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Post by Robin on Nov 12, 2007 19:54:07 GMT
Robin: Oh... well, they have their uses. It's not only local drunks I may have to fight.
Slevela: *Smiles* You mean you take on the non-local drunks too?Something like that.
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Post by Young Grimwold on Nov 13, 2007 17:32:22 GMT
Slevela: Well then, ever had a set-to with a certain drunk named Sly Hands? Haven't seen him round these here parts for a long time; but when he wants to, he can be all too local.
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Post by Callimpsest on Nov 13, 2007 18:33:02 GMT
*Callimpsest is pleased to hear from a bona fide philosopher on this challenging yet compelling issue.*
One wonders if Lanezarner's belief in the triumph of free will would have held firm if he'd been alive at the terrible disaster which befell your land.
*Callimpsest feels some guilt at mentioning Atlantis' catastrophe, but he imagines that Zeytan's memories of it are not far from the surface of his mind anyway.*
"Fate" is but a phoneme away from "faith", and arguably, it is indeed a matter of perception. (For those of us without the high magic to seek answers beyond this existence, that is.) For example, that thunderclap just a moment ago. Was it merely Nature, a process of meteorology beyond the control of humankind; or could it perhaps have been caused by the Headmistress?
*He gives PhoenixFlame a wry smile.*
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Post by Zeytan on Nov 13, 2007 22:38:05 GMT
One wonders if Lanezarner's belief in the triumph of free will would have held firm if he'd been alive at the terrible disaster which befell your land.
*Zeytan turned this statmetn over in his mind.*
Thats an intresting question Callimpest. It would be intresting to know. Mind you if the stories are true, the group he assochaited himself with in his twilight years may have changed his mind about his earlier stance on Free will up to a point.
Lord Knows the "society" and i'm useing that term lightly that they evolved into felt the disaster was pre-destined.
*face darkend again.*
"You could possible even go so far as to say that they welcomed it.
"Fate" is but a phoneme away from "faith", and arguably, it is indeed a matter of perception. (For those of us without the high magic to seek answers beyond this existence, that is.) For example, that thunderclap just a moment ago. Was it merely Nature, a process of meteorology beyond the control of humankind; or could it perhaps have been caused by the Headmistress?
*He gives PhoenixFlame a wry smile.*
*Can't help but give PhoenixFlame a wry smile as well.*
"Indeed. A most strange phenomone espechialy for this time of year."
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Ed Kenji
Traveller
In there like swimwear
Posts: 38
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Post by Ed Kenji on Nov 14, 2007 0:40:09 GMT
Kenji looks up.
"We had a chappy called Columbus who'd sock you for that. It's all about horizons and vision magnitudes," he waves his arms vaguely, trying and failing to create a hand gesture for vision. "Is there an ocean? I can.. I can show you if we have an ocean..."
Kenji trails off, noticing several faces staring blankly at him, their mouths agape slightly and their brows knotted. The dulcet notes of the pipe filter through the air.
Kenji looked down, pretending to inspect his fingernails, then had a thought and leant onto the bar.
"Children? What manner of quest have you here? Picking up candy from a dark cave? I'm sure the kids would be terrified of th-" He stopped dead, and glanced quickly at Jules who met his gaze with a wide eyed stare.
"...very noble sounding quest that, good luck to them. How did they do anyway, did you ever see any of them return?"
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Post by Young Grimwold on Nov 14, 2007 1:40:59 GMT
Lanesra: A dark cave? No, Candice knows better than to tarry anywhere dangerous like that. We're quite smart, us modern tavern maids. Melly, on the other hand, a lass who worked here a few years back... hugged ogres, offered daisy chains to assassins, and stood on so many loose trapdoors that you'd think it was a hobby of hers. Wonder what she's doing now.
Anyway, the questing children? Or 'dungeoneers', as they liked to be called. They'd arrive in Wolfenden, get what they needed, leave, then we'd never see them again. *Lanesra suddenly recalls the strange case of Raven, the former dungeoneer who emerged from a book in the Crazed Heifer not that long ago, but she decides not to mention it since she didn't actually witness the incident.* If they succeeded, they were spirited back to Knightmare Castle with the object of their quest by the Dungeon Master. I think. But rumour has it that even if they died on their adventure, they'd be returned alive to their home realm. Not certain if that applies to all tourists. *She winks at the gentlemen.*
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Post by PhoenixFlame on Nov 14, 2007 12:39:13 GMT
*Phoenixflame returns their smiles, with a mischievous look in her eyes, though she doesn't comment on the unspoken question*
"To be honest, I want a bit of everything, and even though things look bad, I believe that everything happens for a reason. And you did escape with your life Callimpsest, even though it doesn't feel like it, you did take that with you, and life is always precious, it's the glue that binds us to this world, or indeed any world. Though the school is now closed, and most items destroyed, there is always the possiblilty we can salvage some items from there, and re-build. Whilst people still remember things and people, they will remain there, within our hearts for nothing is ever truly gone" *Phoenixflame's voice tails off for a moment, and then she nods to herself*
"Hope can be found, even in the darkest reaches of our world, or indeed, anywhere. There is always light at the end of the tunnel, as long as you know where to look for it!"
