StevenE materializes in a burst of blackness as he teleports in from elsewhere in the MOO. Jesdyn materializes out of thin air. StevenE has made StevenE's local name Ekur Jesdyn has made Jesdyn's local name Neil Neil . o O ( Hey, if we kill a demon while in Hell, aren't we eligible for one of Michael's Rites? ) fadethecat swings into the room on a bit of rigging. fadethecat has made fadethecat's local name Draco The GM says, "You're presently in the outer ring of the first level in the Hellside shard. Draco has a crit-success Seraph resonance going for a few minutes yet, and all of you are still at -5 on Perception rolls currently. You're with the Lilim Chastity, formerly an officer of the lab, and Geased to make sure she gets a share of the loot; she has promised to guide you fair but will not fight fellow demons. Speaking of fellow demons, you're currently around the corner from a chamber which is emmitting a thrumming electrical hum, the sounds of banging and conversation in Helltongue; to the best of Chastity's knowledge, this room holds the way down to the next level. Ekur is a demonic-looking humanoid, Neil is a featureless sphere, Draco is a ferret riding Chastity's nondescript-male form." Arc 7, Book 2, Chapter 3: Secret Sins Chastity comes to a halt before she gets in sight of the room. "Well. That *was* supposed to be our way down..." Ekur says, "Any reason they'd stop us?" Neil never took Helltongue. At this rate, maybe he should... Draco [to William]: Remind me; did any of the Truth I picked up last time include data on other ways down? Chastity says, "At the moment, we all look like Ethereals. If I were still running my wing of the lab, I wouldn't want you running around any big project I was in the middle of. I'd have you seized, the Impudites drain you for the Essence, ask you what you were doing, and maybe use you for a few experiments. But no, no particular *reason*, as such." The GM says, "Incoming paste." The GM says, "(In msg)" Draco says, "I'm reluctant to run into the people ahead unless we have to. We could try the chamber of darkness and see where its other exits go, but it might be difficult to navigate, being...dark." Neil says, "It's only dark, right?" Neil says, "If we shifted to an amorphous form, we could feel our way easily enough." Chastity says, "No, there's... something there. I don't know what. Anyway, there might be other exits but the only entrance I know from this level is here." Ekur says, "So, this is the only way down?" Draco looks over to Neil and Ekur. "I suppose it depends on whether we think it's faster to deal with the people ahead or try a less certain way around. Chastity, do you know if this Domain has any restrictions on what forms people take? Very small ones, for example. Or how clear a line of sight the people in the room up ahead have of their surroundings?" Jesdyn [to William]: Wait, we're in a Domain? I thought we were in Hell. fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: We're all in ethereal forms, remember? It's a Hellish Domain. Ekur just wants Chastity to answer his question, so Draco can hear the Truth. Chastity quirks her eyebrow. "We're in a piece of Hell in the Marches, so in my experience we can dreamshape ourselves pretty well but the environment's stubborn." Draco [to Ekur]: ...bother, didn't catch that angle. Sorry. Chastity says, "When we got finished picking over the chamber up there there was a lot of junk on the floor; no clue what those guys in there have done to it." Ekur says, "Again, is this the only way down?" Chastity [to Ekur] says, "Only one I know, yes. Trying to dig doesn't work so well." William [to Draco]: If you'll reread that paste, there is the Styx pool. It's not pleasant, but it does connect to rooms lower down. Whether the same component of the shard or not, Chastity cannot know. Draco [to William]: Oh, right. Thanks. Draco becomes a slightly smaller ferret. "There's also the Styx pool. The name's not promising, but it'll take us through to /somewhere/ deeper." Chastity says, "So it *does* connect somewhere. I wondered." Draco smiles at her. "Want to find out? We won't make you step in first." Chastity says, "If it's that or sneaking through a roomful of traitors in the shape of roaches... no, that's still not an easy call. What do you two want to do?" she asks the others. Ekur says, "I don't like the idea of something called the Styx in the realm of Oblivion. That's just asking to get your memory wiped out." Neil considers. "You're actually more scared of the pool than being caught in the company of a bunch of the -- ambitiously-challenged." Neil hmms. "Hey, I forget. Was