Back in the Auger Village
Wisco leans in against the tree, resting his head against the rough bark. He is not suffering any memory loss. Yet. But there seems little doubt that there is a connection between the Auger's condition the upside down mountain and the machine that eats time. Being able to share the Auger's memories would be useful in the journey ahead through the Auger Khan. And perhaps, maybe, it may give him an insight into what is happening. Which, in turn, lead to a way to help the Augers.
The spokeswoman didn't speak to whether being concentrated would make him, in turn, vulnerable to what the Auger's are suffering. Nor to whether it would in turn help them be more resilient. Wisco shrugs. Maybe they don't know.
"I will be concentrated. Perhaps I can learn something from your memories that will allow me to help you.
"If that is acceptable."
[sblock=OOC]Will make Numenera Check to try and get an understanding of what is happening.
Numenera Trained. Going all out in INT pool spend (see below*) [roll0].
Not sure if Wisco's advancement applies here and now or from when he leaves the village. Will spend 2 INT + 1 EDGE for two step reduction, or 3 INT and 2 Edge for 3 step reduction if its an option. Smoke 'em if you've got 'em.
So far Wisco has spent 4 INT pool so far in the village.[/sblock]
Wisco believes that "concentration" will connect him with the Augurs and them with him in a symbiotic relationship. With the tree as a bridging force, he will be able to draw upon their knowledge, but part of his own mind will be used to help stabilize their gaps in memory.
The tree's branches lean down to touch Wisco, pressing against his head, his spine, the center of his chest. One branch dangles something in front of him, what looks like a small sapling. "You are a traveler, a rover, a far-seeker. You will carry us with you, inside you and of you."
The sapling is moved to his back, and the branches grip him firmly. The Augur being used as a mouthpiece puts her hand on his arm, her eyes back to gray for a moment.
"This will feel a little painful at first. Keep calm if you can. It will help."
Then Wisco feels the needle-thin branches actually pushing into his skull, finding the gaps between the plates, delving into his brain. Barely has he realized
that intrusion when he feels pressure at his back, at the top of his spine.
"It's taking root. You'll carry us with you now," the mouthpiece says.
Lights explode across his mind's eye, and Wisco can see little rootlets running through his brain, wrapping around his spine to where the little tree has been implanted. With a gasp, he momentarily sees a grove made of light, trees all connected together, impulses running from one to another.
And suddenly, it's over.
The mouthpiece runs her hand over a nearby wall, which shimmers into a mirror-like reflectiveness. A tiny tree has taken root between his shoulder blades, rising up his spine to somewhat shade his head, the branches spreading wide as his shoulders. An experiment twist proves that he doesn't feel particularly burdened or stiff, the tree flexing with him.
But it's a mighty odd sight and sensation.
"We will be there for you when you travel, just as you will be there for us. When you need us, just think, and that which you don't know will come to mind."
Wisco feels a strange
drawing sensation as the blue fades from the mouthpiece's eyes, returning them to gray. "That helps, Wisco. Your completion stabilizes us all." She smiles at you, and you know unerringly her name is Damarinda. "You seek the source of our eradication. Be careful."
---
At the Braided River
Several things happen in quick succession.
Echo frowned a little at the strange gleaming homunculus, then addressed the Augur.
"Whatever you're doing, stop it."
Silvery fluid welled up out of her skin and quickly covered her from head to foot, leaving her a quicksilver statue of herself.
"Or be stopped."
The Augur doesn't let go, doesn't even speak, and the human makes a gasping sound like a death rattle. With a mental shriek, the manikin leaps for Echo (
for safety, why does she know that?), the light of it peeling off into a dozen different strands that enter her body through her mechanical ports. Almost audibly, she can suddenly feel doors opening in her mind, and upwelling of memory returning...
Antor watches the display of the three and it just doesn't seem right to him. He's not sure if the Augur or the manikin thing are either helping or hurting and he decides it's best if he just gets the human away from both until it can be determined.
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OOC:
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- Antor will run up to the human and attempt to pick him up and move him away from them both. He'll place himself between them shielding the human as he does so.
I'll apply a level of effort for whatever I need to roll.
1d20=16
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OOC:
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Antor darts in, snatching the human away from the Augur. As he pulls the human away, long tendrils of something thread-like and glowing stretch from the Augur's palms to the human's temples, some of them snapping, and the human lets out a moan of pain as the Augur snarls elegantly.
Seregal raises his hands and smiles diplomatically. "What my companion means is, well, let's discuss any religious or social issues we may have infringed upon, and let's see if we can sort things out peacefully between everyone here."
[SBLOCK]Trained in Diplomacy:
1d20=14[/SBLOCK]
The Augur turns at Seregal's words, his elegant face set in haughty lines of anger. "Tell your bodyguard to release my duracha at once. You have no notion what your interference has done." Despite his sharp words, the Augur keeps his hands down and makes no aggressive movements, just runs his fingers through the few remaining strands emerging from his palm, like plucking the strings of an instrument. The human twitches like he's being jabbed with a needle every time that happens.
The Augur utterly ignores the drama of Echo and the manikin of light, as if he didn't even see them.
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