You're either searching for trains, which makes me wonder if I was wrong about werewolves and the problem is weremoose instead, who could probably derail a train if they worked together. Or you're searching for something that was on the train that the weremoose derailed... hmm, mysteries!
I overran again, but the prompt here inspired me to showcase Dread and Fabian searching for answers and not really liking what they find :)
A search Rystin looked at both men, who were leaning forwards with expectant looks on their faces and hungry eyes and pushed his chair back a little feeling nervous. He wondered what he could have said that made them seem like hunters all of a sudden, and he swallowed hard, running a hand through his hair. Dread noticed their behaviour first and sat back and waved a waiter over. He ordered more drinks all round and then placed a hand on Fabian's chest and pushed him back into his seat. "We're behaving like wolves," he said. "I don't think Rystin likes feeling like he's a rabbit." Fabian pushed Dread's hand away. "Sorry," he said. "We've found so few people who know anything about the Staff that you knowing things about it is like finding an oasis in the desert. The staff has to be charged? Under a full moon?" Rystin looked from one to the other and decided that they looked less aggressive now, but a sense that he might have stepped into much deeper than he was expecting nagged at him. It was like stepping into a puddle expecting it to be ankle deep and discovering it was knee-deep -- no need to panic just yet, but certainly not something you could ignore. "It's an artefact," he said, thinking about his words. "So we artificers do learn about it, but we learn about many artefacts. The Staff is rare so we learn about it mostly from a theoretical point of view. And yes, the Staff needs to be charged before it can used, and it uses that charge up steadily. There are tales -- millennia back, when there were more magical wars and people liked to record the really big events -- of mages using a Staff or a similar item and it running out of power. That usually turned the tide of the battle." "You know how to charge the staff?" "There are a few standard methods," said Rystin. "Staves of a certain class and higher use moonlight but you can charge it a couple of other ways too. There's a way to do it from a concentrated heat source -- they used lava in the old days, and there are still a few mage caves that have tunnels that run down to molten rock. They got repurposed though, mostly as prisons and tortur--" "Yes," said Fabian. "That's not what we're interested in though. But if the Museum had -- well, were to be given, say, a Staff of Five Elements -- then I suppose it would likely be... discharged? Empty? What's the word?"
"Discharged," said Rystin. He shook his head as though not believing his ears. "The Museum has a Staff of Five Elements?" "No," said Fabian and Dread together. "But if one were found," said Fabian, continuing alone, "it would likely be handed over to us for safe-keeping. Or put in the Halls of Sunset, but there's a problem there. A... circular one, if you like." "The key to the Halls of Sunset has been lost," said Rystin. He smiled at the looks of startlement he got. "Cass talks, and she's not as quiet as she thinks she is." Dread made an 'I told you so' type face at Fabian, who just sighed and reached for his drink, knocking half of it back in one swallow. "That's part of it," he said. "But the important thing is that the Staff would be discharged, right? No-one could just pick it up and start using it? That could cause all kinds of panic." "No," said Rystin. "The charge doesn't leak out over time, it's well insulated. The Staff will be as usable as it was when it was set down." That was greeted by silence, and Fabian finishing the rest of his drink. "How hard it is to recharge it?" he said at last. "Just so I know how much security such an item would need?" "Put it in the stasis chambers," said Rystin promptly. "You can't get anything out of the stasis chambers once they're in, unless you use the key. The Staff would be perfectly safe in there. That's the best security." Dread got up and walked to the bar, and while Rystin was puzzled that he wasn't patient enough to wait for a waiter, Fabian was talking again. "That aside," he said, "how hard is it to recharge the staff?" "If you're a rust-elf artificer," said Rystin, thinking, "not hard at all. If you're not... you should probably go and hire an artificer. And bring a lot of proof along that you're allowed to have the staff and charge it up, I should think. It's not like we don't know how dangerous the staff is." Dread sat down, a tray of fresh drinks in his hand. "I heard most of that," he said. "That's really, really bad news."
