Order of the Broken Arrow

"I'll fetch some trade route maps for the area between here and there," said Yorth, "and then look over the provisions to make sure everything's properly prepared for the journey. Felix, why don't you join me?"

<<Felix's response, probably some variant of "I'm a sailor, not a merchant">>

"Good, then you already know the importance of keeping everything 'ship-shape', and I'm sure you'll quickly pick up the landlubber equivalents."

"Yes, Mak´karath is Golem. Me sentient, though me not know why. Me know, how is to be thought as servant...", the golem answered, a hint of depression in his voice.

Hmp... look who's talking about egos, he could hardly be any more smug if he tried to thought Karin of the man who so relentlessly mocked her, the knight and the noble lady which ultimately interrupted the duel.

She was planning on going to the fountains, but now she changed her mind. She would head first towards the library to see what the man's deal was.

edited 25th Mar '12 12:13:13 AM by daltar

Megan couldn't help but chuckle a bit at Roland and Mak´karath's earlier comments.

However, she was much more intrigued by this possibility of observing a dimensional tear up close (with the proper precautions, of course.)

"Perhaps I'll check out the library, too," Megan said, intending to see if she could find out any more information about this anomaly before they arrived.

[For any characters entering the library. I know you're not there now, but this lets us avoid an awkward intermediary post when you do go there:]

Anyone entering the library would have noticed the large desk "Reference" engraved upon it in golden letters, where there sat an old woman sifting through a pile of books. The library itself was a large room, fifty feet tall and many times as wide, with three different levels, the top two having their floors opened up to allow the glass-lined ceiling to provide ample lighting, as well as currently-deactivated luminescent gems in holders along the walls every few dozen feet for late-night visitors. There were a few researchers combing the shelves of various sections, but aside from that was relatively empty.

[Just say what topic you want to look up, and I'll figure it out from there.]

edited 24th Mar '12 1:17:06 PM by nman

"Flames of the Red! I'd heard of your kind, but never dreamt-!" His yellow eyes looked up at the golem admiringly. "I'd never believed I'd actually meet one! It's like... art that you can talk with! A friend, rather than a possession!" The kobold was practically bouncing with excitement.

"I believe I shall check the library as well," Jian Yu spoke, "If you would be so kind as to guide me to it."

She was curious about the history of this keep. While they had said they had not expected trouble, that had made it clear that she, if no one else, had to prepare for any incidents.

Roland found himself accompanied by the three girls: the mage (who was neutral to him as far as he could tell), the foreigner (who, while polite, probably disapproved of him after that last exchange), and the penniless magic knight (who definitely disapproved). It didn't bode well - but at least he'd managed to get the last of the three away from Sir F***ing Knight, which meant another day out of jail for disturbing the peace as far as he was concerned.

"You know, back in the day, leaving your daughters unattended in the presence of a monk was the height of naivete. Things must've changed."

The quip failed to lighten the mood as far as he could tell, and he decided to move on to business as they approached the library entrance, his voice modulated to a barely-audible whisper. "I imagine we're all looking for the same information - Engate's Keep and Dimensional Rifts. Let's try to keep our research low-profile, since we don't want to attract any attention to our mission. I'll reserve a booth in the back."

edited 25th Mar '12 12:30:17 AM by Pyrite

"Yeah, and I also know the problems of people 'helping' without being asked," Felix replied with a shrug, "But I'm sure we both know what we're doing. Now that we know where we are going I'd like to see a chart too. Where do you think we should start looking?"

Felix was half bouncing on the balls of his feet. The pressure was building again, but it seemed slower this time. Whether because he was getting used to it, or because he wasn't sitting still, Felix wasn't sure.

"As for the land-lubber stuff, I did have to travel basically across Rylaath to get here. So I've been learning stuff: like biting hairy dogs in the morning."

Gareth touched the part of his chest where the heart was. It still stung a little, even after all the rest he had. He didn't want any sort of "initiation" or lasting effects when he joined, but the effects they told him it had gave him no other objections. Although he couldn't actually feel anything different about him.

He came a little late to the introduction, although he did catch that they were going to resupply a keep. The others started to introduce themselves. He figured he should do the same after everyone else had done so. He was glad they were a interesting bunch, instead of some uniformed soldiers like he thought would show up. Although considering that he joined, a diverse group wouldn't be hard to imagine. A bit later, there was the person the swordmaster was talking about, who further explained what they were about to do. It sounded more and more like the jobs he did on the side, which while it disappointed him, had him at least do something in the lull between travels.

