[Game Thread] (Kajera) Ch. 1 - ELVES IN SPAAAAACE

[hjohenson]

WAKE UP. Kajera Som woke up suddenly. His head pounded with pain, and as he tried to rise, he found himself nearly falling back down from the spinning sensation in his head. His mind swam with recent memories, and then the reason his head hurt came back to him. The Heart of the Titan! It had been stolen by those damn Githyanki! His sworn duty, his purpose in life... and he had failed to protect it. It was gone, no doubt stashed away somewhere by those filthy pirates. And all of this friends... without the Heart to empower Ealian, all of them were surely dead. Which finally brought his attention back to the current situation. By all rights, he ought to have at least been kicked back to Jafathyr, where there would be trees, grass, and vegetation. So why did it feel like he was lying in sand? He rose up, barely able to keep himself sitting up, but managed to look around. Nothing but desert around him, but unlike the deserts he'd heard of in legends... the sand was blue. Bright cerulean blue, and as he ran his fingers through it, it felt like glass. He looked ahead, and saw huge dunes in front of him. He glanced up, and noticed with a start that there were two suns glowing above him, both also shining blue. As Kajera finally managed to struggle to his feet, he felt a presence behind him. Before he could turn, he felt two sharp objects poke him in the back. "Hands up. Turn 180, do not make hostile actions." The voice was rough and modulated, like it was being spoken by one of the golems he'd seen in Ealian...

[Jkaen]

Kajera Som Kajera took a number of deep breaths as he tried to gather his thoughts together, the air tasting odd and slightly more metallic than he was used to, but it seemed breathable. His first instinct, with the adrenaline still running through him from the fight, was to turn and attack the those threatening him. However, he tried to remove emotion from the situation as he had been taught at the academy, and study the situation logically. He had just appeared on this world, and may well be in a restricted area. The people with the spears at his back may just be doing their duty, so he couldn't in good conscience attack them.. However, as he grasped his sword tightly, he realized he couldn't hand himself over to whatever justice these people had. He had a duty to retrieve the heart from wherever it had been taken, and he had to find a way back to Jafathyr to let everybody know what had happened and that he was OK. His decision made, he tensed his muscle, then gave an almighty kick, pushing himself into the air and going 50 feet away and 15 feet upaway from the threat rolling his body in flight as he moved in order to finish facing the people that were behind him. "My apologies, I mean no harm, I seem to have been expelled into your realm, and am still getting my bearings. Can you please tell me where I am?"

 

Kajera Som - HP 9/9
STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
18	20	12	20	14	16
FORT	REF	WILL	AC	TOUCH	FLAT
+3	+5	+4	19	15	14
Skills: Initiative +5, Perception +5
Elven Curve Blade: Atk: +4, Dmg: 1d10+6, Crit: 18-20/x2, S
Cantrips(*) - DC15: Detect Magic, Prestidigitation
Level 01(3) - DC16: Shield (1/1), Enlarge Person (1/1), Aspect of the Falcon (1/1)
Special: Smite Evil (1/1), Protection from Evil (3/3), Bless (1/1)
Special: Spell Resistance 12, DR 5/magic
Special: Arcane Pool (6/6)
Status:

Move Action: None
Swift Action: None
Standard Action: Withdraw
Free Actions: None

[hjohenson]

Wake me up inside. As Kajera leaped away from the offending party, he heard a deafening series of blasts from behind him, followed neatly by the feeling of tiny projectiles shooting past him. The little shots left searing marks on his skin where they passed, which burned like hot water. As he turned to look at his attackers, he would find five figures looking up at him. Four of them were aiming long, staff-like weapons at him, two of which were smoking. The last person was holding a similar weapon, but theirs was much, MUCH longer and thicker. The 'leader' of the five stepped up after Kajera explained his situation. "Irrelevant. You are trespassing in an active Mechanicus battlezone. You will be brought before the Dominus for judgement. Submit to judgement, or face extermination."

