Tales From The Undercity (Nothing Up My Sleeve)

[kd7sov]

> Something: Intercept the pod.

> Fenton: Develop a nosebleed. In your helmet.

[littlebeasti]

> Pod: Land onto rubber spikes.
> Josip: What, who would make these?

[Crumplepunch]

The small craft lurched violently from side to side as it was lowered, chains clanking overhead.

"How're you doing?" asked Garow, apparently perfectly composed.

"Oh, you know, not bad. How long does this last for?" replied Fenton.

"A minute, maybe. We're actually going pretty slow."

"And we stop when we crash into something?"

"Yeah. Should be pretty obvious, unless those spikes are made of rubber or something."

"Well, that would just be silly."

"You going to be going on like this the whole way?" said Prester.

"Got a problem, Prester?" replied Garow, looking narrowly at him.

"Sooner not have all the flirtin' over the open channel while we're tryin' to work, is all."

"I'm not-" began Garow, angrily, before the pod suddenly jolted upwards, stalling it's decent.

"What was that?" asked Ulfred.

"Damned if I know." said Garow. "Figure we should-"

She was interrupted again by a sound of wrenching metal. The pod rocked again, more violently still, and pitched downwards. Everyone gripped the pod's handholds as the pod unmistakably impacted the structure. The room spun nauseatingly before coming to a screeching halt. The dim outside light of the door's viewport was dark, and there was silence save for the distant thuds of falling debris.

Garow stood shakily to her feet. "Alright, everyone, report in."

"Fine." said Ulfred.

"Fine." said Maggs.

Then silence.

"Bugger. Maggs, check Prester." said Garow, kneeling to examine Fenton who was sitting slumped in the opposite seat.

"Great. The doc's bleeding, inside his suit. Checking for ruptures..."

Fenton opened his eyes. "Oh, it's okay, I'm good."

"No, you've got blood inside your visor there-"

"It's okay, it's just a nosebleed."

"...does... uh, does that happen a lot?"

"Sometimes. Sorry about your suit."

"S'okay. Maggs?"

"Prester's down cold, damaged power supply too. Couldn't walk in the suit if he tried."

"Damn. Stay with him, Ulfred, Fenton, with me."

She checked the signal flags beside the door to ensure the pod's structural integrity was intact, and then opened the inner airlock.

"I think the chains were snapped. I don't know what hit us, but we stay alert. Agreed?"

They both agreed.

[littlebeasti]

> They don't realize that the chains were severed by the entire palace teleporting.

[Askia]

> actually be pretty nice outside, wherever they are

[Bohandas]

> They don't realize that the chains were severed by the entire palace teleporting.

Seconded.

[Crumplepunch]

Alright, I want to take another day to work on the next panel because it's a big set piece and I want to prettify it some more. In the meantime, seeing as we're all set to teleport away, who wants to decide where we have ended up?

[kd7sov]

Ark

Either somewhere in the Badlands, or Caerban's Bride.

[Andorxor]

In the grey sea.The palace stays in salt water.We don't want it to easy for them to find out that they are somewhere else.

[littlebeasti]

> Yeah, put them in the grey sea, in a place where people from the ARK can see them, but they can't see it.

[Crumplepunch]

Thanks for the suggestions. The Grey Sea is actually an (incredibly hostile) ash-desert and not a real sea, so as a compromise they are now off the coast of Caerban's Bride.

The map actually says Caerban's Bridge if you squint, but I like Bride better, so it's called that now.

I can do that. I had the power all along.

Not much text here, we explore further tomorrow.



"Well," said Garow, "that looks pretty cool."

[simon.clarkstone]

> How much do you float?
> Look for a map.
> Head for the gateway that started this whole thing; you can use it to send messages home.

[kd7sov]

> Can you read those symbols over the arch?

[Crumplepunch]

You might not know that I have a formspring!

http://www.formspring.me/Crumplepunch

I have started answering questions because I am bored. Ask me a question to make me less bored. Your reward shall be bountiful and measured in wisdom.

***************

"Oh, this is something." said Fenton.

"Hrm." said Ulfred, who had clearly resolved not to be impressed.

"So, I'm guessing that our chances of pickup aren't very good at the moment."

"Nope." said Garow. "Slim and none. The Kartajan can't get close enough to the surface. 'Sides which, I don't see her up there. Hope nothing's gone wrong. 'Cept the obvious."

"Right." Fenton approached an engraved arch for closer examination with the air of someone who had been given a beautifully wrapped package by a sworn enemy. The suit, weighted against the swirling current, allowed for only a plodding, walking pace.

"Does that say something?"

"I'm not sure. I vaguely recognize... oh. Um. Please don't look at it."

"What?"

"Well, it's... okay, just trust me on this, don't look at it, it will cause problems."

"What do you mean? Can't see what harm it'd do, I already told you I can't read."

"You'll be able to read this. It's Luotic. A language of... intentionality, I suppose you could say."

