This is picking up the game for John "A1nut" Cross from Kyler, where ya at buddy?
There are indeed trees lining both sides of the road on which you are standing; the road passes in a straight line through them, but in the darkness you cannot see as far as you could normally shoot. The light is like moonlight on the road, but the trees overarch it in places creating dark shadows. The leaves reflect the light brightly.
The demons are ahead of you down the road.
--M. J. Young
Why change the thread? I thought I versed out when I first saw that.
So I can see the demons? Cool. I've got above-average eyesight and above-average night vision. Always have. Just wanted to remind you of that, in case it's going to matter.
Shouting at the demons.
"Hey you ugly (multiple expletives shouted) Come back here with those princesses, or I'll do what I did to your brothers!!!"
Turning to Pedro, with a salacious wink
"Hunting time!!!"
Standing order. If it looks like a demon, shoot it.
What else is around me? Is it just a road with trees lining both sides? Is there anything growing on the trees? If so, has any of it gotten ripe and fallen onto the road, so that I could pick it up whilst I chase down the demons?
I know I probably haven't said it up until this point, but I would be carrying at least 2 cigarette lighters. The single advantage to being a smoker is that you carry a lighter. I wouldn't give that up, just because I was forced to quit smoking.
Sorry--no, you cannot see the demons; you can sense them, because the spell is working. From this vantage on the ground, you cannot see the lake or the island which you could see from above; the trees obscure the view to a significant degree, and the reflected light on the leaves is a bit dazzling in the darkness.
Granted on the lighters.
Nothing has fallen from these trees, and all you see growing on them is the shiny leaves. Are you stopping to examine the trees in more detail, or hurrying down the road toward the demons?
--M. J. Young
You're damn right I'm going to stop and examine the trees more closely. If Pedro says anything, "We're in an enemies home. To defeat your enemy, you must get to know your enemy's enviornment."
The bark is light colored, like birch. The leaves are not simply silvery--they are silver, thin sheets of metal growing on the branches.
--M. J. Young
"Hey Pedro, check this out. I think these leaves are made out of silver. I guess money DOES grow on trees (laughing). I've already got over 25 pounds of silver, I don't expect I'll need much more than that. If you want to take some, help yourself."
Nah, strike that. I would take a handful of leaves and put them in the backpack. Cool souvenirs if nothing else. How big are the leaves? Dimensions, approximate weight, etc. Your call how many a handful is. Hold your hand thumb out, with your fingers making a C. That's a handful. Also, break off a branch and see what it looks like. Is it just normal wood, or is there silver inside the wood? What is the branch made out of, so far as I can tell?
Keep going, what else is there?
I'm in a sub-universe right? So is my equipment still going to come with me if I die down here? How would I know? I wouldn't, that's why I'm asking you.
MJ, Two Posts
Take out my Kabar and whittle the tree branch down. I want to see what is inside it. If the branch is just wood, drop it. If there's anything of value to it, put it in the backpack. I have a feeling you're going to ask about my skill with whittling. I think I have a skill with whittling. I'm sure you've whittled sticks down with a pocketknife before, there's nothing to it. It would be practice, I guess, since I'm not making anything.
After that, proceed down the road.
I've got the MAK 90 (29 bullets) slung over one shoulder, and the backpack slung over the other shoulder. Putting the leaves (however many will fit in my hand the way I described it, your call) into the backpack.
"Hey Pedro, is this cloaking cloak still working?" (Can you see me?)
Your silver leaves are similar in shape to beech leaves, about the size of maple leaves, and about an ounce each. You get sixteen of them in your hand, for a pound of silver.
The wood is just wood, as far as you can tell; it whittles like wood, and there is nothing noticeably unusual about it.
The cloak is still working.
You continue walking for about a mile, the sense of the demons still straight ahead, and the color of the trees changes.
--M. J. Young
What color are the trees now? Let's check them out. I'm going to go out on a limb (no pun intended) and say that the tree leaves are now gold, right?
The backpack that I am carrying only has one main pouch to put things in. I would try to keep the ammunition on top, and anything else on the bottom. The last thing I need is to be digging around in the backpack for ammo in a gunfight. So, the leaves I just got, and anything else I collect are going to the bottom of the backpack. I just thought that might matter for some reason.
The backpack is slung both straps over my left shoulder, the MAK 90 is at the ready position over my right shoulder, so that it can be grabbed at a moment's notice.
