Frontiers of Dansk (Side game)

[Cowpies77]

This game is mostly reserved for Masamune Syaoran and myself to cover the adventures of Claire and her pet wolf until she joins with the other party in the Frontier game.  

[Cowpies77]

Masamune Syaoran

Claire's vision clears up a little as she stirs slightly in the forest. Rather cold and her chest hurting from the stab wound from the Paladin, or rather, Blackguard it seems, she rolls to a side in the flower bed, sending a small group of butterflies looking for new places to rest.

Cursing her misfortune and Faenden as tears well up in her eyes, she realizes rather suddenly that she's not lying in the middle of the road. She slowly tries to rise up, but the pain in her chest is pretty damn near unbearable and she falls flat on her face. Some rustling can be heard before her, and looking up, there's a being standing near a large willow tree, stopping to look at her. Rubbing her eyes a bit to clear them, Claire is a startled when she looks back and the being is staring point-blank to her.

It was a tall, humanoid being, but clearly not human, or any other race Claire knows of. Glowing red eyes watched her from the slits over it's eye holes. It looked like it was wearing a bone or metallic helmet, but looking at it, the slight dilation of the mouth (or rather, the series of small holes where the mouth ought to be) and brow slightly furrowing, Claire realizes that it's not a helmet, but actually the... thing's head. It's skin looked both rubbery, but metallic and oily as the sharp folds on the body swayed slightly with every breath. A pattern on the being's face also creeped along slowly (kind of like a lava lamp).

After what seems like an hour, the being says "This doesn't look right. Not at all. Excuse me Claire, I can see you've been through a lot today but your presence here is begging the question... How did you get here? Lesser beings like you can't normally-" Glancing up, he says "Ah, someone messed up an incantation, it seems. You're quite fortunate. Well, I suppose not, really. You're body's failing right now, isn't it? A severed spine and damaged heart does that to you all."  

[Masamune Syaoran]

Claire was repulsed by the foreign nature of the thing before her, but being unable to get up and run, and in too much pain to care anyway, she just blinked and listened to what it had to say. When it was done, she gave speaking a chance. It hurt like hell, but she was able to croak out:
"W-what are you..? What... (cough) happened?"
The whole situation didn't make sense. She should be dead after getting stabbed like that. Or maybe she was, and this nonsense-gibbering apparition was going to be her eternal punishment or something. Tears leaking from her eyes, Claire lay there and waited for an answer.  

[Cowpies77]

Masamune Syaoran

"W-what are you..? What... (cough) happened?"

The being helps Claire up, and places her into a rather nice bed. Blinking, Claire looks around and realizes that she's now in what looks like a small country cottage, with a teapot at her side, her clothes off and her wound bandaged with the thing sitting at her side, stitching the hole in her shirt shut. There's a pot of soup on the fire nearby, and the being says "I'm an Operator. Vyander. You appear to have been stabbed."

Claire, despite her confusion, can actually feel a marked change in her pain and soreness towards the better.  

[Masamune Syaoran]

Cowpies77

"I'm an Operator. Vyander. You appear to have been stabbed."

Claire, feeling a bit better now, managed to sit up in the bed, before realising she was topless and ducking back under the bedsheets. Which in retrospect was kind of pointless considering the... Operator? Didn't appear to be looking at her, focused on its stiching. Was it even male? For that matter, did it even have a sex? She shook her head slightly, her disorientation was obviously making her ask herself stupid questions. On to what was important.
"Yes, I was stabbed. I tried to do the right thing for the wrong person and paid for it, I thought with my life, but this doesn't seem much like the afterlife to me.. What is a Vyander? Can you please explain to me where I am and what I'm doing here? Am I alive or dead?" she asked, carefully not raising her voice, both because her chest was still quite sore and because whatever this thing was, it seemed friendly and was her only source of answers, and she didn't want to offend it.  

