Between crisis the members of the Elucidate dwell within the Spellspire., Eating, sleeping, leisure. Whether in the labs working on the countless rituals involved with paving the way towards colonization, dabbling with their own personal projects, or simply taking a moment to themselves, this is where they live. While the expedition has not started how they hoped, the ultimate goal of the expedition remains unchanged: To prepare this realm for colonization by the Empire of Aleteros.

But the expedition was expected to take time. Not every moment of every day can be dedicated to work. Mages are still people, try as hard as some of them might to change that, and so when they are not working the expedition members eat, drink, engage in their forms of relaxation and also their own personal projects.

Points of Interest in the Elucidate

2nd Floor: The mess hall, though this  term is used loosely as its fine trappings rival noble courts, though at the moment food and drink is in short supply.
Floors 3-10: Personal Quarters: Your own personal rooms to call your own. Many mages keep workshops within their quarters for their own endeavors.
Floor 11: Healing Quarters and Shared Workshop: Here the currently inoperable healing quarters are intended to provide quick succor to those injured during their work. The shared workshop is still functional and provides an array of tools to undertake most simple projects.
Floor 12: The World Forge: Here is where all the planarforming equipment lies. Reality seeds,
Top of the Tower: The Arcanosphere resides here, the heart of the Elucidate, it is also where controls lie in order to move the tower.

Traits of the Elucidate

Stabilized Magic: While magic in this realm is unruly, the Arcanosphere allows it to operate stably within the confines of the tower.
Readily Available Amenities: A soft bed, warm shower, supplies, food and drink (Eventually) are all freely available within the tower.
Project Availability: Special projects can be completed while within the Elucidate.

OOC: Here is where you can post between adventures to mingle with the other players, write up working on special projects, or occasionally interact with the NPC mages of the tower (Though they won't always make time for you as they're busy folks themselves.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:50, Fri 23 Feb.

Reemerging from the sixth floor still damp, Steorra bearing a darkening bruise on one cheek, but relatively unscathed. Arzin and Steorra find the tower starting to settle down. Taking the translocator down to the second floor mess hall they find one mage taking stock of their supplies while another is standing at a table and methodically weaving spells. Each time he finishes an apple winks into existence with the first mage adds to a basket of them. Earlier it had been mentioned that food and water would only last three days, it seems steps have already been taken to offset the shortage.

The mage doing the conjuring doesn't notice the new arrivals, but the one collecting the literal fruits of his labor looks up, "You were the two going to check out the spatial magic of the fritz. How'd it go?" He asked conversationally while he plucked up another apple, made a tally of it, and added it to the pile. "I hope you like apples by the way, apparently they're one of the easier things to conjure up." The words were directed at Steorra, the mage having little interest in the plated warrior. "Oh, I'm Cavek by the way, it was Steorra right? You do the things with Time? Handy that, there's never enough hours in the day, though at least I always have enough hands to make light work," Cavek said, raises his arms which seemed to multiple till he had three pairs of them, they then flickered and disappeared again. "The magic of multiplicity as it were, I should be able to make these apples go further once all the conjuring is said and done."

Steorra nodded at Cavek and returned his greeting.

"Well met. I am Steorra Tellurian, the Magister of Time. Although after that recent shift my time magic isn't as impressive as it sounds these days, but  I'm slowly recovering. Slowly. I see everyone was affected by that dimensional shift energy wave as well." he said as he looked around.

"But it's good to see you guys all retained some bit of your magic as well. I think things will get better once we settle in here, and it's valuable what you're doing with the food and water supply, by the way." he said, gratefully taking one of the offered apples and biting into it. It was important that he kept up his strength if he was going to be of any help tot he mages here.

"And yes, consider the spatial errors on the 6th floor to be resolved, The Arcanosphere should once again be abled to charge itself faster than it's expending itself now that the energy drain has stopped." 

Steorra had sounded convinced that Arzin could, sooner or later, make something useful out of all the bits and bobs that he had found littering the bridge-span upstairs. Arzin himself was not so sure.

