[00:47] <@Clarence_Mage> Ascending Water the 10th, Mercuryday. While the day was nice since since Dawn, rain follow the group again. The rest inside a horse-drawn caravan, shielded from the rain by canvas. After only an hour or two Journey, the party arrive, and the rain lightens to a nice, light drizzle, the aroma of dew rising from the grass.
03[00:47] * Clarence_Mage is now known as Clarence|ST
[00:49] <@Clarence|ST> Leafless & flowerless trees decorate the town, and would otherwise seem lifeless if not for a certain vigor behind them. The party enter The Apothecary's den, a barely candlelit den decorated with patterned silks. His receptionist, dressed in a blue sari, boredly plays with her elegant glasses at the front desk.
06[00:51] * Soul straightens the collar of his robes a little with his index finger and clears his throat a little
03[00:51] * Durandal (Durandal@5C45B643.44893DBB.138A7FAC.IP) has joined #clarencexaltedic
02[00:51] * Gandr (Durandal@5C45B643.44893DBB.138A7FAC.IP) Quit (Ping timeout)
03[00:51] * Durandal is now known as Gandr
06[00:52] * Soul waits for the receptionist to acknowledge him
06[00:52] * Shim stares around with her drooping eyes, nodding at her surroundings.
[00:54] <@Clarence|ST> The receptionist's eyes roll upwards to look at Soul, she flicks a strand of her hair out of her field of vision, leans back in her chair and sighs. "Welcome to The Apothecary's Den, how can I help you?"
06[00:54] * Gandr enjoys the quiet rain as the trek goes on. There's something special about the smell of wet grass, and Gandr anticipates this with a quiet joy - it's not often that you get any rain deep in the forest.
06[00:54] * Gandr Inside the apothecary's home, Gandr hunches over a little under the roof. He prefers the open air.
06[00:54] * Shim shuffles up to stand next to Soul and continues to look around.
06[00:55] * Kris hangs back and waits patiently
[00:56] <Soul> "Yes, I was hoping I could talk with your employer. Our contact here*nudges in Chei's direction* told us about him."
06[00:58] * Gandr 'hrrms' impatiently.
[00:58] <@Clarence|ST> "Hm? Oh, right right." Chei straightens up as he's nudged and called.
[00:59] <@Clarence|ST> "We're looking for The Apothecary, and for some reason his name escapes me. He has a... hat. A beanie, fedora, or something..."
06[01:00] * Gandr shuffles hs feet.
[01:01] <@Clarence|ST> The receptionist frowns, and moves her far-too-jeweled fingers over a neat stack of papers & rifles through them. "So you want to meet with Mr. Shi, right?" Chei smacks his head. "Shi! Of course! HOW could I have forgotten!"
06[01:03] * Gandr shuffles his hands.
[01:03] <@Clarence|ST> "Yeah. Everyone forgets his name." She adjusts her glasses, and motions down the hall, to which a servant or two move a paper screen out of the way to reveal.
[01:04] <@Clarence|ST> "Third to your left, second to your right. Can't miss him."
[01:04] <Gandr> "Excellent."
06[01:04] * Soul nods slightly, not feeling terribly polite, and heads off in the proscribed direction
06[01:04] * Gandr follows Soul.
06[01:05] * Kris follows as well
06[01:05] * Shim shuffles along.
[01:08] <@Clarence|ST> Chei leads you on, and his purple silk robes match the surroundings. It's incredibly dark, the only source of light coming from stout scented candles placed along ornate holders on the walls. The candlelight does well to set the atmosphere though, the dancing flames illuminating woven patterns of beauty & scenery across each draped piece of silk tapestry along the walls, of which there are plenty.
[01:09] <@Clarence|ST> Third to the left, second to your right, a sliding paper door. Chei lifts his finger to press the doorbell... ...But he really doesn't want to. He moves away from it, and lets someone else have the honours.
[01:09] <Gandr> "Oh by the gods."
06[01:09] * Soul shrugs and presses it himself
[01:11] <@Clarence|ST> The nice sound of a string of chimes resounds through the hallway for the party to hear, and soon after you hear a relatively young, wise-sounding, but muffled voice say "Come in, please."
06[01:11] * Soul turns to Chei. "Would you prefer I just led along the rest of the way too?" he asks, not rudely, just...very bluntly.
[01:12] <@Clarence|ST> "If you would be so kind." He takes a warm, wet towel from one of the servants and places it on his forhead. This man takes care of himself when even remotely ill, and a hangover is no exception.
