOO.

StevenE has made StevenE's local name Ekur

Neil says, "Does anyone remember if I'd gone celestial yet at the end of 
the last session?"

The GM says, "You had not.  (Sorry about lack of log.  I've been doing 
much on thesis this week.)"

Neil says, "Hmm. Not that Mahuya or her creepy mojo is going to be 
impressed by a spunky nine-forcer in her backyard, I suppose."

The GM says, "We have two plot scenes to follow.  In one, which starts a 
few minutes ago, Ekur is alone with a room full of demons, one of whom is 
Wrinth.  In the other, Neil and Draco (and Thais, whom I keep forgetting) 
are being charged by a couple of ethereals as they are staring down 
Mahuya."

The GM says, "I'd like to run Ekur's scene first, since it's possible 
that he may be able to join you in time to affect that fight."

Neil says, "Try, Ekur. Try /very hard/. "

The GM says, "Two quick meta-bits before we hop into game."

The GM says, "(1) Would people be glum if Ekur managed to have Wrinth 
unambiguously offed?  Msg me your votes."

[ snip msg'ing ]

The GM says, "(2) Remember the tweaked rules on celestial combat.  Aim 
for either Forces or Attributes; getting down to 0 Soul Hits definitely 
hacks off a random one of these and possibly more due to 'aging.'"

You sense that Jesdyn is looking for you in Blue GURPS Room.

Arc 7, Part the First, Conclusion: Laying to Rest.

The GM says, "We begin in the library, a few minutes ago.  Thais, after 
checking with Ekur, has just run off.  Wrinth is badly beaten up 
mentally; his icon shows painful wounds and he will be under the 
influence of Draco's Song of Charm for another minute yet, so he 
presently has all the awareness of a poleaxed cow."

The GM says, "In addition to you two, there are presently three security 
guards -- Djinn -- and three previously-present demons in the room -- 
Impudite, Shedite, and Lilim.  The Impudite has had his stuff stolen."

The GM says, "Finally, Ekur, recall what you shouted just before all this 
went down:  'Ekur yells, "Betrayer!  Servitor of the War!"'"

The GM says, "Time clicks on."

The GM says, "The Impudite is shouting at Security to go get his stuff.  
Wrinth is on his feet, but wobbling.  A Security Djinn runs off after the 
other angels.  One of the others waves his raygun and shouts, 'Shut up!  
SHUT UP!  Everybody!'"

Ekur shouts to the security guards, "Any place we can safely store this 
creature, so he can't betray Mahuya?"

The apparently-lead security guard looks over Ekur and his equipment, 
earlier dreamshaped into Nightmares styles.  "Him?  Who the f*ck are 
*you*?  Are you one of Beleth's flunkies?"

The Lilim grabs Wrinth by the chin and looks him in the eye while this is 
being discussed.

Ekur says, "I'm a personal agent of Mahuya, and that's all you need to 
know.  Now, can we hold him, or do I need to destroy him?"

The Impudite says, "They just beat this guy up and stole my stuff.  Why 
should we believe a damn thing some ethereal says?"

The Lilim says, "Well, the beat-up dude's biggest Need right now is to 
get out of here and report what's been going on to Baal..."

Ekur yells, "Fine, I'll handle this myself!"  He tries to dreamshape a 
hollow iron container around himself and Wrinth and some empty space.

[ snip rolling ; announce Dreaming succeeded ]

The GM says, "This appears.  The inside is lit by incongruous sourceless 
light, so you can see."

[ snip rolling ; announce Dreaming succeeded ]

[ snip rolling ; announce Dreaming succeeded ]

The GM says, "A glass window appears in the sphere, through which 
Security watches what you do.  The Lilim also decides to step inside.  
Through the window you can see the Impudite and the Security djinn 
arguing about something, but it's soundproof."

Wrinth is slowly waking up, but is put off by the sudden change of 
scenery.  He looks around confusedly.

Ekur . o O ( Well, there goes Brilliant Plan #1; hide and Celkill. )

The Lilim makes a hand gesture at the window.  To you she says, "Security 
isn't the brightest bulb in the lab staff.  Let's deal.  You're obviously 
trying to kill this guy before your friend's Song wears off.  Why?"

