(IC) Lost in Dreams (Julian)

[TGLS]

Originally Posted by ericthered

Brog: "I haven't seen them. why are you looking for them? Who are they?"

Well, I'll give most of the truth. They probably wouldn't believe, "I saw it in a dream", so I'll just say, "I saw them talking about a plan to attack Bumundo."

[21] 22-06-30 19:51:24 CEST
Fast-Talk
3d6 <= 12
5 + 2 + 1 = 8 ... success

Originally Posted by ericthered

Ump, Rails, and Yip haven't seen the two either.

Oh well. Beardo probably isn't even in Bumundo.

Originally Posted by ericthered

The Kapatas looks at the paper. "What? Why? Who? No, can't say I've seen them."

"Can't or won't?"

I'll probably have to ask a lot of people before I get anywhere.

Originally Posted by ericthered

Sacks... The only gurps sack I can find is a $30 dollar sack from DF1. You can find a good sized basket for 1L though.

Well, let's grab a basket then. (1L 15s)

Originally Posted by ericthered

Asking around, the pole-sellers are usually here, but haven't been the last week. Probably part of the increased security. They'll be back "when the alert is over" with an extra-large supply.

Probably won't want to buy poles after they do come back either. On the other hand, I could probably make a killing being the only seller of poles in the area. On the other, other hand, that would probably run afoul of the guards, whoever's willing to pay a crazy sum for a pole is probably not going to do anything good with them, and it would be so conspicuous that only an idiot wouldn't be able to link "the only kid selling poles" with "missing spears".

Maybe I should just dump the poles over the edge and be done with it.

Originally Posted by ericthered

There are 12 stones lighting the room with the big stone. And 12 platforms the same shape and size as the large stone.

That's five or seven over. So it can't be that...

Maybe I'm thinking about this the wrong way, maybe they aren't talking about stones around Bumundo, but stones around the top? Each community would need to have it's own stone to get here, right? So maybe 'twenty stones' is a way to refer to the communities around The Top that were founded by people from The Bottom?

Or maybe it refers to twenty soldiers. Surely they wouldn't be waiting very long once they got their whole arsenal together.

To Do List
- Work at the mines [Done for today]
- Get a sack to move the knives more efficiently (?)
- Check again to see if there are any pole sellers
- Untie/cut off the knives from the poles
- Sell the knives to the knife merchant, hopefully without getting the guards involved.
- Work on identifying the people in my dream
- Count the number of Vasic stones used in the teleporter complex (there are multiple stones used to push off enemies, right?)
- Ask around to see if "twenty stones" means anything to anyone.
- Decide what to do with all these poles

Right, with my new basket in hand, I'll head back to that spot in the tunnel and dig out all those spears. Then I'll dismantle them and toss the knives into the basket. After I take off all the knives, I'll return the poles to the spot I hid them in.

[Not sure if another camouflage roll is called for here, doing it anyway.]

[22] 22-06-30 20:21:44 CEST
Camouflage by Default
3d6 <= 9
5 + 5 + 4 = 14 ... failure

Then it's back up to the market to sell off all these knives. I imagine the knife merchant wasn't expecting sixteen knives, so I probably won't get 64L, but I'll still try to negotiate around that figure.

[23] 22-06-30 20:26:30 CEST
Gesture
3d6 <= 13
1 + 3 + 2 = 6 ... success
[24] 22-06-30 20:26:38 CEST
Linguistics
3d6 <= 12
1 + 4 + 1 = 6 ... success
[25] 22-06-30 20:26:56 CEST
Merchant
3d6 <= 10
3 + 6 + 2 = 11 ... failure

Guess I'm not getting that much, but this is a good chunk of change.

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by TGLS

Well, I'll give most of the truth. They probably wouldn't believe, "I saw it in a dream", so I'll just say, "I saw them talking about a plan to attack Bumundo."

Ump: "Really! you saw them! here? or before you came here?!"

