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12.23.2132 - Interview in Church

Started by Dray, May 23, 2008, 10:12:30 PM

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Dray

I made a couple of edits within my last post. I forgot that the Circle of Flame is quite a few floors up from Emma's seventh floor bedroom.

Johan

No worries; toss the bastard to the lions.
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Dray

He'll have to wait, I am off to Pre-Calc class in Boston.

In retrospect, I would rather be him. hehe

Dray

As River backed into the shadows of an alcove, Temmit quietly stepped the remaining ten paces to the door of the waiting room. Turning the gold handle of the ancient pine door he stepped through, and the small but elaborate sitting room beyond was nothing what he had expected.

First, Temmit had assumed the room would have another egress, as his assumption was that this room was an antechamber to a larger Quintescant office. It wasn't. He also didn't expect that a room serving the sole purpose of holding people "in wait" would be so lavishly decorated.

'Well, I've been wrong before,' he thought to Smokey.

Countless times in fact'. Smokey teased.

Looking around the elaborate room, he purposely didn't look straight at Marcus.

For it's small size, the room was full of things to look at. At it's center was a fountain that was shaped like a miniaturized version of the capital city. From the replica of the Spire and Church at the Fountain's center, a stream of water shot upwards from the head of the Spire. The frothing but clean water almost reaching the ceiling of the room before cascading down onto the "city streets" below, running between the various districts and city walls and buildings before reaching a grate in the floor at the inner edge of the outermost Fourth Wall.

The floor around the fountain was a carpet embroidered to be a detailed map of the kingdom. Although the wall-to-wall floor art was not to scale due to the room's small size, each village, and geographical point of interest seemed to be represented by the colorful thread.

At the floor level, the room perimeter was guarded by relief carvings along the four walls, the Holy Flame Barrier along with it's tall torches and guard towers cleverly represented in the stonework.

Also along the top of the wall opposite him, Temmit was dazzled by the two-foot tall stained glass runner that swept the length of the room. The rays of light through which created prisms of color to reflect about the room.

Five benches were about the room close to the walls, each marble artfully carved into the likeness of an open knapsack, a shield and a sword resting at the edge.

A boy was sitting alone on one of these in the opposite corners. Temmit allowed his gaze to slowly rest upon the boy and then with equal casual attitude walked over to him.

The boy look a year or two younger than him, kind of thin with a mop of black hair. (See picture below) He wore his school uniform, and apparently he was with the Harvesters House, Temmit recognizing the pitchfork over wheat symbol.

Temmit sense that he had been looking at him since he entered the room. As he walked over to the bench he sat on, the boy raised his hand in greeting.

With a smile Marcus said, "Hello."




Johan

As per the usual, Sense Motive is on high here (inasmuch as possible, taking a 20) might look to use Gather Information, or Bluff if necessary...

"Hi." Temmit responded, trying to seem a bit awed by the room. This was easy, because he was in fact awed by the room.

He entered and walked slowly around the central fountain: the simulacrum of their entire island of a country. He made his way slowly towards the youngster, his eyes keeping to the fountain.

"Can you believe this?" He asked incredulously. "All of Safe Haven modeled in a single fountain. You'd wonder why they didn't put it in the center of Our Commons, you know?"
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Dray

Sense Motive is the best skill for this situation. Gather information would be useful if he was a new-found ally, or, an enemy who could be "bluffed" to share a lot of information.

Please give me a roll on this one, as the subject and situation does not allow the taking of a ten or twenty (per PHB:65). However, should the roll not thrill you, please feel free to use an  action point which allows you to add 1d6 to your roll.

To give you an idea as to what a "good roll" would be, see the table under Sense Motive (PHB:81).


"I thought the same thing when I first got here almost half-a-hand ago," the boy said, looking back to the wondrous fountain.

"I guess it's purpose is to keep the people in waiting from perishing of absolute boredom," he said blandly.

Temmit raised an eyebrow to him, the obvious question left unasked.

The boy chuckled, "yeah, it's not working," turning his gaze back and forth from Temmit to the fountain. "I may die at any moment...."

He rested his gaze upon Temmit's garb and while inspecting it he stretched the quip further. "Please let it be known that I wish all my belongings to be left to my father after my soul has ascended," he said with a wry smile.

"My name is Marcus," he said as he stood up from the knapsack bench and held out his hand in greeting.

Temmit sensed something odd about the greeting, it's abbreviation from common etiquette was unusual.

Johan

Sense Motive roll = 19. Modified 27.

Temmit attended Marcus half-heartedly, still part-feigning awe for the fountain, until Marcus's joke, at which he chuckled.

"I'm Temmit." He said as he grasped Marcus's hand. Mental note: is his hand calloused? Cold, sweaty, firm, dirty under fingernails...?

