The stone continues

[K T Ong]

(ooc: The Dreadnought's already gone, SecretMaster. )

The tingling sensation grew. It was not unpleasant, but it was so strong it now nearly demanded exclusive attention. Deeply worried about what it might signify, Rufus started rubbing himself and moving his body uneasily.

Just then Magnus took notice. "Rufus, is something the matter?"

"I... I feel this strong tingling sensation all over..."

Fenric looked at Rufus. "Little stars..." said Fenric, face wearing an astonished expression. "Many little stars... all over you!"

"Fenric can see magic," explained Magnus. "Rufus must be affected by some sort of enchantment!"

"Could it be the Dreadnought licking him?" wondered Khadgar. "And what would be the nature of the magic, harmful, or beneficial?"

"Come, let's find out," said StoneRock, who took out a pinch of powder from his pouch and blew it at Rufus. Blue stars glittered all over him.

"My assess lifeforce spell indicates our young friend is in perfectly safe and normal condition," said StoneRock. "If he were poisoned, diseased, drained or in any way affected by evil magic, the stars would have glittered yellow. And if he were in critical condition, the stars would be red."

"Relax, Rufus," reassured Magnus, placing a hand on Rufus' shoulder. "At least your life is not in danger."

"So what would be the nature of the magic affecting Rufus, then?" asked Sir Jorlon. "Clearly it isn't harmful. What is it, then?..."

"Friends," interjected Sir Morgeruat, "insofar as our friend is not in peril, I think we can lay aside this issue for now. Why don't we proceed now to the portal that will bring us to the Seven Heavens? What say you -- or do you wish to browse around the shop further?"

[ 08-20-2002, 10:55 PM: Message edited by: K T Ong ]

StoneRock-"My advice would to cure Rufus. Some symptoms like these can easily transform over a period of time into horrible deaths. There are ailments that can be hidden from this powder, and this is another plane, which means it could be a sickness unheard of from my clan. Tell me Rufus, how do ye feel?"

[K T Ong]

Before Rufus could answer, Ghzarbanan cut in. "Hey, I've once heard of this book entitled the Fiend Folio. It's supposed to be a catalog of all the monsters and non-human creatures that inhabit the inner and outer planes -- their temperaments, how they like to attack, how their special attacks will affect you, and so on. Perhaps it can tell us a few things about this Dreadnought thing and then we'll hopefully have a better idea what has happened to dear brother Rufus -- though of course we'll need the book first..."

"The Fiend Folio, you say?" remarked Jah'zuer. "I know that book! You can find it in the Astral Library, just at the opposite side of the great hallway! And there are many other books there which you may find useful as well!"

"Let's go, then!" said Chun-Li. Jah'zuer led the group across the hallway to a large door which opened into a hall as spacious as Jah'zuer's shop. Again large shelves could be seen lining the walls, but this time they were all filled with books instead and there were also several tables and chairs, evidently used for reading. A sign could be seen: The Astral Library.

"We might indeed be able to learn a lot of useful things here," said Chun-Li. "Maybe even some new spells!"

"Yes," said StoneRock, "but right now it's more important to find out first what might be happening to our friend."

Sir Morgeruat looked around the place. A thick book in a nearby shelf caught his attention. "Hmmmm... J R R Dolkien's The CEO of the Rings..."

"Oh," said Jah'zuer, "it's just a silly fantasy novel about this imagined future world in which magic has ceased to exist and all people care about is material wealth and political power. But if you'll excuse me..."

"What a dreadful scenario!" exclaimed Sir Jorlon upon hearing what Jah'zuer said. "To think someone would imagine that people would eventually forget all about virtue and about the power of the gods, and just care about gold and worldly power! I certainly hope it will just remain that -- fantasy!"

Jah'zuer searched at a shelf and took hold of an exceptionally large and thick tome which he laid on a table nearby before motioning to the party to come over. "Here is the Fiend Folio," he said as he flipped through the pages, on which strange creatures of every variety were depicted, from birds of flame to floating giant eyeballs. "Ah, and here's the entry on the Dreadnought!"

A full-page illustration was seen which showed the terrible creature -- just as they saw it earlier. Turning to the text on the opposite page, Jah'zuer ran his finger down the entries -- Name, Genus, Hit Points, Armor Class ...

Jah'zuer stopped at the Special Characteristics entry. "Hmmmm... 'The substance of the Dreadnought's saliva is a special variety of concentrated ectoplasm which, when applied on one's physical person, induces transient sensations of tingling caused by its alchemical reaction with one's astral substance. This reaction eventually results in the formation around the person of an etheric field, with all forms of matter and energy passing through the field being subtly altered in favor of the person's survival...' "

"In other words," remarked Magnus, "the Dreadnought's saliva permanently increases your luck!! Rufus, you lucky boy!!" Rufus grinned happily -- and the tingling also began to subside... (ooc: Remember, the tingling sensation is transient -- though the luck effect is permanent.)