[Jkaen]

Kajera Som Kajera looked in confusion at the sight in front of him, where he had expected 2 people with spears, he was facing 5 with ranged weapons he couldn't begin to understand at this time, and who clearly had no issue in picking him off should he continue to fly. Accepting the inevitable, and still hurting from the damage their weapons had inflicted, he slowly sheathed his sword, and turning his flight around to land towards them, walking the rest of the way to them with hands held high as requested. "I will comply with your orders; however, I am very disorientated by what is happening here. While I understand most of your speech, the words 'Mechanicus' and 'Dominus' are not known to me, can you please explain what is happening here?"

 

Kajera Som - HP 9/9
STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
18	20	12	20	14	16
FORT	REF	WILL	AC	TOUCH	FLAT
+3	+5	+4	19	15	14
Skills: Initiative +5, Perception +5
Elven Curve Blade: Atk: +4, Dmg: 1d10+6, Crit: 18-20/x2, S
Cantrips(*) - DC15: Detect Magic, Prestidigitation
Level 01(3) - DC16: Shield (1/1), Enlarge Person (1/1), Aspect of the Falcon (1/1)
Special: Smite Evil (1/1), Protection from Evil (3/3), Bless (1/1)
Special: Spell Resistance 12, DR 5/magic
Special: Arcane Pool (6/6)
Status:

Move Action: None
Swift Action: None
Standard Action: None
Free Actions: None

[hjohenson]

Wake me up. The four figures that were aiming at him shouldered their weapons, still not relaxing. The fact that Kajera was complying and talking to them seemed to be a good move, though their masked faces showed no emotion. Two of the figures moved behind Kajera, studying his form, with the 'leader' pulling out a small hand-held device connected to its backpack by a long wire. They stepped to Kajera, silently waving the device in front of him... but seemed confused by the result. "Teleportation involved with appearance of target; no psychic residue detected." The five figures began stammering out zeroes and ones to each other, speaking with such speed that Kajera could barely comprehend them. Suddenly, they all stopped, standing rigid. The 'leader' turned stiffly, as if being used like a puppet, and looked Kajera up and down. All five relaxed after the sudden analysis was done, and the leader spoke again. "We are Skitarii, of the Cult Mechanicus. We detected a surge of photons from this location, and were dispatched to locate the source. We found you. Our superior, the Tech-Priest Magos Dominus Zuriah, desires an analysis of you. Follow." Without another word, the five of them turned to lead Kajera into the desert. With no other options (save extermination), Kajera would have to comply with the strange people, following them into the sands... Almost an hour later, Kajera would finally see their destination. A large building sat in the desert, like a huge hunk of metal that had fallen from the heavens. As the group approached, Kajera could see numerous other forces of these 'Skitarii' moving about. None of them paid him any mind, and all of them were speaking the same super-fast combination of zeroes and ones to each other. All around, he could also see large mechanical wonders, striding about on two long legs. Interspersed between all of these oddities were floating skulls, which all had wires and metal shards poking out of them. Many of the skulls floated down to peer at Kajera, curious about his wings in particular. His five captors lead him to a door, which opened without them even touching it, merely sliding open to allow them inside. They lead him within, dark metal halls closing around him, with tubes and wires poking out of the steel plates that acted as walls. The five continued to lead him through these grungy halls, turning right and left, until they came to a single door. The five stepped to the sides, the leader touching a small hand-sized panel next to the door. It slid open, revealing yet more darkness, but the five seemed to expect him to enter...

