Jesdyn materializes out of thin air.

fadethecat dashes in from the Gaming Floor.

fadethecat has made fadethecat's local name Draco

Jesdyn has made Jesdyn's local name Neil

Draco apologizes in advance if she's slow to respond, tonight. Trying not 
to barf.

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

StevenE has made StevenE's local name Ekur

The GM says, "Okay, notes on what has come before: all logs are up.  The 
bad news is that XP is half done, but I hope for forgiveness since the 
good news is that XP is half done because I had a bunch of plot ideas in 
the middle of doing it.  Should be able to finish and mail it off before 
I head home for Thanksgiving."

The GM says, "I have read your email with interest and am pleased to see 
that such intricate planning was inspired offstage."

Draco says, "Inevitable betrayal inspires that!"

Jesdyn [to William]: Well, we learned from everything that's been done 
/to/ us. d:

William [to fadethecat]: Most of my planning has involved Draco, but if 
you want to switch characters in the middle of plot it should be 
permissible.  I'll just want to try to keep it from throwing too much of 
a wrench in the works.

Neil was just /joking/ with that one.

The GM says, "Regarding your question to the list on Angelic, you can 
truthfully say what you intend to do, with such clauses as 'I intend this 
without any undeclared reservation I think either you or I would regard 
as significant.'"

Neil says, "I mean, Neil might normally be willing to stuff someone in 
his trunk, but Dominic already gave Draco his shiny silver star."

William nods.

fadethecat [to William]: I don't /intend/ to swap characters, unless the 
need becomes dire, but so noted.

William [to Neil]: Normally in Judgment, by the by, the Most Holy is the 
leading member of a triad, but you've got seniority and Ekur has rank, 
so... well, all around it's a pretty even claim to decision-making by 
will of the majority.  :^)  Though consensus is traditionally sought, of 
course.

The GM says, "We all set to enter game?  I'm assuming we are at the point 
of laying out precise terms with Wrinth before heading off."

Jesdyn [to William]: Yes.

Draco nods.

Arc 7, Truth and Fiction -- Part 2: Deal or No Deal

Neil says, "I'm in."

The GM says, "Dominic has just left.  Wrinth is outside under guard and 
you are in Ekur's office."

Neil is silent, absorbing his new outlook on the coming weeks.

Neil says, "Alright, picture this: We go in there and tell Wrinth 
everything our resonance discovered about his plans."

Draco shuffles through his notebook for fresh pages. "You two have the 
most experience with this one, so I'd prefer that you look over this 
proposed contract, before I offer it. While I've covered all the standard 
and obvious clauses I can think of, I don't know precisely what he's 
likely to do." He adjusts his spectacles, and peers over at Neil. 
"Everything everything, or the gist of everything?"

Neil says, "The gist of it -- the hows and wherefores of when he plans to 
betray us, that sort of thing. We tell him we're gonna mask ourselves as 
his ethereal aides, and let him sweat out coming up with a reason why."

Neil says, "We sit there and watch everything he does and everyone he 
speaks to."

Neil says, "We tell him straight out that we're willing to help him out, 
but there's not a chance this won't go in Heaven's favor -- if it's an 
Infernal outpost in good standing with Hell, then all he gets is us not 
mentioning he lead us there."

Neil says, "If it's something Heaven doesn't like, we tear it down and, 
barring other misdeeds, let him escape."

Neil considers. "We could reprise Shoko's trick of 'pocket entry' and 
bring someone along for the ride -- have them leave back for Heaven as 
soon as Wrinth shows us the location of the Domain. Thais, maybe."

"If that's what the two of you believe would be the most effective, I 
won't object," Draco says, and looks to Ekur.

Ekur pauses.  "Yes, that seems reasonable enough.  And if he tries 
breaking the deal, Thais has Hunt, and we can make his life a misery."

Neil says, "I think we've got a game plan."

Draco coughs. "Judgment plan."

Ekur doesn't snicker, because he's an Elohite.

Neil says, "Hey, yeah, that reminds me, you get to hear all the jokes. 
What's the difference between a Triad of Judgement and a Game 
interrogation team?"

Draco makes a few adjustments to the contract. "...I haven't heard that 
one, before."

Neil says, "About an Essence per day per member. Alright, let's go."

Draco snickers, and rips out sheets of paper. "Let's."

Ekur nods.

Neil swings back into the room, with the newly constituted Triad at his 
heels.

Wrinth bolts upright from where he was seated as you come into the 
waiting room.  He visibly composes himself, apparently having been shaken 
by the Archangel's passage.

Wrinth mutters, "That thing is the walking Light of Heaven.  I don't see 
how you people can stand living in a realm where there's no *privacy* 
anywhere."

Neil says, "Well, the alternative is not living in one, which was about 
where we were when Dominic told us to take you up on your offer."

Neil says, "There are some provisos, though."

Wrinth says, "Ah? -- ah.  Of course.  Such as?"

Draco passes the neat little contract to Neil, and says, absently, 
"Privacy is over-rated."

Ekur gives Wrinth a grin for effect.  "One advantage is never having to 
worry about betrayals."

Neil says, "Between our respective resonances and Dominic's review of 
your Symphony, we've got a good idea of when and how you plan to betray 
us -- or knock our Forces off, at a minimum. That's not going to fly."

Neil says, "If this Domain is an Infernal outpost in good standing, then 
we're going to tear it down. Cooperate and we won't mention you were 
involved in leading us there."

Wrinth nods.  "So what are we looking at as a preventative?  Bear in 
mind, I'm suspecting the same of you if this turns out to be a legit op.  
You've as much as admitted you'd want to with any excuse."

Draco says, "That's what a contract is for."

Neil says, "Well, true -- however, Dominic wants us to investigate this."


Neil says, "He didn't just find out where it is and paste you."

Ekur keeps a ping on Wrinth.

Neil says, "So the odds of it being a legitimate Heavenly activity are 
fast approaching zero."

Wrinth says, "Since you're Trade, I'll buy that you'll uphold your word, 
because Dissonance sucks.  Can you keep a handle on the other two -- add 
a clause that you'll make every effort to ensure my bodily, mental, and 
personal safety?"

Neil says, "Hold on a second."