Ekur takes celform and strikes at Wrinth as hard as he can.

The GM says, "Roll the beautiful swing damage."

Ekur rolled 3d6 and got 9.

The Lilim grabs the Dreaming talisman from Wrinth and banishes the 
sphere.  "Kill them both," she orders Security.

The GM says, "Wrinth remains in no condition to defend.  The two 
remaining guards aim their rayguns at a target at random while the 
Impudite and Shedite flee."

The GM says, "(1 Ekur, 2 Wrinth)"

roll 1d2

roll 1d2

On 1d2, you rolled 2.

Jesdyn [to William]: Celestial from the guards, I assume?

William [to Ekur]: Aiming for Forces, I trust?

StevenE [to William]: Yes.

William [to Neil]: The rayguns are relics of Celestial Light.

Neil says, "The Song of Laser Beams. Gotta love it."

[ snip rolling ; announce Guns_1 succeeded ]

[ snip rolling ; announce Guns_2 succeeded ]

roll 1d6-1

On 1d6-1, you rolled 5.

roll 1d6-1

On 1d6-1, you rolled 5.

The GM says, "For some reason, the guards seem to be more used to be 
paranoid of other demons than of angels.  Ekur's swing knocks Wrinth's 
demonic form toward the guards, who both lance out with shining blasts.  
Symbolic blood spatters off of Wrinth and there is a smell of burning 
brimstone as part of his being is seared away..."

roll 1d7

On 1d7, you rolled 6.

[ snip rolling ; announce Aging_Corp succeeded ]

[ snip rolling ; announce Aging_Eth succeeded ]

[ snip rolling ; announce Aging_Cel succeeded ]

The GM says, "Wrinth seems less mentally anchored to the Marches than he 
was even a moment ago... he is positively translucent now."

The GM says, "New round."

Ekur hits Wrinth again, as long as everybody here seems to be picking on 
him.

The GM says, "Wrinth is attempting to focus on something under the 
onslaught.  Attack roll."

The GM says, "(skill 19)"

Ekur rolled 12 versus 19 and succeeded by 7.

[ snip rolling ; announce Hopeless_Dodge failed ]

The GM says, "Damage."

Ekur rolled 3d6 and got 10.

roll 1d2

On 1d2, you rolled 2.

roll 1d2

On 1d2, you rolled 2.

The GM says, "Yes, they're *really* picking on Wrinth these days."

[ snip rolling ; announce Guns_1 succeeded ]

[ snip rolling ; announce Guns_2 succeeded ]

[ snip rolling ; announce Hopeless_Dodge critically failed ]

[ snip rolling ; announce Hopeless_Dodge failed ]

roll 1d6-1

On 1d6-1, you rolled 3.

roll 1d6-1

On 1d6-1, you rolled 4.

The GM says, "Light stabs through Wrinth... the barrels are right in his 
gut, vacuum tubes humming."

roll 1d6

On 1d6, you rolled 5.

[ snip rolling ; announce Aging_Corp succeeded ]

[ snip rolling ; announce Aging_Eth succeeded ]

[ snip rolling ; announce Aging_Cel succeeded ]

Jesdyn [to William]: d6?

The GM says, "The d6 is determining which Force he loses.  The next one 
will be a d5."

Neil says, "Oh, right."

The GM says, "Wrinth, sensing that the time is about come, puts all his 
eggs into one basket."

Wrinth clutches the shoulder of the nearest opponent, and blows his 
remaining Essence capacity calling for help.

Wrinth mumbles, "Muh... Master..."

Ekur runs for the door, dropping Celestial form in favor of resuming the 
black knight.  He tries to dreamshape two other black knights who take 
other paths.

The GM says, "So folks are clear I'm not fudging this roll for plot 
purposes, here's the breakdown: base 4, -10 because he's Outcast, +5 for 
Essence, +1 for not invoking for a year, +2 being at risk of death, +2 
being in the presence of enemy celestials.  Total, 4.  Essentially, he 
makes it on a 4 or an 18."

