The Phoenyx - kalyr - Kalyr: 94

Sun

May 2
2004

15:57Z

Kalyr: 94 - To the City

After the ceremony, the wake for Jaldaric continues into the evening.


[I'll leave it to players to decide if the characters overindulged and
had too many honey beers.  Players make a Will roll to avoid drinking
too much, and an HT roll to avoid the effects.  Fail both, and you
have a bad hangover]


The group of travellers leave the village the next morning,
accompanied now by Jaldaric, but without Kylar, who won't be fit to
travel for several days yet. 

"I sent a message to Ardeth yesterday, as soon as you arrived",
Jathren announces, "From there, someone will get word to the city, and
with any luck they'll be able to meet us, so we won't have to walk all
the way".

It soon becomes apparent that they're going to be accompanied by a
quite a few villagers. It looks like a trade caravan being readied;
several pack beasts being loaded up with a variety of trade goods,
including presumably some of that honey beer. To Roy's and Hank's eyes
these are strange creatures, part donkey, part baby elephant, and a
definite hint of pig.

They follow a meandering trail through wooded hills for most of the
morning, breaking for a midday meal of dark bread, dried meat and
fruit. Again, neither the fruit nor the meat are totally familiar to
the two men from Earth; the meat lasts vaguely beef-like, and the
fruit is sweet if a little hard.  

This is not the same route the party had used on the way out just a
few days earlier. Not long after the meal break the trail reaches a
swift-flowing river, and turns south along the bank of the river until
it reaches a bridge.

The bridge is made of the same strange hard substance that formed the
mysterious towers. A single graceful span of fifty feet crosses the
river; since there is no guardrail the party of travellers cross in
single file along the centre line of the bridge. The trail continues
on, following the river downstream on the opposite bank 

Come late afternoon the forest ends abruptly. Ahead stretches
cultivated land which stretches right up to grey hills on the horizon.
Buildings can be seen dotted around, and a wagon drawn by a pair of
large shaggy creatures moves slowly along a road on the other side of
the river.  Much of the land is dedicated to crops, but animals graze
on the pastures closest to the river; some large hairy cattle-like
creatures, and some smaller ones resembling nothing other than
gigantic rabbits.

"Ardeth lies over the ridge, beyond the bend in the river", Jathren
says, "It is where we part company with our friends from the village,
and where we hopefully will obtain transport into the city".

--
Tim Hall
Weblog: http://www.kalyr.com/weblog
Photos: http://kalyr.fotopic.net/

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Chuk Goodin

Tue

May 4
2004

19:39Z

Kalyr: 94 - To the City

On Sun, May 02, 2004 at 10:57:31AM -0500, Tim wrote:
> [I'll leave it to players to decide if the characters overindulged and
> had too many honey beers.  Players make a Will roll to avoid drinking
> too much, and an HT roll to avoid the effects.  Fail both, and you
> have a bad hangover]

Roy has a few beers, but realizes that getting wasted in a strange land 
might not be a Good Idea.  While drinking with the locals, he tries to do 
a more listening than talking, but after the second beer he starts to 
regale anyone who'll listen (and probably one or two people who won't) 
with stories of the land of America.  Hank's presence will keep him from 
telling too many outrageous whoppers.  He'll also ask around about 
cigarettes.  They do have cigarettes, right?

> It soon becomes apparent that they're going to be accompanied by a
> quite a few villagers. It looks like a trade caravan being readied;
> several pack beasts being loaded up with a variety of trade goods,
> including presumably some of that honey beer. To Roy's and Hank's eyes
> these are strange creatures, part donkey, part baby elephant, and a
> definite hint of pig.

Roy takes a strong interest in the pack animals and watches closely as 
they're being loaded up.  He asks a local (probably Kylar if he's around, 
or maybe Ryzar), "What are these animals called?"  He'll follow that up 
with a host of other questions: "What do they eat?  How much of it?  How 
often do they need waterin'? How fast do they haul?" until he's satisfied 
or his interrogation victim gets away from him.

> They follow a meandering trail through wooded hills for most of the
> morning, breaking for a midday meal of dark bread, dried meat and
> fruit. Again, neither the fruit nor the meat are totally familiar to
> the two men from Earth; the meat lasts vaguely beef-like, and the
> fruit is sweet if a little hard.  

The meat Roy is careful not to ask about.

> The bridge is made of the same strange hard substance that formed the
> mysterious towers. A single graceful span of fifty feet crosses the
> river; since there is no guardrail the party of travellers cross in
> single file along the centre line of the bridge. The trail continues
> on, following the river downstream on the opposite bank 

-- 
Chuk Goodin		cgoodin@sfu.ca
Alien Light GM		http://www.phoenyx.net/alienlight

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Michael Orton

Fri

May 7
2004

08:02Z

Kalyr: 94 - To the City

[Duplar]
> "Ardeth lies over the ridge, beyond the bend in the river", Jathren
> says, "It is where we part company with our friends from the village,
> and where we hopefully will obtain transport into the city".

