In response to the suggestion that he's unique, Iggy gets what Scott might recognize as a puzzled look and says, "No, I'm an iguana. There are a lot of us where I come from, but don't seem to be any others here."
--M. J. Young
Brock and Roll
(136 posts) (4 voices)-
Sun Jul 12 2009 9:11 pm #
-
"That's true, Iggy, you're right. What he means, though, is that you're special - you're different from most iguanas in ways that people think are important. You can speak, which is something that most people think that only people can do. You're smarter than most iguanas, too, but that's not as easy to notice as your talking.
Turning back to Brock, I say, "I'm sure there are others like him, though, just as there are others like you and me. All it takes is the desire and the ability to better oneself - in some cases, as with Ignominious and me, with a starting push from others. I had some help from a man called the Architect, starting out, and Iggy had some help from me. But with forever ahead of us (as far as we know), I don't foresee any limits on what we can become."
__
I anticipate making multiple posts here, following the various threads of interaction. I'm glad you're not in any hurry, Brock.* I expect things will calm down a bit eventually, both on my side of the screen and in this here forum thread.
*Heh.
Mon Jul 13 2009 3:57 am # -
Brock
Member"True, that. I should have said I have never MET an iguana that can talk."
Here is the currently active threads of conversation.
"Oh, I hadn't thought of that. I have studied a lot of faiths, and the big common element in most is guidance on how to act, and a large dose of reverence. Of course, the biggest side effect of all that is hope, which is something a lot of people have difficulty getting for themselves."
"Oh, I dunno how other people use the truck phrase, I only ever read it once, and that's how it was used."
"Oh, Eris. Yeah, I know a lot about her. I didn't realize there is a religion with her as a patron, as opposed to a member of a pantheon. I've always wondered why they [the Greeks and Romans] thought chaos was a bad thing, really. It's really more of a force in the universe that brings about change. Without it, every day would be drab and repetitious-moreso than usual."
I get out Star Wars: Darth Bane: Path of Destruction: A novel of the Old Republic and hand it to you, saying you may have it if you like.
You left off going to get your laptop.
questions for later-"So you mentioned this scriff substance earlier...."
I'm curious as to why you didn't bring Alice, but in character I don't even know about her.Mon Jul 13 2009 5:21 am # -
I will mention that it is getting late in the afternoon; you are at the western end of the mountain, watching the sun descend toward the ocean. There are a few shore birds, but nothing in sight across the water.
--M. J. Young
Tue Jul 14 2009 1:02 am # -
The truck bit is dropped without comment. The religious bits are addressed with a comment along the lines of "you sound like you kind of have the right idea; hold on a sec while I run get the Principia."
I return with, not the laptop, but a printout held together with those jaw-like black paper clips. It's somewhere between twenty-five and fifty sheets of paper, single-sided printing but with two book pages per sheet. (The document can be found here.*) I also bring two oranges, a mango, and a six-inch knife.
"Now, this is just the text version - in the original, there's all kinds of hand-written notes in the margins, and stamps, and weird illustrations - 'Mr. Momomoto, famous Japanese, has swollowed his nose', a one-eyed pyramid with legs throwing up the numeral V sign, 'DO NOT FOLD, BEND, OR MUTILATE', that kind of thing - but this is from a Word document on my laptop, so they can't really capture that. They do the best they can, though. See, this here was originally scrawled in the margin.
"We don't have to look at this now, I mean, you can even keep this printout - I've got spares - but it'll be hard to read it once the sun goes down, and we can still talk and such in the dark."
__"So, how long have you been around?"
"How long have I been around . . . ? A little less than a decade, for sure. I've actually been keeping a journal on my laptop since Day 1, Year A, but it's difficult to update it sometimes what with my lifestyle. I can only use it for more than a few hours in worlds where there's enough tech for an outlet, enough psi to recharge the battery or enough magic to run it without, and this island is lacking in all three.
"So, I can't check and know for sure here, but if I remember correctly, I've been in the 'Verse for nine years, two months and thirty-seven days. Um, that's Discordian months, so, seventy-three, one forty-six, that's nine years, one hundred eighty-three days. Oh, plus the time I've been here, so nine years, one hundred eighty-six as of nine twenty-five tongiht. Assuming I haven't made a clerical error somewhere." Smile.
