Faerzen contacts Petrus

[16:12]  * [VV] began conversing with maskedAristocrat [MA]
[16:12] <@[VV]> Hello? Is this Petrus?
[16:12] <@[VV]> I hope I am not intruding at the moment. Are you available at the present to have a brief chat?
[16:12] <@[VV]> I have been aware of your presence in our game session for some time, but it was only now that I was able to acquire your chat handle.
[16:12] <@[VV]> I apologize if that sounds inordinately creepy! I am most certainly not stalking you; I simply know of no other way to say hello other than to state the facts. I think it would be quite nice to be acquainted with everyone on our team.
[16:13] <[MA]> Hello! It seems I have become quite popular of late.
[16:13] <@[VV]> Ah, hello! Is that so?
[16:14] <[MA]> I am in no hurry- this river is not going anywhere any time soon.
[16:14] <@[VV]> Did Zach contact you previously or something along those lines?
[16:14] <@[VV]> He does seem to making the rounds.
[16:14] <[MA]> Yes, I heard from... oh, what was their name... "SnuffshotMartyr"?
[16:14] <@[VV]> Ah, Lyra!
[16:15] <[MA]> That sounds right, yes.
[16:15] <@[VV]> I must say though, I had not expected her to reach out to the unknown players in our group.
[16:15] <@[VV]> Why did she contact you?
[16:15] <@[VV]> It seems rather unlike her to willingly decide to try and make new friends.
[16:16] <[MA]> To warn me, mostly. She seemed quite paranoid.
[16:16] <[MA]> Perhaps rightly so.
[16:16] <@[VV]> Yes, paranoid is a usual state of being for her, as well as many others here.
[16:16] <@[VV]> What was she worried about?
[16:17] <@[VV]> I have a feeling I know the answer.
[16:17] <[MA]> Winged individuals, mostly. Also the world...s, at large, but specifically winged individuals.
[16:17] <[MA]> There seem to be quite a lot of them.
[16:18] <@[VV]> Yes, many people here do seem to be finding their own ways of acquiring flight.
[16:18] <@[VV]> Individuals plural, though? Why more than one?
[16:20] <[MA]> Well, she seemed to be quite worried about everyone who had wings except for herself and I believe a friend of hers.
[16:20] <[MA]> Having met one of them for myself, I found little reason to argue.
[16:20] <@[VV]> Oh dear, you have met one of them?
[16:20] <[MA]> Technically.
[16:21] <@[VV]> I dearly hope that it is not the particular winged individual I have in mind right now.
[16:21] <[MA]> I believe they are referred to as "Maskwraith"?
[16:21] <@[VV]> Oh dear.
[16:21] <@[VV]> Are you okay???
[16:21] <@[VV]> He has been known to be incredibly violent.
[16:21] <[MA]> I am better off than the condition they found me in.
[16:22] <@[VV]> That is..... interesting, to say the least.
[16:22] <[MA]> For some reason or another they were very helpful, if also incredibly terrifying and nonsensical. I probably just got lucky.
[16:22] <[MA]> Madmen are rarely consistent.
[16:22] <@[VV]> They do seem to have been going on a helpful streak recently. I dare say that it unfortunately is that you were lucky.
[16:23] <[MA]> Judging by their claim of having killed me in the future... yes, that would be appropriate to say.
[16:23] <[MA]> Though it may not be the same me?
[16:23] <@[VV]> I know this is likely going to sound like a ball of nonsense, but I think I should clarify here.
[16:24] <@[VV]> Maskwraith is from a different timeline where events occurred differently than they did here.
[16:24] <[MA]> I am ready. It can hardly be less sensical than what I already know.
[16:24] <[MA]> Hm.
[16:24] <@[VV]> The version of you that he killed is very likely a version of you from this alternate reality.
[16:24] <@[VV]> Maskwraith is somehow capable of traveling between these alternate timelines at will.
[16:25] <[MA]> Worrysome none the less.
[16:25] <@[VV]> Indeed.
[16:25] <[MA]> Seeing your own corpse is not an experience I would recommend to anyone.
[16:25] <@[VV]> Especially since there is no guarantee that the version of you he killed was in fact the alternate version.
[16:25] <@[VV]> Please be careful.
[16:25] <@[VV]> He showed it to you???
[16:26] <[MA]> No, he was long gone by the time I saw it. It may or may not have ever existed?
[16:26] <[MA]> I saw its reflection in an... enchanted mirror.
[16:26] <@[VV]> Oh dear.
