[pnpgm] Game Update #49 - File #440 - Tiehul's contact report
Scott Adams
longshot at cybermax.net
Fri Nov 6 06:26:30 CET 2009
HT Alias/Player Character Name Type Status/Notes Sex
-- -----------------------------------------------------------------
R1.John Haight...........Arawn.............Druid .Normal/Alfar Ma
??.Chris Wells...........Ben'dar...........Warrior.Normal/Human Ma
R4.Tom Corckett..........Caladan...........Wizard Normal/Human Ma
W2.Marcel Liberty........Chion.............Sailor..Normal/Human Ma
W3.Ryan Torres...........Farseeker.........Warrior.Normal/Human Ma
--.Tobie Bonahoom........Fremea............Sidh....Normal/Faerry Fe
R2.Mark Murtha...........Kell..............Trader..Normal/Human..Ma
Do.David Sanders.........Kiet.Sunan........Acrobat Normal/Human Ma
R4.J H Hooten............Raban.Usherwood...Bard....Normal/Human..Ma
W2.Robert Maxwell........Strie'bog.........Bard....Normal/Human..Ma
R1 NPC...................Shu.Yeoh..........Wizard..Normal/Human..Fe
W4.Wout Broere...........Unali.............Ninja...Normal/Human Fe
...Thomas.Magann.........Whitney...........Scholar.Normal/Human..Ma
R1 John.Stowman..........Will..............Hunter..Normal/Human..Ma
R4.Alex Koponen..........Z'leyra...........Healer..Normal/Human Fe
R1 NPC...................Zhou Kiwat........Noble...Normal/Human..Ma
Animals: Corona [Eagle] Z'leyra, Tef'wo (Horse) Ben'dar, 2 Donkeys
Cover Story Info: [HD- House member, F-Foreigner, N-native non house]
Arawn aka Arawn as Teacher to daughter [F]
Ben'dar aka Bu Da as Horse expert [F]
Caladan aka Ca Lu as Guard/Archer [N]
Chion aka Capt. Chu Mai as Sailor Trustee [HD]
Farseeker aka Fu Sa as Guard [F]
Fremea aka Lin Mong as Noble child [HD] [Disguised]
Kell aka Swan as Trader [F]
Kiet aka Kiet Sunan as Zhou's servant [F]
Raban aka Toban Nu as Entertainer/Guard [F]
Strie'bog aka Sun Zhu as Entertainer [N]
Shu aka Shu as Niece [HD]
Unali aka Tun Au as Zhou's wife [HD]
Whitney aka Whitney as Herbalist/Tailor [F]
Will aka Sun Tzu as hunt master [F]
Z'leyra aka Kakita Junami as Healer [F]
Zhou aka Zhou Wa as Baron Noble [HD]
Game Web Site - http://www.funport.com/longshot/pbem
Public posts/actions to pnpgm at abroere.xs4all.nl (mailing list)
Private emails (not public actions) to longshot at cybermax.net
Game Update #49 in sequence (file #440)
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Admin Notes: None.
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[Recap]
From Ben'dar: [Re: Actions]
Ben'Dar glares back at Tiehul, annoyed at the man's loud voice
after his long night of drinking. "You're lucky I didn't...
He looks for a bucket of water to soothe his parched throat and
ponders thickly why It seems like everyplace Ben'Dar has gone,
there's always some huge guy that could roll him up into a
little ball and kick him across the planet. Where do these
super-sized freaks come from???!?
GM: Ack.
From Whitney: [Re: Actions]
[*** Raban's quote deleted***]
Whitney chimes in with a sour look on his face, No, no it...
GM: Ack.
From Raban: [Re: Actions]
Raban listen intently when comment come to Kaj. This fellow seems
to know a few things about the use of strength and stamina,
maybe a few tricks Raban was not taught by the troop or the
mountain men. The stories make Raban feel a bit puny, he has
been lax in his workouts. "There are many ways to improve...
Raban sighs, "No you missed what I said. More powerful ...
GM: Ack.
From Kiet: [Re: Action]
When Kiet hears this news he curses out loud. 34-44 gold coin
gone to waste!!! That is a tremendous sum to him, even though
he has still more. Kiet was born into humble circumstances, and
this lost opportunity for gain is simply too much for him to
maintain much control.