But that will done later. Specially tomorrow. Everyone was splitting up by now, and he decided to follow the group of four heading to the library. He could do with finding out more information of some of the terms spoken by Bahtan. The females were cute enough, and he would try to ask them if they could teach him any of that magic. He didn't actually have any real knowledge of magic. Karin's sword and armor looked neat, even if it seemed rather fragile. He wasn't sure what Jian Yu or Megan could do, though those paper things that the former was holding looked like something he could do.

That monk however, was interesting. He couldn't think why. He seemed like any other monk he met, especially that whole awkwardness with the opposite gender.

"Well nowadays, the men of the cloth wouldn't go monk-eying around, ya know?" Gareth said grinning, the first sound he made ever since he quietly joined the meeting. It was a horrible pun he knew. He didn't even know what a monkey was at first, and had to have the expression and the animal explained by a rather helpful sailor he met once.

"And why do we have to keep this whole research about Keeps and Rifts a secret? It's just a supply run, basically."

At the newcomer's words, Roland performed the ancient gesture of supplication to the gods to ward against stupidity - an open palm to the face. "By Kan'o and Khadj-Ura, that was painful," he grumbled, "but I'll admit that I've told worse jokes in my time. Still, glad you could join us, boy. And routine mission or not, it's clear from Bahtan's briefing that the Order doesn't want this information to be leaked to the public. Let's make sure it stays that way - kingdoms have fallen over far less. Speaking of which, I didn't catch your name."

edited 25th Mar '12 2:42:02 AM by Pyrite

Gareth's grin grew wider as he got a reaction from Roland. It became small again as he was reminded that he forgot to introduce himself. "Oh right!" he clapped his hands and moved in front of the group. "Name's Gareth, nice to meet y'all!"

He took this small amount of time to examine the monk more closely while being discreet. There was something off about his appearance. Roland looked a little...bony? He spun around and walked a little more slowly for the others to catch up. It would've been rude to talk about that right now, especially with others here. Besides, he was a monk, so presumably this was the time they were fasting, or whatever they did. Religion to him just blended all together in his head.

"The route maps will be at the local branch of my family's business, not far away."

Indeed, it was not, and the two reached it in record time—now that Yorth was up and about, he found himself more energetic than he had been in years.

It was still early enough in the afternoon for the trading post to be bustling with activity, organized by Yorth's cousin Tralk, who had a good ten years and a substantial paunch on the Intrepid Merchant.

"So, Yorth, you're off on your fool's errand with the Order, eh? Not all of us can put adventure over profit!"

Yorth grinned. "Oh, I may yet profit, Tralk. I'm being sent up north, so I'll be looking over the route maps."

"You helped scribe half of them. Excuse me, Yorth, and...friend, but I see a woman desperately in need of cloth."

The route maps were kept in a room at the back with the contracts and other written documents. The filing system was not so neat as the Order's library, but well-known to the family.

"Trade route maps are different from navigational charts, Felix. Less complete, since we don't have to be worried about being blown off course and thus needing to know about every scrap of land and navigational hazard in a thirty-league radius.

"These solid lines are the standard paths traders take from town to town, with important landmarks to navigate by. You'll notice they're pretty convoluted, since we have to hit every hamlet and crossroads on the way. The dotted lines are shortcuts, navigable ways we can take if time is of the essence. Our party will doubtless use those.

"And as I suspected, the maps end a good day's riding short of where the fort would be, just an arrow pointing to the general direction of the village our briefer mentioned."

Yorth took ink, parchment and feather quill, and began copying the relevant maps, his skilled fingers fairly dancing over the document.

The route on the map was rather straightforward. By cart, the most apparent route to take was north-east for at least two days, where taking the east path at the Fork of Lexand would put them almost directly northbound, with a few westbound detours, for the remainder of the trip, passing through mainly flatland. At the end of their path, the route came close to the Bragdellian forest, meaning they would have to head west for a bit to enter the canyon, the Narrows of Bragdel, to avoid the trees.

Megan followed Roland into the Library, agreeing with his suggestion to look the information up in the back. However, she really had nothing in particular to say on that awful pun by Gareth, except for rolling her eyes in disapproval.

Once there, she read over the books recommended by the librarian: Text from here.

