Embedded Files
Surgeon Cry Wolf (from early inksome days) (link)
Surgeon Cry Wolf (from early inksome days) (link)
Cepheus - The Emperor - Violet - Stalwart and strong, they are inventors who have shunned the arts of magic for technology. They trade in metals and information, nearly an ally to all the nations present. How they test in the use of their arms, I have yet to see.
Weaver Memories (link)
Weaver Memories (link)
1
[You see it almost the same time it sees you. It was hard to tell it, the regal violet fur in the middle of the man-sized, purple flowers of the Tenzen fields. As industrialized as the Cepheus lands could be, out by Orion's edge, the fields became verdant... and wild. The horned wolf stares at you, level, appraising.
You hold your breath, meeting its gaze and counting the seconds. "One isn't done, two y'aint through, three is just right and four is a fight." You recite in your head, counting. At three, you step back, bowing deeply. You hear the great beast huff, it's muzzle touching your neck...
And fall to your knees in relief as you hear it turn, pacing away. ]
You will feel like you were experienced as a traveler, you are a merchant but really travel because you really like seeing other places, other cultures, THINGS that are going on, and sell that information back to your city. This is your first time encountering a wolfaboo that close.
2
[You scramble up through the gears of the great machine. With a certain deft ease, you get up to the main wince, feet moving idly with the great arm's movement to keep your position as you time the swinging pendulums.
You readjust the straps at your shoulder, making sure your tools are secure before crouching and springing forward. You nod, solemnly, as you feel the displaced air of one of the great pistons surging past you, just a moment after you clear its path. The hardest part was over, the rest was simply bounding from one cluster of wheelgears to the next until you were close enough to the Great Coil to feel the heat of the fires below.
Keeping to the walkway here, you pace the machinery patiently, eyes scanning for anything out of place. This was the core of the city, and all life that lived within the walls of the sprawling metropolis was sustained by its predictable, measured movements. For you... this was as close to 'religion' as anything you've ever known. Barbarians and beasts outside worshiped gods and elements, relying on tricks they called magic, charlatanism they believed to truly grant life and death.
You knew better though... The city, she was proof that magic wasn't what the world thought of it. This WAS life, death, joy and terror... maybe she WAS a goddess. Which, as you reflected with a certain smug satisfaction, made you a high priest.
You find your target, climb the access ladder and check a pressure gauge before tightening the clamp just enough. "There. That feel better?" You pat the duct before re-securing the tool and bounding back for the door. You fancy the hiss of steam below as the Great Coil begins the cooling cycle was a 'yes.']
((Claude: +2 Strength, +3 Dexterity, S-rank mechanical skill, instinctive distrust of the unproven or mystical))
New Uniform Description
New Uniform Description
Concept: Oriental scholars
Top piece: T-shirts
Bottom piece: Loose pants (m), tights (f)
Outer piece: Tabard-ish coat with an open neck and horizontal (m) or vertical (f) slitted sleeves, knee length (m) or calf length (f)
Accessory: Sash that can be worn as a wrap or a belt
Footwear: Flexible ankle boots, socks
[There is the gentle sound of a shuttle moving through taut thread, and as the memory settles deep, your eyes open to the familiar garments of your kin on both yourself and those around you, dyed in deep hues.
Deceptive in their simplicity, there is something unmatched in the grace of those familiar robes. The plain, short-sleeved panna shirt is loose enough to be comfortable, but not so baggy as to ever be in the way; the fine-woven pants of the same (loose around the legs of men, slim along those of the women) allowed movement of any angle, be it scrambling up the Core or curling up to copy a faded scroll. Even now, they carry the scent of smoke and burris ink in equal measure, faded and familiar.
The long-sleeved tabard of rich cort hangs to the knees on men, and closer to the ankles on the ladies, though anyone would tell you that's not such a difference at all. Better to look at the slits in the loose sleeves; horizontal for men, vertical on women ('less someone decided to cut it their own way, a twist of character more common than not), the same open neck common to both. The sash of knotted silk looped and tied around the waist makes just as good a wrap when you were coming out into the cool, and the thick-soled shoes (never knew when a gear'd be too hot, or edge sharp) were light enough to never tire the legs when going up and down, and flexible enough to grip even the smallest space.]
Surgeon Game (Orpheus)
Surgeon Game (Orpheus)
[You are at a crossroad.. to your right you see the rise of a steel and stone city and to your left you see a dense jungle.
Which way do you go?]
[You work your way through clean streets of stone and metal, everything nearly uniform, study and ingeniously built to optimize space in the city. The guttering of candles and lanterns on posts have been slowly replaced by wires and a few oddly white orbs seem to glow here and there upon their perch. The night air is filled with light, dulling the views of the sky and the stars in the moonless sky are fewer than there should be for some reason. However, your footsteps are sure, even without your own illumination.