*Phoenixflame looks embarrased at her long speech, then drains her glass*
"Hmmm, lovely weather, who would expect thunder on such a clear day!" she says with a laugh
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Post by Callimpsest on Nov 14, 2007 19:18:10 GMT
*Callimpsest nods politely as PhoenixFlame makes her speech. Again, her talk of rebuilding makes him uneasy: it strikes him as an pipe dream, illogical and impractical. But then, anyone is entitled to fantasise, especially if their fantasies are benign ones. As PhoenixFlame finishes, Callimpsest smiles, quietly impressed at her impassioned rhetoric.*
That is why you were the Headmistress, and I the man in the secluded room.
*He pauses for a swig of his drink.*
If I may fly backward, conversationally speaking, and alight on something that Zeytan said. Your remark about the group that corrupted Lanezarner and embraced the ruination of their own continent. If I may say so, I find that somewhat sickening. Would that they were the sufferers of exploding schools and wall-smashing leviathans, and not we!
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Post by Zeytan on Nov 14, 2007 21:07:13 GMT
*Zeytan swils what remains of his wine in the bottom of his glass then swollows it, he then purs some more from the bottle.*
"Yes "The Servents of The Great Lady Of All The Seas" is what they were called during Lanezarner's time. Now adays they are called "The Cult Of Ebbira."
*Drinks some of his wine.*
They worship an old Atlantian Deity, Ebbira. She dates back to the dark period before Atlantis begame an enlightend continent. She and other such idols were regulay worshiped but Ebbira was regarded as the greatest and most powerfull of them all.
When Atlantian's began to understand the world scientificaly and how magic is realy used etc. These deitys were by enlarged forgoten. However Ebbria maintained a small but very strong following. Originaly they were mearly a secret society with lmited membership it was during this peirod that Lanezarner was said to have joined them.
There original name derived from one of Ebbira's titles "The Great Lady Of All Oceans and Seas." They were regarded as little more then a fringed group of no consequence, then they started to get involved politicaly and began exersicing great backstage controle over the Atlantian Senate. They had in their ranks at least 7 of the 15 main ministers as well as notable people of influences such as Lanezarner.
Well as you can probaley imagin this did not sit well with other Atlantian nobels and politicians and things reached a head when the Atlantian Prime Minister was reveld to also be a member and the group was plotting to remove the Atlantian Royal Family.There was a political coupe and the Ebbria Ministers removed and tried for tresson.
Parliment then passed a law makeing it illegal to be a meber of this secret society and tried to destroy it. But all that happedn was that it was weakend and driven under ground, worse still was to come the continent of Atlantis now discoverd it was all but bankrupte.
Well blame for this fell on the royal family and the royalist ministers. Although the real resson for the backrupcise was almost certianly embezelment by the former Prime Minister in order to fund his attempted ousting of the royal family.
And he achived his goal even if not the way he intended the Monarcy fell. At the same time The Servents became "The Cult Of Ebbira" and stoped being exclusive they were still secret due to the laws but they now accepted anyone. What with the backrupcy and problems that caused the Atlantian people needed something that provided them with hope.
And the cult preched that, that Ebbira would lead them threw the poverty and hard times, that this was all just part of her plan for Atlantis.
*Shaes his head and drinks some more of the wine and lets his freinds contmeplate what he has told them so far.*
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Julian Lapin
Inhabitant
Transdimensional academic extraordinaire
Posts: 114
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Post by Julian Lapin on Nov 15, 2007 0:33:53 GMT
'But rumour has it that even if they died on their adventure, they'd be returned alive to their home realm. Not certain if that applies to all tourists.'
'Well, I don't think Hari Kiri is quite the ideal way out of here, if it's all the same' Julian put forward.
'Quite so. The idea of dressing up in robes and chanting doesn't sit too well with me to be honest.'
'Dressing up in - Kenji, that's Hari Krishnas.'
'You sure? I could have sworn that the guy who ran our old paper shop was called Harry Krishna. Nice fellow, had an excellent recipe for onion Bahjis.'
Julian felt the sudden urge to repeatedly cause his head to come into contact with the bartop. Wisely supressing this, he tactifully moved things forward.