~I am no weapon-smith, nor armorer. Nor do I know any magics that would allow me to simply conjure up things that I can see in my mind's eye. So, how is this going to work? Will the Tower somehow imbue me with abilities that I did not heretofore possess, thus allowing me to complete wondrous-fine projects?~

The ex-solder glanced around the chamber, and everything that he glimpsed was linked to magic in some fashion. ~I suppose that makes good sense, given that everyone except me is a magicker of some stripe.~

~However, that leaves me as odd man out. I'm about as much use in all these goings-on as teats on a boar-hog.~

Deciding that he should not jump to conclusions, Arzin waited for a lapse in the conversation and the mage who had given his name as "Cavek". When the opportunity arose, Arzin addressed the fellow who was tossing newly-created apples into a basket.

"Excuse me, Master Cavek. Can you tell me who is in charge of these . . ."

Just about then, mid-sentence, a thought occurred to the man-at-arms. "Ummm . . . scratch that. Sir, can I relieve you of your apple-gathering and tallying duties? I can pluck apples and count, and it would free you up to put your magicks to better use."

Steorra looked at Arzin a moment. He was utterly unaware of the man's internal dialogue with himself and those hidden insecurities, but he did mean to mention something to the soldier either way. And seeing him ask about the apples triggered something in him.

"Soldier Arzin? You know those materials you found on our little excursion? They are very versatile and can be used for all sorts of things. You personally may not be able to use them for all the things you may have in mind, but remember...you are a soldier-protector of a group of mages, which in turn makes us your patrons. So don't hesitate to ask around the project team if you need something or to draw on one of our expertise. Lots of us can tinker around with things, and some are dedicated artificers even. so if you ever decide what to do with those materials and need help...well, just ask around the project team." Steorra said.

"And that means yes, we may need you to occasionally do some gruntwork for us. Because somehow it seems the dimension wave didn't impact your physique much if at all, while a lot of us are pretty feeble now. But don't think that's all you're good for, though. And that will probably won't be as often as you'd think. You see...we know your true value is bringing you out to protect us when we go out in the field. Well that, and to kill prismatic slimes. Heh."

This message was last edited by the player at 09:24, Sat 24 Feb.

~"Prismatic Slimes" . . . so, that's what those creatures are called,~ Arzin thought to himself as Steorra spoke to him.

Arzin had to admit, the name that the Bookworms had given to their attackers sounded better than what he might have called them if left to his own devices -- "Giant Slugs and Lesser Slugs" and "Flying Jellyfish" had come to mind at the time, when he was busy fighting them.

At first blush, the idea of going helm in hand and asking the Bookworms for help with his projects held little appeal for Arzin. But the more he thought about it, the more he equated such a thing with approaching a weaponsmith or armorsmith back in the real world, when he needed specialized work done. And since there were no master craftsmen of the more normal sort to be found hereabouts . . . well, that left the Bookworms.

"Thank you," the ex-soldier replied to Steorra.

"'Tis good to know that aid of that nature is available to me. I may well have need of it, once I gather a sufficiency of suitable materials."

Steorra nodded.

"Absolutely. I think all of us are going to need to start consolidating our resources more and more if we're going to survive in this new dimension, and that includes you. I know I'll feel a hell of a lot better knowing you're the shield and blade that stands between us and our enemies. So it's only natural that we take care of one another." he replied.

He turned to Cavek.

"Ah Cavek. Good to see you! And good to see that you also were able to preserve the core of your magic. Let me know if you need anything - what you're doing may seem mundane and trite, but right now in this early stage where we try and figure our magical asses from holes in the ground, what you're doing is invaluable to the project team!" he said, encouragingly.

"Hmmm...I wonder if those others got back yet from scouting after those navigators?"

"I don't see them," Arzin said in response to Steorra's question about Irene and Aurland, after having taken a moment to glance around the chamber.

"I suppose that they could have gone somewhere else in the Tower, but why would they?" he added.

"Everyone seems to be gathered here, at least for the moment . . . although that may change, now that you have repaired the problem upstairs, with the Crystals."

"I'm not sure whether we should be concerned, or not. Obviously they had more of a hike than we did. Would they have a way to communicate with us from outside the Tower, if they were in need of assistance?"

Arzin glanced around the chamber. "Taking that point a bit further, would one of the mages who is gathered here be able to communicate with others over long distances, if it became necessary or helpful to do so?"

"And while we are thinking about it, have you figured out what those Navigators were trying to accomplish?"

"Why do you suppose that they betrayed us in the fashion that they did -- putting everyone . . . and the entire Expedition, I suppose . . . at risk? Wouldn't they be putting themselves at risk also, by causing that crash-landing?"

"What do you suppose they might have hoped to gain?" he asked Steorra.

Steorra continued.

