The Way of the Blue [Lantern OC]

[AverusBlack]

Oh boy, lets hope these dwarves don't have a Demon Clown infestation.

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Spoiler

 

[pervyshyguy]

If you want Cotton Candy, you gotta deal with Clowns, just the way of things. Slaves to Armok always have to deal with blood.
I think what's bugging me is that infinity means that unless this realm/planet is curated, then biters, shoggoths, Borg, Flood, Tyranids, Grey Goo, and all the SCP gribblies can be just over that next rise with equal probability to a friendly willing to trade Mountain home. I for one would appreciate some recon, planet scanning, or satellite network to justify puttering about in the town with possible existential risks lurking off stage.

 

[AngelicKnight.]

Would I go and do something subtle like that?

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Do they squirt goo like her?

 

[AverusBlack]

If you want Cotton Candy, you gotta deal with Clowns, just the way of things. Slaves to Armok always have to deal with blood.
I think what's bugging me is that infinity means that unless this realm/planet is curated, then biters, shoggoths, Borg, Flood, Tyranids, Grey Goo, and all the SCP gribblies can be just over that next rise with equal probability to a friendly willing to trade Mountain home. I for one would appreciate some recon, planet scanning, or satellite network to justify puttering about in the town with possible existential risks lurking off stage.

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Do you mean other than being completely inexperienced and not wanting to die horribly?

Bear in mind that while we know what rings are capable of, this guy doesn't. If someone hands you a paint brush, do you go trying to make a mural for your first piece? He's still learning what's around and what he can do. Also he literally just spent a whole arc traveling around instead of being in Durjak.

Storybuilding requires that there be steps between point A and B.

 

[pervyshyguy]

Do you mean other than being completely inexperienced and not wanting to die horribly?

Bear in mind that while we know what rings are capable of, this guy doesn't. If someone hands you a paint brush, do you go trying to make a mural for your first piece? He's still learning what's around and what he can do. Also he literally just spent a whole arc traveling around instead of being in Durjak.

Storybuilding requires that there be steps between point A and B.

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Well yeah, that's my point. Not wanting to die horribly necessitates recon. Ignorance, and willful ignorance being the worst variety, can be lethal. MC already scanned for and identified two other habitable planets. Claiming doing more scanning is beyond MC contradicts earlier parts of the story as written.

Additionally, MC already knows there is at least one person with power parity, there is no reason to assume there are no others, let alone more powerful threats extant. Delaying looking for them only leaves MC with less time to address any threats.

To me, this would be the equivalent of looking around for bear scat before setting up a backpacking site. Not checking doesn't make you safe from bears. It leaves you unable to prepare or act intelligently.

If you had been playing this as "naive" hope is a major vulnerability inflicted by the blue light, I would be entirely on board. However, your argument and story as written demonstrates that you view reconnaissance as less important than building castles or mining asteroids. Or more complicated or energy intensive.

Finally, MC being aware of lanterns at all strongly implies awareness that (green) lanterns police entire sectors of space. Space is big. Hugely, massively, incomprehensible to the human mind big. And MC has a tool that lets them surveil and act on an interstellar, let alone interplanetary range. "With this ring" had multiple arcs addressing absurdly potent sensors by hand waving magic anti scry wards, but it was at least exploited and then addressed.

 

[AverusBlack]

Well yeah, that's my point. Not wanting to die horribly necessitates recon. Ignorance, and willful ignorance being the worst variety, can be lethal. MC already scanned for and identified two other habitable planets. Claiming doing more scanning is beyond MC contradicts earlier parts of the story as written.

Additionally, MC already knows there is at least one person with power parity, there is no reason to assume there are no others, let alone more powerful threats extant. Delaying looking for them only leaves MC with less time to address any threats.

To me, this would be the equivalent of looking around for bear scat before setting up a backpacking site. Not checking doesn't make you safe from bears. It leaves you unable to prepare or act intelligently.

If you had been playing this as "naive" hope is a major vulnerability inflicted by the blue light, I would be entirely on board. However, your argument and story as written demonstrates that you view reconnaissance as less important than building castles or mining asteroids. Or more complicated or energy intensive.