[16:26] <[MA]> Among other things.
[16:26] <@[VV]> I can assure that mysterious enchanted objects are in great abundance in this game, so I would also not be entirely surprised if it was the mirror's enchantment that caused you to see that.
[16:27] <@[VV]> Although Maskwraith has shown other players their corpses, supposedly from the alternate timeline.
[16:27] <[MA]> Lovely.
[16:27] <@[VV]> I can confirm that it is not an experience I would recommend to anyone.
[16:28] <@[VV]> I can definitely understand her worry about that man, especially after recent events. Why though was she worried about the other winged individuals?
[16:28] <[MA]> Before he left, he warned me to avoid a certain Nicolai who would be passing through my Land. I do not know if he is still here.
[16:28] <[MA]> Lyra also warned me of them.
[16:28] <@[VV]> I know of his whereabouts, and he is not anywhere near you at the moment. He is currently asleep. I am his server player so I can see him on my computer.
[16:28] <[MA]> Well then, that is... reassuring.
[16:28] <@[VV]> Why did she warn you about him?
[16:29] <[MA]> I have not been able to contact my Server nor Client players, assuming I understand that relationship correctly.
[16:29] <[MA]> Not since just after arrival.
[16:29] <@[VV]> There also seems to have been some unusual shuffling of connections since we arrived.
[16:29] <[MA]> Strange.
[16:29] <@[VV]> My server player completely vanished and was replaced by someone entirely different.
[16:30] <[MA]> As for your question, she deemed him dangerous. Very dangerous.
[16:30] <@[VV]> Oh dear.
[16:30] <[MA]> Maskwraith did not tell me why to avoid them, only that it would be unwise to confront them.
[16:31] <@[VV]> Hmmm.
[16:32] <@[VV]> As his server player, I can confirm that Nickolai (or Nick) was quite mentally unstable when we began this game.
[16:32] <@[VV]> However, now I would consider his mind significantly more stable.
[16:32] <[MA]> That is encouraging.
[16:32] <@[VV]> I spent a great deal of time working through several issues with him, being a therapist of sorts, and I believe it has helped a great deal.
[16:34] <@[VV]> Let me think of the other winged individuals I am aware of........
[16:34] <@[VV]> I suppose Lyra and Byron probably do not count in her assessment. I think Faerzen is the only other one.
[16:34] <@[VV]> I saw him briefly earlier today. Did Lyra have anything to say about him?
[16:35] <[MA]> Nothing complimentary. White feathery wings, correct?
[16:36] <@[VV]> That sounds about right.
[16:36] <@[VV]> Is there anything in particular I should be wary of?
[16:36] <@[VV]> Lyra does have a way with knowing what is wrong.
[16:37] <[MA]> I am checking the conversation again to be sure.
[16:37] <[MA]> They only said to avoid Nick and Faerzen.
[16:38] <[MA]> They said Alex was trustworthy, whoever that is.
[16:39] <@[VV]> I meant anything in particular about Nick or Faerzen.
[16:40] <@[VV]> If she said to avoid them, then I should probably exercise caution.
[16:41] <[MA]> She described Faerzen as "having a nuclear bomb strapped to her face, and she is immune to it"
[16:41] <[MA]> I do not entirely understand the implications of that, but she elaborated that it was... bad.
[16:42] <@[VV]> I see.
[16:42] <@[VV]> In that case, I suppose I should say a couple of things in response to that, and hopefully they may help shed some light on the situation.
[16:45] <@[VV]> As both Lyra and I are essentially random strangers to you at this point, I hope that you can hear out both of our opinions without prejudice either way. I admire much of Lyra's drive, but sometimes we do not always see eye to eye, and it appears that this is one of those instances.
[16:47] <@[VV]> My name is Faerzen, and not too long ago I did in fact briefly see my dream self. I do not currently have a nuclear bomb strapped to my face, but I do agree it has the potential to be dangerous in the wrong hands so I am exercising caution.
[16:48] <[MA]> Clever.
[16:48] <@[VV]> I apologize for not properly introducing myself earlier, curiosity on what Lyra had to say got the better of me.
[16:48] <@[VV]> Earlier today there was a rather intense series of events which have thankfully been resolved, but I sense Lyra is still quite frustrated with me in how they played out.
[16:49] <[MA]> That is entirely reasonable.
[16:49] <@[VV]> I intend to talk with her as soon as I am able to, but she refuses to speak with me at any lengths.
[16:49] <@[VV]> I believe I may have a video conference with her arranged shortly, however.
