Remove ads

Making Connections

Reader mode
i kinda forgot if i asked this already, so sorry in advance, but has there been a reason why the dragons can't Partially transform? i mean, that would be rather useful......
i mean, there are lots of realms where Dragons are capable of doing so....
 
From what I understand, in order to polymorph into something you have to understand it completely. So, theoretically, you could polymorph into a creature you invented, but you would have to invent it's entire biology down to the cellular level and hope that it was a viable organism. Not at all worth the risk. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.
 
Remove ads
72
  • Threadmarks
    • I glanced at Sheila as we treked along the dirt road towards Lion's Arch from our entry point to Tyria.

    Something was going on with her, she had been acting mopey for days.

    "Sheila? What's wrong?" I finally asked as I took her hand.

    "Nothing."

    Okay. Yeah.

    Sorry love, but that won't fly. I stopped walking, giving her hand a squeeze to force her to stop as well, "Sheila? I know you well enough to be able to tell, I'm not stupid. What's wrong?"

    She sighed, "It's nothing important, okay?" before she stepped close to kiss my cheek, "Don't worry."

    Ren shook her head behind Sheila, "Just tell him already."

    What? Ren knew?

    That earned her a unhappy look from Sheila who sighed again and turned back to me, "Fine... Margret is not happy with me." She admitted, "I got the time off for this trip, but.... she said that if I needed more time off from work, she would need to let me go. I don't blame her, she has been amazingly understanding so far but there is a lot work I can't do ahead of time and if it's a rush job she has to hire somebody else to do the job while I'm away..." she started to explain.

    Oh.

    She really liked that job. It was normal and doing something she liked with a friend. Traveling with me was jeopardizing it.

    "Sheila..." I said softly and reached up to brush her hair behind her ear, "I'm sorry, It's m..."

    "It's 'not' your fault!" She insisted and reached up to take my hand, "There is no way I'm giving up traveling with you. I like working with Marge, but I love traveling with you and I love you, Atreus. There is no way I'm giving that up for anything." she said putting her hands on my shoulders and going up on her toes, giving me a small soft kiss, "So stop it right now, you silly lizard."

    She then gave Ren an annoyed look over her shoulder, "And this is why I wanted to wait to tell him until we got back home. It could have waited and would only be a distraction."

    Ren shifted in annoyance but nodded, "Sorry. But I told you he would notice something was wrong."

    Sheila sighed again and nodded before she let go of my hand to give Ren a hug, "I know and you were right."

    Ren hugged back for a moment before Sheila stepped back, "We should get going." Ren said and gave Sheila a lick on the cheek.

    Sheila blinked in surprise and rubbed her cheek, "Ew. What was that?"

    "A lick."

    "...Why?"

    "It is a form of affection. You are the lead consort, it's allowed, isn't it?" Ren asked, looking slightly confused, "You didn't complain when I was in my real form. Why is now different?"

    Looking a bit lost for words, Sheila looked back at me.

    I just grinned and shook my head.

    Personally I quite liked the sight but I knew better than to say that out loud. Friends and all, neither Sheila nor Ren had any sexual feelings for each other, it was just a bit of a cultural clash.

    Dragons, especially between consorts and close friends tended to be more tactile than most mortals. Ren and I were sleeping together long before she became my consort after all. As in actual sleeping, nothing else.

    Sheila sighed and gave me an annoyed look.

    I swear, that woman is a mindreader. Actually, maybe not. I would be in trouble with her a lot more if she was.

    Turning back to Ren, she nodded, "Okay, fine. But not in public. And can you please try a kiss on the cheek instead of a lick?"

    Ren blinked and then nodded, "...Sure?"

    Smiling, I shook my head, "We should get going if we are to reach Lion's Arch before nightfall. I'm not sure I want to camp out tonight."

    Sheila groaned and ran her hand through her hair, "If it's the same bed as I remember from last time we were here, camping out 'would' be more comfortable." she said before she chuckled, "But yeah, we should get going. Hopefully they've finished some more repairs by now and we might be able to find an actual inn."