Finally, MC being aware of lanterns at all strongly implies awareness that (green) lanterns police entire sectors of space. Space is big. Hugely, massively, incomprehensible to the human mind big. And MC has a tool that lets them surveil and act on an interstellar, let alone interplanetary range. "With this ring" had multiple arcs addressing absurdly potent sensors by hand waving magic anti scry wards, but it was at least exploited and then addressed.

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That's all very nice, except that I know everything about this universe in particular and you don't. Has it ever occurred to you that I've got reasons for easing him into things slowly, or would you like to write the story instead?

I could sit here and explain exactly why he's acting the way he's acting but then I would have to explicitly, overtly explain things which I plan to explain later through story narrative. I did explain that Ainsley isn't quite whole. I know he's being stupid. There's a reason for it. He isn't working with a full memory and lacks a lot of cultural context which makes threats like that clear and present dangers. You know all about how dangerous these things can be because you live on the internet. HE doesn't even remember what the damned internet is.

He literally doesn't even know things like that exist. The stuff he remembers is stuff vaguely related to what he's dealing with in the moment, he can't consciously pull information he doesn't remember up. I have, in fact, been very clear about there being large gaps in his knowledge and memory.

And frankly I'm kind of pissed off today and not in the mood to deal with somebody telling me I'm not writing the story well enough for them. There's other stories out there on the internet, if you don't like mine, go read someone else's. I can appreciate criticism when it makes sense but you're basically treating this like I'm not writing up to your standards. Well, frankly, tough shit. I'm doing this story for me and it pleases me that other people enjoy it but I don't owe anybody anything.

 

[pervyshyguy]

Okay then. Wasnt trying to pick a fight just draw your attention to what seemed like a plot hole that stood out to me. I like the story and thought it was a reasonable oversight. I am not trying to tear you or your story down, just explain what I noticed, and why it stuck out. Cheers for an interesting tale, hoping to enjoy another chapter soon.

 

[AverusBlack]

Okay then. Wasnt trying to pick a fight just draw your attention to what seemed like a plot hole that stood out to me. I like the story and thought it was a reasonable oversight. I am not trying to tear you or your story down, just explain what I noticed, and why it stuck out. Cheers for an interesting tale, hoping to enjoy another chapter soon.

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I'm not saying you're entirely wrong and sorry if I seem like I'm being kind of a dick. This has not been a good day.

I plan to mull over what you pointed out despite the fact I have reasons for everything he's doing right now. I don't have notes, plans, character rosters or anything. This entire story is flowing from the top of my head. I have a rough idea of where I want to go but I'm not in a rush to get there, the whole story so far is only about as long as Zoat's first story episode. I have plenty of time to get into the wider universe and I don't plan to make people wait forever but I want to build a foundation before I start making houses.

 

[AverusBlack]

Dealing with a major depressive episode, will update soon when I'm compos mentis again

 

[mastermenthe]

Oh boy, lets hope these dwarves don't have a Demon Clown infestation.

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I am more worried that Ainsley might decide that The Things Below are people too and begin a side quest to introduce civilization and trade to the sunless world.

 

[AverusBlack]

So yeah I haven't forgotten this story or anything, I've actually tried a couple times tonight to write something out. Brain's not co-operating with me today. Might update tonight some time or tomorrow (saturday) but I'm not fucking off the story or anything, just dealing with some shit

 

[AverusBlack]

Elise's favorite spot was the large hall of the castle. Essentially a huge library space, without the books to line the shelves yet the acoustics in that room made sound ring and echo in a wonderful way and she liked to listen to music while working so it ended up being her new favorite spot to hang out any time she had forms to fill or time to kill in general.

Which is how she found herself there when the yellow man showed up.

She was humming to herself when she turned the corner into the door and stopped up. He was standing in the middle of the room with one of the genkit guards held by the collar in one hand, having plainly dragged the guard into the room casually while looking around. Aforementioned guard was slumped but she wasn't wearing any of her kit so no way to tell except a visual inspection what happened and the guard was either knocked out, which was bad because that definitely meant a concussion at best, or they were dead, which was really bad.

She noticed him the same time he noticed her, turning and letting go of the guard to let them drop to the floor. "Ah, excellent. A staff member. I hope you're more helpful than this fellow was."

