s HT Player DS Character Name Type Status/Notes Sex -- ----------------------------------------------------------------- R1.John Haight.......HY..Arawn.............Druid .Normal/Alfar .. Ma --.Tobie Bonahoom....YY..Fremea............Sidh....Normal/Faerry.. Fe R3.Mark Murtha.......HN..Kell..............Trader..Normal/Human....Ma W2R2.David Sanders.....HN..Kiet.Sunan........Acrobat Normal/Human ..Ma R4.Wout Broere.......YY..Unali.............Ninja...Normal/Human ..Fe R3 Panthera..............Pyandalgor........Hunter..Normal/Human....Ma W3R4.Alex Koponen......YY..Z'leyra...........Healer..Normal/Human ..Fe Animals: Corona [Eagle] Z'leyra Game Web Site - http:/nrgcomputers.com/pbem/ Public posts/actions to pnpgm@list.powersandperils.org (mailing list) Private emails (not public actions) to pnpgm@comcast.net Game Update #41 sequence (file #299) ---------------------------------------------------------------- Admin Notes: None. ---------------------------------------------------------------- [Recap] From Z'leyra: [Re: Actions] Z'leyra decides to practice Akasha seven more times to get to the skill level needed for the distance into the past she must go so over the next two hours she will demonstrate the spell at EL0 for any interested at her uncle's house. The demonstrations are of who handled various objects (cups, silverware and similar objects). To do so, using her wand she first casts Purification EL0 then again using the wand casts the EL0 Akasha and describes who (if any) handled the item in the last two weeks. this she does for seven items. [This should use 28+7=35 mana to get the 28 xp to improve her skill in the spell to EL7.] She will then take off her Chalcedony necklace and hand it to Arawn for temporary safekeeping. Then keeping more than a dozen feet from Arawn Z'leyra will cast thru her wand a Major Illusion of a doghouse with a funny looking beagle lying on his back asleep on top of it. After it is cast she motions Arawn towards it and the illusion should vanish when Arawn gets within 10 feet of it. She takes the Chalcedony necklace and puts it on again. "Fremea. A favor if I may. Could you observe these... At the appointed time she and whomever goes with her arrive at the site of the burnt workshop/house. She again explains what she plans to do and offers the deputy and whomever he brought with them the chance to examine her wand and ring which she plans to use to assist in her spell casting. After given the go ahead by the deputy, Z'leyra will then cast (all thru her wand) the Purification for the Ward Pact at EL2; the Sidh Purification EL2 for the Major illusion; the Ward Pact at EL2; (she hands off her Chalcedony necklace to Arawn to keep more than 10' away) then casts the Major Illusion at EL2 to complete the Ward. Then she pays the 10 mana points to put the Ward in effect. [The intent she puts into the ward is that any time an Akasha spell is cast in the area it will trigger a Major Illusion that will be somewhat transparent and show what is revealed by the Akasha spell. No more, no less.] After the ward is set and verified by the deputy, Z'leyra will cast (thru the wand) the Purification EL0 for the Akasha, then the Akasha at EL7. She will first observe the week just past, up to the present moment, then quickly go back to the last day that the workshop/house was still standing in good shape, then she will observe the last day standing through to when the investigators are through looking at the burnt remains. Afterwards she retrieves her necklace and checks to see what the deputy's reaction is. GM: Ack. I've decided this type of retro action to practice is too late. There was a month before hand to practice. Since this greatly affects the current from benefits of changing the past can't do. Its like that book you need to solve something but forget it 100 miles away but then just say you took it with you. It would benefit the current thing so not allowed. From Kell: [Re: Actions] [ooc- First, I'm sorry for just dropping like that. I've been depressed, and that is one of the bad things I do. Sadly. So I just ran away from everything. I apologize. Thanks for accepting me back. :) I have missed it an all you guys! Onto the game... One more thing. There is a small sporting event today, maybe you have heard of it? Denver happens to be playing, so go Denver!!! I like in Colorado and have been a Broncos fan for a good 30 years. Not the best fan, but a fan. ] [At the library] Ha'Kell is excited to find some books that may help his search. He will try to get them copied even faster if possible. Possibly into a language he can read very well too. [At the lunch with the big speech] He sits and uses Mana Sensing on each person as they... [.....] Kell doesn't like Mr. Smith, is he just a jerk or something more there? He's going to discreetly ask around and spend the next few hours trying to learn what he can about Mr. Smith. Possibly this is just some neo-lythic man with no manners, but Kell wants to be sure. [...] Kell goes to the house 20 minutes early and setups up where he can watch everyone arrive. Making sure he has his armor and Vambraces on, ready to assist however necessary. GM: Ack. Broncos...those truck things? Yeah they are cool. :) Books. Books around 400 pages. Takes 15 pages to be copied per hour (they copy every letter down to the shape from original styled text). Thanks to the Google Demons it seems average books have 350 words at average 5 character words. A scribe can do 2 characters per second. So that's 350x5=1750 characters. So scribe can do a page in 875 seconds or roughly 15 minutes per page. The two books are 291 and 330 pages or total of 621 pages (sorry I'm a details guy). A scribe working 8 hours can do 15x4 for 4 pages per hour. So 8x4=32 pages. If you hire 3 for 3 8 hour shifts that's 32*3=96 pages per day. If doing 2 books that's 192 pages per day. 621/192=3.2 days Course that means no breaks. A scribe will need an hour each day. So that's 8 pages lost per day. 8x15=120 min or 2 extra hours. If 3.2 is time plus 2 hours that's (0.2x60\12 min) round up to 2.5 hours so 3 days and 2.5 hours. Now that we have some data. Here is expenses: (Day) Scribe normal pay - 1 CC/Hour (26.5 hrs) (Night) Scribe overtime - 1.5 CC/Hour (48 hrs) Candle replacement - 2 BB Quill replacement - 24 BB Ink replacement (4 oz) - 4 SC Total Man Hours 3d2.5h - 74.5 Hours Total - 102 CC 31 BB Translate to Marentian - 49 BB Grand Total - 110 CC Whew! Now I have some data for future situations. Isn't it odd how they do fee for translation at just 49 BB? Odd but it just makes round sense. I assume you approve this. So 4 days. You can have it shipped to Sivas by ship or wagon. Can probably get 5 BB per 10 miles for wagon and 10 BB per 10 miles. By road its 1000 miles by sea probably around 800. Wagon Transport - 5 SC (500 BB) - ~30 days Sea Transport -10 SC (1000BB) - ~14-20 days Hold per day in Ticasi - 1 CC per day So what do you want done? Like I say I like details. :) From Fremea: [Re: Actions] Fremea looks a little shocked, but only for a short second, when Z asks her to observe the magics. Did she forget that no one except the party knows she is a Faerry? Then she considers what Z is going