[16:49] <@[VV]> To give you a brief bit of context I think would be very helpful:
[16:50] <@[VV]> A great deal of shenanigans happened earlier in this game, that, if I were you, I would be thankful I had not been dragged into.
[16:51] <@[VV]> There was a sentient object that Lyra made a very foolish deal with, essentially leaving open the possibility of her owing this sentient object an undetermined debt or favor.
[16:51] <@[VV]> Unsurprisingly, this deal did not go as she expected, and through a great deal more shenanigans, it appeared as though Lyra was now bound by a contract whereby she surrendered her soul and some control of her body to an unknown force.
[16:52] <@[VV]> I was summoned to the scene in order to dig Lyra out of this hole, and I ended up, over the course of a great many hours, constructing and presenting a sound and effective legal argument to release Lyra from the bonds of the contract.
[16:53] <[MA]> Interesting.
[16:53] <@[VV]> It was quite successful, and now all of those previous agreements are void and Lyra is free from those legal obligations.
[16:53] <@[VV]> The hitch is that my case hinged on proving her legal insanity, which she was not terribly fond of me doing.
[16:54] <[MA]> Understandably.
[16:54] <@[VV]> Indeed.
[16:55] <@[VV]> While I definitely think that several of the points I made in the case as her lawyer were quite valid, I dare say I did go a bit overboard in order to make my case more effective.
[16:55] <@[VV]> Such is the court of law.
[16:55] <[MA]> Such is every court, in my experience.
[16:55] <@[VV]> Unfortunately.
[16:56] <@[VV]> It appears as though all of these shenanigans may have been cause by Maskwraith.
[16:56] <@[VV]> However, I am still not entirely certain on this matter, and I have been attempting to elucidate it further.
[16:57] <@[VV]> I currently have the sentient object that Lyra made the agreement with in my possession.
[16:57] <@[VV]> It would seem that the contract Lyra was supposedly bound to in the trial was from the alternate timeline Maskwraith was from, where that version of Lyra was much more willing to agree to such drastic terms.
[16:57] <[MA]> A mask, correct?
[16:58] <@[VV]> Correct.
[16:59] <[MA]> Naturally.
[17:00] <[MA]> Despite what my handle may imply, I am much less an expert on the subject than would be constructive.
[17:00] <[MA]> More of a hobbyist I suppose.
[17:00] <@[VV]> Oh, you dabble with masks?
[17:01] <[MA]> Well, I wear them and collect them, but that hardly helps us in regards to those of a magical variety.
[17:29] <[MA]> Oh?
[17:29] <@[VV]> Ever since learning what Maskwraith did and associating that with Maskwraith's mask, Nick has rather had an aversion to masks.
[17:29] <[MA]> Wonderful.
[17:30] <@[VV]> That is something else that I am hoping we can work through, but that is not of particular concern at the moment.
[17:30] <@[VV]> Anyways, about the court case.
[17:32] <@[VV]> Lyra refused to hear anything about the fact that all of the recent strife could have been a misunderstanding caused by Maskwraith, and insisted that the entire thing was a ploy by this sentient object to oppress her, cause her pain, and gain power.
[17:33] <@[VV]> She was incredibly stubborn and refused to even consider any settlement proposals that did not involve twisting the sentient object's metaphorical arms into a heavily lopsided contract in our favor or the sentient object's indefinite banishment to solitary confinement in space.
[17:34] <@[VV]> Should all of this genuinely be a ploy to manipulate and gain power, then by all means, I am in favor of just punishment.
[17:42] <@[VV]> However, I believe Lyra was letting her judgement be clouded by anger and passion at the time. I believe that it is quite likely that all of this is Maskwraith's fault, and Lyra's intense fury directed at the sentient object is unfounded.
[17:43] <@[VV]> It may be that she is correct, but I do not want to permanently exile an innocent being to solitary confinement on a combination of a hypothesis and anger.
[17:44] <@[VV]> That is why I am doing what I am doing at the moment. Exercising caution to reveal the truth before we take drastic action we regret.
[17:45] <@[VV]> I have a crown that is capable of protecting me from mental influences, and I am speaking with the mask in order to ascertain what truly happened.
[17:45] <[MA]> That sounds reasonable.
[17:46] <@[VV]> I believe Lyra sees this as being immensely foolish as she still believes this mask in unequivocally a force seeking only to harm and that I am only putting myself and everyone else at risk by not exiling the mask as far away as possible.