"What did you do to him?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" He almost purred it at her, looking at Elise with eyes half closed, the picture of relaxation. "Oh, don't you fret your little ears. He's not dead. Yet. Probably. Give him..." He looked thoughtful. "An hour? Maybe two? Before the internal bleeding gets him. But enough about him! Let's talk about you."

Taking a step back she hesitated, unsure of herself suddenly. The way he looked... Where Ainsley looked like a farm boy turned into something halfway between a cleric and a monk, this man looked grittier somehow, but similar. Humans tended to kind of look same-ish to her so it might have been that but there was something...

And then he's directly in front of her inside her personal space in a flicker of yellow and she's stepping back only to find her legs hitting something, causing her to fall into the construct seat he's created behind her, the manacles locking her wrists and ankles and pulling them into place. Not painful but Elise couldn't help but to breath hard, feeling trapped. Trapped wasn't something she could deal with well.

He patted her on the head. "Oh, relax. You know, it was a nice surprise to find you people have computers? Not very good ones, but still, they're rare enough that it's nice to have things be simple for once, you know?" He sat down across from her in his own construct chair, crossing his legs at the knee. "So, tell me, Elise. Where is your good friend Ainsley? Oh and if you see him before I do, tell him I like the title. Lightsmith." He waved his hand, miming a banner. "Brilliant, no pun intended." Then his charming and warm manner is gone all at once and he's staring at her in the sort of way she remembers Purists staring at her when she was a child. "Tell me where he is."

"Fuck you."

"Oh, is that what he's been doing?" He took a moment to look her over, then stole her clothes. That storage thing Ainsley does. He shrugged a little. "Not bad looking I suppose, if you can get past the fur. Bit of an oddity, but who am I to judge, really? Being here at all rather changes our perspective on things, I find."

"You fucking asshole, give me my clothes back! I'm not a fucking display object!"

"Fascinating, a human would be nervous or feeling vulnerable but you're just angry about it." A wave of his hand and she was dressed again, glaring at him. "Answer the fucking question Elise, or I'm going to stop fucking with you and start hurting you. I assure you I can do that for quite awhile before I begin actually damaging you."

"I don't know where he went. He doesn't give me a flight plan or anything. Who the fuck are you and why are you threatening us?"

"I'm Nemesis. I have a name, but I don't really tell it to people I expect to actually live. Or don't trust to keep it to themselves. Since you'll be surviving this encounter and you're not fucking me I think I'll refrain from letting you know."

"Attacking us was stupid. If he dies or I die then nothing is going to stop us from hunting you, goldilocks. Genkits fight to the last man, woman and child. You ever seen a kid pick up a rifle and shoot somebody? I fucking have. That's the people you're fucking with here, so consider yourself very carefully."

"I love this whole forced bravado thing you're doing, I really do. It's admirable. Most people sort of cower when dealing with me and I make a point of slapping around the ones who soil themselves after cleaning them up but you're handling this remarkably well."

"It's not the first time I've been tied down by some fuckhead who won't stop monologuing."

"Ah well, in that case I clearly have standards to live up to! Can't go and have you thinking that this whole thing was a brush off, now can I?" He stood up in front of her, leaning over to come face to face with her. "Because if there's one thing wielding this ring has taught me, it's that reputation matters. I have a certain kind of reputation to maintain."

He said more, but she was having trouble focusing by then and the screaming drowned it out anyways.

 

[Bloodalchemy]

So you have chosen death.

 

[Awkward]

Welp, I advocate for his death. Fucker messed with Ainsley's people, he doesn't deserve a second change. No passing go, no getting 200$. Insta death is thy fate, "Nemesis"

 

[AverusBlack]

I love that he's getting such a hardline response when I haven't even had him do anything properly bad yet. So far he's basically just bullied people really hard and been kind of a thug, lol.

 

[Bloodalchemy]

torture is much more then being a bully

 

[Assblaster5000]

I love that he's getting such a hardline response when I haven't even had him do anything properly bad yet. So far he's basically just bullied people really hard and been kind of a thug, lol.

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He dared to harm the Ferret Waifu and nearly killed someone because he didn't want to use his ring to find the MC, for this sin he, and all those that are foolish enough to work with him (so long as they are not under duress), must be unmade from this, and all other, realities.

