RRI - Deductions

[dm_screen]

Greetings once more to our beloved Starfallen!

You've all done well in exploring that new shard; I'm given to understand that you all faced your fair share of troubles out there, and have risen admirably to the task. And from what I've overheard, you've all made your fair share of discoveries while you were out there as well!

A few juicy little tidbits have already been passed along and started circulating among our Scholars, but as we all know, hearsay is no substitute for firsthand experience. So we'd like to hear what it was like out there in your own terms, and work together to puzzle out what may have happened out there!

I'm sure some of you are also wondering exactly what made this shard become attracted to us in the first place. And that's a very good question. Never stop asking questions!

For now, I'll sit back and allow you all to collectively think some of these matters through. But before I forget: Some of you have found some interesting artifacts and items of interest out there and passed them along to us for study. Feel free to take this chance to follow up and we'll tell you what we've learned!

Well, have at it!

Comments

[air_raider]

Adah here -

We found all kinds of shit. We found a weird skull, we found a skeleton of some huge-ass lizard man thing, not unlike Durant but even taller if you can believe it. We found a necklace, some nice vantage points, a weird rock that made us take our clothes off, all kinds of wild shit.

Wherever this shard came from, it brought some wild stuff on it. We gathered there were some weirdly tall lizard-like entities that used to live on it. We found some structures pointed to the northeast.

I've included maps and sketches of places we've been and things we've seen on other pages, for your benefit.

[mech_and_mutt]

Okay Adah

A rock made you take your clothes off

[air_raider]

I don't take my jacket off without good reason. And the reason was because it was getting hot enough to cook me in my own scales. Same thing happened to Knoll and Cecil and Lufein. Had to take their clothes off otherwise we'd get baked. Especially Cecil. Some kind of radiation from the rocks, resonating with clothes and metal stuff.

If you're going back to the crater, make sure you've got stuff that comes off fast, because otherwise you're in for some trouble.

[lowercase_dragon]

I'll let everyone else share their exploration experiences, but I think I should talk about something I saw in specific. There was a fireplace we stumbled upon. Something that was ages old. I don't know who was responsible for it. I'm pretty confidant nobody knows at this point. But it was pain. Fury. Anger. It was impotent rage, left there for so long, burning indignation so hot it became actual fire, just waiting for someone to see it. You know, those kinds of emotions, they really want to be known, and they want justice. But mostly I think they just want to be heard. I'm going to come around and show everyone at the seekers' place what I'm talking about if anyone else wants to spread it around.

Anyway, that's my piece. I hope I didn't ramble too much! You're all great! Thanks for adventuring with me!

[air_raider]

D'ya think it's magic or something?

[lowercase_dragon]

Anything can be magic if you believe!


But yea probs.

[whodareswins]

I've got some incredibly detailed topographical maps I'm working on transcribing to paper form. I hope sincerely that they're of use.

Also some species of amorphous invertebrate that I couldn't recognize. It didn't seem hostile, but I've never seen blobs of green slime move on their own, so that's new.

[allaganeyes]

Blobs? Were you able to obtain a sample?

[lowercase_dragon]

Sadly no, they weren't interest in our NOMs.

Next time we'll have to have more appealing of a bribe.

[whodareswins]

Much as I'd like to have done, the opportunity didn't come up.

[allaganeyes]

Studies of tablets my group recovered from the desert are moving apace. The incantation gleaned is fairly simple in design so far, indicative of a rather primitive civilization only recently dabbling in the arcane before their numbers died out.

As for the identity of the spell itself, I trust my notes are adequate for you and yours to continue study?

[dm_screen]

I'm glad you brought that up!

It wasn't easy finding someone that could piece together what was written on that tablet, but an analysis of flow and syntax confirmed that it indeed seemed to be suggestive of a spell! Who knows? You might have found the notes of some pioneering arcanist of antiquity!

Our best estimations at completing the spell suggest that it was an attempt at a force or psychokinetic spell, though instead of directly controlling an object through thought and magic direction it attempted to manifest some sort of magically-constructed limb for the caster's use.

A recreation of function by duplication of familiar form; isn't that a strange and quaint way of doing things! In fact, it's curiously close to a Mesmer's way of constructing mirror images. To think that early spells were conceived like this... maybe magic and performance are more closely related than we thought!

Still, some of our Scholars have noticed a certain practicality to its elegant simplicity. We've almost finished writing up a modern approximation we call "Magic Limb".

[lowercase_dragon]

Mmmm, I love it when you talk shop...

[boomchucka]

Selphie here! Others in my group could probably explain things in more detail but this is my report:

1. We came across what appeared to be an abandoned series of small buildings. Further investigation showed that the buildings had been empty for many, many years.
2. There's some sort of spore or mushroom or whatever that if it explodes, it makes you really, really mad. among other things...
3. There's a pretty big desert on this new shard. Thankfully, we found an underground water source and were able to traverse it fairly quickly.

We also brought back a broken spear and a tablet of some sort. Are there any updates on the progress with those?

[dm_screen]

A mushroom that makes you really, really mad? That almost sounds like you stumbled across a Petulant Puffball mushroom!