"Unfortunately, I am not really sure yet. If I were at my former strength, I could have read the past and gotten more insight, but alas I cannot do that right now after my magic was damaged. But there is one thing I want to say: we should pass jusgement yet on those navigators. We don't have enough information. Honestly, we may be dealing with something entirely different than betrayal." he said.

"What would they have to gain from turning against us? Those two were far weaker mages than myself or Cavek here. And with the dimensional wave damaging our magic, they should practically be sitting ducks. So wanting to off us for whatever reason seems...super risky and super counter-productive." he said.

"But I've seen the ambition and greed of men cause people to do really stupid stuff before, so it's not out of the question that they simply are traitors. But...what if there is something else? What if they are victims, and were taken or drawn by someone or something? Or what if they came to their senses before us, after the crash, and went outside the tower to make sure the shield stayed stable...like what if they rushed away for some really well-meaning reason?" he asked.

"This is why I think we need more information. We need to find them and interrogate them, before assuming anything."

"Point taken," replied Arzin with a nod.

"Another conclusion to draw from this, I believe, is that someone such as myself -- admittedly with no understanding of magicks whatsoever -- should not be presuming to understand the motivation of mages."

"'Twould be similar to your finding yourself facing an enemy who has the advantage of a fortified position atop a hilltop, and needing to decide the best way to attack them with a force consisting of skirmishers, line infantry, and cavalry -- but lacking any siege engines that could throw heavy boulders . . . that is to say, finding yourself in a situation regarding which you have no prior knowledge or experience."
This message was last edited by the player at 02:37, Mon 26 Feb.

Steorra shook his head.

"No...don't dismiss yourself like that, or reduce the importance of your own thinking. That's a loical fallacy on your part. Yes, we mages often are working under motives and agendas that are relatively inscrutable to the common man, but we're not gods. We are knowable and relatable...if we want to be." he replied.

"The main thing, though, is to simply realize that when dealing with mages, that everything is simply trickier. There's often more to the story, or other factors to consider, before reaching a judgement. This is why back in the kingdom, the throne was in bed so much with the Mage Tower. It wasn't only as a mutually beneficial relationship of privilege and influence, but we also helped the kingdom closely when dealing with either hostile or unknown mages, magic, monsters, and other esoteric situations. Simply because we have a different perspective than a purely mundane, secular one."

Cavek didn't have to be asked twice to give up apple tally duty, he happily stepped aside and let Arzin take over while he popped himself onto a stool nearby and made himself comfortable. Listening to the two talk he spoke up, "The workshop is functional, if you have materials you could likely coax Zevesh into making something for you. She's certainly got a long enough list of requests, but most of the things broken with the tower are too fundamentally broken for her to repair single handedly. It seems to have put her in quite a mood to be frank, to have so many things that need fixing and not being able to fix them."

Cavek shook his head in regards to the communication. "We were supposed to be able to communicate, but the magic here is all wrong. Nothing we brought it properly calibrated for it. Outside the Elucidate we're blind and deaf. It's quite unprecedented!" Leaning forward, he was happy to add his own thoughts  to the gossip of the missing navigators. "Lendalen sympathizers." Cavek said with certainity. "One of them was a Lendalian mage, no doubt won the over. After the fighting over there no doubt they wanted to strike back to Aleteros. What better way then to undermine the greatest project of our generation?"

"That's all I've got," the apple conjuring mage said as the last apple popped into existence, one which looked rather small and lopsided. "Cavek, it's time to do some actual work," the man said as he wiped the sweat from his brow. "And don't be daft, it's not a Lendalian conspiracy," the mage added, "They're clearly Hoarders. The Elucidate is the most advanced bit of magitech Aleteros has ever built, you know Endenteres would be slavering to get his hands on it."

The Adherents of Enlightenment so they called themselves. Hoarders was the less dignified name other mages called them. Supposedly centuries ago Endenteres had transcended... something, the stories varied from mortality, to corporeal form, to the constraints of magic, but regardless of what he transcended, it was agreed he was power hungry. Since then cults of the Adherents popped up from time to time to snatched up magic or kidnapped mages who were ahead of their time, all supposedly to curry favor with this enigmatic figure. Thieves at best, at worst their meddling had caused several magical disasters.

"Two, three . . ." Arzin muttered, having taken over apple-tallying duties from Cavek. He was unsure what the total had been whilst the mage had been doing the job, so he had simply started over. It reminded Arzin of the potato-peeling duties to which he had been assigned when he was a green recruit -- soldiers called it "KP", short for "Kitchen Patrol".