Draco pauses, peering at Neil.

Neil turns to Draco. "/Don't answer that/ until we're done laying out our 
conditions, please."

Neil says, "Once we're done laying everything out, we'll go from there."

Wrinth nods.  (Ekur: a little disappointed, but only as much as would be 
a chess player who'd had a gambit blocked.)  To Neil he says, "You've had 
practice."

Draco nods, and holds on to the contract

Neil says, "Thank you. As I was saying -- if it's inimical to Heaven and 
to Hell, then you'll probably want it torn down. We'll help you out, and 
if you've failed to betray us let you escape to cover yourself in glory."


Wrinth nods...

Neil says, "We've also arranged a little assistance for you. Two of us 
will camoflauge ourselves as ethereal figments and attach ourselves to 
your presence. I imagine a Taker can surely come up with a good reason 
for such a thing. "

Neil says, "We'll remain close to you to observe the situation and feed 
you what we can from our resonances."

Wrinth says, "Sure, that's roughly how I expected it would work.  I'm an 
Impudite, it's hardly weird for me to show up somewhere with new 
friends."

Neil says, "You might actually come to enjoy having a Mercurian resonance 
available to you -- if so, I think I've got some Redemption applications 
lying around."

Neil says, "No?"

Wrinth says, "I prefer my own, thanks."

Neil says, "I can see why, it hardly misses. Anyways. That'll leave one 
of us to float around as an ethereal to investigate what we can. Barring 
the whole "betray us and we pop your Forces off" thing, you can expect 
wide latitude in this operation."

[ OOC typing: Draco goes temporarily NPC ]

Wrinth says, "I'd like detail on what happens if it turns out to be a 
legit op for either Side.  If it turns out to be legit and Heavenly, I 
presume you can stay and I get a promise that I can leave unharmed.  Vice 
versa with me staying and you going if it's legit for Hell -- though of 
course with the assumption that you're headed back to Heaven to organize 
a raiding party.  Yes?"

Neil says, "Yes."

Wrinth nods.  "Allright.  I can live with those terms."

Neil says, "Although I don't expect it to come up, you are also not to 
kill or damn a human in the course of these activities."

Neil eyes Wrinth. "Again."

Neil notes Wrinth still has an undefined MDA.

Neil finally pings Wrinth.

Neil rolled 13 versus 18 and succeeded by 5.

Wrinth says, "Unless I'm directly attacked and need to defend myself -- 
no, wait, I don't have the honorable-combat clause anymore."  He winces.  
"No killing.  But demons don't damn humans, humans damn themselves.  I'll 
lie about anything I want, but if it comes to my principles I'm going to 
be honest about them.  Privacy and individuality are important to me, and 
any humans I meet can interpret that how they want.  You've got input on 
them, too."

William [to Neil]: All this is the same as the last time you resonated 
him a few minutes ago; he's still Renegade, which he regards as a 
disgraced state.

William has always assumed Wrinth's MDA was a particularly vicious bit of 
personal manipulation that sealed a number of Fates in a manner he deeply 
enjoyed.  Possibly ending up with him offing one or more of the humans 
involved in enjoyably challenging personal combat.

Neil says, "Wrinth, you're not fooling anybody -- I see you through 
Judgment's eyes. I know what you did to those people, and I know just how 
far free will can bend. But yes, this once, we have a deal."

[ Draco returns to PC status ]

William [to Ekur]: He's pleased that it seems he'll get through the 
dealmaking without having to spend the favor he bought off of Wolichter.

Wrinth nods.  "Agreed, then."

Neil . o O ( Rats, I forgot about that. )

Neil . o O ( Okay, quick -- what service can we tack on to this that'll 
make him use it? )

Neil steps OOC. "Neil knows about the favor, right?"

Neil . o O ( "Pretty sure it come up outside during the resonance dump." 
)

<<GM>> Yeah, Dominic discussed it with you all a few minutes ago.

Draco taps Neil on the shoulder with his pen, and gives the Mercurian a 
meaningful look.

Neil says, "What... oh! Right. Wollichar's favor. I almost forgot. You'll 
need to consider that cashed in. Well. You don't /need/ to, but I'd like 
you to."

Neil says, "It doesn't really matter to this operation, though."

Wrinth says, "How did you..." he shakes his head.  "Resonance, I guess.  
Whatever.  If it doesn't matter, then we'll leave it to stand."  (To 
Draco: that is to say, if it becomes useful socially he'll say he 
*didn't* demand it be cashed in, and that Neil said it didn't apply.)

Wrinth says, "I think we've covered everything I'm concerned with."

Neil . o O ( Tee-hee. He should've cashed it in. )

Ekur looks at the text of the deal Draco has written down, and nods.

"In that case," Draco says, brightly, "I have a contract at hand. Which 
I'd like everyone involved to read through before signing, on general 
principle."

Draco . o O ( And Ekur's ready to go, as expected. Dreams is just so 
/keen/. Must remember to send them another nice card. )

Jesdyn [to William]: My plan here is that if /Wrinth/ ever mentions the 
favor, then he's just begun discussing something I had agreed to keep 
quiet -- so I don't have any reason not to defend myself socially, or 
mention that Dominic resonated him and didn't paste him. Let the Game 
chew on /that/.

Wrinth reads through it, notes that it's not a Divine Contract, and 
produces a small pen with red-hot ink.  He incises a complex glyph on the 
line for his signature.

Neil looks over the contract; Draco's Law is probably even better than 
his, so he's not going to see anything surprising.

Ekur manifests a Sumerian reed, and presses his name into the contract 
like it was a tablet of clay.

Neil signs it with -- huh. It's in Angelic, but somehow it /wants/ to be 
an illegible scrawl.

Draco has a little ferret-sized silver pen, and a signature that includes 
a footnote about Previously Known As for clarity.

Wrinth says to Draco, "Being a Seraph, I assume you can resonate that 
signature as a true declaration of intent.  Best I can give you unless 
there's a Bahiyri hanging around here somewhere."

<<GM>> Bahiyri: Mailing-list suggestion for a name for Bright Lilim, "The 
Scoured."  I liked it, snagged it.