You should count yourselves lucky to have found one! Their spores are a prized and valuable alchemical ingredient, but they take years of laborious attention to cultivate; even our prestigious academy's scant supply has been reused and regrown so many times it's waned in potency over the generations, and we've yet to find any location where they grew naturally! I even tried my hand at growing my own supply, but they kept deflating in their earliest stages of growth...

And you say you've found someplace where they were simply out and about in the wild?

[boomchucka]

Yeah, they were in a pretty desolate part of the area that we were exploring and... ... ...yeah! Petulant Puffball Mushrooms...

What the heck would use something like that for anyway?

[Nobody needs to know about that little incident that occurred between her and G'raha. Absolutely nobody.]

[know_the_unknowable]

This is Knoll. Based on our findings, I believe whatever civilization once existed on this shard, they possessed a measure of skill with the arcane, as we discovered at least two magical artifacts- in the form of a necklace, and a potion- among the ruins and wilderness of two different regions. What caused their disappearance is less clear, I would be interested to hear any opinions on that matter that the rest of you might have from your own investigations.

[mech_and_mutt]

Didn't see much magic but we did find some craftsmanship

I don't think you can treat wood or mine, refine and shape metal if you're just out in the middle of nowhere or in some cave or something

That sort of thing takes special tools and equipment right?

[einspine]

I THINK IT'S VERY POSSIBLE! OUR GROUP FOUND A TINY LITTLE FIRE CREATURE HIDING IN A LAMP, AS WELL AS THE VERY IRRITABLE FIRE THAT PACCA MENTIONED.

WHAT'S INTERESTING IS THIS FIRE CREATURE WASN'T HOSTILE LIKE A LOT OF THE OTHER MONSTERS HERE. IT WAS PERFECTLY TAME.

THE VERDICT'S STILL OUT ON ITS TASTE IN DOG BISCUITS, HOWEVER.

[lizardtits]

I almost forgot we had this, but towards the start of the expedition, we found a small bag that had some seemingly random objects in it. Some beads, a tooth, feather, a horn, a piece of lapis lazuli... all with a marking etched into them. Has anyone seen this elsewhere, or know what it is?

[Velo redraws the symbol onto the page for viewing.]

In addition, we found a lamp with a fire elemental inside. It wasn't hostile, so we took it with us.

[dm_screen]

I think I might know this one, actually.

I'd heard that feathers, horns, fangs, and petals were often taken as trophies and used to make decorations, so they were sometimes exchanged as a currency of sorts, especially among craftsmen. And lapis has been a precious gemstone since basically forever. So it sounds like you might have found someone's money pouch.

And if that's true, then [...] the carved symbol might have been marking where it came from. Or maybe an indication of its value, like a 2 Sol coin or something.

[ink_sync]

¿¿sᴉɥʇ pɐǝɹ ʎpoqʎuɐ uɐƆ ¿ɯɐɹƃoɹd ǝƃɐssǝɯ-ʇxǝʇ ɟo puᴉʞ ǝɯos s,ʇᴉ ǝʞᴉl 'sᴉɥʇ pɐǝɹ uɐɔ ǝldoǝd ʇɐɥʇ pɹɐǝɥ I ¡ollǝH

[sage_and_spirit]

𝒞𝒶𝓁𝓁𝒾𝑒, 𝐼 𝒷𝑒𝓁𝒾𝑒𝓋𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊'𝓇𝑒 𝒽𝑜𝓁𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒷𝑜𝑜𝓀 𝓊𝓅𝓈𝒾𝒹𝑒 𝒹𝑜𝓌𝓃

[tequilasunset]

The following statements weren't put in carefully. It was written how a college student would write notes, quickly, flow of consciousness, like the exhaust of a mind in thought.

THE PURPLE HOLDS A DARK MALICE. YIELD NOT TO THEIR TEMPTATION.

Squid girl can sing! She doesn't sing sad though.

Spear found. Abnormally sized people?? Big spear found in scrublands. User around 10'7". Worn divots spaced apart to fit stature. GOLIATH'S SPEAR TO DAVID'S SLING, FINDING SUN-BAKED REST LONG AFTER ITS OWNER WAS PICKED APART BY CARRION BIRDS AND ITS MAKER WAS BURIED. AN ENTIRE PEOPLE OF GOLIATHS; AND LIKE GOLIATH, IN THE END, THEY COLLAPSED.

Spiritually tuned?? Prayer beads found in the wastelands. Defensively attuned. Broken. Needed to be an exact number. Is not anymore. THE LOST AND DAMNED PRAYERS OF A LONG DEAD PEOPLE.

NANU IS GREAT

Found Larus. We talked sports.

BIG FIRE SPEWING WORM. AVOID. An ancient, wisened master stands atop wind-brisk peaks, in the parch of the sun, beneath flowing water. He is the earth itself, as seen by the clouds, unmoved and unflinching in focus. The ball of dust underfoot turns on its axis, and a single bead is shifted.

[dm_screen]

If it helps

I've found some replacement beads in Laourn. I've put them in a bowl out near the entrance of the Monastery there.

[What a strange man.]