"Let's try something a little more orthodox than our last journey home from
there!"

[OOC: my website is down at the moment, but I'll repost that saga once I'm
more organised.]


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Smoot

Fri

May 7
2004

19:10Z

Kalyr: 94 - To the City

Hank is respectfully quiet throughout the ceremony, but not having known
Jaldaric, he does not speak up during the 'service'.

> [I'll leave it to players to decide if the characters overindulged and
> had too many honey beers.  Players make a Will roll to avoid drinking
> too much, and an HT roll to avoid the effects.  Fail both, and you
> have a bad hangover]

He drinks a couple of honey-beers, but doesn't actually carouse, per se. He
stays relatively close to Roy, but doesn't 'chaperone' him.

He 'trades' questions and answers- he'll answer one about Earth for one
about Kalyr.

Later in the evening, he retires to a corner, by himself. Anyone listening
specifically to him can hear a brief, unfamiliar prayer of some kind, and
the sounds of crying. He regains composure, finishes out the evening gamely,
and turns in early.

[Before doing so, he writes in his journal, before he forgets. Just out of
curiosity, he also turns on his 2-way Radio/GPS unit, for a moment, just to
see what happens...ie, any incoming signals whatsoever?]

In the morning, he says his goodbyes to the villagers he spoke to, and stops
to talk to Kylar, for a while.

As soon as it looks like a caravan, Hank is sharp and businesslike, lending
a hand to those who need it, so the group can get on the road in short
order. (helping stragglers along, assisting pack-masters, etc). He listens
to Roy's Q&As about the creatures- he's got some Agronomy experience, but he
defers to Roy's knowledge as an animal-handler...

Hank eats the local food, but also offers around a little of what rations he
has left.

-He takes an Engineer's interest in the construction and materials of the
bridge, a Civil Engineer's interest in the irrigation and structure of the
farms they pass, and just generally tries to apply a skilled eye to what
he's seeing...

> "Ardeth lies over the ridge, beyond the bend in the river", Jathren
> says, "It is where we part company with our friends from the village,
> and where we hopefully will obtain transport into the city".

"What sort of transport?"

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Chuk Goodin

Fri

May 7
2004

19:27Z

Kalyr: 94 - To the City

On Fri, May 07, 2004 at 02:10:30PM -0500, Smoot wrote:
> In the morning, he says his goodbyes to the villagers he spoke to, and stops
> to talk to Kylar, for a while.
> 
> As soon as it looks like a caravan, Hank is sharp and businesslike, lending
> a hand to those who need it, so the group can get on the road in short
> order. (helping stragglers along, assisting pack-masters, etc). He listens
> to Roy's Q&As about the creatures- he's got some Agronomy experience, but he
> defers to Roy's knowledge as an animal-handler...
> 
> Hank eats the local food, but also offers around a little of what rations he
> has left.

Do those rations include anything to smoke?  Roy's still got about half a 
pack, but he realized (this morning!) that he'll have to hoard them.

-- 
Chuk Goodin		cgoodin@sfu.ca
Alien Light GM		http://www.phoenyx.net/alienlight

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Smoot

Sat

May 8
2004

14:58Z

Kalyr: 94 - To the City

> > Hank eats the local food, but also offers around a little of what
rations he
> > has left.
>
> Do those rations include anything to smoke?  Roy's still got about half a
> pack, but he realized (this morning!) that he'll have to hoard them.

" 'Fraid not- I never got the habit."

(Leans in)
"I've got a bottle of Southern Comfort, though- I'll split it with you,
seeing as you're the only one... ANYWHERE, here- who'd appreciate it..."

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Tim Hall

Sun

May 9
2004

17:04Z

Kalyr: 94a - To the City

[EVENING]

Roy has a few beers, but realizes that getting wasted in a strange
land might not be a Good Idea.  While drinking with the locals, he
tries to do a more listening than talking, but after the second beer
he starts to regale anyone who'll listen (and probably one or two
people who won't) with stories of the land of America.  Hank's
presence will keep him from telling too many outrageous whoppers.  

Hank drinks a couple of honey-beers, but doesn't actually carouse, per
se. He stays relatively close to Roy, but doesn't 'chaperone' him. He
'trades' questions and answers- he'll answer one about Earth for one
about Kalyr.