06[01:13] * Soul opens the door himself, then, and steps inside without hesitation, not waiting for anyone to decide whether or not to follow.
06[01:14] * Shim looks around for a good while before sliding along after Soul.
06[01:14] * Gandr follows, approving.
06[01:14] * Kris falls in behind
[01:18] <@Clarence|ST> If you thought it was impossible for the walls to be more decorated with beautiful silks before, you were dead wrong. The Apothecary is a huge fan of patterned silks, and all across the walls & cieling hang silk cloth after silk cloth, depicting flora, fauna, scenes of battles long past, and mysterious occult symbols all across some.
06[01:19] * Shim reaches deftly into her pocket and procures a smoke, she grips a stone on a necklace and coughs onto it. Then presses the roll to the stone and it catches aflame, it settles deftly between her lips.
06[01:19] * Soul clears his throat again. "Doctor Shi, I presume?"
06[01:20] * Gandr worries slightly at the combination of candles and silk. Flammable, inflammable ... it all burns.
[01:21] <@Clarence|ST> Many vibrant colours ontop of purple background seems to be the running motif here, and you see the man you came to see sitting cross-legged near the back ontop of a white pillow which is in turn on the woven straw carpet. His eyes are closed, a look of sheer serenity on his face. He wears a long, purple(who would have guessed otherwise), patterned kimono that  trails along the ground.
[01:22] <@Clarence|ST> He wears a dark purple fez, and underneath the fez is medium-length, shaggy grey hair. He opens his eyes, and they are, to everyone's surprise, purple. "You presume correctly. Come, sit down." He motions to the pillows arrayed infront of him.
06[01:22] * Gandr looks around, impressed and maybe slightly annoyed with the gaudy display of color. Purple ... is a very expensive color.
06[01:23] * Soul sits in the front, naturally. The smart kids always sit at the front of the classroom.
06[01:23] * Shim slithers into a seat next to Soul, smart kids do sit at the front.
06[01:23] * Gandr remains standing. The surviving kids always remain alert.
06[01:24] * Kris hangs back with Gandr, who seems to have the right idea
06[01:25] * Gandr is reminded that he needs a hobby he can engage in while standing up.
[01:25] <@Clarence|ST> Mr Shi motions to Gandr & Kris with one hand, his long sleeve ruffling. "Please, everyone is safe here. Do not insult me with this assumption that something's going to attack you at any moment. Please, have a seat." He continues smiling serenely, and motions with both hands to spare pillows, the smoke from burning incense sticks wafting around the elegant movements.
06[01:26] * Kris nods and moves to sit. "If you say so."
06[01:26] * Shim plucks the joint from her lips and contorts her lips, with a long sigh a candle made from smoke is blown out. It hovers in midair, producing it's own smoke.
06[01:26] * Gandr remains standing. "Point of personal preference."
[01:27] <Gandr> "But thanks."
[01:27] <@Clarence|ST> "If you insist."
[01:29] <@Clarence|ST> He lazily turns his head to the rest of the group.
[01:33] <@Clarence|ST> "Greetings everyone, I am Shi Xa, The Apothecary." He extends his arms to prove a point of welcome and emphasis.
[01:33] <@Clarence|ST> Everyone introduces themself, whatever.
[01:34] <Soul> "Uhh, yes. It's an honour for you to have us, Doctor Shi. I am Doctor Soul, I hail from Nexus and am here on business as brought to my attention by Mr. Chei. I was hoping we could discuss this...plague...that's been affecting the region."
[01:36] <Gandr> "I'm Gandr. Chei expects trouble to find them. I'm here to find the trouble."
01[01:37] <Shim> "Shim." She nods, puffing on her joint colloquially.
[01:39] <@Clarence|ST> Kris introduces herself with a touch of arrogance
[01:39] <@Clarence|ST> "And I'm Chei. We've met."
[01:40] <@Clarence|ST> Chei bows.
06[01:40] * Shim tips her joint like it were a hat and follows it with a nod.
[01:41] <@Clarence|ST> "Indeed." The Apothecary starts pouring tea, cup by cup. "Indeed, we are going to discuss this plague that has, worriedly, surfaced over the past few weeks. However, a small matter first, I have someone to introduce."
[01:42] <@Clarence|ST> "Gandr, I have heard of your tactical prowess and work with your chain, but it seems your knowledge of war rests only in that domain, as skilled in that domain you may be."