[Jkaen]

I guess there is no need to keep my name here, so I can start being creative Seeing no other option, Kajera followed along as directed, and while they were not in any way friendly towards him, at least they were no longer hostile, and so he felt less threatened than before, and started to put his mind to work. Initially he tried to review their clothing and weapons they carried, so try to get an understanding of them and how they worked. The armour from a glance didn’t look too fancy, all be it there were a few permanent lights attached to it, which while unusual wasn't outside the reach of many he had known at Ealian. The weapons, he couldn't really get a better understanding of without getting his hands on one, which he didn’t expect them to agree to. This pondering stopped however as he approached their base and saw the size and number of golems they seemed to have under their power, along with the floating skulls, he took to be some sort of familiar in the power of the mages who controlled the golems. The sheer amount of magic that would be needed to create so many of these creatures however staggered him, and he sought to try to understand more, and hence as he passed by one, he he will try knowledge arcana focussed his attention, and hoping they wouldn’t read it as an aggressive act spoke. "These masks you were are unusual, so they allow you to cast detect magicsee magic ?". As he was then led down the corridors, he tried to remember the twists and turns should he have an opportunity to escape in the future, marvelling at the various strange devices all around him, and trying to understand the spells that powered them. He eventually met the dark room ahead of him, where they clearly expected him to enter. Seeing no other options, he focussed his darkvision upon the room, and with a deep breath stepped forward into it.

 

Kajera Som - HP 9/9
STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
18	20	12	20	14	16
FORT	REF	WILL	AC	TOUCH	FLAT
+3	+5	+4	19	15	14
Skills: Initiative +5, Perception +5
Elven Curve Blade: Atk: +4, Dmg: 1d10+6, Crit: 18-20/x2, S
Cantrips(*) - DC15: Detect Magic, Prestidigitation
Level 01(3) - DC16: Shield (1/1), Enlarge Person (1/1), Aspect of the Falcon (1/1)
Special: Smite Evil (1/1), Protection from Evil (3/3), Bless (1/1)
Special: Spell Resistance 12, DR 5/magic
Special: Arcane Pool (6/6)
Status:

Move Action: None
Swift Action: None
Standard Action: None
Free Actions: None

[hjohenson]

I like doing OoC things with them. The door slid shut behind Kajera, leaving him in almost total darkness. The only light came from a dozen small panes of light, each of which was displaying a different view of the building he was in. All of them were moving, flying through the air and turning slightly to keep whatever they were focused on in view. He studied them for a moment, and then realized with a start that many of the skulls he'd seen floating outside were sending these images into this room. While he studied them, he failed to notice a figure rising from a nearby chair. It was only when the figure was directly in front of him that he realized it was there, and turned to see a living nightmare. It was humanoid, but that's where the normality ended completely. Its crimson robe was only waist high, leaving the entirety of its torso exposed. Its abdomen was missing, its entire digestive system gone, replaced by mechanical parts and thick wires. Its upper chest was still intact, but a dozen little knots of steel were injected directly into its skin. At one point, it might have had breasts, but heavy scars indicated that they had been removed quite violently. Instead of arms, its right side was comprised entirely of a mass of writhing metal tentacles, each ending in some nasty-looking tool or weapon. Its left side was still normal, but the arm itself was solid metal, with spikes on its joints. But its face was the most disturbing part of all... a woman's face, with beautiful features, stared at him. She had no eyes; instead, five glowing lenses whirred and spun as they focused on his face and body, some of them turning to aim at different parts of his body. She was bald as well, with countless wires plunging from behind her deep into her skull itself. Part of her head was missing, opening up to reveal her brain, which was similarly wired with tiny metallic threads. When she spoke, it was synthetic, sounding like a monotone flute whistling under her voice. "Sharp ears. Eldar? No. Lack of arrogance, allies. Wings pose problem. Daemon? Doubtful. No psionic influence detected. Query: Name. What is your name?"

[Jkaen]

So I am talking to your avatar Kajera looked calmly round the room, trying to take in and process the various panes of light, trying to understand both their function, and how they worked. This pondering was completely broken when creature started to move. Scrambling back away from the abomination, he felt his wings press against the back wall, and his hand went to the hilt of his sword, and only through a force of will did he manage not to draw his weapon against the vile creature that seemed to stand in direct defiance of the purity of nature that he had known all his life. Still somewhat in shock he managed to reply to the question posed "My name is Kajera... what on Jafathyr happened to you?" his eyes continued to dart around the humanoid, trying to fix on a location to focus upon that unsettled him the least.