it the touch of the Styx or the draught from it that was so hard on memory? Chastity starts backing away from the room. "Neither, hons. That's the Lethe." Neil . o O ( I thought so, but thought they were similar. ) William The Styx wiping memory is a DnDism. Maybe your characters have been playing some RPGs in their spare time. :^) Jesdyn [to William]: Augh. William [to Draco]: The Styx is a major river in Hell and formerly the Principality of Vephar. It does not, in fact, wipe memory; if drinking Styx water could make you forget anything about life in Hell, Fleurity would be out half his business.... Draco hmms. "I'm not big on Greek mythology, but there's a Styx in /Hell/, and think of where we are. I don't think the name indicates any more potential powers than the location would already." Jesdyn rolls 1d2, and gets a 0. Ekur says, "Well. Do we try the mystery pool, try to sneak by the watchers, or just charge in and kill the demons?" Chastity goes back to the chamber you left previously, and ducks into an alcove in the back. She raises her glowing staff to show you what you're all looking at. Its green light barely illuminates the edges of a pool of flat blackness an armspan across, shuddering gently with the wind currents in the room and emitting wafts of freezing fog. Chastity says, "There's option 1. I'll sneak for Option 2, but I'm not party to Option 3." Neil says, "Let's go with the pool. We can always come out and play with the demons later." Chastity says, "If we go this route I don't have any knowledge to guide you until we get back to areas I've been in. If it connects at all." Neil says, "Well, then you'll just have to guide us through them later -- or we don't have a deal." Ekur says, "What do you think, Draco?" Neil bobs over the edge of the pool, and stretches a toe out of his sphere into the water... Draco scratches behind one furry little ear. "If go this way, we get to explore some serious unknown. If we go the other way, it turns into fighting if we don't sneak well enough. Given the relative unknown of where we ultimately want to reach, I'll vote for the pool." William [to Neil]: The oily, viscous blackness slurps at your pseudopod. It is, indeed, incredibly cold. Supernaturally, you think. Ekur nods. "Then let's take the forbidden pool of mystery, assuming Neil survives his contact." Neil whistles, "Ekur, resonate me. I crazy yet?" Ekur resonates Neil. William [to Ekur]: Only as crazy as he usually is. [ snil Hmm roll ; announce succeeded ] William [to Ekur]: You don't *think* he's lost any memories. Ekur says, "No more so than when we met." Draco peers at Neil through his shades. "You tell me, and I'll tell you what I think." Neil says, "I think my memory's in great shape -- better than ever -- in fact, I'm remembering all sorts of things I haven't put into my reports about Ekur's objectively-necessary hijinks." William [to Draco]: Ineffability says: A mind wholly reason is like a knife without a handle. Ekur pauses at Neil's statement, then goes over to the poll and sticks a leg in. Ekur pool. Draco grins, and dreamshapes himself a little scuba mask, tank, and flippers. "Down we go, then." Neil shifts into a penguin's form -- tux with tie -- and falls into the pool, then rights himself and looks at Chastity. "Water's fine." William [to Ekur]: You have rarely in your existence felt fatigued, or cold. They are not pleasant experiences. Since they will also degrade your performance, it is quite objective to conclude that it is probably best, if you are going to do this, to do it as quickly as possible. Ekur says, "Why would you omit information from your reports, anyway?" and then dives fully into the pool. Draco bounces off Chastity's shoulder to stick a flippered paw into the pool. "Bet a wetsuit wouldn't even help," he says, and dives in after the other two. The GM says, "Allright. Rolls against IQ-4 to start." Neil rolled 12 versus 14 and succeeded by 2. [ snip roll Chastity_1; announce succeeded ] Ekur rolled 15 versus 14 and failed by 1. Draco rolled 10 versus 17 and succeeded by 7. Ekur swears, loudly and profanely. The GM says, "Beneath the surface, it is pitch black and the fluid around you sucks at the energies of your mind. Ekur, you are finding it difficult to swim with these distractions, especially still carrying your sword and shield." The GM says, "Chastity turns up the brightness on her staff, but the light penetrates almost nowhere in the oily darkness. Just give me raw perception rolls, I'll apply the penalties..." [ snip roll Chastity_Perception ; announce succeeded ] Ekur rolled 13 versus 18 and succeeded by 5. Neil rolled 11 versus 