[Cowpies77]

Looking up, the being says "Is there a problem? Are you cold? Let me fix that." And just as suddenly, Claire can feel herself beginning to sweat as the temperature begins to rise. (Think of it as suddenly jumping from 65 degrees to 85.) "That should do it. As for your concerns, I wouldn't worry about them. If a homeless person asks you for a copper, you shouldn't concern yourself with if he will spend it on alcohol or on food. You can only control what you do, Claire. I'm assuming that you did what you felt at the time was the right thing at the time, so why do you have regrets? As for what is a Vyander, I would reply with 'What is a Claire?' As for where this is, that's a rather deep question."

Without stopping his needlework, a second set of arms appears. Holding up two fingers, he says "You are a usually a thing. A thing that occupies both time and space. You currently occupy space, but this is a place with no time. You can take that one of two ways: Either nothing is happening all the time, or everything is happening all at once. This is both the moment before your universe is created and the moment after. You can either believe that you currently occupy all of time or none of it. What happened is a warping of a truename paired with a spell and a peculiar crossroads of time, space and intent that normally is impossible: Someone changed the setting for you from heading into whatever you mortals think happens to you when you die, to well, everything and nothing. You are that split-second of both alive, and dead. Here, and there. A thing that can be both here, and there. A... rational impossibility. Ow." Putting one of his free hands in a newly formed mouth in his chest, he says "I hate sewing. I pricked my finger again. I have no idea why Alavrin likes doing things manually." Passing the other free hand over the cloth, the sewing is finished instantly, and Vyander flings the needle into the fire, cursing quietly at it while the flame suddenly turns in on itself and becomes a dazzling white hot flame for a while, before turning back normal. Vyander merely says "If anyone ever asks, I atomized that needle because it's form was wrong."

Pulling the finger from the suckling chest-mouth, Vyander's appearance returns to it's normal, mouthless humanoid form.  

[Masamune Syaoran]

Claire just stared. What else could she do? Well, she could shudder, but Vyander might decide she was still cold and heat the room to a few hundred degrees. Or not. She really had no idea what he/she/it was capable of.
"So, I'm both alive and dead, and at the same time I'm neither... I'm in a finite place, but a place where time has no meaning.. How do I get back to the time and place I was before? Um... preferably alive, by the way."  

[Cowpies77]

Masamune Syaoran

"So, I'm both alive and dead, and at the same time I'm neither... I'm in a finite place, but a place where time has no meaning.. How do I get back to the time and place I was before? Um... preferably alive, by the way."

Vyander sips a cup of tea (somehow) as he thinks, then says "Well, you're not really in a finite place. If you walked out that door and never stopped, you'd never actually go anywhere. I don't think you fully grasp what I am. I am an Operator."
He pauses a bit, and takes another sip, then says "Still nothing? Okay, how to explain this in a way you would understand... Well, how about a very... basic sense? Children are to obey their parents, right? And then the parents obey their village leader? Village leaders obey lords, and so on. Well, most people only really count them right up until we hit God or Goddess, deciding that they're a good place to call it quits. Well, it turns out that Gods have to obey certain rules. We can't just very well have Obad-Hai suddenly decide that grass should grow 100 ft. a day in the desert during a dry period, or that Nerull can just walk around shooting people. It would be complete chaos, and so they have to obey rather strict limits as set forth by a greater being to make sure things keep working.

"An Operator sort of... sets the rules for how things interact with each other. There was originally only three for this planet, but Alavrin apparently did something with his bread toaster and it resulted in him attempting to drown the world for like, 2 months. Non-stop torrential rain.

"Well, our boss noticed it and stepped in and split him apart into several beings. And so now we all have our own specific areas to focus on. I am in charge of monitoring things like... Making sure when you teleport, your innards stay inside you, that gravity works, or that your perception of time is uni-directional, Trees are wood and fire is hot. That when you say the proper words with the proper focus and the proper level of willpower, that I make fire rain down from the sky."

