Casting Spatial Awareness: Gnosis 1 + Space 1 + High Speech 2 = 4 dice
2 successes.
Jeremiah tuned his vision to detect spatial anomalies in the area, and immediately noticed that the area was enveloped in a powerful spell, which vibrated and buzzed like a swarm of locusts through every wall, floor, and ceiling he could see.
Scrutinize
Operating on the assumption that Jeremiah will want to scrutinize the spell, at least a little, here's one (of a possible 9) roll to scrutinize:
Int3+Occ2+Dens1+Bonus2+Equipment1=9 dice, 2 successes.
He produced a crystal from his pocket and, squinting through it, read the intensity of the spell for clues. It was an apprentice-level Space spell meant to block out other applications of the Space arcanum, and it hissed with an overwhelming intensity, the power of twenty-three simple castings.
"Here goes nothing..." muttered Gabriel, and began a High Speech incantation. "Prekiniti ta duh klavir!"
The assembled mages watched as the piano's Twilight expression cracked, splintered, and shattered into shards of ephemera, which fell onto the floor, liquefied, and seeped into the cracks in the floorboards. A small man hobbled out through the front of the piano, supporting himself on a cane.
A foot tall, pale and bearded, the little man looked profoundly unreal. He seemed to flicker and freeze periodically, like a TV signal being blocked out, and appeared as a two-dimensional projection.
Speaking softly to Thorn, "I had thought the spirits to manifest in a manner with more substance. Although this method may provide a certain insight into importance."
OOC
I think there were spells that people wanted to cast as soon as the spirit became visible.
"Yeah," Thorn replies thoughtfully. "This isn't how they usually look..."
She steps forward and puts a hand out over the spirit, a little like a cat pinning a mouse to the floor under its paw. Then she closes her eyes, leans forward, and inhales deeply through her nose.
The vision of the spirit was how the spirit -chose- to appear...that's what Hugo had taught her. It might be true, or a lie. But the truth of the spirits essence could be found by those who knew the trick of it.
She opens her eyes after taking in the spirit's scent, and some trick of the light makes her pupils look widely dilated; a stalking feline's eyes.
"Who are you?" she asks it.
(trying to suss out the spirit's bans and whatever other info can be learned)
Last edited by Shayuri; 1st January 2009 at 07:54 PM..
(trying to suss out the spirit's bans and whatever other info can be learned)
OOC
Sounds like an advanced application of the Knowing practice to me! Gnosis (2) + Spirit (2) - Resistance (?) = ? dice, 0 successes.
"I am a fragment of the events of the Alpha, my dear," the spirit replied. "Built by Henry Hobson Richardson, the F.L. Higginson House is a perfect example of the Richardsonian style wrought in bearing masonry. Charles Bulfinch was an early American architect, and has been regarded by many as the first native-born American to practice architecture as a profession. During the period when Thompson was with TAC, he also started a business called 'Design Research' which specialized in the design of accessory products."
His words matched to the movement of his lips only poorly. Thorn was reminded of Clint Eastwood in "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly"; it was as though the spirit's voice had been dubbed over in some other language and then re-dubbed in english.
"Spirit, this world is beta. None of the people that you encountered or store information on from alpha exist here."
"Silly boy," the spirit answered, "This world hasn't gone entirely over to beta--not yet, anyway. She skipped along the rocks leading into her grandmother's kitchen, a fine, old-world home that spoke of Howard's Rock's tradition and small-town comforts. 'The fire won't die down,' shouted the fire marshal. Julianna had neither the patience nor energy to argue with Robert, so she simply rocked back and forth in the chair her grandfather carved."
Thorn put a hand to her forehead and sighed. This alpha beta stuff was starting to piss her off.
"Keep talking to it. I wanna go get...some...like brochure or something that shows what's really here. Maybe if we can prove it's wrong, it'll go away."
She turns and starts grabbing leaflets and brochures and little packets of info from other rooms in the house.
"Spirit, I am quite sure in fact that alpha has not been present in this world for some time. Should you seek to spout such useless information, I would request you do it elsewhere. In fact, beta boasts several offices of information which would simply adore your presence should you boast of alpha within their premises."
"Spirit, I am quite sure in fact that alpha has not been present in this world for some time. Should you seek to spout such useless information, I would request you do it elsewhere. In fact, beta boasts several offices of information which would simply adore your presence should you boast of alpha within their premises."