"But yeah, I've been meaning to get an AC adapter that'll plug into my spear, but - well, no such luck. I'm thinking I'll just conjure one, next time I get a chance. Which won't be here."
__
I'm assuming stuff in bold isn't stuff I have to address until it's posted again non-bold. But I'll talk about Alice if you're still curious.* The original Principia with notes in the margins and stamps and illustrations and such is here if you're curious, but V-me doesn't have that version.
Wed Jul 15 2009 12:36 am # -
Brock
Memberbold is OOC. My character doesn't know about Alice. I am just a bit curious as to whether or not you really would take her with or not, given the choice.
I have read the Principia. I got curious when you mentioned it when I first got here, and went to read it. Thing that I was saying earlier though, my character didn't meet you until now, so never heard of it except some vague reference years ago. When I was reminding myself OOC that I hadn't, MJ had the idea to send you here. Heh.
Don't forget I am handing you Star Wars: Darth Bane: Path of Destruction: A Novel of the Old Republic, and saying if you like it, you can keep it.
"Hey, thanks! I'll read this later."
"Okay, for the last question I have for now, You mentioned that the substance allowing us to travel the worlds when we die is called scriff. Is there anything else I should know about this scriff?
Wed Jul 15 2009 3:02 am # -
You've probably already figured out that all of my OOC stuff is italicized.
I knew you'd read it. It's just that your character hasn't, and this is your chance to talk to me about it and have the conversation become part of your character's history.
As for Alice, I just don't envision her coming with me. The bonds between people have to be pretty strong for an associate relationship to form ("I'll follow you anywhere, anytime, no matter what," like that), and while I'm sure she's interested in me, I'm not certain she's unhappy enough with her life to follow me out. It could go either way. On my part, I intend to write a will in which I leave her all the unspent cash I'm making at my job there in the event I verse out suddenly or otherwise disappear; given that, it seems like my character doesn't anticipate her coming with him. Also, my speculative history for this divergent has him versing out on a botch very soon after the thread leaves off (to spare me the awkwardness of writing the future of a world I'm currently playing in), so the relationship doesn't develop any further than what you see in the thread.
Lastly, I don't particularly want to bother running an NPC in this thread. Iggy is quite enough, thanks. That's not exactly a role-playing reason, but it's good enough for me. (Similarly, I have Dancing Princess in my world history, but the demons hand me my hind end. This has the dual merits of (1) sparing me the trouble of running a princess, and (2) explaining how on Earth I would manage to defeat those monsters. I've seen their stats, and they are frightening.)
"Hmm, speaking of reading, I have a book you might like. Ever watch Star Wars? I have a book about Darth Bane, a Sith Lord in the days of the Old Republic. It's from his perspective, so it is really interesting. I also have a pin drive with a ton of books on it."
"Well, sure. I'm always on the lookout for more reading material. I just picked up a bunch of books pretty recently, though, and I'm in the middle of reading A Series of Unfortunate Events to Ignominious; I might not get to it for a while, so you might want to hang on to it.
"As for the pin drive - is that like a USB storage device? - I don't want to turn on my laptop any more than I have to, seeing as I can't recharge the battery here. I don't need it here, but I might in the next world. Well, I guess if they're really useful books . . . what have you got?"
Don't forget I am handing you Star Wars: Darth Bane: Path of Destruction: A Novel of the Old Republic, and saying if you like it, you can keep it.
I look Brock in the eye. "Are you sure? You won't ever get it back, more than likely, and it might prove useful to you if you keep it." I'm not taking the offered book just yet, waiting for his response.
"Okay, for the last question I have for now, You mentioned that the substance allowing us to travel the worlds when we die is called scriff. Is there anything else I should know about this scriff?
"Well, it's kind of important, so you should know everything you can, I guess. I'll tell what I know . . ."
