You and the other verser, Day, are proceeding with the Grand Quest. A several hundred long line of knights, hundreds and hundreds of men-at-arms, a small company of Elves, wizards, and some artisans along with their families are proceeding to the Door Between the Worlds. Day is leading them, and you've got the position of Tail-End Charlie.
Its mostly a matter of chivvying broken wagons to the side of the path, and you had to heal one knight who got thrown by his horse. Small children respond well to jokes and smiles.
The column dissappears into the Door as the Duke and his men watch from one side, and Terracuyl the Dreadful Red Queen, the Dragon Overlord of all the Lands watches from the other side.
And then the vampires strike. A black tornado of mist and flying bodies pounds out of the sky, and turns into a dozen princes of the dead. Surrounding them are hundres of the expendable. Ghouls, Zombies, Skeletons rage.
At first you don't understand why they attack, but a moment's prayer reveals it to you. Here, the vampires of the Necropolis are held in check by the other monsters, by the human priests, by the knights, and even by Terracuyl herself who brooks no challengers to her power. In that other world, they think they will be able to expand unchecked.
Terracuyl strikes first with her teeth, faster than a king cobra, and larger than a locomotive. One vampire prince is now two parts with the legs heading east, and the chest heading west. The Duke and his men set lances and charge even as Terracuyl burns a wave of ghouls who surge toward her. You call for divine fire again and again as you are forced to back up behind sheets of flame.
You are the keystone of this defense as they want the Door you're standing in front of. With one foot in the Doorway, you call for fire again as a Prince of the Dead dives toward you, his fangs out, his eyes mad with fear and desire. And the power of the Door rips through you, shatters the Door, shatters you and the creature diving at you.
*Fare thee well, worldwalker* You hear Terracuyl say in your mind as you vanish from that world.
===============
You wake wet. A fine drizzle drops out of a cloud-covered night, and a chill breeze drifts along the empty sidewalk on which you lay.
Illumined skyscrapers point to the end of the long, straight road you lay by, and around you are dozens of three to four story tall buildings with odd script on their frontages. Most of the buildings near you are unlit. You see no people.
Playtester :)
For those following these adventures, this is the version of Oak from rpol.net. He is similar to GO's version, but around sixty years of age, and with a different (and longer) history of worlds visited, and with more developed abilities.
All of Oak-RPoL's threads are linked to from msg #4 of this RPoL thread.
The Oak-RPoL thread immediately preceding this one can be found here.
That thread doesn't include events from a side trip, detailed here.
-=-
Awareness comes slowly, as I come to terms with recent events.
:: Dearest LORD, please guide and guard me now, I pray... ::
That battle was... unexpected, but in retrospect, not surprising. And where has the LORD led me now? My exit from that situation seemed more likely to be via versing rather than traversing the Door. But I take comfort in knowing the part I was able to play in helping save the others, and the universe of Day's Quest, from those evil vampires.
I'm not certain where I am, so better safe than sorry.
Eyes still closed, I open up my senses to the soothing smells and sounds of the freshly-washed drizzling breeze and evening sounds.
Trying not to move (or to shiver), I stretch out other senses, reaching out to sense where my belongings might be, and if there are any other versers in this universe.
Then I attempt to send out my telepathic senses, in order to get an idea of my situation without letting on to any observers that I am awake.
Then I attempt to stretch out my clairvoyant senses to examine my surroundings from a slightly more dispassionate third-person perspective, from my immediate surroundings to a more macroscopic view of the area, and eventually zooming out to the world itself.
And finally, I open my eyes, and stand up to examine my surroundings with my own eyes.
"CU2. Status. Are there electronic communications within detectable range? If so, begin recording now. Monitor, and summarize when ready. Analyze current surroundings, and summarize. Analyze the writing on the nearby structures, and translate if possible."
"Ring. Status. Are there electronic..."
This certainly isn't the world I came from. And given what I know from Day's shared memories, neither is it the world I had intended to travel to...
OOC: And this is why Oak was my IT department at Worldwalker.
You smell asphalt, oil, metal, old food, and internal combustion residue.
Your items should be right next to you, in any case, you sense them, but no other versers.
No one seems to be watching you.
You're on a long, two-lane street that stretches out to a bridge toward your back, and skyscrapers toward your front.