"You say you've been here for a half hand?" He asked conversationally. "I wonder how long they might like to keep us waiting? I hope I'm not in line behind you!" He smiled at his own joke.
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Dray

(His hands were indeed a bit rough. They were not sweaty and his fingernails were actually quite clean. No unusual temperature.)

Marcus laughed along with him. "I guess that all depends on who you are waiting for eh?"

Marcus then walked over to the fountain and after briefly waiting for a reply that Temmit didn't readily give, he continued talking. "I am here to see the Quintescant, my Mom thinks I have been acting abnormal lately. She's such a tightly-bound religious nut," he said with a laugh, still looking down at the fountain.

"Thing is, I am just getting into different things now and she doesn't see that. She doesn't want her son to stray from the 'Light of Kaine'..." he held his hands up in mockery of supplication at the words.

"...from being a devoted sheep to his Scripture. Perhaps she doesn't want to believe that I am becoming a man and have other more...um, manly interests," he said with another chuckle.

As he talked, Temmit sensed a maturity in the boy that belied his age. He also had a posture and a confidence in speaking that he wasn't accustomed to seeing from an adolescent.

Johan

"Time to play a little stupid." Temmit thought.

"If anyone can do it..." He disregarded Smokey's jab.

Temmit blinked, trying to understand Marcus's words. "She's having you examined by the Quintescant because you're going through puberty, and are interested in girls?" He asked with some measure of disbelief.
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Dray

Marcus chuckled. "That's about it my friend. About a month ago I started hanging out with this girl Sarah and my now mother believes me strange."

Although Temmit was not familiar with this particular boy's body language, the typical queue's of lying were evident.

'A month ago? Isn't that when Renee said he had returned from his Expedition of the Lost Stupid Boy?' Smokey asked.

'Yes I believe it was.'

"Ah well, at least I get to see what the Quintescant are all about," he said and started to walk around the fountain, looking at the carpet-map as he spoke.

"What are you in for?" he asked like a prisoner to a cell mate.

Johan

"Tell him you don't know." Smokey offered. "Tell him that you were summoned here, and you don't know why." Smokey was an excellent liar; it was a skill that had helped Temmit countless times over the years.

Temmit liked the idea. Blow my psionic focus and use Telempathic Projection Will DC 15 save negates. "I'm not really sure." He lied. One of the great benefits to being a student of other people's body language was that it made Temmit a very good liar. Smokey often provide the lie itself, but Temmit had to sell it. Modified 18 on Bluff roll. 22 if he didn't make his Will Save.

"I got a message at the orphanage to report here today...now...and here I am."

"But seriously," he redirected the conversation. "All you're doing is hanging around with a girl and that lands you in here?!?! Come on: you must have been doing more than just playing ball, right?" He smiled conspiratorily at Marcus.
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Dray

Marcus paused for a moment as if in decisive thought, then visibly waved off the thought with a motion of his head.

"Well, no, that isn't the real reason. I actually got lost in the woods in late FallEnd (November) for an entire week. Quite the embarassing really..."

'It worked!' Smokey exclaimed a bit incredulously.

"...I was out collecting herbs when I fell down the edge of a small chasm. The fall didn't injure me, just a few scratches and bruises, but I was left at the bottom of it and had to try to circumvent around." he said and returned his gaze to Temmit.

"Well, I got lost my friend," he exclaimed, his hands going up briefly. "I had been in those woods dozens and dozens of times, but I still got lost. I ended up going the wrong way and remained so for eight days."

Marcus sat back down on a different knapsack bench, he looked up at him, a slight smile now on his face.

Johan

Temmit returned Marcus's smile. "That's amazing!" He said in fascination. "Out in the woods alone for a whole week! Of course, you can laugh at it now, but I'll bet it was scary at the time, eh? Can you show me on this fountain where you were?" Temmit projected excitement at Marcus's story; he needed to boy to speak more.
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Dray

Marcus walked around the fountain and headed south but then frowned at the floor.

"I am afraid the map in the carpet isn't all that accurate in detail. But I was in these woods here, slightly north and east of Southaven", he said as he pointed with the toe of his boot.

"The years of growing apple trees in the town actually was my benefactor. I survived on wild apples, mushrooms and other edible plants for the week, as I can't hunt to save my life," Marcus almost laughed at his unintentional humor.

Temmit didn't see any of the queues indicating dishonesty.

"So you live at the orphanage huh? Kind of weird that they would summon you up to the Church. Did you do anything wrong recently?" he asked.

Johan

"I've been at the orphanage for a long while now." Temmit answered. "And I don't remember doing anything wrong." He shrugged then. "Seems like nothing more than the affluent telling people to do things. Same as usual."

He watched Marcus closely. After the youngster's previous blasphemy, Temmit was curious to try to discern Marcus's feelings for the church and the government.
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