"Zevesh . . . it is good to know whom to talk to when the time comes," he replied when Cavek named the mage who would be the one to assist him on what the Bookworms termed "Special Projects".

"I don't have enough materials as of yet to start on a project, but hopefully soon enough, I will."

Arzin continued his mental apple-count as he listened to Cavek and another mage whose name he did not know as they discussed what might have led the two Navigators to sabotage the Tower's journey. He smiled as he considered how little attention these two paid to Steorra's admonition not to prejudge the Navigators before they had more facts in hand.

Arzin straightened up from the table and wiped his hands on a nearby rag when it appeared that the apple-conjuring mage was ceasing his efforts, at least for the nonce.

Glancing over to Steorra, he asked "Do you think that we should try and locate those two mages who went out in search of the Navigators, to see whether all is well with them, and find out whether they need any assistance? Or is there something else on the "Do-List" that is more demanding of our attention, do you suppose?"
This message was last edited by the player at 20:29, Mon 26 Feb.

As the apple tally grew the conjured fruits were passed to Cavek who, with a wave of his hands, turned one apple into two. And this continued on in an effort to stave off starvation that loomed so imminently on the horizon.

The windows grew dark as what passed for night in this new realm arrived. The two mages who set out from the tower had not yet returned and those who remained gathered that evening in the second floor mess hall. Eldreth, the leader of the expedition, took a place in front of a great hearth which currently sat cold. The survivors of the Elucidate crash gathered there. The fourteen souls each were given two apples, a strip of dried jerky, and a swig of water from a canteen. The mood around the mess hall was somber, but calmer than it had been that morning.

"This marks our first full day of the expedition," Eldreth began as the last mage gathered. "It has not gone how any of us imagined, but we persevere. We have crossed the known boundaries of existence, but not without cost. Not all of us have made it. Those of us who remain have not been unscathed. Our resources are diminished, but we persevere. We will overcome these hardships and we will not lose sight of what has brought us here. We push the boundaries of humanity, we leave our footprint upon untrod horizons. That we represent the greater glory of our empire. For Aleteros!" The speech was spoken with quiet passion and the words managed to rouse a cheer from those assembled.

"Untrod horizons?" snorted a voice in the back, it was said quietly, but it still carried through the relative quiet of the chamber. "Tell that to the smoke on the horizon." Heads turned to where the remaining navigator glowered. Shaking her head, she strode out of the mess hall and left the remaining assembling murmuring.

Clearing his throat at the interruption, Eldreth concluded, "Tomorrow is a new day. Rest well, we'll begin again in the morning." The interruption had stolen some of his gravitas. The crowd dispersed, some went to tables with their meager rations, others went to translocators to presumably retire for the evening.

Note: Write up how you wrap up your first day of the expedition and declare your characters intentions are for the next day.

Arzin smiled wryly at the meager food and goblet full of water that sat on plate before him. ~My guess is that the short rations will bother the Bookworms much more than it will me. I suspect that they have become accustomed to much better food, as well as more of it -- not to mention wine with dinner.~

~That said, I shall not object if our cook -- or "chef", the Bookworms might insist -- were to discover ways to improve our menu.~

The ex-soldier did not raise his voice to cheer when Eldreth exclaimed "For Aleteros." Plenty of his comrades had died for Aleteros, and he himself had suffered hardships on her behalf. Now that the active campaigning was over with, many of his comrades were reduced to begging for alms on street-corners, mostly forgotten by those whom they had served. The lucky ones still had all of their limbs.

Arzin had not met the female mage who raised her voice as a naysayer to Eldreth, but he overheard some of the other mages making disparaging remarks about "Navigators". Hopefully this one -- whatever her name -- would not be so dissatisfied as to attempt to sabotage the Expedition's efforts, as her fellow-Navigators had already attempted -- apparently (in spite of Steorra's cautionary urgings about "not judging" to the contrary).

~For whatever reason, the Navigators appear to be a nest of discontent -- unless appearances are deceiving.~

Eldreth concluded his remarks by urging the assembled company to rest well, in preparation for whatever the morrow might bring. ~Hopefully no one will find that sentiment objectionable,~ Arzin thought to himself as he began eating one of his apples.