Neil says, "A wha--- nah. We thought about hauling in a Bright Lilim, but 
it'd be more trouble than it's worth and you'd just take the dissonance 
if it was worth it."

Wrinth chirps brightly, "Probably."  He looks around.  "I'm ready to go 
when you are."

Neil says, "If you'll remain here, I need to make some preparations."

Neil steps out to speak with Thais.

William [to Draco]: Actually, Wrinth isn't a hundred percent sure they 
exist.  ;^)

William [to fadethecat]: Feel free to switch local nicks for this scene 
if you like.  :^)  Thais is in her enchantment/smith shop, I'd guess.

Ekur rechecks the contract.  Doesn't say anything about "you will not 
tell Thais the moment the contract has been fulfilled so she can do 
whatever she likes regarding Wrinth", right?  They can charge Wrinth for 
that favor later.

fadethecat [to William]: Will do!

fadethecat has made fadethecat's local name Thais

Thais is currently contemplating a sword, in her shop. It's a very good 
sword, but is it good /enough/? Thus the eternal question remains.

Jesdyn [to StevenE]: Ooh, "I will not betray Wrinth to the forces of 
/Heaven/" isn't there past the promise of escape, which ends at the 
Domain border.

Neil opens the door to a cheerful jingle. "Thais? Thai--- ah, there you 
are."

Thais looks up, and smiles. "Here I am. What can I help you with? Does 
it, in some hypothetical sort of way, have to do with a certain Impudite 
who showed up recently? I know he's not rampaging out of where I last 
left him."

Neil examines the sword with a professional air. "I think it's too sharp 
here, and here -- and this point is all wrong. Should be blunter, and 
maybe made of wood."

Thais stands up. "I'll keep that in mind, Neil. Rest assured that if I 
ever make you a sword, it'll be to your exact, club-like specifications."


Neil says, "Yes. Dominic told us not to kill him. We just agreed to 
investigate an odd Domain in the Marches; he's counting on us not to be 
able to tell anyone where the domain is until he's ready to decide if 
he's going to betray us or not."

Neil says, "I forgot to promise not to bring spies or agents of Heaven 
not on the contract -- care to take a short field-trip in my pocket?"

Thais looks impressed. "Straight from Dominic? Well, those are marching 
orders, then." She grins toothily. "I'd be happy to. Though I may have to 
get a quick set of orders from my local supervisor to make sure we don't 
run into awkwardness if other people in need of smiting show up along the 
way."

The GM says, "This is easily arranged.  The order is specifically, 'No 
violence not directly in service of the mission you are assigned to 
assist.'"

Neil says, "Let's do that, then. Wrinth is probably getting passively 
stared at by Ekur, and too many hours of that may not be Just."

Thais nods. "Image preference on your pocket angel?"

Neil says, "None, just something small enough not to be visible. If you 
could drop out of my pocket and make your way back silently right before 
we enter the domain's caul, Wrinth will be none the wiser."

Neil says, "If we don't check-in with you in a week, see if thirty or 
forty of your friends can make the time for an expedition in force to 
pick us up?"

Thais concentrates for a moment. "Works for me." And works on becoming a 
teeny-tiny like beholder, complete with a zillion eyestalks.

skill 19 Dreaming

You rolled 7 and Dreaming - succeeded by 12.

Thais floats off to Neil's pocket. "Onward, for justice!"

fadethecat has made fadethecat's local name Draco

Neil creates a gumball painted like an eyeball, and sticks in his other 
pocket.

Neil returns to the office.

fadethecat [to William]: Any small artifacts that Draco, in his 
much-smarter-than-me-ness, would think they're missing for the trip? 
Nothing springs to mind.

William [to fadethecat]: It's very unknown territory.  Short of weaponry 
and armor, it's hard to be very prepared for that sort of thing.  Friends 
are the best preparation to make.

Jesdyn [to fadethecat]: I'm not taking the Judgmentmobile, so all I can 
think of are items to mask or distort resonance -- and demons don't have 
any investigative resonance worth talking about.

fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: So long as we don't run into any Lilim. But 
understood.

Jesdyn [to fadethecat]: Huh. Lilim. Maybe fashioning an image consisting 
entirely of eyes was a bad plan.

Ekur dreamshapes himself some mirrorshades for Lilim-control.

Wrinth says as Neil returns, "They call it 'Summonable,' you might spring 
for it on your next relic."  He stands up and unnecessarily dusts himself 
off.  "I've just been describing the intended route to Ekur.  The 
pilgrimage passed through a domain called Frontier, which is the last 
normal sort of Far Marches Domain before things get really weird.  I was 
planning to head there first, and Ekur says he's been there in case we 
get separated.  After that, you'll need to follow me as I focus on our 
destination."

fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: That's for the angel who's ditching before the 
border crossing. Draco Knows Lilim.

Neil says, "Alright. Might as well get into our roles -- any preference 
for aides?"

<<GM>> *snicker* "Switch" just queued up, following "Ezekiel Saw the 
Wheel" and "Angel Band."

Draco holds out a fist over a paw to Neil. "David, Yves, Laurence to see 
who gets which image?"

Neil thinks aloud. "Fairies, elementals, bathtubs full of brightly 
colored machine tools..."

Draco figures Ekur will take the most objectively useful image, whatever 
happens.

Wrinth says, "The mongoose amuses me.  Perhaps the other one riding with 
me could be a cobra."

Wrinth says, "Snakes being an old Marches symbolism for wisdom."

skill 18 Neil_IQ

You rolled 7 and Neil_IQ - succeeded by 11.

Draco adjusts his spectacles, while shading them to a nice mirror hue. 
"Ferret, Wrinth. The image is that of a ferret. Look at these adorable 
little paws! How can you mistake that for a mongoose?"

William [to Neil]: Bear in mind, you shouldn't dreamshape yourself into 
anything that doesn't have pockets.  ;^)

Jesdyn [to William]: /Heh/. 

Jesdyn [to William]: The snake from Disney's /Robin Hood/ had clothes, I 
think.

fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: ...hee.

Draco mutters something about what kind of bio classes demons are getting 
in Hell these days.