    "That bad?" Ren asked as we started walking again.

    Nodding, Sheila grinned, "Atreus gave up halfway through the night and slept on the floor."

    "Wow..."

    "Yeah, it was kind of bad." I said with a grin, "It wasn't the hardness, it was the lumpyness." before I frowned, "Returning to our original subject, if you wont be able to work at Margret's store... maybe we can find something else?"

    "Like what?" Sheila asked with a shrug, adjusting her satchel, "With me disappearing for weeks at a time every month, who would hire me?"

    That was a good question actually.

    "Maybe open your own?" Ren suggested, "Offer high end enchantments for weapons and armor, not just the normal run of the mill ones you did to the outfits and cloth on your previous job. Something a bit more challenging?"

    That caused Sheila to turn and stare at her in surprise, "That's... a surprisingly good idea."




    AN// Many thanks to Alleydodger for betaing this section.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • 73
  • Threadmarks
    • "Woah." I breathed out as we exited through the Asura Gate and stepped out onto the stone of Rata Sum.

    Stepping through the gate felt like nothing. At one point you were in Lion's Arch and the second you step into the portal you were in Rata Sum. It was nothing like the portals I could do, you could feel the magic in those and see through them.

    Not here.

    You just walked into the magical surface and then you were there.

    But that was not the amazing part. We... at least me and Sheila... had experienced that before.

    No, what was amazing was the sight of Rata Sum. The city was made from stone... and magic was not only here, it was everywhere. Floating stone constructs, golems and...

    Ren stepped up next to me, staring up into the air above and in front of us, "Why is there a giant floating stone cube?"

    "No idea." I answered with a grin, "But considering where we live, I'm not sure we are allowed to poke fun."

    Most of the parts of the Nexus tapped into the leyline to float rings forming the 'tower'. I could only assume these guys did the same.

    If not... well, the energy to keep something that massive floating was just insane.

    "Why do they need a giant floating cube?" Sheila asked with a frown, "I don't like having that thing above my head."

    Shaking my head, I looked around with a frown of my own. Honestly, neither did I.

    Still, if these people were willing to live beneath it... And considering I was living under a tower made from giant floating stone rings, I don't have any right to complain.

    Now, where would we go to find somebody willing and able to trade for magical knowledge?


    XXXXXXXXXX


    "No no no no NO!" The Asuran in the red coat exclaimed, shaking his big head, his big ears flopping around, "The waveform condenser needs to be aligned with the naturalized magnetic capacitor or the magic wave is going to overload!"

    "Are you sure?" Ren asked with a frown, "Let me see."

    "Look for yourself." Professor Karlax said, handing over the half built weapon. It was a form of... well, for lack of better terms... magical ray gun.

    A kind of thunder spell in technomancy form. Add magic, get spell when you pull the trigger.

    Me very much like.

    Ren was just as fascinated as I was. Rata Sum and the Asurans were amazing. A people with all the creativity, imagination and intelligence of the Goblins and Gnomes, but following an actual scientific mindset AND with a much more stringent engineering safety procedures.

    They were also almost incurably optimistic. You couldn't help but love these guys.

    It didn't take much to find somebody willing to trade magical knowledge for magical knowledge.

    "Atreus, have a look at the enchantment for the capacitor! It's storing and naturalizing the magical charge into a single waveform!"

    What? That would up the efficiency of any magical transfer over fifty percent with no conflicting magical patterns!

    That would be perfect for my boat!

    Sheila looked patiently amused as Ren and I geeked out over the latest trinket before turning to Professor Karlax, "I have a question." said, "I worry about these golems everywhere. What is controlling them?"

    He waves his hands in the air with a grin, "Don't worry. A second golem uprising is a near definite impossibility. We have adjusted their mind matrixes and added sedition inhibitors."

    I looked up from the weapon prototype at that. Near definite impossibility?

    Giving the golem standing by the wall a curious look I then turned back to inspecting the enchanting work.

    This really was amazing. No wonder Rata Sum looked like something from a sci-fi movie with holograms all over the place and bits floating in the air.