"Can't or won't?"

"I can not. I have not seen them. Good work on the language, son. keep it up."

Well, let's grab a basket then. (1L 15s)

Basket!

Right, with my new basket in hand, I'll head back to that spot in the tunnel and dig out all those spears. Then I'll dismantle them and toss the knives into the basket. After I take off all the knives, I'll return the poles to the spot I hid them in.

Julian loosens the knife blades. They've been taken out of their handles and pounded into the poles, then the poles reinforced with twine. Taking the knives out of the poles is a lot of work... about an hour for 16 spears.

Then it's back up to the market to sell off all these knives. I imagine the knife merchant wasn't expecting sixteen knives, so I probably won't get 64L, but I'll still try to negotiate around that figure.

The knife merchant stares at the basket of handle-free knives.

"16? No Handles? I can give you 40 coin for all of them. Its what I have!"

After some arguing, Julian leaves with 44L 9s for the knives. Alternatively, he offers 40L and a knife with an actual handle... which is worth more in total. Knives are generally 8L.

[TGLS]

Originally Posted by ericthered

Ump: "Really! you saw them! here? or before you came here?!"

"When I was wandering around yesterday, spotted them in an out of the way tunnel."

Originally Posted by ericthered

"I can not. I have not seen them. Good work on the language, son. keep it up."

Out of curiosity, what's Julian's Riask at now? Broken? Or still at 'below broken'?

Originally Posted by ericthered

Julian loosens the knife blades. They've been taken out of their handles and pounded into the poles, then the poles reinforced with twine. Taking the knives out of the poles is a lot of work... about an hour for 16 spears.

I suppose if I cut off the tops of the spears those would be too clumsy to use as a handle.

Originally Posted by ericthered

After some arguing, Julian leaves with 44L 9s for the knives. Alternatively, he offers 40L and a knife with an actual handle... which is worth more in total. Knives are generally 8L.

I'll accept 40L and a knife (40L 15s). I'm not actually sure what I could do with a knife; maybe cut my way through vegetation? Cut ropes? Whittle the poles into spoons or something? That could be a good way to use up all that wood... The obvious answer of what to do with a knife makes me feel a little sick. Her surprised, dead eyed expression-- best not to think of it.

To Do List
- Work at the mines [Done for today]
- Untie/cut off the knives from the poles
- Sell the knives to the knife merchant, hopefully without getting the guards involved.
- Work on identifying the people in my dream
- Ask around to see if "twenty stones" means anything to anyone.
- Decide what to do with all these poles.

I think I'll go get one of the poles and bring it back to the vegetative cave to whittle it down or something. Then I'll ask Ump & co. if "twenty stones" has some kind of special meaning.

Not sure what to roll for whittling; low-tech mentions carpentry for making wooden keys, age of sail pirates mentions artist... I'll go with artist; Julian's going for a nice looking carving, and doesn't really have anything specific in mind.

[26] 22-07-01 20:29:00 CEST
Artist (Woodworking) by default
3d6 <= 7
4 + 2 + 2 = 8 ... failure

Oh well. It's just to kill time really.

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by TGLS

"When I was wandering around yesterday, spotted them in an out of the way tunnel."

Ump: "So the attack is real! you've got to go tell my Dad! Or maybe not... Rail's Step-Dad. That's probably best."

Out of curiosity, what's Julian's Riask at now? Broken? Or still at 'below broken'?

Broken. Which is better than the gesturing kid that was hired about ten days back.

I suppose if I cut off the tops of the spears those would be too clumsy to use as a handle.

Not terrible handles... but it would be a LOT of work to cut them off with nothing but their own blades.

I'll accept 40L and a knife (40L 15s). I'm not actually sure what I could do with a knife; maybe cut my way through vegetation? Cut ropes? Whittle the poles into spoons or something? That could be a good way to use up all that wood... The obvious answer of what to do with a knife makes me feel a little sick. Her surprised, dead eyed expression-- best not to think of it.

