The Hunt for the Philosopher's Stone (Open) - Chyril 22nd MT

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Ilaria da'Margeir.
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The Hunt for the Philosopher's Stone (Open) - Chyril 22nd MT

Post by Ilaria da'Margeir. »

Longfellow sat at his desk, gazing out the window. It was an unusually windy day for Sabata, but Longfellow didn't mind. It cooled off his offices, which were usually schorching hot. Anyone who happened to wander into his office would think that Longfellow was either sick or drunk, with his bloodshot eyes and pasty white skin. This was not the case, however. In fact, Longfellow wished, even prayed that he could be drunk at a moment like this. He sighed, and began to pace around the office, waiting for his party to arrive.
Now we gotta make the best of it, improvise, adapt to the environment, Darwin, shit happens, I Ching, whatever man, we gotta roll with it.

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After three long months of anticipation, the day was finally here. H'saan arrived on schedule at the offices of the Longfellow Institute, a little more experienced and a little less carefree than he had been at his last visit. Worries over the wellbeing of his foster mother Marianna marred his days now. Although it would be years before she finally succumbed to the illness which claimed her, the long, slow deterioration would be painful to watch.

Nevertheless, the half-giant made an effort to keep his manner optimistic and his countenance light. There would be little sense in dragging down the mood of the entire expedition with his brooding. As he pushed open the door to the Institute, his greeting to Crispin Longfellow was as cheerful as the tinkling bells which accompanied it. "Good morningtide, Master Longfellow! I hope your journey to the World's Mouth was a success?"

One good look at the halfling told him that it hadn't been.

With a sigh, H'saan made his way into the room and cleared himself a spot to sit upon on a nearby table. "They say, my friend, that a problem shared is a problem halved," he remarked sympathetically. "What is it that ails you?"
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Post by Ilaria da'Margeir. »

Longfellow continued his pacing as H'saan entered the room. "Welcome back, Master Alai. I hope all has been well with you. The rest of the party should be here shortly." He smiled sadly as H'saan spoke to him. "On the contrary, my trip went well. It went almost too well, if I say so myself. I won't trouble you with the details, but I will say that I will be more careful when choosing who to trust." With that, Longfellow closed his mouth and sat down, rubbing his temples slowly.

The silence didn't last for long, as the door was soon opened by a smiling, middle aged man in flowing black robes. Behind him, a young woman in swathed similar robes and with her faced covered, slowly entered, taking in all of the sites of the office. Longfellow cheered up visibly at the sight of the man. "Fadil my old friend! You are the first to arrive! I trust the journey went well?" Fadil clasped Longfellow into a warm embrace, smiling. "Yes, yes my friend. The journey was pleasant indeed. I'm surprised that Ayman and Baqir have not arrived yet. They are anxious indeed to set out on this journey."

Fadil made a gesture to the woman beside him, and she slunk over next to her side. Her eyes made it clear that she wanted nothing to do with any of them whatsoever. "This, this is Isidora. She hails from World's Mouth. I caught her and one of her guarrdi friends prowling about the City of Tents. I, of course, killed her friend and I was about to kill her too, until I sensed...something within her. I'm not sure what, but I've decided to take her on as an apprentice of sorts until I figure out what to do with her. She has a great affinity for our magic, which is strange for one such as her."

Fadil nodded towards H'saan. "And who is your friend here? Will he be coming along with us? I feel like I've seen him before..." Fadil frowned as his voice trailed off. "Forgive me! This is Master H'saan Alai, and yes, he will be joining us. No doubt you've seen him before, as Marianna took him in." Fadil beamed at H'saan. "Ah yes, I do remember you. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Master Alai. Forgive me for not recognizing you sooner."
Last edited by Ilaria da'Margeir. on Thu Apr 12, 2007 6:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Now we gotta make the best of it, improvise, adapt to the environment, Darwin, shit happens, I Ching, whatever man, we gotta roll with it.