(continuing with the Scriff in the next post, when I get 'round to writing it)
Wed Jul 15 2009 3:58 am # -
Brock
Member"Well, I have lots of books. The books on my pin drive are not the kind you would ever need for more than entertainment. It's all fantasy and science fiction novels, and roleplaying game info I keep around. Why would it be risky to turn on your computer? As long as it has power it should be fine. I mean, I understand you won't get to recharge it for awhile, but..." character doesn't know about biases for tech and bod, doesn't understand yet. The character will read the Principia at the next opportunity when the conversation dies down. I can read in fairly low light conditions, and if the moon is out and even a little bright, I will be able to read it.
"I don't know why Darth Bane would be useful to me for more than entertainment, unless I end up in the world of Star Wars, heh. I have 44 Star Wars books by various authors on my pin drive. I have been collecting ebooks for a long, long time."
"Oh, and that reminds me. Why is it our stuff comes with us when we die? I was always told that you can't bring it with when you die" Insert cheeky grin here.
EDIT:"A little nonsense now and then is cherished by the wisest men"-Willy Wonka
Wed Jul 15 2009 11:57 pm # -
"I don't know why Darth Bane would be useful to me for more than entertainment, unless I end up in the world of Star Wars, heh. I have 44 Star Wars books by various authors on my pin drive. I have been collecting ebooks for a long, long time."
"You seriously never know. First off, it's a physical book, which makes it useful in different ways than the stuff on your pin drive. It's got untreated paper for pages, which means you could use it for tender, and it would probably last you quite a while. It's got treated paper for the cover, which you can't burn but could be more useful for other things. Also, it's a book written in English, which if you're in a place where English isn't written means you could pass it off as a spell book on a bluff. It's typewritten, which is a proof of concept if you end up in a world without Gutenberg. Hell, it's a fantasy, which could be useful in explaining the concept to someone if you end up in place without non-fiction. And anyways, real books are valuable some places, never mind what's in them, and that paperback is a lot lighter to carry around than the gold bullion it would be worth.
"I'm just saying. Give your stuff away if that's what you want to do, but it is your stuff. I'm not out to swindle you."
Why would it be risky to turn on your computer? As long as it has power it should be fine. I mean, I understand you won't get to recharge it for awhile, but..."
"It's not that it's risky to turn it on. It's just risky to assume that I'll be able to recharge it before the next time I really need it. It could be that right after this island explodes, I'll be in a place where I can't create electricity but I can manipulate and amplify existing energy, and so a dead battery is worth a lot less to me than a charged one.
"I know it seems a little stingy or paranoid to you now, but I've gotten into the habit of not using my resources for frivolous things. There's plenty of time for that later, when the particular resource in question happens to be limitless. Given the nature of my life now, that time is sure to come sooner or later.
"I'll think about your pin drive though. Maybe tomorrow I'll tell you whether or not I want to boot up my laptop so we can trade files. I've got some jazz that was a great comfort to me in a psi-Orwellian police state where non-boring music had been killed in its infancy; it could be a fair exchange."
"Oh, and that reminds me. Why is it our stuff comes with us when we die? I was always told that you can't bring it with when you die" Insert cheeky grin here.
"Lesson one: don't listen to the ignorant.
"But, more to the point, it's the same reason your mind comes with you, or why your whole body keeps its shape and configuration. The scriff did it. You've got scriff in you, and scriff in your stuff, and all that scriff is attuned to itself so that it all stays together. It likes being together, and it likes being stable. When you get mangled up enough to be killed, that's unstable. The scriff can't have that, so it packs its bags (that is, you, your mind, and your stuff), heads somewhere else, and puts you back together again - stable this time. That's why when you versed in you weren't electrocuted anymore, by the way. That's also why I don't have five giant scars across my face, here - " I make a raking motion from my left temple down to my right jaw - " where that demon clawed through my skull that one time. It's like when you're building something out of wooden blocks and it falls down; you put it back to the way it was before you added that last block that knocked it over.
"Oh, but you were asking about your stuff. If you don't believe me that you've got scriff in your gear, I can prove it to you. Wanna play Find the Novel?"
I pick up the Star Wars novel during that last question.
Thu Jul 16 2009 1:27 am # -
Brock
Member"A book as valuable as gold? Wow, I am really underestimating the possibilities of these universes. Hmmm. As to the files on my pin drive, I was just saying you can have them if you want, but I'm in no rush to get any files for me. It's full anyway."