through right now, and simply nods that she will be glad to do this for her. GM: Ack. From Kell: [Re: Actions] - Kell uses his elf-bred senses and skills to get a reading on Smith. He wants to know just how experienced this Smith is, whilst not being obvious to Smith. -- Oh this dismissive reaction, and especially calling .. --- Kell will be sure to arrive at the house at least 30 minutes early, staking a good place where he can watch as much of the comings and goings as possible. The handsome half-elf doesn't want anyone to leave without them knowing it. Unless Mr. Smith takes too much of his time, or doesn't plan to visit the house, then he will need to decide which task is more important. Following or visiting and watching the casting. GM: Ack. I appreciate you quoting the section in Reference. It helps to know where to put things. You could also just use the Time Mark and one line of the text. Arawn quotes with time marks and it helps. But your method is fine. From Arawn: [Re: Actions] [Alone with the party before meeting with the witnesses] From the man stomping on the grass to the gazebo out back... "At some point it might be worth using your magic on the ... GM: Ack. From Z'leyra: [Re: Actions] When folks have assembled at the remains of the workshop/... "While I have suspicions about the cause of the fire that ... GM: Ack. From Mark: [Re: Relief] Hi Scott, With timing, you need a life too. Take your time, and going to only 2 updates is fine. :) Sadly with my return there will be more as I can write a lot. Who killed Z's father? Well there are some obvious choices, but my vote is for some kind of conspiracy between several people. Likely not the family. GM: Ack. Thanks for vote. As to time yeah it can be frustrating. I'm a type A guy so over achieve. I try to get these updates out fast as I've been in too many games that died after 6 months. I've lasted 17 years so I've proven myself. But I still have that mindset so I tend to do without and return things to you guys. The big 29 set was 2 weeks to type up but you probably read it in an hour. So the time for you guys is shorter compared to mine. But yeah I need to sit back a bit and figure things out. As long as you guys don't get pitchforks and tar and yell I'll be fine if I delay things. ------------------------------------------------------------ [New Stuff] [Ticasi] [Decalis 24th, 1634TH] [Reserved lunch room] [Time: 11:15 am] No one has yet to arrive at the meeting and some are worried that none will. From the man stomping on the grass to the gazebo out back as well as Poorda's rather calm demeanor regarding land development something struck Arawn as odd about the whole situation. He waited until after leaving the old woman's house to say anything. Now a day later he finally speaks about it. "At some point it might be worth using your magic on the sight where Poorda claims to have seen the man destroying her plants that night, just in case there's more to the man's appearance then," he suggested to Z'leyra. "Plus I wouldn't mind having another chat with Poorda in the near future," he added in an odd tone. "Also, it might be worth casting Akasha on any reflective surfaces that might have played witness to the scene. If someone has tampered with the site and then concealed this from magical detection they may have overlooked things like mirrors or reflective windows, which could then give us a different view of things." "I also wanted to mention, I trailed Gar earlier and followed him to Milo Smith's office, a professor and a chairman to Orto Mining. I wasn't there long and barely had time to eavesdrop but did manage to catch that they were worried about your return. Enough for Milo to tell Gar to 'Get with the others and we may need to ensure the plan is moving fast...'. I can't help but wonder what this plan is that they're worried your presence here could hamper it." [Reserved lunch room] [Time: 12:55 pm] Ha'Kell listens to the speech Z'leyra gives and eyes the group of relatives, academics and others. Aside from the core party there is no magic sensed. Course that could be that items might be hidden by clothing. Kell knows that studying the strangers is just as fascinating as the relatives. These are the folks who were closest to Z'leyra and Tiren. It doesn't take a Empath to see that there is regret, sorrow, anger and confusion by the cousin and uncle. The dancing teacher seems the least visible to show her emotions. But Artistic types do that. [Time: 1:09 pm] When Councilor Smith appeared and clapped all eyes turned to him. Kell studies the man with his senses. The man clearly shows decades of experience and skill. He is probably a master armorer and metal worker else why would he be a councilor for that school. From hearing what others said yesterday at the school and others this man has a great deal of power. In theory each councilor has equal power. But it doesn't take a genius to know that some are higher status the others. Folks seriously would not think Sanitation is equal to say Magic or Law. But Law, Magic and the sciences clearly have dominance here. This is why they control every society. If anything the Metal of the world are the foundation which power works from. So without that foundation higher powers would not exist. This may be why Smith has such a bigger power base here. Then this man calls him son and even Fremea's mom did not call him that. Oh this dismissive reaction, and especially calling Ha'Kell son, that just pushes the Sidh side to dominate the half-elf, he is now moving from wanting to only assist Z'Leyra to wanting to knock this pompous jerk down three or ten notches. It may have become personal for Kell. Fremea starts to move toward the half=Elf to restrain him but the guy is a jerk. Not wanting to alert Smith that he just made an enemy, Kell watches him closely as he leaves the tavern. The taller half- elf is going to stalk him like a lion after a gazelle. From the shadows, waiting for the proper moment to take his prey. Dropping his cloak, and grabbing whatever is nearby to disguise his clothes from the tavern he prepares to act. Kell will try to find something from the pompous jerk, a hair preferably, to stash just in case. Speaking quickly and decisively in Katai, "I have to go. Now. I will be at the house early." Rushing out to find Mr Smith and start trailing him, putting his hat on since he didn't wear it in the tavern. Giving a sharp look to Z'Leyra, Fremea, and Arawn as he rushes out after the agent of "order," Mr. Smith. Z'leyra considers stopping him but maybe it might be good to see what he is up to, especially today. Kell trails him, using all his senses to find and track the jerk. He uses all his City skills, and Detection spells as necessary. He will pay off people, bribe them, hire street urchins to slow him and steal from him, and even try to get a hair or drop of spit or anything from the man. Kell will try not to be detected or caught, as stealth is his ally and cities are his stomping grounds. The Summoner is racking his brains, trying to think of what he can summon to assist. The need to find out what is most helpful, in case there is time for it. Whilst a Living Earth Elemental would