The GM says, "And here's the roll:"

roll 3d6

On 3d6, you rolled 17.

fadethecat [to William]: ...so close, and yet, so far.

The GM says, "...that's such a critical failure, somebody else gets the 
memo.  I'll just tuck that away.  But at present, Wrinth is on his own."

Neil says, "I'd feel sorry for him, but after *that* many hairs-breadth 
dodges he can just fry."

Ekur says, "Regardless, Ekur runs and dreamshapes.  He *hopes* one or 
both of the demons remain behind to handle Wrinth . . . "

William [to Ekur]: You'll need a series of three dreaming rolls, one at 
-2 and two at -4.  The first will take the new shape, and the second and 
third will attempt your ruse with the other images.

Ekur rolled 8 versus 16 and succeeded by 8.

Ekur rolled 10 versus 14 and succeeded by 4.

Ekur rolled 14 versus 14 and succeeded by 0.

William [to Ekur]: The other two images run in different directions.  
Which way do you go?

The GM says, "Behind you, you hear the rayguns fire another couple of 
blasts."

StevenE [to William]: I go the way I believe Thais went.

The GM says, "Toward the front of the building, then.  In front of you, 
inhabiting the hallway, is an unnatural blizzard in the form of a 
multitude of tiny, dancing figures trailing snowflakes."

Ekur, not even hesitating, tries to dreamshape himself into polar bear 
form and heads straight through the blizzard.

The GM says, "It opens in front of you and a suggestive tunnel appears.  
The Snow Dancers close ranks behind you, cutting off visibility.  You can 
hear the Lilim, however, shouting, "Split up and find the angel!""

Ekur heads down the tunnel.  What's the worst that can happen?

The GM says, "The tunnel leads you out the front of the building and 
around the side toward the back.  It suddenly opens up, and you spot Neil 
and Draco facing a Balseraph locked inside a coating of ice on the rear 
wall of the keep.  Thais is above them and to the left, hovering in 
celestial form and maintaining a Song of Ethereal Shields, apparently 
against incoming Cel. Light fire from turrets on the castle walls."

The GM says, "Scenes merge!"

Neil has been waiting two weeks for his res on Mahuya to resolve.

William [to Neil]: Mahuya thinks she is not only better than those 
nearby, she has a self-estimation something akin to megalomania (a 
not-infrequent amibition, if one difficult to realize, when one is aware 
of multiple layers of reality).  She has in pursuit of this ambition 
discarded ties to superiors and homeland and merely uses inferiors as 
tools; she is deliberately reworking her self-identity to accord with the 
self-image she finds most useful, that of a being native to this land.  
Not this Domain... to where this Domain is.  That's a tricky bit, but it 
seems to resolve as 'the very fulcrum of Knowledge and Oblivion in the 
Universe.'

The GM says, "At least, that's her opinion."

The GM says, "But at any rate, she's Renegade as all Hell and may even 
think she's found a not-impossible shot at a Third Way.  Being a 
Balseraph, who can say how accurate it is?"

Neil will scan the red-headed zombie spirit when next he gets a turn.

The GM says, "We enter combat rounds, then.  The order is: Draco, 
Neil/Ekur, Mahuya, Rink, and then whatever creations might currently be 
under Mahuya's control."

The GM says, "(Thais, it will be assumed, is productively busy.)"

The GM says, "Draco?"

fadethecat [to William]: Half a sec, double-checking my Essence count.

Ekur resumes the form he normally wears in Civis for this -- bald guy in 
a white suit -- with shield and sword ready.

Jesdyn [to William]: Am I at 2, 1, or 0?

William [to fadethecat]: You dropped to 6 for disguise, less 2 for Charm, 
bringing you to 4.

William [to Neil]: 1.

Draco assesses the situation briefly, and, clapping his knit cap firmly 
on his head, sings out Ethereal Charm towards Mahuya, not bothering to 
drop his ethereal image.

Draco rolled 4 versus 20 and critically succeeded by 16.

Ekur is at 5 (6 for disguise, 1 for song) if he recalls correctly.