Around you see the signs of progress, printed signboards, advertising the latest in clockworks and the marvels of steam. The aqueducts move clear water above your paths, alongside of the muddier channels still used for travel. You smell, every now and then, rich food cooking from residences, even at this late hour, apparently just as work shifts seem to have ended.
Your destination is up ahead, the great reinforced steel doors inset into a gargantuan building at the center of the city, perfectly circular and without windows... To the left though, you hear a soft, quiet weeping and your eyes catch the form of what appears to be a woman, crouched by the canal...]
[The woman is not just crouched, she’s practically on all fours... one of her hands is white knuckled on the lip of the canal and the other is desperately seeking in the waters.]
"My baby... I’m sorry! My baby!" She wails... you see on the grating, a small toy duck caught on the bars... She seems to sense your presence and looks up frantic. "She fell in! I ... I can’t! Help! Please!"
"She! ... My baby, she was playing! I looked away just a moment!"
[She's frantic now]
[Her shoulders are shaking and skin is bitterly cold.]
"Please... please..."
[She seems to warm... but you start to feel cold in her place.]
Faith investigates the Canal
[The water rushes by, it's cloudy from sediment and moving fast.]
Jumping in to save the child
[As Syaoran dives into the waters... He does not make out any forms in the swirling, murky water... Just a tatter of cloth on the grating below the surface.. the current is heavy and hard to swim against even with the ice forming against the current...
Do you continue looking or resurface...?]
"Just a few moments! Her hand ... I missed her hand!"
[The waters tears at Claude and Syaoran... It gets murkier and murkier...
You feel a small hand closing on both of your ankles, both of you, and starts to pull you down.]
[You feel cold and weak, you legs are stone as a freezing touch radiates through them cramping through every muscle you have.]
[Her sobs turn to wails and she simply slips out of Kelvin's grip like she was never there, and reaches into the water, on hands and knees.
"My baby... I’m sorry! My baby!" She wails... you see on the grating, a small toy duck caught on the bars... She seems to sense your presence and looks up frantic. "She fell in! I ... I can’t! Help! Please!"]
[Your hand closes around it, it's thin and very, very cold.]
[The water DOES boost both of them up a moment...... and suddenly water gushes up... completely empty of anything but sediment...
The woman wails... "My son! MY SON! He fell in!"]
"No! My boy! He dove in after his sister! He was just there! Please help him!"
Pushing the woman in the water
[Her eyes fly wide... and you see only empty sockets where they should be! She shrieks, her voice echoing in your ears, deafening everything else as she hits the water]
[In the canal beside you, the woman sinks into the water soundlessly after the outburst...
...
After, you hear laughter, loud, delighted, honest.] "My children!"
[And then nothing.]
[You return to the clean streets of stone and metal, everything nearly uniform, study and ingeniously built to optimize space in the city. The guttering of candles and lanterns on posts have been slowly replaced by wires and a few oddly white orbs seem to glow here and there upon their perch. The night air is filled with light, dulling the views of the sky and the stars in the moonless sky are fewer than there should be for some reason. However, your footsteps are sure, even without your own illumination.
Around you see the signs of progress, printed signboards, advertising the latest in clockworks and the marvels of steam. The aqueducts move clear water above your paths, alongside of the muddier channels still used for travel. You smell, every now and then, rich food cooking from residences, even at this late hour, apparently just as work shifts seem to have ended.
Your destination is up ahead, the great reinforced steel doors inset into a gargantuan building at the center of the city, perfectly circular and without windows... ]
[You approach the main doors, and the neighborhood you travel through is markedly more industrial.]
[At the main doors to the facility, a single crown is graces the center, in lieu of any noticable handle or knocker.]
[As you touch the crown, you feel a gentle voice in your head:]
Seekers of our halls answer me this:
I’m a potion as old as fire and grain
Said to best heal if left to spoil
I both give and wash away pain
To beggar and king, I am their foil.]
(Answer: Alcohol)
[The gates open, and you catch a glimpse of a spanning building of clockwork and gears before the scene itself vanishes, and you are returned to the Arena...
Syaoran and Claude are already there, moments before, damp and muddy, but alive.]
Game End
Surgeon Game Cepheus Side Full Write-up (gdoc here)
Surgeon Game Cepheus Side Full Write-up (gdoc here)
Decision point one
Southwest
[The way breaks into a stone path, easy to travel and unobscured by the mud. And ends... in a small, limestone abode... The wooden door creaks open as you approach and a figure appears in the doorway brandishing a wooden club... Eyes narrow on you suspiciously, and a female voice calls out...]
“Scoundrels? I will have no lot with them.”
Decision point two
City
[As you approach the great city, it’s slick marble walls and stone structures rise above in a testament of both achievement and a will to rise above their elements. You stride towards the first building along the golden cobbled road, when you are suddenly stopped by either magic or divine favor. You hear a gentle voice in your ear...]