18 and succeeded by 7. Draco [to William]: Raw Perception with or without the Marches bonus? William [to Draco]: With bonus, but I'll worry about the Principality and visibility penalties. Draco rolled 13 versus 28 and succeeded by 15. The GM says, "Fortunately, each of you is able to at least see the outlines of the rest of the group. Neil and Draco, nearer the bottom, locate what appears to be the pool's route of entrance into the chamber, a shaft leading deeper into the rock." Neil taps the rock. If he worked for David, this would mean something... The GM says, "Neil, Draco, you'll presumably need to communicate this somehow..." William [to Neil]: Sorry, perhaps I wasn't clear. You find a swimmable underwater tunnel leading further back. Jesdyn [to William]: No, I understood. Was just thinking about the /type/ of rock. Neil begins to glow. The GM says, "The type of rock appears to be porphyry, a mix of pumice and congealed lava (probably pahoehoe if I recall my lavas right) with bits of obsidian. Remember your IN mythology: Hell was carved out of the parts of the Mountain (a.k.a. the Volcano) that Lucifer crashed into when he was cast down from Heaven by Michael." The GM says, " It's snowing and sunshining outside. Creepy." The GM says, "Draco, your intent?" The GM says, "fade may be occupied at present. Okay, everyone, another Swimming roll. (IQ-4)" Neil gets Draco's attention and attempts to convey his decision to remain at the shaft as a beacon. Neil rolled 8 versus 14 and succeeded by 6. Ekur rolled 10 versus 14 and succeeded by 4. [ snip roll Chastity_Swim ; announce succeeded ] fadethecat [to William]: Sorry, RL attack for a sec. Draco rolled 11 versus 17 and succeeded by 6. William [to Neil]: Gesture (IQ-4) Neil rolled 12 versus 14 and succeeded by 2. William [to Draco]: You get the message, resonance-enhanced for clarity. Draco tosses a salute to Neil, and keeps on going down. William [to Draco]: Per again. Draco rolled 12 versus 22 and succeeded by 10. fadethecat [to William]: Whoops, sorry. Forgot to add the +6 to that one. Chastity follows Draco down. Jesdyn [to William]: Wait -- ah, phooey. Jesdyn [to William]: I misunderstood. Jesdyn [to William]: No biggie. I'll play rear-guard. William [to Draco]: You're in the lead. And what a lovely surprise! The tunnel forks. One branch continues forward and another plunges off steeply to the left. The GM says, "(and down, that is)" Draco follows the tunnel that heads furthest down, making sure he doesn't get too far ahead of anyone else. The GM says, "By down, you mean the shaft to the left?" fadethecat [to William]: Yeah, I think so. It's going down more steeply than the main shaft, right? The GM says, "(So to speak. There's a shaft continuing on the level -- which is just below the surface of the pool you entered -- and one leading into the depths.)" Draco [to William]: Depths it is! The GM says, "Ekur passes Neil, who takes up the rear." The GM says, "Swim rolls #3, please." Ekur rolled 13 versus 14 and succeeded by 1. [ snip Chastity_Swim roll ; announce succeeded ] Draco rolled 15 versus 17 and succeeded by 2. William [to Draco]: It is with regret that I inform you that gravity functions in this region as well as it does in most rivers; any open surfaces of a standing pool are going to be at the same level, barring pressure differentials. Were there an opening down here, you would be experiencing a leak. In short, you come to a dead end. Neil rolled 10 versus 14 and succeeded by 4. Jesdyn [to William]: A shaft going nowhere, hmm... Draco kicks off the back of the wall, turns around, and goes back to check the main shaft. William [to Draco]: The stone here appears to have... bite marks. Very, very big bite marks. Apparently, this is where the crumb fell off Haagenti's maw... The GM says, "And Swim rolls 4 and 5 as we get back on course, please." [ snip roll Chastity_Swim ; announce succeeded ] You rolled 6 and Chastity_Swim - succeeded by 8. Neil rolled 8 versus 14 and succeeded by 6. Neil rolled 7 versus 14 and succeeded by 7. [ snip roll Chastity_Swim ; announce succeeded ] Draco rolled 9 versus 17 and succeeded by 8. Draco rolled 14 versus 17 and succeeded by 3. Neil . o O ( Great. The ickle-wee Seraff led us to the tooth. ) Ekur rolled 11 versus 14 and succeeded by 3. Ekur rolled 5 versus 14 and succeeded by 9. Draco . o O ( Why am I leading? I'm not a leader. I'm just really holy or something. ) The GM says, "And a final Per roll from everyone." Draco rolled 13 versus 28 and succeeded by 15. Ekur rolled 14 versus 18 and succeeded by 4. [ snip roll Chastity_Per ; announce succeeded ] Neil rolled 8 versus 18 and