be rather amusing it breaks the stealthy aspects of tracking and stalking. Sadly. Suddenly Arawn joins Kell and tells the trader to distract Smith until he can get ready. [Reserved lunch room] [Time: 1:11 pm] Z'leyra centers herself emotionally after the Councilor of the Metal School departed. Turning back from the window she looks at Fremea. "Fremea. A favor if I may. Could you observe these proceedings and let us know if other magics are used? Particularly if it would interfere with my castings or items." Fremea stands and glances around. Going to a site of possible murder with folks who are probably either against Z'leyra or with her? It is bad enough that Donaran's hate Fae. While they may have more sense here there is still undertone of annoyance of Fae. Ironically a place where insight and education is said to be common they don't open their minds to other things. She knows she will have to be close to detect magic. Her range is a bit over 100 feet but if it is around the home it may be blocked. If she is caught it could endanger the whole group much less Z'leyra. Fremea agrees and leaves the tavern to find a place to do some flying. [Time: 1:13 pm] Councilor Smith has left and Kell stands on the street waiting. He turns away from the tavern so not to be noticed as Smith exits and heads east down the street. Then Kell's heart sinks when he sees the man move toward a wagon. Kell has no way to follow if he is mobile since all the horses are at the ranch. He curses and turns to look for a second plan when he feels a hand on his shoulder. Arawn tells him to distract Smith while he also prepares to follow the man. Kell doesn't have time to argue and notices 3 kids down the street. They are playing marbles on the side alley of a store. The kids look from age 8 (girl) to 13 or so. The two boys glare at the trader. Kell quickly explains he needs the kids to knock Smith down or beg for coin. Maybe one can get a few hairs from him. The oldest teen shrugs and asks how much. Kell decides a few copper would do so draws out a few. "A silver!" The teen folds his arms. Kell glances back to see Smith checking the back of his wagon the ropes and moving toward the seat. Kell nods and the kids jump up forgetting their marbles and run toward the man. From an alley nearby, Arawn casts invisibility on himself. He also can't chase after a man on foot while he is in a wagon. Just as Smith steps up toward the top seat the kids arrive. "Mister! You have candy?" "Can we have some coins for candy?" "Can we ride!" The girl adds. Smith turns around glaring and waving his left arm to move the kids aside. The teen older boy glances at one of his 2 horses and points. "Mister your horse is bleeding on his leg!" Smith glares and steps off and moves toward the horse. Just then middle young boy trips the man who falls onto the road in a puddle. Smith curses up a storm and gets to his feet. He looks at his horse and says its only, "clay you idiots!" Smith moves back to his wagon and shoves the older teen to the ground on his back. The middle boy rushes over to start kicking the man's feet. "Don't hurt my brother!" The girl rushes also over and pulls Smith's large left hand. Smith shoves the girl away. Arawn is now about 20 feet away and moving fast toward the wagon. He sees the rough treatment and considers just killing the man. But kids are very versatile and little things hurt them. "Get away you brats!" Smith mounts the wagon and reaches for the reigns. The kids move away just as Smith orders the horses forward. Arawn leaps onto the back of the flat open wagon. Smith looks back to ensure the kids didn't get on and sees nothing. Kell sighs the kids did not have time to get the hairs. They were useless. Now he considers maybe borrowing a horse. But if Arawn is in that wagon maybe not. The kids arrive and smile. The teen reaches out for the silver coin. Kell shakes his head saying that they did not get hairs. But the girl reaches up with her hand and shows Kell about 2 long hairs. "His arms were as hairy as his head." Kell smiles and hands over the coin. A bit of a rip off but he had no time to haggle. He collects the hairs and places them in his pouch. Kell watches as Smith's wagon drives away fast. Kell steps into the street. He may not be able to chase Smith now but he can use his other skills. What is best to learn about a man? A person of his bearing? Business dealing and that means traders and markets. He heads to the market to do some recon and ask some vendors what they know about Smith. He figures Arawn can handle things on his own for now. The kids run down the alley as they collect their marbles. The middle aged boy stops them and grins, "look!" He raises his hand and shows a small coin bag. "That smelly man had this one him and it was just hanging there. " The teen snatches the bag and opens it. His eyes bulge as he stares. He lowers it to show his brother and cousin. "Ohhh.." The girl grins, "that's enough for a new wagon or some horses!" [Time: 1:20 pm] Z'leyra and the others left over exit the tavern. Uncle Hammerhand directs the party down the street to the cemetery. [Time: 1:31 pm] Arawn had to recast his spell 6 times so far to maintain his cloak. He hopes he doesn't have to keep this up as it only last a few minutes each time. Arawn tried to inspect the back of the wagon which is a service wagon used to carry light loads of wood or metal in Smith's case. Inside the brothel, Kiet finds a spot and milks his mug. He watches the man gamble cards with 2 others. The noise from the sexual delights upstairs is hard to hear any words spoken but a few like bets or such. He begins to think this is a waste of time when a man comes from upstairs. The man in his late 20s is holding a hat of his own but this one higher leather quality. It has some kind of animal headband around the hat and shows maybe a decade's use in the sun. The man buttons up his pants and moves toward the tables. Kiet seems to recognize him but the man does not face him. Then a side view is seen and Kiet realizes yes he has seen him before. The man moves toward the table with the Vase seller and sits down. Kiet decides to move to the far wall away as this new man was seen at the Metal School yesterday walking toward them and then backing up and away. At dinner Arawn for some reason said the man was Garr Smith, son of Councilor Smith. Why would he be in a sleaszy place like this? Kiet hides and wonders if there is a way out to avoid being seen. [Time: 1:33 pm] Arawn casts the spell once more and decides that it may be time to leave the wagon. Maybe he is just going home? but then the wagon begins to slow. Looking up Arawn sees a business district. The wagon passes a leather shop, a mining supply shop, a pottery shop and then stops in front of a small shop. There is a sign above the shop - Landsman Development. Smith dismounts and locks the brake. But a man exits the shop. He is in his late 50s and well dressed wearing brown vest and white tunic with tan pants. He wears a simple golden necklace chain that is not magical. The man is clean shaven and shows a light tan. The man looks to Smith, "just about to leave. I have another meeting with the timber