The van sets down on the landing area, and immediately the guide lights dim.
Four figures approach the van a bit warily. Two of them are priestesses. With them are a boy and a girl in acolyte robes, both apparently in their teens and rather disgruntled looking.
The investigator immediately gets out of the van and faces the four. No words are spoken. They simply bow to each other, palms pressed together prayer-style, and then look at each other for a time. Then the investigator opens the middle door of the van and invites the party to disembark.
"This is where we part," she says, "at least for now. I'm told the senior priestesses are occupied. The junior priestesses here will look after you. Your rooms are ready." Then she looks at Granite Spear thoughtfully. "Shurian...right. You need moisture."
She and the priestesses look at each other again. Again, no words are spoken, but the priestesses clearly react with uncertainty, even horror. They stare at Granite Spear, look at each other, and then look at the investigator again. They bow in perfect sync.
The investigator turns to Granite Spear and says, "I'm told both the pond in the garden and the main bath are open to you if you like. But if you use the pond, please don't eat too many of the fish."
Constable Pal'dun, who has also stepped out of the van, says, "Here's where I take my leave, too. Promise me that you'll do what you can to protect her." Then he bows Hergoth-style and intones, "May the Entity smile on you." The investigator echoes the greeting. Then the two Peace Forcers reenter the van.
As the van rises into the sky again, the two junior priestesses approach. There is a moment of awkward hesitation before one of them bows Hergoth-style and says, "Um, welcome to the Yanda Branch Temple. Your rooms are ready." She gestures toward a nearby building that is obviously a dormitory. Then she and her partner look at each other strangely. After a few heartbeats she turns to the party again and adds, "If you'll follow us, please." Then she glances at Granite Spear. "Um, or do you...want to go straight to the pond?"
***
When Ham's scanner beeps, Dabid practically dives back into the way-nest.
Confronting Ham (rather like a small, purple deer confronting a grizzly bear), he hisses, "What are you trying to do? Advertise our position to the whole damned tunnel?"
"They already know," retorts Mey'Luskar quietly. "That's what that noise was, wasn't it? Someone scanned us, didn't they?"
54 comments:
Nekshi bows to the two junior acolytes. "Thank you. Let us proceed to our resting chambers initially. My friend Granite will want to see to security arrangements before swimming, I think."
[Careful. There are two junior priestesses and two acolytes. The junior priestesses are actually trained (to some extent). The acolytes are just a couple of local kids putting in a couple of months of voluntary Temple service, like a Sunday school project only different. Don't try to blend them! (Eww...!)]
The priestesses look puzzled. Then the one doing the talking says, "Security arrangements? W-why would you need those?"
Lirassa sighs and says in Yangae, "Can we just go to our rooms now?"
The priestess doing the talking looks to be at a loss. Then her companion (who talks with a Lyranell twang), replies in Yangae, "My circlemate doesn't speak that language yet. Of course you can. The acolytes will take you there."
She gestures to the two kids, who bow rather anxiously and then turn to lead the group into the dormitory.
The two priestesses glare at each other.
Ham looks at the scanner. "Yes. The last setting I had in the scanner was to monitor for any scanning signals -not broadcast. Someone knows we are down here. Someone I would say that has been looking for us"
[Wonders about the Farbetts luck in their sniffers]
Zeton has been wrapped in this own thoughts during the past conversation. The last comment posted by Mountain-Eye (Bäatinei) surprised him very much. At first he thought Mountain-Eye's first comment was just that, a comment, but the follow post seems to be a message. Who is Mountain-Eye?
Zeton quickly set about setting up a search program to trace who might be posting as Bäatinei. As he finished the small bit of code needed to perform the search Ham's scanner jolts him back to reality.
Setting into motion program to trace Mountain-Eye, Zeton prepares himself for another trek.
"So, is it time to go? If it is, I'll need to hitch another ride with Widj if she doesn't mind."
"Go?" says Mey'Luskar worriedly. "Where are we planning to go?"
Ignoring her, Dabid asks Ham, "Can that thing show where the scan came from?"
"Perhaps we should use these nice alcoves to take up defensive positions...just in case it isn't someone nice like Wirg."
Nekshi looks crestfallen.
"I'm terribly sorry, I'm not sure of the procedures here. Let me thank you warmly for your hospitality and pray your forgiveness for any errors. We are wayward aliens seeking sanctuary within your temple. I'm sure all security is already taken care of and we have nothing at all to worry about."