"I will state here and now, whether you people like it or....
GM: Ack.
From Raban: [Re: Actions]
Raban smiles, "That may be a great idea, assuming those are...
GM: Ack.
From Whitney: [Re: Actions]
Whitney grimaces, "Trust me, there is no such thing as a...
OOC: I'd like to thank you for finally bring up the topic of
natural magics, and even going the extra mile of mentioning
spells in conjunction with the term. I've been saving that rant
for 6 months, since I created the character, although I cut it
down by 4 paragraphs just so the locals helping us didn't decide
to turn Whitney in as a crazy person. :-)
Anyone want to reopen the supernatural language discussion you
had just before he joined? :-)
Whitney shakes his head, "Oh, I understand your point, and...
GM: Ack.
From Whitney: [Re: Actions]
Whitney rolls his eyes, "Listen to yourself 'take a flower....
GM: Ack.
From Kell: [Re: Actions]
Ha'Kell has been listening to this for the past few minutes and
finds it very amusing, in many different ways. He can't resist
stirring the pot a bit.
"Well I disagree. I think that Natural Magic fits just fine....
GM: Ack. One part removed due to healing. Also since this
conversation was in morning you drink beer for breakfast? :)
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[New Stuff]
[Julis 7th, 1634TH]
[Location: Jiuquo, Katai]
[Weather: Partly Cloudy, Temperatures: 65-85]
[Location: Brass Mug Tavern]
[Time: 2:54pm]
After Kell is treated there is talk of magical healing. If
the treatment was done during Shu's distraction it would be
a easy thing. But as Tiehul has limited distraction supplies
for doing a simple healing spell, Z'leyra declines to heal
Kell magically. She knows the risk is too high. Arawn has
offered to do so and will do it. But Z'leyra has to perform
her massage first.
[Time: 3:03pm]
Shu quietly gives her report to Zhou on her initial findings.
When Kell approaches him they quietly speak softly. Then
Zhou reports to the others that Shu has to analyze her own
findings and the map created. Once that is done Zhou and her
will go over those details.
[Time: 3:08pm]
Z'leyra informs Kell to go up to a room for his healing massage.
Curious on what this entails he raises an eyebrow and complies.
Farseeker nudges him in the arm. "A massage? Lucky man. Some
places charge a few coins and can be quite entertaining." He
winks at the half-elf then goes back over to a table.
Kell shrugs but heads upstairs. In Ba'ru massages are done
for horses and warriors. But not for wounds? Arawn also
decides to study this process. Elves simply do not massage
each other and this process sounds fascinating to him.
Farseeker watches the two men and healer head up stairs. He
nudges Ben'dar. "If only they knew how fun it could really be.
They probably think its only done for healing."
As Z'leyra places her oils she has to heat some using candles
and a small pot. Aromas fill the room shortly as candles, herbs
and oils mix together. Z'leyra has Kell lay down and remove
his shirt as Arawn sits in a nearby chair to watch. Kell begins
to feel odd with Arawn watching this situation.
Standing over Kell Z'leyra begins to massage and rub down the
chest and shoulder wounds. The head wound isn't worth doing
so she skips it. This takes some time. Then she sits in a chair
and places his wounded arm out. Unwrapping it she begins to
gently massage it with her nimble fingers rather than full hands.
She hopes to create better circulation and pinking of the arm
muscles. Kell grunts a few times at the massage but is confident
the healer knows what she is doing.
Some time later Z'leyra finishes up very relaxed as his brain
gets a overload of hormones. Feeling relaxed and quite content
he feels sad that she is done. Thinking quickly he mentions
that his rear end fell on the ground pretty hard. Z'leyra simply
looks over and shrugs as she blows out the candles.
[Time: 4:16pm]
Back downstairs Arawn mentions leaving for another place or
the ship as Kell does. but it becomes clear no one seems
interested in that idea and that topic soon dies away.
[Time: 7:12pm]
That night Kell plays some of the card and dice games one handed.
He tries to use his other arm but the arm harness rig Z'leyra
did up prevents that. As the night goes on it becomes clear to
Farseeker and Ben'dar who lose several hands that Kell is more
talented in gambling than he looks. They wonder how he might
have done against Triest or Balrog.