group for more lumber." "Can't stay long. I have to get to this farce at a girl's place today." Smith leans back onto the wagon and crosses his arms. "Same girl your son mentioned?" The chained man says. "Yep. Ki, did they tell you of the change?" The man nods. "If this farce becomes bad for us we'll need to get things in place that can't be shifted. You start work in what..4 days?" "I had hoped in 4 but with your help the council gave me two days. With the hold outs left I need to start even with them staying. I can work around it." Ki explains as he places a large duffel bag on his back that probably holds business papers Smith nods, "I suspect those hold outs after today will be less willing to stay. Even hold outs like coin for their places. As long as our school is made to order I'll be happy." Ki shrugs, "if they don't leave the backup site will have to be made. Then the Art school will have a new place for the city." "Those freaks can draw outside. Our school needs larger facilities." "I need to pick up Garr now and head to this farce. It should be entertaining. Unless of course it backfires." "Good luck Councilor I need to get to this meeting to ensure I can get enough timber." Arawn decides to slip off the wagon as Smith mounts. Picking up his son could take time but he can only become invisible so long. Arawn considers his options he still has time to follow but he needs to do it without invisibility spell as he may need his energy later. Maybe he can just job behind the wagon after all its not that fast. [Time: 1:41 pm] Z'leyra and the others arrive at the quiet place near a park. Uncle Hammerhand directs them to the grave of her father. "He had a place for you, by the way. Here with your dad, grandfather. We have others here as well as you know from last time you've been here." Z'leyra kneels at Tiren's large stone slab. It is still in great shape but after 2 years not overgrown grass or anything. Uncle Hammerhand explains to the others, "he could've been buried in the Council Member area. Each person there has large headstones. Members get free burial for themselves. But he always wanted to be here with his dad. Since his dad was on the council as well he felt he was not worthy. So both are here. It is fairly common though. Out of hundreds of council graves there are 5 times that many in other places around town." At Tiren's place, Fremea has been there for a bit. She has seen several others moving about. Constables and men and women doing various things. From across the street in a tree she observes. Some are carrying hand held items but do not seem to be casting magic at all. But it is hard to tell so she decides to cast invisibility and get closer. Landing feet away she watches two man almost walk in a square pattern around the shop. "..still no indication of anything in last 2 weeks." "Well we still have to ensure..wait..something over here." He points toward the invisible Fremea. He moves closer and Fremea shifts. "No. Over here." Fremea realizes the men must be trying to detect magic using those devices. She decides to have some fun. She quickly moves behind the other man. The other man twirls, "no its over here." Fremea jumps around five or six more times fooling the man and confusing them. "These things are messing up." "You tell the deputy that. Not me. Probably a calibration thing." "Magic can be calibrated?" "I don't know..but..." Fremea enters the workshop ignoring the men. She scans the burnt workshop with her senses but finds no sign at all of any activity or magic. She moves toward the house and enters. She does find a magical painting that shifts pictures when touched. But there does not seem to be any other magic. From the back she flies up and back across the street. [Time: 1:52 pm] Arawn breathes heavy as he follows the wagon. Where is he going? Then he sees a boy tying up a mule to a shop. He stops and asks if he could borrow the mule? "I don't know...I need to do some work inside here for a couple hours." Arawn offers three silver. If he doesn't return which he will but if he returns he'll take two back. The other two are down payment. "Sure. He's not fast but you can use him for a short while. Be back by 5 or so. I'll have to report it if not back." Arawn mounts and chases the wagon. [Time: 2:03 pm] At the cemetery the group listens to Uncle Hammerhand tell stories about Tiren Z'leyra even listens to some as she has not heard some of them. "...when he was 15 his grandfathered booked him a trip by ship to the west but he was still at his girlfriend's place. Garnack, found him and was upset. Not for losing the ship or being alone with a young girl. But for fixing her parents water pump. He was always tinkering but he did things without asking and Garnack didn't want her parents upset about it...." Suddenly something invisible hits Unali, but she realizes it has been done before to her. Inside her mind a whisper from Kiet is heard. "Unali->something odd about Poorda's vase. Following a man. Let others know." The magical message sphere ends. Unali explain to the others what is going on. "Poorda? The old lady? She is always sweet. Tries to feed everyone too much though." Uncle Hammerhand smiles. The others try to recall what Kiet is talking about. A vase? Inside Poorda's place there was a orange and red vase behind her on a table But its probably just like many others in town. [Time: 2:08 pm] Smith's wagon finally stops near a scummy joint that looks like a gambling places based on a sign with cards. Smith dismounts and enters the place. Kiet returns from upstairs trying to find a place to leave without being seen. Going upstairs was futile as besides room full of romantic interludes there is no back door. But as he descends the stairs he sees a man moving toward Garr's table. Kiet slips behind the stairs in the darkness. "...why do you insist places like this? We can bring girls to your place..Now come we need to go." Smith tells his son Garr. "One more hand, I'm almost .." He places cards on the table and a 3rd man in front of him smiles and as she wins. Garr curses and collects his coins as the other man collects the pot. "Where to?" "I'll explain on the ride." As they near the door Kiet strains to hear. "Is that him?" Smith looks over his shoulder to the other man who sold the vase. Garr nods and dons his own hat as both leave. Arawn stops walking as he sees son and father exit the place. He turns and dives toward a pillar blocking a closed tailor shop to hide. He sees now Garr Smith mount the wagon and talk to his dad. Soon the wagon is driving away. Arawn turns to move back to his mule when he sees a flicker in the sky He then sees Corona high above circling. Back at the gravesite Z'leyra notices Corona is missing and not sure why. The bird is a care free spirit so probably needs to explore. At the markets Kell continues to ask about Smith. He has been turned away by at least 4 but 3 do speak up. Now this one man who sells firewood speaks up. "Councilor Smith? My aunt went to school with him and he cheated off her papers all the time. He doesn't care who he steps on as long as he gets his way. For the last year he has been asking the council to make a new school