She elbows a snickering Lirassa and bows twice to the forgotten priestesses.
"Now can we please go to our dwellings? I've got quite a headache."
"You're not the only one," retorts Lirassa sourly as she turns to follow the acolytes.
Nekshi has been to the Temple before, more or less as an ogling tourist (with ulterior motives), but it's the first time for her to go into the dormitory. The building is a semi-circle, forming part of a ring of structures surrounding the temple itself. It looks a bit on the old side, but it is well maintained for the most part. It gives off the ambiance of a cheap travel hotel.
The interior is dark and quiet, since it is well past its usual operating hours. The dark, mock-stone tile floor, grayish-beige stucco walls, and simple, dark-colored furnishings seem a bit on the gloomy side, but there is ample greenery everywhere. Next to the reception desk is a potted shrub with impressive, vivid-blue flowers.
There are no obvious religious items in sight, but there is a hint of incense in the air.
Going up to the third floor (of four), the acolytes go to the end of the hall and stop. They look at each other for a short time, and then the boy says in Yangae, "These two rooms are yours." He looks at Lirassa and gestures toward one door. "This one has a Besteeng-sized bed for you."
"Thank you," says Lirassa.
"The other one," he says, gesturing, "is for the two of you. We heard that you are companions, so we figured you'd want to share a room." He eyes Granite Spear. "But if you'd rather rest in the pond...or the bath...please feel free. The rooms have individual shower-baths. If you want to use the bathing garden, please follow the signs." The girl gestures like a sales assistant. "But please keep in mind that the bathing facilities are not segregated."
The girl hands out card-keys and says in Her-Galad, "If you need anything, use the coms. Either that or think clearly about what you need. Someone will come."
The acolytes bow and depart, leaving the party in the gloom of the semi-lit hallway.
Lirassa says an abrupt, "I'll see you in the morning...I hope," and unlocks her door.
Nekshi shakes her head, "Always with the negative waves Lirassa..."
She leads Granite into their quarters and sits on one of the beds.
"I'm going to check on things with my Comm and then attempt to sleep. You can wander the halls if you like, but remember, we are guests here. Try not to get into too much mischief."
"Widj, what do you smell? Are we in danger?"
Zeton struggles to a standing position and hobbles closer to Widj. If we need to make a hasty escape, I don't want to waste time, thinks Zeton.
Granite, who has been silent since landing nods at Nekshi. "I will take your leave then, and see about this pond. It's been too long since I've been in water, and need to see about tending this wound." She touches her beak gingerly and shrugs (which must look odd with tentacles...)
Granite leaves her pistol [assuming there was no weapon confiscation in there anywhere] in the room, but takes her staff with her.
[Okay, two courses of action here depending on whether or not Granite saw the pond on the way to the room or not]
COURSE #1 (didn't see the pond)
She spends a couple of moments before opening the door, thinking about requiring a guide to the pond, and then heads out.
She will wait just outside the door for a couple of minutes to see if her request is answered, and if not, will head out in search of the pond herself, using her senses to seek out a place devoid of warm bodies.
COURSE #2 (DID see the pond)
She heads to the pond.
In either case, Granite will study her surroundings to get a lay of the place, in case they need to make a hasty retreat.
Widj is going to take a big long sniff to see what that nefre-bama-dakka-gappe-gimalana-pook Gek'Nork was smelling. She will also stand up.
Dewkid
Granite Spear didn't see the pond, but she has been to the Temple before...sightseeing together with Nekshi. She remembers where it is (and apparently took a dip in it that time, too). Getting to it should be no problem.
Philippa
Make an ALT check (i.e. roll a d20 and subtract it from your ALT).
Ham looks at Dabid "Yes it can ...but doing so will broadcast our location actively ...However...that may be academic at this point. Lets see what Widg comes up with since she can hunt still on the passive side"
I rolled a -6. (13-19) so do I smell something or do I have a cold?
[Ham then remembers that a meson scanner in passive mode can still mark the location of an active meson scan unit at the moment of detection. It literally accepts the other unit's scan field as if it were its own.]
Widjgleeby sniffs a bit and just gets frustrated. Mey'Luskar's perfume is throwing everything out of whack.
Meanwhile, Zeton manages to hit paydirt (ouch!), at least a little. He manages to get access to the government provider that is hosting Mountain-Eye.
[What exactly is Nekshi doing with her com unit?]