Wrinth shrugs, and turns to go.  "Ferret, mongoose.  I don't *care*, as 
long as you're small enough to carry and reasonably normal-looking 
whispering secret wisdom in my ear.  I'd have called for a couple of 
ravens, but Hughinn and Muninn have been done."

Neil dreamshapes himself into a snake with a many-pocketed vest; tiny 
mirror-shades manifest at head height and fall down to his nose.

Neil rolled 16 versus 20 and succeeded by 4.

Ekur oocly tries to come up with an icon.  Any suggestions?

fadethecat [to StevenE]: Panda hat.

Jesdyn [to StevenE]: Snake, mongoose -- the narrator?

Wrinth looks over at Ekur.  "If anybody asks, you're my bodyguard, okay?  
Heh... no.  You're *watching my back.*  Which is true enough for a 
Seraph, at that, I'm sure."

fadethecat [to StevenE]: A cute, cheerful panda hat.

fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: An egg!

Draco shifts his image a few branches over in the animal kingdom, until 
he's a silver mongoose with little black paws.

Neil glides through the air and settles on Wrinth's other shoulder, and 
tests out his voice and wisdom-dispensing capabilities. "You will likely 
find new opporunitiessss. Your lucky numbersssss are sssix, sssix, and 
sssix."

William [to Draco]: A very tiny change, a mere -1 to skill.

Draco bounces on the demon's shoulder. "Stay good, Wrinth! Stay good!"

Draco rolled 7 versus 25 and critically succeeded by 18.

Ekur nods to Wrinth, and takes the form of . . . a knight in black armor, 
with full Lilim-blocking visored helm, and his shortsword abd shield 
artifacts to hand.

William [to Ekur]: Ah, very nice.

Wrinth heads out.  "But I'm not good *now*," he points out.

fadethecat [to StevenE]: Oo, are the limbs detachable.

"So it'll be a real /challenge/," Draco points out, serenely.

William OOCly falls over laughing at the series of evocative titles his 
playlist has been queueing up in the last few minutes.  This one's titled 
"Queen of the Winter Night," although what it's based on is 
Astrafiammante's aria, "The Wrath of Hell Burns in my Heart."

The GM says, "The party climbs up to the border of the Bounding Range and 
looks out over the Marches.  Wrinth takes a deep breath to focus, and 
visualizes where he wants to go, then sets out."

[ skill roll for NPC: announce passed ]

Jesdyn [to William]: That AK roll had the backing of the players, the GM, 
God, /and/ Lucifer.

The GM says, "Civis falls behind you and the mists of the Marches waft 
up.  Sands crunch underfoot, and two sets of footprints have been scoured 
away by winds before they disappear into mist behind you."

Wrinth says, "Frontier is a constantly changing town.  It's Masterless by 
the nature of the Domain -- which is to be the border of the known.  It's 
the place I set out from before I found our ultimate target on this trip, 
and since that was a difficult piece of navigation I figured it would be 
best to start from there.  Also, in some metaphorical sense I think it's 
closer to where we're headed.  We can regroup there if we get separated."


Neil nods.

Neil mentally marks the location of Frontier -- might need to get back 
here, some day.

Wrinth says, "Where we're finally headed, I've got a picture of but 
apparently it takes more than that.  I was only able to make it there at 
all *because* of my current status, I think -- I had to focus on wanting 
to be with my people again.  All the ethereals I talked to had their own 
ways of getting there -- none of them had ever shown up in a group."

fadethecat [to William]: Was it mentioned in the debriefing who His 
People were at the time?

William [to Draco]: Hell.  The Rebellion.  Baal's forces.

fadethecat [to William]: Slightly confused: he's been to this unknown 
Domain while accompanied by former Wordmates already?

William [to fadethecat]: You have what he literally said -- you want to 
resonate to try to make more sense of it?

Neil looks into the nowhere, unfocused. "Well, there's one person I still 
want to be with..."

The GM says, "!  Speaking of which..."

[ snip Ally_roll ; announce failed ]

Jesdyn [to William]: I didn't say, did I -- I didn't want to take the 
Judgmentmobile.

Jesdyn [to William]: No reasonable way to camoflauge it.

The GM says, "No, that was for Draco's bossy Mercurian friend."

The GM says, "You already mentioned about the Judgmentmobile."

fadethecat [to William]: Yes, please.

William [to fadethecat]: Roll it.

Draco rolled 14 versus 22 and succeeded by 8.

Ekur pings Wrinth, too.

William [to Draco]: He means to say, he suspects it may have helped that 
he was Renegade to get there.  He had to focus on admitting that there 
was something bigger than him to get there, a difficult thing for a demon 
to do (and what caused the Dissonance).  The Domain's in Utgard, you see.


fadethecat [to William]: Ahah.

Draco passes little notes behind Wrinth's back--well, neck--to Neil, with 
a footnote about passing it back to Ekur.

William [to Ekur]: Wrinth is feeling self-satisfied and in control.  He's 
got his problems but he's got a plan for dealing with them and it's 
clipping along.

Draco is, incidentally, using a little dreamshaped scrap of paper that's 
easier to dispose of than pages from his notebook, for security reasons. 
(Which is why it says 'Eat me!' at the bottom of the page. Tastes like 
coffee!)

The GM says, "After a few hours, the mists begin thinning and the sky 
darkens.  Wrinth says, 'Here's Frontier.'  The ground rises into a ramp 
and the hill to the side curves up and around until you are in a tunnel, 
lit from ahead with flickering neon.  As you enter the Domain, you see 
that Frontier is manifesting today as an orbital platform over some 
anonymous gas giant.  It has a run-down, Wild West feel to the corridors 
of steel and piping.  A distant sun burns little brighter than a star in 
the distance."

Draco adjusts his mirror shades. "Oh, good," he says. "I'm dressed for 
the place."

Wrinth looks around.  "Find an exit that looks like it's heading for the 
unknown," he says.  "It's all about the symbology in this place."

Jesdyn [to William]: Is this place feeling familiar, by any chance?

Jesdyn [to William]: I'm pretty sure I've been somewhere much like it.

Draco ponders whether space counts as known or unknown, eyeing a few 
airlocks.

William [to Jesdyn]: To Jesdyn, or Neil?

Ekur clanks down the corridors in his armor.