for his people but its for him. His school is over 200 years but still he wants a new one. I hear one of his sons got away with killing a dozen horses or something. His wife hates the man but stays married for the prestige. She has a boyfriend in the Writing...or maybe it is art school... one of those..." Kell continues to hear about gossip and other complaints. Arawn asks whistles for Corona who descends just as Kiet exits the brothel. Arawn asks Corona why he is here and he explains he was summoned by Kiet but is not sure where he is so has been circling for some time. Kiet notices the man with a eagle on the ground and smiles. Why is Arawn here? He jogs over as he watches the wagon with Smith leaving the street. Kiet asks for Corona to follow that wagon. Arawn explains that he is heading to Tiren's place. So they should also head that way. Arawn returns the mule shortly and both men move quickly toward Tiren's place by foot. [Time: 2:13 pm] Z'leyra decides it is time to head to her old home. Kell finishes with the woodsman and asks a few others in the market. Soon the others will be heading to the homestead. He asks a wine dealer about Smith. "That man built our family a skylight with supposedly good Aratad metals but a year later it was rusty from rain. That was when he was a student and did this for our family. He is a con man and a bad tempered man..." [Time: 2:29 pm] Fremea sees a wagon pull up with that Smith fellow and some one new. Constables stop both from going to close and tells them to stand near by. Smith decides to sit in the back of the wagon and wait for others. He reaches for his pouch and looks for his apple. Then he begins yelling and screaming. "My coin bag!" [Time: 2:41 pm] Kell arrives in a wagon with a farmer at Tiren's place. Kell reminds the farmer on the best way to sell wine to the market as a whole. From across the street, Fremea has seen Smith yell and complain to the constables. Then Kell arrives. She puts on her dress and walks over. "...there! That man was part...he did something to steal my bag!" Smith points to Kell. Kell looks shocked not even knowing what the man is talking about truthfully. The constable sighs, "you just said ten minutes ago some kids did it now this man?" "Well...he...he and that weird looking one was behind me." Smith must've meant Pyan. "That one he bumped up against me and left quickly...or maybe it was that strange looking one. I don't know they all look the same!" Then Z'leyra and her group walk toward the home. Smith sees them. "There! She and her friends. They should be searched for my money!" The constable sighs again, "do you have proof? You can a post a complaint. But you first said it was kids. Now them. Who next?" Smith begins to growl. "Your useless!" Fremea and Kell look at each other wondering if each might have had a part in this thing. Before they could ask each other others begin to arrive. The deputy as well as a half dozen that stream in. The Constables ask everyone to stand back at least 30 feet from the house itself. [Time: 2:48 pm] Down the street Z'leyra, Uncle Hammerhand and the others head toward the house. Z'leyra's jaw is tense and shows wavering. She looks up but sees no Corona. Of all the times she needs that connection to her Tonah. Where did he go. Then across the street the white eagle is seen sitting in a tree across the street. She smiles and unclenches her teeth a bit. She scans the crowd and sees that Kiet and Arawn is missing. Where did they get to? Smith jumps off his wagon and storms toward Z'leyra pointing a finger. "You had something to do with this I'm sure! Stealing my coin bag. I had a bag of gold." Z'leyra figures this is probably a lie replacing silver with gold. "If I find those kids I will-" "You'll do what?" Councilor Lental crosses her arm as she walks toward the house. Smith looks to the crowd forming and turns back. He glares at Z'leyra and gestures for Garr to join him. "Let's get this ..thing started." Deputy Tiesmorten looks to Z'leyra, "I'm afraid Councilor Ariestorn could not attend. The Resident called him to the palace due to the Sea Star rebels causing havoc in Donara. He needed some advice on things. Now, of the 22 seats in town only 9 are here in the city. The others are either in the province or traveling. Based on the 9 we quickly found I've been appointed in charge with help from Councilor Lental. Kiet and Arawn jog up the street and arrive just as the deputy finishes. Arawn sees now that all her friends are here. The deputy looks to Z'leyra, "do you wish to say something before the process begins?" Z'leyra steps forward into her yard and scans the crowd. She takes a deep breath and then begins. When folks have assembled at the remains of the workshop/ house Z'leyra holds up her hands for silence then states: "While I have suspicions about the cause of the fire that killed my father Tiren, I do not know what will be revealed when I cast the Akasha spell. To make the spell results visible to all, instead of a vision restricted to just the caster, I will first cast a Ward that will use a Major Illusion spell to reveal in somewhat transparent form whatever is seen by any Akasha spell cast in the area. Before each of these spells I will cast a Purification spell to improve the chance of the spell working and to decrease the possibility of an abysmal failure." Garr leans in to whisper to Martin a couple words. Too fast for any spell from Arawn to listen to. Martin nods and listens more to Z'leyra. "While important for the Ward and Major Illusion spells the Purification is vital for the Akasha spell as the books warn that ANY failure with the Akasha spell will be abysmal. Abysmal failures are known for a variety of unpleasant results, mostly dangerous to the caster. To get to the skill level I now have I have used both Purification spells and items I have enchanted to improve my ability to cast spells safely. Since Akasha is a Balance Magic spell and Balance Magic does not have the Illusion spells I will need to use magic from a different field of magic. So to demonstrate a breadth of knowledge, for the Ward I will use my shamanic drum to focus myself [at EL2] then go to the center of the area in question where I will cast a shamanic Purification [ELmax] followed by the shamanic Ward. Then I will put the Major Illusion that will show the Akasha revelations, into the Ward via the Sidh Elder version of the Major Illusion spell after I cast the appropriate Sidh Purification [ELmax]. I will then back out of the area and allow the Deputy and whoever he designates to examine the Ward. When they have had enough time to make their examination I will go back to the center, cast Balance Purification [ELmax] then cast the Akasha spell [EL7]. You are all invited to watch the results, but try not to obstruct the view of others. When looking into the past I will first glance through the last few days to see who has been to this site since I arrived and then I will backtrack the site to the time when the fire occurred. Then I will go a bit further back to see the origin and cause of the fire and what Tiren and anyone else present was doing at the time. I will then follow the scene until the fire