Barrigan

Astrid follows Kyle towards the crash site, curious what they will find. She somehow expected herself to be more freaked out right now. What even was her life now? Everything had changed. Everything. Looking up at Kyle's tall form and realising she had to take two steps for each of his, Astrid was again struck by the fact that she didn't seem to be human anymore. Somehow though, she wasn't scared. She wasn't worried or frightened or depressed. Everyone she had ever known was gone and now she was here in this weird jungle hunting for a meteor or something. If anything, she was excited. Astrid was glad Kyle was here though. She might have been more concerned if she was alone but just having another person, especially another person from Earth, was probably helping her to keep her sanity intact. After a while she realised that it was probably faster for her to fly than walk and began hovering a few feet off the ground so her head was at the same height as Kyle's. That also made it easier to talk, although they made the journey quietly in case the jungle contained anything they didn't want to meet. Upon reaching the crash site, Astrid whistled softly. "We didn't have those back on Earth!" she whispered. "Teleportation, other worlds, magic and now aliens all in one day." She recalled her PiP mentioning something about 'starfaring races' so perhaps this ship came from one of those. It had a tear down the side which reminded her of the Titanic for some reason. Astrid studied the craft from the outside first and mused her thoughts out loud. "Let's see what we've got here. It's vaguely aerodynamic, which means it was designed for atmospheric flight at least some of the time. If you're going to stay in space all the time you don't care about air resistance. The little open ended things down one end are probably thrusters so that's aft which means the cockpit/bridge will be at the other end. If that tear happened during spaceflight there would have been decompression and anyone in there will have been sucked into space but if they have sealed bulkheads there might even be survivors further in. We should be careful." She looked over at Kyle who was looking for tracks. Good idea, they might not be alone. Astrid brought up her PiP and started playing with its settings, trying to see if it had a life signs scanner or if living things showed up on its map. At the same time she looked at the floating menu interface to see if it had anything to say. She hadn't really explored it yet and was idly curious to see if it had a stat menu or could tell her anything about herself or where she was. She looked for spells as well. She'd read a pair of magic books so maybe she could cast spells now?

Thanks, unless they have the interview with god before being dropped into a new world there's always that wtf moment of 'where am I? What's going on? What am I? which is kind of fun. My favourite was Subaru from Re:Zero just being dropped into a fantasy world in his tracksuit with a plastic bag full of convenience store sushi and left to fend for himself.

Argent | AC 26 | Ini: +4 | BAB +2 | Hit Points: 46/46 | Size: Medium | Speed: 50 ft | Touch: 14| FF: 22 | Fort: +9 | Ref: +7 | Will: +6 Argent relays the information on the weapons to the group. They were all magical, but nothing particularly powerful or with any special effects. They would do for fighting the dog monsters and their resilient flesh though. There was more he detected than expected and Argent indicated the two other locations he found magical auras. "On top of this lot there's something magical in the desk over there and something on the wall behind it as well. Could be an illusory wall. Could be a safe behind a painting with something magic in it. Could be basically anything. Would you be able to take a look Master Dwarf?" he asked Strunthal.

From the description of being shorter than 1m and having wings I'm assuming that Astrid has been transformed into a pixie as part of the transfer. Should I go ahead and update her character sheet with the Pixie stats and traits or is it not the right time in the story to do that yet?

Telepathy detected? Astrid thought in a moment of confusion. I guess telepathy being real too is about the least of today's revelations after magic, pixies, teleportation, other worlds and inverse geography. She tapped the notification again and began searching the PiP's settings for a slider or button which would turn off the psi-shielding, at least temporarily. Someone was clearly trying to contact her telepathically. Or at least broadcasting a telepathic message. If there was one thing they needed right now it was information. It could even be a distress call from whatever just crash landed nearby. Perhaps she was being reckless but she took some comfort from the fact that it was described as telepathy and not 'mental domination' or 'psychic manipulation' or something more sinister like that.

Argent | AC 26 | Ini: +4 | BAB +2 | Hit Points: 46/46 | Size: Medium | Speed: 50 ft | Touch: 14| FF: 22 | Fort: +9 | Ref: +7 | Will: +6 Argent's physiology didn't prevent him from interacting with a world made for human-sized bipeds but it wasn't always easy. He left the lockpicking to those with far more dexterity and experience and helped with the search of the bodies, although Strunthal's skills came through before the search turned up anything. As the haul of weapons and potions was removed from the cabinet the unicorn stepped forward in response to the dwarf's call. "I can check them for magic. Hold on a moment." Argent focused and traced arcane motions in the air with one claw before casting Detect Magic over the weapons, arrows and potions. The unicorn's magic was innate and he had little formal training but he tried to remember anything he might have learned which could indicate the school of magic any auras might belong to.