[17:48] <@[VV]> If the mask's sole desire was to hurt, or if it was to trick us into trusting it to gain access to the fruits of us playing this game, there are many other strategically more effective and less risky courses of action it could have taken.
[17:49] <@[VV]> I know to you I am simply a random stranger that you have no reason to trust. I assure you that I am simply trying to be as reasonable and level-headed about this matter as possible. You can take my word as you wish.
[17:50] <[MA]> You both seem like reasonable people. I trust this can all be resolved peacefully.
[17:50] <[MA]> Time will tell.
[17:50] <@[VV]> I hope so. That is why I wish to talk with her sooner rather than later.
[17:51] <@[VV]> Other than an..... interesting visit from Maskwraith, what has been happening in your neck of the woods?
[17:51] <@[VV]> Is there anything I can help with? Any questions you have?
[17:51] <@[VV]> You can ask me anything.
[17:53] <@[VV]> If you have any questions about this game as well, I may be able to be of assistance. I have acquired quite a great deal of information since we began.
[17:55] <[MA]> Nothing of interest, I fear. I ran into a... tower-bound masked spirit... creature, but it seems peaceful enough.
[17:55] <[MA]> Also I found some paintings, but while they were clearly significant, they made no sense to me.
[17:56] <@[VV]> What were the paintings of?
[17:57] <@[VV]> I doubt I will be of any help, but perhaps there is something I might recognize.
[17:57] <[MA]> People. Mostly symbolic, tarot motifs, that sort of thing.
[17:57] <@[VV]> Interesting.
[17:57] <[MA]> None I recognized, but again, I have not met anyone in person yet other than Maskwraith.
[17:58] <@[VV]> I can provide you with a brief description oft he people I have met, if you would like.
[17:58] <@[VV]> Byron has shorter hair and is quite heavyset. He has been likened to the Tarot card of "The Fool" many times. I know very little about Tarot, but I can infer the meaning of that analogy.
[17:59] <[MA]> Hm. There was one matching that description, holding the card of The Fool.
[17:59] <[MA]> You may be misinterpreting it, though.
[17:59] <@[VV]> Oh really? Very intriguing.
[18:00] <@[VV]> I have blond hair and recently acquired white and gold wings. Approximately half of the time you meet me I may be female as this game has decided for some reason that my dream self should be female. That has caused some.... interesting consequences.
[18:00] <@[VV]> Nick has rather messy black hair and quite a lot of scars. He likes glaives and crows and he recently acquired black feathered wings.
[18:01] <[MA]> There was a portrait of two people with wings, holding a book if I recall. These may be more important than I thought. I will try to write down what I remember of them, for future use.
[18:01] <[MA]> And again, a match.
[18:01] <@[VV]> That is almost certainly depicting me, as I found a very large book relatively early on in this game.
[18:02] <@[VV]> This is very interesting that we would be in paintings on your world.
[18:02] <@[VV]> What is your world called, by the way?
[18:02] <@[VV]> What is it like?
[18:06] <[MA]> Lots of... constructs, and rivers. Those are the only real defining factors. And colors I guess.
[18:09] <@[VV]> That is quite an interesting description. My world seems to called the Land of Wicks and Bulbs. I still know not why that specific title, other than the fact that the world is full of candles, light bulbs and floating orbs of light.
[18:09] <[MA]> That seems fitting.
[18:13] <@[VV]> Do you have any questions about this game that I can help with?
[18:14] <@[VV]> While I can imagine it could be nice to be isolated from all of the messy shenanigans over here as of late, it is also entirely possible that as a result you are rather in the dark about what has been happening or what is going on.
[18:16] <[MA]> None that are easily answered, I fear.
[18:16] <[MA]> My biggest question is one that Lyra was only partially able to answer:
[18:16] <[MA]> what are we supposed to be doing?
[18:16] <@[VV]> My understanding of this game is that there is one primary goal, and in order to achieve that goal, there are several goals along the way that we must achieve.
[18:17] <@[VV]> The world we left behind is dead, obliterated by meteors.
[18:17] <@[VV]> I have found from several sources that the purpose of this game is to create a new world to replace the old.
[18:18] <@[VV]> In a way, it is like a dandelion which sends out a great mass of seeds as it dies in an attempt to propagate itself.
[18:18] <@[VV]> In order to achieve this, there are several goals along the way to achieve.
[18:18] <@[VV]> First and foremost, survive.
[18:18] <[MA]> Of course.
[18:19] <@[VV]> Secondly, the war between Prospit and Derse.
