TCotM: Tenebrynn's Idylls

[Bront]

"It is true, the future is never set in stone. Frankly, I'm surprised that so many of you were afflicted with the past particles in just our one present. That leads to the provocative suggestion that this may be the best of all possible worlds..."

"But not for me?"

"Would it not have been better for you if you had gotten that professorship that year? I always wonder that."

"Not really. I've accepted it, and now I know I'm happiest where I am now. Things turned out for the best."

"Ah, but consider! What would your regressed mind think? You know, without the whole choice-supportive bias. Probably want to change your mind now, eh?"

"Lex, I must admit, finding you with the 'folk, even for me, is pretty suprising. Never made me care for ya any less, but in many ways, I always thought we'd go our seperate ways as you were determined to follow your dreams in the magical world that you couldn't with the 'folk. Laynie probably has something there."

"But I wouldn't be suprised if it's a reflex of some kind. It's certaintly powerful enough to have that kind of a reflex, and since the four of us generaly would wish each other well, I can understand why it sent us here. Since it sent me first, my future was probably somewhat exclusive to Lex's, which could be a problem, as Lex is probably in some other future, and that could be potentialy disasterous for her. And it certiantly sounds more plausable than my previous theory about a manufactured illusion of reality by the Crux."

OOC: Sorry, between work, and a realy bad fall that injured my leg badly, it's been hard to get on. Today was nuts.

 

[Knight Otu]

"If that's the best possible futur... what could happen if Joe's survive the Dracolich War... If we find as much information about our futur and use it at our advantage, could it be possible we could create an even better futur? For xample, on just like this one, but where Joe lives?" asks Rinaldo

"That is something that we should discuss. It is a very problematic thing no matter which way we go, as I'm sure everyone here has noticed."
In more than one way. Depending on a few details, this specific future probably is already barred to us. Ashnar thinks after finishing his previous sentence, then continues.
"So, it seems there are two things we need to find out - where (or when, in the worst case) are our now-minds, and how do we restore them to their rightful place?"
It's easy to see why chronomancy is a forbidden art though. If this future is already barred to us, we shouldn't even be here in the first place. (s)he continues her line of thought.

 

[Rystil Arden]

"There are many possible paradoxes, aren't there? I've been thinking of the fact that you guys never mentioned this and how that can possibly work out, since the past versions of you would have known this would happen when returned, and you must be returned or this future couldn't ever exist, but then I realised that telling everyone is an event that is still in your minds' futures. So you can choose whether or not to tell other people what happened to you, and if you do tell them, then you don't get this future--this future only results when you keep the fact that you visited the future a secret."

"Of course, Elektra could shed some light on that, can't you? What was it like when the Crux absorbed you?"

"For me, it was more like a trancelike state, almost like a dream. Surreal things kept happening, and there were fades to darkness. I was somehow drifting. I have these flashes of random stories and events of happy things that happened to me in those dreams, but they never came true."

"It sounds to me like you just weren't quite able to recoalesce within one future, so you were adrift between alternate futures. Another possibility is that you had something exactly like this happen in a different future, but the dreamlike state is the only thing you get to remember of it. If that latter was true, it could be the way the universe regulates itself and avoids those paradoxes."

 

[Knight Otu]

"And if we remember, we shouldn't write any documents to explain the situation to ourselves because we didn't have any on us when we came to. In cruder words, 'It happens because it happened.'
Elektra's case (among others) has worried me, I must admit, for pretty much the reasons you stated. The four of us are able to collaborate, now. We can't include then-Elektra in it, however."

 

[Rystil Arden]

"Yes, that's about the size of it. But remember, the Elektra we have here right now, although she didn't come to the same future as the rest of you guys, is still the same Elektra from your past in this branching present, so if she says she only saw hazy images, then that's what all the Elektras saw from our shared past."

 

[Knight Otu]

Ashna looks at the others, then asks Laynie "Is there a place where the four of us could talk alone?" She is completely certain that Laynie knows what she is interested in talking about, and she hopes that Laynie understands that the four 'past-minds' may need to discuss things that would only unnecessarily burden the 'now-people'.

 

[Rystil Arden]

*Laynie raises an eyebrow.*

"Sure. This is a suite, so you could talk just over in the other room. Kiara, you don't have to worry, okay."

"I know...I'm sorry about before."

"Ooo, Vanitri, ouch! She thinks it's safer for her husband with a glowing fire person than alone with you."

*Kiara laughs.*

"Laynie, you're incorrigible!"