At one point toward the end of a dice game Kell notices one dice
was switched by one of Tiehul's men. The dice was used but
then it bounces off the edge of the table. As the players go for
it to look, Kell palms the dice. The man shrugs and gets some
other dice behind the bar but it appears to Kell these are normal
dice. Kell knows the man will soon look for the weighted dice
and drops it later by the bar.
[Time: 9:32pm]
As things die down Arawn suggests to Kell it is time for his
magical healing. Tiehul reminds them not to do it in the tavern.
They should leave and go at least a mile away not to put the
tavern at danger. "If you are caught that is your fault." He
warns the two men.
Both men walk out into the darkness and down the street.
Many of the shops are closed and the few homes seen are
quiet and dark. After going for some time they find a small
alley between a closed pottery shop and a closed restaurant.
Finding the dark alley quiet the two men who can see better
in the darkness than humans, especially Arawn spots no animal
or person around.
Arawn tells Kell to lay down on the dirty ground and prepare
himself for the spell. Arawn knows time could be critical so
casts a shield spell upon himself. Even after being warned
that such a spell could be detected he does it. He then tells
Kell he will be comatose for a bit as the healing mist does
the job of healing.
Arawn then does a quick prayer and casts the healing mist spell.
In the darkness the faint glow of a green mist begins to descend
to impact on the unconscious half-elf. As the Mist begins to
work on the four wounds he finds that Bohusara must've used this
very spell during the Lake Oca battle.
After a full minute the wounds begin to shrink and heal up
completely. Then Kell wakes up to check his wounds which are
completely gone. Arawn then urges them to quickly move as they
spent a good two minutes in the alley. Not backtracking the
same way they make a large curve around other streets and then
hoping they aren't lost finally get back to the tavern after
about 5 minutes.
As Kell walks back he wonders why Z'leyra did all that treatment
if Arawn can heal it all like this? He figures she did it to help
the body heal so well.
--------------------- ---------------
[Julis 8th, 1634TH]
[Location: Jiuquo, Katai]
[Location: Brass Mug Tavern]
[Time: 6:51am]
Z'leyra finds Kell and checks his wounds only to see they
are completely healed.
[Time: 7:02am]
As Tiehul explains the situation with the major and Kaj,
Ben'dar glares back at Tiehul. More annoyed at the loud
voice of the man from a full night of drinking. The horse
rancher speaks up, "You're lucky I didn't kill all your
guards, including the oversized one.."
Tiehul glances at Ben'dar, "Kaj is not on my payroll. Only
the Major was. We've had dealings for years. In the military
he is my main..." He trails off as he realizes he shouldn't
probably give too much away. "Let's just say he is a close
associate. But no amount of bribes could've saved you if there
was an incident in the jail. Killing the brute would have
been one thing but killing or wounding Katai military would've
gotten the entire military after you." Tiehul glances to
Zhou. "You will need to tame your people if you intend to stay
alive. I'm sure your mission is one of stealth. Not over
bearing arrogant acts and fights. The heretics that get
caught and killed are those who are too arrogant to realize
their mistakes as they stray from common sense."
As Ben'dar staggers to the bar he ignores Tiehul. He looks
for a bucket of water to cleanse his mind and stomach. As
he rounds the bar he finds a pitcher and sniffs to find it
water and gulps it down. But as he does the barkeep tries
to stop him. "No! That's from the horse trough. We use it
to dampen the clothes to clean." Ben'dar glares at the
small barkeep and shrugs. A bit tangy but it seems fresh
water. He glances back at the table and wonders where all
these large brutes come from. Back on the plains there was
that large brute who fought Farseeker. Then here in this
land of shorty people. He wonders if Raban attracts those
folks with his own force of attraction.
Raban listen intently when comment come to Kaj. This fellow
seems to know a few things about the use of strength and stamina,
maybe a few tricks Raban was not taught by the troop or the
mountain men. The stories make Raban feel a bit puny, he has
been lax in his workouts. "There are many ways to improve mind
and body, or at least ways to learn to use it to your best
ability. I was trained in many of those, some as a young man
and later as an adult. But I know of no methods to exceed your
body's normal capacity without using magic. Though I suppose
something could be made from plants and herbs which could help
in that, is that magic?"