Igni remained solemn and silent on the way to the abbey. He took his turn carrying the bed as a sign of respect to a fellow man of the cloth, even if he served a different god. The discussion over Badger was amusing, but Igni had nothing much to add to it, not having much experience with animals. The talk of goblins caught his attention though as all of goblinkind were the ancestral enemies of the dwarves. "I hear ye're beset by greenskins Abbott. Do ye have something they want? Surely there's easier targets for raiding than a fortress full of armed warriors! What can ye tell us about the raids?" Statblock Male Lawful Neutral Azerblood Dwarf Level 4: Azerblood1/Cleric3 ll Totemist2/Wizard2 Initiative: -6, HP: 42/42, Speed: 30ft (15ft in Armour) AC 26, Touch 10, Flat-footed 26, Fort 7, Ref 4, Will 7, Base Attack Bonus 2.25 Attack: Masterwork Warhammer +9 (1d8+4, x3) Defense: +1 Dwarvencraft Mountain Plate, +1 Dwarvencraft Gauntlet Shield (+11 Armor, +3 Shield, +2 Natural) Abilities: Str 18, Dex 10, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 17, Cha 6 Active Effects: Darkvision 60ft, Fire Resist 10, Feather Fall, Endure Elements Soulmelds: Blink Shirt (Bound to Totem Chakra, 2 Essentia invested), Wormtail Belt, Pegasus Cloak Conditions:

Astrid looked around from her vantage point, taking in the new world around her. Being able to fly apparently reassured her subconscious enough that heights and falling were nothing to worry about and she felt completely comfortable despite her feet dangling in empty air below her. She heard Kyle call from below and replied with what she could see. "Ocean to the west, jungle everywhere else really. No major landmarks that I can see, although it looks like we're on the inside of a sphere. If it's a planet then it's one much smaller than Earth or we wouldn't be able to see the curvature," she explained. Then a bright light flashed overhead and crashed into the jungle. "Scratch that. One newly formed landmark. Want to go check out the crash site and find out what that was? The crater looks like it's glowing with magic!" Astrid was excited. Her old life had been understandable. Predictable. She was on a straight career path with certain expectations that if she worked hard and completed her tasks she would be paid well, promoted and eventually make it to the top just in time to retire. There was no excitement, no mystery, no exploration or adventure. She missed her family and hoped she would find a way to see them again but for the moment she was captivated by the endless possibilities. What was in that crash site? What lay over the horizon? What even was this place? Astrid couldn't wait to find out. She marked the crash location on her PiP's map and descended to ground level. If Kyle was ready to head out they could set off immediately. "Bring that first aid kit of yours. Someone might have been injured in the crash. And bring the staff as well. They might not be friendly."

I'm not sure how to answer the question 😅 Do I see anything interesting from up there? I'm hoping either the revealed map expands once I can see a bit further or I'll physically spot a landmark of some kind because the alternative seems to be setting off into the jungle in a random direction.

Igni nodded at Brother Sidanus' words. It was wise to be pragmatic in matters like this. Lofty ideals were one thing but they were worth little if one was not willing to defend them. "Well said. But why were you looking for this man? Had he done something?" The question from the young woman confused Igni for a minute. "Beast of war? No, I don't have anything like that. What did it look like?" Then an odd thought occurred to him. "...wait, are you talking about the badger?" Statblock Male Lawful Neutral Azerblood Dwarf Level 4: Azerblood1/Cleric3 ll Totemist2/Wizard2 Initiative: -6, HP: 42/42, Speed: 30ft (15ft in Armour) AC 26, Touch 10, Flat-footed 26, Fort 7, Ref 4, Will 7, Base Attack Bonus 2.25 Attack: Masterwork Warhammer +9 (1d8+4, x3) Defense: +1 Dwarvencraft Mountain Plate, +1 Dwarvencraft Gauntlet Shield (+11 Armor, +3 Shield, +2 Natural) Abilities: Str 18, Dex 10, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 17, Cha 6 Active Effects: Darkvision 60ft, Fire Resist 10, Feather Fall, Endure Elements Soulmelds: Blink Shirt (Bound to Totem Chakra, 2 Essentia invested), Wormtail Belt, Pegasus Cloak Conditions:

Yep, just me looking at notifications on my device. Have a closer look at the stuff in the chest. I'm curious what bonus stuff you got!