is out and the neighbors have gathered." The deputy waits till she is done then speaks up. "You may be experienced in this spell. But there is no way to go back and forth. You only look at a set period. This is not a shifting scene." Martin grunts, "I object. To the illusion as it is a will directed spell. We can't be sure she doesn't just plant what she wants us to see." The deputy nods, "We call it self Directed Magic. Yes. There is bias. So it will not be allowed." This causes a gasp from the audience and Z'leyra to drop her jaw and stare. She begins to speak but the deputy raises a hand. "We deem it bias based on the legal principals around this investigation. However, we have an alternative. You will find out when we begin. We will see what is still there but in a different form." Martin first started to smile a bit then locks his jaw at this surprise. The deputy continues, "now the first thing we need to do is have you remove all your magic items and clothing. We have a new set of clothing inside. Councilor Lental and a constable will have to be present inside while you change." Z'leyra gives a hard stare. Then says. "I DO NOT agree with this restriction as the spell is a dangerous one to cast and disallowing help from enchanted items makes it vastly more dangerous...but will, under protest, go ahead having divested myself of all items of magic." Martin smiles a bit too widely as the deputy nods. The deputy replies, "Again magic items can taint any investigation. We do not allow students or those subject to possible criminal issues to use magic items. When we find students cheating in class we demand they show their skills, their mind and their will. If their own person can't show what we need to be done and they depend on items then we pass judgement quickly. " He turns to stare at the healer. "You have proven yourself worthy as a healer. Now you must prove yourself worthy a magician without help." "You may have five minutes with your people before we begin. We still need to set up here." The deputy waves to the house. [Time: 2:54 pm] Z'leyra goes to the party and begins to be filled on details Arawn, Fremea, Kiet and Kell have done. She learns the place is free of magic except her magical painting. She gulps at that as she forgot about that thing. It survived the fire and she may want it back. It shifts and shows her father, her grandfather, Tiren with her, pictures of her siblings and mother. All painted by a master at the Art school and given magic to shift the scenes. Z'leyra is quickly told by Kiet and Arawn of Garr and the strange man. [Time: 2:59 pm] In the yard two constables setup a pole that is 5 feet tall. At the top is a clear globe that has swirling dust of some sort. On the edge pointing in one direction is a arrow like a arrow tip. One constable tapes the top and arrow turns toward the party. The deputy nods, "this device is better calibrated than hand held ones. The last few hours we have scanned the grounds for magic, footprints and recent life signs. Aside from a item in the house we found no magic at all. We have been able to determine no magic in the last few days. We have found these people." He points to the party. "Were here yesterday." Martin begins to speak to this but is interrupted by the deputy. "A witness told us though that they never ventured into the workshop or house. They were as far as they are from it now. We have no evidence to suggest tampering of any kind. There are clearly signs of decay and abuse by animals and weather. But no human abuse at least recently." Two of the Constables begin to squirm and walk around the others. Fremea grins slightly at the fun she had with them. "First thing is for you to enter and change." The deputy points to the house. Z'leyra gets back slaps, taps on the hands and smiles of encouragement. She moves to the house with Councilor Lental and a male Constable. Inside Lental directs her to a basket and a change of clothing. "I'm sorry we do not have a female constable. But we had objections and at least one had to be present." Z'leyra begins to remove her clothing and magic items. Outside Deputy explains to the crowd. "Akasha is a very dangerous and powerful spell. It allows one person to see the past for a select time. It does not give any audio but in the mind's eye it does visuals while the caster is in their trance. We ask order and allow her to do her concentration. If there...is a issue with the spell our men will act accordingly." The party watches the Constables who are the only ones who have weapons in this area. All have swords or polearms but two have bows. Some suspect if her spell fails and starts to cause problems they may have to act. Z'leyra steps out in a black pants with tan tunic. She is given a sweater against the cold. She almost looks naked without her necklaces and other items. The councilor holds her drum. From her vantage point Z'leyra scans the crowd. She sees a lot more faces than where she was standing. In fact she is daunted by the number. There are 9 fields of the 22 here represented here. Councilors Artsain Walla, Uguld Marna, Curta Wrathbane, Heste Byrdie and Sister Fanya Lischsteinelder She is amazed by these new folks who were not at her lunch. She suspects maybe her Uncle might have some influence with Marna to get him here. Then behind her Lental and then of course Councilor Smith rounds the list. The Deputy represents also the magic school as well. The deputy points to a man, "Councilor Duke has appointed this man as the legal observer here in this situation." He points to a man in his mid 30s with balding red hair. "He is dean for the law school." There are teachers Lira Snethess, Yalenka Narda, Garr - not Garr Smith but another Gar from the Medical school and Lira Armanth. Of these people she hopes she does not disappoint these folks the most. Family members include her uncle and cousin Blager Armwrestle. She then realizes maybe its not her uncle but her Engineer cousin who might have influence. But she does not see her other cousin Lukra Harradra who maybe is off with her kids? She sees fellow ex-students Arloth Harradra, Fellow student Puul 'Legs' Faststitch and Carter Teamman. She stares though behind them stands one she was not expecting to see. She locks eyes with Hayna who quickly turns around and behind a constable. Is Hayna to see her defeat? The party sees the magic detector point toward Z'leyra and her drum which is closest to the pole. Councilor Lental raises the drum. "This is only a focus and we are assured no magic exists in it. A focus allows one to trance into her power and gain ability to cast magic better." She hands the drum to Z'leyra. Z'leyra looks to the house. She has not been inside for over two years until today. The workshop is to the left of the house and attached. The fire actually only burnt maybe 10% of the house. Thanks to the magical fire brigade they were able to douse it. The house itself is a simple one story 3 bedroom place. Compared to some councilors who upgraded to a two story 5 bedroom place. Tiren wanted to keep his house. But only Tiren's bedroom, parlor and storage room actually had damage. the workshop itself though is a total loss. The work