"So the scriff bonds together, and when it fused with me, everything that I consider to be part of me, my self, my stuff, and possibly very close people, will come with me, because in a way, those things are fused to my own being, my mind, and bear importance? Interesting. No, I already noticed the directional sense, so no need to play Find the Novel, heh."
"So, if the universes are all different, there is no guarantee that what I see is the same as what I identify it as. For example, are those coconuts really coconuts? How can I tell? I hope you won't say trial and error; that seems rather risky..."
Thu Jul 16 2009 4:04 am # -
"So the scriff bonds together, and when it fused with me, everything that I consider to be part of me, my self, my stuff, and possibly very close people, will come with me, because in a way, those things are fused to my own being, my mind, and bear importance?
"Well, supposedly it's your central nervous system that's infected primarily, and everything else is pulled along with that. So, if someone burns your books, you don't verse out, and if you die in a fire a month later, the ashes come with you. But if you die in fire which also consumes your books, you verse out and your stuff is fine. I have had Iggy verse out without me. When I eventually died in that world, he wasn't there for me in the next, and I had to wait to meet up with him in the world after that. Every time I've versed out, though, Iggy has versed out immediately. You see? Your body is primary. Everything else is just . . . attached."
"No, I already noticed the directional sense, so no need to play Find the Novel, heh."
"Well, I also thought it would give me an excuse to wander off for a bit and give Iggy a chance to challenge you to Nine Men's Morris or something; we're kind of been leaving him out of the conversation, with all this Verser Orientation kind of talk. No matter, there'll be time later."
"So, if the universes are all different, there is no guarantee that what I see is the same as what I identify it as. For example, are those coconuts really coconuts? How can I tell? I hope you won't say trial and error; that seems rather risky..."
"How do you tell? Well, what's important to you about it being a coconut? If you need it to be a coconut because you want something round and hard, check to see if it's round and hard. If you need it to be a coconut because they're safe to eat, run a tox screen. What I mean is, no, you can't be sure, but if it walks, quacks, smells, and undergoes meiosis like a duck . . . anyway. Usually, familiar-looking things are familiar. It's just sometimes that they're not. Learn to check. There's all kinds of skills you can pick up for gathering information about your surroundings. Develop a habit of caution and skepticism. But, don't fall into the trap of assuming all possibilities are equally likely, either; that's a good way to lose your head and start acting like you habitually fly over cuckoos' nests."
Thu Jul 16 2009 4:30 am # -
Iggy says, "Form follows function. We read that somewhere. If it looks like fruit it's probably fruit. It looks like fruit because it wants to be eaten by something. Maybe you're not the thing that can eat it, but there's at least a chance you can eat it, too."
--M. J. Young
Thu Jul 16 2009 9:34 pm # -
"A cogent point! But there's also at least a chance that it only looks like fruit as a camouflage for what it really is - possibly a defense mechanism or a way to preemptively take down predators. Remember the exploding pineapples?" (I'm quite sure Iggy remembers the exploding pineapples.) "I'm not sure what would eat those. Probably those started out as fruit, then adapted to fill a different function; their appearance was likely vestigial, just left over from when, in past generations, they really were meant to be eaten.
"To be fair, though, I'm pretty sure that universe was Gamma World. That in itself counts as an extenuating circumstance. Usually, Iggy's advice is very good.
"I guess the thing to do is to take precautions that don't interfere with your primary course of action. That is, prepare for it to be not what you expect, but not in a way that causes you to approach it fundamentally differently than you would if it were what you expect. For example: I have the psionic ability to purge my body of toxins. In worlds where it works, I use it after every time I eat or drink anything. Cautious, but it doesn't get in the way of what's probably the best thing to do."
Thu Jul 16 2009 10:17 pm # -
Brock
Member"Well, this is a lot to mull over. Hey, thanks for taking so much time out of your day for me. I'll quit bothering you now, heh."
Assuming Scott has nothing more to say to this, and there is light enough to read still, I'll settle down and read the Principia. When I read it in real life, it took me about an hour.
Fri Jul 17 2009 3:15 am # -
You have enough time to read the printout; the sun is touching the oceanic horizon by the time you have completed it, lighting sky and water in brilliant colors.
