[ We find Our Heroes in the really awfully goddamn big library of Black Peak. It's the day after the war, and in another part of the mountain keep, Xivilai is holding a social event that simultaneously celebrates her victory and hosts the diplomatic talks that determine exactly what the war ends up accomplishing and who gets what. This means that Xiv is locked in a room with no less than three hundered snobby, pretentious Elven dignitaries. ] [ ...Poor Xiv. ] [ You guys lucked out, tho, and are not required to so much as set foot inside the rooms set aside for this oppresively dull and insidiously irritating event. So instead, you're here, with wine, fully healed, and with each other for company. Lucky you. ] ( That's 300 snobby, pretention, SCARED SHITLESS Elven dignitaries. =P ) (Details, details.) ( Doesn't make them any less annoying. ;) ) [ In other news, Faydra Shardae seems to have vanished from the face of the planet. There are numerous entertaining explanations for this phenominon, but nothing has been confirmed as of yet. ] [ Session Start! ] ... explain to me again why Xivilai doesn't just get all glowy and scare anyone arguing with her so bad that they wet their trousers? ( Because that would be rude. ) * Sei is absorbed in a book, but looks up. "If she did that, people would probably get annoyed enough at her that there'd be another war." * Ada idly swirls her wine. "That and it would be rude." (Just for you, Robin.) ... logical, but not particularly amusing. Want another try, Sei? *grins* ( XD ) * Sei goes back to reading. "Nah." * Nebrinel is holding a glass of wine herself, with a frown on her face. The frown has pretty much been etched there since the second she got up out of the hospital or whatnot. * Ada has a sip and eyes Nebrinel, then shakes her head. * Ethan shrugs, and goes back to leafing through one of a stack of books he's somehow manages to rustle up on the subject of military tactics in the Eastern Kingdoms. * Nebrinel takes a sip of her wine, and looks out a window. "If you want to be amused, Ethan, just think about the fact that most of them probably expect her to do just that." * Ethan raises an eyebrow from behind his book, and chuckles. "That was actually pretty amusing, Nebrinel. I'm finally starting to be a positive influence on you, hmm?" * Nebrinel responds dryly, "No. You just rarely appreciate my sense of humor." Mmm. I'll hafta be more attentive, then. Wasn't aware you were an aspiring comedienne. * Ada snerks. * Nebrinel almost starts to smile. "Your loss, I suppose." She takes a drink of wine, and wanders away from the window. Thought I was the only one... *lets his voice drift off as he apparently finds a particularly interesting passage in the book he's reading* ... now this here is interesting. * Ada considers, then looks to Sei. "Sei, did you copy the entire set of volumes on the Great Weapons? * Sei thinks. "I believe I did, yes." * Ada nods. "Would you mind looking for one that matched what Sadira was using? It flashed different colors, as I recall." * Ethan keeps on reading. By george, he looks engrossed. * Ethan becomes unengrossed at the mention of Sadira. "Erg..... yeah, I'd appreciate it too." Not at all... Plaguebringer flashed too, you realize. Yes, but plaid? * Sei puts down his book, gets the large one out of his bag, and starts paging through it rapidly. Plaid was Ethan's, Ada. Yeah. Pantryfiller flashed plaid when I hit her with that uppercut swing... nifty, that. * Nebrinel smirks. "Perhaps you still need to rest?" The frown then comes back, and she takes another drink of wine. It was a shortsword, I know that for sure. Was glowing red, I think... and it made her freaking hand grow back. That can't be too common. * Sei looks up. "Found something." Hmm? It's a Serioli weapon, which they called..."that which introduces a certain amount of turbulence into all that is." According to this, it was once owned by a rogue, who called it "Lawbreaker." Of course. Fitting. And it lets its owner regenerate faster than my mouth can get me into trouble? It was their first failed attempt to forge Godslayer. There were two other failures - one may no longer exist, and may or may not be on the level of a Great Weapon. Well, it looks like...unpredictable things happen around it. In a major sort of way - both good and bad. * Ada frowns slightly and toys with the chain around her