 

[AverusBlack]

torture is much more then being a bully

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That's really not how some people who're on the chronic receiving end of bullying campaigns feel sometimes, believe me. I've known and known of more than a few who are happy to physically torture people and don't see it as anything more than making a point, really.

He dared to harm the Ferret Waifu

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Spoiler: sniff sniff

https://tenor.com/view/we-smell-waifu-gif-19187662

 

[Bloodalchemy]

chronic receiving end of bullying campaigns

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Either of those words elevate bullying into torture.

 

[AverusBlack]

Either of those words elevate bullying into torture.

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My only point is that bullying and sadism have a tendency to trot along together in lockstep, is all. As far as yellow is concerned, he's just emphasizing a point.

 

[Lord_0f_Winter]

My only point is that bullying and sadism have a tendency to trot along together in lockstep, is all. As far as yellow is concerned, he's just emphasizing a point.

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Don't care. He touch the waifu, he forfeit his laifu.

 

[AverusBlack]

"Fascinatin'. I ne'er thought I'd see the mine this way. Sure is a step faster'n going down the scenic route, eh?"

Helgar is standing on a construct platform next to me as we lower down the primary mining shaft about a mile south of the city under the mountain. The route down here was easy enough, nice wide stairs with an easy slope that just sort of seemed to go on forever with a rail going up one side. A construct cart brought us down to the bottom where the actual mineshaft begins.

Turns out the dwarven version of a mineshaft is actually a huge, vertical tunnel about a kilometer deep. They're still cutting stone down at the bottom, mineshafts spreading out from the central tunnel like cracks. Rather than riding a second cart track, which winds back and forth along the main shaft over and over to bleed off momentum, we're simply flying down vertically.

"So what exactly is so important about these metals, besides the enchantment affinity?"

"Awright. Now, I ain't no warchief so don' go takin' this like some heavy wisdom, but yeh ever considered what magic means for warfare?"

"I can't imagine many serious wars considering how young this world apparently is."

He's giving me a funny look. "An how long yeh suppose that is, eh?"

I frown a little. "When I visited the Tovalon region, I was told that they appeared there only two winters ago. A couple years."

"Oh sure, whoever yeh asked probably did. But three years ago that land was nice 'n empty and we've been gettin' random Tovari popping up out there for decades. Sometimes a whole place pops in the way people do but it comes slow-like, there's signs of somethin' about t'pass through the veil if yeh know what t'look for, to scry for. And scryin's a real big problem."

"Scrying?"

"Heh, bit fresh aren't yeh? Aye, scryin', detection spells. Findin' things or people. Get good enough with 'em and yeh can do all kinds o' stuff. Aimed curses and the like. And that's why mithral and orichalcum are so feckin' important. Yeh can't scry through it. It's why we're here, here specifically instead of some other part o' the range. All the ore in the rock around us makes it bloody impossible to scry in here. No teleportin' into our city, thank yeh very much."

Ring, scan the city.

Unable to scan past the top of the mineshaft. Something is jamming the scan.

Well fuck. How much else is underground in places I can't see?

"Yeh okay, lad? Lookin' a bit perturbed there."

"Yeah, just... I tried to scan for the city above and couldn't do it. Now I'm wondering how much I'm actually missing."

"Probably a lot. Shit's all over the place in this region, we just liked the concentrations here. An' a couple leylines intersect here, it's a free power point if yeh wanna do a lot of arcane metalsmithing. No need t'use yerself up if you can just shape the magic flowing around yeh instead." He hops off the platform as we reach the bottom. There's a work team going up and down one of three shafts spreading out from here but it's not the one Helgar is pointing to. "Down there."

"So what's down there?"

"Feck if I know. Couple o' our boys go missing, we don' stick around pokin' things, we leave. That's what professionals are for. Like you." He pats my shoulder, making me stumble. "Good luck, chum. I'll be here havin' a sip when yeh get back, or four hours passes, whichever happens first."

"Your confidence in me is infinitely reassuring." He gives me a thumbs up, then sits down on a crate and pulls out a flask. Charming.

Well, nothing for it then, I suppose. Ring, continuous scan. Might not get much but if anything pops up I wanna know about it.

Affirmative.