Fumbling around a bit as he thinks about how to phrase the relevance to Claire, Vyander says slowly "Um... That... doesn't... lend itself too well with returning a extra-dimensional being removed from time into a poly-dimensional being that is back in it's proper time and space. So... what I can do is... Hmm."

Vyander stops and thinks for a while, and Claire closes her eyes to rub her head. All of this was a lot of information to pass on to a person who just wanted to find a wolf and get paid. Opening her eyes to the sound of *Click click clack tap*, she sees Vyander sitting in front of several dozen large screens with his back turned to her, tapping buttons and clicking things on a board in front of him as walls of texts stream past. Now wearing all her clothes again, she sits uncomfortably in silence as Vyander continues to do whatever Operators do.

"So, My suspicions are confirmed," he says, swiveling around in his large chair. "If I were to put you back as-is, your body would instantly expand to twice your normal size, but then instantly return back to it's ordinary shape. The problem is that between that, there's a matter of you erm... exploding into a gooey pile of bones and gooey red paste. And well, so the good news is you'd be alive! For like, half a second before your heart goes 'boom' and blows your ribcage out of your chest. At which point, you're effectively not my problem. The thing is that, like I implied earlier, we're higher ranking than Gods, but we have a boss that we're held accountable to. And that boss regulates things that we can and cannot do with people not in our employment. But if you're adamant about the whole 'not dying' thing, then the only way to get around that would be for you to enter into my service, at which point I would have the authority to keep you from exploding from simultaneous expansion and contraction."  

[Cowpies77]

Vyander says "Well, long story short, I would need you to do errands for me every now and then. Nothing too major, not like the animal poaching you're currently involved in. More like, with your level of skill? What I'd need from you is..." looking over Claire, "perhaps employment in distracting some men from their guard post, or delivering the occasional bauble to a location. Blaze a trail, fetch me an item... You could do those, right?"

Scratching his face, Vyander says "I suppose I would be open to suggestions. I'm the Operator of Phenomena, not of..." Shuddering a little, he says with a tone of mild disgust " 'Relationships' or 'people-skills' and whatnot. Things I tend to do don't usually require outside participation. What do you think you could do?"  

[Masamune Syaoran]

"Well, I can do all those things for you, sure. I can also be put to good use as a healer or a wilderness guide, though I admit I'm not great at tracking." Claire said. She felt she should probably be more wary of this creature and its agenda, but she didn't see much choice as to whether or not to help Vyander. She sorely wanted to get back to the natural world and her beloved wolf. Any port in a storm, as her mother used to say... Oh, and there was one more thing.
"And I'd sorely like a chance at revenge, someday. Faenden has it coming if anyone does. I haven't been this mad since the time Aeren's porpoise bit off my smallclothes and I had to swim to shore and walk home naked" she said.  

[Cowpies77]

Masamune Syaoran

Vyander looks at Claire for a minute before saying slowly "I'm... not really a 'revenge' kind of person..." Using a third arm to scratch the back of his head, he pulls out a clipboard and says "Well, hmm... I have a few messages for the... Grays?" Refusing his arms back so there's just two, he comments "Not particularly creative. Hufflepuffs, now that's a good name." Nodding, he says slowly, "And then there's the issue of Payments... What do you all use? Paladinium... Unobtainium? Wait... Shiny things right? Uh... would gems be good? Or Precious metals?"

Handing over the clipboard, Vyander says "Well, here's the contract for your work. Make your mark, sign your name. Something." Taking an inkstone out and a small wet brush, he says "I can also take finger, thumb and/or toe prints. I also had a guy who insisted that I write it on his c**k, but then he cried when I pulled it off to write on it. Barbarians are strange, strange people."

The Contract itself reads

Quote:

I, ____________________________, of sound mind and able body, voluntarily sign myself into service of Vyander for the work listed below, and upon my honor will do everything in my power to accomplish the task assigned to me.