neck. ... I'm not sure I'm following. So if I chopped off Sadira's hand again, it might reanimate and try to choke her? Looks like it. Or it might mutate into a giant mechanical chicken. Did that actually happen? (Chikin!) ... so, basically, I just got really unlucky that the hand grew back? Maybe and yes, from what this says. One legend says that Chaos itself affected the weapon. The smith who made it later went on to make a weapon of "orderliness" - I'm not sure how that would work. ... I'm assuming Pantryfiller isn't said weapon. * Ada nods. * Nebrinel chuckles very dryly, then takes a sip. "On a different note. What was their other attempt at Godslayer? Was it that order weapon?" * Sei hmms, and continues paging through the book. ... reminds me. Anything in there on the curse attached to Pantryfiller, Sei? * Nebrinel starts moving on her little pacing walk again. Well, here are some theories on the "orderly" weapon...and they're very confusing. * Sei shakes his head. "I don't think I could explain this one. As for Pantryfiller..." * Sei sighs. "Prejudice hasn't helped the research here. Apparently the curse was placed by a human in the Eastern Kingdoms, but everything in the literature discounts human arcane magic as mere low-level witchcraft at best." * Ada snorts. "Of course." Legend has it that the blade was once used by a powerful bandit leader, and a good witch cursed it to stop him. * Nebrinel actually gets a smile out of that. "Of course." The curse would turn the bandit into "a petulant child" when attacking. * Sei peers at the book, and traces a few words. "Although, the implication is that the curse would differ depending on the wielder's own nature." * Ethan rubs his temples. "Well, if the curse isn't an inherent part of the weapon, at least that means it might be possible to get rid of it." The other bandits laughed at him, of course, went off into battle, and were promptly de-spleened. * Sei nods. That's the good news, I suppose. The bad news? * Sei shrugs. It doesn't get us any closer to fixing it. * Ethan shrugs. "And it's not like the curse is really *that* bad, right?" * Sei smiles. "Not for you, anyway." * Ada nods, thoughtfully. "I'll ask my Lady. When all of this is over, in any event." * Ethan grins nervously at Sei. "It's that bad?" Eh, don't worry about it. It's not that bad - well, as long as you're not an enemy. * Sei grins. "I must say, you're an...inspired musician." * Ethan shakes his head. "Like I told Ada, I only remember little flashes from when the curse was active... but the only hostile thought I picked up on directed at your guys involved coconut custard pies." ( HA! ) * Nebrinel snorts, and works her way back to the window, which she stops at again. * Sei nods. * Ada shakes her head and has another sip of wine. * Ethan blinks at Sei. "Huhwha?" * Sei peers over at Ada. "What do you think? Should I?" * Ada raises an eyebrow. "Should you what?" * Sei stands up, and looks around to make sure he won't be disturbing anyone else in the library. [ There is nobody else in the library. Not even a book-kami. ] * Sei clears his throat, and proceeds to deliver an inspired rendition of Ethan's Happy Spleen Song, complete with explanatory hand gestures. * Ada listens to all this with a completely straight face. ( *Yu-Mei cracks up. ) * Nebrinel just stares right out the window. * Sei sits back down, smiling. "That was curiously...relaxing." ... I remember that now. Thanks Sei! *hums the tune* Welcome. Relaxing for you, perhaps. * Ada shakes her head. "Keep it up, and we'll see if you transform every time you go unconscious, Ethan." * Ethan stops humming, and goes back to reading his book. * Nebrinel shakes her head, and takes another drink. Then she realizes she's emptied her glass, and wanders over to get it filled. "Sei, you didn't really answer my question. You mentioned three failures. Lawbreaker, the one that may no longer exist, and yet another. Was there anything on that last one?" Hmm, let's see here... * Sei makes with the frantic page-flipping. ... I'm gonna hafta ask Xivilai if she has any of those book-copying things that Sei has. Some of these texts are really incredible. * Nebrinel fills her glass up for the third time, and starts wandering again while Sei looks. "What, stories about cow-throwing catapults you wish to carry with you forever?" * Sei grins. "I could keep some copies