Rising off the ground I hover and glide down, letting the ring navigate for me. This far down it's actually pretty warm and the environmental shield is about the only thing keeping me from sweating. Ring, how fresh is the air here?

Fifteen percent oxygen, five percent carbon dioxide, seventy percent nitrogen, ten percent mixed particulates and other gases. The air is not particularly fresh.

I wonder if the reason they have those big, bushy beards is to help filter some of that out when they breath it in?

Data not found.

You're a lousy conversation partner, ring.

This is likely due to the fact I am a ring, not a person.

Great, my jewelry is sassing me now. As I come up to the end of the first shaft it breaks out into a cavern space, the minecart track heading out across a wooden bridge which has been set on fire at some point and left to burn. The tracks are still intact but there's no way anyone sane would try to cross them and the space is too large to jump, but neither of those are an issue for me so I just glide across it.

That looks suspiciously like somebody trying to block access to the rest of this cave. Interesting.

When I land on the other side I simply walk, mostly for want of the sensation of actually doing something. The tunnel slopes downward and curves a little, forcing me to follow an uneven spiral before it breaks into a much larger section of cave.

This is sort of a tunnel too, but I can't see the end of it. There's light but it's coming from bioluminescent moss or lichen -

Plant matter is a form of fungus.

- or fungus, apparently, which glows a pale red. The dim light is just enough to trace out parts of the cave and what's on the other side of it from the space I'm standing. Which appears to be a large building, shaped out of the rock around it but this architectural style is far different to the dwarves. It's almost bony, the corners sharpened.

Maybe they'll be nice?

 

[mastermenthe]

Maybe they'll be nice?

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Yup, called it, Ainsley is gonna play diplomat with the Underdark!

 

[Chojin Patriarch]

And now we have some chapters for the new episode, let's see what's cooking...

Spoiler: Comments spoilered for length

Either way I should probably costume myself for the day. Fabricating a blue armless tunic with an accentuated hanging front over baggy pants and a sash. Black, blue, white and silver are my chosen colors so the whole ensemble fits that theme. No hat now, or any time soon, probably. Elise keeps making jokes about needing a crown and I don't want to put that image in anybodies head. I'm a guardian, not a king.

That's Noah's thing, not mine.

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Still, you know people are going to be thinking about it. These are people from eras when the strong ruled, where a man could become a king by the strength of his sword arm... And dammit, now I'm humming the Conan theme.

"It's fine, Sam. What're you planning to grow in those?"

"It's a vine! A really pretty one. We use it for food when the leaves are dried out so it'll make the room smell nice and you can pick off it for cooking, too. It even has little flowers, but they're just white, not anything colorful."

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Given the amount of Hope lingering about this place. how long before they start growing in blue...

"...No? I know what you mean but I can't ever see my own face. I'd have to pull my eyes -"

"Remind me to introduce you to a mirror someday when I find one. Anyways, the length of your nose gives more room for your ability to smell. I never really thought of that until now. No wonder the genkits are so enthusiastic about personal grooming."

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Especially the canid-based ones? Damn, imagine how those descended from bloodhounds or Wolves might feel...

I shake my head a little and leave him to it, heading down the tower steps and smiling to myself.

This is the life.

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And thus, following the laws of Narrative Causality, something is going to come along and mess it up. Because protagonists can never have nice things last...

So, we've got to outsourcing. Scouts for the town have been spreading word of our existence here and traders have begun to trickle in. It's fascinating seeing the different kinds of people who show up. I've seen at least one orc, a couple elves, something that looks like a tree person which I'm tentatively calling a dryad, pink girls with curved horns and black scelera and notably, tovari with elementals. Their particular brand of magic is fascinatingly relevant to me because it relies less on precise knowledge of magic and more on building a partnership and bond with your elemental, which grants you abilities while the elemental in turn gets perspective on what mortal life is like for a time. Tactile sensations are a big thing for them, apparently.

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Interesting to see some other races about. Looking like the usual Fantasy Kitchen Sink so far, but who knows what inventive races might show up in future?

"I'm no lord, Bradley. You know that. It's only been a week and a half since you first met me."