William [to Draco]: ...well.

Draco [to William]: ...it's not like I have a good fighting skill, 
relatively speaking...

The GM says, "The glow in Mahuya's eyes fades from bright coals to dull 
ruby and then to blank garnet.  The two revenants approaching you slow 
and stop still."

William [to Neil]: Res roll.

Neil OOCly dreamshapes tweety-birds flapping around Mahuya's head.

Neil rolled 12 versus 18 and succeeded by 6.

Ekur autorezzes Mahuya and the revenants.

William [to Neil]: You have resonated an object, a construct.  It bears 
roughly the same relationship to the Lady of Selkirk as would a human's 
corpse to the human you knew.  There is no life there, not even unlife.  
This is a marionette Mahuya had available somehow to activate.

William [to Ekur]: The revenants are blank objects.  Mahuya is presently 
as intelligent as the standard housecat, and knows she is in danger but 
has forgotten how to use the usual tools she would employ to get out of 
this danger.  This is worrisome.  Very simple-minded at the moment.

Neil says, "They're just puppets," and saunters past them.

The GM says, "Rink takes this opportunity to seize complete Mastery of 
the Domain."

Ekur <OOC> "Well."

Neil looks around. "I guess... we should start pounding on her now?"

A voice echoes through the Domain-wide snowstorm.  "That's more bloody 
like it," you hear.  A shadowy silhouette of a winged pixie rises up 
above the castle.  It looks over toward you three.

Draco manifests a tiny watch on his wrist, and checks it. "Probably a 
good idea," he says. "This isn't likely to last forever."

Draco looks up at Rink, and waves cheerfully. "How's that working out for 
you?" he calls.

Ekur says, "Melt her out and send her to the base of Beleth's Tower?"

Neil hails Rink. "Sorry, can't talk now, gloriously waging battle," he 
says, and then returns to his bloody, bloody work.

Neil . o O ( This Triad has seriously kicked some back. )

William [to Neil]: Hacking off the ice to get to Mahuya?

Ekur waits for Rink to say something.  If a bit of time pases, he tries 
dreamshaping himself into a dragon, to breathe fire and melt the ice 
encasing Mahuya away.

Draco works on dreamshaping the ice away in Neil's path.

Jesdyn [to William]: Which ever way is most efficent -- dream-shaping or 
just manhandling it.

Ekur . o O ( Might not be any faster than chipping at it or dreamsahping 
it, but using the appropriate form shouldn't hurt. )

The GM says, "The ice is not ethereal.  It possesses relic reality and 
must be attacked celestially or manipulated by some other act of will."

fadethecat [to William]: Hrm. So dreamshaping isn't will-ish enough... or 
can it be attacked by straight-up willpower?

Neil . o O ( Relic ice? Maybe I should import it to Civis. )

William [to Draco]: You can make a celestial attack on it.

Rink regards your efforts with equanimity.  "I reign now as the Ice 
Queen, Snow Kaguya.  Your arrangement of this state of affairs is worth 
recompense.  I personally desire to disentangle this Domain from its 
present state and restore it to the Far Marches, there to pursue the ways 
of that Image.  Can I offer you assistance in your current priorities?"

Ekur says, "Okay.  For the moment, while they work at the ice, I'll take 
my sword and destroy the two constructs.  If icebreaking takes too long, 
I don't want Mahuya reainimating them and attacking us."

Jesdyn [to William]: I look up from the ice and resonate Rink. How much 
is that image affecting her?

Draco [to William]: Okay, what do I roll for that?

William [to Ekur]: The constructs shatter brittly at a hard swing.  A 
wind that doesn't seem to blow anywhere else picks up the pieces and 
refreezes them on the wall in front of Mahuya.

William [to Draco]: A punch'll do.  Brawling-23, looks like.

The GM says, "To be honest, it's not putting up resistance, so skills 
aren't necessary... it's simply taking time and effort to dig through, 
just as it would take time and effort to chip out a block of ice in the 
real world."

Draco rolled 14 versus 23 and succeeded by 9.

Draco [to William]: In that case, please assume Draco's helping Neil with 
that unless things change.