Remembering that his quarters were cramped and had little to offer other than a place to lay his head, the man-at-arms decided to wander the Tower a bit after he had finished with his dinner, both as a way to gain a little exercise -- he remembered hearing some people call a walk after dinner a "constitutional" -- and to familiarize himself with the layout of his new home.

~I should make haste to be on my way,~ he thought as he finished his jerky and gulped down his water, ~lest some mage decide that my highest and best use will be to wash the dishes . . .~
This message was last edited by the player at 15:00, Thu 29 Feb.

The hour was growing late, but Arzin was not ready to retire. His adventures in the convoluted corridors of the Elucidate had been unique, but had left him relatively unscathed. From a soldiers perspective it had been a relatively light day of work. Taking his meal alone in his humble chamber, the apple cores left over were testament to the meager meal. It took the edge off his hunger, but did not dispel it entirely. Putting that gnawing hunger out of mind, Arzin took time to walk the corridors and familiarize himself with the Elucidate.

The tower was quiet, the coldlight gem torches on the wall were dimmer at night. The translocator at the end of the hall still functioned and with a crackle it whisked Arzin to another floor. Starting at the bottom, he returned to the reception hall. There were still numerous signs of battle down there, but the worst of it had been cleared away. The main door of the Elucidate was sealed and barred. There was little else to see.

Revisiting the mess hall, Arzin popped in to find he wasn't the first there. Three mages were gathered in the kitchen into a conspiratorial huddle, they seemed to be loading a bag. He recognized the silver haired and white eyed woman who was the last remaining navigator, but couldn't place the other two. "That should be enough. It didn't look like it could be more  than a days walk-" she was saying.

"What is distance isn't the same here?" asked one of the mages as he grabbed a couple more of the freshly conjured apples and put them into the bag. "Hold on, whose that?" He froze, an apple still in hand, and the trio turned to regard Arzin.

"The soldier," the silver haired woman said thoughtfully, "Tell us, you're in a hostile territory with limited resources, no support and smoke of the horizon, what do you do? Surely you don't set up camp and start making yourself comfortable without looking over your shoulder. We've decided to look over our shoulder. We have decided to be proactive about it and ask Eldereth his opinion on the matter when we return."

Decision Point

Join the Mage Sortie - They intend to leave the tower to investigate the smoke seen on the horizon
or
Report to Eldereth - There is a chain of command for a reason

OOC: There are obviously more  choices than just these, but I like to cleanly lay out when big decisions are available, it helps streamline things in a play-by-post setting.

~Well, well . . . what do we have here?~ Arzin wondered as he wandered into the kitchen and came across the threesome of mages.

The furtive glances that they gave him and their tense body language reminded of nothing so much as a gaggle of street urchins who were plotting to steal some tasty something-or-the-other from the stall of an unsuspecting baker.

"Good evening," Arzin replied conversationally to the silver-haired Navigator who seemed to be making the decisions for the threesome. Or, mayhap it was just a matter of her being the one who had the stones to take charge.

He wandered over and sat down on the corner of a table, keeping one foot on the floor and with the other dangling, swinging back and forth.

"Well, let's see. You're trying to put yourselves in my boots, questioning how I -- as a soldier -- would react when faced with a certain situation . . . being in hostile territory, seeing distant smoke, and all that."

"Your problem is that you have never served in the army yourselves, and probably don't even know anyone who has. So, you have no idea about the way things are done."

"So, here's the thing. Were you actually in the army and out on campaign, if you did what you are proposing, you would probably be guilty of sneaking in and stealing company provisions from the Quartermaster. . . as well as putting on airs and thinking that you know better than your superior officers, resulting in your acting without orders and deserting your posts . . . being absent without Leave."

"Assuming that you didn't get yourself killed and you returned to the company, you would probably be tied to wooden crosses on the barracks-square and given fifty lashes apiece -- enough to flay the skin from your backs, I can assure you -- or mayhap twenty-five, if the Captain was feeling lenient. Or, if you were actually charged with desertion in time of war . . ." here Arzin frowned and shrugged his shoulders. "The penalty is death."

"So, the man-at-arms continued, still sitting in a relaxed pose with his free leg swinging, "how do these things work, with mages?"

"Do Eldereth and your fellow-mages have authority over you? Or are you free to act in accordance with your own free will, without the consent of the others -- even if your actions have an impact upon the rest of the Company?"