MJ Two Posts
My on-person equipment is the Kabar knife, the 14 inch survival knife (if you check the list on that, the pouches hold some equipment too) and the Leatherman multitool in the black nylon case. I also have (in the belt bag) four 30-06 bullets, 1 pound (weight) crowns, shillings, pence, my rings, gems, and my gold and silver coins, and 2 lighters. I also have 2 9mm clips in the belt bag. The backpack has all of the spare MAK 90 clips, and the rest of the 9mm clips. The backpack also has anything else that I pick up here. And of course, the MAK 90 (29 bullets) and the 9mm (16 bullets) Just wanted to mention that, just in case. If I should verse out, I'm armed, have survival gear, and precious metals and gems (possible currency)
Oh yeah, repeating previous standing order. If it looks like a demon, shoot it, no questions asked.
I'm certain you've heard of gold leaf; these are gold leaves. They are in every obvious way like the silver ones, although being gold they are more maleable.
The trees are otherwise the same.
--M. J. Young
"Hey Pedro, look at this. These leaves are gold. Pretty wild."
The leaves weigh an ounce each. I have 10 pounds of gold. Take 32 gold leaves, 2 pounds, and put them in the backpack. You might think that I'm not taking very much, but I'll get more on my way back. Whittle down a tree branch again. Same thing, just wood? Keep walking, what else is there?
Is Pedro taking anything? Also, ask Pedro what he sees when I pick things up in the cloaking cloak. What happens? I take leaves off of the tree. From Pedro's POV, do the leaves vanish into thin air when I pick them up, or what? How does that work exactly?
MJ Two Posts
Are any of these trees small sapling type trees, that could possibly be dug out and transplanted when we are finished? I imagine the king wouldn't mind having a tree that grows gold and silver leaves.
MJ Three Posts
Note to self: Assuming you survive this, pray about raising the psi bias. I want the @1 skills for all 15 psi biases, then I'll be happy. Pray for God to raise the bias to a level where you could reasonably attain that.
The wood again is just wood.
You don't see any saplings in the immediate area.
When you grab the leaves, Pedro sees your hand appear and break them off the branch, hold them in the air for a moment, and then vanish as if moving behind a screen.
He has shown no interest in the leaves. In fact, since you've spoken to him about the leaves, he speaks now. "How," he asks, "will these leaves help us rescue the king?"
--M. J. Young
"Pedro, this situation with the king really does not and cannot matter to me. If demons take over the world, I can just verse out and never need to worry about it again. This would have happened whether I was here or not. Because I'm here, there are 3 less demons. I've done my part to stop it. If I finish the demons, I finish the demons. If not, well, I can live in the knowledge that I helped. Honestly, what incentive do I have to rescue the king at all? These leaves, well, that's a good enough reason to me. Anyway, let's get moving."
Proceed on down the road.
"Pedro, ya know what? I've got an idea of how we can fight these demons. I'll wait outside and you get them to come out. When they do come out, I'll be sitting in a sniper position, and take them out from 100 yards away. If you don't mind being the bait, that is."
"We will have to see their position when we get there," Pedro says. "As to the gold leaves, you are allowing the demons to buy time at the cost of what must be for them worthless metal."
In another mile, the trees change yet again. The leaves are now green, and there are clusters of grape-like fruit hanging beneath them glinting in the light.
--M. J. Young
"Pedro, you don't seem to understand. The royal family should be counting their blessings that I'm coming AT ALL. In my last world, Pearl Harbor, a police officer came up to me when I first got there. I don't think I need to tell you how badly it went for me. If I had that to do again, that police officer would have either let me go, or we would have gotten into a gunfight right then and there. I'm immortal, he isn't, his call. I have no incentive to do anything to help anyone, when you get right down to it. So, if we get there and rescue the king, so be it. If we're too late, well, that's not really my problem, now is it?"
Check out the trees. What's growing on them?
"I will be sure to tell their corpses how fortunate they were when the demons return to claim the throne of the country."
Pedro turns and walks on down the road.
The clusters that look like fruit are grape-sized cut gemstones--diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and stones of many other colors, growing in mixed bunches.
--M. J. Young
"I will be sure to tell their corpses how fortunate they were when the demons return to claim the throne of the country."
Funny MJ
Well, I don't want to let Pedro get too far ahead of me. Grab 2 bunches of gemstones and drop them in the backpack, then run and catch up with Pedro. How many/what kinds of stones did I get? I would have grabbed the largest bunches that I could see. What do the bunches look like? How are the stems connected to the gemstones? If I break one of the gemstones off, is there evidence that there was a stem there? Oh yeah, almost forget. What are the leaves on these trees made out of? Are they just leaves, or are they anything special? Green would be sapphires wouldn't they?
"Hey Pedro, wait up. I think you're still not quite getting it. People seem to have some strange ideas about versers. Like the versers are expected to handle all of their problems. I read a book about a woman running through the Multiverse. Her name was Lauren Hastings. Everywhere she went she tried to solve people's problems. Why? I mean I see it as I am a visitor to this land. Whatever is going to happen would have happened whether I was here or not. I just wanted to blend in. I'm not a messiah, I'm not a savior. I'm just a man, like you. I bleed, I hurt, and I can die. Just when I die, I go somewhere else. Kind of the same as you're expecting when you die. I just wanted to live. Find a nice, quiet corner of the world, open up a blacksmith shop, and not worry about anything. The only reason I came on this in the first place is because an angel of God told me to. I mean you tell me. What's wrong with just wanting to live? What's wrong with wanting a nice, quiet, normal existence? What's wrong with that? Tell me."
EDIT: This is what inspired that other thread. The game character is asking Pedro what he thinks about my situation. I am not complaining or asking MJ Young anything. This was explained on the other thread, which you have probably read by now.
Keep going to the demons stronghold, walking and talking.
And I can answer my own question. What's wrong with a nice, quiet existence? It would make for a very, very boring game. The thing is, I'm just staying in character.
MJ Two posts
I shouldn't have to tell you that if I happen to see any gems that have fallen from the trees onto the road, I'm going to pick them up as I'm walking. I can't imagine that even a tree that grows gemstones wouldn't drop its "fruit" from time to time.
three posts
Note to self: "In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and all of the power and authority of Heaven, I command you to come outside and surrender."
If you grab two large bunches and drop them in the backpack, all you know is that there are maybe around forty to fifty to a bunch, they are very like bunches of grapes, and they are all different colors. They are attached to some sort of stem structure, very like grapes. The leaves seem ordinary. If you want the answers to those other questions, you'll have to stop to examine them in detail.
There are clusters on the ground, but it seems that when the gems overripen and fall they are no longer stones, but something more like gelatin.
What's wrong with wanting a nice, quiet, normal existence? What's wrong with that? Tell me.
"There is nothing wrong with a nice, quiet, normal existence for normal people. You and I, we are not normal people. The normal existence, for us it is not an option. Something will happen, and we who are the extraordinary ones will have to save the ordinary ones, or die with them."
Suddenly the trees clear, and you are standing on the edge of a lake. There is an island ahead, perhaps a hundred yards across the water. There is a dock here, and another on the opposite side, but the boat must be there. There are lights on the island, but you cannot see more than that there is illumination within the trees there.
--M. J. Young
Yelling at the top of my voice.
"In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and all of the power and authority of Heaven, I command you to come outside and surrender yourselves."
MJ, I realize that I would need to examine the bunches of gems more closely to know exactly what they are and how many, etc, but why don't you just tell me? I need to mark it on my character sheet what I just picked up, so why not just make it easy on both of us and just answer the questions I asked, so I can mark it down.
John, maybe it's a bit like Schroedinger's Cat: until you look the answer doesn't actually exist.
If I were running Dungeons & Dragons, then months ago I would have rolled up in great detail as many bunches of gems as I thought you might be able to examine and take with you. I have a BASIC program that creates Dungeons & Dragons gem values and types (except that this new operating system has refused to recognize and run my QBASIC software, which angers me greatly). I'm not running D&D; I'm running Multiverser. I don't prepare things like treasure in advance--I discover the value of what you find when you discover it, nine times out of ten. It is entirely possible that in the next few hours of game world time those gems will be taken from you, and it will never have mattered what they were, because you will never have known. Until you know, I don't know. When you find out, I will find out. I can't tell you what you put in your pack because you didn't look at it, and so no one knows--not even, at this point, me.
You shout your command across the water, and wait as it echoes.
A man's voice responds, faintly.
"Help us! Oh, please, whoever you are, help us!"
Pedro raises an eyebrow.
"At least we know that one of them is still alive."
--M. J. Young
. . . and until you know for sure, you can just put "two bunches gemstones, unexamined (Dancing Princess demon-world)", or something to that effect, and edit it once you know more.
"OK, that didn't work. Pedro, I'm open to suggestions. How do you propose we get across this lake? Regardless, I'm going to ensure that they never come back across it."
Make the sign of the cross, and say "Heavenly Father, bless this water, that it might be an effective weapon against your enemies." (I don't seem to have the bless holy water on my sheet, so whatever that says is what I'm doing. Turn the whole frigging lake into holy water, so the demons can't touch it.)
Then, taking a suggestion from the Bible, kneel and pray.
"God, there are people on the other side that need our help. As Jesus Christ walked on water, and as Peter attempted, I wish to now walk on water, that I might engage and destroy your enemies. God, give me the ability to walk on water."
Then, stepping out on faith, walk across the lake.
And of course, keep the MAK 90 at the ready.
And Scott, thanks for the suggestion.
The skill in question is listed as
- 1@1 Ceremony: Bless Water M+1@1 0:06 TF say something like "Dear God, bless this water, that it might be effective against your enemies." while making sign of cross with either hand, imbues any contained quantity of water with holy magic for use in other skills -82SM
You pray to bless the water, then you pray to cross it. As you step onto the water, you are supported by it, and make your way across.
You hear a splash in the water behind you, and Pedro says, "I will be here when you return."
--M. J. Young
No additional bonuses that I can think of. Damn, how did I get a -82 sit mod?
When I reach the other side, kneel and pray:
"God, thank you for giving me the ability to cross that lake. Also, please forgive my arrogance. I forgot, in the presence of that treasure of trees that lives were at stake. Please do not allow my foolish arrogance to bring the royal family to harm."
Standing, call back to Pedro "See if you can get across this thing. I'm going hunting!!!"
What's around me? Where am I? Am I still detecting the demons? Keep the MAK 90 at the ready and head in that direction.
While walking, I will be singing No Weapon Formed, by Petra, from the Praise I album. "No weapon formed against us shall prosper, all those who rise up against us shall fall. I will not fear what the Devil may bring me, for I am a servant of God. I am a servant of God." Repeatedly. If that doesn't scare them, my singing should.
Repeating standing order. If it looks like a demon, kill it.
MJ Two Posts
Before I leave, call back to Pedro
"Moses parted the Red Sea, why don't you try it!!!"
Note to self: Elijah (or Elisha, I can never remember) called down a fireball from Heaven. He used a sledgehammer, I need a scalpel. Oh yeah, and pray about getting that damn -82 sit mod removed.
As you reach the island, the ground slopes upward. The demons are on the other side of the ridge which seems to surround the center of the island.
Reaching the top of the ridge, you look down--you may have a height advantage of about fifteen yards above the floor of the central area. Underscoring the surreal aspects of this world, there is a huge ballroom dance floor in the middle of the island, made perhaps of alternating squares of white and black marble in a checkerboard pattern but without any visible seams or imperfections.
Forty yards or so in from this edge are six figures--two demons, a man, and three women. The man and one of the women are on the ground, severely injured; the demons are arguing about something. However, as you reach the top of the hill they stop, and look at you.
Range is about a hundred fifty feet, and the six individuals are clustered rather closely together.
--M. J. Young
You posted the same thing twice. Must have been a computer glitch.
Actually, the demons are not looking AT me, they are looking in my general direction. I'm still wearing the cloaking cloak.
At the top of my voice, yell "In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and all of the power and authority of Heaven, I command you to release those hostages and surrender yourselves." There was a 54% chance from across the lake, I'm closer, so the chance of success should be higher.
Keep the MAK 90 pointed in their direction. If the demons happen to come up the hill, open fire. 29 bullets in the clip.
I've already wounded both of the demons in the gunfight in the castle ballroom. They've probably magically healed themselves by now, but just in case they haven't, I wanted to make a note of that.
MJ Two Posts
Just making notes
I've got 2 pounds of gold leaves 1 pound of silver leaves, and 80-100 gems that are each the size of grapes. (I wonder how many carats that is?) That means that assuming I make it out of here, I'm going to go see the jeweler. Mr. Smith's wife and three daughters are going to get one helluva "Welcome to the Castle" present, in the form of a gold and silver necklace, one with 3 rubies, one with 3 diamonds, one with 3 emeralds, and one with 3 sapphires. I could imagine Mr. Smith not accepting the gifts, especially if he knew that they were "demon gems" but what he doesn't know won't hurt him. Custom made, from scratch, for each of the four ladies. If they're going to live in the castle, I want them to look and feel like royalty.
It took Pedro and I 3 days to get here, so that means it would take the royal emissary 6 days to get the Smith family here. (Three days down, three days back) If the jeweler can have them ready by then, it will be worth a fortune to him (pulling out a handful of the gems) Get whoever and whatever he needs to help, money is no object. I have metalworking skills, I'll even help him myself if I have to. Blacksmithing to make jewelery would probably be like using a chainsaw to do brain surgery, but I'm sure I could do SOMETHING useful. That would also be a 4th new use, taking me to 2@1. Oh yeah, and Mr. Smith better bring my shoes and the unfinished Leatherman tool I was making.
Right--they are looking in the direction of the singing. However, since you are standing on the top of a hill and they are some distance from the bottom, there is a rather obvious point at which their line of sight meets the ground. Since they are not accustomed to humans flying, it's pretty natural for them to assume that is where you are located.
Before you open your mouth, the one with wings is flying toward you, pretty fast--maybe twice as fast as you could run. He's going to be here before you can finish saying what you plan to say. You can try to say it anyway, or you can change your plan.
--M. J. Young
Start shooting at him with the MAK 90!!! I shouldn't even have to tell you that!!!! Hopefully, I'll roll a slam-fire botch, and cut the bastard in half. Oh yeah, and all of my weapons are blessed to be more effective against demons.
Don't mean to be rude, but I thought that this response would be obvious.
EDIT: How many attacks do I get in a minute? I've got 7 seconds, I think I get 60 attacks in a minute. I had originally put that I got 14 attacks. Where did I get that number? Oh well.
The answer was not obvious because because you might still have wanted to speak the words despite the shortened available time. Also, "Start shooting" doesn't say at what distance you would like to start shooting.
The demon is flying in a straight line such that any bullets which miss him will continue into the group of humans beyond him.
At what distance will you start shooting?
--M. J. Young
I was afraid of that. In that case, fire a round into the air, to show that I am there, and then go down the hill towards the demons. I'm still invisible to them, and hopefully I can do it quietly enough not to reveal my new location. The echo of the gunshot will hopefully cover any noise that I make. I had envisioned the demon flying upwards and then towards me, that's why I said to open fire. I thought I had a clear, aerial target. Once at the bottom, turn around to where he is headed, which should be where I just was. Once I have a clear target, THEN open fire.
What is the other demon doing? I can just see it, he's going to try to sneak up behind me once they realize I'm not at the top of the hill.
I can't afford to stay in one spot very long if I'm shooting. They'll zero in on me. Shoot three times at the flying demon, and kill him or not, move.
Are there any fires burning anywhere?
MJ Two Posts
If I should happen to roll a slam-fire botch, which really is a legitimate botch for a MAK 90 I don't think it would be throwing lead GE roll driven shooting. I would have the weapon aimed at the target, and I do have some experience with slam-fires. I could understand a penalized (or bonused, actually) chance to hit against my skill. Of course, I'm not the referee. I could see it being penalized because it IS a botch, and I wouldn't be expecting that to happen. I could also see it bonused, because I WOULD be throwing 29 bullets at the target. One of them would be bound to hit. Your call when/if that happens, I just wanted to put in my 2 cents, that's all.
You fire the gun and scurry carefully down the slope at a bit of an angle, finding a path on which you won't dislodge much in the way of dirt or rocks or move vegetation noticeably.
The winged demon has reached the place where you were and started thrashing with his hands in search of something solid, even before you've settled to your new position. The other demon is back with the humans at the moment.
You fire three times at the winged demon, all three scoring solid hits, and the third one bringing him down. You watch him for a moment to make sure he is not moving, but he does not move. You do move, again down and across the slope. You then look back at the others.
The demon is no longer among them.
He abruptly appears three feet from you, looking your general direction.
--M. J. Young
Three feet away on which side of me? Well, regardless, move quietly in the opposite direction. As soon as I am 10 feet away, shoot him 3 times. If he doesn't drop, move and shoot three more times. Continue that until one of us is dead.
25 bullets left as of the start of this attack.