Hard Landing

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Xaraphim
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Hard Landing

Post by Xaraphim »

[b:2ids9qqj]Two days ago.[/b:2ids9qqj]

The githyanki ship [i:2ids9qqj]Aagvadha[/i:2ids9qqj] hurled through the endless void of the astral plane, its massive form striking fear into all who beheld her. She positively bristled with weapons: everything from ballistae to charged lightning cannons. She was a warship through and through, and her crew always kept an eye to the silvery horizons, wary of any possible attack.

That is why they were completely caught unawares when the fabric of their plane peeled pack and deposited roughly a dozen figures in strange armor on her deck. The githyanki were less than welcoming, and quickly moved to dispatch the intruders.

There was no time for the dal'Seroth to attempt diplomacy. Sergeant Galaise reluctantly ordered his squad to open fire. At his command the riflemen drew down on their selective targets and began to unload their weapons in short, controlled bursts. The roar of an angry thunder god echoed into the infinite nothingness of the astral plane as githyanki blood met [i:2ids9qqj]Aagvadha's[/i:2ids9qqj] deck--first as a river and then an ocean of black ichor.

Still there were too many and the dal's position was quickly overrun. Galaise ordered a full withdrawal and so one of the dal'Seroth dropped a stun grenade to cover their backs as the squad quickly scrambled off of the ship.

Lieutenant Ven Alil was not so lucky. The grenade went off far enough from him that he was only mildly affected, but the pilot of the ship was stunned and the ship was hurtling towards an astral pool. He tried in desperation to abandon the ship but he was swarmed by the githyanki once more.

The [i:2ids9qqj]Aagvadha[/i:2ids9qqj] crashed through the portal and her engines, designed to work in the weightlessness of the astral plane, failed. She skimmed off of a mountain ridge, struggling to stay aloft even as she disintegrated. Finally, Ven found an opening and leaped off the side rails, plummeting to Toril's unyielding surface. His maglev booster kicked in and reduced his rate of descent to a nonlethal speed when he got about thirty feet from the ground.

Overhead, the night sky was made for the briefest of moments into day as the [i:2ids9qqj]Aagvadha[/i:2ids9qqj] vaporized in a shower of wood, crystal and dead gith.

[b:2ids9qqj]Yesterday.[/b:2ids9qqj]

A few miles from the site of the explosion a tiny sliver of light pierces the sky. Almost unnoticeable unless you were looking right at it, it lasts only the span of a heartbeat then is gone.


[b:2ids9qqj]Today.[/b:2ids9qqj]

In the heart of a forest that is wholly unfamiliar to him a figure clad in olive and brown camouflage armor a figure kneels. His helm rests to the side and his cloak lies folded neatly on a rock. He is speaking to a series of odd glyphs and images suspended in the air that seem to emanate from a thumb-sized tripod before him.

"Repeat, this is Lieutenant Ven Alil of the 504th division, can anyone read me? Command, come in..."

He sighs and scratches his cheek.

"This is Lt. Ven Alil issuing a general distress call. I've managed to launch a comm probe and establish a signal. If anyone gets this message, I have been stranded on an unknown world and I am awaiting retrieval."

He waits, unaware that he's holding his breath, but there is no reply. Finally, with a growl he angrily pokes at one of the glyphs and they all withdraw into the heart of the tripod, which compacts itself with a tiny buzz.

He pockets the tripod and sits back against a nearby tree, looking up at the sun as it filters through the canopy. It's about noon now, and no sign of pursuit from those gith.

[i:2ids9qqj]"Hopefully all dead in the crash,"[/i:2ids9qqj] he thinks to himself.
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Xaraphim
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Post by Xaraphim »

After a few listless minutes of watching the pattern of leaves above he shakes his head.

[i:3nx74bqn]"May as well see what the probe found,"[/i:3nx74bqn] he reasons to himself. Digging out the small object from before (a satellite linkup to be exact) he places it on the ground and activates it. After a moment or two of navigating its holographic menus the screen shifts to reveal an image of Faerun.

Ven tilts his head in puzzlement at the display.

[i:3nx74bqn] "That's odd. It seems as if I landed in the direct center of this plane."[/i:3nx74bqn]

Of course, coming from a flat world meant that he had almost no concept of planets and the like. He had heard theories of sphere worlds, but Serothan scientists had largely discounted such theories. After all, if a world was spherical in nature, what would keep the inhabitants from sliding off once they got too close to the equator.

He studies the map for some time, then frowns slightly. There was an odd distortion a few thousand miles in every direction...

