[Last Time, on El WHAT?!: The group was patiently waiting in the stands for Tithian to give his speech when Shiho plushified, getting them all arrested for using defiling magic in the city. Luckily, Tithian turned out to actually be the old school brain, Brian Nowack, and he came to offer the group a job as his personal agents. He took them to his personal rooms and let them stay the night, and much information was exchanged.] [We open the next morning, when everybody is awoken by the flashing light of Shiho deplushifying, leaving her lying on top of Amy, who just had to sleep with the cute little plushie.] [Session Start] Shiho! Waa! * Shiho blinks and looks around. "...Huh?" * Cara looks over and sees Shiho lying facedown on top of Amy, in a position that will inspire much ecchi fanart and doujinshi. (we hope) * Shiho rolls off of Amy. * Ichi starts and rolls off his couch. "Itai!' * Cara hops out of bed. * Daphne looks up, blinking blearily. "Oh. Hi, Shiho." * Shiho lands on the floor, presumeably. "Gah. I'd ask what happened, but I think I can guess." Welcome back Shiho. ^_^ Well, you can prolly guess some of it, anyway. I can guess what happened to me. * Cara hugs Shiho. "Weweresoscaredweweregonnaloseyou!" * Shiho looks around. "Where are we? Did you find an inn?" Wah! * Ichi sits up. "I've forgotten how to sleep on a bed." We're in the palace of Tyr. How do you forget how to sleep on a bed? It's the same as sleeping anywhere else. What's going on? Why are we here? And what's this about losing me? No, cause when I roll over on the ground I don't fall off. Yes, but the ground is more comfy anyway. * Cara hasn't let Shiho go yet. Remember the new king Tithian? The guy whose speech we distinctly failed to see? * Shiho looks down at Cara. "Erm, you can let go now." She looks back to Daphne. "What about him?" He looked like Brian. Don't remember anything after that. * Daphne reaches down to fumble through her stuff for some liquor she stashed. "He is Brian." * Cara lets go and backs up, slightly embarassed. "Eheheh. Sorry." * Daphne comes up with some fermented kank nectar. He is? What's he doing here? * Daphne uncaps the bottle. "He came here -- get this. Ten years ago, by his reconning. Since then he's become a really, really powerful fellow." * Cara nods. Ten...? Hmm... Something like that, yeah. He came to see us after we got arrested when you plushified. He didn't look ten years older. When you turned into a plushy, they thought we cast a defiling spell and they were gonna take you away and execute us! * Shiho looks at Cara. "Were going to? They're not still planning on it, I hope." * Cara shakes her head. "Nono, Br-er, Tithian saved us." * Rocky is here too, in case nobody noticed. * Amy yawns and continues to try to wake up. * Daphne has a drink and becomes happy. ^_^ That explains why we're in the palace. He's gonna fake our execution somehow, then he wants us to work for him. * Rocky ties some knots in Amy's hair. Doing what? What she said. I dunno. Secret agent stuff, or something. * Shiho frowns and sits down. "Hmm... Can't say I like this much." * Ichi sits on the couch he just fell off of. "He wasn't very specific, and then he left in a big hurry." Did he say why he hadn't aged? My guess would be magic. Well, he's got this huge ring of magic trees around his palace...he's probably found some immortality spell or something. No... * Tithian walks in the door. * Daphne recaps the bottle and lies back on her bed. "Hm? No what?" Couldn't be right. We saw him on that day before... Actually, it's the Way. * Shiho looks up. * Cara blinks at Tithian. "The Way? What Way?" * Tithian looks at Shiho. Hello Bri.. err, Tithian. ^_^ * Tithian looks away. * Daphne leans her head forward so she can see Tithian a bit, and then sits up again. "Hey, T." The way? The Way, Ichi. It's kinda like the Force, but it's all internal. Which way izzat? * Shiho stands back up. "What do you mean by that?" * Daphne grins. Total mastery of the body, mind, and soul. Wow. * Rocky hops over to Daphne and points left. * Daphne scratches Rocky behind the ears. Wow... Sounds like a keen deal. That explains very little. Yes... ten years of unceasing study, and in exchange, I don't age. When did you have ten years to study? So.. like school, but you get a bonus of immortality at the end? It's been ten years for me, Shiho. Ten long, hard years. I... don't think I could study the same thing for 10 years... Can't be right. We saw you before... Unless... I told you, Shiho. I haven't aged. As soon as I learned how, I turned back the clock on my body to my prime age. Then I just... froze it in place. That still