---

OOC: As you can see, Arzin chose a third option -- to talk to the naughty mages. :)
This message was last edited by the player at 15:18, Sun 03 Mar.

The three listened curiously to Arzin's response. The silver haired navigator was difficult to read, but one of the mages grew increasingly pale and his eyes went wide when Arzin mentioned soldiers being put to death for desertion. "Death?" He repeated breathlessly, then shook his head roughly. "No, no, no, this is too much. It's not what I signed up for, I'm not being killed for desertion," he said as the man shoved the bag of provisions away from himself and then hurried from the room.

"No one is being killed," the navigator said with an exasperated shake of her head. Giving Arzin a look, she retrieved the abandoned bag, "I should know better than to ask someone for whom swinging a chunk of metal is their greatest achievement. Eldereth may lead this expedition, but he can't see past his nose, or the walls of the Elucidate in this case. I'm not going to gaze at my navel until something is battering down our walls. We have no empire to ask for assistance, no Tower of Mages to sweep in and clean up if we make a mess, no safety net of any kind. We can't afford to make mistakes."

One member fewer the navigator finished packing up her bag, the fellow with her looking similarly resolved. They did not seem concerned that Arzin was aware they were leaving, because leaving they certainly were. It seemed this expedition was off to a rocky start in more ways than one.

"People who live in glass houses should not throw stones," Arzin replied placidly to the Navigator's catty comment about "swinging a chunk of metal being his greatest achievement".

"Last time I looked, Navigators were the ones who screwed the poodle by crashing the Tower. You would have either known about what those other two were planning and said nothing, or else you damn well should have known, and didn't -- and thus are negligent in performing your duty. In either instance you, yourself, are also culpable."

"That being the case, I'd say that I have given a better account of myself by swinging my chunk of metal than any of the Navigators have done -- yourself included."

After pausing a few heartbeats to think about the situation, Arzin turned his gaze to all of the mages, and added "You may not respect Eldereth, but it sounds like he is in charge of this mess that the Navigators have caused. That being my case, I am on my way to report to him about what I have seen and heard in here -- meaning your theft of supplies and skulking away without notice -- just as I would for any commanding officer. I owe him that much."

"Fair warning," he muttered, giving the assembled co-conspirators a nod before turning on his heel and walking away . . .
This message was last edited by the player at 17:35, Tue 05 Mar.

OOC: Aurland and Irene can resume posting in the Elucidate as their adventures tromping across the wilderness have concluded.

There was a decided chill between Arzin and the mages as the two separated. His announcement that he was going to Eldereth did not hurry their pace, but it did earn him a scowl. It did not seem that this group would be fast friends any time soon. Doing just as he said he would, Arzin went to report to Eldereth.

It took slightly longer than he would have liked, he wasn't sure where the leader of the expedition resided, but after knocking on a couple of doors he was directed to the eleventh floor. A few knocks later the door was answered by the expedition leader. He was no longer wearing his startlingly white robes, but a more comfortable looking smoking jacket and what looked like lounging robes. He blinked in surprise as he saw who was outside his door. "It was... Arzin, yes?" he asked hesitantly. "How may I help you?" Hearing the reason why the soldier had come to shadow his doorstep brought a frown to his face and he motioned the soldier inside.

Eldereth's entry chamber had the look of a cigar lounge with a great deal of dark wood and rich leather furniture. A tendril of smoke was rising up from an ash tray and the rich acrid smell of burning said Eldereth had been partaking in just that moments ago. "Come, sit," Eldereth said motioning to one of the chairs. Taking another, the man sat down and leaning forward on steepled fingers, his face contemplative as he picked up the smoldering cigar beside the chair and took a deep drag. Letting out the puff of smoke he seemed to have collected his thoughts.

"We can hardly spare to lose two more members of this expedition, especially not our last navigator. Our communications are down so there's no way to try to discuss the matter with them, I suppose the only thing to be done is to send someone after them."

In reply to Talon (msg # 20):

Arzin had rendered his report to the head mage, and stood silent while that worthy considered what should be done.

The ex-soldier pursed his lips thoughtfully when Eldereth spoke of sending someone after the most-recently-departed mages.

"To what purpose, sir? The remaining Navigator, who appeared to have taken the lead in organizing this latest departure, did not seem to be of a mind to listen to any entreaties to reconsider and return to the Tower before they either discovered the source of the smoke on the horizon, or made contact with the missing Navigators . . . or mayhap both, I suppose."