The terms of the contract are as follows:

1.) Receive letters from Employer
2.) Letters are to be taken from Employer's Domain, [The beginning and the end of all, AO] into the Material Realm, [South Dansk, East of Barca Minor]
3.) From there, the Employee will then be required to deliver the letters to Tomas Toung.

Upon verification that contract was completed successfully, payment for services rendered will be dispensed.

You ARE permitted to contact employer should questions regarding employment arise during this trial contract.

Contract SHOULD be completed in _2_ or less _days_.
Contract MUST be completed in _4_ or less _days_.

Completion sooner may result in bonus pay from employer.

Failure to complete contract in allotted time or in an adequate manner will result in reprimands and nullification of payment.

Vyander says "So, with that, it should be within the rules for me to kinda..." Thinking, the Operator makes little air quotes and stresses " 'tweak' the universe to make you not all 'explode-y'. When people start exploding, Alavrin kinda yells at me and makes my life... 'colorful'. I think it was because I made a tree that is covered in thorns and has seeds that explode when they're ripe and fall to the ground." Holding up something the same approximate size and shape of a pineapple, except that it's orange with speckles of green and brown on it, and a stem more like a cherry: Alarmingly thin for something so large that is supposed to blow up.

Tossing it out a window, the surroundings have suddenly changed to a sprawling cityscape. After a few moments, a distant crash of glass, followed by an explosion and a car alarm goes off.
Vyander looks out the window, then at Claire, then back at the window. Waving his hand, the scenery changes instead to a barren landscape. Cold and devoid of both life and air, the sky is also full of more stars than Claire has ever seen before. Claire is a tad alarmed by the sudden changes in environment before Vyander says "You didn't see any of what just happened back there at the metropolis, got it? I do not need Xaedaen chewing me out. ...Please?"  

[Cowpies77]

Masamune Syaoran

There is also a second piece of paper, nearly identical in font and wording, except for the task listed.

Quote:

I, ____________________________, of sound mind and able body, voluntarily sign myself into service of Vyander for the work listed below, and upon my honor will do everything in my power to accomplish the task assigned to me.

The terms of the contract are as follows:

1.) Locate source of knocking sounds at Grey Bridge Guard tower
2.) Get knocking to cease.

Upon verification that contract was completed successfully, payment for services rendered will be dispensed.

You ARE permitted to contact employer should questions regarding employment arise during this trial contract.

Contract SHOULD be completed in _3_ or less _days_.
Contract MUST be completed in _7_ or less _days_.

Completion sooner may result in bonus pay from employer.

Failure to complete contract in allotted time or in an adequate manner will result in reprimands and nullification of payment.

As Claire looks over the sheet, Vyander says "Oh, right. That one. It's a strange nut to crack, and would be slightly more hands-on. Over at one of the guard towers back in the material world, there's a certain area that is apparently suffering from a... sounds. I have no idea why loud tapping is creeping people out, but apparently the forces that be don't like having a bunch of strung-out guards who are having a hard time calming down. I normally don't really care, because frankly this isn't anywhere near the column of 'things I'm supposed to give a damn about', but Westlin is shopping around for people in the area to look into it, and pardon my Elven, but I believe the phrase your kind uses is '******** Westlin and the horse he rode in on.' We Operators have a different phrase we use among ourselves, but it would require me using sounds and syllables that aren't normally available to your spectrum of hearing, so wouldn't really make sense for me to say it. Kind of like blowing a dog whistle."

Shifting the world to a sunny picnic in a park, complete with a blanket, picnic basket and small furry (and slightly malformed) woodland creatures bounding about in trees, Vyander says "Westlin's kind of what most of your kind would refer to as 'an a*****e'. Most people refer to him as the entity known as 'The Devil', but out of all of us Operators, it's only he and Xaedaen that regularly deal with people. Xaedaen's well... scary, so I think I'll skip talking about him. But Westlin is irritating, and as such, I'd like to capitalize on any chance to make him look stupid."