Whitney chimes in with a sour look on his face, "No, no it isn't,
usually. And I wish more people would realize that. Especially
local magistrates."
Raban sighs, "No you missed what I said. More powerful effects
such as making someone stronger may be magical. So many plants
have magical applications but if you use magic to bring out that
ability is the plant itself magical? Some plants are inherently
magical while others are not. So is there some that bring out
powerful effects that are not magical and do not need magic to
produce results. My teacher never worried about those details so
I do not know for sure. I also cannot see magic like some do so
I cannot easily verify if the plant is magical. For massages and
healing, there are many plants that help greatly and do not need
magic to process. Others that are more effective use spells to
bring out that ability. They are used the same way so I would
not be sure when I am using a magical version or not. So I can
understand how others may declare all such use is magic even when
it is not. It is always difficult when someone's skill assisted by
plants, herbs or oils and can cure things without use of magic.
How would someone know they did not use magic? I am afraid that
here they will assume anything effective is magic and not because
of years of training and practice. But what if your training
actually brought out some magical talent and you did not know
it? Can you be sure you are not adding something more than
skill?"
Tiehul listens to the giant speak and places two fingers to
the top of his nose and clenches his head. The open talk of
magic is disturbing to him. How will these people survive
a day much less a week in Katai? Feeling the headache coming
on he speaks up. "Kaj was captured during some battle in the
Choshai lands somewhere. The major doesn't know where he comes
from. But Kaj does tell that these robed monk like folks in
the village taught him their ways. They would walk on hot
coals, stab themselves, lay on nails and that sort of nonsense.
They built up their mind, body and spirit by this harsh
daily rituals. This is actually not so rare as this nonsense
has spread to Katai. There are some groups who still work
like this but hide the techniques. Some train huge fat
warriors to fight each other for profit while others use the
training for spiritual enlightenment."
"Kaj was a slave once but the Major found him useful. He is
rather dumb but can be a good guard. The only problem is he
eats the same as 4-5 guards do in one sitting." Tiehul
pauses briefly then continues. "As to plants I do not know
such things. You must understand not every Katai person in
the land is against the heretics. The vast majority of those
who are come from the cities. The villages and towns out there
still depend on quiet tasks to help them. Some use it to
protect crops, protect farms, protect people and many use it
for healing. It is a thriving business out there outside the
cities. For every hermit who will heal a cow or child hurt
there might be a dozen not known. Once the first hermit is
caught others come to take their place. The Empire knows
they can't kill it all off, though they clearly say they have
full control of the situation. Once you leave the cities you
will find more support but it won't be easy. Many plant shops
still exist even in the cities. But they are more mundane plants
for things like teas or eating. The black markets has it all
from special items to special plants."
Caladan chimes in on the discussion. "Plants like rocks as
has been pointed out has some mana presence or aura. If these
plants allow for special properties they may have bigger auras.
Those plants which have to be worked on to get the benefits
have less auras. This is how Thig could scan a field from high
above and find plants for his needs. So could they be
detected? I suppose if such were looking for it. Could that
wall be detected since it has a faint source I'm told? Sure.
If walls were looked for. I don't understand how the gods touch
each living thing or how the Sidh sense it. But I understand
the faint things like walls or grass are so light they are
ignored."
"Large giants or even tall people are rare here in Katai. But
not super rare. Many work in the docks or are captured slaves."
Tiehul concludes and eats some eggs.
Kiet simmers for a few minutes when he hears this news of lost
gold, he curses out loud. 34-44 gold coin gone to waste!!! That
is a tremendous sum to him, even though he has still more. Kiet
was born into humble circumstances, and this lost opportunity for
gain is simply too much for him to maintain much control.
Clenching his mug Kiet speaks up, "I will state here and now,
whether you people like it or not..." Kiet says with voice
slightly wavering in an attempt at control and a grim demeanor
on his face, "...that if we have prisoners ever again, I intend
to rigorously question them, one way or another!"
Farseeker glances over, "question? You wanted to kill them
out right. As a group we have varying moral levels of acceptable
behavior. We knew they would die soon enough. If we killed
them outright we'd be no better than them. You had ample time
to question them on the ship. That was not the problem. Even
the first mate said go for it. Even if you had learned of this
information how much effort would be in getting this lost gem?"