succeeded by 10. William [to Draco]: It is with no little pleasure, I imagine, that you spy the underside of the reflective surface of a pool at the end of the main shaft. You break the surface and find a much smaller pool. Echoes tell you you're in a small room, currently without light sources. Draco clambers out of the pool, and shakes himself off vigorously. "Fur," he says. "Might've been a bad idea." Neil rolls out of the pool. Cold cold cold KILL cold. William [to Draco]: Watch that first step, it's a doozy. You fall off the lip of a basin for about ten feet and land on hard rock; painful, though not damaging. Draco squeaks, and grooms himself furiously. Rather like a cat exiting a shower. Chastity breaks the surface next, bringing some light with her. Draco calls behind him, "Watch the drop." Neil flaps gracefully to the ground. William [to Ekur]: You're actually out some Fatigue; a very unusual experience. This manifests here as a -1 to effective ST, i.e. Will, until you recover. That'll take a few minutes. Ekur clambers on out, wearily. Chastity says, shivering, "So that's cold... I think I'll leave the experience to humanity." Neil says, "Yeah, but it feels so good to get warm again. Guess you'll miss that, too." Draco swaps out his scuba mask for a striped beach towel, and rubs himself fluffy dry. Ish. "Apparently. Better than fighting, though, if that's the worst the pool has to offer." Neil says, "Any idea where we are? Or how close we are to somewhere you know?" [ snip roll Navigation_Default ; announce succeeded ] Chastity raises her staff and looks around. There are two tunnels, roughly hewn, leading left and right, curving gently back the way you came. "Well," she says, "back toward the left is the chamber where the sense-dep occurs, if I'm guessing our depth right. I don't recall anything to the right on this level, unless we curve a long way around." Neil says, "So that tunnel probably leads somewhere nobody's been -- or nobody who told you about it." Neil says, "Sounds promising." Draco offers Chastity a towel. "That it does. Right, then?" Ekur nods. William [to Draco]: She waves off your offer, and manifests an aura of heated air that starts drying her. The GM says, "She also heads off to the right, with the rest of you." The GM says, "The tunnel is narrow, oval in profile rather than having a flat floor, as if hastily or carelessly cut. It heads off to the right for a while, then curves sharply back on itself once you are several hundred yards away from the chamber where you exited the pool. It descend a gentle slope, and you find yourself facing a sheet of iron across the face of the tunnel. Hinged on the opposite side, it appears to be locked with a relic lock." Chastity says, "Well, that's promising. So to speak." Draco stands up to peer at the lock. "I'd say so." Ekur tries dreamshaping the sheet of iron into oblivion. Neil . o O ( It's already there. ) Ekur . o O ( Can't hurt to try to work withe the nature of the place. ) William [to Ekur]: This place doesn't like angels trying to reshape it, but it *is* still the Marches... roll Dreaming. Ekur rolled 14 versus 18 and succeeded by 4. The GM says, "You're certain you visualized the Dreaming properly, but the material of this ex-Principality Domain is more stubborn than that." Ekur says, "Anybody know how to pick a lock?" Neil says, "You'd think I would've picked it up..." Neil takes a close look at the lock. Locksmithing has come a long way in four thousand years time, and this IS the Marches. Neil hmms, and takes a close look at the door. Draco [to William]: Does G:IN allow for perception rolls to see the origins/nature of artifacts? William [to Draco]: Yeah, by degree of success. Draco rolled 13 versus 28 and succeeded by 15. Draco [to William]: Oh, good. Neil snaps his fingers. Neil says, "Right, I remember now." Neil kicks the door down. An /iron/ door this old, so near such a misty pool -- in Hell it might not rust, but this isn't Hell. William [to Draco]: Special-purpose relic. It holds a bar thrust into the surrounding rock, which it retracts for a minute if someone knows the password. roll 1d6+2 On 1d6+2, you rolled 6. Draco says, "We need the password. Any guesses, Chastity?" The GM says, "Neil's kick causes a resounding clang, and the hinges shake violently, throwing off grit and dust in their sockets. The door itself appears undented." Jesdyn [to William]: I thought the hinges were on the other side of the door? William [to Neil]: They are. You can see the puffs from this side, though. Chastity shakes her head. "Hell of it is, I got Geases on more than one demon with a good set of 