Knife: improvised tool for almost any low-tech skill. Though Peter would get that a lot better than Julian.

I think I'll go get one of the poles and bring it back to the vegetative cave to whittle it down or something. Then I'll ask Ump & co. if "twenty stones" has some kind of special meaning.

"Twenty stones? That could be talking about rocks, it could be talking about vasic, or it could be talking about time."

Not sure what to roll for whittling; low-tech mentions carpentry for making wooden keys, age of sail pirates mentions artist... I'll go with artist; Julian's going for a nice looking carving, and doesn't really have anything specific in mind.

Carpentry or artist will both work: artist is probably more relevant. I think this falls under the category of "practice".

[TGLS]

Originally Posted by ericthered

Ump: "So the attack is real! you've got to go tell my Dad! Or maybe not... Rail's Step-Dad. That's probably best."

"Why Rails's Step-Dad?"
Then I'll agree to tell Rails's Step-Dad about this. I suppose I might get pressed for details, and I'll mention that the Bearded man wasn't physically in the tunnels, but seen through... something.

I really hope I'm not getting who's in Bumundo and who's outside it backwards.

Originally Posted by ericthered

Not terrible handles... but it would be a LOT of work to cut them off with nothing but their own blades.

Yeah, it's probably better to save the time and effort and miss out on 24L.

Originally Posted by ericthered

Knife: improvised tool for almost any low-tech skill. Though Peter would get that a lot better than Julian.

Hm. About the only skills I could see Julian using a knife with on his sheet are Knife (duh), Lockpicking, and Traps. And the last two are way over in the tech department.

Originally Posted by ericthered

"Twenty stones? That could be talking about rocks, it could be talking about vasic, or it could be talking about time."

Is a stone like an hour or a day?

"Where would there be twenty vasic?"

Originally Posted by ericthered

Carpentry or artist will both work: artist is probably more relevant. I think this falls under the category of "practice".

Practice, destroy spear shafts, something to keep the busy besides tossing coins around, maybe an alternative to working in the mine one day...

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by TGLS

"Why Rails's Step-Dad?"

Ump: "You heard my dad. He doesn't think the invasion is real at all! Brog's the man of the house, and Yip's dad is off on one of his trips. That leaves Rail's step dad."

Hm. About the only skills I could see Julian using a knife with on his sheet are Knife (duh), Lockpicking, and Traps. And the last two are way over in the tech department.

Julian is by nature better with tech than Peter, who is a child of the wilderness, while Julian is rather urban.

Is a stone like an hour or a day?

Its the length of time a light stone lasts... about two hours. A days work in the mines is four stones. the time from getting up one morning to getting up another is 10 stones.

"Where would there be twenty vasic?"

Rails: "I see 20 stones in the mines all the time... but that's just a basket of light stones. I don't know of anywhere in Bumundo that would have 20 stones worth talking about."


Yip: "Tiskar famously has 21 stones in its platform... but you said they are talking about Bumundo."

Then I'll agree to tell Rails's Step-Dad about this. I suppose I might get pressed for details, and I'll mention that the Bearded man wasn't physically in the tunnels, but seen through... something.

Nanak, Rail's stepfather, is a tall and thin man with three haphazard scars on his left cheek.



"You drew this from memory? You heard them talking about an attack? or you guessed?"

[TGLS]

Originally Posted by ericthered

Ump: "You heard my dad. He doesn't think the invasion is real at all! Brog's the man of the house, and Yip's dad is off on one of his trips. That leaves Rail's step dad."

"You're right, that makes sense."

Originally Posted by ericthered

Its the length of time a light stone lasts... about two hours. A days work in the mines is four stones. the time from getting up one morning to getting up another is 10 stones.

So the prospective date of the attack would be the 12th or the 13th. Assuming taking away those spears doesn't cause them a problem.