When Arzin left to go eat and take a walk, Steorra waved at him and headed back to his chambers. They were still pretty disheveled, but they otherwise were functional.

He had to spend some time cleaning a few rooms to get them into a more usable state. He got his bedroom mostly in order, getting the bed put back together as best he could. He also got a desk and chair, and gathered some office supplies together that were scattered around, and got that set up. Finally, he was able to clear a space for magical practice and meditation.

The first thing he needed to do was work to regain more of his control over time. He was no where near able to freeze time right now, but since he was still able to use haste magic, that meant he probably could pull of slow magic well. Being able to have this single defining power of his be able to flexibly hasten or slow magic would put him far closer to regaining some sense of his ability as the Magister of Time.

so, using the experience he gained not only from reflecting on himself and his inner magic as it was now, but also seeing and feeling how magic worked after the warp and all the changes that had happened to him, he began to practice with his Haste spell and polished it up so that he could utilize his innately high magical control to not only speed time up, but slow it down as well!

Steorra initiates a project for 5 xp: He wishes to add an Augment to h is Haste Spell to alow it to haste or slow as he wishes, instead of just haste. This would change the Spell's name from Haste to "Temporal Manipulation," as the spell would now govern both hastening and slowing.

Aurland returned to Elucidate and looked to his traveling companion.

"I'll ensure our findings, and lack thereof, are relayed to Eldereth. In the meantime tho I think our expedition gave me just the thing I needed to address one of our looming disaster scenarios."

He then made his way to one of the arcanoengineers responsible for the maintenance of the Elucidate before the crash.

"Could you take me to the system responsible for conjuring our food? I believe that I can repair it."

Aurland initiates a project for 4 XP and 1 Material: Repair the food conjuring equipment of the Elucidate with a minor addendum.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:35, Wed 06 Mar.

Arzin

"Brash as Faldra may be," Eldereth said, that must have been the silver haired woman, "We can't let them risk their lives galavanting about. If something were to happen to her the Elucidate would be grounded." Taking another deep drag from his cigar, the smoke seemed to help center the mage. "We won't go running off into the night after them, but in the morning I'll send someone to keep an eye on them. Then there will be words. Thank you for bringing this matter to my attention, Arzin. It won't be forgotten." Rising to his feet, Eldereth saw the soldier to the door and offered an amiable goodnight.

Aurland

Back on the Elucidate, Aurland received his meager helping of apples and jerky and that helped decide his next course of action. Setting himself to the task, he decided to resolve the issue of the food shortage. He requested that the lead Arcanoengineer join him, but was advised that they had been amongst the causalities of the initial crash. That left Aurland unaided as he set himself to work. Most of the infrastructure he needed was already built and in place in the mess hall, but the delicate inner workings were left a mess. The premier conjurer set himself to the task. While not an arcanosmith, the mechanisms of the messhall were largely based on conjuration which made them familiar. This tangentially related work made for slow going, but there was steady progress. He discarded cracked ritual plates and reslotted burned out gemstones, all of which he laboriously conjured up. Finally he slotted in the last component and closed up the machine.

Waving a hand over the device and offering the magic words, a steaming plate of bacon and eggs appeared. A far cry from apples and jerky. The last touch was to hang a sign. "Mind your pleases and thank yous."

The next morning as Aurland was leaving his room he found a small box outside his door filled with knicknacks and a note. "I was working on getting around to the mess hall. Thanks for saving me the effort. Here are some of the bits I'd gathered for the work, don't need them now. -Z" (Aurland obtains 3 Materials)

The Mess Hall can once again generate any food desired.

Steorra

Retreating to his newly assigned quarters as his old room was permanently out of shape, Steorra set himself to his magics. They were still in a woeful state, but looking at the big picture right now was liable to overwhelm a person. Instead he set himself to his still functional spell of Haste. Magic here was... strange. Not impossible, but certainly difficult. It wasn't the tamed and domesticated sort of myticism that Aleteros had cultivated over centuries. Here it held a wild quality. It would require adapting and Sterorra was doing just that. Devoting himself to his magic, the Magister of Time examined the flows, the weave, the way the magic interacted with this strange plane, and he adapted. The adjustments were strange, they would have been almost nonsensical in Aleteros, but here they worked. By morning Steorra had successfully altered his design. Tossing one of his apple cores into the air, he watched with satisfaction as he could now also slow its arc to a lazy draft.