Quite a few of the locals don't seem to believe that America or Earth
really exists. Some think it resembles the ancient world of the
kandar, with it's flying machines and glass towers.  Most are amazed
at the incredibly huge numbers of people. Even at it's height, the
kandar's 'Golden Empire' never had more than a fraction of the
population of north America or western Europe, let alone the teeming
masses of China or India.

The idea that technological 'stuff' is made by many competing
companies seems strange to them. They tell Hank and Roy (but only when
Jathren and Duplar aren't listening) that the Karazthan have a
complete monopoly of such things in Kalyr, and sometimes use violence
to enforce this.

Roy asks around about cigarettes.  They do have cigarettes, right? No,
it appears that they don't. There is no analogue of tobacco, although
some people smoke 'spices' which have a narcotic effect. Nobody in the
village approves of such things. 

Later in the evening, Hank retires to a corner, by himself. Anyone
listening specifically to him can hear a brief, unfamiliar prayer of
some kind, and the sounds of crying. He regains composure, finishes
out the evening gamely, and turns in early.

Before doing so, he writes in his journal, before he forgets. Just out
of curiosity, he also turns on his 2-way Radio/GPS unit, for a moment,
just to see what happens.

He does pick up something that sounds like radio traffic, on more than
one frequency. No recognisable speech; it sounds like data
communications of some sort. 

[MORNING]

Hank says his goodbyes to the villagers he spoke to, and stops to talk
to Kylar, for a while. Kylar tells him he expects to reach the city as
soon as he's fit to travel.

Roy takes a strong interest in the pack animals and watches closely as
they're being loaded up.  He asks a local "What are these animals
called?" 

"Zarandar", comes the reply.

Roy follows that up with a host of other questions, such as "What do
they eat?  How much of it?  How often do they need waterin'? How fast
do they haul?".  He's told that they prefer leaves from wide variety
of trees, but will eat just about any vegetable matter. They also
drink a lot of water, and aren't good in arid areas. The interrogation
victim gets away from him before he gets any more answers; he's a busy
man who has a lot to do before they set out.

Hank is sharp and businesslike, lending a hand to those who need it,
so the group can get on the road in short order, helping stragglers
along, assisting pack-masters, etc. He listens to Roy's Q&As about the
creatures- he's got some Agronomy experience, but he defers to Roy's
knowledge as an animal-handler...

[MIDDAY]

> They follow a meandering trail through wooded hills for most of the
> morning, breaking for a midday meal of dark bread, dried meat and
> fruit. Again, neither the fruit nor the meat are totally familiar to
> the two men from Earth; the meat lasts vaguely beef-like, and the
> fruit is sweet if a little hard.  

The meat Roy is careful not to ask about.

Hank eats the local food, but also offers around a little of what
rations he has left.

Roy realises quite quickly that those rations don't include anything
to smoke?  Roy's still got about half a pack, but he realized (this
morning!) that he'll have to hoard them.

" 'Fraid not- I never got the habit", Hank says.  He leans in.  "I've
got a bottle of Southern Comfort, though- I'll split it with you,
seeing as you're the only one... ANYWHERE, here- who'd appreciate
it..."

Hank takes an Engineer's interest in the construction and materials of
the bridge. It looks to be from a level of technology much higher than
the crude houses of the village. It may even be a relic of that Golden
Empire the locals talked about the previous evening, which implies a
materials science capable of building structures that last many
hundreds of years with apparently no maintenance.

Equally he takes a Civil Engineer's interest in the irrigation and
structure of the farms they pass, and just generally tries to apply a
skilled eye to what he's seeing.  The irrigation systems show some
technology more advanced that he'd seen in the village; they pass
close to a set of sluice gates that seem to be automatically
controlled.  

Jathren notices his interest

"That's our control equipment", he says, "They let one man control the
water levels in all the channels in this area".

> "Ardeth lies over the ridge, beyond the bend in the river", Jathren
> says, "It is where we part company with our friends from the village,
> and where we hopefully will obtain transport into the city".

"What sort of transport?", Hank asks.

"One of our power waggons, I hope", Jathren tells him.

They proceed into the village proper. Ardeth lacks the protective
stockade of Haven, and most of the buildings are of more substantial
stone construction, although some are of brick, and many have timber
upper floors.  There aren't many people about, a few locals lounge
about outside what might some kind of inn.

Jathen was right about transport.  In the centre of the village stands
an large eight-wheeled vehicle.  The lack of harnesses on the front
indicates that it's not designed to be drawn by animals. 
--
Tim Hall
Weblog: http://www.kalyr.com/weblog
Photos: http://kalyr.fotopic.net/

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Chuk Goodin

Tue

May 11
2004

19:31Z

Kalyr: 94a - To the City

On Sun, May 09, 2004 at 12:04:51PM -0500, Tim wrote:
> Roy asks around about cigarettes.  They do have cigarettes, right? No,
> it appears that they don't. There is no analogue of tobacco, although
> some people smoke 'spices' which have a narcotic effect. Nobody in the
> village approves of such things. 