[01:43] <Gandr> "You do not need to best a dead opponent."
01[01:43] <Shim> "Yeah, but the best opponents are not dead, y'know?" She nods.
06[01:44] * Gandr seems to want to say something in reply, but catches himself ... probably realizing that anything he might've said would only make him look stupid.
[01:44] <@Clarence|ST> The Apothecary grabs a cup, and extends his hand up and to his left. "So I bring in someone who is a master of Strategy, someone who I have Chosen to watch over our Battles. Gentlemen and Ladies, I would love you to meet my good friend Relain."
[01:44] <@Clarence|ST> A sliding paper door to the side opens...
[01:47] <@Clarence|ST> "...He appears to be late."
[01:47] <@Clarence|ST> "Oh well, I may introduce my other companion."
06[01:47] * Soul raises his eyebrow slightly
06[01:49] * Gandr smells a sandwich.
06[01:49] * Gandr his stomach rumbles audibly.
[01:49] <Gandr> "..."
[01:49] <Kris> "Yeah, I'm hungry too."
06[01:50] * @Clarence|ST lifts his hand, and to the other side of the room. "While Soul, you are very good at crafting potions and treatments, your great skill lies in the application of your knowledge, and not the seeking of ingredients for the recipe of wit and intelligence."
[01:50] <@Clarence|ST> *THE APOTHECARY LIFTS HIS HAND HEUEAHUHE
[01:52] <@Clarence|ST> "So I bring in someone who lives and breathes botany, someone who has picked, examined, and grown flowers since the first Moonshadow graced his green hands. I introduce to you, Lemy."
[01:53] <Soul> "...with...due respect, doctor, I got my start scrounging for reagents in the forests near where I grew up."
[01:53] <@Clarence|ST> *flowers and plants of all kind
06[01:55] * Gandr shifts idly. The old man is obviously planting his own agents in the group.
[01:55] <Soul> "I still make sem-regular excursions to various locales of wildlife...my survivalist's instinct has not dulled with age."
06[01:56] * Gandr Maybe he wants to be able to take credit for any possible solution - maybe he just doesn't like the Guild.
06[01:57] * Shim leans back and looks at all the silk on the walls, "I wonder if the people, like... Dance, y'know? When you stop, like looking at them. They must get... Bored."
[01:58] <@Clarence|ST> The paper door slides open, and out comes a shy, black-haired boy with a few bags under his eyes. He appears to be wearing a headband, and not the kind that goes around your forhead. It's decorated with a pink flower. He walks up to Soul and extends a friendly hand. "Hi, I'm Lemy, sorry about Shi, he tends to think a bit too highly of his friends."
06[02:00] * Soul delays extending his hand. "Uhh...yes...right."
[02:01] <@Clarence|ST> Lemy's hand is rather... cold. But his smile is warm.
06[02:02] * Kris waves to Lemy. "Greetings."
06[02:03] * Shim turns to him and looks him over once before nodding contently.
[02:05] <@Clarence|ST> Lemy smiles and waves at Kris.
[02:05] <Soul> "...sorry...you...sort of remind me of one of my apprentices. You're not by any chance related to a Flaxen Dragon are you?"
06[02:08] * Relain wanders into the doorway with what appears to be a fresh loaf of bread missing several bites in his hand, looking over the scene "...Oh dear, am I late? I thought for sure I had time for a quick stop..."
[02:08] <@Clarence|ST> "It's not your day off today, Relain." The Apothecary smiles.
06[02:08] * Gandr looks a bit worried. Tactical genius ?
06[02:09] * Relain grins, shrugging "My game dragged on a bit long and I lost track of time, terribly sorry."
01[02:09] <Shim> With the joint in her hand now totally burnt away she uses the spare fingers to bat a wave into the air, the welcome being carried on the smoke.
06[02:09] * Relain holds the loaf out "Bread, anyone?"
[02:09] <Gandr> "Yeah.
[02:09] <Gandr> "
06[02:09] * Kris eagerly raises her hand!
01[02:09] <Shim> "Yo."
06[02:09] * Soul shrugs and holds out his hand
06[02:10] * Gandr raises his hand.
[02:10] <@Clarence|ST> Lemy holds out his palms.
06[02:11] * Relain shrugs, breaking it apart and depositing equal parts into their proper places, leaving a morsel for himself to pop into his mouth "Perhaps that'll make up for my fashionable tardiness."