Hasten successfully augmented to now Slow as well. Renamed to Temporal Manipulation


The Next Morning

The next day saw the mages once again gathering in the mess hall. There was a gaggle surrounding the magitech dispensary. Several mages were happily waving about plates of biscuits and gravy, eggs, one even had a full rack of ribs. Some snippets of conversation floated over the crowd, "We have to say please? To a piece of machinery? Whose ludicrous idea was this?"  Still, based on the number of plates going about, it looked like hunger had won over most of the mages indignation at needing to offer niceties to an object. The atmosphere was lighter today. A good nights rest and then a warm meal to start the day was doing wonders for the mood.

Eldereth reappeared halfway through breakfast wearing his white and silver robes again. He gave a self-satisfied smile when the rest of the mages turned and expectantly regarded him. "Good morning. I'm pleased to see Zevesh has gotten our food situation fixed. I hope you all rested well. I like to think of today as our proper start to our expedition. With that said, there is a great deal we still must do. While I've been advised that the Elucidate's spatial quarters have been sorted out and our food is now secure, there are still many pressing tasks awaiting us. First and foremost, we have determined that exploring the source of the smoke we saw yesterday is of the utmost importance. Faldra has already gone ahead to scout and now I'd like to send others to support her. But of equal importance, we must also stabilize the magical energies of the area surrounding the Elucidate, that will take pressure off the Arcanosphere and ensure there is not another risk of overload. Do I have volunteers?"

Two of the more useful things that Arzin had learned from being in the army were that he should sleep whenever he got the chance, and eat whenever he got the chance -- because, he learned quickly enough, once the campaigning heated up, both sleep and food would be in short supply.

Arzin enjoyed an undisturbed night's sleep after speaking with Eldereth, due mainly to the fact that he was not required to stand Watch for a portion of the night. When he awakened the next morning he felt quite refreshed, although admittedly more than a little hungry. He had a difficult time getting excited about an apple, some jerky, and a flagon of water for breakfast, but he mentally chided himself for being an ungrateful whiner.

~It will fill your belly, and take care of your hunger. Food is naught but fuel that your body needs, and the particulars of it matter little.~

That at least sounded convincing and may have helped a little, but still . . . an apple and jerky . . .

After having gotten dressed, Arzin left his room. He wore his armor and sword and carried his helmet, just in case more of those . . . what had Steorra called them? Prismatic Slimes . . . that was it -- just in case more of those Prismatic Slimes . . . or mayhap something even more dangerous -- decided to pay them an unexpected visit. He considered shouldering his backpack as well, but after giving it a moment's thought, he decided to leave it in his room and return for it later, if he needed it.

Before heading down to the Mess Hall, Arzin wanted to pay a visit to the Workshop. He had learned that it was up on the 11th floor -- which surprised him a little -- most craftsmen and the like (including various manner of smiths) were, in his experience, given rather short shrift by the powers that be, and he had reckoned that it would be down in what passed for a basement in this Tower.

~Mayhap, given the fact that the person doing the crafting in this instance is a mage herself, that made all the difference.~

Once at the workshop, he sought out the mage whose name Steorra had given him -- Zevesh. "Good day," he said to the female mage, favoring her with a smile and a nod.

"My name is Arzin. I'm the fellow who is the ex-soldier." His smile broadened as he added "Although, given what I am wearing, I suspect that you may have figured that out already."

He set a piece of metal that he had been carrying in his hand down on top of a counter. Next, he pulled some objects out of his belt pouch and set them down on the counter-top as well: a clear vial that contained a powder, an opaque vial that appeared to contain some sort of a liquid, and a lump of what appeared to be common potter's clay.

"You will note that the metal seems to have some sort of an inner glow about it -- although as near as I can tell, it generates no heat. And the clay -- it formed itself into different shapes, depending upon my thoughts at the time. No doubt all of these things will be much more familiar to you than they are to me."

"I know that they are not sufficient for you to craft any sort of a project for me as of yet, but can you hold them until I can add more . . . materials, is that the right word? I have no use for them presently, and mayhap you can be studying them, along and along. It will give you time to learn their properties, and mayhap give me some options as to what you will be able to craft from them."

Just about then Arzin's stomach growled, and he flashed an embarrassed smile. "My apologies. I came to see you before going down to the Mess Hall to eat breakfast. I'm headed there, next."
This message was last edited by the player at 00:38, Fri 08 Mar.