Ven's heart rate quickens and his skin turns an ashen gray. His mouth goes dry and beads of sweat form on his brow.

[i:3nx74bqn]"No...by all the gods, light and dark...[/i:3nx74bqn]

What he was seeing was the distortion of light caused by Toril's atmosphere. The probe was in orbit around the planet, but it could not see all the way around the world, of course. Ven had no idea about this, however. His world was infinite and flat, and that's how he presumed the rest of the multiverse to work. To his mind it appeared that Toril was being slowly consumed in a planar anomaly.

Bit by bit the land was being compressed into a singularity--and that just to happened to be his only real phobia: singulariophobia, or the fear of being compressed into a singular mass.

With trembling hands he closes the screen and pockets the satlink. He picks up his helm and slides it on, the visor concealing his face, then shoulders his rifle. After a few deep breaths he manages to calm himself, but not much.

He swallows and makes his way through the forest in what he hopes to be the closest way to civilization. He has to warn the inhabitants of this world about the impending doom, and with any luck he just might find a way off before...

Before...

[i:3nx74bqn]"Best not to dwell too much on it,[/i:3nx74bqn] he admonishes himself. [i:3nx74bqn]Just get out of here as quick as you can.[/i:3nx74bqn]
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Post by Gareth Ravenmantle »

The strange being landed, Gareth seemed extemely surprized by the alien, Then again who wouldnt be surprized if an alien walked 3 feet by the deer you were going to hunt. Sending it running through the forest in fear, Gareth would have ran back to the Half Moon Inn not 5 miles away but his curiosity got the best of him. He ran to one of the fallen trees he saw and ducked behind it, Observeing the strange alien with the helm and the strange technology worried that his intentions might not be the best for others.

Gareth came to the conclusion that he might want to shadow him for a bit longer, To see his intentions.
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Post by NathreeDe'Shezbron »

Elwyn felt, more than saw, the huge chunk of metal that was Xaraphim's ship as it crashed into the forest. Currently, Elwyn had been sitting in his little hut, a small conglamiration of adamantine in the middle of this peaceful forrest, working on Gurguch, some of his hidden weapons needed re-oiling, sharpening or the like. When the shockwave of the crash shook the walls of his hut, Elwyn ran out the door, seeing the smoke rising, he pulled out a scroll, and saying a few quick words, a puff of smoke appeared. When that cleared, a black roc, a giant eagle, sat with its wings out spread, a riding harness ready. Elwyn clambered on to its back, and with a snap of his fingers the bird took off, flying over the scene of the wreckage.
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Post by Xaraphim »

If Gareth got close enough to make out any details he would be able to see that Ven's features look exactly like that of a drow from Toril: sharp, elfin features, tapered ears, obsidian skin, close-cropped white hair and vibrant red eyes. His hairstyle might not match that of the typical elf, and his eyes are an intense color rather than a ghostly hue, but the semblance is uncanny nonetheless.

Flying over the wreckage, Elwyn can spot the location where the [i:19b5z14r]Aagvadha[/i:19b5z14r] glanced off of a mountain range. From there, a debris field stretches for two miles or so until it ends when the ship exploded. of the [i:19b5z14r]Aagvadha[/i:19b5z14r] no fragment larger than a human's hand remains.

[center:19b5z14r]* * * * *[/center:19b5z14r]

Ven continues to make his way through the trees, eventually finding a stream that proceeds in a gentle decline. He pauses long enough to draw his canteen from his exdem (short for extradimensional) pouch. With a cautious scan of his surroundings to make sure that no predators are preparing an ambush, he crouches and begins to fill the container.

His keeps one hand near his sidearm, of course. Paranoia might make ulcers, but an inattentive soldier has a bad habit of making a corpse.
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Post by Gareth Ravenmantle »

As the alien walked towards the stream he noticed that it was no alien... Well...sorta, It was indeed from another planet, But when it got closer it looked drow. But Gareth was not going to let his guard down, He did not know anything about this person, It could be a shape-shifter it could be a demon, it could be anything. He pressed his body hard against the fallen tree, Still as a stone to not atract his attention while he moved to the creek.
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Post by NathreeDe'Shezbron »