[02:11] <Gandr> "Always."
06[02:11] * Kris savors the snack
06[02:11] * Gandr smiles and pops the snack in his mouth.
06[02:11] * Gandr Food seems to restore his good faith quicker than any apoliogy.
06[02:11] * Shim grips the igition stone from her chest and holds it out, the bread just behind it. With an expert exhalation she begins to toast the bread.
[02:12] <Soul> "Right. And you are?"
[02:12] <@Clarence|ST> Lemy nibbles on the bread.
06[02:12] * Soul raises his piece of bread as if to point to Relain
06[02:13] * Relain takes a bow "Relain Rookstrike, professional Gateway player and, as I'm told, an expert tactician."
[02:13] <Soul> "...I see. And we're going to be needing a tactician and Gateway player to help procure reagents why, exactly?"
06[02:13] * Soul turns to Chei as he says that, for some reason
[02:14] <Gandr> "..."
06[02:14] * Gandr casts a sidelong glance at Soul.
[02:14] <Gandr> "Zombies."
06[02:14] * Gandr chews thoughtfully.
01[02:14] <Shim> "Because... Tictacs are awesome, bro. They like, keep your breath clean and like, sometimes you need that. If people are going to be like... Smelling your breath, yknow?"
[02:15] <@Clarence|ST> Chei almost chokes when Gandr says Zombies. "...Yeah. Zombies."
[02:15] <Relain> "Well, I believe I'm being enlisted for purposes other than reagent collection, such as handling the infected."
06[02:15] * Gandr looks at Shimmer while chewing.
[02:15] <Gandr> "Tictac ?"
06[02:15] * Shim nods authoratively.
06[02:15] * Gandr curiosity is plainly evident in Gandr's face.
[02:15] <Soul> "...Handling the infected. Sure. Of course the idea would HOPEFULLY be we never actually ENCOUTER the infected, at least not until AFTER we've come up with a cure."
[02:16] <Gandr> "No worries. You won't encounter infected - I will."
[02:16] <Soul> "And then you might be useless to us as you turn into one of them."
[02:16] <Relain> "And how exactly do you plan on distributing the cure, then?"
[02:17] <Kris> "Correct me if I'm wrong, but apparently, Relain here will manage our strategy, while Gandr will provide tactical support."
[02:17] <Soul> "Well...actually, I haven't given that much thought."
[02:18] <Soul> "...damned if I've ever had a CASE like this. Patients are generally, well...amicable to the idea of being treated."
01[02:18] <Shim> "We had stuff like this back home." She nods.
[02:19] <Gandr> "Put cure on my chains."
[02:19] <Relain> "Exactly, so we're going to require careful planning of how to distribute this cure and how to subdue the infected, planning of how to go about doing such will come after we have a cure and we know what form it's in."
06[02:19] * Gandr pats the thick snake at his waist.
[02:19] <Gandr> "Distribute cure with violence.
[02:19] <Gandr> "Get home in time for dinner."
[02:19] <Relain> "Personally, I'd say it'd be easiest to distribute in a gaseous form, but I doubt that'll be the easiest cure to make."
06[02:19] * Kris rubs her forehead.
[02:20] <Soul> "It probably won't. But as I said, I've never had to MAKE a gaseous cure before, becuase I've never had a situation like THIS before. I'm not sure how feasible it would be. Of course, we need to know for sure what the cure IS, first."
[02:20] <Kris> "Then let us find out, shall we?"
06[02:21] * Relain nods "Seems the best course of action indeed."
[02:21] <Soul> "Well...if we're done introducing each other, I was hoping the good doctor could tell us what he knows. I was told by Mr. Chei here that you had some wolves that might be of interest to our investigation."
[02:22] <Gandr> "Connect our links, old man."
[02:23] <@Clarence|ST> "Indeed." The Apothecary says, standing up, his knees cracking from staying sitting in that position for too long. He nearly loses his balance, nearly.
[02:23] <@Clarence|ST> "Hey." Shi frowns. "I'm not old."
06[02:23] * Relain takes the only available seat left next to Shim
06[02:24] * Shim reaches into her pocket and offers him a joint with a warm nod.
06[02:24] * Soul beckons Lemy to sit next to him
06[02:25] * Gandr shrugs.
[02:25] <@Clarence|ST> Lemy sits next to Soul, a bit too perky for how he looks.