area is 75 feet wide and 80 feet deep. Along the wall with the house was shelves lined with various tools from blacksmith, jewel craft and casual work tools from yard work to horse shoe repair. Those shelves are gone and Uncle did say the tools were sold once Z'leyra left the city. In the center of the room toward the back about 40 feet from the now destroyed doors is a large furnace/anvil setup that spans 12 feet by 15 feet. In practice two blacksmiths could be working here at any one time. But Tiren taught Z'leyra many nights here various techniques. Above the fireplace/anvil setup was a open hatch that could be opened to draw out smoke but the metal roof is now 80% destroyed. Her Uncle who now owns the place when Z'leyra turned over the papers to him said that he could've repaired it but last year when plans were made he wasn't sure he could resell the place so never repaired it. Plus he knew of her desire to return to do this very thing. Now the roof is wide open to the elements. The house roof has been repairs but the workshop shows pits and destroyed areas. In the back once was a wooden door to a shed out in the back yard. The shed still seems to be still around but empty per her uncle. On the back wall used to be two windows showing the back yard. She recalls years playing with Fisherking and looking inside to see Tiren work. Now the windows have no glass. On the left facing west to allow evening sun to filter in was a large wall. At least 40% of the wall was destroyed. It looks like there has been one minor repair here to place a timber to hold the section of 'roof' in that NW corner. On the west wall was a line of 3 long tables for working. Z'leyra had her table on the north side and Tiren the middle closest in the south. In between both shared workspace. Images flood her mind of countless hours in here. She recalls the first time she completed her first set of armor gauntlets for a merchant. She also recalls the time she made her first necklace for a librarian. This was her first great piece of work outside the classroom. Z'leyra could spend hours but she has folks waiting. She stares at the once great barn like doors. Now fully missing from the fire. Tiren would be sad to see such a disaster remain two years after his death. But she did ask to try to keep the place intact as is. At the time she did not understand that the spell would not need the physical things but the place. Now she does. She steps on a small mud pile and enters the shop. The tables on the left remain as they were very hard oak tables. The windows though in the west wall have no glass. The wizard feels naked without her wand, staff, ring and other things. She calculates her chances today. Back in school they taught some basic formulae for figuring this out. She was told it was not a perfect science as there are no 'levels' of technique just levels of magical energy. That creates hours of arguments. At her skill she estimates she has a 70% chance. With her skill with the spell maybe another 5-6%. With the purification maybe 20%. That still gives her maybe at worst a 5% chance of failure. She wishes she had her staff. The deputy steps up and pulls a item from his pouch. He presents it to the audience in the distance. It is a head band the color of dark blue. In the center is a clear white gem maybe a diamond? Around the gem is a silver circle. Around the headband that wraps around the head are runes. He speaks up so to be heard by all, "this item was created 150 odd years ago by a Dream Master. He was a healer who used dream magic to heal mental issues. It stores up to six hours of dreams or memories into the gem. What you see in your trance can't be embellished but when you will a illusion it can be. Thus this will read exactly what you feel and see The council decades ago approved this compared to illusions. Once your trance is over I will place the gem into a talisman which can then show that info in a illusion for us all to see. Arawn watches Martin Smith shift from foot to foot not liking this new thing. But he has heard of it before it seems. So does not say anything. The headband is placed on Z'leyra's head. The deputy speaks softly, "do not express as much emotion as you can. Emotions can drown out the results. I'm sorry to say you must be objective even as you see your father die. Is this understood?" Z'leyra nods and steps further inside the shop. The audience tries to get a better view. The deputy explains she will be allowed to purify the ground to improve her chances. It will only improve her casting chance not her results. The law dean agrees to this. She casts the purification spell and glances back at the Sidh for a slight nod to show it seems to have gone on. The magic detector also seems to indicate this as it spins a few times then points to the shop as the change in magic energy. Z'leyra knows she can't scan up and own the past at will at her skill. Maybe when she's a master. But for now she can only see 70 minutes of time during the day of Tiren's death. After last night she knows she is on the border line of the time at the exact limit of her current skill to look back at that time. It will mean going back to the furthest her spell can allow. But she will only be able to see 70 minutes. Centering herself she speaks the words to tap the history of the workshop. From reports she believes it happened around 2:15 in the afternoon. So she will have to start at 3:40 and end viewing at 4:50. If she is to cast more it will cost more spells and time. She casts the spell and enters the trance. [Time: 3:09 pm] Z'leyra activates the spell and the gem begins to glow a bright white. She becomes one with the place feeling the ground, air and things all around her. It is as if she is a part of each of the things around the place. She begins to move in her trance forward moving around the fire pit to ensure she can see all views. [Time: 3:13 pm] With a gasp she breaks the trance and becomes conscious which stops the gem recording. She tries to recall what she heard but going back 2.5 years takes a bit of energy from her and she needs a few seconds to build the memory to recall it fully. The deputy walks forward to collect the headband as the others like the Smiths watch carefully. He places it into a square talisman. He places the talisman on the ground near the magic detector and taps the head twice. The scene starts of white static. Then it shows the destroyed shop. It quickly dissolves and blurs. Lights begin to flash as if the day and night past quickly. In a blink of an eye the shop is shown in its former glory. The illusion which covers the entire yard shows the displaced workshop now in front of them. Some in the audience have to step back to avoid the illusion. The necklace given to Arawn to hold has to be placed with Corona to not disrupt the illusion. It shows Tiren working at his desk on a dagger that must be Kamerian. A large notebook sits besides it with some tools and a mug of tea. To those who have no seen the man he is robust in his early 50s. But physically he looks in his early 30s. He is fit with a large beard and when he turns a striking green eyes. There is a scar on his left arm which Z'leyra