(OOC: Feel free to go ahead and start talking in the other room)

 

[Erekose13]

Tenebrynn gives Kiara a reassuring look even though she is more at ease with the idea now. Once in private he looks to the others before says, "Any ideas? Beyond going to the Crux and Laynie's tests, I didn't have anything else. Oh wait, I still have that bag of stuff Rinaldo pulled out of the lab back in the tower. I wonder if any of it would help."

 

[Velmont]

"What? How that can be possible? Why didn't we have splits these tiems, kept teh one we wnated and sold the other... if I had any doubt that there was something strange about that futur, here it is, keeping items in a bag for 10 years is all but profitable..." Rinaldo takes the bag and starts to look at teh items. "Well, not sure it would be usefull, we don't know more what those items do than 10 years ago. Maybe if you cast a detect magic, we could know if any have a chronomantic aura... most likely such a rare item could be of some use."

 

[Erekose13]

"I'll admit that I hadn't thought of that. I was carrying the items that I had in the past when I first appeared in the Library of Orussus. I've done some work on cataloguing and identifying some of the items. Lets see here." Says Tenebrynn, pulling out his list from the bag.

- amuletsx2 (technically one looks more like a magic amulet, the other more like a fashionable necklace)
- ringsx3
- Brassiere
- a length of obsidian topped with a skull with rubies for eyes
- crystalline orb of some sort
- a staff of ebony and gold
- a small slender rod-like object with a coiling pattern around it topped by a sapphire
- a pair of stylish ladies' shoes
- a sort of combination dress/robe for the lady wizard with a sense of style
- a silvery shield
- a shortsword that gleams as if with morning light
- a lovely sash, great to accessorise
- a corset
- a pair of elegant bracelets
- a thin platinum circlet
- a slender fluted wand
- a small scroll case that seems to hold vast quantities of scrolls
- an enchanted flute with unknown mystical properties; the flute bears two symbols, one of which Laynie recognises as the sigil of the Magequeen and her royal family
- an enchanted gem, a dusty rose quartz of sorts
- a plush kitty doll*

*The robe is a Robe of the Archmagi. Now, those usually have a colour of black, grey, or white, but he can't help but noticing that it's a sort of off-black dark purple affair. The analysis indicates that some combination of Elayna Valsice going Neutral and trying to refix her Robe to not give her negative levels but never finishing combined with Wild Surges has left it at a point where it is neither colour. It gives one negative level to Neutral and Evil wearers and still three to Good wearers. For a small price, it can probably be fixed in either direction, but it will still always be a ladies' dress/robe for female mages.*

*The spiraling coiling sapphire thing is a very classy personal spell nexus that has apparently been safeguarded and connected to one particular mage's energies and casting style. It also has some sort of Misdirection magic that prevent the Identify from determining more details--stronger magic is required.*

*The orb is a modified Orb of Storms that ostensibly can attempt to control aether storms and temporal aspects as well as usual weather, though it doesn't have the whole Storm of Vengeance thing. There is an unidentifiable quirk in the item due to wild surges. For a small price, it can probably be fixed.*

*The skull-tipped rod is a Lesser Necromantic Nexus. You can cast necromancy spells into the nexus, one each of levels 0, 1, 2, and 3. You can then substitute any spell of those levels for the spells stored in the nexus (this does not expend the nexus spells, but it does expend your spell slot) as long as you are holding the nexus. Whenever you cast the spells stored in the nexus, the DC increases by 1. Also, you can cast the spells stored in the nexus as if they were the subject of the Still Spell feat 3/day. There is an unidentifiable quirk in the item due to wild surges. For a small price, it can probably be fixed.*

Necklace--+1 Natural Armour, +2 Wis, +2 Cha (may have some quirks due to Wild Magic, but nothing a pixie can't handle!)

Bracelets--+2 Dex (may have some quirks due to Wild Magic)

Wand--Enervation (12 charges remain, may have some quirks due to Wild Magic)

Scroll Case--a wide assortment of various low-level utility spells that you might not want to prepare but might need, usually ones that also work well at minimum caster level. Knock, Comprehend Languages, Tongues, etc. Anything in particular for which he is looking? He does find one old scroll of Identify.

The sash appears to grant a +2 bonus to Con, but it has a strange quirk that causes the wearer to walk with a provocative and feminine sashay, halving base land speed. It does make the step lighter though, allowing for a graceful sashay and improving dancing ability and the ability to dodge attacks when wearing simple clothing or nothing at all (but not armour).