06[02:25] * Relain shakes his head, smiling "Thank you, but that won't be necessary."
06[02:25] * Relain removes his pipe from his pocket and lights some tobacco in it, taking a thoughtful puff
[02:25] <Kris> "So... About those wolves?
[02:25] <Kris> :
[02:25] <Kris> "
01[02:26] <Shim> "Cool mini trumpet, dude." Shim nods, replacing the roll.
[02:26] <@Clarence|ST> "Right, those wolves... I'll be just a second." Shi Xa slides open the back wall, and descends down a flight of foreboding stairs.
06[02:27] * Relain glances at her, confused "Erm... Thank you."
06[02:27] * Shim nods contently.
06[02:28] * Soul turns to Lemy. "So...you didn't answer my question."
[02:29] <@Clarence|ST> "Hm? Oh, no," He waves his hand dismissively. "I'm not related to him. Don't even know who he is!"
06[02:29] * Gandr idly wonders if there's more bread where Lemy came from.
[02:29] <Soul> "Huh...never mind. Sorry, you just kind of...reminded me of him...you look kinda like him, and you act like him too..."
[02:30] <@Clarence|ST> "Nope! Sorry!" He scratches the back of his head.
[02:31] <Soul> "So, are you apprenticed to Shi, then?"
[02:32] <@Clarence|ST> He nods. "He's pretty nice. He took me in after I... was seperated from my two other friends..." He looks a bit sad at this last part.
06[02:32] * Gandr idly shifts his weight from foot to foot.
[02:33] <Soul> "Hmm...well when he's done with you, maybe you could come work for me. I always appreciate help around my clinic, and all of the apprentices I have mostly handle the clinical and mercantile side of the business. It'd be nice having an assistant on my gathering runs."
[02:36] <@Clarence|ST> Shi returns, carrying awireframe cage with a rather docile wolf in it. The wolf seems to be rotting, and doesn't mind being tossed around in the cage as Shi walks up the stairs. He places he wolf down in the center of the sitting circle, and gets back to his pillow.
06[02:36] * Kris looks down to where Shi went, down the foreboding stairway. "That must be a very long way down."
[02:36] <Relain> "...Oh my."
06[02:37] * Soul raises his eyebrows. "You're sure this wolf is...safe to be around? Not contagious of anything?"
06[02:37] * Gandr subtly shifts into a slightly more alert position.
[02:38] <@Clarence|ST> "That's what the cage is for." he smacks the cage, and it shimmers purple.
06[02:38] * Shim waves to the sad looking cat.
[02:39] <Soul> "I didn't expect to see it ROTTING ALIVE, is all."
[02:39] <@Clarence|ST> "That's what this dis ease does."
[02:40] <@Clarence|ST> "Normally, it would be thrashing around like a wild beast in agony and fury... However, it's more docile than it should be. Probably because it had rabies before it got infected... For whatever reason."
[02:41] <Gandr> "Animals without rabies do not become docile ?"
[02:41] <Soul> "Which is why I wanted to see you. That the two diseases would react in such an unusual way...I suspect the key to finding a cure lies in this.:
06[02:42] * Relain puffs a smoke ring from his pipe
06[02:43] * Gandr wishes he had something to eat.
06[02:43] * Gandr idly cracks his neck.
06[02:44] * Shim turns to Relain, "So, like, what do you do?"
06[02:46] * Relain withdraws the pipe from his mouth "I think, dear girl... I play, I conquer."
06[02:46] * Gandr 'hrms'.
06[02:47] * Gandr reaches into his pack, rummaging around, looking for something to eat.
06[02:47] * Shim nods, "Cool. What do you think you play?"
06[02:47] * Gandr finds nothing, remembers that he left his food outside.
[02:47] <Relain> "Gateway."
06[02:47] * Shim nods, "Like the dogs, yeah?" |3
[02:47] <Gandr> "I've heard of Gateway."
[02:47] <Gandr> "Bunch of fat merchants talked about it day and night."
[02:48] <Gandr> "What does a game have to do with fighting ?"
[02:48] <Soul> "It's not an uncommon pastime for Guildsmen, no."
[02:48] <Soul> "Don't play it myself, though. Don't find it helps, either."
[02:48] <Relain> "One can think of it as... War, in a condensed form."
[02:48] <Kris> "I've heard of it, but never played
[02:48] <@Clarence|ST> Lemy puts a hand on his chin.