Roy thinks to himself, "This is gonna be rough..."  He starts trying to 
ration his cigarettes, save them for particularly stressful times. Or when 
he just can't wait any longer.


[snipped some]
> > morning, breaking for a midday meal of dark bread, dried meat and
> > fruit. Again, neither the fruit nor the meat are totally familiar to
> > the two men from Earth; the meat lasts vaguely beef-like, and the
> > fruit is sweet if a little hard.  
> 
> The meat Roy is careful not to ask about.
> 
> Hank eats the local food, but also offers around a little of what
> rations he has left.
> 
> Roy realises quite quickly that those rations don't include anything
> to smoke?  Roy's still got about half a pack, but he realized (this
> morning!) that he'll have to hoard them.
> 
> " 'Fraid not- I never got the habit", Hank says.  He leans in.  "I've
> got a bottle of Southern Comfort, though- I'll split it with you,
> seeing as you're the only one... ANYWHERE, here- who'd appreciate
> it..."

"Thanks.  Maybe we'd better save it for a special occasion."

> > "Ardeth lies over the ridge, beyond the bend in the river", Jathren
> > says, "It is where we part company with our friends from the village,
> > and where we hopefully will obtain transport into the city".
> 
> "What sort of transport?", Hank asks.
> 
> "One of our power waggons, I hope", Jathren tells him.
> 
> They proceed into the village proper. Ardeth lacks the protective
> stockade of Haven, and most of the buildings are of more substantial
> stone construction, although some are of brick, and many have timber
> upper floors.  There aren't many people about, a few locals lounge
> about outside what might some kind of inn.
> 
> Jathen was right about transport.  In the centre of the village stands
> an large eight-wheeled vehicle.  The lack of harnesses on the front
> indicates that it's not designed to be drawn by animals. 

"They've got cars?  And we've been hiking all over the place?  What the 
hell was that all about?"

-- 
Chuk Goodin		cgoodin@sfu.ca
Alien Light GM		http://www.phoenyx.net/alienlight

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Vincent Tognarelli

Wed

May 12
2004

02:48Z

Kalyr: 94a - To the City

They proceed into the village proper. Ardeth lacks the protective stockade of Haven, and most of the buildings are of more substantial stone construction, although some are of brick, and many have timber upper floors.  There aren't many people about, a few locals lounge about outside what might some kind of inn.

Jathen was right about transport.  In the centre of the village stands a large eight-wheeled vehicle.  The lack of harnesses on the front indicates that it's not designed to be drawn by animals.

"They've got cars?  And we've been hiking all over the place?  What the hell was that all about?" Roy asks.


[RYZAR]

"Ah, yes, but we were up in the mountains!  A wilderness area, not at all what the Kandar would call 'Civilization'." Ryzar offers, then looks again at the large vehicle, and shudders visibly, "Though I can understand why only the Kandar would want to build and ride in such contrivances.  It seems unnatural, to my Human eye."

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Ted Kissell

Wed

May 12
2004

16:52Z

Kalyr: 94a - To the City

[Dharak]

He spends the trip plying the newcomers with questions about their home 
world -- countries, technologies, animals, religion. It seems he wants to 
know everything. He happily answers any of their questions -- lacing his 
replies with scathing denunciations of Kandar society and its enslavement of 
humans and other races. He also tries out a little bit of the Old Tongue he 
knows on them. Based on the fragmentary documents he learned it from, he 
thinks it's called Ladyn.