He gets a somber look on his face. "Ainsley, my dear boy, you live in a castle overlooking the town and are singlehandedly responsible for our current state of prosperity. If you don't think of yourself as a lord, that's fine, but word of advice from a friend." He gestures at me to come close so I move to sit down at the bar, tilting my head at him.

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To badly misquote the common wisdom: If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck and swims like a duck, then people will call it a duck. And no matter how he protests, people will call him a Lord. Even if it's out of genuine respect.

"Haha! Hullo, blue man! Heard about you, we surely did. Come and drink with us, then!" I've never met dwarves before. This lot look to average around five feet tall and are built like gorillas. If they told me they could bend steel barehanded I would still ask them to test it, but if I didn't have any steel on hand, I'd be willing to take their word for it too. "How's life up in the fancy sapphire castle of yours, eh?"

"Did you really build it in a single day?" The one speaking to me has a black beard with bits of dull gray metal -

Substance is platinum.

-in his beard. Oh, interesting. A bit more opulent than gold but nobody would know the difference unless they knew their metals.

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Ah, an interesting spin on the Dwarven folk. Hope they don't do the usual Scottish accent rubbish.

"One hundred percent." I take a gold coin with the blue sigil out of subspace and deposit it on the table.

"Fuck off." He picks it up and bites it, then stops and looks at it in wonder. "It's pure. Completely pure. Insvald, check it too."

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Given how difficult it would be to get any decent purity with typical medieval mining techniques, I'm not surprised he's having what sounds like a near-religous experience...

Turns out dwarves really, really don't like flying. When we worked out on the maps where their main city was I offered to fly us there and they all thought it was a great idea right up until we actually got up into the air. Flying on construct wyverns didn't agree with them at all and we were in the air for all of five minutes before Valsrad threw up and the others tapped out. Poor guy felt right as rain as soon as we were on the ground and I'd given him a bit of water.

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So, what's the bet they have some kind of mystical bond to the earth?

When I created a construct ship I came up with from somewhere they handled it much better. Credit to them, they were willing to give it a try after Insvald said he was fair game and they collectively decided they weren't going to be outshone by him. Or wanted to walk back, for that matter. But it turns out that being in an enclosed space just makes it into a room with magic windows to them so the rest of the trip was happily vomit-free.

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Better than the typical kind of flying ship. You know, the sailing ship suspended from lift balloons. Or in the case of the Kharadron Overlords of Warhammer: Age of Sigmar, magitech orbs powered by enchanted gold...

Landing in front of the bridge wasn't an issue, since they made a large terrace on the other side of their large face because they just really dig stonework, I guess. Aaah, alas for Saan not being here. She'd have liked that one. Getting into the city wasn't either with the lads talking me up. Like true capitalists money is the boss in this town and since I have plenty of that I'm currently sitting in an inn waiting for the local miners guild representative.

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As long as you don't crash the local economy when you start spending...

"Hmmmm. Well, don' see that everyday." He's taking his time with tankard number two, sipping at it while he thinks. "Awright. Yer golds apparently good and Insvald says yeh got platinum, so let's see then."

I subspace an ingot of platinum onto the table, making him sit up a little and shuffle in surprise as he takes that in. "I can break it up into smaller denominations if you need me to."

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Probably more platinum than the average Dwarf would see in ten years?

"Lad, for an ingot like that, yeh could buy half the fucking city. Put that away before someone notices it." I put it away before somebody notices it. "Terms?"

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Yeah, evidently the regular folks don't see much of the stuff they're mining, then. I'm guessing an ingot bigger than your fist would raise some larcenous thoughts...

I think I'm blowing his mind a little. He's not answering right away, sipping his drink and not saying anything. It takes almost a full minute before he speaks. "If yeh pay that much in pure platinum yeh'll fuck up our economy. Can yeh do a spread?"

"Yes. Gold, platinum, silver, whatever."

"Whatever? What about mithril? Orichalcum? Jovium? Adamantite?"

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Good to see he's sensible enough to realise the economic effects. And I see some classic fantasy metals...

"Let's just say that when yeh get down deep enough, yeh run into all manner of critters and not all of 'em are inclined to go running off when they see you."

Oh boy, here we go.

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Well, if you're going to play the hero, you've got to expect people giving you quests. Now, to see whether it's Kobolds or Goblins... Or maybe Dark Elves...