06[02:48] * Shim turns to Gandr and speaks in a matter of fact way, "Let fly the dogs of war, bro." She nods.
06[02:49] * Gandr looks at Shimmer, a little baffled. Dogs ? War ? Flying ? What ?
[02:49] <Gandr> "What ?"
[02:49] <Gandr> "Are you trying to insult me ?"
[02:49] <@Clarence|ST> "Soul, I think you're on the right track."
01[02:49] <Shim> "Y'know, flying dogs." She nods, "And they fight crime."
06[02:49] * Gandr looks a little stupefied.
[02:49] <Gandr> "..."
06[02:50] * Gandr looks rather stupefied.
[02:50] <Gandr> "..."
[02:50] <@Clarence|ST> "What about Rabies would cause another disease to make something docile?"
06[02:50] * Shim nods conclusively and turns back to Relain
06[02:50] * Relain looks over at Shim "Such an odd girl you are... And what's your story?"
06[02:50] * Kris thinks
06[02:51] * Soul is attempting to ignore the others. "That's a...good question...Is it possible that the rabies attacks the phage instead? Somehow nullifying part of its effect on the animal but not other parts?"
06[02:51] * Shim nods at him and leans back, "Ok... So, y'know, I like... Go around, and tell people... About my people, because my people, are like, alone, y'know? And took a step towards, y'know, enllightment, and I gotta go get more people, for them."
[02:52] <Soul> "So the rabies no longer effects the animal's mood, but it now is affected by PART of the new disease...but only part...only the part that robs it of its free will?"
06[02:52] * Gandr is becoming convinced that Shimmer's talk about "enlightenment" is crazy speak for cannibalism.
[02:52] <Soul> "And the part that causes rage in the victim is the part that the rabies affects...?"
[02:52] <@Clarence|ST> Lemy is practically grinning like the cheshire cat.
06[02:52] * Soul is sort of thinking out loud here, as if to invite other thoughts...from Lemy at least.
06[02:53] * Relain takes a puff of his pipe "I'd certainly love to hear about your people some time."
[02:53] <@Clarence|ST> "Indeed indeed, you're closing in on it..."
[02:53] <@Clarence|ST> "But I think you may be a bit far off."
06[02:53] * Kris speaks up. "The infected are still rotting though, so the rabies doesn't effect that."
[02:53] <@Clarence|ST> "This is still true."
[02:53] <@Clarence|ST> Lemy motions to Kris.
06[02:55] * Soul nods. "Well...it would be best if we could somehow examine these subjects in greater detail. Particularly if we could compare them to a control..."
06[02:59] * Shim nods, "My people, are like, all really like me, y'know?"
[02:59] <Relain> "I see... Anything else I need to know?"
06[02:59] * Gandr thinks of clones.
06[03:00] * Gandr Pot-smoking, sense-unmaking clones.
01[03:00] <Shim> "We, like, live in this big place, and like, you know Thorns?"
[03:01] <Relain> "I believe so, yes."
06[03:02] * Soul is doing his damndest to shut out the others talking
01[03:02] <Shim> "We like, live on an island called Woodstock, a boats ride from there, y'know? It's like, a really chill place." She nods happily.
[03:03] <Soul> "...Woodstock, you say?"
06[03:04] * Soul suddenly snaps to attention
01[03:04] <Shim> /me nods.
[03:04] <Relain> "I see, I see..."
[03:05] <Soul> "Heh...I know of the place...never been, but I know you do a fair amount of growing there...I've bought more than my fair share of herbs from traders having come from that direction. I see why you're always smoking."
06[03:05] * Soul nods a little knowingly.
01[03:06] <Shim> "My like, mom used to handle like, dealings with outsiders and my dad would like, lead drum circles. It was nice, and then i like, took a step towards enlightenment and like, they threw this awesome party. It was like, totally awesome, y'know?" A beautiful smile forms on her reminiscent face, practically lighting the room on its on.
[03:06] <Kris> "So, we have the wolves, and we know that rabies, combined with this unknown beserker plauge, makes wolves docile. In humans, the disease just makes them beserk. And no matter what, anything that gets infected begins to rot as if dead or dying. Is this correct?"
06[03:06] * Soul chuckles to himself a little, shaking his head.
06[03:06] * Relain can't seem to keep from smiling "What step would that be?
[03:07] <@Clarence|ST> Lemy frames his head with the hands he puts his chin in. "You are on the right track, Kris."