Granite Spear makes it to the pond without incident. It's late, and the place is more or less deserted. The cool, clear water, fed by a spring, feels very refreshing.
It doesn't take Granite Spear long to realize that she's not alone down there.
Ham now looks at the scanner log history to locate the origin of the other field.
Granite will continue to swim casually, but will be on extra high alert. She will swim in a pattern around the periphery of the pond looking for evidence of anyone else.
Can she sense anything specific, or is it just instinct kicking in? Granite will definitely suspect that the extra presence is Kuluf, based on her past experience with him, and his inexplicable ability to appear in random places. In fact, she is rather *hopeful* it is him.
Ham looks at the scanner log.
Mark. The scan source came from just around the corner of a side tunnel less than 30m back the way the party came.
[It's a combination of instinct and sensing of flow patterns in the water.]
It's hard to see much in the darkened pond even with infravision, but it isn't long before a figure comes swimming into view. Granite Spear's gut feeling turns out to have been spot on.
Kuluf doesn't use his translator, but he thinks a greeting.
Nekshi will check the blog for any updates and then the local news (again). She'll also run a search on these Hergoth 'Tech Priest', because that sounds very interesting indeed.
Zeton curses his luck, just when his attention is needed elsewhere, he succeeds at gaining access to the server he is interested in.
Zeton will attempt to determine from what location Mountain Eye is posting their messages, (general geographic area will do, but Z. would be happier with more detailed info) and if the same Hyperwave address is being used to post other messages using different names.
If there is time and the following search won't draw attention to himself, Zeton will also attempt to determine who Mountain Eye may be, but guesses whoever it is will not have provided accurate information, such as a name.
[At Seymour:]
Nekshi finds the same messages from Mountain-Eye that I have already detailed for Zeton. Other than that, there's not much. Local internet traffic is starting to taper off owing to the late hour.
Information on Tech Priests is easy to find.
[At InfoGeek:]
After just a little bit of monkeying around, Zeton determines that Mountain-Eye is linking to the network from somewhere in Erweina District. As for specific information about Mountain-Eye, nothing comes up immediately.
A general search for that name comes up with a number of references, most of which are comments posted by the same individual. The only other ones are some hits that mention that Per'anai, the current chief priestess of the Yanda Branch Temple, has Mountain-Eye as her temple name.
[We are tbe Tech Priests of the Tech Temple of Tech Syrinx.]
What time is it in the game? Do our characters require rest?
Mon'Fargret says to the group in a low voice, "After we get done with our electronic surveillance, we should post a couple guards to watch the person behind us and others. The remainder of us should try to catch a little rest. Mey'Luskar, I need you to decide whether or not you are ready to experience the temple so we can make plans around that if we need to."
[tbe = the, meh]
"Greetings to you Kuluf", Granite says with a smirk. "I'm glad to see you avoided the unpleasantness back there. I'm not sure what's going on, but it seems someone at my Mistress' party was... wanted."
Granite thinks for a moment about her earlier conversation with Kuluf in the river. "So, are you finding the answers to your questions here?"
[at Snabulus:]
It's currently well past 2:30 a.m.. Ham and Zeton don't seem to be phased by the lateness much at all. Dabid, on the other hand, is looking a bit soggy (and irritable). It's hard to tell with Mey'Luskar and even less with Widjgleeby. Mon'Fargret is definitely feeling tired, though it may be more psychological than physical.
In response to the question, Mey'Luskar tenses up and snaps, "Why do we need to go there, anyway?" Then she sighs and lowers her gaze. "If you really are going there, I'll...I'll go with you."
Dabid's sigh is even more pitiful. "It'll take us all night to walk there in these tunnels!"
[at Dewkid:]
(How does one smirk with a beak of solid bone and lidless eyes? ;-) )
Kuluf replies telepathically, "The answer to the questions was only more questions. Frustrated, I gave up and tried to join you, but you seemed to be busy, so I came back here. Something told me you'd be coming, but I didn't think it would be so soon."
Zeton tries to put the pieces to the puzzle together, but isn't sure they are all correct. Erweina District. Mountain Eye. The Temple. It all points toward the Temple right now.
"OK, look..." begins Zeton to no one in particular, "I'm starting to get a bit annoyed here. Do we think the person following us is a threat? If so, let's go deal with them. If not, let's go and find out who it is. What do you say to that?"