OOC I assume my knowledge/detect magic from the last post came back as not magical, and you know nothing

 

Kajera Som - HP 9/9
STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
18	20	12	20	14	16
FORT	REF	WILL	AC	TOUCH	FLAT
+3	+5	+4	19	15	14
Skills: Initiative +5, Perception +5
Elven Curve Blade: Atk: +4, Dmg: 1d10+6, Crit: 18-20/x2, S
Cantrips(*) - DC15: Detect Magic, Prestidigitation
Level 01(3) - DC16: Shield (1/1), Enlarge Person (1/1), Aspect of the Falcon (1/1)
Special: Smite Evil (1/1), Protection from Evil (3/3), Bless (1/1)
Special: Spell Resistance 12, DR 5/magic
Special: Arcane Pool (6/6)
Status:

Move Action: None
Swift Action: None
Standard Action: None
Free Actions: None

[hjohenson]

No, my avatar would be much cuter. :3 The horrifying figure tilted its head curiously, its multiple eyes still scanning over Kajera's body. A few of the tentacles moved forward, unfolding to reveal additional lenses that glowed with an inner blue light. "Query: Jafathyr? Disregard. Irrelevant. Query: Species. What is your species, Kajera?" The mutilated woman seemed unfazed by Kajera's panicked state, and continued to approach him after asking her question. Within a couple of seconds, she was almost a foot away from him, lenses flashing as they scanned more and more of his body.

OoC There was no magic to detect, unfortunately, nor would Knowledge: Arcana have aided in the check. Now, detect psionics might have worked... :P

[Jkaen]

Bet my wings are getting all dirty Kajera took a deep breath that tasted of oil and other particles and tried to steady himself under the creatures gaze, deciding to get this finished and done as quickly as possible and to get back out into the open air again. "My species is Alarian... Look this drip feeding of questions is going to take forever. I come from an aborial planet called Jafathyr which is certainly not this planet, probably not this plane. And then was on a small pocket dimension that collapsed and kicked me out here, wherever here is. If I trespassed I meant no harm, I would however like to get back to my plane if you know anybody who can assist in that I would be grateful"

 

Kajera Som - HP 9/9
STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
18	20	12	20	14	16
FORT	REF	WILL	AC	TOUCH	FLAT
+3	+5	+4	19	15	14
Skills: Initiative +5, Perception +5
Elven Curve Blade: Atk: +4, Dmg: 1d10+6, Crit: 18-20/x2, S
Cantrips(*) - DC15: Detect Magic, Prestidigitation
Level 01(3) - DC16: Shield (1/1), Enlarge Person (1/1), Aspect of the Falcon (1/1)
Special: Smite Evil (1/1), Protection from Evil (3/3), Bless (1/1)
Special: Spell Resistance 12, DR 5/magic
Special: Arcane Pool (6/6)
Status:

Move Action: None
Swift Action: None
Standard Action: None
Free Actions: None

[hjohenson]

It's actually immaculately clean in there... The woman froze as Kajera spoke, explaining his race and plane of origin within a few seconds. She seemed to calculate something, thinking about the possibilities held within this new information. Her mechadendrites flowed around the Alarian, occasionally poking at him with curious intent. Finally, she spoke again, the tentacles retracting. "Fascination. Jafathyr not found under registry of Imperium planets. Trespassing irrelevant. Organism: Kajera poses no threat to Mechanicum. Plane? Potential aspect of Warp. No psionic energy detected; not daemon. Curiosity. Query: Plane? What is a plane in your vernacular?"

[Jkaen]

I'm back! Let's see what reaction the last name gets Kajera looked confused, this creature in front of her seemed to be so technically advanced, it seems unthinkable that it had not discovered the planes, and how to travel between them. "I admit surprise you are not familiar with planes, I am not sure how to explain such a concept to you in your tongue. They are a group of world or areas to which consistent rules apply, such as how magic or gravity works. We, I assume, are on the material or prime plane." He pauses a bit to think of how to make things clearer. Maybe some examples may help, have you heard of the Elemental Plane of Earth, or of Elysium, or maybe of Abaddon?