01[03:08] <Shim> "Well like, one morning I woke up and like I was glowing, like the enlightened one himself, y'know? And a few people checked me out and like, I wasn't on fire all the other times."
01[03:08] <Shim> Wasn't on fire like all*
06[03:08] * Kris grins. "So, do we know if the plauge infects anything other than humans or wolves?
06[03:08] * Soul turns around to Shi. "Doctor, have you examined any of these animals? Dissection?...Vivisection?"
06[03:08] * Relain frowns slightly "...Glowing? Enlightened one?"
06[03:08] * Shim nods, "Anyways, I'm boring you. Tell me about your life, and stuff."
[03:10] <@Clarence|ST> Shi takes a drink of tea. "I'm afraid I havn't. I'm afraid of having prolonged contact with these beasts, lest I become stark-raving mad. It's why I have these cages."
06[03:11] * Relain shakes his head "I'm afraid it'll have to wait, we must focus on the task at hand rather than pleasantries."
06[03:11] * Soul sighs. "Right...so that's one avenue that I can't take..."
06[03:11] * Shim nods and shuffles her butt towards the group, peering at the wolf through the cage.
[03:11] <Kris> "Well, it's obviously not airborne... or if it is, it's not very potent, considering you've probably spent at least some time around them, right?"
[03:11] <@Clarence|ST> Lemy lowers his eyelids, and focuses on Kris. "You only know for certain that it infects living things that arn't plants."
06[03:11] * Soul turns to Lemy. "You seem to know a little more than you're letting on...care to let us in?"
[03:12] <Relain> "Living things that aren't plants?"
01[03:12] <Shim> "So like, they have to have a brain?"
[03:12] <Soul> "Or blood."
01[03:13] <Shim> "But like, plants have blood. But not people blood, it's like, necter or something."
[03:13] <@Clarence|ST> Lemy catches himself "Hm? Oh, no, I'm just very good at saying the right thought-provoking statements and questions. Sorry." He bows in apology. "But I have uh... been studying them with Shi for a while."
[03:14] <Relain> "...Well, of course it doesn't infect plants."
[03:14] <Relain> "It's not like plants catch colds or the pox."
[03:15] <Soul> "Plants DO catch diseases."
[03:15] <Soul> "Not usually diseases animals catch, though."
01[03:15] <Shim> "But only diseases for plants," She nods. "So like, why can't you, like, cut this thing up and see whats like, wrong?"
06[03:16] * Kris turns to Shim. "Because touching it is a Bad Idea."
[03:16] <Soul> "If you were focusing, Shimmer, you'd have heard that it's contagious."
06[03:16] * Shim nods, "But, yeah, if you like, wearing a mask and gloves and stuff, you won't get it."
[03:17] <Soul> "Well I'm guessing we don't have access to those luxuries out here."
[03:17] <Soul> "Or else the good doctor would have done that work FOR us."
01[03:17] <Shim> "It's not hard to like, wrap something around your mouth and put stuff over your hands, bro."
[03:18] <Soul> "Some diseases can't be blocked that way."
01[03:19] <Shim> "Well I guess we're just going to have to like, stare at it till we find a cure, right?" She replies, a dabble of sarcasm in her soothing voice.
06[03:19] * Gandr idles like a falling treetrunk.
[03:19] <Soul> "Well, I was hoping..."
06[03:19] * Soul grabs his notebook. "Doctor...Lemy...I was wondering if you had any of THESE on hand..."
[03:19] <@Clarence|ST> "If you could find a way to approach this wolf and for sure not catch anything, I'd be delighted." Shi says.
[03:20] <Relain> "Wait... So how are we to develop a cure without being able to actually examine the disease?"
06[03:20] * Soul rattles off a few ingredients that he was planning on getting from the forest
[03:20] <Soul> "I thought that these might be a step in the right direction towards finding what'll cure this thing. Do you sgree?"
[03:20] <@Clarence|ST> "Yes, Yes, running low, fresh out, Yes, Yes, No but I have something similar." Shi says to Soul.
[03:21] <@Clarence|ST> "You have to start somewhere."
[03:21] <Soul> "Hmm. I was planning on harvesting some of those ingredients from the forest nearby anyway. I've been here before, I have a rough idea of what's present."
[03:21] <Kris> "There's something i'd like to try to pick up, while here in town, do you think we have time to spare?"
[03:22] <@Clarence|ST> "What were you thinking of picking up?"