'picks, too..." Draco pokes the lock. "Picks that work on artifact locks? Now that I'd be impressed by." Chastity says, "Song of Opening, yah." Jesdyn [to William]: I want to try to shape the rock away from where I know the hinges are. William [to Neil]: Roll it. Neil rolled 8 versus 20 and succeeded by 12. The GM says, "The crumbly, gritty rock is much less stubborn than the iron; under Neil's visualization, it turns to powder and then dust, leaving open space around the bolts that were holding the door to the wall." The GM says, "The door clanks slightly and cants forward along the axis of the bolt holding it on the other side." Ekur looks to see if the lock can be separated from the door. Relic lock might be worth something, at least to the Lilim. Chastity says, "Sweet!" and rotates it further foward, then slides in underneath. Neil intones, "Open Sesame", then spins himself into taffy and through the gap. William [to Ekur]: Probably, if the door could be successfully dreamshaped off of it. Draco scampers on after Chastity. Ekur concentrates on the specific bits of the door touching the lock, and tries to dreamshape those bits into flaky rust. Ekur rolled 8 versus 18 and succeeded by 10. William [to Ekur]: That works. You have the lock now in your hands, separate from the door. Ekur takes the lock, and heads on down after the rest of the crew. The GM says, "The door itself now simply leans to the side of the floor." The GM says, "The room beyond is a long chamber running NW/SE, as one might map 'left' to 'west'. There are several alcoves, some of which contain objects you promptly ignore. There is a grate covering a stairwell off to the bottom right corner, leading down." Jesdyn [to William]: Anything here classifiable as relic loot? Draco heads over to investigate the grate and stairwell. The GM says, "There are workbenches and tables, a set of shelves containing what you will all recognize as enchanters' tool as well as mundane blacksmith's and jeweler's tools, and a peculiar mishmash of detritus. There is an anvil in the upper corner surrounded by a circle inscribed all the way around with Helltongue glyphs, and an incongruous gauze shawl lying on it." The GM says, "Per rolls, please." Ekur rolled 14 versus 18 and succeeded by 4. Ekur . o O ( Lousy dice. ) Neil rolled 11 versus 18 and succeeded by 7. [ snip Chastity_Per roll ; announce succeeded ] Draco rolled 13 versus 28 and succeeded by 15. William checks the rules, adds Celestial Power to everybody's target numbers, subtracts 5, and... yeah, you can all tell that at least some of these objects are relics. Ekur visualizes a sack, and starts loading in loot. William [to Ekur]: You load in anything you recognize as a relic? Neil dreams up a sack with a big green dollar sign on it, and does the same. William [to Draco]: It's unlocked. What you see below is stuff that's semi-relic... construction is half-finished or they're broken. They have enough presence to register to your vision, some of them, but none register as relics of any given nature. Draco lets those two do the looting, while he works on opening the grate. William [to Draco]: Looks like a junk pit, basically. skill 18 Ekur_Per You rolled 15 and Ekur_Per - succeeded by 3. skill 18 Neil_Per You rolled 9 and Neil_Per - succeeded by 9. StevenE [to William]: Well, after looking at the item. I don't want to do anything obviously stupid, like grab something that's especially dangerous-looking. The GM says, "A Hell-forged relic in the heart of the Principality of Oblivion? What could possibly be dangerous?" The GM says, "Take this gauzy, soft scarf Neil just picked up off the anvil, for instance." Jesdyn [to William]: Funny, I didn't /think/ I got points for GM Chew Toy. Jesdyn [to William]: d: William [to Neil]: Ekur rolled bad to notice this was a relic. You rolled well. Aren't you lucky? Draco [to William]: Oh, junkpit. Okay. Hrm. Neil, having called down the thunder, awaits the pretty colors. Ekur . o O ( First, it can pay off the Lilim. Second, I'm sure Lightning, at the very least, wouldn't mind having Oblivion relics to analyze. ) William [to Neil]: Let's see... you'd picked up another Essence and so were at 2, yah? Or were you still at 1? Jesdyn [to William]: Pretty sure I was at 2. Jesdyn [to William]: Was at 2, spent one emailing Jean -- he never replied, hmph -- got one right before we set off. The GM says, "Oh, good. You don't lose Soul Hits then, just both Essence. The scarf was a work in progress that lacks the safety cap on the fuel input, y'see." skill 15 Relic You rolled 7 and Relic - succeeded by 8. The GM says, "Everybody in the room hears 2 notes of