- Location
- Many Places
If he is real then he was probably sent on a mission by Alfred or one of his subordinates to find this scholar.
Last edited:
NorseQuest (A Norse Xianxia)
- Thread starter I.F. Ister
- Start date
- Original Fantasy Action
-
- Tags
- norse mythology (mythology) original xianxia cultivation western cultivation ask sirihand did your mother tell you anything? discussion pleases yggdrasil farming gloating gets people killed granary management hubris is a coward's word you will die norsemen do not die when they are killed the qm has a bad memory the qm is bad at math viking courtroom drama (legal drama) vikings
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Gabriel was knight power-level and an actual native of Wessex which makes him very valuable to King Alfred, so him being a Knight actually seems pretty likely to me. Him being outside Wessex, however, only seems likely if the scholar we're here for is a Wessex native and a very important one. Which is possible, but yeah, probably would mean they'd send more than just him...
- Pronouns
- He/His/etc
Awk-ward
Shard
One and Many
- Location
- Malaysia
So what if it's Gabriel, honestly?
///
Honestly, I hate the idea of coming all the way here to grab a Scholar, and then like.. not do it, because Gabriel just so happened to be here. Dude already swore to kill our dad, and when push came to shove, that actually hurt like hell.
///
Honestly, I hate the idea of coming all the way here to grab a Scholar, and then like.. not do it, because Gabriel just so happened to be here. Dude already swore to kill our dad, and when push came to shove, that actually hurt like hell.
Last edited:
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I mean, even if we don't care about avoiding fighting Gabriel, we still want to know one way or the other, because we'd fight Gabriel differently than we would a Slav. Like, a Slav probably doesn't have Rebuke or the endurance of a Knight, nor the durability via armor, but will have other advantages we're less familiar with.
Trying to fight the wrong opponent can get you messed up.
The counterpoint here is that, with Steinarr dead, we have no pressing reason to fight Gabriel now, and he still owes us a favor, which we could call in for, say, help with the Dorri situation. More people on call for that is good.
On an emotional level, I think it's also worth noting that, in addition to just being a friend, Gabriel actually helped save Steinarr's life purely because it was the right thing to do (when he came with us on the Scorn Pole mission). Any ill intentions he had towards Steinarr didn't amount to anything in the end, while all the help he gave was very real.
Last edited:
Shard
One and Many
- Location
- Malaysia
To be honest I'm pretty sure it is Gabriel, with narrative contrivance putting him here now because he's our rival who swore to kill our father.
Now that Steinarr's dead, we inherited that grudge, narratively anyway.
Giving up on the entire reason we came here because it's Gabriel specifically is also not really pleasing.
And honestly if Gabriel accepts I'd be exceedingly displeased at him as well. Guy just said he would protect these people, didn't he?
Now that Steinarr's dead, we inherited that grudge, narratively anyway.
I mean if that's the only reason, it's not much of one.
Giving up on the entire reason we came here because it's Gabriel specifically is also not really pleasing.
And honestly if Gabriel accepts I'd be exceedingly displeased at him as well. Guy just said he would protect these people, didn't he?
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Him being here could maybe be explained by that (though him being alone would still be deeply odd)...his behavior doesn't fit as well and the Slavs are specifically known for trickery. I'm deeply dubious.
I did also edit in to note some emotional reasons. Gabriel is a friend. And we don't need to hurt these people further for our goal, we just need to repossess what they stole from Johannes.
Last edited:
- Location
- Pittsburgh PA
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Use The Mind's Eye Blinks to see if that's actually Gabriel, adding 3 Odr.
-[X] Assuming that doesn't reveal anything, offer to let Gabriel have the scholar.
-[X] Note that there is stuff we need here, we made a deal, but we can negotiate for the rest
-[X] Let him know about Steinarr's death even if he insists on fighting. Simply phrase it as 'You should know, my father was killed.' and see how he reacts.
-[X] Assuming that doesn't reveal anything, offer to let Gabriel have the scholar.
-[X] Note that there is stuff we need here, we made a deal, but we can negotiate for the rest
-[X] Let him know about Steinarr's death even if he insists on fighting. Simply phrase it as 'You should know, my father was killed.' and see how he reacts.
Shard
One and Many
- Location
- Malaysia
Even if all that is the case, I would point out that:
1) Gabriel, or 'Gabriel', is already attacking, and attacking to kill, so if we don't have any plans to respond to his attacks we're also fucked.
2) Mind's Eye Blink dispels mind-affecting illusions. Specifically, spells which need to living in our mind to work. This doesn't seem like one of those.
(And also being willing to talk it out with Gabriel when he's clearly.. not willing to talk it out... yeesh.)
///
Anyhow, from a 3rd person PoV (A deer?), it really is Gabriel:
Last edited:
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I mean, we're not putting down our weapons or anything here, if he attacks we'll defend ourself, but historically, trying to talk things out has worked by narrative rules, which is to say if he says no, we're not getting auto-hit or anything.
And if it is Gabriel and he attacks us while we're still talking, I'd feel a lot less bad about fighting him.
He calls us by name and these people have no reason to know what he looks like, if it's an illusion there's a mental component. It might well not be exclusively mental, but I think disrupting the mental part probably lets us realize it's an illusion even if we can't see through it.
The writing choices supporting this being Gabriel do not mean it's not a trick, they mean if it is, then it's a good trick.