Moving out further, you see a large metropolis by a very large lake.
Expanding outward to orbit, you see the Great Lakes and then North America. You're somewhere close to Chicago in your home timeline.
You open your eyes and take in the street, and your gear but three feet from you.
"Simple radio frequency communications are abundant. Unencrypted. Language is German. Script is similar to Fraktur Gothic. Radio communications are also in German for 95% of local communications."
"Starling Cycles."
"Windy City Repair."
"Fosterson's Eatery."
"Walls Biergarten."
"Hunters."
"Cooper's Electronics."
The ring confirms CU2's answers.
"Are detected communications broadcast or peer-to-peer? Are there any other signal traffic types detected, such as video, or computer network?"
"Analyze and classify content. Is it primarily civilian or military? Local or regional or national or world-wide in scope? Secular or religious? News, entertainment, or conversation? Are there repeated or prominent topics? What conjectures can be made from them about this culture?"
"Are there references to identifiable authorities?"
"What languages are used in the other five percent of traffic?"
I examine the area, both visually and via clairvoyance, to see if there are any recognizable churches to be found.
Then I attempt to stretch out my perceptive senses toward any available impressions of the past, and of the future...
"Broadcast with video primarily civilian secular. Primarily local, although a small percentage is global. Primarily entertainment. News and religious are strong secondary categories."
"Further analysis of repeated themes and conjectures about culture will require time to listen in to the messages. Minimum time two hours."
"Authorities: The Council and Prince of Windy City, The King of Vespucia. Analysis continuing."
"Languages:Nipponese, Old English, Unknown, Unknown."
You spot with clairvoyance a building with a cross above it two streets over. CU2 translates the German sign in front. "Palmer Street New Orthodox Cathedral." Further on, you spot "St. Vincente Gothic Revival Church."
Looking into the past you catch glimmers of ordinary looking people busy about their business on the street, coming and going in their cars, or on foot.
Looking into the future you see a melange of dark images. Hideous humanoid black shapes darting down the street with claws extended, hunting. And then the image jerks. The City is on fire. The image jerks again. Water flows through the City in a flood ten feet deep as the Lake overflows. The image jerks again. A dark haired man with a staff in hand says 'Ok.' as if defeated. The city burns in a fire that makes the previous fire seem as nothing. Streets flame and stone melts. The image jerks again. Some sort of large fly?? is eating a slice of pizza. The image jerks again. A very small Oriental woman is staring at you with knowledge in her eyes. The image jerks again. A man with hard eyes who does not see you is swinging a longsword to cleave your head from your shoulders.
You hit the ground gasping for breath.
"Include summary of prominent current news topics, and of prominent religions and religious topics, in the analysis. Update me silently through Ring mental interface when further information is available."
"By the way, are you able to find any indication of what the local time is?"
After the vision, I shake my head to clear it, and pray silently for wisdom and strength.
Then I stand, and gather my belongings, and take shelter in a nearby darkened building's doorway, choosing one with an orientation that provides shelter from the prevailing wind direction.
Taking a steadying breath after the shock of the vision, I focus my thoughts once again, and search the area clairvoyantly to see if there are any libraries or bookstores nearby, and if they are currently open. I also search for places that would be useful for taking shelter in, if necessary, and for any additional churches.
For the various churches I find, I look to see if there are any people currently there...
"Time is 2314."
You feel stronger after the prayer.
The nearest location that is open is the Biergarten. If you're willing to walk ten blocks, you can enter a restauraunt with bright neon green script of an unknown language. The people inside look to be a quiet, late-night crowd with a couple of them reading books, and two arguing over something on a piece of paper. You find no churches open within ten blocks radius. Do you wish to search further? Its taken you about twenty minutes so far, and your head is aching.
You have spotted several bookstores, but none are open.
You have also spotted a few people, one of them walking his animal on a leash.
When I looked at St. Vincente Gothic Revival Church, what specifically did I see as far as the layout, grounds, etc.?
Is the church yard open access, or gated?
Are there any sheltered places outdoors on the church grounds, such as with a patio roof, benches, picnic tables, or etc.?
How far is it from my current location?
A number of metallic I-beamed flying buttresses, a lot of battlement, a low stone wall around a playground and a picnic area with a gate which is five blocks from your current location, or three as the crow flies.
I relax a few minutes to rest my aching head, pondering my situation.
Then I pray quietly.
"Dearest LORD, I know that you have brought me here. Please strengthen and guide me now, and show me where you would have me go, and what you would have me do. I pray in Jesus' Name... Amen."
If there is no immediately obvious response resulting from this prayer, then I stretch forth my clairvoyant senses once again, back to where I saw people in the restaurant.
Using my mental interface with Ring, I examine what they are reading, and what they are doing, and what impressions I get about them. In short, analyzing which of them would be most useful for me to telepathically probe for information about this neighborhood, and this world.
For my post-prayer actions, I keep watch for any intuitive nudges I may feel directing me one way or another, and act upon them accordingly...
You begin reading the Windy City Gazetteer, a newspaper. There is a story about the Velvet Room burning down, another story about a local sports team called 'the Windstorm' having a shot at the NorthAm championships, a knighthood conferred on a real estate developer...and thats on the first page along with a 'Tuesday, October 1988'.
You're about to switch over to checking on the book when you hear a female voice and an idling car.
"Oak, Oak, man wake up, I have coffee, so get some or I'm going to throw you in jail for vagrancy."
The Ring translates for you, but its a half-step behind her. She's got a large Sombrero model, dark metallic blue car idling in the street. She's about five foot four, bright blue eyes, blonde. She's leaning on the far side of the car waiting for you to speak with a quizzical look in her eyes.
OOC: Hmmmm, a Tuesday in October 1988. Is that the 4th, the 11th, the 18th, or the 25th? :)
I blink as my awareness shifts to the scene before me, and thoughts flash by in a heartbeat.
: Wow. Either the LORD has revealed my name to this person, or has brought someone who knows my counterpart in this world. And either one sounds like an answer to prayer right just now, and rather clear leading. Thank you, dearest LORD. :
I give a friendly nod and a smile.
"Danke schön."
Having just used a significant percentage of my existing German vocabulary, I pick up my suitcase, and make my way towards the car.
As I do so, I attempt to make telepathic contact with her mind, first targeting her language center, then her surface thoughts. If successful, I glean as much as I can, as quickly as I can...
"The great Oak says thank you. You must have gone off to manners school like your brother. Do you want me to..." She pauses to listen to the police band radio when it says 'SI', but then relaxes a trifle. She's quite high-strung. "Take you by your office or apartment?"
Its not as easy as in some worlds, but on the second try you start reading her surface thoughts. Your surface reading kicks in now.
"And sides can you tell me what you were gone for three days anyways."
*Even for you, pal, that was unusually paranoid and secretive. I hope you're finally not losing it what with all your enemies.*
You feel an instinctive urge not to confess your nature.
She drives like she's in a competitive race even though the streets are nearly empty.
Edit: You contact the language processing center on the first try.
"Apartment."
In response to her latter comment, I look back at her with mild surprise.
"Enemies? What could a polite vagrant like me ever have done to make enemies?"
I keep monitoring her surface thoughts...
She whips you across town to a semi-industrial part, and parks on a street behind a blue VW bug.
"There's your Beetle. One day you have to get a newer car."
*If you can get a car to run.*
She hands you a set of keys.
"Not sure why you wanted me to hold on to these since you got Molly to feed Mouse and Mister. But here you go."
*I'm going to keep an eye on you.*
After getting out of the car, you see a concrete staircase leading down to an underground basement. It must be yours as there are no other nearby apartment doors.
OOC: The "*" is for the mental surface reading so she did not say that out loud about enemies.
OOC: Oops, my usual laptop is in the shop, and my current font didn't show that difference very well, so I overlooked it. I'll keep my eyes open from now on... :o
Is she also getting out of the car, or is she just dropping me off?
Do the keys have an apartment number on them? :)
She's just dropping you off.
Good question. One key has a number on it, and the other has 'VW' on it.
OOC: How long does the car ride last? I want to use the travel time to attempt to probe her memories, and find out as much relevant information about my counterpart and this world as possible. If successful, what do I find out?
Once we arrive, am I able to see the apartment number of the most obvious candidate from where we are? If not, then after getting the suitcase out and getting out of the road, then if she hasn't driven off, I put the suitcase down as if to readjust my grip, and try to use clairvoyance to see the apartment number of the most obvious candidate. In other words, if I'm being watched, I want to try to verify that the obvious choice is indeed my apartment number, before starting to walk in that direction...
You sort through her memories on the second try for about four minutes before the ten minute ride ends.
"Karrin Murphy, do you swear before God and your fellow officers to uphold the justice of the Prince and the Laws of the Council without fear or favor?"
"Karrin, I'm sorry, really, but the board of review says you're off to Clancy. At least you're still on the force."
"Oak, WHAT IS IT?"
And then you see a flicker of scenes of dead bodies in various that have been destroyed in unique and horrible ways. Almost all of them make you wish to pray for protection from Evil.
The clairvoyance outside the door doesn't work.
:: Dearest LORD, please guard and guide me now, I pray... ::
I exit the car, get out my suitcase, and give an acknowledging simple wave of thanks and farewell.
Then I make my way to the Beetle, open it up, and search around in the glove compartment for a bit.
While doing that, if she is still there, I make another attempt to double-check the apartment door number via clairvoyance...
She drives off before you get to the Beetle.
The car is fairly clean in an old, much beat-upon, one door panel is a different shade way. The glove compartment opens, and you find a car repair manual in English. There is a small set of tools in a battered plastic case about the size of a thousand page paperback novel. There are registration papers with the entries, even the signature typed out, but the name is familiar to you...John Oakmaster.
That's it.
You check the door again, and you feel resistance. No luck.
I give an inward sigh of relief to be alone, so that I can make any mistakes unobserved.
I pray again silently for strength and protection and guidance.
Then, unless I feel nudged to the contrary, I bring my suitcase over to the most likely apartment door, and look with my own eyes to see if the apartment door number matches the number from my key, and from the car registration address.
And if it matches, and I don't feel nudged to the contrary, I open the door, and enter...
You hold out the key to the door to Apt. 101, and feel as if something was folding back away from you. You unlock the heavy steel door with four long scratches in it, and have to heave it a bit as the door is a little askew from its frame.
Inside is a very masculine room. Beaten up leather couch, bookcases in light brown, dark brown, and black, rug in front of the fireplace with a stack of wood next to the fireplace.
You flick on the light, and gas lamps on the walls illumine the one room space further. Its bedroom, kitchennette on the far wall, and living room in the center. You see a couple doors off to the right beyond the fireplace.
Its neat, but hard-used.
There is no TV or computer than you can see.
And then you hear a demanding "Miaow." from above. You look up to the top of the bookcase next to the door, and a black-grey cat, thirty pounds worth of feline majesty is sprawled across the top of the bookcase. She looks at you demandingly.
I close and lock the door, and give heartfelt thanks to the LORD, for I feel his hand upon me, and pushing evil forces away.
And as my eyes fall upon the cat, I stretch out my telepathic senses toward her. She probably wants food, but it is possible she wants a certain type of petting, etc. And her mind may hold useful information...
If she seems to want food, I look around to see if there is anything suitable for her.
Then I sit, and stretch out my postcognitive and precognitive senses, gleaning what information I can about this place, and the occupant...
She wants her token of respect, aka rubbing her ears for a second, and food, and then to be let out to go pick a fight with the disrespectful cat the street over to the left. She knows that you call her 'Mister', and the funny man calls her 'Her Imperial Nibs'. She simply thinks of herself as the Great Cat.
You stride over the floor which echoes under your feet a bit, and into the kitchennette where you find a bag of dry cat food next to the ancient Frigidaire from the 1930's it looks like.
And suddenly you're face down on the kitchen floor and something very heavy is standing on your back, and smelling your neck.
OOC: What impressions do I get concerning the "funny man"?
"Not sure why you wanted me to hold on to these since you got Molly to feed Mouse and Mister. But here you go."
:: Hmmmm. Hello, Mouse. Dearest LORD, please guard and guide me now, I pray... ::
I attempt to stretch out my telepathic senses toward the large presence upon my back, to read the mind of (I presume to be) a large dog named Mouse (companion to a regal female cat named Mister).
If I sense danger, hostility, etc., I attempt to induce sleep on my newest companion...
You get a flicker of images back which you translate to...
"Err, sorry, not-Oak friend, thought you were a monster. Oak said you were coming. Oak left."
Mouse gets off your back, and you can breathe better now. You sit up, and see that Mouse is a very large, black-haired dog with a face somewhat like a bear in that he has a powerful jutting jaw suited for crunching bone.
He looks abashed.
And then he stands up with his paws on top of the Frigidaire and barks once at the cabinet door above the fridge.
Mister pads in to see what the fuss is, and gives you a 'Miaow' which even without telepathy you can easily translate too....'what's taking you so long?'.
OOC: Do you know the book series I've dropped you into?
::That's OK, Mouse friend. I'm John. Nice to meet you.::
::Oak said I was coming? Do you know where Oak went?::
::What is Oak like?::
I attempt to glean any information I can from his mind, hopefully including how he likes to be petted, and give him some loving encouragement when he looks abashed.
Then I look into the cabinet door above the fridge, and look into feeding my two new companions...
OOC: Nope, no clue. Is that good or bad? :p
Mouse drops down from the fridge to your shoulders with ease, and licks your face.
*Said so. No.*
*Nice. Protects the little dogs. Strong.* You get an image of yourself standing in a dark and lonely street with a trenchcoat and a black staff, rage masking your face, and you're shouting 'Forzare', and then a car is flung down the street to crash into something unwholesome.
He gets over it quickly, and you pet him for a while until Mister reminds you that the Great Cat needs nourishment to maintain her mass. You pull out a bag of dry dog food which has a note attached to it.
"I usually get the forty pound bag, but Grinnell's was out, so I got the five. Oak." Its your handwriting.
You give Mouse a can of wet and two cups of dry. Mister is content with half a cup of dry. She twirls through your legs after you feed her to show her approval. Mouse finishes his and goes off to the living room to go to sleep in front of the fireplace. Mister is scratching at the door.
OOC: That's good.
Reading the note, and what it implies, makes me rather thoughtful indeed. It would seem that I was expected... unless Oak's note and what he told Mouse were directed toward Molly instead of me.
I check the peephole to make certain there aren't any of those monsters outside the front door, and then let Mister out.
After that, I look through the apartment for any further notes, and for anything that would give me more information about my counterpart, and about this world.
Then I sit near the fireplace with Mouse, and stretch out my postcognitive and precognitive senses, gleaning what information I can about this place, and the occupant...
There are no further notes. You do find the floor echoing as you cross the second rug into the kitchennette. On the bookcases you see among many others...
"Knife-fighting for Beginners."
"Power Chords and Rock" This is for guitar music.
"The Holy Bible"
"Repair: Internal Combustion Engines"
"Ancient Myths of the Sidhe"
"The Way of War" By Sun Tzu.
"Advanced Meditations and Visualization Practises"
"The Book of the Dead" An Egyptian religious text.
"Human Anatomy for First Aid"
"Ninth Krims Textbook on Chemistry"
"Herbs of NorthAm"
"Songs of Clouds" Poetry.
"Latin-German Dictionary"
"Bold Runner" Looks like a comedic novel.
You try to find the future and the past and something in the apartment blocks you.
::Dearest LORD, please cast out any forces of evil near this place, and show me what hinders my sight here, I pray...::
That floor seems to echo more than I might have expected. Right about... here.
I lift up the rug near the echo...
You feel no push back from the first part of your prayer, and from the second, you see pearl lines of arcing power circling the apartment, and a pale ruby haze throughout the apartment. The pearlescent lines seem to have a fracture point near the door, and you see a glow in your pocket.
Pulling out the keys, one of them, the apartment one, is also glowing, and its revealed to be made of mother of pearl instead of pedestrian steel.
But the ruby haze is what seems to be blocking most sorts of spying inside the apartment.
You feel strange surges in the power coursing through you.
Later, you pull back the rug, and there is a large wooden trapdoor in the floor with an inset iron ring to lift it up.
I pray for guidance as to whether or not it is safe to open the trapdoor.
Then, unless I feel any nudges to the contrary, I proceed to open it...
You open the trapdoor, and look down a steep ladder into a concrete floored chemical laboratory, strike that, model-making facility (you see a model of the city laid out on a table), err alchemical laboratory as you notice the silver pentagram inlaid into the only clear spot on the floor.
Entering you see a smaller collection of books on the wall.
"Uses for Elemental Water."
"The Laws of Magic" This is a very slim volume.
"Practical Demon Banishing" This looks like a folio.
"The Mysterium"
"A Guide to the Nevernever" This also looks like a folio.
"A Fireman's Guide to Reactions of Materials to Extreme Heat" This is the biggest book here.
"Laying of Wards for Protective Shields and Warning"
"The Proper Usage of Potions"
"Alchemistry Throughout History"
"Molly's Workbook" This is also a folio.
Propping them up on their single shelf is a human skull on one side, and an eagle bookend that's seen better days.
In the corner is a gray cloak.
I pray for guidance and wisdom and insight to discern the nature of the items in the trapdoor room, and whether or not the LORD would have me make use of any of them, and then examine each of those items without touching anything. I carefully avoid stepping on or in the pentagram.
Does the ruby haze extend to this area as well, or only above?
If not, I try postcognition and precognition in the trapdoor room.
After exploring down below, I come back up, and walk out to the Beetle (locking the apartment door behind me), and get into the driver's seat.
Then I try postcognition and precognition here, to see what stories the Beetle can tell me...
You pray, and it comes to you that its obvious that this other Oak is a mage of some sort. There is, of course, an alchemical or potions aspect to it, you decide as you look at the stainless steel table with the bunsen burners and the glass retorts, and the colored chemical boxes. But from your previous vision, you think he has some sort of magical telekinesis, enough to throw a car, anyways.
You don't sense evil or good from this room. And it occurs to you it might be just a tool. Or not.
You look pastward in the room. Its hard. There's so much power, so many strong impressions. One comes to you.
You see yourself drinking a bottle of vodka, sitting at the table, and reading the laws of magic. Over your Other's shoulder you can read the book.
Upon examining the 'Laws of Magic' you see that there are two laws.
1. Don't mentally influence another by changing their brain.
2. Don't kill by magic except in self-defense.
After that, there are several dozen cases of wizards, often rather young wizards, violating the Laws. And the punishment is the same. Death at the hands of a grey-cloaked Warden of the Council of Wizards.
Its a very harsh book. The youngest executed is a fourteen year old girl who ambushed her abusive father and burnt him with magic, not even killing him.
You see your Other take up the bottle for another drink, and then throw it full force against the wall so that it shatters.
The link to the past is gone.
Upstairs, you head outside and enter the Beetle.
Here, there is no blocking, nor excess of power. Just a lonely street in the wee hours of the morning.
You cast back, and find yourself trapped in a loop. You see yourself get in the car, drive across town with Karrin, and look at the Beetle. Then it starts over again. And again.
It doesn't stop until you hear Karrin's voice.
"Oak, I've heard of guys getting kicked out of apartments, but its your apartment, and you don't have a girlfriend."
Karrin is standing by the open door of the Beetle, and its nearly dawn.
OOC: Hmmmmm. Perhaps I should rephrase that... :p
I already had an idea of the overall nature of the room. I am seeking information about the individual items (such as "Molly's workbook seems magical", or "the eagle bookend seems evil", or "the cloak seems to amplify telekinetic abilities"... ;).
Am I able to discern anything specific about any of the individual items? :)
As I blink up at her, I once again attempt to link to her language center, and to read her surface thoughts.
I rub my eyes, and stretch.
"I was lost in thought. Good morning, by the way..."
OOC: The human skull is looking at you stealthily, trying to hide.
"I can see how that would happen, visiting a country you're not used too." She crooks a finger. "Come on, I'll drive. I have coffee."
:: (for mental)...Afdgl...the first bit is garbled, and then it comes in clear...I need him awake for this. Sleeping in the car, what's wrong with him?::
You get in the car with her, and she looks more tired than last you saw her.
"You might not think its a good morning soon. You have a case. Try not to embarrass me."
::You get a flash of something deadly and fire-related.::
Her mind flinches from it.
:: Fifty an hour is painful to the budget, but then I don't ask the other SI to charge Hell with a black staff.::
She puts the light and siren on top of her car, and peels out.
I look at her with weary innocence.
"Have I ever embarrassed you?"
I rub my eyes and stretch again.
"Fill me in..."