While waiting for an answer, Zeton attempts to install a back door into the server he successfully accessed to make it easier in the future to log into should he need to do so again.
He then posts a coded reply to Nekshi, (using a non Thulian name she will recognize), explaining the group is ok, and hopefully moving soon, albeit slowly.
Then, he posts a reply to Mountain Eye using yet another alias,
"Is there any way to help find the Loyal Daughter and guide her to safety?"
Mountain-Eye's reply is remarkably fast:
Many are the companions of the Loyal Daughter,
Two giants, class B and class M,
A supergiant with six satellites,
Two main sequence stars, class O and class A.
They circle together beneath the horizon,
Found yet lost.
Where the constellation goes,
The Loyal Daughter will follow,
Rising to light or darkness.
And will the sapphire moon cross their path?
"What the..." Zeton trails off in amazement as he reads the rapid reply from Mountain Eye. He then laughs, quietly, as he understands what is happening. Zeton reads aloud the the message to Mon'Fargret and anyone in the group who cares to listen.
"So, it seems Mountain Eye knows who we are, where we are and where we need to go. I don't think Mountain Eye wishes us any harm. My only question is, who is the Sapphire moon, the person following us?"
Zeton quickly types a reply:
"Will there be heavenly rejoicing if the Sapphire moon and the Loyal Daughter cross paths, or will the celestial encounter lead to super nova explosion?"
Zeton also silently wonders if he is the class M giant or one of the sequence stars...
Granite chortles [figure that one out!] "Indeed I WAS busy!" She gestures at her beak, "... and I get to keep a souvenir of my work!"
Granite does a casual barrel roll in the water - it feels good to relax a bit, especially after her recent battle exertion. "Will you join me back at our room? I'm sure my mistress would like to see that you are unharmed. She isn't in the habit of managing small wars during her social events."
[At InfoGeek:]
This time Mountain-Eye's reply takes a bit longer:
The Loyal Daughter may recoil
From the sapphire moon's fierce glory,
Yet he is the watcher and the protector
Of the celestial dome
And points the way
To the gate.
(BTW, if you want a hint, think color.)
"Aren't you your own mistress?" asks Kuluf with puzzlement. "After all, you follow the Zorlan by your own choice. Very well. I have yet to see the inside of any of the buildings except the temple. I am most curious!"
Zeton shares Mountain Eye's latest reply with Mon'Fargret, Ham and Widj. "I think the person following us is here to help, not harm us, do you agree?"
"So, shall we ask to be pointed to the gate, or make our own way to the Temple?"
While the rest ponder Zeton's question, he replies one last time to Mountain Eye:
"This traveler thanks Mountain Eye for all their help in understanding the underlying messages hidden in the constellations and how to navigate by them. May the stars always shine bright for you."
(Ham can't read Her-Galad.)
A few seconds later there is another reply:
"The answer lies not in the brightest stars,
But in the dimmest,
And the answer itself
Is darker still.
Until we meet again."
Nekshi dreams of small children with very tall ladders.
She is afraid of the ladders, but thinks the children are awfully cute.
She'll note the dream in her computer when she wakes.
Widj folds all her arms except the top pair, which she uses to pick her teeth. "Sapphire moon? Wierd name for fighter. Could be descriptive? Blue gear? or maybe blue skin? What about blue lady from meat . . . uh cafe? or another like Dabid perhaps? Or Her'goth law officer? Too many options." She leans back against the wall "If this moon person was able to follow us , so could others. We shouldn't stay here too long."
After speaking her mind. Widje sinks deep into thought. "It doesn't make sense" she mutters "using people from a vid show that anyone can watch? Put the name and face on thousands of screens then kill them in secret? Not secret! Too much not secret. and releasing tapes that affect thinking? What use would Yangae have for angry loyalist riots?"
"Angry loyalist riots?" echoes Mey'Luskar defensively. "What are you talking about? It's respect that we want, not chaos!"
Then she looks more thoughtful. "Come to think of it, all the Second Chancers in the video, the ones that were killed, were of races the Yangae have always hated. Sark-types like the Besteengs, mainly. Or Perdic (Foldorians), who look like Besteengs. A lot of Yangae would pay good money to see them killed like that."
"Or Hergs, dear lady?" suggests Dabid very deliberately. "Would you pay to see them killed?"