Garow and Ulfred were both unimpressed with this explanation.

"It's a magical command phrase. I don't know what it does, but I know it does something. Can you blame me for being cautious, under the circumstances?"

"Suppose not."

"On the plus side, that narrows down the date by quite a bit... I think could be the Motive Cenotaph of Agharrak the Mad."

"Huh. Is that good?"

"Well, yes, I think so. He was an archmage who fought The Yggalach-"

"Long may 'is death endure." intoned Ulfred, superstitiously.

Underneath his visor, Fenton made an odd expression that was somewhere between a wince and a smirk.

"...yeah, sure. Anyway, he fought... him... during the Magrocracy war. He was a bit mad though."

"No shit." said Garow.

"So, maybe traps, I suppose."

"Better and better. What about this portal network? Reckon it's still on?"

Fenton looked around, thoughtfully.

"Well, the water's still moving, so I suppose so. I'm not sure how I feel about using it, though."

"Not sure how else we're going to get out of here."

"Well, let's start by looking for a map. Who knows? Maybe we can find something else to help us."

[kd7sov]

A... motive cenotaph? A walking nameplate? What? Or no, I'm thinking of cartouche... *quick research* Oooooooooh, my.

> 'Splore!

[littlebeasti]

> ...How are you breathing?

[The One Guy]

> ...How are you breathing?

They seem to be wearing airtight suits.

[Crumplepunch]

Yes, those suits aren't for show, they do have air supplies. The layout is quite impractical, but I do have a functioning design based on in-world technology in mind.

Speaking of functioning technology, bad news, my tablet has died, again. The search for a replacement shouldn't delay me too much longer.

In the meantime, filler. Luckily I have something ready. Remember Charlotte? She'll be back after we're done with the prologue.

[Crumplepunch]

I should have my new tablet on Tuesday. In the meantime, more concept art theater.



Some new characters! Some are more important than others. The second guy there was a concept I drew for the Carlov origin character mentioned in the first post, the girl and the older man are Keepers from the Ada-Alta origin.

I'll be doing a text update tonight. With luck, proper updates will resume on Tuesday.

[Crumplepunch]

The group explored the structure in silence, only a faint hiss of interference audible over the shared line. The dim blue beams of their torches swept over the sculpted arches and oddly jutting geometry of the architecture.

Once or twice, Garow's light illuminated engraved runes similar to those on the entrance arch, and she forced herself to quickly look away rather than examine them further. A language of intentionality, Fenton had said. She had no idea what that might mean, but she knew better than to pry at unknown magics.

Her present circumstances excepted, of course.

The interiors of the tower structures were of uncomfortable dimensions; their halls far too narrow and their ceilings cavernously high. Garow tried and failed to visualize what kind of person they might have been designed for. The cramped corridors, the oppressive silence of the watery environment and the restrictive closeness of the suit's visor combined for an unpleasantly claustrophobic experience.

In the first tower, every one of the rooms was empty, save for elaborate mosaic floors depicting some kind of mythological cycle. The adrenaline thrill of scanning the murky darkness for potential dangers soon faded, leaving only an uncomfortable, aching tension.

Crossing the sculpted bridge to the second tower, it was immediately apparent that it was not built to the same plan as the first. They entered an enormous hall, occupying three full floors.

"Okay. You're going to have to explain this to me." said Garow.

Their torches converged on the three statues in the middle of the room. Set back to back, they depicted a spider, a dragon, and a wolf, each turned to it's left so as to appear to be striking out at their neighbour.

"Oh, well, these are the Ill-Drawn Three. They-"

"They're bad luck, is what they are." Ulfred interrupted.

"Well, individually, or in pairs, they are supposed to signify misfortune, death, suffering, and so forth, that's true. All three together supposedly form an abjuration against evil intent. They are used in Order magic; part of the Sabetic Tarot."

"Still don't mean we should stick around." said Ulfred, truculently.

"Oh, agreed. In fact, I think I we have our map. There are seven towers forming a ring... the Ill-Drawn Three arranged beside the Empty House. I think the towers are themed after the houses of the Major and Tonal Arcana."

"So what are our options?" asked Garow.

"The Aleph, The Reach, The House of Judgement, The House of Rulers, and The House of Fortune, in that order. I would conject that the House of Rulers contains the control system, if there is one."

"And fortune contains the treasure?"

"If there is one."

[Bohandas]

>TO the House of Fortune then. The rest of the party's just gonna head there anyway.

[Xindaris]

If there are traps in the hypothetical treasure room in the Fortune tower, it is possible they would be disabled by something in the control tower, if it has controls. So it would be better to go to Ruler first.

[The One Guy]

The logical choice would be to go to the House of Rulers before anything else, but you know no one's going to listen, to the House of Fortune it is!

[Bohandas]

>Explain the occult significance of each suit

[Mr. Eldritch]

To the House of Rulers!