Disturbance, but you don't worry about it, it's just that guy, whom you proceed to ignore." William [to Neil]: You're aware the relic just sucked out your last Essence, as if you'd picked up something with a short in it, but you're unharmed and nothing obvious seems to have occurred. Neil says, "Ow. Owwwww." Neil stuffs the scarf in his sack. "Draco, anything good downstairs?" The GM says, "(Draco, Ekur: you know who Neil *is*, it's just that he's, I dunno, unimportant. The wording of the Song is 'will be ignored unless he forces a confrontation.' You can interpret direct questions as you wish.)" The GM says, "(Also, if he leaves your line of sight, forget he's with you.)" Chastity peers at this and that item. "Okay, remember the deal. You get first pick, but I get a minimum return." Chastity seems to listen to a tugging on some sense for a moment, then dutifully adds, "Um, if this is what you were actually looking for, of course." Ekur says, "I have to say, I didn't think we'd run into a treasury, but, since we did, I'm glad we found stuff to pay you with." "Not really," Draco comments absently, to Neil, and wanders back to start checking out some of the artifacts himself. "I think we may need to look further to find what we want, but let's check out what's here first. Just in case it's doing a purloined letter on us." [ snip msg'ing ] Chastity raises a finger, holding a quill pen and regarding it. "Assuming it's useful enough to be worth my while," she says. Neil says, "Probably a good idea. Does anyone know what this thing did when I grabbed it? It ate some Essence, but I didn't hear anything..." Ekur looks around further, thinking along with Draco. The GM says, "All in all, you guys find Neil's gauze scarf, a balaclava Ekur gets, a quill pen Charity's holding, a sack about the size of a grapefruit Draco gets, and the one definitely identifiable item, a hammer and chisel that can be recognized as relics with the Songs of Artifacts -- common enchanter's tools, at moderately useful power levels." The GM says, "What the previous relics do is not something you're able to analyze on the spot with simple Per rolls." The GM says, "That is, they don't contain Songs you're familiar with." Draco gestures Charity towards the hammer and chisel. "What about these? Even if you don't find them personally useful, they should be good for trade somewhere." He prods the bag cautiously, and then stuffs it into Ekur's sack. Ekur says, "In any case, This seems to have been a dead end. Good returns, but not mission-completing. We're probably going to have to go by those demons anyway." Chastity says, "It's true, I at least know what these things are." She thinks. "They're pretty common, and these are definitely old-style, but they're saleable." She pockets them, along with the quill pen. "It's part of the price. But not half as valuable as something possibly unknown or lost." Neil shakes the shawl -- it can't be a reliquary, but he didn't /hear/ it eat the Essence... Neil says, "There's something really weird with this thing..." Neil says, "Ekur, did you hear anything, or did it just steal my Essence?" William [to Neil]: Do you have a Liber Canticorum, by the way? Jesdyn [to William]: No. Ekur heads on back to the room with the pool, looking for any signs of secret doors or the like on the way. "And you want that quill as the other part of the payment?" "Backtracking, I suppose," says Draco. "Might as well get it over with." He gives the room a once-over, just in case there's some handy other door he hasn't seen yet, and then begins padding back to the pool. Neil frowns. "Hello? Ekur? Draco?" Ekur is Mr. Objective. Unimportant things are accordingly unimportant, and he ignores their questions. Neil resonates them. If Chastity's pulling something... Neil rolled 13 versus 18 and succeeded by 5. William [to Jesdyn]: Anyone who leaves the user (or if he leaves their sight) promptly forgets about him, unless they have reason to make an IQ roll to remember (such as people searching specifically *for* him, due to other evidence). While in sight, he'll be ignored unless he forces a confrontation. Only works on living beings. Neil says, "Wait, that was Per-based -- success by /zero/, sorry." William [to Neil]: Here's a funny thing -- Chastity seems to have no opinion of herself and your relative social standings whatsoever. Chastity looks down the other tunnel from the pool room. "Well, we could try this way. Could get us to the sense-dep chamber without having to... ugh... swim the pool again." Neil hmms. Ekur nods. "Worth a shot. I don't like that pool." William [to Ekur]: Oh, and you're warmed back