'Interesting stuff, all this... so there's been previous links to our world before? Well, this certainly causes a few things to fall into place. Certainly gives us something to be going on with. Maybe getting back won't be as complicated as we'd first anticipated.'
Julian took another sip of his drink. It really was quite good.
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Ed Kenji
Traveller
In there like swimwear
Posts: 38
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Post by Ed Kenji on Nov 15, 2007 1:00:43 GMT
Kenji downed his drink and set the empty vessel hopefully on the bar.
"How did they get here, these dungeoneers?" he asked thoughtfully. "If they came the way we did, I can see what the helmet is for..."
"So, listen, if getting killed is the equivilent of clicking some red heels, but dying here is surely the same as Death Regularâ„¢" -he paused, grinning subtly, waiting for people to stop grimacing -- "then there's something at that castle...."
Kenji hung his head. "Jules... are we going to have to go to the castle? Is it going to be like that again? It's going to be that general scenario though isn't it, the Dragon's Lair stuff.... what goes on in this castle? Is there a princess to be rescued or something? Dragon? Gold perhaps? Oh let it be gold..."
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Post by Young Grimwold on Nov 15, 2007 2:06:42 GMT
Lanesra: I'll tell you what I know, but I must confess, a lot of what I know is what I learned from conversations with Callimpsest. He used to be a librarian at the Boarding School, but now he sells books in the marketplace. He's sat over there, it so happens - *she points across the room to his table* - not the green-eyed chap drinking the wine, the other chap. He loves books and manuscripts more than any man in Wolfenden, and he knows much about much.
*Lanesra continues.* The dungeoneers would make contact with the Dungeon Master, Lord Dunshelm, from their world, and ask to come here and go on a quest in his Dungeons.
Slevela: *Overhearing and chipping in* Though "Dungeons" could mean anything from the cells beneath his castle, to this tavern, to a field in deepest Winteria. Wherever the quest would take them once they were on it.
Lanesra: When the Dungeon Master was ready, he would summon the dungeoneer into this realm, and then the dungeoneer would summon three friends. They would remain in the castle to guide the dungeoneer, who was blind on account of wearing this great helmet. Why did they do that again, Slevela?
Slevela: Part of the challenge, I think. Or for entertainment. You never know with children.
Lanesra: So, they'd do their quest, and when it was done, Lord Dunshelm would send them home using his magic staff, or one of his special spells. I forget the spell names.
Slevela: Callimpsest will know. He probably has chronicles of some of the quests too. *Pause* Or mayhap Robin here knows something more. As a fighter for the righteous, he has surely made the acquaintance of Lord Dunshelm, and maybe even a dungeoneer or two.
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Post by Robin on Nov 15, 2007 14:06:49 GMT
Slevela: Well then, ever had a set-to with a certain drunk named Sly Hands? Haven't seen him round these here parts for a long time; but when he wants to, he can be all too local.
Sly Hands?... Oh, that name does ring a bell.
*Robin racks his brains, but the vague memory of a scruffy thief hovering around a market stall fails to float to the surface... although he does recall something about being collided with by something huge and invisible... maybe.*
Slevela: Or mayhap Robin here knows something more. As a fighter for the righteous, he has surely made the acquaintance of Lord Dunshelm, and maybe even a dungeoneer or two.
*Robin looks up. Now this he can remember.*
Oh yes. Yes, I do.
*He beckons the barmaids over.*
Yes, I have met Lord Dunshelm... Treggie D, we used to call him, if I remember correctly. He had something called Tread the Path. Oh no, wait, he told people to tread the path, that's right. What's more, I have also had experiences with dungeoneers.
*Blush.*
Not... not that kind of experience, you understand...
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Julian Lapin
Inhabitant
Transdimensional academic extraordinaire
Posts: 114
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Post by Julian Lapin on Nov 15, 2007 14:22:01 GMT
'Yes... this definatly gives us something to go on' nodded Julian, genuinly interested in what he was being told. 'Knightmare Castle sounds like the best lead we have. With a bit of luck, this Lord Dunshelm will be able to spirit us back to where we came from.'
'Tell me' he asked, after draining the last of his beer, 'would that Callimpsest chap know the way there? He sounds like just the person we need to aquaint ourselves with.'
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Post by Callimpsest on Nov 15, 2007 17:00:03 GMT
[OOC: I wonder where Zeytan got that bottle. I'd have thought he'd only be served his wine one glass at a time. ;D]
*Callimpsest listens to Zeytan and tries to take in as much information as possible. He is learning more about the mysterious continent and inhabitants of Atlantis than he ever imagined he would.*
Fascinating. And what was your role in all these transpirations? Strictly an observer, or something more?
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