The spirit laughed. "Certainly, I imagine you'd notice if you were, at this moment, living in the city of Broken Eyes! There was a crash, and the wrecking ball tore through the side of the old church. Mr. Davies truly believed his plans were accurate--not without justification. Given the materials available, who could construct a better office building than Sylas?
"Now, could one of you fine people kindly direct me to the recording studio of mister--" he referenced a set of notes in his breast pocket "Steven Tyler? Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. is an American multinational semiconductor company based in Sunnyvale, California, that develops computer processors and related technologies for commercial and consumer markets. From its 2007 acquisition of 100 percent ownership of H3C Technologies Co., Limited -- what was initially a joint venture with China-based Huawei Technologies -- 3Com today has a leading market presence in China, and a significant networking market share in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The company's first store was opened in Brighton, Massachusetts in 1986."
"Simply playing different recordings from the memory preprogrammed into you will not help you here spirit. Even though your words express meaning enough, their preconstruction is quickly as obvious as your own world's absence."
ooc
Analyze Resonance again Int 3 + Occult 5 + Density 2 = 10 dice. Looking first to see if he recognizes the spirit's resonance, then to identify the most powerful feeling it resonates.
Also, not sure what the check is, but something to see if Prometheus' talking is phasing the spirit at all, or if the spirit even responds directly to him.
Analyze Resonance again Int 3 + Occult 5 + Density 2 = 10 dice. Looking first to see if he recognizes the spirit's resonance, then to identify the most powerful feeling it resonates.
6 successes in 2 rolls (8 rolls left).
Prometheus scanned the spirit. More than any other emotion, the spirit resonated with loneliness and longing. Prometheus felt that the being deeply wanted to belong to something much larger than himself, and was utterly consumed in the desire--so much so that Prometheus wondered if the creature had any substance at all beyond that one overwhelming urge.
ooc
Quote:
Originally Posted by magic_gathering2001
Also, not sure what the check is, but something to see if Prometheus' talking is phasing the spirit at all, or if the spirit even responds directly to him.
The spirit's gibbering started to make a little sense to him. There was definitely a pattern to the way it spoke. It was as though it struggled to keep its train of thought for more than a single thought, and had to meander about for a few sentences before coming back into the moment. It had been talking to him when it called him a "silly boy," so it at least acknowledged Prometheus' presence.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shayuri
She turns and starts grabbing leaflets and brochures and little packets of info from other rooms in the house.
Thorn found a stand full of brochures near the front desk. It was the sort of thing you might find in a hotel lobby: pamphlets for tourist traps and water parks. There were, however, a selection of maps of interesting architectural and historical sites on the top shelf.
Last edited by Hella_Tellah; 6th January 2009 at 06:50 AM..
"Simply playing different recordings from the memory preprogrammed into you will not help you here spirit. Even though your words express meaning enough, their preconstruction is quickly as obvious as your own world's absence."
"My dear boy," the spirit replied, hotly, "I'm afraid that, in this instance, your notions are as incorrect as your tone is rude. You may take this all for granted--take the mortar, block and glass--and you forget the speech that moved the stone. Well, it's just a coffeehouse, made out of wood, but espresso coffee tastes mighty good! Six stories, brick and mortar, the lighthouse lit Howard's Rock's nights like a flickering candle over a medieval scholar's papers."
That looks promising, Thorn decides, and grabs the whole stack from the top shelf. Carrying it across her chest like a schoolgirl would carry her books, she heads back to the piano room and sets the pile down on the top of the old grand hard enough to make the strings inside hum discordantly.
"Did you ask him about the music yet?" she asks briskly as she starts going through the papers, looking for anything related to the spirit's mania.
Her brain still trying to make sense of the alpha and beta nonsense that the spirit referred to made Levanna lose track of the conversation. Rather than open her mouth and appear dull witted, she went to Thorn's side and asked "uh... Want some help with that?" while scratching nervously at the back of her head.
At least this spirit was amiable. It could have been a lot worse, she thought darkly.
"Fair enough I suppose it, to say that Alpha survives in the product of its thoughts as many civilizations native to beta have done." Pausing his speech to move over to the sheet music, Prometheus will grab the pile and move next to the spirit, holding the sheet where both can see it, "What import does this particular item have to the fragment of memory which alpha deemed fit with which to impart you?"
"Fair enough I suppose it, to say that Alpha survives in the product of its thoughts as many civilizations native to beta have done." Pausing his speech to move over to the sheet music, Prometheus will grab the pile and move next to the spirit, holding the sheet where both can see it, "What import does this particular item have to the fragment of memory which alpha deemed fit with which to impart you?"