doesn't explain it. Shiho, probably some worlds move at different speeds. But that wouldn't change the rate one ages, Cara. He figured out how to reverse his age. Weren't you listening? ^^;; * Shiho looks for the ceiling for a minute before adding, "Unless it's just magic." * Tithian grins. No, it's not magic. Magic and the Way are two separate forces. Magic is external, the Way is internal. Then how does that explain our situation? What's the ..oh. Is the Way anything like psychic stuff? Yes, yes it is. Oh. Telekinesis, clairvoyance, biofeedback... all these are possible and more. * Daphne grimaces, uncaps her bottle again, and has another swig. It still doesn't explain it. We saw you in school. Couldn't have been more than a year ago. So, Shiho, how'd we get here? * Cara shrugs. "Sixth months passed for us on the world we went to, ten years passed on this world. Maybe only a day has passed back home. Who knows?" Time moves at a different pace here Shiho. It's simple. ^_^ It's not. If time moved that much slower here, people would age slower. At least, logically... * Cara scratches her head. "I don't think you get it, Shiho." * Tithian finally turns to face Shiho again, with an irritated look on his face. No, no Shiho. Time moves differently here from the last place we were. You're not a temporal mechanic, don't try to be one. You're applying Earth logic to it. We're not on Earth anymore. ^^; It's really easy to understand. ^_^ * Ichi has long ago decided that this whole thing is over his head and is idly watching the others sort it out. * Shiho sighs. "Nevermind." * Daphne shakes her head and has another swig. * Daphne re-caps the bottle, and re-stashes it in her bag. So, what's up, Tithian? I don't guess you came to tell us about the workings of the universe, an' all that? No, I came to see if you're ready to start work. Already? What is it that you want us to do? * Daphne shrugs. "So, we get on-the-job training, or what?" * Daphne grins. "Or do we just get to figure it out as we go?" Your first assignment is to learn. You're going back to school. While I'm impressed at your survival of the Great Waste, there are still things you need to learn. Athas is a harsh world. ... School? It sure is. * Cara nods. "Yes, it's nasty." * Ichi just nods. So your first 'job' is to train in whatever area you choose. I can probably reccommend trainers, if you need them, and sometimes I can even supply them directly. Uh.. that doesn't sound too bad. Works for me. * Cara nods. "Okay." That sounds good. * Shiho shrugs. * Tithian goes back to not looking at Shiho. He looks at all the other girls, instead. * Daphne raises an eyebrow. Hm...I wanna learn about that psi stuff... * Shiho frowns at that. * Tithian blinks. Anything else you got planned, boss? I want to learn more about Druiding. ^_^ Are you sure? I was sure you'd want to learn how not to defile the plants around you when you used your magic. Well, that too, but... * Ichi thinks. I suppose my archery could use some work. There's so much to learn here... Well, I seem to be good at beating people up, so I might as well stick with it. I guess I should learn how not to defile first, though. I guess I'll take the 'How not to defile' one. * Tithian looks over at Ichi. ...I'd never have taken you for a mage of any sort. I know very little, but it has proven usefull. * Tithian snickers. I should have known. * Daphne smirks. So somebody taught you a spell or two? Yes. Yeah, Itchy knows how to use magic with his sword! I'll just bet. Fine. I'll do my best to teach you. If I can't get it through your head, nobody can. ... * Cara thinks. "Um. These people who would teach us...they know how to teach sorcerors, right?" Thankyou Sensei. I can't see how there would be any difference, Cara. * Daphne snickers to herself and shakes her head. No? * Tithian turns to face Daphne, but has trouble keeping his eyes on her face. They couldn't teach me anything in Colorford, cause they had wizards there, not sorcerors... Um... if you really want to learn how to fight... I'd suggest the colliseum. Any fighter of note will stop there, if only to earn a little cash. If you can get a chance, try to talk to either Gorbach or Rikus. Gorbach's better if you're an unarmed fighter, Rikus if you're armed. * Daphne grins at Tithin. "Sure thing, boss." * Rocky stands near Daphne, puts up his paws and shadow-boxes. * Tithian blinkblinks at Rocky. Rather intelligent for a raccoon. * Daphne nods. "Gorbach, right. He's the giant what won at the tourney before your speech, right?" * Tithian nods. Uh.. do you know any Druids who could train me Bri.. Tithian? * Daphne grins some