 

Kajera Som - HP 9/9
STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
18	20	12	20	14	16
FORT	REF	WILL	AC	TOUCH	FLAT
+3	+5	+4	19	15	14
Skills: Initiative +5, Perception +5
Elven Curve Blade: Atk: +4, Dmg: 1d10+6, Crit: 18-20/x2, S
Cantrips(*) - DC15: Detect Magic, Prestidigitation
Level 01(3) - DC16: Shield (1/1), Enlarge Person (1/1), Aspect of the Falcon (1/1)
Special: Smite Evil (1/1), Protection from Evil (3/3), Bless (1/1)
Special: Spell Resistance 12, DR 5/magic
Special: Arcane Pool (6/6)
Status:

Move Action: None
Swift Action: None
Standard Action: None
Free Actions: None

[hjohenson]

...why did you say Abaddon? At the very mention of the word Abaddon, the technological freak screeched in anger. "Abaddon! Betrayer, slaughterer! Breaker of worlds! Query: DO YOU SERVE THE DESPOILER!? ANSWER. NOW." As she raged and roared, some of her tendrils slammed into the walls around him, fully pinning him there. She continued to study his face for a moment, but before he could respond to her sudden roars of fury, she backed away, twitching and contemplating. "No. No, impossible. You have displayed a distinct lack of knowledge of the Warp and factions involved. You cannot serve HIM, you lack psionic capabilities. Blank? Potentially. Query: Can you travel between these "planes"?"

[Jkaen]

Thought it may get a rise out of him From the reaction of the thing, it was clear that the name Abaddon did actually mean something to it, but as a person rather than a plane. "I know Abaddon as a plane of evil, not a person. I have never been there myself and have no ties to it." he explains trying to help calm down the creature. "As for travelling between planes, it was something I was beginning to study along with other magics, alas I am not yet at the level of power to perform such things myself. Hence any travel between planes I have done has been under the power of others.. that or by the accident that brought me here" Kajera then takes a moment to rerun the conversation through his mind. "You have mentioned now a few times the 'Warp' as a topic, can you explain what you mean by this?"

 

Kajera Som - HP 9/9
STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
18	20	12	20	14	16
FORT	REF	WILL	AC	TOUCH	FLAT
+3	+5	+4	19	15	14
Skills: Initiative +5, Perception +5
Elven Curve Blade: Atk: +4, Dmg: 1d10+6, Crit: 18-20/x2, S
Cantrips(*) - DC15: Detect Magic, Prestidigitation
Level 01(3) - DC16: Shield (1/1), Enlarge Person (1/1), Aspect of the Falcon (1/1)
Special: Smite Evil (1/1), Protection from Evil (3/3), Bless (1/1)
Special: Spell Resistance 12, DR 5/magic
Special: Arcane Pool (6/6)
Status:

Move Action: None
Swift Action: None
Standard Action: None
Free Actions: None

[hjohenson]

You diabolical bastard. :P The mechanical horror seemed to accept his explanation, moving away from him enough to let him breathe. It (she?) listens calmly to his story, curious, until he asks another question. It calculates for a second before responding. As it speaks, it moves away from him to work on something on the other side of the small room, finally allowing Kajera to actually move around freely. "The Warp. A underlying reality beneath our own that houses countless souls and emotions, psionically linked to all living creatures in this reality. All emotions, dreams, desires, and feelings create reverberations in the Warp, which creates Netherborn who embody those emotions and desires. The Warp is currently controlled by the Dark Gods, who seek to undo all creation through their agents of Chaos, who are in turn led by Abaddon, the Despoiler." It turns back to Kajera. "You have no psychic emanations. You, to the Warp, do not exist. Therefore, you cannot be from this reality. Query: If you were able to determine how to shift into an alternate reality... could you take me with you? I seek knowledge, and potential escape for residents of the Imperium of Man."