    They were a species of magical scientists and engineers. They had things here we had never seen before in terms of magitech.

    We HAD to get a branch up and running here.

    "Near definite?" Sheila asked with a raised eyebrow.

    "Well, nothing is ever completely certain, now is it?" he shrugged, "Here, have a look yourself." he said and pulled tapped a couple of buttons on his gauntlet, "Now, you said you wanted to trade?" He then asked turning to us, "I'm interested in that fire enchantment. It showed a definite efficiency improvement. You said it doesn't need a continuous power supply?"

    Shaking my head, I left the weapon prototype with Ren, "It doesn't, it stays active as long as the enchantment is on the object. However, it 'will' wear out after a couple of years and need to be redone."

    There was such a thing as permanent enchantments, but not only did they take a lot more to do, they also weren't really worth it for weapon effects such as fire. Permanent enchantments tended to drain magic from the environment to shore themselves up when needed.

    "Does water wear it out faster?" He asked with a frown, wiggling those big ears.

    Sheila shook her head this time, "No... at least not significantly. Keep in mind though that while the blade would look to be on fire, it would only actually apply the heat effect when striking something. It wouldn't be practical to use to heat water."

    "Oh."

    "However..." she continued, digging into her satchel to pull out her heat sphere, "This thing would. A much more advanced enchantment that pulls magic from the surrounding area to recharge itself. This one is powerful enough to easily be able to heat a house."

    He bounced at that, "Yes! Exactly what I need! What do you wish to have in return!?"

    ""The enchantment schematics for the capacitor!" Ren quickly said, holding the prototype up, "And the capacitor design itself."

    Karlax nodded, his big ears flopping, "Deal!"

    I love these guys!


    Several very interesting trades later, I just wished we were able to find out how the gate network worked but apparently that was a state secret.

    Damn it.

    "Come on," Sheila said, "Let's find an Inn, I'm hungry and it's getting late."

    Ren nodded in agreement but I hesitated.

    "You two go ahead." I told them, "I want to have a bit more of a look around if that's okay?"

    "Just don't stay out too long?" Sheila said, "I don't want you waking us in the middle of the night."

    "Don't worry!" I called back to them with a grin, "I'll only be a couple of hours at most!"

    Putting my hands in my pockets. I started towards the outskirts of Rata Sum. Seriously, this place was like from a sci-fi movie.

    Hell, there was even holographic advertisements above the shops!

    I couldn't wait to explore this place further tomorrow... but for now, I had a real mission. Let's see if we can't find some jewelry for my gir....

    There was a sharp ZAP at the back of my neck and everything went black as the ground jumped up to punch me in the face.




    AN// Many thanks to Alleydodger for betaing this section.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • And Inquest, here we come. Those jackasses are about to find out that Planeswalkers can just step out of the world.
     
    You know, if you could convince the Asura government that you can actually travel between worlds, they'd probably bend over backwards to help you start installing inter-world gates. Just teach some asura necronancer to make a soul stone and bring her with you for your next trip.

    Edit- preferably with a number of recording and analyzing devices, so you have something more to show than the word of a single adventurer
     
    Last edited:
    74
  • Threadmarks
    • The first thing I became aware of was... damn, I hurt. My head was killing me.

    What...

    Something hit me from behind. Fuck.

    I couldn't quite place exactly how I was being held, but I tried my best to keep my breathing even and not move.

    If I was just knocked out, that meant they wanted something from me. If I was captured, better not let them know I was awake. Don't panic.

    Don't. Panic.

    Slowly opening my eyes, I at first couldn't see properly, everything was in a green haze and I had something across my mouth and nose. Other than that I was naked.

    What...

    I was in some kind of... tank. My arms shackled to the walls of it above me and to the sides. What in the fuck...

    "Ah, I see you are awake. That was faster than I expected." A voice said and a small shape moved outside the tank.

    Crap. Busted.

    I squinted as the asuran moved closed and I could make out grey skin with white stripes, he was wearing something red and black.

    Never seen him before.