Igni nods at Brody's assessment. "Either this was the rat or this one discovered that note as evidence of the rat and was attacked. But surely if he discovered a traitor in their midst he would just go to the Abbott? There's more to this than we know," the dwarf mused thoughtfully. He looked up as the contingent of monks arrived. They were heavily armed and armoured for a religious order, although Igni himself could hardly talk. If he had to guess he'd think this group had set out specifically to track down their deceased colleague and had come prepared for a fight if necessary. Perhaps the deceased man was the cultist of Hextor and they had been hunting him. Igni bowed his head and followed along respectfully with the prayer, joining in as much as was appropriate for one who followed a different faith. Once it was done he approached Brother Sidanus, showing his holy symbol of Tharmekhul to identify himself as a fellow cleric. "Igni Firebeard," he introduced himself. "Pleased to meet you, although I wish it were under better circumstances. Sorry for yer loss." He then indicated the arms and armour of the group. "You've come ready for a fight though. What has happened?" Statblock Male Lawful Neutral Azerblood Dwarf Level 4: Azerblood1/Cleric3 ll Totemist2/Wizard2 Initiative: -6, HP: 42/42, Speed: 30ft (15ft in Armour) AC 26, Touch 10, Flat-footed 26, Fort 7, Ref 4, Will 7, Base Attack Bonus 2.25 Attack: Masterwork Warhammer +9 (1d8+4, x3) Defense: +1 Dwarvencraft Mountain Plate, +1 Dwarvencraft Gauntlet Shield (+11 Armor, +3 Shield, +2 Natural) Abilities: Str 18, Dex 10, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 17, Cha 6 Active Effects: Darkvision 60ft, Fire Resist 10, Feather Fall, Endure Elements Soulmelds: Blink Shirt (Bound to Totem Chakra, 2 Essentia invested), Wormtail Belt, Pegasus Cloak Conditions:

Argent | AC 26 | Ini: +4 | BAB +2 | Hit Points: 46/46 | Size: Medium | Speed: 50 ft | Touch: 14| FF: 22 | Fort: +9 | Ref: +7 | Will: +6 Argent had been silent throughout their dealings with the survivors, his remaining innocence having been tested severely by the horrors and strangeness he had witnessed today. Unicorns were known for their purity and this place was about as far from pure as one could get without descending into the hells. Still, he slowly pulled himself together enough to be helpful to the party. Finn's plan made sense and he was happy to scan this group and any others they came across with Detect Evil to make sure there weren't any shapeshifters or cultists hiding amongst the survivors. A glimmer at the tip of his horn was the only sign he was casting magic and he guessed most of the group were too shaken up to worry much about whether the unicorn was testing their hearts. "I can go with the survivors to the boat. Unless we think the way behind us is clear enough for them to be safe on their own? If we're going through the secret door I can be at the front or back as necessary." Argent was no tactician and would leave the planning to those more suited to it.

I'm seeing them, yes. At least, I've seen two so far with my name on them, so hopefully that's right.

Oh ok, so everything in the chest is in addition to the items which transferred with us. My mistake, I though they were being converted like the devices were. Oh well, I'll leave Astrid's comments as her misunderstanding anyway. Also, just to clarify, is there one chest or two? I think I got there first and it changed colour when I opened it but I'm not sure what happened when Kyle showed up. Also, is he still human or has his race changed like mine? Was thinking I should probably switch to a pixie character image but maybe I'll do that a bit later. I'm guessing we'll change clothes at some point.

"You're a Kiwi?" Astrid exclaimed, not sure what she had been expecting, but it definitely wasn't that. "Fantastic! At least not everything in this place is weird." She gestured at the upwards horizon and the magic, colour changing box and the strange square torches. "Astrid," she said, offering a handshake. "Nope and no idea, to answer your questions. I was out getting a coffee when those screens popped up, everyone fainted and I woke up here. You can see them too, right?" Astrid asked, hoping she wasn't going crazy. At Kyle's queries she turned to see the chest was open again and this time contained a whole new set of items. Ones she had not seen before. "Not mine," she answered. "Does any of that resemble what you had on you before? Some of my stuff changed in the transfer. My coffee turned into a mana potion and my devices turned into this." She indicated the PiP on her arm. "My cash turned into copper coins and my bankcard is magic now. Also magic is real apparently, so there's that. Oh and I'm really short and have wings," Astrid pointed over her shoulder with a thumb. "You look relatively normal, all things considered," she mused, looking him over again. Astrid stepped aside so Kyle could inspect the items and see the book. "Go ahead, I think that's your stuff anyway. While you look at that I'm going to test a theory." Astrid was still getting used to her wings but she managed to think hard enough about flying to make it happen but not so hard that she had to take over manually. Using her wings mostly by the muscle memory she apparently now had, she flew straight up in the air about 60ft and looked around for any landmarks. While she was up there she checked the map on her PiP to see if the circle of visible area had expanded now that she could see more of the landscape. She also tapped the man-in-a-circle notification on her PiP to see what it did.