Veritas vos liberabit

Image is copyright Electra and www.project812.com
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"It is my honour to meet you, Master Fadil, and your apprentice as well," H'saan replied with a slight bow. Although the reluctant woman probably would not care one way or another how she was addressed, one lost nothing by being courteous. "Truly, it will be a privilege to travel with the presence of wisdom and experience such as yours."

With the pleasantries done, he quietened down, simply watching the interaction between the two older men and the woman in his company. He often found it useful to observe the dynamics between members of an established group when he joined them - it helped to know in advance if they would work well together and the journey would be a pleasant one, or if he should steel himself for quarrels or worse.

Isidora would be an interesting addition to the company. She clearly felt quite hostile towards the rest of them, and was probably eager to escape from their presence, but it seemed that Fadil had some sort of hold on her. H'saan hoped that those holds were strong - unless she came to an acceptance of her situation, there was no telling what she might do were she to break free.
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Post by Grant »

"I don't know about wisdom or experience," replied Fadil companionably...and strangely very humble considering his rather oppressive attire "but it is a pleasure, all the same. Now I wonder if I will learn the...nature of this venture?" he asked, turning to glance at the halfling with an inquisitive expression. He didn't actually know...beyond the obvious, of course. Longfellow specialized in arranging expeditions to find things...be it surveying land, evaluating ores or sediment deposits, or just basic cartography.

Nodding at that, the halfling glanced around on his desk and found what could possibly be the tiniest pair of spectacles ever...which he immediately perched upon his nose. He then shuffled through his papers and collected them into a more reasonable order...papers originally filed in the pile system, for those bureaucrats familiar with it. "Of course, of course. Well. It has...everything to do with our venture last yahren...the contract for the Company. I wonder, H'saan...could you give a brief account of that before we go any further with our next venture?"

By last yahren's venture, he would no doubt mean the intended meeting with the yellow tribesmen that had, until they arrived, chosen to boycott the Company...a decision that made the Eastern Sands shareholders very nervous. The People were vital to production in Terra Incognita...and if they were offended, the market consequences could be extreme. "In addition...perhaps you might add anything you've heard...rumor or otherwise...regarding a philosopher's stone, either here in the city or beyond. I assure you, gentlemen, please have patience with me. The two may indeed be...associated."
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H'saan raised a thick black eyebrow at the halfling's last remark. "I would be pleased to give you a report, but of my first expedition there is little to tell. The Eastern Sands was trading with a Yellow tribe to the southwest of the city. Arms for spices and other products, I do not recall precisely, but anyhow, the tribe ceased their dealings with the Westerners quite suddenly. They gave no reason or warning, which came as a concern to the traders, naturally. Arnaud Corlais of the ETSC sent a few good men and myself to investigate the matter, but by the time we reached the camp – or the place where the camp used to be – the People had left. We returned and I have heard no further word on the affair. Perhaps Ayman can enlighten us when he arrives.” Ayman, a Yellow tribesman, was to be the scout on their journey.

“Evidently, the Westerners have found some means of supply as they are still in operation here, but the details were not given for me to know. I was not even aware that the Institute was involved with the Eastern Sands' expedition," H’saan admitted. “Corlais made no mention of it.” In fact, when the mercenary healer had first approached the ESTC, the trading company's personnel manager – having only known of Longfellow by reputation – had remarked on the possibility that the little adventurer was often ‘too ambitious for his own good’. The warning had gone right past H’saan at the time, when he had less investment in the success of the mission.

“As to the Philosopher’s Stone... well, Master Longfellow, I suspect you know more about the truth of the artifact than I do, but I am well acquainted with the idea of it. It is something of a holy grail to some members of my profession, I’m afraid. The accounts vary, but I am told it is a mystical object, or some say a substance, which transforms lead into gold and confers long life and eternal health when it is taken in an elixir. Does the apothecary still seek it?” he asked, referring to Zhanna Boroda, the owner of the Rare Blessings, who had originally contracted Longfellow’s services for this undertaking.
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Post by Grant »

"Absolutely. Or at least, she thinks she does. And so I've researched the matter...and found a number of curious coincidences that might relate the two contracts. You see...Rhanna doesn't know about the Company's problems with the yellow tribesmen...and to my knowledge, the Company didn't know about her interest in this...artifact. Let me show you something..."