    "Welcome too my lab. I'm Halsan." He said and grinned wildly, "You are now the guest of the Inquest."

    Inquest?

    Let me out of here! I tugged hard on the shackles. They groaned but didn't move.

    "Hmm, interesting. I'm reading a higher level of strength than normal for a human of your build. Even after we stripped all your gear and enchantments." Halsan said and moved outside the tank, "Interesting. We are already looking over your gear, it has some of the most fascinating magical effects on it. Some very nice enchantments... where did you get them?"

    What the hell do I do now?

    I needed to get out of this thing! No. Don't panic.

    Instead of answering, I channeled my magic and wove a spell before finishing it, casting a arcane explosion.

    The liquid around me just lit up slightly and I didn't even get bubbles.

    Halsan chuckled, "Ooh, that was a nice spell!" He said and did a happy bounce before patting the tank, "Nice readings there. However, this tank is filled with a very magically conductive fluid. Perfect for capturing elementalists and other magic users. Lead any magic you emit straight into the capacitors."

    ...Any spell I cast would give them more power and maybe even teach them the spell itself. Could I Walk out of here?

    I honestly had no idea. I never tried it when attached to something else before like these shackles. Surrounded with this liquid... it might not be a good idea to even try.

    Best case it worked perfectly... worst case, I left my arms or something behind.

    ...Wait, they took 'all' my equipment?

    Looking to the right, I checked my arm. My bracelet was gone. The bracelet, when worn, was a wearable anti-scrying spell.

    "Why?" I asked into the mask, not idea if he could hear me.

    The wide mouth filled with sharp teeth seemed to widen further, "Because we want to know what you know! You traded some of your secrets to a professor and we found out. Decided to grab you before somebody else could think of trying it. Now, I'm going to ask you some questions and you will answer. Disobedience will be punished."

    "...Fuck you."

    Haslan chuckled, "So you say. Now, where did you get your gear? It has things in it we never seen before, like your weapon and satchel. What language is your books written in?"

    "How long have I been here?"

    He pressed a button on his gauntlet and a burning spear of pain went from wrist to wrist through me and I screamed into the mask until he cut if off again, causing me to collapse against the shackles.

    Ow.

    Fuck.

    "Where did you get your gear. Each time you refuse, I turn it up ten percent. Finding out if you are as resilient as you are strong would also be interesting. That really should have had a stronger effect on you. Now, where did you get your gear?"

    I coughed. Trying to regain my breath. Fuck... that wasn't as strong as it should have been!?

    "Q-question for a question." I choked out, "I made it. How l-long was I out?"

    "Hmm, very well. Not long, about thirteen hours. I expected closer to twenty-four from the weapon we hit you with." He said and fiddled with his gauntlet, "You seem to be slightly magic resistant. We thought it was part of your equipment, but apparently not. That requires further testing. Assistant, make a note!"

    He wasn't alone then. At least one more person was there, out of my sight. Was my soulstone still active?

    No idea. It would have been in my satchel... but who knew how this liquid would interfere with it? Same with transforming back to my real form... never mind the shackles and the tank.

    But thirteen hours...

    Oh crap.

    "Listen." I said and pulled myself up a bit straighter with the shackles, noticing that I had them on my ankles as well attached to the floor of the tank, "You want to let me go. Give my stuff back and we forget this. If you don't, you will regret it."

    He grinned wildly again, "Will I now? Who taught you your magic and how to make that gear?"

    "Yes. Targos." I answered, "My friends..." I then told him, "They will have missed me by now."

    "Ah yes, your lady friends." Halsan nodded and pointed at me, "Very lucky man! But you really should cooperate with us. If you don't, we might need to go to more... extreme measures. Like grabbing them to use as leverage. I would really rather not go to such lengths, so uncivilized."

    Fucking psycho.

    "That's not what my worry is." I chuckled, giving the shackles another tug, hiding my absolute rage at the thought of him threatening them, "It would have taken a couple of hours for them to find out I was missing. A couple of hours of search..."

    "Yes, yes. Now, how did you..." he started to ask but I interrupted him.