Where are you planning to sleep, or are you?
--M. J. Young
Sat Jul 18 2009 12:46 am # -
Brock
MemberI sleep for 6 hours on average. How long have I been conscious? I need to know whether I am tired or not. I usually sleep during the day unless I have some obligation during the day to do. When the moon rises, is it giving off a lot of light, sufficient to see with? If I'm not tired yet, I think I'd like to walk along the beaches, and just sort of explore, ya know?
Sat Jul 18 2009 1:24 am # -
Brock
MemberI'll ask these questions later-likely tomorrow.
Fnord?
Region of Thud?
Hidden temple of the happy Jesus?
What's with the concern that people are cabbages? Someone find the cabbage people? Or did I miss something in here *points to book*
I already know about a lot of these above questions, but the character doesn't.
GREATER POOP: Are you really serious or what?
MAL-2: Sometimes I take humor seriously. Sometimes I take seriousness humorously. Either way it is irrelevant.
GP: Maybe you are just crazy.
M2: Indeed! But do not reject these teaching as false because I am crazy. The reason that I am crazy is because they are true.
GP: Is Eris true?
M2: Everything is true.
GP: Even false things?
M2: Even false things are true.
GP: How can that be?
M2: I don't know man, I didn't do it.
GP: Why do you deal with so many negatives?
M2: To dissolve them.
GP: Will you develop that point?
M2: No.
GP: Is there an essential meaning behind POEE?
M2: There is a Zen Story about a student who asked a Master to explain the meaning of Buddhism. The Master's reply was "Three pounds of flax."
GP: Is that the answer to my question?
M2: No, of course not. That is just illustrative. The answer to your question is FIVE TONS OF FLAX!Sat Jul 18 2009 3:31 am # -
I'm likely dividing my time between general Tur Ki Foo practice and finishing the chapter of The Miserable Mill that I was in the middle of reading to Ignominious.
I won't say anything about sleeping accommodations unless Brock does. I don't know what sort of customs he has, and he might have universe lag.
I'm somewhat amused that Brock is assuming a moon.
Sat Jul 18 2009 5:53 pm # -
That's what I thought first, but that wasn't as amusing. And if you'd been on the island long enough to observe a tide (or evidence of one), the assumption would just be good sense. Personally, I don't know if there's a moon or not (though my character must); I imagine there is, but the thought struck me that there needn't be.
Sun Jul 19 2009 8:36 pm # -
My impression is that you arrived around ten in the morning, and it is now perhaps seven at night, so that's nine hours that you have been awake in this universe, plus however long you were awake up to the moment you versed out at home. The brief unconsciousness you experienced during the verse-out is more like fainting than sleep, and does not count as rest.
The crescent moon follows the sun below the horizon just before dark. It is a slightly different color from the moon with which you are familiar, but about the same size.
That incidentally means that the tide is out, if anyone cares.
--M. J. Young
Sun Jul 19 2009 11:55 pm # -
Your side of the island is in the shadow of itself when you awaken, the sunlight casting a stretched silhouette of the mountain, complete with wispy plume, across the ocean to the west.
--M. J. Young
Tue Jul 21 2009 2:24 am # -
Brock
MemberOkay, If Scott is awake, I will ask him about the following:
"What does Fnord mean?
"What is the Region of Thud?
"What is the Hidden temple of the happy Jesus?
"What's with the concern that people are cabbages? Someone find the cabbage people? Or did I miss something in here?" *points to book*
If he isn't awake, I'll walk along the beach examining any lifeforms as i come across them (and recognize them as such). This includes the vegetation. I am looking specifically for things I don't recognize.
Wed Jul 22 2009 1:30 am # -
Since Scott has not posted and I figure you'll take your walk eventually, I'll assume he is asleep until he posts, at which time you have your conversation, which you can place retroactively before the walk or conveniently after, as you desire.
I do not know how familiar you would be with tropical plant life; nothing is here that is not found also on similar islands in our world. Also, there are clearly three ways seeds get here:
- drifting on the air, like milkweed seeds;
- floating in the ocean currents until finding a shore, like cocoanuts and probably grasses;
- traveling in the belly of a bird, like berry seeds.