Mey'Luskar looks stung for a second. Then she looks murderous. "You watch it, blue!" she spits, striking a fighting pose. Then she gasps. "Blue!" She points at Zeton and his blue, hybrid Hergoth clothing. "The color of Goth!"
[And here I thought black lipstick and clothes were more Goth...ba-da-bing]
"The signs of our collective fatigue are unmistakable by our bickering. Nonetheless, I share Zeton's concern about our follower especially because I think someone is trying to use psy to keeps tabs on me and possibly us, though there is no proof it is our follower."
"Ham, would you join me in greeting our new shadow? Also Mey'Luskar, if you can help scry this unpleasant presence, I feel your superior skills might get a fix on it. Can I help you share this sense of mine?"
Mey'Luskar gives Mon'Fargret an unreadable look. "If you really need my help," she says quietly, "I'll give it, but don't make me do this."
Ham nods assent to Mon'Fargret idea "Lets"
Mey'Luskar sighs and concentrates. When she does, the others standing nearby can almost feel her aura growing.
Then she gestures negative. "I don't feel anything there. But there are Hergoth not far away. Lots of them. And I'm not sure if they're friend...." She gasps abruptly and puts her fingers to her temples.
"No," she moans, her fingers still pressed to her head. "Please don't make me do this!"
Mon'Fargret puts his hand on Mey'Luskar's shoulder, "You may stop if you wish. Ham and I will check out our tag-a-long for now."
Meanwhile, up at the Temple...
Granite Spear leads Kuluf out of the pond and back to the dormitory (after taking a moment to shake off some of the water and algea).
There is someone at the counter, his uniform indicating that he is the night watchman. He eyes the pair rather uncertainly as they stroll (in their respective forms) past.
Arriving at the room, they find Nekshi sound asleep. Kuluf tries to approach the bed, but Granite Spear, ever mindful of her duties, plants herself in the way.
It's strange, says Kuluf telepathically. There is a flow in here, and Nekshi seems to be one of the focal points, though I don't know if she is sending or receiving.
Just then Nekshi lets out a very audible moan of distress.
Granite is immediately concerned, and her heat pattern changes to reflect it. "This is wrong. She is not peaceful." Turning to Kuluf, she says "I know not whether waking her is appropriate, but I believe she is under attack!" Granite considers for a moment, and pleads to Kuluf "Can you help? Can you stop the... the... flow?"
Kuluf pauses for a while in deep concentration. Then he replies, I don't know. I don't know if I want to. I don't know if I should. He hesitates, and then he adds, I sense that this is most significant.
He moves closer to Nekshi and stares at her quietly.
Nekshi moans and tosses fitfully. "Uhhhhhh, the Eye, the Eye!".
She thrashes around quite a bit and looks none to happy.
So she's seen the Eye, observes Kuluf. Excellent. We're getting closer!
Just then a frantic scrambling and banging can be heard through the wall followed by a door slamming. In the next instant, a very wide-eyed and disheveled-looking Lirassa comes bursting into the room.
"Ka witt band!" she wails in Brekka. "Da fia nur zunemik widdet i boih narggi! Kgi kem witt traknar iffregi, noi da dorg dolm effoi ddokka in dau guli kgi!" She takes a breath and continues in Yangae, "I want out! Out of here! Out! Right now! I...uh..."
She stops and stares blankly at Kuluf for a second or two, her mouth hanging open.
"What are you doing here?" she finally asks.
Kuluf clicks on his translator, adjusts the controls, and says, "You've seen the Eye, too, haven't you?"
Lirassa's only response is a sort of grunt through a limply-hanging mouth.
In the next instant a pleasant, feminine voice can be heard singing the Hergoth Song of Calling (what Hergoth use instead of knocking). Since the door is already open, the singer invites herself in.
A Priestess. One of rank, too, judging by her brooch. She bows in Hergoth fashion, a warm smile on her face, and then she says in Yangae, "I sense that you are troubled. May I be of assistance?"
Lirassa tries and fails to give a coherent response.
Nekshi wakes up, but she's too stunned to be of much use at this point.
Kuluf doesn't say anything, but it's obvious that they have communicated.
The priestess' face becomes grave. She closes the door and then sings to it (forming a weird harmony between her physical and psychic voices). Then she eyes the others in turn and says, "You must tell me exactly what you saw."
Lirassa chortles. "Why should I tell you anything? I've had enough of a mind-screw for one night!"
Time for a new post.
(Man, I'm really getting behind in my illustrations, aren't I?)
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