Tiehul nods, "The major says the two prisoners will likely die
in a day or two at most at a quick trail and hanging. The
one who has that information will be questioned until they can
find the ruby. The noble who was the victim may have some say
in the matter as well." He glances at Ben'dar at the bar. "Though
you lost that bounty and any rewards." He glances back at Kiet.
"I'm sure the pirate hid it well or sold it with a fence. If
it was on their ship likely you'd have found it if you searched
it I don't know what happened out there."
Frustrated as he warned the party of such things Kiet sits
back and grimaces. The others seem to hear his words but do
not react. Soon Whitney and Raban continue their discussion.
Whitney grimaces, "Trust me, there is no such thing as a
'natural magic'. Well, maybe 3 items. But anything that requires
a spell to activate is less than natural, by definition. Well,
linguistic definition, in any event. With a paltry handful
exceptions, the whole category misnamed as 'natural magic' is
little more than a collection of artificial magic items that
simply require the casting of a spell, rather than the casting
of a spell after a bit of crafting. Natural, but not magic. Of
the remainder, such as the rock hard eye of a demon (which isn't
even a gem, but an animal part, more or less) or the sap of a
Balance March botanical humanoid, some are magic but far from
natural. Truly natural magics do exist, but you can count them
on the fingers of one hand. Even of you don't have a full set."
"Which just goes to show that even mages and wizards can be
sloppy scholars, if not outright linguistically incompetent. Why
with all those supernatural languages they learn, you'd think
they'd actually recognize two words with opposing meanings always
cropping up in their studies. Idiots. Next they'll be saying the
various languages of magic power spells because the gods have
decreed it so. There should be an intelligence test to learn
spellcasting." Whitney's voice trails off as he mutters to himself
about the general lack of scholarly acumen in the modern wizard.
Caladan glances to Z'leyra as Whitney speaks but she remains
quiet and listens. Of all the group she studied in that famed
Ticasi school. If anyone would have anything to say on this
it would be her. When she doesn't he turns to Whitney and
speaks.
"Katai are not as ignorant as you might imply. It is the
leaders who are s small minority who think for the vast majority.
What they say the large uneducated masses soon believe. When
the evil doers did their thing the leaders sought to destroy
them so they made them evil and demons. Their tools and their
way of life was condemned." Caladan finishes up with a nod
to Tiehul to prompt him to say something.
Tiehul shrugs then says, "he is right in that regard. There
are few nobles who truly understand the system. But the vast
majority have been trained over the years to do what the Emperor
says. If he says that pink flowers are evil then all pink flowers
are eradicated. Scholars may know that pink flowers in themselves
are harmless but to the great mass if the god says they are
evil they are evil."
Raban smiles, "That may be a great idea, assuming those are not
watched as places suspected of being magic related. Knowing what
is accepted could be very important. My knowledge of such things
is greatly limited. My teacher told me about various natural
magics I would find useful, but not in much detail nor what
spells were needed to use them. I had to purchase the ones I
could locate, ready to use. I can recognize quite a few medicinal
plants and herbs as well as those useful in massages, so my
herbalism lore is limited... I think it would draw too much
attention if I visited such a place and from the size of the
people here, it is unlikely I would fit inside such a shop."
Kell looks to Raban as he saw some herbalist shops in the market
yesterday but they had light inventories.
Tiehul nods, "Herb shops are common and found in the open in
Katai. As I said you will find things for plants, foot powders
or eagle claws said to cure sex issues. Such things in itself
are not special to the leaders. They realize that such items
in itself have some merit. When the Master General needs a powder
to cure his back issue he'll call for root of a bark or so
the rumor goes. Since these things are natural they aren't
considered special and outlawed. But on the other hand." He
raises a hand to stop comments. "If you walk into a shop and
ask for a herb to protect against disease and cure your nasty
wound it better be some natural root rather than something
a heretic can use. It is a fine line. Such places are watched
but mostly ignored. Such places that do sell special plants
are closed down and arrests are made. It is all in how the
nobles feel they can get away with for their own profit or
personal needs."
Whitney shakes his head, "Oh, I understand your point, and I
agree, more or less. That's what I was saying, as my recent
unfortunate incarceration proves: whether it's really magic or
not doesn't matter, just whether the local magic-hating
constabulary considers it magic. My point is: let's learn from
my hard won lesson and avoid using plants that aren't sold by
local apothecaries.
