(Because SUCCESSOR brought my mistake to my attention, he gets top order in this fixer update)
@SUCCESSOR
Reven, Telivar slides a SMALL LEATHER POUCH across the desk and asks you to pick it up.
"Well, you may not be a dragonslayer but you do wander a lot. Perhaps this will interest you."
You pick up the pouch. It doesn't appear to be anything out of the ordinary, until you reach inside and see your hand pop out from an identical pouch on the desk.
"That's a MAGIC ARTIFACT that I made. Part of a set, actually. It lets me pass small things back and forth to my subcontractors. I have a business proposition for you: throughout the world there are other magical artifacts just like this, made by other magisters or lost in forgotten ruins. If you come across such a magical structure in your travels, take a scraping and send it through the bag to me. I'm collecting data on the fabric of magic around the world and these samples are crucial. I'll make it worth your while; if gold isn't your thing I can at least pay you in RARE SPIRITS."
You take the bag and place it into your cloak pocket. Strange, you seem to be acclimating to the strange sensation in the air. It's rather like being drunk, actually.
[Act Medias Res]
Conversation with Telivar (Filled)
~~~~~
Venom Dragons and Darts. Is the Darkspace Bag capable of passing messages, and can Telivar mend Artifacts?
~~~~~
[/Act Medias Res]
As Telivar starts to respond to your last question the both of you hear a ROAR. Looking up, you see the ceiling of the study RIPPED OPEN as a gigantic DRAGON tears it off of the ship. Above you is not the room you were in before, but a terrible tempest of wind and electricity. Telivar shouts, flailing his arms wildly in the air briefly before disappearing without a trace. The dragon disappears with him but the twisted sky does not.
Over the course of a few minutes you see what's left of the cabin fill with the PHANTOMS of human shapes. Eventually these take form as the other occupants of the room: the PALADIN, the MAGICIAN, and the LIZARD. The door to the cabin swings off its hinges, but it no longer leads back to the deck. Instead, it opens to the HALL OF MIRRORS.
You feel a shiver down your spine as you look through the doorway. The danger sense in the back of your mind whispers a warning: "Here there be monsters".
What do you do?
=====
@TheDarkOne
Sancireph, the apprentice TOMA chokes briefly before beginning to speak.
"I didn't use Aasimar blood, I used my own blood."
This doesn't make any sense to you. You explain that there needs to be a celestial component and he doesn't have the requisite genetics to attain such an effect.
"That was the whole point of the experiment! I have been trying to prove that the rituals and superstitions of magic are entirely unnecessary components to the result."
[Act Medias Res]
Interrogation of Toma
~~~~~
~~~~~
[/Act Medias Res]
He pushes you away.
"If you're intent to attack me, though, do not expect me to surrender willingly. I will defend myself."
As he speaks, a cloud of gray fog bursts out of the doorways and envelops you both.
"What was that?"
You look around. You're still in the lobby, but something feels... off. You can see shadows moving around in the fog. Toma seems equally nonplussed by the situation.
"There's atomized magical energy in the air. Master Telivar? What could he be casting?"
He looks at the shadows.
"It's almost like he's summoning a ghost world. Why would he do that?"
You notice something else, though, as Toma is trying to work out the situation. You sense an Aasimar presence permeating from him. This is the first time he has projected such energy. Could the fog be the cause?
"This is very bad. Master Telivar said that he feared dragon corruption was infecting his spells. If he's right, we're all getting contact contamination. I'll go to the library and see if I can find a suitable counterspell."
He opens the doors to the library, but beyond them lies a COAL MINE.
"...That's not good."
What do you do?
=====
@mrz84
Zataka, Telivar answers your last question first:
"Anything you come across in your travels is worthwhile to me. I am collecting data and even common magical items have their uses. That said, if you are able to acquire rare specimens I may be able to compensate you more generously. As for the other proposal, it is of a more personal nature. Recently I was attacked by a Dragon. I drove the beast away but not without sustaining significant injury. More distressing, however, is the fact that its attacks left traces of CORRUPTION in my system and the poison has been spreading. I need someone to kill that dragon. Preferably lots of people, actually, because individually nobody really stands a chance. I mean look at that Lizard guy, he's a perfect example of it."
You ask why the lizard is involved.
"He's a DRAGOON. Or he was, anyway. It's their job to go around killing dragons. But inevitably they get killed, or they turn into something like that. He's no doubt here on behalf of his dragon master to recruit me or kill me or some other such act of war."
You ask why the dragon needs to die.
"Ah. This is something I only recently came to realize from my tussle with the thing, and something to which you can relate. You know how our rules are restricting your abilities in this reality? Well, our rules are actually breaking the rules. This dimension isn't SUPPOSED to have magic, so wizards achieve magical effect by snatching physical laws from other reality. Unfortunately, each time we do so we're pulling our existence closer to overlap with that other reality. It's a dragon dimension and the DRAGONS are entities that have ripped their way through the membrane between our worlds. The only way to fix that hole and undo the damage they've inflicted is to kill them."