[ 08-22-2002, 09:30 AM: Message edited by: K T Ong ]

[K T Ong]

(ooc: Here's what I reckon would be a scene in the Seven Heavens. Beautiful, isn't it?)

LMAO K T. Yes, the world IS like that today. That and everyone cares about who has the most nukes. And I picture the 7 Heavens different, atleast the building anyways, but hey, everyone has their prefrences.

Jorlon- Interested in the book he continues to read. "Hmm, these Ideas aren't so bad. The concept of a Car is quite interesting. I guess they use some old lost magic to power it. But I hope that we will live on, and that Virtue, Justice, Honour, Peace, and Chivalry live on."

StoneRock-"Don't forget about the gods and magic my friend."

Khadgar-"You can say that, why, where would i be without magic?"

[K T Ong]

(ooc: Glad you found my ideas to your liking, SecretMaster. Sad that that's the current state of our world, isn't it?

Here's where I got that pic of the Seven Heavens from, BTW. Lots of real beautiful pictures. You might like to go through them and see which one best suits your idea of how the Seven Heavens would look like.

Gee, when are Morgeruat and Azrael coming back to this thread, though?... )

[ 08-23-2002, 01:48 AM: Message edited by: K T Ong ]

[AzRaeL StoRmBlaDe]

Soon my friends very soon. I will be out of town until monday, but i promise to post again then [img]smile.gif[/img]

The best pic for me is Contemplation, though it doesn't remind me of the Seven Heavens. Its very cool. So anyway, glad we'll have Azrael back soon.

[K T Ong]

(ooc: And Morgeruat as well, hopefully!

BTW, SecretMaster, in case you don't know, if you look carefully at the picture you named you'll see a palace in the sky! )

IW> Having ascertained that Rufus' life was not in danger, the party resumed an air of good cheer...

Sir Jorlon placed the book back in the shelf. "You've got to grant this author an amazing imagination," he sighed, shaking his head. "Fancy things like 'cars', 'stock markets' and 'credit cards'..."

"There's also a Dolkien Companion in this library," added Jah'zuer with a grin. "Lists all the interesting things invented by this writer in his trilogy. I'm particularly fond of this god-monster called the 'speculator', who can either wipe out entire cities or make them prosper through his 'speculations'..."

"Let's just remember," remarked Khadgar with a finger raised, "all this is just fantasy! For now, it is reality that is of greater concern to us!"

"Which reminds me," said Magnus, turning to Jah'zuer. "You told us earlier that there might be some books in this Library which would prove useful for us. Well, are there any spell books here, and if so could you direct us to them, please -- specifically those which contain anti-psionics spells? It would help us immensely if we could find some of those!"

"Certainly there are such books in this Library," replied Jah'zuer. "I can show you where they are. Follow me." Khadgar and Magnus followed Jah'zuer to a shelf. "Here are all the works on protection against psionic attacks," said Jah'zuer, motioning to the books on the shelf. "I must incidentally point out that our Library only teaches spells of a defensive nature -- we don't want to have people learning any offensive spells from this Library and then using the spells to wreak havoc around here. I'm sure you understand!"

Khadgar nodded his head. "Of course we understand, Jah'zuer," he said. Then he spotted a book with a green spine. "Let's see... Ghary Ghygax's Book of Advanced Mental Defense: All You Need to Protect Yourself from Brain-Zapping. Might be useful..."

Rufus and Fenric came towards Magnus and Khadgar as they were going through the pages of the book and the other members of the party were browsing through other areas of the Library. "Well, Master Magnus?" asked Rufus. "Have you found anything?"

"These two spells ought to help," replied Magnus, pointing his finger at two spells named 'Dispel Psionics' and 'Mental Fortress'. "Rufus, I think you ought to make an attempt at learning these, too!"

But as he went through the spells more attentively, the initial smile of discovery on Magnus' face began to fade. "Say, these spells don't appear easy, even for archmages like Khadgar and myself; and I do not know they consume such massive quantities of mana..."

[ 08-24-2002, 11:38 AM: Message edited by: K T Ong ]

Khadgar-"Sigh, I guess there is little hope of protecting ourselves from Psionics." Khadgar looked around, and then noticed a brown old book sticking out in a corner. He ran to it without saying anything. "Look at this, I've found it. Psionics, an Introductory to All that is Seen and Unseen