[18:19] <@[VV]> It seems that Prospit seeks for our world-creation endeavor to succeed and that Derse seeks to oppose it.
[18:19] <@[VV]> And so, they fight.
[18:20] <@[VV]> I have been informed from two separate sources that Derse is destined to win this war, and it will turn to us to defeat the kingdom of Derse to ensure we can still be victorious.
[18:20] <@[VV]> As such, it would seem that the Dersian royalty are primary antagonists to us in this game.
[18:21] <[MA]> Lyra said similar, if not quite as specific.
[18:21] <@[VV]> Thirdly, we need to actually go about creating the world. Unfortunately, I haven't the foggiest how that is to be done.
[18:22] <@[VV]> I hope we can learn something about this eventually.
[18:22] <@[VV]> My sprite has been very, very helpful in these sorts of matters, but he is currently missing.
[18:23] <[MA]> My sprite has been anything but useful, sadly. Still, it is good to hear that we are starting to learn... well, what we are actually doing in the first place.
[18:24] <@[VV]> For now, I would say our primary objectives should be survival, training and equipping, learning about the game, and if possible, working against Derse. That last one does seem to be rather difficult at this point as the Black Queen is very powerful.
[18:24] <[MA]> Anyhow, I feel I should probably get back to working on getting across this river. I will try to keep in touch.
[18:25] <@[VV]> Petrus, I have one more thing to say.
[18:25] <@[VV]> And then I will get out of your hair! :)
[18:25] <@[VV]> I know this will sound rather out of the blue, and it is entirely up to you what you wish to do.
[18:25] <@[VV]> Tomorrow is Nick's birthday, but he has, in the midst of all the chaos of this game, forgotten that it is tomorrow.
[18:26] <@[VV]> I am planning a surprise birthday party for him, and you are invited!
[18:27] <@[VV]> I completely understand if you would like to be more cautious since I am quite literally a stranger inviting you to his house, but I believe it common courtesy to extend the invitation.
[18:27] <@[VV]> You do not need to decide whether or not you would like to attend right this moment, you have time.
[18:27] <[MA]> I appreciate the invitation!
[18:27] <@[VV]> If you would like to come, I can arrange transportation as many of us have wings.
[18:27] <[MA]> However, Getting there would be difficu-
[18:27] <[MA]> oh
[18:27] <[MA]> well then.
[18:27] <@[VV]> You can think about it, no need to decide right now.
[18:28] <@[VV]> Lyra did just tell you to avoid both myself and the person who's birthday it is.
[18:28] <[MA]> I can see no harm in finally meeting up with the rest of our group, but I may or may not have urgent maters to attend to. Honestly, it is difficult to tell.
[18:28] <@[VV]> When the hour of the party nears, I would say in approximately 20 hours, I will contact you again and we can go from there,
[18:29] <@[VV]> One thing that I have learned about this game is that it is very difficult to construct any reliable plans terribly far in the future.
[18:30] <@[VV]> I shall contact you later then and we can see what you think would be best.
[18:30] <[MA]> Things do have a habit of happening very quickly.
[18:30] <@[VV]> That they do.
[18:30] <@[VV]> Oh.
[18:30] <@[VV]> Speaking of things happening quickly.
[18:30] <@[VV]> I have a very off-hand and hopefully brief inquiry.
[18:30] <@[VV]> Sorry I continue dragging this conversation on.
[18:31] <@[VV]> Do you happen to have a box of mysterious origins?
[18:31] <@[VV]> It seems quite a few of us have acquired similar boxes.
[18:31] <[MA]> I have not seen any boxes, mysterious in origin or otherwise.
[18:32] <@[VV]> Okay, interesting.
[18:32] <[MA]> I may just not have seen it yet, or some such.
[18:32] <@[VV]> I would appreciate you letting me know if that fact changes.
[18:32] <@[VV]> If you do find such a box, be careful. As always.
[18:32] <@[VV]> I am afraid I have little concrete information on them.
[18:33] <[MA]> Indeed.
[18:33] <@[VV]> Very well, is there anything else?
[18:33] <[MA]> Nothing I can think of.
[18:33] <@[VV]> I do not wish to keep you when you have business to attend to.
[18:33] <@[VV]> It was nice to finally meet you, Petrus!
[18:33] <@[VV]> I hope to be able to see you face to face sometime soon.
[18:35] <[MA]> Indeed! Best of luck with your investigations and all that.
[18:35]  * [VV] bid farewell to maskedAristocrat [MA]