[Act Medias Res]
Further Discussion with Telivar (Filled)
~~~~~
What would prove effective against the dragon?
~~~~~
[/Act Medias Res]
As Telivar starts to respond to your last question the both of you hear a ROAR. Looking up, you see the ceiling of the study RIPPED OPEN as a gigantic DRAGON tears it off of the ship. Above you is not the room you were in before, but a terrible tempest of wind and electricity. Telivar shouts, flailing his arms wildly in the air briefly before disappearing without a trace. The dragon disappears with him but the twisted sky does not.
Over the course of a few minutes you see what's left of the cabin fill with the PHANTOMS of human shapes. Eventually these take form as the other occupants of the room: the RANGER, the MAGICIAN MALICHOR, and the LIZARD DRAGOON. The door to the cabin swings off its hinges, but it no longer leads back to the deck. Instead, it opens to the HALL OF MIRRORS.
You fret the presence of the dragoon. While you can respect that he once served a great purpose in this world he is likely working towards its destruction. But you sense that you are not safe in this cabin and you'll need everyone's help to get out of the INTERSPACE.
What do you do?
=====
@bigjoe
Jerias, you explain that you don't have a dragon master.
"What? No, you must or you wouldn't look like that. Listen, no offense to you, but-"
He stares at you briefly, as if staring into your mind.
"Wait, that's not possible. There's only one voice in there."
You demand an explanation.
"Sorry to tell you, friend, but you died. And some dragon came along and REVIVED you to act as a personal crescent wrench. That's why you look like that, it's the residual corruption of the DRAGON MAGIC."
You ask why a dragon would need humanoids.
"You mean besides the whole totally loyal servant thing? Well, there are certain things a LIZARDFOLK can do that a DRAGON can't. The big scaly beasts are lacking in finesse. Beyond that? I can't say, I've never met one of you that wasn't subjugated and trying to kill me."
[Act Medias Res]
Conversation with Telivar
~~~~~
~~~~~
[/Act Medias Res]
As Telivar starts to respond to your last question the both of you hear a ROAR. Looking up, you see the ceiling of the study RIPPED OPEN as a gigantic DRAGON tears it off of the ship. Above you is not the room you were in before, but a terrible tempest of wind and electricity. Telivar shouts, flailing his arms wildly in the air briefly before disappearing without a trace. The dragon disappears with him but the twisted sky does not.
Over the course of a few minutes you see what's left of the cabin fill with the PHANTOMS of human shapes. Eventually these take form as the other occupants of the room: the RANGER, the MAGICIAN, and the PALADIN. The door to the cabin swings off its hinges, but it no longer leads back to the deck. Instead, it opens to the HALL OF MIRRORS.
You're still mad about the INK IN YOUR FACE. You're also fighting your primal urge to attack, your body is shaking as your mind processes these mammals as prey and the FIRE IN YOUR CHEST mewls for fuel. Still, you don't think you can escape this place on your own.
What do you do?
=====
@Xyvol
Malichor, Telivar begins to speak in a grave, serious tone.
"We're bringing about the end of the world."
You look at him like he's wearing a penguin suit.
"Magic. We're directly causing the dragon crisis."
You ask for an explanation.
"Toma's thesis holds the key to most of it. The rest I figured out after I got maimed by that dragon that attacked my mansion a while back."
He points to his right arm.
"The dragon corruption is actually bleedthrough from another dimension. The one where we snatch our magic from. See, our world isn't designed to handle magic. So our forebears shrouded our theft in rituals so that we wouldn't know what we were doing. We're pilfering physics from other realities."
You shrug and say that doesn't sound like such a bad thing.
"Oh, but every time we do it we punch a hole into another reality. And somebody punched a hole into the wrong one. It's a horrible nightmare world of DRAGONS and they're hungry. And here's the worst part: they started pulling back."
You stare, stunned, as he continues.
"See, they've decided they want to absorb our reality and they have the power to do it. That's why more and more dragons have been appearing in the wilds; they're coming through to drag us back with them."
[Act Medias Res]
Further Discussion with Telivar (Filled)
~~~~~
Toma's Thesis, Darkspace Reality Bends, and Dragons ripping into our reality? How are these related?
~~~~~
[/Act Medias Res]
As Telivar starts to respond to your last question the both of you hear a ROAR. Looking up, you see the ceiling of the study RIPPED OPEN as a gigantic DRAGON tears it off of the ship. Above you is not the room you were in before, but a terrible tempest of wind and electricity. Telivar shouts, flailing his arms wildly in the air briefly before disappearing without a trace. The dragon disappears with him but the twisted sky does not.
Over the course of a few minutes you see what's left of the cabin fill with the PHANTOMS of human shapes. Eventually these take form as the other occupants of the room: the RANGER, the LIZARD, and the PALADIN ZATAKA. The door to the cabin swings off its hinges, but it no longer leads back to the deck. Instead, it opens to the HALL OF MIRRORS.
You're still in shock about what Telivar has told you. Staring at the tiny dragon still spiraling around your remaining shuriken, you wonder if it's even safe to use magic here. But how will you escape back to reality?
What do you do?
