outer_divide | [Video 001: Arrival] Tuesday, Week 37

[Zevran has been trying to ignore the fact that the book found with his gear upon his awakening has been talking. Given that it looks almost exactly like one of the mages' tomes that even he felt would be better not to light-finger, the sounds couldn't possibly be anything good. But the book would not shut up, and the strange place he was in was providing no answers. He turned to a page within it that seemed to be some sort of Fade portal made paper, and after tracing a few moving symbols with a wary fingertip, a blond elf appears on the network.]

Ah, this seems to be working at last and does not seem to have transformed me into a newt. Wonderful!

If you can hear me, I wish to introduce myself.

My name is Zevran, which I first thought would be foolish to share, but upon reflection I have concluded that, should you have been sent to kill me, you likely already know that I am here.

I must ask... does this strange country possess anything approaching a tavern? I confess that I am very lost, and would feel much better if I was considering my fate with a glass of wine in hand.

I am not a man without talents, so if the wine comes with a price... well, let us negotiate, yes?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Fascinating. And facing an opponent naked, while I will not say it is something I have never done... well, the hazards of that they speak for themselves.

A clever woman, your sister.

Course she is. [Briar looks both smug and proud about that, at the same time. Sandry might not seem it, but he knows that she's tough] And even if you're naked, she's still going to have cloth of her own, isn't she?

Since saying otherwise would imply things one ought not to imply to a lady's brother... certainly she would.

[Although suggesting you'd seduce someone's sister is always good for a laugh... Zevran understands the concept of a time and place. Mostly.]

I shall consider myself well warned of the hazards of a 'stitch witch'. I take it they are a sort kept quiet and away from the Templars' attention, yes?

[Briar laughs] You'd have to convince my her first! She's got high standards. [Believe or not, he doesn't take offense - if Sandry wanted to do 'things' with a man without her clothes on, well, who was going to tell her she couldn't? not Briar, that's for sure]

Templars? What...oh, Lakik's teeth. [Briar's grin disappears. he'd gotten so caught up in the conversation, he'd forgotten that Zevran was actually new] Okay, has anyone actually explained what's going on to you?

I have had some guidance as to the nature of the book I am currently talking to you through, and also the nature of technology rather than magic... but larger explanations, no, not so much.

I believe the land we are in is called 'Verdana', and it has been explained that the large metal fortress is actually some sort of ship, but beyond that, I am appallingly naive. Shall you educate me?

[Zevran is an equal-opportunity flirt, and the lift of his eyebrows translates as much.]

[Okay. So Briar how to explain pretty much most of how they got here and what they knew. And clue Zevran into the fact that Briar was, sadly, not such an equal opportunity flirt]

I can educate you, but if you're wanting anything else, I ain't your man. [he grinned apologetically] Nice-looking as you are, I'm only ever one for the ladies.

[then his expression turned serious]

I'm not really the best one to explain it, really, since I don't understand it all myself - but that 'ship' can actually fly through space, and travel through time. Somehow it picked up a whole bunch of people, all from different worlds, where things all work differently. Like, magic always seems to work different, if there even is magic - lots of people come from places where magic doesn't even exist at all. And I ain't ever heard of those Templars you mentioned. You see?

Ah, how fortunate for the ladies, then.

[Zevran's grin flashes to match Briar's telegraphing the complete absence of offense as much as the slight bow he tips him, or tries to given the limits of his comm's video pickup in the form of a tiny Fade portal. It's also a useful way of buying himself a couple extra seconds to process what he's just been told.]

I... do not see as clearly as I would wish yo, but I believe I see a few things. I am not a mage myself, and so the Templars of my world in all their righteousness are not mine to worry about. But they are to a man terribly repressed and with very large and impressive swords, and while that is always entertaining to prod at, I believe I shall not miss their presence overmuch.

The ladies are always fortunate. [Briar keeps his face straight, but it's clear that there's an amused glint in his eye]

Hold on - that don't mean everything here's all nice. There's the Authorities, and they...[Briar paused, floundering a bit] They used to be aggressive. But just recently all of us from the ship somehow ended up flung about in time. I got no idea how we did, but when we were brought back things here were different, and the Authorities apparently no longer wanted to kill us all. To be honest, I don't really know what they're like now, or if we could trust them, but I'd bet on the side of being careful.

[Briar shrugged, as if to say that he wished he could say more]

These Templars of yours, they don't like mages? I'll be glad they're not here too, then. I'm a green mage myself.

If you do not have maddened dragon gods arising from their centuries-long sleep in the bowels of the earth in the form of corrupted archdemons to lead an army of tainted and twisted souls against the surface races, blighting all that they touch, I would argue that is all we have to worry about is the unknown intentions of authority... it is still very nice here.

[For all Zevran's lightness, though, there's a sense that Briar's caution has indeed been processed and received, all in the glint of his eye and the set of his mouth.]

As for Templars, they dislike apostate mages, which is what they call any mage not living in a Tower Circle and overseen by the Templars. Apparently if they aren't watching them intrusively every second of the day they will all clearly turn to blood magic. Because, of course, the notion that hunting and killing those mages who would prefer a more private life will in no way turn them to blood magic out of desperation simply fails to dawn on them...

Suffice it to say that should one appear, I would recommend keeping your talents quiet.

[Video 001: Arrival] Tuesday, Week 37

Re: [video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[Video]

[Video]

[Video]