[Riddle]
House
[The house is ... cozy. A warm fire lights the center of the room from a stone pit carved there. The furniture, rough hewn, perhaps is draped in velvets and silks, making them seem both a comfort and a luxury. A table sits just to the side of the fire and a single chair pushed against it. The woman beacons you to sit, and begins preparing a tea.]
“Make yourself comfortable, I shall let you on your way as the rains stop.”
“I’ve taken with an illness in my childhood... it is long gone, but it left my face a travesty... for visitors... I cover it.” She replies, her head low. She seems to shrink even further, the stoop of her back becoming more pronounced. “Come, eat. Tell me of your wares and your business, travellers.”
“... I wish to see my son again... but my mind is feeble though my body stout from work.. The way is held by a riddle and I’ve not guessed it... I tried so many times, the guards now fire upon me should I ask. May the King curse their bones to rot!” She cries, reaching a gloved hand up to wipe at her face. “If you could take me there... I would be in your debt... and I’m sure my dear son will reward you well.”
Boss
Beast man
[As you unravel the riddle, the woman at your side... seems to straighten. Her stooped appearance gives away to a proud, muscular seven feet of figure. She removes the veil, and you can at last see her face. Her skin in pale, almost bluish in hue, her hair is wirely and almost metal... her thick lips spread back, a grin revealing tusks and thick, sharp teeth.]
“At last... WE BEGIN!” She throws her head back and unleashes a guttural howl... all around her in the jungle, other voices join hers... and the land almost beings to shake as beings... all of them twisted with animalistic features, charge past the barrier, each calling the answer to the riddle like a war cry.
A far more human scream answers within the city, sirens and bells begin to toll... and the guards begin to rally...
Post modern city
[You work your way through clean streets of stone and metal, everything nearly uniform, study and ingeniously built to optimize space in the city. The guttering of candles and lanterns on posts have been slowly replaced by wires and a few oddly white orbs seem to glow here and there upon their perch. The night air is filled with light, dulling the views of the sky and the stars in the moonless sky are fewer than there should be for some reason. However, your footsteps are sure, even without your own illumination.
Around you see the signs of progress, printed signboards, advertising the latest in clockworks and the marvels of steam. The aqueducts move clear water above your paths, alongside of the muddier channels still used for travel. You smell, every now and then, rich food cooking from residences, even at this late hour, apparently just as work shifts seem to have ended.
Your destination is up ahead, the great reinforced steel doors inset into a gargantuan building at the center of the city, perfectly circular and without windows... To the left though, you hear a soft, quiet weeping and your eyes catch the form of what appears to be a woman, crouched by the canal...]
Decision point one
Ahead
[You approach the main doors, and the neighborhood you travel through is markedly more industrial. As you near the looming doors of your destination, you hear a hiss... and then a rumble... fire belches out all around you (for some mercy washing too fast to do more than singe your clothes) and immediately sweeps back in, hungry for what started the blaze... the entire factory to your left seems engulfed in flames... You hear sirens as one of the watchtower catches sight of the inferno.
Do you rush ahead to tell the guards or take up containing the blaze until the brigade can arrive?]
Left
[The woman is not just crouched, she’s practically on all fours... one of her hands is white knuckled on the lip of the canal and the other is desperately seeking in the waters.]
“My baby... I’m sorry! My baby!” She wails... you see on the grating, a small toy duck caught on the bars... She seems to sense your presence and looks up frantic. “She feel in! I ... I can’t! Help! Please!”
Decision point two
Fire
[The door, already off its hinges from the blast, gives way at the slightest nudge, opening what appears to be a controlled inferno... Fire seems to spout up from a pipe and it lunges around like an angry djinn, tail bound to the lamp... Plans, tables, workgloves and uniforms are being merrily devoured by smaller blazes, but the elemental fire in front of you still glows blue, and ... is starting to melt the very steel around it.
Casting around, you see a large wrench, a bucket, a pronged tool, a few sockets, and three pipelines chasing the perimeter of the room.
What do you do?]
(Answer, turn off the gas, turn on the water, extinguish the flames remaining. Four turns.]
Water
[As you dive into the waters... You do not make out any forms in the swirling, murky water... Just a tatter of cloth on the grating below the surface.. the current is heavy and hard to swim against...
Do you continue looking or resurface...?]
[The waters tug you deeper and deeper... your lungs burn and ... in a moment of frantic panic you realise you can see ... light both above and below you, and can’t quite tell which way IS the surface anymore.
... Something catches your foot and drags you down.]
Main doors
[At the main doors to the facility, a single crown is graces the center, in lieu of any noticable handle or knocker.]
[As you touch the crown, you feel a gentle voice in your head:]
Seekers of our halls answer me this:
[Riddle]
Boss
[None]
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