Ekur goes over and starts beating on the ice surrounding Mahuya.

Draco doffs his hat with one hand to address the new Queen as he works. 
"How do you intend to deal with the demons still in your Domain?"

skill 18 Neil_Resonance

You rolled 7 and Neil_Resonance - succeeded by 11.

William [to Neil]: It's affecting her quite a lot.  She's happy to take 
on the fairly powerful iconic image of the Ice Queen... it's not often 
one of the big fairytale villain positions opens up.

William [to Neil]: The name 'Rink' is being forgotten, except as a sort 
of sound in the back of her mind... she'd answer to 'Kaguya' now.

Ekur says, "We could use that book back, and some help here getting 
through to Mahuya and eliminating her before she wakes back up."

Kaguya says, "The book? -- oh."  She slowly turns to the castle, whose 
turrets have fallen silent.  "If you wish.  I will leave the entire 
library here when I take the Domain.  Such Heavenly things are of no use 
to me."  To Draco, she says, "I believe I can shunt the demons here into 
the Hell-fragment that will remain when I leave.  Will this be acceptable 
to you?"

Draco bows. "Quite acceptable. Thank you."

Jesdyn [to William]: What was the name of the human the book came from?

William [to Neil]: Antonio de la Robia.

Neil speaks up with a troubled voice. "There's one other thing you can do 
for us... Kaguya."

Kaguya reaches in to the castle by a second-floor window and pulls out a 
giant's double handful of books in various antique letterings and sizes, 
and sets them by your feet.  She plucks a single one out of a 
darkness-shrouded dress and adds it to the pile.  She looks over at the 
hole you're chipping away in the ice surrounding Mahuya.  "Yes?  (I can 
absorb that ice if you like.  It's perfectly good dreams.)"

Neil says, "You can lose yourself in the Ice Queen, and lose even your 
name... but don't forget Tony, please. He's why we were able to save 
you."

Neil . o O ( My reasoning here is that I need her to maintain a tenous 
connection to humanity, or else she's going to be All Evil and we'll end 
up back here to kill her sooner or later. )

Draco [to Neil]: Well, she's turning into a storybook villain. She's 
/supposed/ to be all evil, but in a fairly localized way.

Draco . o O ( I think. )

Kaguya eyes the biography on top of the pile and frowns slightly.  "My... 
creator?  I fail to comprehend the connection.  Was it not the other 
angel's suppression of Mahuya's dreaming?"

William [to Draco]: You'll be wanting to maintain that Song for another 
interval right about now.

Draco [to William]: Dropping the additional one Essence in to do so, 
then.

Neil says, "No, it was the biography the demon was reading -- a book that 
should never have left Heaven's gates. We came here to stop the threat 
these demons posed to the human's world."

Ekur says, "If I may interrupt for a second, Neil?  If you would go ahead 
and get rid of this ice, we'd be very happy."

Neil says, "What I'm trying to say, Kaguya, is that you've got a very 
powerful image... now... but please don't forget what being powerless was 
like."

Kaguya says, "Ah.  Circumstance, then."  She settles back, shrinking and 
approaching perhaps twice apparent human size.  The voice stops booming 
quite so much.  "You need have no fear of such things appearing in my 
realm when it returns to the Far Marches.  Their appearance was a subject 
of much discussion among my captors, and apparently was a recent result 
of the Domain's altered position."  She walks over to the wall of ice and 
puts a hand to it.  "I will never forget," she says as the ice begins 
flowing toward and into her.  "I will see to it that no threat like this 
ever arises again."  She flickers as the imagery adds to whatever curious 
pool of power the Ice Queen draws from this stuff.

The GM says, "After a few moments, Mahuya is freed and drops limply to 
the ground."

Kaguya turns to you.  "I will trust no demon, and I will remember your 
role in bringing me to this pass.  Of these you can be assured.  I owe 
Heaven a debt of gratitude upon which it may call."

The GM says, "Kaguya's starting to look a good deal like this, by the 
way: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ec/Princesssnowkaguya.JPG  
(This is noticeably more, err, 'adult' than the pixie-ish Rink.)"