explained awhile back happened on travels to the Kamera lands from a wild mountain cat. Z'leyra always offered to treat it but he felt it was a scar of honor. The man continues to read his book. Some try to squint and read his notes but the spell seems to blur the details. But the shadow of the sun through the window makes it hard to read at this angle. At one point Tiren moves to the fire pit and begins to hammer on a long piece of gold and silver to stir into into a mix of metal. He lets the metal heat and soften the metal. In the west window a eagle flies back and Z'leyra gasps as she just saw Fisherking. But the illusion does not show him again. What seems like 10 or 15 minutes pass as Tiren works back and forth. Then Tiren turns to the barn sized doors. He head to open it and the illusion does not seem to penetrate the outside well creating a blur. There is no sound but Tiren steps back and smiles. He heads to the fire pit and motions for the person to enter. A man appears and steps in but no one but Arawn seems to recognize him. The man begins to wave his hand and start quickly. If only there was sound. The man dressed like a merchant with nice tunics and gray pants moves toward Tiren but Tiren raises a hand as if to argue a point. Tiren shakes his head and motions for the man to leave. Soon the man does indeed leave. Tiren looks out the south window and turns around to tap the metal a few times to ensure it becomes soft. You can see anger drain from his face. Then Tiren heads to the wall to get a pick that is used to pry gems. He turns and steps back when he sees a person at the door. Tiren smiles and walks forward and begins to point to the metal and the dagger on the desk. Then the person steps forward into the illusion and the audience gasps. All eyes turn to Z'leyra. The person moves toward Tiren and hugs Tiren. Tiren then moves to the desk to turn his notebook to a page and he begins to talk about something. As Tiren turns his back the person draws a blade and taps the back of his head knocking him out. Z'leyra never checked the body for this damage as it was badly burnt and the healers figured it was from when he fell into the firepit. Tiren staggers back into he anvil and falls against it and to the ground. The person then grabs the dagger and tosses into the molten fire to scrag it. Then the person takes the notebook and with other notes the person found somewhere tosses it into the fire. It becomes flames instantly. The person steps to the door and looks out. Then moves to the back door. The person then looks back and begins to pull one of the cabinets toward the anvil. The person lifts it up into the pit and it begins to smolder. The person then shuts the skylight and closes the front door. Then draw a pouch draws a large flask of oil. The person then dots a line of what must be oil from the fire pit toward the nearest wood source the wall of shelves. The person then heads to the back door. The audience stares as the female moves hair from her eyes. She is dressed in green tunics with a brown vest. She has a nicely made brown belt with black pants. She has a backpack on and a pouch. The female then exits the back door. Within moments the fire of the cabinet burns and it starts to fall apart. The oil draws the flames up and down the wall. The roof catches on fire and soon the west wall. Within what must be 10 minutes the barn doors are starting to burn. Z'leyra stares as a section of burning roof falls on her dad. Tears begin to stream from her face. Toward the end of the duration of the spell the illusion shows three men in red burst in with large long polearms that begin to spout magical foam. From the sky a storm is produced by some unknown wizard to douse the fires. But it is too late. The heat of the fire has destroyed the shop. Martin and Garr Smith smile. The deputy steps forward as the illusion ends. "Z'leyra daughter of Tiren. You are hereby under arrest for the murder of your father." Two of her fellow students yell out. "Not true! She was at school." "We shall determine this. But clearly that was you that killed your father. Unless you have a person who just looks like you then we have no choice. Constables remove her drum and bond her." The party begins to move forward in protest when a woman begins to scream from the west. As two constables bring a set of cuffs to arrest Z'leyra all but these 2 constables turn to stare. Down the street in the west a woman is waving her arms and screaming. "Help! Help!" The woman in her late 40s finally gets nearby and begins to gasp for air. "She's dead! The lady is dead I was visiting to bring her a new set of sewing yarn and found her dead." Councilor Lental asks, "who?" "Poor Poorda!" Z'leyra stares at the ground. She knows she was at the school. Who saw her? She would never dress in green as it was not her color. Well maybe she has a few times but not often. What could this all mean? Councilor Smith steps forward, "we must arrest all these of her friends as well. They are new here and at least one was in restricted areas." He looks at Arawn. "We must not let her friends roam freely until we can investigate this fully." The audience looks around at the six constables who look at the deputy as he considers this. The deputy looks to Lental. She nods grimly. "I'm afraid this is bad timing for all. A full investigation will need to be done. If it can't be proven that she was at school and what we just saw is not her then she could see the severe punishmetn of our laws. Including a very long jail term. Killing a councilor is serious business. You, friends of her will need to be our guests until we can resolve this." Actions? Comments? Next Update....Monday??? GM: IT is finally known. This has been planned for over a year so if you think I changed it nope. The clues have been there before day 1 started. Yes day 1. So was it worth it? :) I took some liberties with Fremea, Arawn, Kell and Kiet. If you don't agree with those actions let me know. This would include the inviso spells. I figured you would need them. The dwarves made a mistake in dictation in 39 or 40. I had a scene where I told about a orange/red vase in Poorda's place. But I can't find it. So I guess It was not documented. I've beat the dwarves a bit for it. So sorry Kiet for that. I was going to do this into 2 updates but oh well. This one took 20 or so hours. I had a different vision for this entire ending but with the party all here I could not do that to make a nice cliff hanger. So I redid it. Not as dramatic but fun. GM: Arawn - See email. :) I figured after 6-7 recasts you would need to stop and try plan 2 on chasing Martin. Fremea Guess missed my note last update. What about that wand purchase? GM: bounces - Still get bounces from 2-3 people every so often. Ensure you read the update #s so you can at least ensure you don't miss a update. You can also use website if lose track if the updates do not come to you due to your isp bouncing the emails. GM: Will update experience on spells cast soon. Consider this the Friday update. I MAY do more work Saturday or Monday night. But if not enough stuff to do I'll work on next update either Monday night or Wednesday afternoon.