more at Rocky. There are several druids around here, actually. If you're up for a journey, you can go back to the only decent oasis in the Great Waste. You probably noticed it on your way here. They...don't like us there. There are two within the valley itself, but one of them is on a Wandering right now. The other guards a small spring and the surrounding forest, just this side of the mountains. I think we met that fellow.. he didn't seem to like us. * Amy thinks. Druids are generally welcome wherever they care to travel, even in the lands of the Sorceror Kings. Yeah...he chased us off, cause he said we were defilers. We hadn't even done anything yet. Has he stopped honoring the treaty? He didn't seem the type to break it... Who are the Sorceror Kings? He said WE broke the treaty, I think... * Tithian ignores Ichi, concentrating on Cara. How? All the treaty requires visitors to do is stay in the main spring area. * Shiho stands silent, looking none too pleased. Well, we kinda wandered around in the bushes... Uhm. I think I was a doll during that episode. Amy wanted to find the call of the wild that was there. Then you broke the treaty. Well, you're still alive, so we'll see what happens. What's done is done. We didn't know we weren't supposed to leave the spring. * Cara frowns sadly. In any case... Cara... and Ichi... will be coming with me. Daphne, you'll be at the colliseum? Amy, will you be going to meet with that druid, or will you be doing something else? * Daphne nods. "Yup. Will the fighters there be willing to train me just for the heck of it, or do I need money, or some proof of your kingly will?" Oh.. I guess I'll go and try to meet the Druid. They probably won't actually train you. All you'll need to do is show up, sign up for a fight or two, and work your way up the ranks. If you get a chance to talk to Gorbach, you can try asking him to train you. Very well. * Daphne frowns. "Ah. Training the hard way, then." * Tithian turns back to Shiho. And you. You haven't heard my offer, let alone agreed to it. What offer would that be? Your friends have already accepted. I want you all to be my... agents would be the best word. In return, you'll recieve food, housing, pay, and access to training. You'll go places myself and my templars cannot go, and do things we cannot do. Like what? Like retrieval of items, investigation of ruins, and various other things. Also in return, I will be devoting my own resources to finding a way to get you off of this world. Your friends can tell you that my resources are... formidible. * Cara nodnods. Yeah... * Daphne nods. You're not looking for a way to leave, yourself, I take it? Why would I want to? * Shiho shrugs. "Guess it's not such a bad place if you're the king." * Cara giggles. * Daphne grins. "It's good ta be da king." But what about your family? * Ichi nods. See, that is what I asked Shiho.. My family probably hasn't even noticed I'm gone yet. * Tithian looks vaguely irritated now. I guess I don't really have a choice. But I do have a condition. Speak it. * Daphne raises an eyebrow at Shiho. * Cara blinks at Shiho. * Shiho leans in and whispers to Brian. * Daphne frowns. * Tithian blinks. Very well. I agree. * Cara pouts. "How come we don't get to hear?" * Shiho nod. "Alright. Where can I find someone to train me in archery?" * Ichi wonders what the condition is but doesn't say anything. * Tithian flinches. It would just figure you're an archer. Stick with what you know, after all. * Cara goes from pouting to looking confused. * Daphne frowns more. * Shiho nods. "That's the plan." * Ichi looks lost and confused. I suggest you check in the Elven district. Go well armed, and keep your pursestrings inside your belt. Very well. Where are they? If you don't want to deal with the elves, which I heartily reccommend, I suggest you go to the colliseum. I warn you, if you try to strike a deal with an elf, make it specific. If you leave any wiggle room, the elves will take you for everything you have and give nothing in return. I'll keep that in mind. Anythin' else? * Cara sighs, since it's apparent Shiho isn't going to fill them in. No. I suggest you disperse now to seek out your training. Cara, Ichi, come with me. Okay. I have some time now, so your training will begin immediately. * Daphne nods, stands, and heads for the door, claping Tithian on the shoulder as she goes. "Catch ya later, T." * Tithian nods at Daphne. * Ichi stands up and grabs his good sword. "OK." * Tithian takes a rough grip on Ichi's shoulder, and a much more tender grip on Cara's shoulder, and in a flash of light and psionics, they're gone. [Session Continued Elsewhere]