Ekur takes his Ethereal sword and starts attacking Mahuya, to send her to 
Beleth's Tower.

Kaguya looks down at Mahuya as Ekur does his work.  "I suppose Heaven and 
Hell have their business to conduct.  I shall retrieve my Domain and take 
my leave... if you have no immediate request of me?"

Neil says, "Yes, Kaguya... thank you."

Ekur looks to her, and says, "Thany you, too, Rink."

Kaguya waits until Mahuya is disenpsyche'd, and raises her arms to corral 
the snow.  "Oh..." she says.  "Would you four and the Tsayadite who snuck 
across the border several hours ago rather end up on the Heaven side or 
the Hell side when I depart?"

Neil says, "Oh, good, you caught them -- now I don't have to betray them. 
Heaven-side, please -- we've got business over there."

Ekur says, "Heavenside, I think.  The demons on the Hellside are probably 
going to try to kill us if we're there."

Kaguya says, "Very well."

Kaguya signals the Snow Dancers.  They begin whirling up and around the 
castle, toward the sky.  Lightning flashes and the clouds roil, a 
blizzard of fat flakes whipping down to obscure all vision.  As the 
biting chill increases to the point where even a celestial feels the nip 
of the cold, the sensation suddenly vanishes with a strange sensation of 
flurried motion.  You find yourselves in the place on the Heaven side 
analogous to the castle's position: the middle of the Tsayadite camp.

The GM says, "There is, about half a mile out in the snowfield, a figure 
who hurriedly straightens up, looks about, and heads for the camp."

Neil says, "Can I resonate at that range?"

Draco drops back into his proper celestial seeming, straightening his 
feathers as he settles into it again. "Ah," he says. "And there we go. I 
think I approve of that one."

"Meanwhile, directly around you, the cry of 'Intruders!' is raised, and 
roughly a dozen angels in military gear quickly surround you.

The GM says, "Meanwhile, directly around you, the cry of 'Intruders!' is 
raised, and roughly a dozen angels in military gear quickly surround 
you."

fadethecat [to William]: What was the name of the Tsayad I spoke with 
last time?

Ekur takes celform, and says, "Hi!" while autorezzing everybody.

William  <OOC> Note to self: figure out a way to keep high-skill Ethereal 
Charm from completely short-circuiting Marches boss fights.

Draco [to William]: Yeah, I feel kinda bad about that one.

Neil pops into /formal/ Celestial form -- the dress robes with the sigil 
of Judgment emblazoned on them.

William [to Draco]: Godfrey.

William [to Draco]: Don't be... you paid the points, employed appropriate 
strategy, and won the fight.

Draco waves a wing at a few of the nice Tsayadim. "May I speak with 
Godfrey? I'd like to discuss an arrangement we made earlier."

Jesdyn [to fadethecat]: And you broke G:IN Marches combat -- AGAIN.

William [to Ekur]: Everybody's a bit surprised but several of them 
recognize Draco.  And you are, after all, angels.  There the mildest bit 
of hostility toward Neil but no guilt as regards their own action.

"I am here," Godfrey says, and emerges from a tent.  "It is good to see 
you again," he addresses Draco.  "May I assume that the substantial 
Disturbance of Song we just heard from across the border indicates you 
return victorious from battle?"

Draco nods cheerfully. "I believe that by now the ethereal Domain has 
been detached from the infernal shard, and all demons in the former 
deposited in the latter."

Jesdyn [to William]: Neil is thinking pretty quickly, here.

Jesdyn [to William]: None of what we just did really required the 
intervention of a Triad invested with temporary powers of Judgment, 
right?

Godfrey is mildly disturbed by this.  "The inhabitants of the ethereal 
Domain, they remain in possession of the memory of this place?"

William [to Neil]: Nope.

Jesdyn [to William]: So either Dominic's off his little-g game, or he 
must want us to be doing something we hadn't done yet.

William [to Neil]: Except for being authorized to work with Wrinth, which 
Godfrey doesn't know about.