    "You made a mistake. A big mistake... you removed all my equipment. One of them was a scrying blocker. To keep people from easily finding me. Without it, my consorts are able to track me anywhere in the world. You took me because you thought I was the most valuable. The most dangerous. You were wrong."

    Ren could at least, she was not as good at it as me at it, but she could do scrying spells.

    Halsan grinned, "We are in a heavily defended and hidden research outpost days away on foot from Rata Sum. They can't find us and even if they did, they could never get inside and past our defenses. We would just get two more research subjects. You better hope they don't try. Now, how about we get back to the matter at ha.."

    BOOM! A muffled explosion far away shook the tank around me as alarms started blaring.




    AN// Many thanks to Alleydodger for betaing this section. This will be double feature friday so you get the continuation tonight.
     
    Last edited:
  • Threadmarks
    • Oh, Inquest. Never change.

    ... No, really. Never change. This is how we get rid of things like you. Natural consequences to poor choices.
     
    ...Heh. Poor bastards.

    Edit: I'm kind of hoping for something along the lines of, "New deal: You release me now, and I do my best to convince my consorts to not murder and/or eat you."

    Edit2: Waitwaitwait. Ren. Dragon. Guildwars. Dragon.

    ... AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!@!!
     
    Last edited:
    I love how the Inquest just make such natural candidates for the Darwin award.
     
    Synth said:
    Edit2: Waitwaitwait. Ren. Dragon. Guildwars. Dragon.

    ... AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!@!!
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    EEEeeeehhhh, maybe. The Guild Wars dragons are quite different from most other setting's depictions. There's a set number of them, they don't breed, and they're closer to eldritch abominations in both form and function than "normal" dragons. More likely, they'll just assume Ren (and, soon, Atreus) is some exotic sapient creature; Tyria certainly has enough of them. Which is, technically, true.
     
    Last edited:
    Phant0m5 said:
    EEEeeeehhhh, maybe. The Guild Wars dragons are quite different from most other setting's depictions. There's a set number of them, they don't breed, and they're closer to eldritch abominations in both form and function than "normal" dragons. More likely, they'll just assume Ren (and, soon, Targos) is some exotic sapient creature; Tyria certainly has enough of them. Which is, technically, true.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Either that, or some contingency plan of Glint's she didn't mention.

    Also? Did no one tell these guys that it would be HILARIOUSLY easy for Ren to hire a couple hundred endgame player characters? "Need backup to rescue boyfriend from inquest base. Reward: New and exclusive spells" Cue 100+ level 80 characters doomtraining the base.
     
    75
  • Threadmarks
    • Halsan ran out of sight and I closed my eyes.

    This was bad. If this place was as defended as he said, Sheila and Ren might be walking straight into an ambush.

    Even worse... like this, I could be used as a hostage. I had to get out of here.

    But how... summoning? All my useful summonings took almost all my mana and if it fizzled, I would be mostly out. No, they were not the right choice here.

    This fucking liquid. If it wasn't for it, I would have shoved his oval head straight up his own arse already!

    The liquid...

    It didn't take the mana of the spell until it was finished. When I cast it... when the magic touched the liquid. If it never did...

    There was a spell Ajani taught me...


    XXXXXXXXXX


    "Strike me. As hard as you can." the large feline ordered and I raised an eyebrow before I stepped up to slug him in the face.

    Ajani simply lifted his hand and caught it with no problem. It was like hitting a brick wall. "Strong for a human." he commented before letting go of my fist. "As expected of a dragon."

    "What is it you are trying to show me?" I asked and crossed my arms.

    "A way to use mana. Alexis told me of the fight against the undead. I noticed that you fought in close combat but did not use any sort of self enchantments or power increasing spells." he explained; "That's what I'm going to teach you today."

    Oh.

    "I saw Alexis use some sort of spell. She flashed white and then seemed stronger." I said. "Was that it?"

    "In a way. However, white aligned spells seem to not be one of your better kinds of mana. From what I seen, you are more Blue in your way of fighting followed by white and green being the least." He said and grinned. "I am mostly White aligned, just like Alexis. I could teach you a thing or two about it."