"Oh, that's very important indeed, and I do hope you'll see that it joins its brothers in the Tome of Ages. The structural definition of the word skyscraper was refined later by architectural historians, based on engineering developments of the 1880s that had enabled construction of tall multi-storey buildings. வானளாவிகளின் பாரம் தாங்கும் கூறுகளும், குறிப்பிடத்தக்க அளவு ஏனைய கட்டிடங்களில் இருந்து வேறுபடுகின்றன. El primer edifici que podria ser considerat gratacel és el Home Insurance Building, dissenyat pel nord-americà William Li Baron Jenney."
"I would quite like to oblige you and return these notes to the Tome, however my knowledge of these things remains imperfect, and I have in fact no reference by which to identify the Tome, nor inclination as to where to look. Could you help me in these regards spirit?"
ooc
Does Prometheus speak any of those languages, and if he does, could you translate it?
Her brain still trying to make sense of the alpha and beta nonsense that the spirit referred to made Levanna lose track of the conversation. Rather than open her mouth and appear dull witted, she went to Thorn's side and asked "uh... Want some help with that?" while scratching nervously at the back of her head.
At least this spirit was amiable. It could have been a lot worse, she thought darkly.
"Sure," Thorn said amiably. "I'm just sort of looking through all this stuff...seeing if anything he's talking about is in here. Figure maybe if we can show him proof..."
She shrugs and offers Levanna half of the stack she'd liberated.
"Mostly I'm just looking busy. I'm at the point where I'm ready to just grab his head and haul him out of the house with my bare hands."
"I would quite like to oblige you and return these notes to the Tome, however my knowledge of these things remains imperfect, and I have in fact no reference by which to identify the Tome, nor inclination as to where to look. Could you help me in these regards spirit?"
"Ah, yes, I had the gentleman of Cathay append the address of a house in Howard's Rock, Massachussetts to the sheet music. Blister steel, produced by the cementation process, was first made in Italy in the early 16th century and soon after introduced to England. Cement plaster is a mixture of suitable plaster, sand, portland cement and water which is normally applied to masonry interiors and exteriors to achieve a smooth surface. Hydraulic cements are materials that set and harden after being combined with water, as a result of chemical reactions with the mixing water, and that, after hardening, retain strength and stability even under water.
"If you would please be so kind as to deliver that set of sheet music to the address listed upon its final page, and insert it into the Tome of Ages, I would be forever indebted to you, and you'd be doing history a great service. Storeys within a building need not be all the same height — often the lobby is quite spacious, for example. They are powered by electric motors that either drive traction cables and counterweights a pulley, or pump hydraulic fluid to raise a cylindrical piston.In addition to rods placed at regular intervals on the highest portions of a structure, a lightning protection system typically includes a rooftop network of conductors, multiple conductive paths from the roof to the ground, bonding connections to metallic objects within the structure and a grounding network."
ooc
Quote:
Originally Posted by magic_gathering2001
Does Prometheus speak any of those languages, and if he does, could you translate it?
[I'm afraid Prometheus only speaks English, lacking the merits for others. He spoke in Thai and Catalan, if you're curious. I promise you aren't missing anything important.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shayuri
"Sure," Thorn said amiably. "I'm just sort of looking through all this stuff...seeing if anything he's talking about is in here. Figure maybe if we can show him proof..."
She shrugs and offers Levanna half of the stack she'd liberated.
There were a number of dull pamphlets on local museums and tourist attractions, but one in particular caught Thorn's eye: Colonial Villages of the Massachussetts Coastline. It was full of photographs of seafront property and quaint old-timey main streets in a smattering of small towns along the coast. One photograph's caption seemed relevant:
Howard's Rock. Recommended for adventurous travellers. Fine cuisine.
Wasn't that the same town mentioned in the sheet music?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shayuri
"Mostly I'm just looking busy. I'm at the point where I'm ready to just grab his head and haul him out of the house with my bare hands."
The spirit turned to address Thorn with a look of sincere contrition. "I apologize, my dear, if I've offended you in some manner. The word hotel is derived from the French hôtel (coming from hôte meaning host), which referred to a French version of a townhouse or any other building seeing frequent visitors, rather than a place offering accommodation. It has been proposed that the term is a throwback to the age of the shrine cults, the name being retained because all major Zoroastrian rituals were solemnized between sunrise and noon, the time of day especially under Mithra's protection. The early European dollhouses were each unique, constructed on a custom basis by individual craftsmen."
I promise you aren't missing anything important.
Linear Mode
And yet another word from our sponsors