Draco ripple-shrugs. "The Master of the Domain will now be wary of Hell, 
and is indebted to Heaven. She's also returned several Heavenly artifacts 
we need to return. I considered it a suitable Trade. An image that iconic 
will find a spirit to take it, and I would prefer it be held by someone 
who's inclined in the right direction."

Jesdyn [to William]: Under what rules are the self-Outcast judged for 
their deeds, who gets to do the Judging, and what're the guidelines for 
repatriating them?

Jesdyn [to William]: Or, to shorcut that perhaps needlessly long answer 
-- how likely is it Dominic sent us out here to corral these varmints?

William [to Neil]: Tsayadim are the canonical examples of the special 
case.  You're under no obligations to care about their priorities unless 
they convince you that something's going on that concerns Heaven more 
generally.  They're under your jurisdiction when they interact with your 
priorities, and not otherwise.  When they are, you have the legal 
authority to tell them to back off and let agents in good standing handle 
the matter, or present themselves to an Archangel for reinstatement.

William [to Neil]: Highly unlikely.

Neil . o O ( Ah, well. Another day. )

Ekur points to the various books.  "If I may suggest something, I expect 
these are our highest priority, to get them back to Heaven. Unless 
someone else has a better idea?"

Godfrey is not mollified.  "The Tower itself is a matter of grave 
concern, Most Holy," he says.  "Knowledge of its existence is a matter to 
be protected, and especially knowledge of its appearance and nature that 
might aid navigation to it.  It is no accident that this shard..." He 
puts a hand to his forehead and thinks.

Draco [to William]: I realize I didn't state that I was actively 
resonating at the time, but since Draco /usually/ is... can I give any 
sort of statement on whether the new Queen was telling the truth about 
taking the Domain out to the Far Marches?

Godfrey says, "Oh, the biographies.  Really, those belong to the Tower 
now.  Probably for disposal.  Usually they just disappear instead of 
being forced to manifest here.  The Domain was blocking their passage 
into the unknown."

Neil . o O ( Wait, wait, what? )

William [to Draco]: Hmm.

[ snip rolling ; announce AK_(Marches) succeeded ]

William [to Draco]: There wasn't much other place for her to go with it.  
She couldn't take it to the Near Marches, and it's uncertain where in 
Utgard she could or might want to go with it.

Draco [to William]: Hrm. Okay.

Draco [to William]: I'm not entirely sure where Draco should stand on 
this point; he's all in favor of letting the ethereal hold onto the 
Domain, but if there's serious potential for it being taken over again 
like Godfrey is implying, he shouldn't just leave it as is either.

Jesdyn [to fadethecat]: She can deal with the occasional aggravated demon 
or the Tsayadim falling over her like a black wave -- and she saw Draco 
knock down a 12-forcer in one Song.

Godfrey comes to a decision.  "Right now I would say the lot of demons 
running around Hellside shard are our biggest concern.  The biographies 
will need to go to the Tower eventually, but it's hardly urgent."

Ekur <OOC>ly doesn't have any idea what to do, and so will make an 
Intelligence check to see if the GM will give him any ideas.

Ekur rolled 6 versus 18 and critically succeeded by 12.

Draco [to Ekur]: ...it's a good night to be on the side of God.

William [to Ekur]: You suddenly realize where you've seen that low wall 
at the back of the campground before.  It was part of Raphael's 
Cathedral.

The GM says, "Which means that where you were standing was *this* 
courtyard, and the paving stones went *that* way and *that* way... 
exactly in the pattern on the open area you're standing on now."

The GM says, "An ancient lecture in those study halls reminds you that 
the biographies in the Library had to disappear before the humans whose 
lives they describe could reincarnate, should that be what they were due 
to do.  One forgotten and links severed before rebirth could take place."


Ekur pauses for a second.  "Oh, my.  This was Raphael's Cathedral, wasn't 
it?  No wonder you're so worried about knowledge of it getting out."

William [to Ekur]: Now put this and that together and decide what the 
Hellside shard is.

Neil turns, shocked. "Raphael's Cathedral? Mahuya..."

Ekur says, "The other side would probably be Mariel's, no?  Here on the 
border of the known and unknown?"