    From what he had described in the past, I had to agree with his assessment. Blue was all about avoidance, countering and misdirection while hitting from an unexpected angle. Green favored overwhelming the opponent with massive creatures or numbers of creatures. White... white favored armies and enchantments. Destroying evil and spreading civilization.

    I could see ways I fought and tactics I preferred in all of them, but I couldn't argue that I didn't favor Blue tactics more. Avoid, counter, counterattack with overwhelming force.

    "Show me."


    XXXXXXXXXXX


    Taking a slow, deep breath, I started to slowly weave the spell, keeping a steel grip on my mana, taking my time as I kept the commotion and alarms out of my mind.

    Careful, careful. Don't let the mana touch my skin. I needed to do this perfectly.

    Temporary enchantments like this was not my preferred way of doing things. Too slow to do in a emergency and too restricted in time for me... I was getting faster, but in combat I preferred faster and less hard hitting spells. This one was actually a green spell Ajani taught me.

    He called it 'Giant Growth'.

    Finishing the spell I opened my eyes, knowing they were glowing bright green as I let it resolve.

    It was a very apt description.

    Roaring in anger, the spell flowed through me and in an instant the tank and shackles were way to small.

    The tank exploded away from me as I towered over the inside of the lab.

    For a few long moments, I was five meters tall and strong enough to benchpress a mastodont.

    Everyone in the lab who was not already working on the defenses or running for their lives stared in my direction.

    Snarling, I grabbed the closest magitech machine and threw it as hard as I could at the nearest group of defenders.

    It hit them hard, smashing straight through their set up defenses and formation, sending golems and Asurans flying. Both whole and in pieces, both of them.

    The spell ended and I shrank back down to normal size.

    That was the drawback of that spell, it only lasted for a few moments. Ten seconds at most and it took quite a lot of mana to use.

    Enough for one good strike.

    Spinning around I spotted my equipment and I ran across the lab, vaulting over a workbench to kick an Asura in the head on the way past, just avoiding a golem that tried to catch me.

    Ducking under the arm of a second golem I snatched up my shortended glaive, and as I spun around I extended it to full length and buried the blade in the chest of the closest golem while I channeled magic into the weapon, blowing the golem into shrapnel away from me with a massive burst of electricity.

    Giving the glaive a spin into a ready position behind me, I snarled across the room at the forces gathered against me.

    Blades, even guns.

    Turrets and golems.

    They dared to kidnap me. Steal my things. Torture me.

    Threaten my consorts.

    I didn't bother with some stupid one-liner. I simply channeled my magic and illusionary mist swirled, quickly filling the room as I summoned my mirror images and cast my blur spell.

    You are all going to pay.





    AN// Many thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this section.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • I really hope this experience doesn't sour Atreus' experience with the Asura too much. Really, just yell Inquest in a crowded area in Rata Sum and you'll have guards, golems and adventurers rushing to your aid. And unless the Burning Legion is suddenly interested in showing everyone how to make gates, the Asura are still his best bet of an inter-world trade network that doesn't directly rely on him.
     
    Last edited:
    so, for someone who's got no idea about what guild wars is like, would someone please explain what's going on in this section of the story? Why isn't this inquest thing willing to just buy shit from hiver, given he's willing to sell it for stuff?
     
    mkire said:
    so, for someone who's got no idea about what guild wars is like, would someone please explain what's going on in this section of the story? Why isn't this inquest thing willing to just buy shit from hiver, given he's willing to sell it for stuff?
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Inquest members rarely have two brain cells to rub together. Combine that with their habits as tech thieves and you get what's happening here as well as all the other idiotic bullshit they pull.
     
    mkire said:
    so, for someone who's got no idea about what guild wars is like, would someone please explain what's going on in this section of the story? Why isn't this inquest thing willing to just buy shit from hiver, given he's willing to sell it for stuff?
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Because the Inquest are evil jackasses.
     
    Reader mode
    You must login or register to reply here.
    Remove ads
    Back
    Top