The little halfling dug into his pile of papers to produce the closest thing the Institute had resembling a map. It was most certainly not a map, but it functioned as such, showing locations of dry river beds, alluvial washes, oases, the like...but by each point of interest was a series of numbers indicating azimuth, position, and relation of navigational features in the night sky or in reference to Sabata. It would have been more accurate to call it a chart...and such a document was commonly utilized for nautical navigation in times past.

"The Company traded here in Sabata...but the tribe's hamada plantations were located to the Southwest, in this region..." the halfling jabbed a finger down near an alluvial wash that, during a rare rain or in eons past, must have been a lake. "...which is where we looked for them last yahren. Of course, no sign of the tribe...no sign of anything...and the imports of certain spices were cut dramatically. To be honest, I suspected foul play, given that the Company had arranged a deal with the tribe to purchase their goods before they hit the Sabata trading houses...but if that were the case, then someone else would have suddenly generated the missing spices...peppercorns, rosemary, myrrh, cassia, and the like...produced by the same tribe, but marketed to a different trading house...such as the Imperial faction."

"But the spice supply disappeared...along with the entire tribe."

"Now we come to the contract of the Philosopher's Stone, such as it is. I don't know why Rhanna believes it to exist...I've heard as many accounts of it's use as you have, H'saan, and so it's clear that no one truly understands what it might be...but I do know that the Company wasn't the only entity interested in that region. There was also a mine constructed at the alluvial wash a short time ago...perhaps the very land domination the yellow tribe protested. I don't know who opened the mine...or whether it's still in operation...but I do know that a few escaped slaves have returned to Sabata telling a very strange tale of horror, plague, and violence. Frankly, gentlemen, the stories I've heard were...shocking."

"Now. The Company contract still stands. Corlais is a good man at heart, and while he fears for the worst...he has a very strong belief that this signals a market attack by one of his rivals...most likely the Imperial Trade Guild, though he can't rule out another faction out of World's Mouth. That means that there could be violence or subterfuge involved...and he wants to know. However, the Company's official stand is to drop it entirely, no doubt due to...financial expedience. Corlais has retained the contract at his own expense, though...independent from the Company, and at considerable sacrifice to his own personal wealth...and would like us to follow up, if the possibility presents itself."

"I believe the...possibility has presented itself. This...secret mine might just be the thing we're looking for, both for Rhanna's contract as well as Corlais'. But then, I don't have a lot of information to go on...just the coordinates of an alluvial wash somewhere out in the southern ergs, and the second-hand accounts of a rambling slave. Still, I believe this should be the impetus of our next trip. Any thoughts, gentlemen, before we move forward?"
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The markings on the chart might as well have been a dirty limerick written by a Mist-addled gnome, for all they meant to H'saan, but he understood pictures well enough. The half-giant's forehead furrowed as he concentrated on Longfellow's clarifications. This new situation was certainly a far cry from the 'dragons, bandits and wilders' the halfling had been expecting last Samheen; but danger was danger and death was death - they could not be avoided, only managed.

Crispin Longfellow wrote:Any thoughts, gentlemen, before we move forward?"


"A few." H'saan nodded, then began with the question which concerned him most in his role as the expedition's healer. "I wish to know more about the nature of this plague the slave spoke of. Did he give you any clues as to its effects, or the means of its spread? No doubt there will be other, more perilous dangers on this journey but disease can be a terrible thing to strike a company down." Especially so far from civilisation, where supportive care would be hard to find. Even a bad case of food poisoning could wipe them all out, without enough water to replace the fluids lost from diarrhoea and vomiting. "If such an affliction is avoidable, I will wish to have our party informed."