The GM says, "We've never been here in-game.  Neil might see relations 
between this place and Pfluviak's, or the early days of Vegas on Earth."

Jesdyn [to William]: Neil -- he's /been/ to Utgard, hasn't he?

William [to Neil]: Oh, yeah.  But this isn't Utgard yet.  This is a stop 
on the way that Wrinth's taking you.

Draco peers around, not leaving Wrinth's shoulder. "Last time I was 
here," he says, "there were more neon lights. I liked the one with the 
cowboy."

The GM says, "Frontier is 'known space,' albeit the border of it."

Jesdyn [to William]: I'm having cosmological conflicts -- there was 
Strangeness outside of Utgard, strangeness bad enough to make a Cherub's 
ping read "fnord". Wasn't /that/ the border of known space?

Jesdyn [to William]: Or are we talking about /inner/ border and /outer/ 
border?

William [to Ekur]: You're good with symbology.  Gimme a Psych roll.

Ekur rolled 12 versus 17 and succeeded by 5.

fadethecat [to William]: I have psych, but presumably this only pings for 
someone who's been to both realms.

William [to Neil]: This *is* like that, yeah, but it's about halfway 
there.  Utgard is within the unknown and at the border of the unknowable.  
Frontier is at least sensible.  It's a real, concrete idea: 'last stop 
before Injun territory,' 'the edge of known space.'

William [to fadethecat]: You can roll, too.  This is a matter of 
interpreting symbols and looking for hints of the unknown.

Draco rolled 6 versus 20 and critically succeeded by 14.

fadethecat [to William]: ...the dice love me, today. I expect betrayal at 
any moment.

Jesdyn [to William]: I could roll Psych at default, I suppose, but if 
Neil's already been there (or somewhere like there) and undergone the 
personal test needed /to/ arrive there, he should be okay.

The GM says, "Ekur, it's looking like it might be a good idea to hit the 
more mechanical side of the station rather than the service side.  Draco, 
that suggests to you, looking over a map, that the 'launch bays' are your 
best bet."

Draco produces a laser pointer to indicate a spot on the wall map. "As an 
appointed advisor, I advise heading there to find our door."

William [to Jesdyn]: The Psych roll isn't to get to Utgard.  That'll be 
later -- you'll need to roll like you did last time, focusing on 
something unknowable.  This is just to find your way around the station 
right now, part of the rules of the place.

Ekur looks at the pointer, and sees it's on the more mechanical side.  "I 
concur."

Wrinth says, "Looks as good a place as any," and heads that way.

A toothless old man looks up from a blanket where he sells trinkets at 
the edge of the populated areas of the station, before the stairs descend 
into a maze of railings and catwalks.  "Good luck charm?" he calls.  
"Made from real matter!"

Neil pings him.

"Good to have hold on reality when you go too far," he says.

William [to Neil]: Roll it.

Draco pings along.

Draco rolled 14 versus 22 and succeeded by 8.

Ekur pings the peddler.

Neil rolled 10 versus 18 and succeeded by 8.

William [to Draco]: He's mainly trying to sell you a trinket, and doesn't 
really think they're luck charms.  They are made from real matter, though 
-- he collects little bits of powdery stuff from the odder areas beyond 
the station and sculpts with them.

William [to Ekur]: He's an ethereal running with the Image of 'crazy old 
pedlar,' with all that that implies -- a sort of Taoist 
success-without-trying, the luck of the Fool of the Tarot.

William [to Neil]: This is 'crazy old Abu-Bakr,' who doesn't really have 
an opinion of himself.  He's never thought that much about himself.  
Nobody thinks much about old Abu-Bakr.  It's a little curious that nobody 
ever stops to think *why* they don't think much about old Abu-Bakr, who'd 
be the Master of this Domain if this Domain had a Master.

Wrinth is ignoring him and walking on by.

Neil whispers, "Hold a moment."

Wrinth stops.  "You're kidding.  You want to buy one?"

Jesdyn [to William]: Is Wrinth facing another point of dissonance if he 
again ascends to Utgard?

William [to Jesdyn]: Yup.

Jesdyn [to William]: And is there any symbolic way to counter that?

Jesdyn [to William]: I'm trying to come up with some interaction with 
this guy that'll give Wrinth a free pass.

William [to Jesdyn]: Hard to say given your current knowledge.  If by 
some clever way you could get him to admit that there was some part of 
the Symphony that didn't revolve around him and his ultimate needs, 
without causing him demonic Dissonance.

Abu-Bakr grins toothlessly at you and waves a small clay disc of a smiley 
face.  "You buy!  Good luck charm!"

Neil whispers, "He knows more than you think. Perhaps a way to get to 
Utgard without another note of Dissonance for you?"

Neil redacts "point" to "note".

Wrinth frowns.  "Hmm."  He says to Abu-Bakr, "How much?"

Abu-Bakr says, "3 Essence!"

Wrinth says, "Whoof."

[ three Perception rolls, all passed ]

The GM says, "Say, angels -- that clay the little doohickey's made out 
of?  It's Primordial."

Jesdyn [to William]: Alright, I'm, uh, not quite sure what that is.

Ekur says, "I think we definitely want to get a few of these trinkets."

Wrinth says, "That's a bit expensive... I guess I could refill later, 
though."

Draco leans forward, one paw on his sunglasses to keep them from sliding 
off. "Huh," he says, unhelpfully.

William [to Neil]: Primordial Clay?  It's an artifact.  Can be used to 
make Vessels, or living things.  Occasionally somebody will fall out of 
Limbo dusted with the stuff.

Abu-Bakr grins at Ekur and offers him the disc.

Jesdyn [to William]: Huh. I've got another pocket...

Ekur says, "How about one Essence for the disk?"

Draco looks over the artifacts. "Three's a bit steep," he agrees. 

Abu-Bakr shakes his head.  "Three!  Not cheap!  Good value!"

fadethecat [to William]: So, standard Seraph of Trade resonance... What 
deal can I make here?

William [to Draco]: Seraph of Trade definitely tells you he won't take 
less than three.

Ekur looks to see if any of the others are Primordial Clay.

William [to Ekur]: They all are.

Draco shrugs, and sits back. "You make an argument with conviction, sir. 
I don't object to three."