Elise's favorite spot was the large hall of the castle. Essentially a huge library space, without the books to line the shelves yet the acoustics in that room made sound ring and echo in a wonderful way and she liked to listen to music while working so it ended up being her new favorite spot to hang out any time she had forms to fill or time to kill in general.

Which is how she found herself there when the yellow man showed up.

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Oh, hell, here comes that 'something to mess it up' that I mentioned earlier...

"Wouldn't you like to know?" He almost purred it at her, looking at Elise with eyes half closed, the picture of relaxation. "Oh, don't you fret your little ears. He's not dead. Yet. Probably. Give him..." He looked thoughtful. "An hour? Maybe two? Before the internal bleeding gets him. But enough about him! Let's talk about you."

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And he sounds a right git. Still, I have to wonder how much of that is playing up to create the fear to strengthen his constructs.

"Oh, is that what he's been doing?" He took a moment to look her over, then stole her clothes. That storage thing Ainsley does. He shrugged a little. "Not bad looking I suppose, if you can get past the fur. Bit of an oddity, but who am I to judge, really? Being here at all rather changes our perspective on things, I find."

"You fucking asshole, give me my clothes back! I'm not a fucking display object!"

"Fascinating, a human would be nervous or feeling vulnerable but you're just angry about it." A wave of his hand and she was dressed again, glaring at him. "Answer the fucking question Elise, or I'm going to stop fucking with you and start hurting you. I assure you I can do that for quite awhile before I begin actually damaging you."

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And I like that that lack of nudity taboo was established earlier. Bet there were a few instances of full-frontal assaults back in the day...

"I'm Nemesis. I have a name, but I don't really tell it to people I expect to actually live. Or don't trust to keep it to themselves. Since you'll be surviving this encounter and you're not fucking me I think I'll refrain from letting you know."

"Attacking us was stupid. If he dies or I die then nothing is going to stop us from hunting you, goldilocks. Genkits fight to the last man, woman and child. You ever seen a kid pick up a rifle and shoot somebody? I fucking have. That's the people you're fucking with here, so consider yourself very carefully."

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Yeah, I really get the feeling he's trying to play the villain as part of his combat strategy... Either that or he's just an edgy git.

He said more, but she was having trouble focusing by then and the screaming drowned it out anyways.

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Ouch. That's going to have consequences... For everyone. I really hope she's not going to get fridged.

"Fascinatin'. I ne'er thought I'd see the mine this way. Sure is a step faster'n going down the scenic route, eh?"

Helgar is standing on a construct platform next to me as we lower down the primary mining shaft about a mile south of the city under the mountain. The route down here was easy enough, nice wide stairs with an easy slope that just sort of seemed to go on forever with a rail going up one side. A construct cart brought us down to the bottom where the actual mineshaft begins.

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Fascinating. Boring a main shaft, then extending galleries out to veins of useful ores and gems? I'm betting there's some earth-based magic involved in searching, then.

I frown a little. "When I visited the Tovalon region, I was told that they appeared there only two winters ago. A couple years."

"Oh sure, whoever yeh asked probably did. But three years ago that land was nice 'n empty and we've been gettin' random Tovari popping up out there for decades. Sometimes a whole place pops in the way people do but it comes slow-like, there's signs of somethin' about t'pass through the veil if yeh know what t'look for, to scry for. And scryin's a real big problem."

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Ah, so not every race is non-local, eh? This world gets curiouser and curiouser (and he's even going down the rabbit Dwarven hole!)

"Heh, bit fresh aren't yeh? Aye, scryin', detection spells. Findin' things or people. Get good enough with 'em and yeh can do all kinds o' stuff. Aimed curses and the like. And that's why mithral and orichalcum are so feckin' important. Yeh can't scry through it. It's why we're here, here specifically instead of some other part o' the range. All the ore in the rock around us makes it bloody impossible to scry in here. No teleportin' into our city, thank yeh very much."

Ring, scan the city.

Unable to scan past the top of the mineshaft. Something is jamming the scan.

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Better he learn this in a friendly place, than in the middle of nowhere. Or worse, in a fight.