Last edited:
Sirrocco
Pedantic
[X] Use The Mind's Eye Blinks to see if that's actually Gabriel, adding 3 Odr.
-[X] Assuming that doesn't reveal anything, offer to let Gabriel have the scholar.
-[X] Note that there is stuff we need here, we made a deal, but we can negotiate for the rest
-[X] Let him know about Steinarr's death even if he insists on fighting. Simply phrase it as 'You should know, my father was killed.' and see how he reacts.
Agreed pretty much on all counts.
Also, what tells you he's unwilling to talk? He's not going to let us just keep killing slavs while we chat, but that's not the same thing.
-[X] Assuming that doesn't reveal anything, offer to let Gabriel have the scholar.
-[X] Note that there is stuff we need here, we made a deal, but we can negotiate for the rest
-[X] Let him know about Steinarr's death even if he insists on fighting. Simply phrase it as 'You should know, my father was killed.' and see how he reacts.
Agreed pretty much on all counts.
Right now, he's standing there with a flaming sword and clenched jaw, telling us we can't have the scholar.
Also, what tells you he's unwilling to talk? He's not going to let us just keep killing slavs while we chat, but that's not the same thing.
Last edited:
- Location
- New Zealand
Oh actually, that's an interesting point.
While this could be Gabriel actually here, if it is then this probably isn't the result of the norns fiddling with Halla's fate.
Halla has previously (if perhaps not consciously) been aware of the norns affecting her fate.
So interestingly, if someone has conspired through fate to have both Halla and Gabriel here at the same time, it's more likely either Enemy action, or the work of the Christian God/His servants.
While this could be Gabriel actually here, if it is then this probably isn't the result of the norns fiddling with Halla's fate.
Halla has previously (if perhaps not consciously) been aware of the norns affecting her fate.
So interestingly, if someone has conspired through fate to have both Halla and Gabriel here at the same time, it's more likely either Enemy action, or the work of the Christian God/His servants.
Shard
One and Many
- Location
- Malaysia
I'm pretty sure our goal here wasn't to repossess Johannes' stuff.
Though I think we've already soured on our original goal anyhow.
I doubt the Enemy would be doing anything here. It's not Norselands so his influence is likely muted, and he doesn't really have anything to gain in any direction.
- Location
- United States
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Our goal was to get a Latin speaking thrall, but in doing that we agreed to get this guy's stuff back, so it's both.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Our original goal was to get someone who knew Latin, but after the Jotun incident and winding up home, I'd say the main reason we left again and came here was to follow through on our agreement with Johannes and avoid nid. We're here primarily because we agreed to do a job and Halla is a woman of her word.
If we're committed to testing the illusion theory, then it might be worth putting in a question/shibboleth that only Gabriel would know? Bringing up Steinarr sort of qualifies, but we probably want something more precise. Maybe ask him about something referring back to an important conversation we had (like what we said to him at the dock in Wessex, or maybe something less emotive), or perhaps what mineral his family are famous for mining.
Pinging @DeadmanwalkingXI here before I go to bed.
Pinging @DeadmanwalkingXI here before I go to bed.
- Location
- Many Places
Hey Halla does Gabriel's Focus feel the same as it did when you last met rather then something more like frenzy or rhythm?
Last edited:
- Pronouns
- He/Him
He knew our name...this has a mental component, I don't think direct questions will reveal him like this if it is a fake. Either our mind is getting read or we're hearing what we expect to hear or something. The thing with Steinarr might sneak through due to being less direct and us not really knowing what his response would be, but assuming it is a fake, I think it's designed to counter this kind of check.
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
Why would he be here? It's over a thousand kilometers away and deep into unfriendly territory.
Wessex has enough problems at home before you add into distance stuff like this.
Aabcehmu
Confusion as a Natural State of Being
- Location
- Chicago, IL
- Pronouns
- Any/All
Never underestimate the insanity of christian nobility. But fair enough, it's not a strong explanation, just an additional possibility.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
If Gabriel's here, it's basically got to be to rescue someone important, presumably the scholar we're also here for. That really does seem like more than a one-man mission, though.
We should probably have a fight plan in case mind's eye breaks an illusion and we jump straight to violence (or Gabriel isn't willing to talk it out). Everything we know about Slavs says we don't want to let one get an uncontested first round.
Also the 5 guys Halla has already personally killed probably have friends and family with strong opinions about our recent actions, regardless of what Gabriel does
Also the 5 guys Halla has already personally killed probably have friends and family with strong opinions about our recent actions, regardless of what Gabriel does
Last edited:
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Honestly the biggest thing that makes me think this is not Gabriel is the lack of eagle horse cultivator companions. Have we seen any other knights who lack those entirely? I assumed Gabriel's were just either dead or left behind when he was enthralled.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I'm pretty sure that breaking the illusion would be a round break. Round breaks occur whenever the situation changes enough to need to rethink tactics, after all. And in the past if "let's talk" plans haven't worked, we've gotten the opportunity to respond. We're not letting down our guard, just trying to talk, assuming it's actually Gabriel (if the illusion breaks, we're not even bothering).
We've seen at least one without them and Gabriel's were killed by Steinarr (hence his whole revenge thing). He could theoretically just not have gotten new ones yet. I'm dubious, but it's not impossible.
Last edited: