[2/3] Ruzke !TEEDashxDA 2010/08/07(Sat)21:15 No. 216249 ID: e973f4
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She catches her breath, and then looks down at Ruz.

"Hey, you're, um...!"

"... Ruzke." Even knowing she's entirely friendly, Ruz has always felt that sauzers are fairly intimidating in person, as opposed to in a book. He speaks a bit awkwardly; she doesn't seem to notice.

"Ruz, that's it. The healer guy. I don't see you much when I come out here!" As she continues to speak, Ruz can't help but notice the oddities in her pronunciation. Especially the vowels. Gyuh. Some people were clearly not intended to speak Tolkavic.

"... Yeah."

"I'm Neai. I figure if I don't know your name there's no way you know mine." She grins at him.

"... Thanks."

[3/3] Ruzke !TEEDashxDA 2010/08/07(Sat)21:16 No. 216250 ID: e973f4
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"So, hey, Ruz, where is everyone else? I told everyone I was going to come today when I came last time, so you'd think they'd be expecting me, you know?" As Neai says this, she looks around again.

Ruz doesn't really understand this whole disappearing-village-thing himself. How should he try to explain it to her? Should he just say "everyone's gone?"

He thinks...

Tell her everyone's vanished. Including their scents, and their furniture...

Idly climb on her shoulder while you tell her this!

Tell her you have absolutely no idea, you went to find your friend and found the entire area completely barren. Mention about the total lack of smells.

...Might want to wait on telling her about the shadowy thing.

>>216250
Tell her everyone is missing and that you need her help in finding them.

Also, ask her if you can ride around on her shoulders.

>>216250
Freak out and tell her everyone is missing and you can't even tell when they vanished because there are no things or smells or traces of them and then there was a thing in a house and then you passed out and also there are voices in your head and now a sauzer is here and you have no idea what to do!

After breakdown is over, ask to climb on her head to get a better look around for anything odd. Also because it would be adorable.

Tell her everyone was gone when you woke up and you are looking for them too. But don't mention being attacked by a shadow (yet), let's not freak her out unnecessarily.

[1/4] Ruzke !TEEDashxDA 2010/08/10(Tue)21:40 No. 217221 ID: e973f4
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Ruz does not really want to have a nervous breakdown right now! It seems like it would only make his situation worse.

And he's certainly not going to ask to climb on Neai's shoulder! He doesn't really know her that well.

... A-and that would be awkward even if he did know her that well!

Ruz decides to tell her straightforwardly, and not to mention the shadow thing. He's not even convinced that part actually happened.

"... They're gone."

"What?"

"Everyone is just... gone. The other villagers, the things in the houses, even the scents are gone. I woke up to a completely empty village."

"... Jyan! That's... that's awful! I... Gods, if they're really all gone..."

[2/4] Ruzke !TEEDashxDA 2010/08/10(Tue)21:41 No. 217224 ID: e973f4
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Neai sighs, and then there's a pause. She seems to be trying to think of what to say next.

Ruz lets his own mind wander.

Everyone's gone.

Kati's gone. Nesk is gone. Dukh is gone. Slosou is gone. Brud is gone. Nizru is gone. Kraro is gone. His father is gone. The others are gone. The children are gone. There are no more village feasts. There are no more people calling him in to tend to injuries after a hunt. There are no more days spent lazing about telling Kati of some ancient story he'd read the other day. There are no more cold nights when he and his friends all sleep in one house to keep warm. There's no more trading insults with Nesk or Dukh, no more trying to help Kraro build a ridiculous and extremely un-tolkavi failure of a contraption. No more Kati greeting him by spontaneously hugging him. None of it. All gone.

Ruz feels very alone.

...

Better not to think of them as gone.

[3/4] Ruzke !TEEDashxDA 2010/08/10(Tue)21:42 No. 217225 ID: e973f4
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"But... I wonder why you're the only one left. Do you have any idea what happened?" Apparently, though, he didn't let his thoughts show.

"I don't. I don't know why whatever did this left me alone; the only thing I can think of is that it might be related to my magic. And I really don't know how it did this."

"... Well, at least you seem to be handling it okay..."

"What would it accomplish to get broken up about it? I might feel a little better, but that won't make everyone come back. I'm frightened, but I know I have to do something, since no one else can."

Did Ruz just say that? That came out a lot more confident than how he's feeling right now. This situation is a lot to take in at once. He's not sure how he's even supposed to feel.

"That's awfully stoic of you." Neai smiles at him again.

"I just don't know what it is I can do."

"Hmm..."

[4/4] Ruzke !TEEDashxDA 2010/08/10(Tue)21:42 No. 217226 ID: e973f4
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There's again a pause; presumably Neai is trying to think of something.

Ruz considers his own options. He could try to appeal to one of the other tolkavi villages for aid, assuming they're still there, or for that matter try his luck in Odalabon to the east. He could also try to get in contact with a spirit somehow, and see if they know something; he's not completely sure how to do that, but he knows for a fact that there are a myriad of spirits in Tolkau. It can't be that hard.

Or he could ask Neai for advice. Ruz has his doubts, but he knows for a fact that the sauzer religious structure involves communing with spirits. It's a stretch, but it could be worth a try.

You can't sit there craning your neck all day. You should ask Neai if she wants to give you a shoulder ride! We're gonna make you the best climber in all the forest.

Now is the time to mention the shadow thing. You were in Kati's house looking around, something from the shadows, something that looked very much like a shadow, attacked, engulfed, and left you disoriented.

>>217226
Bring Neai along with you to the spirits. There is gonna be some communing going on.

>>217316
I'm in favor of this plan. Do we have the proper supplies for the trip?

I say go see the sauzers. You can always try for one of the others, but for the tolkavi it would probably be best to get a better picture of what happened before asking them, and communing with spirits without friends to look for you if something goes wrong seems risky.

The best idea is to go to the nearest Tolkavi village. You know the Sauzer village is probably ok if whats-her-face just came from there, so you need to see if more of your people are affected. I'd say the northmost one is probably the best bet.

Get help from Neai, definitely. Hopefully this help will include shoulder-rides. If she personally has experience with communing with spirits try that. If not, heading for the other villages is probably a better idea. I just don't know whether Neai should come with you. You could always ask her to ask around Odalabon if anyone knows what could make a village disappear if you think it would be a bad idea going to another village with a sauzer.

Go to the middle village (Moninou, I think it says). But make sure Neai is willing to come with you. I don't think we should be caught on our own again.

[1/5] Ruzke !TEEDashxDA 2010/08/12(Thu)22:49 No. 217936 ID: e973f4
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Ruz is not going to ask to climb on Neai's shoulder! He's only doing that if they get to kn---

He means, he's not doing that. It will not happen. Out of the question.

[2/5] Ruzke !TEEDashxDA 2010/08/12(Thu)22:49 No. 217937 ID: e973f4
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He is still reluctant to tell Neai about the shadow.

As far as what he was trying to concentrate on goes, Ruz considers that all three of the options he can think of probably have potential, and he may as well try all of them if he can't get any leads. He has no idea if he can get in contact with a spirit or not, and there's no telling whether or not anyone in Odalabon will know better than he does.

And he doesn't want to think about it, but... he has to consider that the other villages might not be there if he walks out there.

He and Neai try to speak at once.

"So I think I should---"

"If you want me to---"

It happens a second time.

"I mean, if you---"

"I just feel like---"

They look away from each other awkwardly for a moment.

"You go first."

[3/5] Ruzke !TEEDashxDA 2010/08/12(Thu)22:50 No. 217938 ID: e973f4
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"Alright. I thought about it, and I think at this point I can try to get help from one of the tolkavi villages, or Odalabon, or I can try to find a spot out in the forest where I would be able to talk directly to a more powerful spirit. But I think no matter what I do, I'm going to need help from someone else."

Neai waits, a bit longer than Ruz was expecting, and then replies, rather tentatively.

"Well, um... I guess... what I want to say..."

[4/5] Ruzke !TEEDashxDA 2010/08/12(Thu)22:50 No. 217939 ID: e973f4
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She shakes her head from side to side and tries again.

"First, um, I feel like... like I should help you. I mean, I spent a lot of my free time out here with you guys, and it's not like there's anyone in Odalabon besides my father and our servant I really feel connected to. No offense to them, but I mean, no one lives out there. So I guess, what I'm trying to say is that wherever you decide to go, I'll go with you. I don't think you really want to go talk to a spirit by yourself, even a friendly one. I mean... you're, well..."

She trails off. Ruz knows what she wants to say, though.

"Small."

"Is it okay for me to point that out? I feel kind of bad pointing that out like that. I mean, I don't want to offend you or anything, and a lot of you tolkavi are a little sensitive it."

"It's fine." As long as she doesn't start toting Ruz around like a doll or something.

"Anyway, I want to help you. I don't think you can do this by yourself, and I don't want you to have to try."

"... Thanks."

[5/5] Ruzke !TEEDashxDA 2010/08/12(Thu)22:51 No. 217940 ID: e973f4
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"Oh! One other thing. If you want to get in contact with a spirit, I think I might know someone who can help you with that!"

"Really?"

"Well, I mean, she's not exactly... dependable, and she might not be available when we get to Odalabon, but she is a priestess who communes with spirits on a regular basis."

"That... sounds very useful."

"Well, like I said, if she's available. She kind of... isn't the most clear-headed person."

"Uh huh."

The conversation trails off again. Neai seems to be stopping to let Ruz mull over things from time to time.

Ruz mentally goes over what he's determined he needs to do, so far.

At this point, he could ask for more details, or he could decide to go somewhere (which is sounding like it will be one of his own kind's villages). In the latter case, he would probably need to think of what he could try to use as "adventuring equipment," although most of the stuff for that purpose (like, say, rope, or packs) was shared by the village, and has consequently probably vanished. Ruz's trunk mostly contains four sauzer-size manuscripts, which are probably not going to be very useful to carry around, especially given their fragility.

Or he could ask Neai where he should go first.

>>217940
You've got nothing to lose from just asking. Ask more about the priestess, and also whether she thinks talking to spirits is a good idea at all. If she lives in Odalabon, though it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to visit. You could at least ask around the rest of the town even if she isn't available or willing to help.

>>217940
Go with the lead in Odalbon. And you can probably pick up some more adventuring gear there. Neai's family sounds rich so you can probably get funds from her.

>>217940
So what are these manuscripts?

Odalabon is sounding like a better choice now that we have reasons to go there.

Eh, you really need to know more about what's happening before you know what to ask. I say check out the closest tolkavi village first so we can get a vector on what direction the force is coming from, if the other villages are fine, if it's specific to a region, etc. etc. etc. The more we know, the better questions we can ask the spirit when we commune with it.

I mean, all you really need is food and a sturdy stick if there's not much else in the village. source of fire would also be nice.

A sturdy stick is important. You can use it to poke any feet that come close to stepping on you.

Since you insist on walking around way down there on the ground.

[1/2] Ruzke !TEEDashxDA 2010/08/14(Sat)21:57 No. 218505 ID: e973f4
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Ruz decides to investigate the lead in Odalabon first. He still has every intention of checking out the tolkavi villages, but the priestess in the sauzer town seems more pressing.

"So, could you tell me more about this priestess?"

Neai takes a deep breath.

"Um, sure! See, you know, there's this thing where you have to have a temple in order for the town to 'really' be a town, and if you're not 'really' a town then you don't usually get trained guards, so when they set up Odalabon they got this kind of kooky girl, uh, Lani is her name, from somewhere way east of here to come run the temple. And, um, I mean, I think she's supposed to tell the rest of us about the spirits and the gods and stuff, and talk with the local spirits to make sure that the town is safe. And, I mean, she kind of does that, but mostly she begs the farmers, and the guards, and my father, and really anyone, for drinks. She says they help her 'trance' or whatever, which I guess is a thing you have to do to commune with spirits, but I don't really know. Anyway, when I go in and watch what she's doing like she lets me do sometimes, she does seem to be talking with spirits. And, I mean, if she's not around for whatever reason, because sometimes she does things like sleep for two or three days, she does have an acolyte, Nymytan or something like that, who I don't think is nearly as good at the spirit-talking thing, but she could at least try, or maybe talk Lani into doing something if she's not in the mood. Am I rambling?"

"... Yes, but it's okay. ... So. I guess we'll head there for now. I want to check out the villages to the north and south of here before we actually talk to a spirit, but the way you describe it, that would be something we would need to set up in advance anyway."

"Probably!"

Ruz starts leading Neai into the village.

[2/2] Ruzke !TEEDashxDA 2010/08/14(Sat)21:57 No. 218507 ID: e973f4
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Momentarily...

Neai leans over to peer into the door of Ruz's hut, which she has no hope of entering, while he goes through his things (the storage huts having predictably proved completely devoid of anything other than hut interior).

"So this is where you live? I mean, I could use this as a bench or something!"

"Please don't! I don't know if it can support your weight."

"I wasn't going to try it..."

"But yes, this is where I live. Or, maybe, where I lived; I feel like I might have to leave it behind for a while if I want to get the village back."

"Hmm."

There's a pause, before Neai changes the topic.

"Sooooo, what are you looking for?"

"Supplies! Since I'm probably going to be gone for a while. The problem is, we usually kept supplies in one of those empty huts I showed you a moment ago, so I probably don't have much of anything useful in here."

"I mean, I don't think you'll really need all that much stuff if we're just walking to Odalabon, but okay!"

While he explains himself to Neai, Ruz looks through his things. He never really had a lot of things that were personally his; the only things in the trunk are the four aforementioned manuscripts (three about Givonian history, one about the pre-Shattering world, and all in an obscure old dialect of Givonian that makes reading through them a time-consuming affair), a set of mostly-empty jars that have at various points in time contained different herbal ingredients (he needs to refill those at some point, but that's really low priority right now), some clothing, and...

...an amulet Kati had the smith make for him. How long has this been buried in the bottom of his trunk? Ruz takes it. Should he take anything else?

Take a weapon, a map, whatever you use as money and some preserved food, preverable pickled fish.
No special reason for that, I just like pickled fish.

>>218510
He doesn't have any of that.

Take a spare set of clothes. That's all you're going to need from this stuff. I presume you've read the manuscripts already, so no point in bringing them. Bring any you haven't read, otherwise.

>>218507
Bring along the jars and the extra clothing.

And you know she might not see the trip as that far. She's alot taller after all and has much longer legs and a longer stride. If you ride on her shoulders then you could probably be there alot quicker.

Ruzke !TEEDashxDA 2010/08/16(Mon)22:11 No. 218982 ID: e973f4
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Ruz agrees that weapons, maps, currency and preserved food would all be quite useful, but he doesn't have any of those things!

First off, he puts the amulet on. It's kind of a trinket, but it's still a nice memento from his friend, and (in theory) the design somehow makes his magic a little more effective. (Ruz has always had his doubts, but there's the claim.) He would also love to bring the manuscripts, but they're quite a bit larger than he can comfortably carry, and Neai doesn't appear to have brought a pack with her, which would make them liable to come apart when transported. He decides to go with the clothes and the jars. He wraps the jars up with the clothes, and then... just... sticks them... somewhere... ?

"Um, do you want me to carry that for you?"

"Yes, that would probably be better."

"Alright!"

"... We should go, then."

They set out for Odalabon.

The walk will probably take two and a half hours. If Ruz wanted to ask Neai anything, or wanted to tell her anything, or if the knowledge-lacking set of spirits in his head wanted to know something, this would be a pretty good opportunity.

(Certainly he could walk the whole way in mental and physical silence, but that would be rather dull.)

Tell Neai that when you were searching through your village you were attacked by a translucent monster that appeared from an empty corner. It wrapped around you and you couldn't talk, you couldn't breathe. You didn't even have time to think. When you came to, there was no trace of it. It attacked you, then vanished as mysteriously as it came.

Too bad you can't tell her about this over a roaring campfire with your features lit from underneath. But she ought to know to watch out for corners when it so happens that everyone disappears!

>>218982
Ask her about Odalabon. Her family and why she hangs out with Tolkavi.

Does she know you can do magic?

What kind of magic can you do anyway?

How frequently do Tolkavi come to Odalabon? Are the inhabitants used to them or will we stand out?

[1/1] Ruzke !TEEDashxDA 2010/08/19(Thu)22:08 No. 220039 ID: d677cc
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To avoid enormous updates, I'm just gonna do one 'topic' at a time.

Ruz decides to ask about their destination first.

"So, as long as we're going to be walking, could you tell me more about Odalabon?"

Neai seems a bit intimidated by the question.

"Um, like, what?"

"... Just start off with the 'basics.'"

"Okay, uh, so, Odalabon is a little town out in the middle of nowhere (I mean, no offense). Most of the people there are farmers. Outside of that you've got my father, who's a trader, his apprentice, the guy who's in charge of the tavern on the ground floor (who works for him), me, and our servant; the priestess and her, uh, acolyte or whatever you call her; and the two guards who are stationed out there. And that's pretty much it! I mean, when you're in town proper there are only three buildings there. I think Odalabon was supposed to be part of a 'set' of towns, or whatever, but it kind of fell through so now there's just the one town that's almost a day's walk from anywhere else in Givone."

"And will it be... weird, for me to be there?"

"Well, I mean... kind of... yeah, pretty much. You tolkavi sort of don't really leave the forest. At all. Ever. I mean, the only way my dad has been able to get you guys to trade stuff is by sending me out there."

"That's why you came out to Okhlou?"

"Well, it's not the whole reason, but, I mean, it is a reason? I guess?"

Ruz isn't sure what to think of that.

>>220039

Means she's probably also been bored by life here. Your village represented a really cool diversion for her. What could she and your fellow tolkavi have been talking about during trade talk?

Huh, you don't ever leave the forest? How'd you get those manuscripts then? Curious...

>>220039
The trade stuff is probably something that's better to talk to her dad about.

Ask her what she meant earlier when she said that the priestess was odd.

ask her what other reasons she has for going out there wink wink nudge nudge

[1/1] Ruzke !TEEDashxDA 2010/08/21(Sat)20:24 No. 220845 ID: d677cc
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Ruz's manuscripts were gifts; the Legendarium he got as a parting gift from one of the mages he trained with, and the set detailing history was something Kati got for him... probably by trading with Neai, come to think of it. But Ruz himself has only been outside of the forest once, and he didn't go nearly as far as Odalabon.

Ruz continues the conversation.

"So, there were other reasons you came out here?"

"Well, I mean. I'm going to be honest."

She pauses.

"Odalabon can be really boring. None of the farmers are that interesting to talk to unless you want to talk about farming, and I mean, I don't; neither of the guards will talk to me (I think they hate people); Lani is kind of interesting to talk to but she's usually unconscious, and her apprentice or acolyte or whatever she's called is afraid of me because I'm tall; my father keeps leaving on trips back to Givone, and his apprentice Payedon hates me for some reason, and then there's our servant Syl but I think he's afraid of saying something 'wrong' to me so he tends to be a bit hesitant to really let out his feelings or whatever, and the guy who runs the tavern isn't really a talker either and I think he thinks I'm annoying, and my mother enlisted when I was six and since her mother is pretty high up in the military, like a general or something, she got a pretty important position and she doesn't ever come home anymore. So most of the time I don't really have anyone to talk to about, like, spiritual stuff."

She stops to breathe. Ruz suspects that the things she says are probably shorter in her head.

"And so when my father said he'd like me to try going out to one of the tolkavi villages, since you guys had shown some interest in trading for things but you didn't really seem to want to come to Odalabon to do it, I mean, I couldn't help but say yes. The first few times I came out there it seemed like I made you guys really uncomfortable, but after a while, a few of you in particular, like Kati and Kraro, were totally willing to just talk about pretty much whatever. And, I mean, it's cool to talk to you guys about stuff! You have a totally different history from us, for the most part, and some of your legends are the same but some of them are way different, and your society is, I mean, no offense, but it's weird to think about everything being built around the villages instead of just like families for me, since that's not the way we do it and all. You guys even taught me your language! When I started there's no way I would've thought that would happen, but it did! But basically it's just nice to be able to talk to people without them getting annoyed and asking you to go do something else or else being really reluctant to say anything!"

Well, that seems honest enough. And it certainly sounds better to Ruz than the... improbable... idea that the spirits seem to be suggesting to him.

>>220845

She came because she luuuuuves you. :3

Ask if she has any spiritual stuff she'd like to talk about.

>>220845
Ask about some of that nerdy stuff you like, like history or something. It's got to be interesting to have a chance at an outsider's perspective, right? Plus filling us in on things that should be common knowledge is always good.

Ask about her servant. What did he have to FEAR, exactly? Is her family like super-important or something? Also inquire more about the villages-families thing, that seems interesting.