"Probably a lot. Shit's all over the place in this region, we just liked the concentrations here. An' a couple leylines intersect here, it's a free power point if yeh wanna do a lot of arcane metalsmithing. No need t'use yerself up if you can just shape the magic flowing around yeh instead." He hops off the platform as we reach the bottom. There's a work team going up and down one of three shafts spreading out from here but it's not the one Helgar is pointing to. "Down there."

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That's a useful bit of info on their magical system, or at least the crafting side of things. Making the more exotic materials uses the smith's own life-force as fuel for the magic used, huh?

Rising off the ground I hover and glide down, letting the ring navigate for me. This far down it's actually pretty warm and the environmental shield is about the only thing keeping me from sweating. Ring, how fresh is the air here?

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Which is something most people would not expect. The whole 'the earth is cold and dark' thing is actually wrong. Places like Moria would honestly be kind of pleasantly warm, if not balmy.

You're a lousy conversation partner, ring.

This is likely due to the fact I am a ring, not a person.

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TTS Rogal Dorn: "This is a thing that is true, yes." Okay, your ring now sounds like Him, and no-one's going to convince me otherwise.

This is sort of a tunnel too, but I can't see the end of it. There's light but it's coming from bioluminescent moss or lichen -

Plant matter is a form of fungus.

- or fungus, apparently, which glows a pale red. The dim light is just enough to trace out parts of the cave and what's on the other side of it from the space I'm standing. Which appears to be a large building, shaped out of the rock around it but this architectural style is far different to the dwarves. It's almost bony, the corners sharpened.

Maybe they'll be nice?

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Well, time to see what the neighbours are. Evidently somethign with very good low-light vision...

 

[AverusBlack]

And he sounds a right git. Still, I have to wonder how much of that is playing up to create the fear to strengthen his constructs.

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The answer is 'yes'. Remember what happened to Batman when he briefly got a yellow ring in the comics?

Remember why he took it off?

And thus, following the laws of Narrative Causality, something is going to come along and mess it up. Because protagonists can never have nice things last...

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Which is something most people would not expect. The whole 'the earth is cold and dark' thing is actually wrong. Places like Moria would honestly be kind of pleasantly warm, if not balmy.

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I remember reading once about a deep, deep mining bore where they broke into a cave filled with massive quartz crystals large enough to be boulders unto themselves, but while they could reach the cave, it was so hot there that despite the air they carried they couldn't remain for more than a few minutes at a time.

And this is a volcanic region.

 

[Mr Zoat]

The answer is 'yes'. Remember what happened to Batman when he briefly got a yellow ring in the comics?

Remember why he took it off?

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I always read that as the ring jumping off him because Sinestro programmed it not to accidentally recruit a scary Green Lantern, not a choice on Batman's part.

 

[AverusBlack]

I always read that as the ring jumping off him because Sinestro programmed it not to accidentally recruit a scary Green Lantern, not a choice on Batman's part.

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The bit I'm referring to is where the ring starts saying "You will now be subjected to-"

Because if I recall correctly, what the ring was about to do was forced fear meditation, or something rather like it. Didn't Amon Sur go through something like that as well? It's been a bit since I read these comics and you would know better than I.

 

[Mr Zoat]

The bit I'm referring to is where the ring starts saying "You will now be subjected to-"

Because if I recall correctly, what the ring was about to do was forced fear meditation, or something rather like it. Didn't Amon Sur go through something like that as well? It's been a bit since I read these comics and you would know better than I.

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Sinestro goes through it himself in the first few pages. When I reread it, it looked like he stripped naked in front of his entire Corps with his ring dead in front of him and managed to activate it. I thought that the 'subjected to' line was just a reference to their training, but I could be wrong.

 

[AverusBlack]

Sinestro goes through it himself in the first few pages. When I reread it, it looked like he stripped naked in front of his entire Corps with his ring dead in front of him and managed to activate it. I thought that the 'subjected to' line was just a reference to their training, but I could be wrong.

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Nemesis went through a mental reconditioning like that when he got his ring. It changed his perspective on things and is a large factor in why he behaves the way he does. It overwrote things when he was in a vulnerable state.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Nemesis went through a mental reconditioning like that when he got his ring. It changed his perspective on things and is a large factor in why he behaves the way he does. It overwrote things when he was in a vulnerable state.

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Who is 'Nemesis'?