"Oh, and for the record: I know more than a little about plants,
magical and otherwise. Hell, I know damned near everything,
particularly whether I've magicked one up or not while preparing
it for use. I DO worry about just those details, and have written
monographs on them and the very contradiction in the woefully
misnamed 'Natural Magic' field. Talk about your oxymoron's...
"Oh, come to think of it, maybe we should find out what's sold
by the local apothecaries, so we know what's safe to use."
Tiehul shrugs and shows concern. "I do not know of such things.
What is sold or not sold. It also may vary from city to city.
Down south they are strong on plants that help against swamp
bugs while up north it could be forest bugs. While out west
in Shantou it could be to help with food in the desert. So
it varies from city to city. Then it varies from village to
village. So if you find out what is sold here doesn't mean
it won't be the same in another city."
Ha'Kell has been listening to this for the past few minutes
and finds it very amusing, in many different ways. He can't
resist stirring the pot a bit.
"Well I disagree. I think that Natural Magic fits just fine.
Magic is the main part and natural is just a description. The
magic is cast onto something natural, something not crafted by
hands, therefore it is natural magic. Take a gem of some kind,
enhance it, and poof, you have some natural magic. Take a flower
and enhance it, and poof, you have more natural magic. That is
far different than forging and creating a sword than casting magic
into it, or creating a fancy ring and casting magic into it. We
can't forget the magic portion of natural magic."
"Whilst I see your point, I think you're splitting linguistic
hairs and missing the point; overthinking it all." Taking a drink
of beer Ha'Kell continues. "What do you think of dragons and
other natural magic creatures? Are they not creatures as well as
magic? What about the Jinn? These are all natural and magic.
Or should we create new names for all these, perhaps mag-eatures?
Or creat-ics? Why do you think magic and nature are opposites? I
do not see that opposition."
Whitney rolls his eyes, "Listen to yourself 'take a flower and
enhance it and you have more natural magic....". No, take anything
and enhance it, and it's no longer natural, it's now enhanced. And
that is why the term natural magic is almost meaningless as
applied by most mages and wizards: they use it to refer to
enhanced magics. As well say take some iron ore, enhance it with
heat and trace metals, and you have natural steel. Alloys aren't
natural
"As for Jinn or any other supernatural being, they're not
natural by definition, they're supernatural: beyond natural. Of
course, my specialties are only botany, parabotany, and
parazoology. I'm only an expert on the natural and supernatural.
You might want to consult a lexiconologist about what words
actually mean."
"Semantics." Caladan chimes in on the topic. "The world itself
was created by the gods. Since it was created from nothing then
even the world isn't natural. But the world abroad is what
we call nature. The divine touch that means everything from the
grain of sand to the walls in this place has divine touch from the
core materials. Therefore magic can exist in everything. This
is likely why the Sidh can sense it in all things. In that
end everything has magic and is natural. But we are here to
listen to Tiehul's report."
When the talk dies down, Tiehul comes to the matter at hand.
"Now to what I've found out. Grant you I only had hours to
obtain this information. If I had weeks I might be able to
get far more information. My power may have been exaggerated
by others. But my network mainly entails this city and a few
outside long distant contacts."
"I did not hear any rumors on this Vong people you seek. I did
find some minor rumors that might help. I have a dock teamster
that informs me the logo on the scroll might be used by
a few shipping companies. One such company is housed in
Shantou and another he believes in the south somewhere. It
might be something to follow and see if you can track down.
but he could not recall more details than that it sounds like
a logo used on ships and wagons."
"As to missing people as I've said before folks go missing
along our borders all the time. They enter the desert and
never seen before. They get lost in the north forests or
simply drown in the south swamps. I'm sure thousands of folks
go missing a year. My other contacts tell me that there is
some hubbub of activity on some missing person or group of
people in the Shantou province. From the sound of it at least
one high ranking person may be missing when should not be.
There is rumor of a village or two in the south having fires
and the people either go missing or relocate. Since those
deep south cities are hundreds of miles away the details are
vague so can't pinpoint where."