for you, if you like." Not quite. The writer is apparently an elven scholar who spent several hundred years wandering the human realms, with the help of an illusion, and observing battles all across the Eastern Kingdoms. s'meant to be an exhaustive study of human military tactics from an elven perspective. ... and it includes the first recorded military use of a cattle stampede. By, it appears, an ancestor of mine. Oh, my... For some reason, I'm not entirely surprised. I cannot honestly say I am surprised either. Although he might have been an interesting soul to meet. Not many people do such things. * Nebrinel takes another drink. * Ada finishes her glass and refills it. * Ethan clears his throat. "At first, I thought it a chance happening; the sort of random event that just happens from time to time. But then I saw the goateed human on horseback, yelling and hooting, driving the stampede into the precise formations of his adversary. Only then did I realize that this was no happenstance; it was perhaps the clearest example I've yet to witness of how the humans managed to keep from being completely annihilated in the Wars." * Ada chuckles. "So your family is the only one with goatees." Apparently. Well, earlier on it refers to the general of that army as being one General Swordbreaker... *grins* That's a little more confirming. * Sei grins. * Ethan nods. "And I'm only on the third volume of the series..." * Sei looks up. "Found it! The dagger Iceflame." * Ada hmms. "A dagger?" ( A dagger by Elven standards, sure. ) If it's an elven author, dagger might be misleading for you. What other information is there on this Iceflame? (It's icy! And it's flamey!) (Don't make me stuff you in an icebox and light it on fire.) ( ... oh god. BAD IDEA IN HEAD. ) ( Morganti condoms. x_X ) ( ... ) (...) (...) (Now, more than ever, a "little death.") (Get on with it, says Nebby.) * Yu-Mei gives Ethan a BOOT TO THE HEAD. *THWACK* * Sei opens his book to a large section. "It's apparently well-known: 'Bearer of the Ice that Burns Like Fire.' Passed down through a powerful family in the Empire." ( X_x ) Really. Which one? Ice that burns like fire... I'm not even gonna ask. (All of'em.) * Nebrinel takes another sip. "If I were a betting woman, I would say Shardae, but that would be even more disturbing coincidence." * Ada nods. Looks like the E'Lanya line. * Nebrinel shakes her head, and looks thoughtful. "A pity. At least I keep my money. But perhaps that identifies the pommel that Sei acquired at Faydra's place." Really. Hrm. What is it described as, Sei? * Ada blinks. "Wait. No, I don't think the pommel is it." ... well I'll be damned. The first ever use of the cow-loaded catapault is in the next volume. Why not, Ada? * Sei hmms, and looks through the book some more, before peering up at Ethan. "...how well did it work?" The warlord of the Empire is descended from that line, and it's well known that he has a great weapon. * Nebrinel makes a small huhing noise. "Strange. Faydra said it formed a dagger's blade of flame. How many flaming daggers that people think are great weapon pieces could there be in the world?" She drinks more. I wasn't aware of this. * Ethan puts down his book, and picks up the next book on the stack, thumbing furiously through the index before finding the right page. "Hmm... apparently, the tactic came about when a bandit king laid seige to a fortress on the edge of their territory, using some sort of huge trained monster. The original idea was to toss the cow to distract the monster long enough for troops to ride from the castle and rout the bandit king's troops... * Nebrinel pauses for a second, and shrugs. "I must have forgotten to tell you in my haste. Concentrate on the pommel, and a flame sprouts from the blade." ... except the catapault operater miscalculated, and the cow ended up missing the monster completely... and crushing the bandit king into a fine paste. Impressive. Apparently, with their king dead, the bandits scattered, and the troops in the fortress were able to kill the fearsome monster... led by a Commander Swordbreaker. *grins* * Ada eyes Nebrinel for a moment, then says, "Yes, I imagine you did." She gets to her feet and vanishes with a simple gesture. * Sei looks in his book. "The best description it gives for Iceflame is a wide variety of extremely strong powers." * Nebrinel murmers something angrily, looks off towards the books, and back. "Sounds like a decent attempt at something meant to become Godslayer, does it not?" * Sei nods. ... that's rather vague. 