Ekur says, "I don't know.  Before I'm willing to go past two, I'd like to 
know where you got the materials."

Abu-Bakr looks over at Draco.  "You take?"

Jesdyn [to William]: What can Neil do with it? What could Thais do if I 
took it to her?

Jesdyn [to William]: Or, wait, Ekur's got Enchant too...

William [to Ekur]: Abu-Bakr nods and says, "I get from beyond Frontier.  
Some days not any, some days bits of it floating around.  It real, you 
can tell."  He knocks on it with a gnarled old knuckle.  "Good for 
enchanting.  It good luck."

A teeny little beholder in Neil's pocket is poking him discreetly in the 
leg with an eyestalk, in a distinctly enthusiastic way.

Neil buys two.

Wrinth rolls his eyes.  "Pick up a souvenir if you want.  I doubt we're 
going to encounter anybody for me to graze on to refill before we get to 
where we're headed, though.  And do you want to spend your Essence on 
something of dubious utility?"

Ekur says, "Can you be any more specific?  Just floating around out 
there?"

Neil says, "In this job, you need the luck."

William [to Ekur]: Abu-Bakr says, "You head for the dark winds, they blow 
it in from Limbo."

Draco serenes. "It is said, all that glitters has a high refractive 
index."

fadethecat [to William]: Brb, I hope. Don't wait on my account.

William [to Neil]: Abu-Bakr hees at you, and takes your hand.  "Very 
generous, very generous!"  He presses two discs into it, one smiley face 
and one frowning face.  He shakes your hand.  "I give you good value!"

roll 3d6

On 3d6, you rolled 14.

Neil puts one in each pocket -- then pulls out his gumball and starts 
chewing it, hissing intermittently around the gum.

William [to Neil]: Abu-Bakr spends the 3 extra Essence you just gave him, 
and you feel a Luck affinity activate.  You can tell that it's resulted 
in some sort of favorable energies hanging about you, waiting for an 
opportunity to go off.

Gleefully, Abu-Bakr packs up his trinkets and dashes off, chuckling.

Ekur says, "Well.  Now we know where the Primordial Clay is coming from, 
at least roughly."

Wrinth jumps.  "Oh, is *that* what those are made out of?"  He looks at 
Neil.  "Hey, I'll buy one of those two off of you."

Neil nods from his perch on Wrinth's shoulder. "I'll bet he'sssss 
collecting <smack> more than hisss part, too." 

Down in Neil's pocket, the beholder is hugging the amulet there with 
several tentacles.

Neil blows a bubble at Wrinth. "Sssssorry, failure to ssshare in 
mercantile opportunitiessss isssssn't covered. Maybe next time you'll 
lisssten?"

William [Thais]: If it doesn't get used up for any reason, you should be 
able to do some *interesting* stuff with Primordial Clay.

Thais does a happy beholder dance.

Wrinth pfehs at Neil and heads down to the hangars.

fadethecat [to William]: If you have no objections, Thais will pass Neil 
three Essence now, with plans to pass on three more on loan when she 
leaves the group.

Draco feels very slightly ashamed of not making a trade. But he did 
facilitate the mercantile opportunity of others, so it's not that bad.

William [to fadethecat]: That would make an audible disturbance you 
probably want to pass on at the moment.

Jesdyn [to fadethecat]: On loan, hah. You know you'll never see it again. 
Neil spends Essence like water.

Jesdyn [to William]: Oh, does it? Crap. Hmm. I should've remembered that. 
Is Wrinth knowing about Thais worth six Essence? ... probably, yes. Keep 
him off-balance.

Jesdyn [to William]: In fact -- hmm. Thais /can't/ arrive in Neil's 
pocket. Hmm hmm hmm.

fadethecat [to William]: Ah, point. In that case, if Draco can pass a 
note to Neil and Thais, Draco can publicly pass one Essence over while 
Thais passes on five.

Jesdyn [to William]: Does refilling from a relicquary sound the same as 
accepting a passed note?

The GM says, "Actually, having just come in from running off for a 
second, no, it shouldn't, otherwise trade centers like Civis would be 
positively *ringing* with disturbance, so go ahead with a clear 
conscience."

Thais offers a shiny eyeball to Neil's hand in the pocket for three 
Essence, then.

Neil refills to nine.

Neil says, "Err, six."

You come down to the hangar level.  It's zero-g here, and Wrinth drifts 
along the catwalks looking at ships in their bays and airlocks for 
personal exodus.

Wrinth reads various signs.  "I assume we don't want to rent a ship.  
Last time I came through here, it was an American Old West town and you 
had to head for Lost Gulch.  Now we've got..." *reads signs*  
"...asteroid mining, planetary rings, settled space, definitely not 
that..."

Ekur looks at signs, looking for something interesting.

Neil grins. "Why bother with a sign?"

Neil says, "I think the course is 'second star to the right, and straight 
on until morning'."

Neil frowns. "Unless there is a Neverland domain. Hmm."

Draco tries to remember if there is.

fadethecat [to William]: ...wow, I'd forgotten how obscene my AK Marches 
score was. Mind if I roll?

William [to Draco]: Go for it.

Wrinth says, "Nature of Frontier.  When you're leaping off into the 
unknown, just wandering off randomly will get you somewhere, but never 
anywhere you intended to go."

Draco rolled 14 versus 24 and succeeded by 10.

William [to Draco]: Remember what Wrinth said about the Disturbance he 
heard that convinced him humans were there?  He thought it was construct 
creation.  That works really well if you've got Primordial Clay to use.

William [to Draco]: Hence, perhaps head for a place you might pick up 
clay.  Like, say, 'asteroid mining'!  :^)

Draco points to the Asteroid Mining sign. "I believe that one's worth 
putting a wager on. As we're not in a terrible hurry, let's give it a 
shot."

Ekur rolled 11 versus 19 and succeeded by 8.

Ekur nods.  "Yes, that's probably worth a shot."

William [to Ekur]: This seems to have the best symbological connotations, 
yeah.

Wrinth floats over to that airlock, dreamshaping himself a spacesuit big 
enough to encompass his two riders.  He looks over to Ekur.  "Okay, 
old-timer, you'll need to make that armor airtight and thermally 
protected.  Ever been in a space Domain before?"