The books flooded her mind with knowledge and she grasped a basic understanding of magic and the school of evocation. She wasn't sure if she could cast any spells yet but it was a start! Having put the money into her bank card she tucked it and the mana potion and anything else which was in the chest she opened into her bag and slung its strap over her shoulder. Having a map was helpful but looking around a bit she guessed it was only showing her the area around her she could see and everything else was black. The zoom settings seemed to indicate it could cover quite a wide area but only once she had been there already. If she was lucky there would be a way to feed it map data in order to expand it without her having to actually visit. Idly she wondered if flying upwards would allow her to see more and therefore widen the scope of her map. Engrossed in her screen she didn't even notice someone approaching until the notification alerted her. Astrid looked up to find a man heading straight for her. Or possibly the chest, she couldn't tell which. "Um, hi!" she began tentatively. At her new reduced stature he looked like a giant. Nearly twice as tall as her. He was armed as well, a strange but sturdy-looking staff in his hand. Hopefully he was friendly, although it was probably too much to ask that he spoke English. "Do you live around here?" Astrid asked with a slight Australian accent.

For some reason I remember there being another prisoner near Zan. Might be in the next cell along, although that could be the one the high ranking Imp is interrogating. My sense of distance in this game seems to be a bit off. I can't tell if the Imp is at the other end of a long hallway or in the next cell over from Zan's. > Say to Zan "That should give you some protection. Stay close to me. Grab a blaster if you can. Do you know anyone else in here? We'll rescue anyone else we can and then get out of here." Move to EE-S Section 1. Inspect cell EE-87 for occupants.

Well the first guy we rescued ran off so it's nice this one seems to be sticking around. Maybe because you're looking after him with a shield :)

Astrid had been called a voracious reader before, but 'consuming' a book was a new one even for her. It seemed like these weren't really books so much as download devices which, if magic was as real as it now seemed to be, would probably transfer their contents straight into her head. It was a new way of learning things and one she actually wished had been available back in law school. She opened each book again and answered 'Yes' to the prompt. The bank card was an interesting one. It described itself as a storage device. She wondered if that was a literal description. Astrid clicked 'Yes' to the prompt and took the card in one hand and one of the copper coins in the other and tried feeding the coin into the card. She tapped the corner of the card on the coin, placed the coin on the top of the card, passed the card a few inches above the coin and generally willed the coin to be absorbed into the card as she did so. If successful she would do the same with the rest of the coins. Finding the apps on her PiP, Astrid went straight for the map and checked her location. She looked for points of interest and particularly for names and labels, wanting to find out where she was. She zoomed the map out as far as she could, trying to get something like a world map out of it.

Curious, Astrid opened each of the books starting with the Spellcraft Primer followed by the Evocation one. She could read the titles, but she wasn't sure if they were in a language she understood or if the system was translating for her. It was weird that she couldn't read them until she focused on them as focusing seemed to be what activated the interface. Noticing the glow, Astrid reached for her bag, opening it to see what the octarine light was coming from. She was glad the bag had come with her as it would make it easier to carry the books, coins and what was apparently a mana potion. She had played enough games to know vaguely that mana was something like fuel for spells and the books seemed to indicate that magic was real and it was possible to learn it. Who had written them though? If people were writing starter books on Spellcraft did that mean there were wizards? If she read them could she learn magic too? Astrid was intrigued, but she still had more mysteries to explore. She finally turned to the PiP on her arm and took a look at the screen. She scanned the device itself as well. Were there buttons or maybe it was a touchscreen?

Although she was curious about the bracer and its functions, now that she was wearing it Astrid decided to leave it for a moment and focus on what else was in the box. She lifted the two books out, one in each hand, and examined them. Now that she knew there were tooltips she focused on the books in her hands, and the bottle of liquid in the chest for good measure, and willed an explanatory tooltip to pop up telling her what each one was. Having spotted the blinking symbol earlier, Astrid also took a moment to examine the screens in front of her. She was looking for a menu or tabs she could investigate or even a help screen which might explain a few things. What fascinated her was that these screens weren't some kind of hallucination created by her mind. They had information she didn't know, like the difference between a PiP and a PADD and what each one was apparently used for in 'some starfaring cultures'. That meant that not only did the interface have some kind of database but it had also just casually revealed the existence of aliens. Then she remembered her diminished stature and wings and realised that probably wasn't even the biggest revelation to be found. "One thing at a time," Astrid looked down at herself again, thinking she was at least going to need pockets or a bag or something to carry all those coins in.

>Try swiping the keycard with the teal square through the reader for Zan's cell. Examine the high ranking Imperial officer. Do we recognise him? Try to feel the Force inside us. Has it recovered at all?

"Yes! Now we're getting somewhere!" Astrid muttered as the tooltips popped up. She was starting to get the hang of the interface, at least a little. From the descriptions a PADD sounded like a tablet. Something easily passed between people and especially useful for paperwork-style processing. A PiP on the other hand seemed to be more like a smart watch, only bigger. Maybe like mounting an entire smartphone to her forearm on a bracer. The convenience of having it always on hand and easily accessible was the deciding factor and Astrid wasn't in the habit of handing her devices around to others anyway. She mentally clicked on the prompt marked PiP.