"This nom person no one has heard of at all. I have a fence
that told me this morning that one of his allies in Shantou
has come across a odd weapon of some sort. The fence there
has sent out feelers to see who might want it. I do not know
if it is already sold or not though. Here in Katai we use
spears and swords. So anything odd might be a mace like thing
with point tips for all I know."
Zhou listens to Tiehul finish then speaks up. "That is all
you learned?"
"Yes." Tiehul nods. "As I said if I had more time a full day
even I might find more stuff for you. If there was a way to
give you that information over long distance I would. We use
messenger birds but it would require me knowing where you
were at any one point and timing."
"So its Shantou province or the south? The south is very
large and has a dozen or so cities and provinces." Zhou
sighs and then nods. "Shu what did you find out?"
Shu sits up and looks around the closed tavern of party
members. She checks to ensure the bodyguards and barkeep has
been ordered out. Then she speaks up. "My ritual is not
perfect. It requires at least multiple tries. The Empire is
so large it can't pinpoint an area right away. I have however
determined the lack of mana sources is not to the north.
That could mean the spell found none there or simply the
amount isn't significant. OF course that also leaves out the
east as it is ocean. I have reason to believe we need another
ritual to pinpoint it.
Caldan asks Shu, "how many more rituals do you need to cast?"
Shu considers the question then replies, "four would give almost
full certainty. Three would give us a good chance. But two
would allow me to at least get a region down. So if we go west
then a second ritual can be done there."
Farseeker pipes in, "like a grid search? If a field has 100
animal holes you can pinpoint where the animal might be by
a grid search. Based on what you find in two points you can
then round it down to smaller areas. More points allow you to
further sub-divide the field."
"Exactly." Shu nods.
Tiehul gets up from the table with his report done. "I'm
sorry I could not give more help. But you should have some
idea where to go from here. I will write down my contact
info for you to follow up if you go to Shantou. I will try
to supply as much information as I can with it." Ht rounds
the bar and begins to do some work. "With all due respect though
I have a lunch crowd coming soon. For my safety I would prefer
you all leave soon. No offense but the sooner you leave the
less of a risk to me." He wipes the bar off with a rag. "One
word of advice. If your stupid enough to talk about magic,
wizards and such like you did in the last few minutes then
you better have a good escape plan after you're captured. Your
open talk is a sign for all those who can hear by human ears
or through other means." Tiehul then takes two empty bottles
into the back storage room leaving the room.
Zhou turns to Unali, "You as guide and more or less elected
leader do we go to Shantou by ship or the wagon?" He then
turns to Chion. "As guide of this nation you have a good say
in this as well."
Farseeker raises a hand, "he did mention some things in the
south why not go that way?"
Zhou looks around and considers this. "The information was
vague and Shantou has some of his contacts. We can follow
up on those contacts and do the ritual one more time. Then
decide where to go from there. Time could be critical but
if we just go south we don't know where to go. At least
Shantou has a city. The main thing is do we go by ship or
wagon."
For the last few minutes when Shantou has been mentioned, Unali
seems unusually quiet. At one point she glances out the window
to the street as if in deep thought.
Farseeker adds, "I looked at Unali's map on the ship. If I
recall Shantou is almost due west of here. Katai has a good
network of roads. We could go by road by the wagon. But
If I recall the problem is the highway goes right into Katai.
That is a city we should avoid. We could go across the plain
at some point to avoid the city as it looked simple terrain
of plains and farm country. A team of horses should have no
problem with that. But there is the river that goes up to
the Shantou city itself. So the ship could dock in the river
and we'd ride only a day at most to the city. So Unali needs
to decide if we go by wagon or ship. If we go by wagon we
can then dismiss the ship."
The party glances over at Unali and Chion for their opinions.
All the while the party wonders which way might be best.
Actions? Comments?
Next Update...Monday...
GM: Healing Mist is a gosh awful powerful spell. I thought
I invented this spell. But turns out it isn't in my
spell library. So looks like Richard did. I will have
to figure out some balance to this thing later. It
is obvious doing it during combat is out.
GM: This was one of the things I said behind the scenes. I was
hoping to hear from Unali on it. But he is busy so if I
don't hear by next Friday (13th?) or so will go with what
ever Zhou, Chion decides mainly but will also accept and
welcome your opinions. Though Unali, Zhou and Chion's
opinions will be slightly weighted.
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