Wrinth says, "Hopefully, we'll reach the edge of the Domain before too 
long and we'll be able to ditch the protection, but until then, we'll 
need it to breathe."

Draco finds a nice little sippy-cup of Tang to go with the spacesuit.

Ekur says, "No, but a few dreamscapes, sure.  Let's see . . ."

Ekur makes a Literature roll . . .

Ekur rolled 11 versus 18 and succeeded by 7.

Neil hisses, "My stars, it's full of God."

William [to Ekur]: That works.  You recall that the typical dangers to 
protect against are decompression, cold, and running out of oxygen.

William [to Ekur]: Having read the good literature on the subject, 
though, you're also fairly sure you could handle dexitroboping.

Ekur imagines himself in a spacesuit modeled on a Mobile Infantry suit of 
armor, a la Starship Troopers.

<<GM>> Half an XPpoint *right now* if anybody knows what dexitroboping 
is, and where it comes from.  :^)

StevenE [to William]: lensman.  An activity with no close human 
wequivalent, so the Lens translated it as a nonsense word.

The GM says, "Correct!  What does it allow one to do?"

StevenE [to William]: "It was a way of gathering sustenance, IIRC.  Sort 
of like agriculture, IIRC.

Ekur hasn't re-read it recently, so . . .

Neil read Lensman, but it's been a while -- and there's lots more that 
didn't make sense than dexitroboping.

The GM says, "Hmm, I may be remembering it wrong.  Wasn't it the art of 
surviving in space without a spacesuit?"

StevenE [to William]: Well, it allows survival on places like Pluto, so 
GURPS models the skill as Vacuum Support . . . .

The GM says, "Okay, you earned the half point then.  Moving on, 
everybody's got a spacesuit, and Wrinth operates the correct combination 
of controls to let you out without depressurizing the station."

The GM says, "You float out into the vast darkness, Frontier growing 
smaller behind you."

[ two Perception rolls; announce passed ]

The GM says, "Wrinth's heartrate gets ever so slightly faster as Neil and 
Draco are feeling it."

Neil considers whispering, "Remember, thou too art mortal", but decides 
it'd be just tacky.

The GM says, "It's *big* out here.  You're in freefall and there are no 
landmarks; the planet is behind the station as you're currently oriented.  
You're headed for open space.""

Wrinth takes a deep breath.  He manifests a cable and tosses Ekur the 
other end with a clip on it.

Wrinth says, "Okay.  Concentrate on following me.  I'll try to get us 
where we're going."

Ekur hooks the clip to the armor's belt, next to a icon of a nuclear 
grenade.

[ rolled Wrinth_AK(Marches); announce critical success ]

[ rolled Wrinth_Will; announce success ]

The GM says, "Allright.  *You* three, roll Will."

Neil says, "Uh-oh."

Neil rolled 15 versus 18 and succeeded by 3.

Ekur rolled 11 versus 18 and succeeded by 7.

Neil . o O ( Thais should roll as well... )

The GM says, "Hmm... yeah, she should."

Jesdyn [to William]: Just out of curiosity, was that a critical success 
or a DI?

The GM says, "Crit.  Nat5."

Neil says, "Oh thank goodness."

The GM says, "*Wrinth* is definitely getting where he's going.  We're 
seeing if he can drag you guys along with him."

William [to Draco]: You still connected?

Draco rolled 10 versus 23 and succeeded by 13.

Draco rolled 11 versus 17 and succeeded by 6.

fadethecat [to William]: Draco, then THais. Sorry.

The GM says, "n/p"

The GM says, "This is a QC, so roll again for Thais."

[ reroll Wrinth_Will for second stage of tied Quick Contest ; announce 
succeeded ]

fadethecat [to William]: QC?

Draco rolled 11 versus 17 and succeeded by 6.

The GM says, "Quick Contest."

The GM says, "Okay."

Draco says, "Ah."

Wrinth manifests a jetpack and fires, accelerating forward.  "I *know* 
where I'm going," he mutters.  "I *see* it. I am *already there*..."

Neil smacks against the back of Wrinth's helmet. Stupid physics.

The GM says, "The jets fire for several minutes, continually picking up 
speed.  The ride becomes wild, and the Domain begins to bend around you.  
Space doesn't have wind, but incongruous streaks of rainbow light start 
to zip past you and bits of comet whip by in near-misses.  Ekur is being 
dragged along behind."

Draco clings to Wrinthh's shoulder, trying not to dig his claws in too 
far. It would be rude.

The GM says, "Before you appears a turbulent nebula-looking object.  An 
'ion storm,' sci-fi shows might style it.  'The dark winds!' cries 
Wrinth, and heads straight for it."

The GM says, "You plunge into the mass of glowing gas and lightning.  
Before anybody can suggest that this might be a bad idea, the winds blow 
the two spacesuits apart, separating Ekur and Wrinth.  There is no time 
to fear suffocation, though, as Wrinth's Will grabs Draco and Neil and 
starts dragging you toward his now-consuming goal."

Jesdyn [to William]: Can *I* grab Ekur while Wrinth is busy?

Ekur hurls himself after Wrinth.

William [to Neil]: You can try, but this will be modeled as a Quick 
Contest of Wills with Ekur.

The GM says, "It feels /wrong/, where he's dragging you, like some place 
you're not supposed to be.  Draco's instincts rise up, and he slips out 
of Wrinth's grasp.  Neil (and Thais being carried with him) is being 
carried forward -- he grabs mentally for Ekur..."

The GM says, "(You two roll Wills)"

Ekur rolled 13 versus 18 and succeeded by 5.

Neil rolled 7 versus 18 and succeeded by 11.

The GM says, "Neil's dreamshaped tail snags the cable before it 
disappears.  Draco, however, is separated from the others."

Neil thinks quickly. "Hmm. If /Thais/ dreamshaped into Draco's image..."

After a moment of utter bedlam, Draco finds himself far out in the 
inter-Domain wilds of the Marches.

Draco scrambles to his feet, and looks around for anyone else. "Bother," 
he says.