up now. Neil resonates /himself/. Tacky, yes, but something weird is going on here -- and his Triad is still walking away. William [to Neil]: Clever. Gimme a roll. Neil rolled 6 versus 13 and succeeded by 7. The GM says, "Heh..." Jesdyn [to William]: Oh, I forgot to claim the +2 touch bonus. The GM says, "Doesn't matter, since you already know all the previous information. One wonders if you knew what your own most deviant act was, though. The main result of interest is that, at present, you are entirely *un*regarded by anyone in the Symphony." The GM says, "Except Dominic. There's a certain warm sense of satisfaction from that little datum." Neil stops in shock, and stares at the shawl. roll 3d6 On 3d6, you rolled 8. Neil drops a Jung Fu pin on Ekur without picking up his jaw. William [to Neil]: Your grasp of Song theory and history is probably good enough to recognize that you are dealing with a relic of some version of the Song of Forgetting... a malfunctioning one, at that, unless it's meant to be cursed. The GM says, "Ekur's unlikely to have been expecting to need to dodge, so your pin functions. Ekur, that guy's got you in an inviso-grip." Ekur says, "What the . . . why are you pinning me?" Neil says, "Heya, Ekur, refresh my memory -- weren't you in a Triad with somebody?" The GM says, "Ekur, Draco, IQ rolls..." Ekur rolled 5 versus 18 and critically succeeded by 13. Neil says, "Three people in a Triad, and demons don't count -- so it's Ekur, Draco, and..." [ snip roll Chastity_IQ ; announce succeeded ] Draco rolled 17 versus 21 and succeeded by 4. Chastity says, "You're a *Triad*? Sonuva... " Ekur says, ". . . Neil." William [to Draco]: You vaguely recall being in a triad, so this guy must have been the Judge, wosshisname. Draco gestures vaguely to Neil. "Something like that. More importantly to you, we have a deal, so don't worry about it." William [to Ekur]: And I'm gonna say a crit means you break through permanently -- at least as long as you and Neil are in line of sight. William [to Neil]: You can feel about a week's worth of suckage left on this, by the way. Jesdyn [to William]: Oh, /good/. Ekur shakes his head. "Well, that was weird. I pretty much forgot about you even existing." Neil says, "Yeah, so did -- never mind who else did. We're done here." Chastity says, "Yuh-huh. Can we get a moveon? I'd like to finish this gig and get back home with something to save my ass from a Renegade charge." Ekur says, "Er, Neil? We've still have our task, and we still have a tunnel, here. And You Know Who is on the way, so we can't dawdle." Draco waves down the other tunnel. "So let's get going, already." Neil stares at Ekur, and pitches his voice to carry to Draco. "We're. Done. Here." [ snip msg'ing ] Draco ignores that Judgey guy who's talking or something, to go loping down the tunnel. The GM says, " Brief pause!" The GM says, " Two questions here. First off, the little temporary curse that has fallen on Neil's head. In a sense, it's really fallen on Draco and Ekur, and in any case it is meant to be a not-fun thing for the characters, while remaining an enjoyable obstacle for the players. Is this in fact the case? Tastes in messing-with-character-head magic in RP vary, though granted it is a theme of In Nomine. I should have checked beforehand, but I do so now." Ekur I'm good with it. Draco hmms. "For half an hour, I can see it being entertaining. If it's the whole rest of this session and the rest of this arc, much less so. I like PC interaction." The GM says, "Gotcha. Okay, I can work with that. Draco's pretty likely to roll a crit at *some* point and remember Neil again..." Jesdyn [to William]: And -- reprise our mission, please. We're trying to find the MacGuffin; does the Oblivion shard need to be disposed of or somehow released? The GM says, "Second comment, on exactly that topic. There appears to be some discussion about whether the artifact Neil has just found solves the mission. The MacGuffin is to be an artifact that will protect the Ivory Tower; it's going to need to be either Superior-level or pumpable to that level, and in either case the Ethereal Song of Forgetting only works on living beings." skill 18 Hidden_Lore(Ethereal) You rolled 13 and Hidden_Lore(Ethereal) - succeeded by 5. The GM says, "I will suggest that Ekur's knowledge of all things Marches is sufficient to encompass Ethereal Forgetting, which (as per LCant) legend has it was once used by a certain pagan god as 'both a blessing and a curse'; thus, he'd know that it only works on living beings. (And besides, the darn thing appears half-finished or cursed or half-broken or something anyway...)" The