>From: Chuk Goodin 
>Reply-To: kalyr+mission@phoenyx.net
>To: kalyr@phoenyx.net
>Subject: Re: Kalyr: 94a - To the City
>Date: Tue, 11 May 2004 14:31:20 CDT
>
>On Sun, May 09, 2004 at 12:04:51PM -0500, Tim wrote:
> > Roy asks around about cigarettes.  They do have cigarettes, right? No,
> > it appears that they don't. There is no analogue of tobacco, although
> > some people smoke 'spices' which have a narcotic effect. Nobody in the
> > village approves of such things.
>
>Roy thinks to himself, "This is gonna be rough..."  He starts trying to
>ration his cigarettes, save them for particularly stressful times. Or when
>he just can't wait any longer.
>
>
>[snipped some]
> > > morning, breaking for a midday meal of dark bread, dried meat and
> > > fruit. Again, neither the fruit nor the meat are totally familiar to
> > > the two men from Earth; the meat lasts vaguely beef-like, and the
> > > fruit is sweet if a little hard.
> >
> > The meat Roy is careful not to ask about.
> >
> > Hank eats the local food, but also offers around a little of what
> > rations he has left.
> >
> > Roy realises quite quickly that those rations don't include anything
> > to smoke?  Roy's still got about half a pack, but he realized (this
> > morning!) that he'll have to hoard them.
> >
> > " 'Fraid not- I never got the habit", Hank says.  He leans in.  "I've
> > got a bottle of Southern Comfort, though- I'll split it with you,
> > seeing as you're the only one... ANYWHERE, here- who'd appreciate
> > it..."
>
>"Thanks.  Maybe we'd better save it for a special occasion."
>
> > > "Ardeth lies over the ridge, beyond the bend in the river", Jathren
> > > says, "It is where we part company with our friends from the village,
> > > and where we hopefully will obtain transport into the city".
> >
> > "What sort of transport?", Hank asks.
> >
> > "One of our power waggons, I hope", Jathren tells him.
> >
> > They proceed into the village proper. Ardeth lacks the protective
> > stockade of Haven, and most of the buildings are of more substantial
> > stone construction, although some are of brick, and many have timber
> > upper floors.  There aren't many people about, a few locals lounge
> > about outside what might some kind of inn.
> >
> > Jathen was right about transport.  In the centre of the village stands
> > an large eight-wheeled vehicle.  The lack of harnesses on the front
> > indicates that it's not designed to be drawn by animals.
>
>"They've got cars?  And we've been hiking all over the place?  What the
>hell was that all about?"
>
>--
>Chuk Goodin		cgoodin@sfu.ca
>Alien Light GM		http://www.phoenyx.net/alienlight

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Smoot

Thu

May 13
2004

04:10Z

Kalyr: 94a - To the City

> [Dharak]
>
> He spends the trip plying the newcomers with questions about their home
> world -- countries, technologies, animals, religion. It seems he wants to
> know everything. He happily answers any of their questions -- lacing his
> replies with scathing denunciations of Kandar society and its enslavement
of
> humans and other races. He also tries out a little bit of the Old Tongue
he
> knows on them. Based on the fragmentary documents he learned it from, he
> thinks it's called Ladyn.

[Hank]

Hank replies as best he can, continuing to 'trade' answers for questions of
his own...

"Roy and myself are from the United States of America..." (outlines  the
nations as he knew them, at the time he left...) Hank is from a region
called something like Mishgin, while Roy is from someplace else. Tek'hsis,
or something- they are, it seems, far from eachother.

(He seems wistful, describing Earth. It sounds like he misses it a lot...)

He explains that, before his 'abduction', he was on some kind of pilgrimage-
he was (odd phrase here- 'trying to find himself'?) by hiking down an
oddly-named, hundreds of miles-long trail. (This explains why he was in full
pack and gear when he arrived on Kalyr.)

 Before the Mirror incident, Hank had recently finished a hitch with
something called the "Peace Corps", as a sort of
educator/engineer/agronomist, in aid of a country less-advanced than his
own.  He is happy to talk shop... some of what he's describing seems
impossible, but he says it with total sincerity...

[He asks some questions about Kalyrian technology. Mainly, they're general
questions about the level of advancement... he seems to be trying to work
something out.]

"I know some biology, and I rode horses a bit, but I think Roy would be the
guy to talk to about animals..."

"Raised Lutheran, but I, um, dabbled in Zen a little, in college..." (He
goes on to tell what he can about Earth religions...) "You?"

[He asks, here, about the types of religion on Kalyr- he seems unclear about
 whether Guardians are some sort of high acolyte, or supernatural beings...
he also seems interested in how the faiths relate to eachother (tolerance,
etc)...]

He is only able to recognize Latin, not speak it. ("Yeah, that's Latin,
alright...")

Hopefully answering Dharak's questions to his satisfaction, Hank then has
some of his own...

-"Soon after I got here, there was a kind of voice... in my head. Back home,
they'd say I was cracking up... was it some kind of psychic thing?" (if so:
"Is there any way tp block it? I HATED it...")

-"The enslavement... is it something that can be bought-out of? Or is it
like a caste?"

-Hank lowers his voice a little, and says: "What do we do, now? I must
admit, I'm with your party because you are all the people I _know_ on this
world... I heard something about some kind of Guild... do you think I
should, I dunno, register, or something?"

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Michael Orton

Sun

May 16
2004

16:37Z

Kalyr: 94a - To the City

[Duplar in response to Hank]
[I'm going to assume Duplar heard most of Hank's conversation with Dharak,
but not that last bit when Hank lowered his voice.]

"Speaking from personal expereince, I believe the Guardians do exist.   When
the guildmaster was taken very ill I had to use a device which enabled my
mind to contact another guildhouse.   In doing so I encountered a being
which I presume was a Guardian.   I know nothing as to its nature, nor did
the realm where I encountered it make any sense to me.

"I realise this doesn't help much, but before this I was never one for going
to the temples and now I think they at least started out with some real
truth behind them."

"I know people who would say it is impossible for a human to receive a
telepathic message as you seem to be describing.   Apprentice Reylorna is
proof that humans can have skills which are the domain of the Accademy.
There are methods to block such, but none are perfect.   What did this voice
say?"

[Later, in response to Ryzar's comment]

"Once there were many powerwagons and the fabricating of their engines was
considered quite natural, but I do not remember a new one engine being
constructed. My guild has always fitted an engine from elsewhere into a new
body.   We study, we hope to regain lost techniques, but the more we learn
the more dangers we find.   This is why the Guild keeps its secrets.
Think!   Would the world really be a better place if everyone was trying to
make their own flamelances?   We would have a lot of places burning down if
they tried.   It is safer for everyone that people don't even know enough to
try.

"Until recently, I recon Guild Secuity was actually a safer line of work
than being in the workshops."


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Smoot

Tue

May 18
2004

03:08Z

Kalyr: 94a - To the City

> "I know people who would say it is impossible for a human to receive a
> telepathic message as you seem to be describing.   Apprentice Reylorna is
> proof that humans can have skills which are the domain of the Accademy.
> There are methods to block such, but none are perfect.   What did this
voice
> say?"

"It was in the caves... it urged me- all of us, really, to go a certain way,
to safety. 'Tactical withdrawal'- that's it..."

[OOC: It was Dharak, http://www.phoenyx.net/kalyr/2003/01/msg00014.html ,
but I don't know if Hank knows it was him. Hank clamped his eyes shut and
shook his head to Make It Go Away, at the time...]

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Tim Hall

Sun

May 23
2004

18:22Z

Kalyr: 94b - To the City

Dharak spends the trip plying the newcomers with questions about their
home world -- countries, technologies, animals, religion. It seems he
wants to know everything. He happily answers any of their questions --
lacing his replies with scathing denunciations of Kandar society and
its enslavement of humans and other races. He also tries out a little
bit of the Old Tongue he knows on them. Based on the fragmentary
documents he learned it from, he thinks it's called Ladyn.

"The enslavement... is it something that can be bought-out of? Or is
it like a caste?", Hank asks.

"This man is exaggerating just a little", Jathren says, "By no means
all humans are slaves. I am no slave. Neither is Reylorna.  We humans
cannot join the Kandar's noble caste, but we may rise to senior
positions in the guild. At least in the north.  He says no more, but
the implication is that things are different elsewhere in Kalyr.

Hank replies as best he can, continuing to 'trade' answers for
questions of his own. As for any 'Old Tongue', he is only able to
recognize Latin, not speak it. Some of the phrases Dharak tries on him
sound vaguely Latin-like, but might equally be Portuguese or Italian. 

"Roy and myself are from the United States of America...", Hank
outlines the nations as he knew them, at the time he left Hank is from
a region called something like Mishgin, while Roy is from someplace
else. Tek'hsis, or something- they are, it seems, far from each other.

He seems wistful, describing Earth. It sounds like he misses it a
lot...

He explains that, before his 'abduction', he was on some kind of
pilgrimage-he was, to use an odd phrase 'trying to find himself' by
hiking down an oddly-named, hundreds of miles-long trail. This
explains why he was in full pack and gear when he arrived on Kalyr.

Before the Mirror incident, Hank had recently finished a hitch with
something called the "Peace Corps", as a sort of
educator/engineer/agronomist, in aid of a country less-advanced than
his own. He is happy to talk shop... some of what he's describing
seems impossible, but he says it with total sincerity...

He asks some questions about Kalyrian technology. Mainly, they're
general questions about the level of advancement... he seems to be
trying to work something out.  

The impression he gets from Jathren is that the basic level of
technology is quite low, with the possible exceptions of medicine and
agriculture, but items of a much more advanced nature are available in
restricted amounts. The principles by which many of them work don't
seem to be fully understood.  Or it might just be that Jathren isn't
enough of a techie.

"I know some biology, and I rode horses a bit, but I think Roy would
be the guy to talk to about animals..."

"What's an 'aws'?", asks Jathren, "Some riding beast of Merka?".
Jathren tells him there are two riding beasts in Kalyr, these
zarandar, which are slow but reliable, and something called a 'yakka',
a bipedal creature that sounds from Jathren's description to resemble
something like a furry ostrich.  "They run like the wind, but they can
be dangerous", Jathren warns him, "A kick from one can disembowel a
careless handler".