Wrinth, after that moment, is clutching his head with one hand, and 
squeezing Neil with the other.  Neil's tail is wrapped around Ekur's 
hand.

The GM says, "You three are in... a thoroughly nasty place."

The GM says, "Icy winds blow.  But not clean ice -- black soot mars it 
and the air is thick with greasy smoke.  Visibility is extremely limited.  
The local Symphony rings in your ears in chaotic fits and starts.  All in 
all, you hardly think wherever Draco is could possibly be worse."

Neil gets into role.

The GM says, "It takes several moments of everyone clearing their head 
before Neil and Ekur realize just where this place is -- you recognize 
that you're near Wrinth's Utgard stone."

Jesdyn [to William]: Wait -- his /personal/ one?

William [to Neil]: Yeah.  That's what the Contest of Wills was about.  
You can't deliberately reach someone else's Stone.

Jesdyn [to William]: I didn't know they were personal, though. What do 
you have here -- the edge of what he, personally, can understand?

William [to Jesdyn]: Yep.  Demons don't like admitting there *is* such an 
edge, see -- that's why they have to take Dissonance to get to Utgard.

Ekur comments, "Well, this is quite interesting.  I've never been at 
someone else's Utgard stone before."

Wrinth stands up, and coughs.  "They're personal, are they?  That 
explains the Shedim.  They were said to be particularly good at dragging 
people to their Stone.  Maybe demons are the only ones with the strength 
of will to do it."

Neil pings Wrinth /and the Stone/ out of sheer curiosity.

William [to Neil]: The former gets the normal result, although a bit 
scratchy due to a note of dissonance.  I doubt the latter gets anything 
unless you crit.

Jesdyn [to William]: Nah, not worth rolling -- just wondered if something 
weird would happen.

Ekur pings Wrinth, too, just to keep an eye on him.

Neil says, "Okay, hold for a second."

William [to Ekur]: He's sporting an itchy new mental irritant, but other 
than that he's fine.  A touch personally disappointed he wasn't able to 
drag Draco here as well.

Neil says, "Draco just got (temporarily) erased from this plot -- Wrinth 
is NOT going to want to go back and get him, and not likely to be willing 
to wait at the domain caul while we go back to meet him. Thais can 
manifest /as/ Draco, to keep Fade in the plot, or...?"

The GM says, "Neil and Ekur both recognize where you are, now, and you 
know how to direct Draco here in a more normal fashion, like the way you 
got here last time."

The GM says, "A rather less traumatic route, for that matter."

Jesdyn [to William]: Can we do it with a CelTongue, or do we need to 
return to Frontier?

Jesdyn [to William]: I suppose we're not on a time limit -- another day 
won't hurt.

The GM says, "'zactly.  CelTongues is fine.  Describe Utgard and how to 
get here."

Neil sends, "At Utgard -- travel to thought beyond knowing -- wish you 
were here, Neil."

Wrinth cocks an ear at the note of disturbance.  "Giving your friend an 
address?  Good, I'm not picking up another note of Dissonance to go back 
to get him."

Neil says, "Didn't figure you'd be up for it, no."

Wrinth looks up at his Stone, and shivers.  "And let's go wait somewhere 
else.  This damned thing gives me the creeps."

fadethecat [to William]: I presume the message gets through without 
problem?

William [to Draco]: Yeah, you've all got CelTongues at a high level.

You hear a rumble of a rockfall from above, as if the Stone is laughing 
at Wrinth.

Neil turns to glare at the Stone. "You aren't helping him, you know."

Wrinth says, "You could try to climb it if you like.  I'm curious what's 
on the other side."

Neil stops, and looks at Wrinth. "You're honestly interested?"

Draco sits up straight as the message arrives. "Oh," he says. "Why didn't 
they just mention that in the first place?" And dreamshapes up a nice 
little ferret rocket for himself, to get to an appropriate place a bit 
faster. Wings, jet rocket, pixie sticks.

Wrinth heads for an open area a little ways beyond the Stone, a sort of 
'unaffiliated open spot.'  He turns back to Neil.  "Oh, if it's honesty 
you want, I honestly expect trying to climb the thing would kill you.  I 
could be wrong, though."

Neil looks at the Stone and "hmms", but says no more.

Draco rolled 12 versus 26 and succeeded by 14.

William [to Draco]: So what does Draco think of when he's trying to think 
of something unknowable?

<OOC> Er, any plans on when we're going to stop for the night?  I'm 
starting to feel a bit out-of-it.

Draco ponders the unknowable. Which is to say, the limits of forgiveness.


<OOC> Er, that was me.  Steven/Ekur.

fadethecat [to William]: Thais will be passing more Essence back to Neil, 
at this point.

The GM says, "I'm happy to stop as soon as Draco rejoins the rest of 
you."

William [to Draco]: Sounds like a default Theology roll to me.  16, I 
believe.

Draco also sends word that he's coming, since Neil could use the Essence 
more than he could.

Draco rolled 12 versus 16 and succeeded by 4.

The GM says, "A few hours pass as Draco struggles toward the edge of 
things.  Draco, as you become lost in thought of what you had done, and 
yet have been able to get away from, you realize that in the vast 
distance across the Marches the Volcano burns brightly.  It reflects off 
of an enormous mountain of jagged black stone in front of you, rising up 
from the sand of the Marches -- not off the dull, matte black of most of 
it, but off of a cheerful, bright snowcap on the top that seems freshly 
fallen."

Draco brightens, and aims his flight towards the snowy peak.

The GM says, "That could take days to reach.  Instead, if you're seeing 
correctly, there are a few people waiting a long way off to your right, 
just outside where the snowy weather seems to be getting worse."

Draco angles away as he catches sight of those, though it seems a bit of 
a pity. Still, this is a business trip, not a vacation. Work first.

The GM says, "And a few minutes later, Draco joins you once more."

Draco shakes off his wings and jet engine as he executes a neat spiraling 
landing on Wrinth's shoulder. "My apologies," he says. "Got separated 
along the way, as you no doubt noticed."

Wrinth nods.  "Good to see you made it."  He turns to a looming shape in 
the distance, where a dim light pierces swirling snowclouds, and points.  
"And now, for the dangerous part."

Arc 7, Part 2: Session Close