Kingdom History: Eighth Era, Part V

...it was at this point that Geoffry Engate took the Hammer of Thrin, the same one which had aided him in defeating the arch-basilisk, and began to strike the ground in grief at the loss of his wife, his greatest friends, and the majority of his soldiers... while the Order gave him ample funding for a team of Order engineers and many workers, it took nearly twenty years to construct the keep, far longer than expected, as it had only taken twelve years to build a similar structure in the south... with the last stone in place, Engate vowed that he would never allow another to suffer the same loss... stood watch every day for over three decades, until he finally collapsed at his post... as he felt the last of his life draining from him, he took the hammer that he had held for over half a century, raised his hand, and while unconfirmed, secondary sources claim he disappeared, or more accurately, "went away"... the Hammer of Thrin, it is said that no man wished to soil its reputation, and it was placed in a display of Engate's armor, to allow him to eternally stand watch.

On Matters Magical, Volume III

...while the difference between tears and rifts are minor, they do not function in the same way as portals, which act as doorways between points. Rather, they act as conduits between this planet and the Void, transferring dark energy... magician attempted to draw in that energy to extend his own life, which succeeded, but had the added effect of making him a nigh-invincible abomination, that proceeded to terrorize... required a dozen mages to utilize chronomancy, one of the oldest of the forbidden techniques that is sometimes called "Suicide Summoning" due to its tendency to kill the user, and using energy they had stolen from every future version of themselves, tore apart the abomination, sending the corrupted energy back and sealed the rift...

...it was declared that research would be ceased immediately, with any use of the rifts punishable by death, and the Order set to making sure none could be opened again... One assumption of the uneducated is that "sealing" a rift works like sealing a portal, much like plugging a hole in a barrel will stop the flow of water. A better description would be trying to hold water in a fishing net. Rifts cannot simply be "shut" and therefore require a constant magical source to control them, by use of a magical system... fortunately, they only form at points, known as "soft spots", all of which in the kingdom have already been shut, with neighboring countries doing likewise under the treaty...

"Well, that wasn't exactly what I was hoping for. I was kind of hoping she really meant portal, but just a source of dark energy isn't really useful for anything at all," Megan said, "I mean, unless you're evil or something. Otherwise they just have to be guarded. Although that story of Engate disappearing was slightly odd."

"Anything else we wanted to look up, or should we get this show on the road?"

Felix nodded as Yorth explained the maps. It made sense that getting off track wouldn't happen as much travelling on land. He watched a little while, admiring Yorth's skill. It reminded him of his Auntie Tabulae, the head Charts Master of the company. He'd been sent to work under her for a little while before his pseudo-banishment.

Trying to forget, Felix tried to understand the maps. Some of the symbols were obvious, the little triangles for mountains, and little labelled pictures of towns. The others, less so. It seemed that the map didn't include a legend, but that was pretty normal. You had to keep some secrets from the competition/clients or they'd think they didn't have to pay any more.

"Yorth, what do all those little lines crossing the path mean? They're too close for cross-roads aren't they, and there seem to be more on the shortcuts." *

"That's precisely the issue, Miss Keotha: the two phenomena were probably related, and have hopefully been settled for the time being - and if we're lucky, the ghosts of Lord Engate's past will not come back to haunt us on this mission. I suppose Bahtan will have to enlighten us further on the subject."

Scanning through the passages, Roland suppressed the urge to smack himself on the forehead again as he recognised the context of Engate's Keep - or "Engate's Folly", as he'd heard it called by some back in the day. Twenty years in the construction, and another thirty years of unceasing vigil... There were those who'd thought Lord Geoffry had simply gone mad with grief, and others who'd speculated that darker influences were at work... but either way, it would have made sense if half a century's work was spent in caging a dimensional rift.

It was all speculation from that point; the books they were reading would hold no further concrete information about the mission at hand, although Roland knew he had a few choice words on the subject of "extending lifespans with dark energy". (Namely, that it was a very bad idea.) He decided to keep them to himself for now.

"Speaking of which..." He leant forwards, steepling his hands in front of his face, and stared pointedly at Karin. "I know why you've been giving me those dirty looks, and frankly, I'm not going to apologise. Even if Sir 'F***ing Knight', as he chooses to call himself, provoked you, the fact remains that you drew your weapon first, and would probably have been thrown out of the Order for doing so. He was trying to rile you, and pretty much succeeded. What good would your 'honour' do then? Take it from me, it's not worth getting into a rage over arrogant blowhards - or, for that matter, a gadfly like myself."

He paused, suddenly feeling weary as he recalled the old days when he'd give lectures to batch after batch of new initiates into the old Order. Such days were long gone now, and he was all the worse for it. "Call me an insufferable bag of bones if you like, and I won't deny it. Just take my advice and keep your sword - and pride - sheathed until it's really needed. As for the good Sir Knight, let him dig his own grave: people who try to keep up that air of bravado and bluster are usually trying to compensate for other inadequacies. What they might be, well... I leave you to speculate."

edited 26th Mar '12 3:17:14 AM by Pyrite

"Me not think Mak´karath art. But me like art.", Mak´karath replied to the goblin. He stayed at the auditorium, not going to the library as he wasn´t capable of reading.

"Those are grade markings. The more there are, and closer together, the steeper the trail."

Yorth paused and looked at Felix for a moment. "All of these trails are capable of being driven with a cart, but some of them are dangerous to inexperienced drovers. What's not shown on these maps are paths that can only be taken on foot—or with the help of wings. If I were forced into planning a military operation, I'd want terrain maps."

Rime shrugged. However he/she/it wished to classify him/her/itself was his/her/its own choice.

As there didn´t seem anything else to do, Mak´karath pulled a small, spherical brass puzzle out of himself and began solving it to kill time.

"Why, the way you paint it, it practically sounds like I drew a battleaxe in fury and yelling all the way like a savage I split asunder with it everything in my path to claim the blood of the Sir Knight. He somehow found some issue with my presentation, my behavior, my appearance or some other aspect of me which evades me at the moment and after a few words he decided to challenge me to a knightly civil duel, with terms discussed beforehand, to test my skills" Karin said, speaking slowly an methodically "I quite frankly cannot find what is so offensive about that. At the moment we weren't engaged in Order business and had some free time as we were just waiting"

"After all, while the skills and knowledge required of a knight go way beyond martial skill, our main purpose still lies in battle. Such contests and duels, when carried out in a proper manner, are another part of being a knight"

"Thus, what puzzles me is why you appear to have such an open contempt for my person and my actions"

edited 26th Mar '12 11:48:22 AM by daltar

"Contempt? Hardly," Roland chuckled, "although it seems that our philosophies differ in this regard. The Order of St. Gregor places both words and actions in equal standing, and judicious use of either option is a key cornerstone of our teachings. Although now that you mention it, I seem to have been far freer with the former - hardly a good example."

"But back to the matter at hand..." His voice moulded itself back into a reflection of Karin's own formal, measured speech, matching hers in tone and cadence. "True, the terms were stated in the form of a duel - do not think that I am unfamiliar with the ways of nobles - but there are many ways in which words may be twisted. A man may be slain without shedding blood, and a weapon may drop from lifeless hands; to engage in 'training', 'contests' and 'duels' while your blood runs hot in anger usually ends with it being spilt on the ground. Furthermore, you had no seconds, no arbitrators to ensure a fair fight - and whatever the knight may be, he does not seem to be a man of honour."

And just as suddenly, he'd snapped back into his original mode of speech. "Still, perhaps I've said too much. I don't know what issue that knight has with you, but all I'm saying is, don't get into unnecessary fights and you'll live longer that way. Of course -" and here he shrugged, admitting the futility of it all, "- necessary ones are a whole different story, and who am I to judge? Anyway, time's running short, and we should probably get going soon."

edited 26th Mar '12 11:51:37 AM by Pyrite

"A knight that doesn't fight can hardly get better at it, and thus when the time for a true battle comes they shall be all too promptly slain. On the contrary, in order to live a long life I'll try to engage in as many safe fights as I can" Karin replied, however she promptly relaxed her posture "Still I'm glad to find that you don't appear to have any ill feelings towards me. I don't agree with your outlook in this situation, but I'll try to have your words in mind in the future"

"Now, if you'll excuse me I'll go see if I can find any books which pique my interests. With you all of you looking for information on our destination I hardly think that I could find something which you have not. I'll try to make my search brief, however, as it seems like we shall depart soon"

edited 26th Mar '12 11:57:48 AM by daltar

Megan had left Roland and Karin to their bickering, and was now occupying herself by reading some light fiction.