"Secondly, exactly what in the slave's account leads you to believe that the Stone might be found in this secret mine? It was my understanding that we sought a source of healing - or miraculously long-lived sheep, as some stories would have it - instead of a trail of disease."

"And for my last question..." the matter which puzzled H'saan most of all. "The last time we met, Master Longfellow, you mentioned that my dreshi had seen the Stone as a child. But in all her yahren with me she has never spoken of such a thing, and I have never seen her attracted to anything other than natural methods of healing." It was not a position that he would have expected from a woman who had seen miracles worked by magic.

"Sadly - " The half-giant cast his eyes down to the floor but otherwise remained stoic, as he broached a topic which pained and saddened him. "Sadly, her mind and body fail her, and she is unable to recall the event. Can you tell me what she has told you? Did she ever speak of a danger associated with the object we seek? I do not believe all the stories I hear of the Philosopher's Stone, but if there is anyone's word I would trust, it is hers."
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Post by Grant »

"I think the best tactic might be for you to find one of these slaves, and perhaps speak to him yourself. Remember that we did track the rumors to a common source last yahren...which does indeed match this alluvial mine a few days out. So far, it seems that several slaves and locals...meaning a few nomads...claim to have seen the philosopher's stone, which leads me to believe that there isn't just one. And remember, H'saan...I've heard dozens of rumors and myths regarding the stone's real use, and healing is only one of them. Killing...perhaps by plague...is another one."

"How many slaves claim to have escaped from this mine?" chimed in Fadil.

"About a dozen, though I've only caught up with one. The remainder have taken refuge in the rookeries," replied Longfellow evenly. The Rookeries were the low-income residential complexes that surrounded Sabata under the more modest domes. They were cramped, crowded, and confined...and most of the city's lowest class, such as settled nomads or poor laborers...lived within them. "They might be difficult to approach, given that they're escaped slaves."

"Now please, keep this in mind, gentlemen," Longfellow shifted his glance from Fadil to H'saan. "If we had fact, we...the Longfellow Institute...wouldn't be involved. We're surveyors...and explorers. So far, we have no fact whatsoever regardless the existence, nature, or function of whatever substance witnessed by your mentor or many of the recently-returned slaves. We have only rumor, conjecture, a disappearing tribe, and what appears to be an undocumented, illegal mine."

"Fadil, please begin assembling the expedition itself. Hire some of the immigrant soldiers, if you can find any, and put together a group of perhaps ten, mounted on camel. You may have to leave the apprentice at home, Fadil...this expedition seems dangerous enough. I can use her help here while you're away. H'saan, go to the rookeries and see if you can find more of these recently-escaped slaves. Any one of them might be willing to speak to you in more detail. I'm afraid my own circumstance limited me to learn only pieces of information. And be warned against superstition! You know how the locals can get when they're confronted with something they don't understand."

"While you gentlemen do this, I'll go to the Council and the Guild to learn what I can about any potential mining licenses issued for that area. There must be something, given that it was issued so recently. Does that suit you gentlemen ok?"
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It suited the half-giant better than fine. Embarking on the expedition without any idea of what they were looking for did not seem particularly wise. "When do you wish to meet again?" he asked before making his farewells and heading for the rookeries.
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Post by Grant »

"Well, it's Morningtide now. Fadil, why don't you plan for the expedition to head out tomorrow, one day from now? That'll give H'saan and me time to learn what we can. If we must delay the departure, well, we will...though we'll have to keep the caravan on retainer during the delay. We'll meet again at the Bathhouses this eveningtide, where I'll buy you both a fine meal and a little relaxation before your trip. We can compare notes, decide if we need to delay or cancel, or give the go-ahead to go. Sound alright to everyone?"

Fadil nodded and rose up, gesturing to the young woman he brought to do the same. Longfellow rose as well, though it might have been hard to tell he had done so given his...well...vertical base.
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