--M. J. Young
Thu Jul 23 2009 1:23 am # -
Oh--not much in the way of animal life, and nearly all of it in the water or close to it.
--M. J. Young
Thu Jul 23 2009 1:24 am # -
Brock
MemberHuh. Scott didn't post.
Well, anyway, my computer stopped working after 9 years of faithful service, and I have to go to the library for internet access. I will be posting somewhat irregularly for awhile.
So, had I not met Scott, I probably would have taken some time to realize this is another world, if indeed it is. Nothing I haven't read about before-so far.
Eventually, I will get thirsty and walk to the flowing water for a drink. Didn't yoy say there was a cave up here? Do I see it?
Tue Jul 28 2009 2:27 am # -
It is difficult not to see the cave, as there is a plume of steam rising from it.
A freshwater stream comes from somewhere above on the face of the mountain, and flows over the top of the opening of this cave, splashing down into a pool. The water in the stream above the cave is cool and clear, but it mixes in the pool with condensation from the cave walls, and water pours both into the cave and down toward the beach. There is a stream running back into the cave, the floor of which gradually curves downward more steeply, and from somewhere in its interior copious steam rises, condensing on the walls to feed the stream and the pool, or rising into the sky. The pool is warm, somewhere between a warm bath and a hot tub.
--M. J. Young
Tue Jul 28 2009 11:34 pm # -
I probably slept late due to staying up later than usual to finish the martial arts practice that Brock delayed with his arrival and inquiries. Now, I am making a sandcastle. For me, sandcastles are fortresses, built on the high tide line or just below and meant to withstand the tide at least once. At present, I have merely a deep hole and a large pile of increasingly damp sand.
Answers to questions, presumably asked after Brock leaves the cave and sees me digging:
What does Fnord mean?
"What? Sorry, I didn't catch that."
What is the Region of Thud?
"It's mostly metaphorical, as near as I can tell."
What is the Hidden temple of the happy Jesus?
"Dunno, never found it. Wait, do you mean that sect mentioned in the book thing? Is that in the margins somewhere? I found a web page for it back home, but I wasn't terribly impressed. Not everyone's wisdom is equally communicable."
"What's with the concern that people are cabbages? Someone find the cabbage people? Or did I miss something in here?" *points to book*
"Ah, it's not so much that people are cabbages, it's that they could be cabbages. Or rather, if someone you met was just a cabbage disguised as a person, how would you know? That's why for all the really important rituals, everyone has to get naked first - or at least once during the ritual, anyway. You know, just to make sure.
"Really, on one level I think the message is about how, if you couldn't tell a person from a cabbage all dressed up - what does that say about us? Shouldn't people behave in a way that that isn't true?"
I'm not sure what Iggy's doing. Possibly he is sunning himself on the rocks, and/or practicing Flesh Armor.
Wed Jul 29 2009 5:09 pm # -
The cave is damp and hot, very like a sauna. The stone floor and walls are slick with water. As you ingress (is that a word?), temperature and humidity slowly increase, the surfaces remain slick, and the slope toward the interior also increases. Oh, and the available light decreases. Since you're doing this in the morning, though, it's pretty dark anyway--the entrance is still in the shadow of the island. In the late afternoon the declining sun would shine more directly into this cave.
--M. J. Young
Thu Jul 30 2009 12:17 am # -
Brock
MemberI see pretty well in low-light conditions, but if it becomes completely dark at any point, I'll leave. Further, if the temperature gets around 90 degrees F, I'm leaving. I don't like hot, and I was only mildly curious.
When I leave, I make a beeline for Scott's camp and ask him the aforementioned questions, as well as:
"So, anything you need help with around camp? I'm a fair hand at plant identification, I know what a few useful wilderness resources are and where they are commonly found, but you don't really seem to need help in food-gathering or anything. You're stuff and skills from other universes seems to have you pretty well set."
Fri Jul 31 2009 2:13 am # -
"Yeah, I'm pretty much good. If anything, feel free to mooch off of me. I don't think we'll be here long enough that you'll be much of a drain on my resources, and anyway I'm not using much that doesn't grow here or isn't otherwise renewable. My spear is solar powered, the food and fuel are local . . . tell you what, though, if you have any spices or seasonings, I'd be grateful to you if you'd share. They're harder to stock up on than you'd think.