"Raised Lutheran, but I, um, dabbled in Zen a little, in college...".
Hank goes on to tell what he can about Earth religions... "You?"

"My own faith is a private matter", Jathren says, "I respect the power
of the Guardians, but do not choose worship them. They are for the
kandar".

Hank asks, here, about the types of religion on Kalyr; he seems
unclear about whether Guardians are some sort of high acolyte, or
supernatural beings...he also seems interested in how the faiths
relate to each other, how much tolerance between them.

Duplar answers at least some of his questions.

"Speaking from personal experience, I believe the Guardians do exist",
Duplar says, "When the guildmaster was taken very ill I had to use a
device which enabled my mind to contact another guildhouse. In doing
so I encountered a being which I presume was a Guardian. I know
nothing as to its nature, nor did the realm where I encountered it
make any sense to me. I realise this doesn't help much, but before
this I was never one for going to the temples and now I think they at
least started out with some real truth behind them".

Hank still has more questions.

"Soon after I got here, there was a kind of voice... in my head. Back
home, they'd say I was cracking up... was it some kind of psychic
thing?" (if so:"Is there any way to block it? I HATED it...")

"I know people who would say it is impossible for a human to receive a
telepathic message as you seem to be describing", Duplar answers,
"Apprentice Reylorna is proof that humans can have skills which are
the domain of the Academy. There are methods to block such, but none
are perfect. What did this voice say?"

"It was in the caves... it urged me- all of us, really, to go a
certain way, to safety", Hank says, 'Tactical withdrawal'- that's
it..."

Hank lowers his voice a little, and says: "What do we do, now? I must
admit, I'm with your party because you are all the people I _know_ on
this world... I heard something about some kind of Guild... do you
think I should, I dunno, register, or something?"

Jathren gives a puzzled look that suggests he hadn't even considered
this question.  

"Just about everyone in the guild was an apprentice when young", he
says, "It is very rare for someone to join as an adult.  But it is
even more rare for people to appear in Kalyr out of nowhere complete
with technical skills".

* * * *

"Ah, yes, but we were up in the mountains!", says Ryzar, "A wilderness
area, not at all what the Kandar would call 'Civilization'".

He looks again at the large vehicle, and shudders visibly, "Though I
can understand why only the Kandar would want to build and ride in
such contrivances. It seems unnatural, to my Human eye".

"Once there were many powerwagons and the fabricating of their engines
was considered quite natural", Duplar says, "But I do not remember a
new one engine being constructed. My guild has always fitted an engine
from elsewhere into a new body. We study, we hope to regain lost
techniques, but the more we learn the more dangers we find. This is
why the Guild keeps its secrets. Think! Would the world really be a
better place if everyone was trying to make their own flamelances? We
would have a lot of places burning down if they tried. It is safer for
everyone that people don't even know enough to try.

"Until recently, I reckoned Guild Security was actually a safer line
of work than being in the workshops".

"You exaggerate", Jathren says, "We have very few accidents in the
workshops. And we do lose field agents from time to time.  I nearly
got myself burned to death once. And then there was the team that
manage to blow up the flour mill in Ford.

 * * * *

They part company with the traders from the village, who greet another
group travellers who seem to have been expecting them.  Jathren
explains they're group from Guild of Merchants from the city, who have
a trade agreement with the 'outsiders'.  

Everyone climbs aboard the power waggon. Inside there are wooden
benches with leather padding; it's surprisingly comfortable until the
vehicle starts to move, at which point it becomes apparent that the
suspension is less than Rolls-Royce in quality.  From the sound of the
motors, it appears to be electrically powered; there's certainly no
throb of any kind of internal combustion engine, or any hissing steam.
It trundles at modest speed along a road upon an elevated embankment
through farmland crisscrossed by irrigation channels. There is quite a
bit of other traffic on the road, but no other powered vehicles;
massive carts drawn by teams of six or even eight ox-like creatures
with shaggy red hair, humans and kandar riding zarandar, a large troop
of what look like soldiers on foot, and a man riding a bipedal
creature with golden-coloured fur.

The road eventually runs alongside what is clearly a major river.  The
flat farmland gives way to rolling hills which soon crowd the river to
produce quite a narrow gorge, the sides quite heavily wooded.
Occasionally buildings can be glimpsed poking through the woods; some
look like rich mansions, others resemble ruined fortifications.

At a bend in the river, a massive stone wall completely cuts off a
side valley, it's top level with the top of the gorge. It's pierced by
three arches, two smaller ones for road traffic, and a massive central
one spanning the tributary, possibly for river traffic.  Figures,
perhaps soldiers, stand guard on the top of the wall, and by the
arches.  The scale of the construction makes them look like ants.