Through his connection with puppet mount, Elwyn saw movement below, two humanoid shapes, one very well concealed, if it hadn't been for his mount's eagle-keen eyes and the creature's movement, Elwyn would have missed him. The other shape was almost out his eyesight, moving to a stream that Elwyn knew fairly well. He was uncertain as to who was who, one seemed like a drow, but his attire was unfamiliar. But the amount of metal the drow had on him was reassuring. The hidden shape did not have as much, but the weapons that it did have were not as complicated as the other creature's. Elwyn smiled mischeviously, although he hated the thought of a fight without Gurguch, the possibility for entertainment was very tempting. With a wave of his hand, the roc dove. Elwyn landed not far from the Gareth, in a big cloud of dirt that flared up from the downdraft of the giant eagle's wings. He jumped off the harness, and looked right at Gareth, "Hey, you there, did you bring down that huge chunk of metal?"
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Post by Gareth Ravenmantle »

"No but this chunk of metal did send my deer running, now I have to chase it down later. And i would like to know who is responsable for this. The only reason i did not ask was because i know how paranoid that drow is" Pointing over to the drow at the stream, "He looks like if i step on a twig hes going to spin around and shoot, Nobody wants that..."


He turned back to Elwyn. "Also you do realize you destroyed my attempt to see exactly what that drow wants here?"
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Post by NathreeDe'Shezbron »

Elwyn scratched his head, "Oh... Sorry." He walked over to his mount, and jumped on its back. With a beat of its wings, it was in the air again, flying over the creek. Elwyn looked around, finding Xaraphim he yelled, "OY, you down there, who came in that colossal chunk of metal, what are you doing here, and where did you get it? I want one too." The he started chuckling to himself.
Last edited by NathreeDe'Shezbron on Sun Aug 02, 2009 9:34 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by Xaraphim »

Ven was heading downstream alongside the stream when he hears the beat of wings, followed by a distant thump. In the span of a heartbeat his rifle is unslung and tucked against his shoulder. Ruby red eyes scan his surroundings warily, and he is careful to keep the business end of his weapon pointed more or less where he is looking.

Thinking he hears voices nearby, he begins to cautiously edge towards the noise. Again he hears the beating of wings, this time from above. He tracks the sound, finger on the trigger in anticipation of an attack.

Then he hears someone call out to him in the trade tongue.

He says nothing for a moment, the surprise of hearing another sapient voice momentarily overwhelming his capability of speech.

"Ah...what?" he says, a little bit flustered before rapidly composing himself. "For the first question, I'm looking for the rest of my squad. To the second, just mill about on the Astral plane for a bit. I'm sure another will come along in time."

He squints up at the trees, trying to make out more details of the figure on the back of a...giant...bird...

"Would you care to land that...mount of yours? I'd prefer not to shout at the top of my lungs, please," he says as he keeps his rifle in hand but lowers it.
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Post by Gareth Ravenmantle »

He saw the Drow yelling up to Elwyn, He came out of his cover, But not completely, He was at stomach level ducking behind the tree, With his bow no longer aimed at anyone. But his camoflauge like fur and Cloth outfit made him nearly invisible to the untrained eye. He continued to lisen in on Elwyn and the drow.
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Post by NathreeDe'Shezbron »

Elwyn commanded his roc to descend, and just as the down draft was creating a plume of rising dirt, he sent it away, creating a cloud of smoke to further add to the effect. After the stuff cleared, Elwyn stood calmly, although in truth he was much more scared of the drow than he dared show, or so he hoped. He took a step in the drow's direction, and calmly said, "Hail, I am Elwyn, last of the Forbidden Puppeteers of the Calim Desert. What is your name. Oh, and would there happen to be any of those things on this plane?"
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Post by Xaraphim »

As the roc lands he issues a subvocal sommand to his helmet and the visor closes, sealing him in against the dust. Once the air is clear, the visor opens once more with a faint hiss. He reaches out a hand in greeting, then.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, ELwynn. I'm Lieutenant Ven Alil. And exactly what 'things' are you referring to? I'm a bit...new here."

If he notices Gareth behind him he gives no indication. His back is, after all, facing the tiefling and he is a little distracted with Elwynn.
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Post by NathreeDe'Shezbron »

Elwyn enthusiastically shakes Lt. Ven Alil, "Ah, I was refering to your vehicle, Sir Lieutenant. Tell me, what is that?" Elwyn askes, pointing at Ven's rifle, "that thing has so many little pieces of metal, placed so intircately, I would love dearly to know how it works."
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Post by Gareth Ravenmantle »

Gareth came out of his hiding and sat on the log pile, He too wished to know how the rifle worked. It would no doubt be a deadly weapon. <I wonder what it would do... Does it shoot arrows or metal balls?> Gareth wondered silently.
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