3 comments:
You're either searching for trains, which makes me wonder if I was wrong about werewolves and the problem is weremoose instead, who could probably derail a train if they worked together. Or you're searching for something that was on the train that the weremoose derailed... hmm, mysteries!
I overran again, but the prompt here inspired me to showcase Dread and Fabian searching for answers and not really liking what they find :)
A search
Rystin looked at both men, who were leaning forwards with expectant looks on their faces and hungry eyes and pushed his chair back a little feeling nervous. He wondered what he could have said that made them seem like hunters all of a sudden, and he swallowed hard, running a hand through his hair.
Dread noticed their behaviour first and sat back and waved a waiter over. He ordered more drinks all round and then placed a hand on Fabian's chest and pushed him back into his seat.
"We're behaving like wolves," he said. "I don't think Rystin likes feeling like he's a rabbit."
Fabian pushed Dread's hand away. "Sorry," he said. "We've found so few people who know anything about the Staff that you knowing things about it is like finding an oasis in the desert. The staff has to be charged? Under a full moon?"
Rystin looked from one to the other and decided that they looked less aggressive now, but a sense that he might have stepped into much deeper than he was expecting nagged at him. It was like stepping into a puddle expecting it to be ankle deep and discovering it was knee-deep -- no need to panic just yet, but certainly not something you could ignore.
"It's an artefact," he said, thinking about his words. "So we artificers do learn about it, but we learn about many artefacts. The Staff is rare so we learn about it mostly from a theoretical point of view. And yes, the Staff needs to be charged before it can used, and it uses that charge up steadily. There are tales -- millennia back, when there were more magical wars and people liked to record the really big events -- of mages using a Staff or a similar item and it running out of power. That usually turned the tide of the battle."
"You know how to charge the staff?"
"There are a few standard methods," said Rystin. "Staves of a certain class and higher use moonlight but you can charge it a couple of other ways too. There's a way to do it from a concentrated heat source -- they used lava in the old days, and there are still a few mage caves that have tunnels that run down to molten rock. They got repurposed though, mostly as prisons and tortur--"
"Yes," said Fabian. "That's not what we're interested in though. But if the Museum had -- well, were to be given, say, a Staff of Five Elements -- then I suppose it would likely be... discharged? Empty? What's the word?"
"Discharged," said Rystin. He shook his head as though not believing his ears. "The Museum has a Staff of Five Elements?"
"No," said Fabian and Dread together. "But if one were found," said Fabian, continuing alone, "it would likely be handed over to us for safe-keeping. Or put in the Halls of Sunset, but there's a problem there. A... circular one, if you like."
"The key to the Halls of Sunset has been lost," said Rystin. He smiled at the looks of startlement he got. "Cass talks, and she's not as quiet as she thinks she is."
Dread made an 'I told you so' type face at Fabian, who just sighed and reached for his drink, knocking half of it back in one swallow.
"That's part of it," he said. "But the important thing is that the Staff would be discharged, right? No-one could just pick it up and start using it? That could cause all kinds of panic."
"No," said Rystin. "The charge doesn't leak out over time, it's well insulated. The Staff will be as usable as it was when it was set down."
That was greeted by silence, and Fabian finishing the rest of his drink.
"How hard it is to recharge it?" he said at last. "Just so I know how much security such an item would need?"
"Put it in the stasis chambers," said Rystin promptly. "You can't get anything out of the stasis chambers once they're in, unless you use the key. The Staff would be perfectly safe in there. That's the best security."
Dread got up and walked to the bar, and while Rystin was puzzled that he wasn't patient enough to wait for a waiter, Fabian was talking again.
"That aside," he said, "how hard is it to recharge the staff?"
"If you're a rust-elf artificer," said Rystin, thinking, "not hard at all. If you're not... you should probably go and hire an artificer. And bring a lot of proof along that you're allowed to have the staff and charge it up, I should think. It's not like we don't know how dangerous the staff is."
Dread sat down, a tray of fresh drinks in his hand.
"I heard most of that," he said. "That's really, really bad news."
Greg - mysteries abound!
Well, they're starting to get some answers, at least. That's... progress?
Post a Comment