"The City of Calbeyn", Jathren says.
--
Tim Hall
Weblog: http://www.kalyr.com/weblog
Photos: http://kalyr.fotopic.net/

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Smoot

Tue

May 25
2004

03:29Z

Kalyr: 94b - To the City

> The impression he gets from Jathren is that the basic level of
> technology is quite low, with the possible exceptions of medicine and
> agriculture, but items of a much more advanced nature are available in
> restricted amounts. The principles by which many of them work don't
> seem to be fully understood.  Or it might just be that Jathren isn't
> enough of a techie.

[OOC Note to GM: You've probably gathered this, by now- I'm trying to 'size
up' what improvements and advancements Hank could 'transfer' to Kalyr. I'll
keep on with it, as a process,  but I thought a little blatancy might be
good...]


> "I know some biology, and I rode horses a bit, but I think Roy would
> be the guy to talk to about animals..."
>
> "What's an 'aws'?", asks Jathren, "Some riding beast of Merka?".

Hank describes something quadripedal and custom-bred for different tasks:
Plowing, racing, even warfare "in olden days".

> "They run like the wind, but they can be dangerous", Jathren warns him,
> "A kick from one can disembowel a careless handler".

Hank looks somewhat stunned by this.

> Hank lowers his voice a little, and says: "What do we do, now? I must
> admit, I'm with your party because you are all the people I _know_ on
> this world... I heard something about some kind of Guild... do you
> think I should, I dunno, register, or something?"
>
> Jathren gives a puzzled look that suggests he hadn't even considered
> this question.
>
> "Just about everyone in the guild was an apprentice when young", he
> says, "It is very rare for someone to join as an adult.  But it is
> even more rare for people to appear in Kalyr out of nowhere complete
> with technical skills".

"So, what then? If 'wildcatting' were an option, someone would be doing
it... I've seen things I can help with. Even if there's a way home, I don't
want to waste my time here, or my training."


> He looks again at the large vehicle, and shudders visibly, "Though I
> can understand why only the Kandar would want to build and ride in
> such contrivances. It seems unnatural, to my Human eye".

"Yeah, SUVs suck." Hank jokes, in Roy's direction.

> "Once there were many powerwagons and the fabricating of their engines
> was considered quite natural", Duplar says, "But I do not remember a
> new one engine being constructed. My guild has always fitted an engine
> from elsewhere into a new body."

In a more hushed, serious tone, Hank asks Roy: "D'you ever do mechanic work,
back home?"

> "The City of Calbeyn", Jathren says.

Hank takes notes like crazy, during this part of the trip, writing and
pencilling small diagrams in a journal he takes from his pack. The size of
the City walls impresses him, clearly.

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Tim Hall

Mon

May 31
2004

21:32Z

Kalyr: 94b - To the City

[Before I move things on, anyone else have anything to say?  Duplar?
Ryzar? Roy?]

--
Tim Hall
Weblog: http://www.kalyr.com/weblog
Photos: http://kalyr.fotopic.net/

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Chuk Goodin

Mon

May 31
2004

21:56Z

Kalyr: 94b - To the City

On Mon, May 24, 2004 at 10:29:18PM -0500, Smoot wrote:
> > He looks again at the large vehicle, and shudders visibly, "Though I
> > can understand why only the Kandar would want to build and ride in
> > such contrivances. It seems unnatural, to my Human eye".
> 
> "Yeah, SUVs suck." Hank jokes, in Roy's direction.
> 
> > "Once there were many powerwagons and the fabricating of their engines
> > was considered quite natural", Duplar says, "But I do not remember a
> > new one engine being constructed. My guild has always fitted an engine
> > from elsewhere into a new body."
> 
> In a more hushed, serious tone, Hank asks Roy: "D'you ever do mechanic work,
> back home?"

"Not so's you'd notice," Roy answers.  "Put in a radiator on a truck once, 
and did my brakes a couple times. Don't think I could build an engine."

-- 
Chuk Goodin		cgoodin@sfu.ca
Alien Light GM		http://www.phoenyx.net/alienlight

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Tim Hall

Sun

Jun 6
2004

19:20Z

Kalyr: 94b - To the City

[Separate post, because it refers to a line two moves ago :)]

Smoot wrote:

>"So, what then? If 'wildcatting' were an option, someone would be doing
>it... I've seen things I can help with. Even if there's a way home, I don't
>want to waste my time here, or my training."

"We shall have to wait and see, when we reach the city", Jathren
replies.
--
Tim Hall
Weblog: http://www.kalyr.com/weblog
Photos: http://kalyr.fotopic.net/

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