GM says, "Alles gut?" Neil says, "Alright." Ekur apologizes if he's misremembering the mission, but was there something about Oblivion passing into nothingness if the MacGuffin ws recovered? The GM says, "Ridding the Tower of the Knowledge and the Oblivion shards would be nice extras, but it's not core to the mission Mondkind sent you on. She wants to get the celestials permanently out of her Domain and make the Tower safe in secrecy once more." Ekur says, "Okay. Alles gut." The GM says, "Managing to purge the shards would very likely *assist* that mission, of course." William [to Jesdyn]: By the way, in order to address fade's concern, since Draco's currently operating under a crit on resonance, a firm declaration of your existence would probably allow Draco to share Ekur's dispelled ignorance. The GM says, "Allright. Time clicks on again." The GM says, "The rest of the party is heading down the lefthand tunnel." Ekur says, "Let me up, Neil. Ethereal Forgetting can hide living beings, but can't hide the Tower. We still need to find something to do that." Neil snaps out, "Draco, I'm Neil. Mercurian of Judgment? I tried to punch Gabriel? That Neil?" Neil releases Ekur. William [to Draco]: Oh, *that* Neil. Draco turns to Neil, and blinks. "...yes, I remember that." He blinks again. "I do now, anyway. How odd." Chastity says, "You tried to what? You don't *look* like a talking cinder." Draco leaps onto Neil's shoulder. "Perhaps I should try to keep better track of you until we get out of this place." Neil says, "Gotta tell you, it's weird under this thing. I self-resonated -- don't give me that look -- and got the weirdest reading an angel ever got." Neil says, "Pretty chilling, actually." Neil says, "One bright spot, though." "It's a very weird place," says Draco. "And what's that?" Neil says, "It didn't work on Dominic. " Ekur stands up, and brushes Oblivion-dust off himself. "Hang on to that scarf, Neil. Heaven will want it." Chastity says, "If we're finished with the mushy bits?" Draco tilts his glasses at Charity. "We're still moving, aren't we?" Ekur looks at Chastity. "Sure, let's move on." Neil starts to respond, flicks his eyes to a point beyond the back of Chastity's head, and widens them. Draco oops, thought we /were/ moving. The GM says, "Vaguely. At any rate..." Ekur notes he *just* got back to his feet after being pinned by Neil. The GM says, "The tunnel on this side is as featureless as the other, and it curves around the opposite way in similar shape. You come to a wooden door, which, fortunately, is hinged on *this* side, and opens with a simple latch; this is because it is a disguised panel in what appears on the other side to be a simple office walled in pastel plaster. There is a table, a fireplace -- still going, probably since the year 1000, since it's nothing more than a decorative affectation of vision and sound rather than heat -- and a neatly organize stack of papers in Helltongue on the desk, with ink and pen." Draco leaves Neil's shoulder to look through the papers. The GM says, "There are no apparent relics in the room." Neil looks under the desk, prowls behind hangings... Neil says, "Recognize the room, Chastity?" William [to Draco]: This is a list of experimental data on particularly recalcitrant damned souls subjected to sensory deprivation in the chamber beyond. There is a coolly clinical assessment of rates of resistance to demands for Essence and Impudite charms. Draco sets the paper down, and yanks open a desk drawer to see if there's anything more interesting inside. Chastity shakes her head, from where she was peering down a stairwell leading downward. "No, but I know where we are." She points her staff out a door on the far side, where there is a glob of blackness standing incongruously in archway at the end of a short hall. "That's gotta be the sense-dep chamber we found. The only exit we came across was on the other side." William [to Draco]: More of the same. The room is extremely utilitarian. Nothing that smacks of art or craftsmanship here. It strikes you that even the fire isn't meant to be comforting; it's just the only light source you see. Jesdyn [to William]: So out into the inky darkness, back the way we came, or down the stairs? The GM says, "Those are the exits, yes." Ekur picks up the papers and dumps them in the sack. Ekur says, "Well, I'd rather head down the stairs first. If that turn out to be nothing, then we can brave the inky blackness." Neil says, "I'll take point." Chastity shrugs and steps back from the stairwell. "'k." Neil inoffensively waddles into the breach. ----------------- Session End --------------------