"It's funny, my last universe was basically an infinite kitchen, but the seasonings there - well, let's just say they were an acquired taste. At best. And not one I cared to acquire."
I'll also mention that if he's not comfortable mooching, I can try to give him some pointers on how I'm doing things, although my methods might not work for everyone. "I'm not a very good Boy Scout anymore, so I'm entirely too reliant on magic, even here. And I'm not sure how much background you have in the arcane, or how well you'd take to my instruction."
__Edit (to Brock): Just in case you didn't see it, the answers to your previous questions are in my last post, just before MJ's most recent one.
Fri Jul 31 2009 5:13 am # -
Oh, I'm sure the temperature is at least ninety standing by the pool, and it gets hotter as you move within. This is, after all, a tropical island with a volcanic core.
I have some hope that I can introduce the new player to this scenario in a day or two real time, so I'm not pushing; but I won't keep him there too long, so hopefully next week we'll move to something else happening.
--M. J. Young
Sat Aug 1 2009 1:39 am # -
This post is directed to Van-Eric, who is entering the thread at this point. He comes from page 7 of the Character Generation Thread.
As consciousness returns, you hear white noise in the background, pulsing slowly and not quite regularly, as you might imagine a giant dragon would sound if he were sleeping. The surface below your back feels uneven but soft, and hot, sloping slightly, and there is bright warm light shining on you from above. Your eyes are closed, but there is an odd smell on the air.
--M. J. Young
Sun Aug 2 2009 7:55 pm # -
Ephemeral Dreamer
MemberAs I lay back on the ground, I slowly regain my senses. I use my hands to feel the ground. What do I feel? Gravel? Rocks? I rub my head for a bit then I sit up, rub my eyes, and try to regain focus to take in my scenery. Using my keen observational skills I take in my surroundings. Are there trees? Rocks? Signs of live? How high up am I? What do I see?
"Where am I?", I say as I attempt to stand up. "What's that smell? Sulfur?" As I stand I stretch, then feel myself for any injuries, then check my pockets to see if everything is there.
At this point I attempt to sense and locate any living, or spirit, creature in the area.
- If it works, I memorize the direction of the signal(s) I got and gather my things, get some paper and a pen then draw out the area as I can see it from where I am and using my cellphones internal compass, making sure to mark the estimated signal location. Then head for a shaded secluded place for a bit.
- If not, I'll just gather my stuff and head to to a shaded area so I can regain my composure.OOC: I was surprised you brought up a dragon. I was born under the sign of the dragon, and the dragon has a lot of symbolization for me! Starting my story with the imagery of the dragon really makes me happy!
Oh! And one more pice of equipment I forgot. My white 30gb iPod and headphones.
Sun Aug 2 2009 8:55 pm # -
Brock
MemberRight, I won't go deeper into the cave. I dislike the sauna; I love cold conditions.
"Sorry, I don't think I have any spices. They are at home, and are pretty well guaranteed to stay there a good long while, heh."
"My background in the arcane is: A massive appreciation for fantasy novels, and years of study of the occult, as well as general religion. I have practiced magic once, using a rather Wiccan approach, in concert with my mother. To be honest, though, I am far more interested in my own power, not the universe's. You know?"
Tue Aug 4 2009 11:43 pm # -
Van-Eric: the ground is sand, warm hot and dry, but the sound is surf; that suggests that you are on a beach. The smell is the ocean.
Scott & Brock: While you are talking, Iggy interrupts to say, "We've got company." Scott relaxes (because he knows about this kind of thing) and feels the sense of another verser--who happens to be down on the beach below the rock, about fifty yards away. (Brock, if you think you would relax, you will also feel him; but it's a very faint sense, so busyness and distraction always interfere. In any case, when Scott looks, you'll know the direction, so you can see him, too.)
Van-Eric's possessions, from the equipment sheet, are scattered on the beach around him. It is as if someone pulled the floors out of your home and dropped everything straight down, but nothing is damaged--and nothing is in the water. (If I've overlooked something that is not at your home, let me know how far it is from your home; if there are multiple places where things are located, let me know what and where they are, relative to each other. They will not be on the beach here.)