William [to Neil]: ...thought she was standing at the fulcrum of 
Knowledge and Oblivion, yes.  Things known, and things forgotten.

Neil says, "Mahuya name for herself -- the one she never said aloud -- 
was something like "Fulcrum Of Knowledge And Oblivion"."

Neil says, "How did it get here? And why didn't we know?"

Godfrey looks at you all.  "Yes.  That's what we were so worried about, 
you see.  The Tower -- " he turns and indicates the glowing mist in the 
mountain pass behind the campsite -- "controls some sort of flow of ideas 
between the Marches and whatever lies beyond Utgard.  That's why we 
Tsayadim have always had an outpost here."

Jesdyn [to William]: I missed the lecture on Applied Non-Euclidean 
Mythology -- are we even /in/ the Ethereal Plane right now, or is this a 
Celestial off-shoot formerly bound to a similarly Infernal offshoot 
through a shared Ethereal Domain?

Draco considers the mist. "You've been guarding it from this direction 
without being able to enter, correct? Is there a particular problem with 
the Domain Master being the current ethereal, compared to whoever's held 
it in the past?"

William [to Neil]: That's an excellent question which probably doesn't 
have a simple answer.

William [to Draco]: Godfrey says, "That Domain was never here until 
recently.  Domains, dead ethereals, human biographies, and bits of dead 
Superiors' realms... they used to be able to pass through this way 
smoothly, without even registering their existence as they disappeared.  
Likewise ideas flowing out.  There was a phenomenal Supernova Tether that 
came through here a few years ago.  What's been stopping up the works, we 
haven't the faintest idea."

Draco coils back down. "That does complicate matters," he says.

Neil . o O ( Dead ideas... aren't leaving the Symphony. )

Neil . o O ( Dead... /creations/... aren't leaving the Symphony? )

Neil says, "How long is "recently" -- years? Decades?"

Godfrey taps his fingers on his hip.  "And you can see why we'd rather 
the location not be widely known.  We're more secure when we're obscure."  
He thinks.  "I think those demons on the other shard are our most 
immediate problem.  The ethereal, we can..." he eyes Draco momentarily... 
"...decide what to do about later."  He straightens up.  "We must plan 
for this new eventuality.  I suppose you three will have your own 
priorities in the affair as well."

Godfrey says offhandedly, "The Domain showed up a few years ago.  Shortly 
before the Supernova Tether happened.  Hard to pin it down more 
precisely."

Ekur says, "Hmm.  The problem could have been that realm, clogging up the 
works.  Or Mahuya ruling that realm.  But the problem might still be with 
those demons, in the other shard.  In which case we need to go back in 
and unplug any clogs."

Godfrey says, "I shall leave the plumbing to you, then.  It would be 
convenient if you'd take the biographies with you... they don't really 
need to stay here."

Godfrey turns to his troops.  "Allright gentlemen, back to stations.  
Officers to the strategy tent, if you please..." and he heads off.

William  <OOC> Lost again?  I've basically been attempting to set up the 
next arc.

Jesdyn [to William]: I'm going to go ahead and splurge on a Celestial 
Tongues to Jean -- "Found Wisdom's lost Cathedral -- will report later, 
unless you're immediately interested."

Ekur looks to Thais.  "If you could take these books back to Heaven?  How 
to handle them is a decision I'd like to leave to the Library.  And if 
you could give a full report to . .  well, somebody responsible on what 
we've learned?"

StevenE [to William]: My assumption is the next thing we do, maybe after 
building up some Essence reserves, is to try to head into the demonic 
shard again for the next arc.

fadethecat [to StevenE]: See, I was figuring we'd let /them/ handle the 
demonic shard. They're numerous and well-armed and in favor of smiting 
already.

Jesdyn [to StevenE]: I figured the Tsayadim would handle the routine 
smiting.

Thais thinks about who that might be, and decides to be on the safe side.  
"Sure.  I haven't spoken to Laurence in a few years anyway."  She sets 
about bundling the books.

Jesdyn [to StevenE]: We'll go... where there be dragons.

Arc 7, Part 1: Part End