Originally Posted by ericthered

Rails: "I see 20 stones in the mines all the time... but that's just a basket of light stones. I don't know of anywhere in Bumundo that would have 20 stones worth talking about."

Yip: "Tiskar famously has 21 stones in its platform... but you said they are talking about Bumundo."

"They did mention Tiskara too, but why would they get the number wrong?"

I think about the difference in sound between Twenty and Twenty-One. Maybe I'm the one who is wrong?

Originally Posted by ericthered

Nanak, Rail's stepfather, is a tall and thin man with three haphazard scars on his left cheek.

Does it look like he shaved recently?

Originally Posted by ericthered

"You drew this from memory? You heard them talking about an attack? or you guessed?"

"Yeah, I drew it from memory. I'll admit that it was too hard to follow exactly what they were saying, but they kept repeating some words: 'Bumundo', 'Spears', and 'Surprise'. It's not a big leap to imagine that someone who keeps talking about spears and surprise is up to no good. Unless spear themed surprise parties are common around here."

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by TGLS

So the prospective date of the attack would be the 12th or the 13th. Assuming taking away those spears doesn't cause them a problem.

yes.

"They did mention Tiskara too, but why would they get the number wrong?"

"Maybe they're doing something with stone 20? but then why would Bumundo come up?"

I think about the difference in sound between Twenty and Twenty-One. Maybe I'm the one who is wrong?

No, it was clearly twenty and not twenty one.

Does it look like he shaved recently?

No, but you can see the scars through and above his beard.

"Yeah, I drew it from memory. I'll admit that it was too hard to follow exactly what they were saying, but they kept repeating some words: 'Bumundo', 'Spears', and 'Surprise'. It's not a big leap to imagine that someone who keeps talking about spears and surprise is up to no good. Unless spear themed surprise parties are common around here."

"Spear Themed Parties are not common." He scowls.


"Where in the tunnels did you see this? We need to be sure before we attract any attention to ourselves."

[TGLS]

Originally Posted by ericthered

"Maybe they're doing something with stone 20? but then why would Bumundo come up?"

"Maybe the attacker's from within Tiskara? Maybe they plan to send reinforcements through stone 20?"

Originally Posted by ericthered

No, it was clearly twenty and not twenty one.

This probably isn't the time to be doubting myself anyway.

Originally Posted by ericthered

No, but you can see the scars through and above his beard.

Ok, so he isn't the guy I saw in my dream. That'd be awkward.

Originally Posted by ericthered

"Spear Themed Parties are not common." He scowls.

I should probably check my humor. To me this is novel and interesting. To them, I'm joking about while there's a terror attack imminent.

Originally Posted by ericthered

"Where in the tunnels did you see this? We need to be sure before we attract any attention to ourselves."

Um...
"I went through a lot of tunnels, I don't remember which."

[27] 22-07-13 01:50:31 CEST
Fast-Talk
3d6 <= 12
5 + 1 + 5 = 11 ... success

I really should try to figure out where the conversation took place before continuing. So assuming this is the conclusion, I guess it's a good time to wander around looking. On the other hand I saw everything from the other end, so it'll be pretty hard to do that.

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by TGLS

"Maybe the attacker's from within Tiskara? Maybe they plan to send reinforcements through stone 20?"

Yip: "If they can send troops through Tiskara, they don't need the ones hiding up here. Tiskara is the city they'd worry about trying to keep us"

Um...
"I went through a lot of tunnels, I don't remember which."

Rails Step Dad: "I don't want to report the information without at least that. Can you figure it out? do you know the direction you went, at least?"

I really should try to figure out where the conversation took place before continuing. So assuming this is the conclusion, I guess it's a good time to wander around looking. On the other hand I saw everything from the other end, so it'll be pretty hard to do that.

Yeah, your chances of recognizing where "thin man" was are pretty low.


Any stratedgy to how he looks?