'A lot of really strong powers.' * Ethan sighs. "s'one thing I really hate about all this magic stuff. Nothing is ever just explained. It's all hidden behind layers and layers of cryptic bullshit." * Nebrinel smirks. "And people wonder why I stopped formal training." * Sei grins. "You get used to it." * Ada reappears. In her hand is the pommel, a blade now sprouting from it: an almost solid blue fire with flickers of orange. "It seems you're right, Nebrinel." * Nebrinel eyes Ada's dagger (well, sword to human, ha.) "Interesting." Ah, Ada, I found more information - although, not much. It's supposed to have a wide variety of very strong powers. When someone asks me 'Hey, Ethan, how did you disarm that guy?', I don't answer 'One must remember that the natural state of man is unarmed. To separate a warrior from his weapon, one must simply allow nature to take its course.' I say 'Stab him in the elbow.' * Ada looks it over. "I'm sure, but if this is a Great Weapon, it's not complete." * Nebrinel flicks her eyes down to Plaguebringer, and back up. "Is it conscious?" No. * Ada smiles faintly. "At least, it's not talking to me." * Ethan eyes the flame blade in Ada's hand. "Ooh, that's neat... how come everyone else gets the Great Weapons with the really spiffy powers?" *munches on a donut* (<.< Absorb something with uber powers with Pantryfiller, then.) * Ada looks at Ethan blankly for a moment. "Didn't I just say it's not complete, if it even is one?" * Nebrinel glowers at Ethan, and bites her lip. Well, yeah. But that's even worse. That incomplete weapon sprouts flames. I can set out a buffet. I *like* being well fed, mind you... but it's not quite as useful in combat. * Ada snorts, and the flame flickers out. She has her old seat. * Nebrinel says sourly, "At least you are not asking, Ethan, 'How come everyone else gets the Great Weapons which are not trying to kill them and everyone in the world.'." She looks back out the window again, and takes another drink. Aww, don't worry Nebrinel. Despite the fact that I have no clue as to Plaguebringer's origins, powers, or weaknesses, little to no grasp of magic, and absolutely no defenses against it's soul sucking and mind controlling abilities, I'll make sure it doesn't destroy the world. ^_^_V * Nebrinel doesn't even bother responding. Apparently, the window is very entertaining. ( ...Nebby minds the notion of killing everyone? Who'da thunk it. ^_~ ) (Everyone includes her. Certain flaw in the great plan. ^_~) * Ada twirls the pommel in her hands. "I had never thought to ask, but what are you doing back in Black Peak, Nebrinel?" Besides... despite Pantryfiller lacking the intimdation factor of most other Great Weapons, and some not-so-Great Weapons... it's still one helluva glaive. Arencha? *patpats Pantryfiller* A small matter of payment, Ada. Ah. Well, I'm sure you'll get your due. * Nebrinel takes another drink. "I am sure. And then, maybe, we'll see how the wind blows." ( Well that's not ominous at all. Nope. Not in the least. ) (Of course not! ^_^) * Ada smirks. "We will." * Ethan strokes his goatee lightly. "Such is life..." * Sei is, once again, absorbed in reading. (It's part of the Xivilai contract. If you work for Xiv, you have to put some ominous in your stuff.) (Yeah. Just like the prerequisite course in Cryptic Speaking also.) (... Redundant, isn't it?) * Nebrinel makes a small hrming noise. "I have to wonder where Fyril is as well. Smart of him not to be around when Faydra showed up." * Ada shrugs. He seemed really shaken by the whole thing... War is no easy thing. * Nebrinel just takes another drink. s'not for everyone. Hell, s'not for me, really. * Sei nods. I'm sure he'll turn up. * Nebrinel shrugs. "Perhaps." Probably best he wasn't around near the end anyway... as crazy as things got, and with the way he was hesitating, he coulda gotten really hurt. * Sei nods. * Nebrinel rolls her eyes at nothing in particular, and puts her empty glass down. "I think I'll spend my time until Xivilai wants to deal with me looking for something." * Nebrinel starts walking off into the depths of the library. Good luck! * Nebrinel mutters, "I think I'll need it," and goes off into the books. [ Session End. Dun dun dun! ]