Van-Eric, you have this feeling that you were supposed to meet someone, and when you turn that direction--which is slightly inland, down the beach, and up--you see a couple young men looking down at you from a rock outcropping in the side of the rising slope of land. You will also see enough to guess that this is a tropical region, from the palms, and you will see steam or smoke rising from a point uphill from them.
--M. J. Young
Wed Aug 5 2009 1:32 am # -
Two quick footnotes:
- I've added Ipod, white 30gb with headphones to the equipment.
- How does the compass in the cell phone work? Does it actually sense the magnetic field, or does it use the network of towers, or does it use its internal GSPS? I expect having spotted two people looking at you, you're not going through all those steps and might not check the phone, but I'll have to assess whether it works based on how it works. (Also, if you don't know, a die roll will have to make that determination.)
--M. J. Young
Wed Aug 5 2009 1:41 am # -
Ephemeral Dreamer
MemberOCC: It does sense magnetic field through the accelerometer, another use for the compass is using the accelerometer and the magnetic sensor as a metal detector for my phone as well. But yes. Since they're there I won't need to do all that.
Smelling the ocean, looking out to sea, I turn to face inland and then see them their way from me. As my stuff and things are gathered I don the polarfleece material and wear it as a cloak with a hood and walk my way down the beach toward these strangers. Keeping my guard up I take my yo-yo in my hand and hold on to it just in case. Walking my way over I wave my hand and yell, "Heyyy!!!" hoping to grasp their attention from the distance we're at.
Wed Aug 5 2009 1:54 am # -
They are already looking at you as you gather your gear.
The rock on which they are standing rises rather sheerly on the visible sides, jutting out from the rising slope of land. You must move inland up the slope to reach them. The undergrowth is sparse and the trees open and scattered here, so you can see them and be seen by them for most of the trip, unless you choose to climb directly alongside the rock outcropping itself.
As you reach an elevation from which the top of the rock is visible, a makeshift sort of camp comes into view. The camp has what appears to be an all-black beach umbrella in the grassy area near the rock and a one-man tent of white synthetic material pitched in its shade. Near the tent, a single green sleeping bag lies atop a black plastic groundcloth. On the rock a fire is currently burning; cookware is piled a bit haphazardly near it. The materials look synthetic, in the main. There are a few things scattered about the campsite, some sort of gun sitting on the sleeping bag, a couple of stuffed animals. Some distance from it, also on the grass, is a pillow and a red blanket with a quilt pattern beside a backpack.
There are two young white men awaiting your arrival. One wears black sweatpants and a T-shirt reading "Some people are like a SLINKY; you just can't help but laugh as they tumble down the stairs", and socks and shoes.* The other is wearing khaki cargo shorts and black sandals. There is what looks to be a sword hanging from a broad leather belt around his waist.
There is fish in a frying pan by the fire, and some tropical fruit, largely oranges and mangoes, stacked a short distance from it.
There is also a large (but not unusually so) iguana whose attention seems to be focused on you as well.
I'm sure that one of them will say something in a moment (just as soon as they manage to get here and post....).
--M. J. Young
Wed Aug 5 2009 8:53 pm # -
I (the shirtless young man with the sword) raise my right hand in greeting.
"Yo ho. We're peaceful; I had a white flag to wave, but it's in the tent."
I don't volunteer anything else until/unless he asks or volunteers similar information himself; I don't know his world of origin or customs, and I want to play first meetings safe.
__
I'm unexpectedly on vacation now and shall be until about Tuesday, and my internet will be spotty, so I might not post every day - but then again, how is that different from usual?Thu Aug 6 2009 4:01 am # -
Brock
Memberthat isn't different for you at all, Scott :P
I generally have my staff with me at all times; I forgot to mention my on-person equipment.
I will wave my staff in a friendly gesture at the newcomer and then sit down cross-legged on the grass, staff laid down beside me. That stance should appear very non-threatening.
Fri Aug 7 2009 1:29 am # -
Feel free to respond, Van-Eric. I don't need to moderate conversations between player characters too much.
--M. J. Young
Fri Aug 7 2009 2:05 am #
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