[03:23] <Kris> "Oh, something I'd call 'just in case.' "
06[03:31] * Soul beckons Chei to come closer
[03:31] <@Clarence|ST> Chei puts down his cup, and shuffles closer.
06[03:32] * Soul is whispering to Chei, obviously
[03:35] <@Clarence|ST> Chei is also whispering back, but is as usual being a tiny bit aloof.
06[03:36] * Kris waits patiently, idly flicking her fan open and closed
06[03:36] * Gandr is seriously beginning to idle.
[03:37] <Gandr> "Hey, Lemy."
06[03:37] * Soul sighs, then turns back to address Shi. "Doctor...is there any sign that this disease is Magical versus Mundane?"
[03:37] <Gandr> "Got any more sandwiches ?"
[03:38] <@Clarence|ST> Lemy places his palms up and shakes his head.
06[03:38] * Shim reaches smoothly into her pocket, procuring a joint. A flick of the wrist across a bright rock and it's smouldering. With a practiced toss she catches it between her lips and takes a long drag.
[03:38] <@Clarence|ST> Lemy pays attention to Soul & Shi at the mention of Magical vs. Mundane
[03:39] <Gandr> "Hrm. Relain ?"
[03:39] <@Clarence|ST> Shi takes a long sip of his tea.
06[03:39] * Relain shakes his head, apparently having dozed off "Hmm?"
[03:40] <@Clarence|ST> "It's... What I'm fearing." He says when he puts his cup down.
[03:40] <Soul> "Well...I don't think there's any need to hide who we are, I assume you already know."
06[03:41] * Soul looks at the other Solars
[03:41] <@Clarence|ST> Shi smiles. "Indeed."
[03:41] <@Clarence|ST> "Though your cover would've been blown by that one already." He motions to Shim. "Hearthstones arn't exactly commonplace."
[03:41] <Soul> "And I assume you know that Rabies, like other mundane disease, doesn't affect us."
06[03:41] * Shim nods and pulls the joint from her lips, a long puff of smoke forms a statue of UCS in midair.
06[03:42] * Kris claps
06[03:42] * Gandr perks up at the mention of immunity to disease.
[03:42] <Gandr> "Nice smoke... thing."
06[03:42] * Shim bobs her head proudly. |3
06[03:42] * Relain looks over the assembled party with a dawning realization "...Oh my."
[03:42] <Gandr> "Can you do a chain ?"
[03:42] <@Clarence|ST> "...Naturally."
[03:43] <Soul> "My concern then is that this disease, being of arcane power, may be something we're NOT immune to."
06[03:43] * Shim rounds her lips and plucks a smoke chain out of them, like a magician pulls a chain of rags from his mouth.
03[03:44] * CAPSLOCKGUY (CASPSLOCKG@sux-12F4807A.kelvn1.qld.optusnet.com.au) has joined #clarencexaltedic
06[03:44] * Gandr smiles, entertained.
06[03:44] * Gandr tries to grab the smoke-chain.
01[03:44] <Shim> It dissapates.
[03:44] <@Clarence|ST> "Indeed. Unless you're very certain you have a countermeasure to magical ailments... I'm certain it'd be best to not come in direct contact with these things."
01[03:45] <Shim> It's smoke you moron, what were you thinking. >:I
06[03:45] * Gandr goes all "awww D:D:D:D:"
06[03:45] * Shim goes back to smoking.
06[03:45] * Relain shakes slightly "Y-you mean you're all..."
[03:45] <Soul> "Well...As I know of no such countermeasures, I think it'd be best if we went ahead with our plan to procure the needed reagents from the forest FIRST."
[03:46] <Gandr> "You mean we're all what ?"
[03:46] <@Clarence|ST> Shi smiles, and puts a hand on Relain's shoulder. "It's alright, Rel."
06[03:46] * Gandr isn't threatening in the least, merely hasn't realized what Relain's talking about.
[03:46] <Gandr> "All what ?"
06[03:46] * Relain points around the room weakly "B...But..."
[03:46] <Gandr> "What's all right ?"
[03:46] <Gandr> "But what ? What ?"
06[03:47] * Shim gives a warm, welcoming smile to Rel, all his pleasures melt away within her lovely gaze.
[03:47] <Gandr> "What are we ?"
[03:47] <Soul> "What's the matter? Master Strategist and Tactician afraid of a few Anathema?"
06[03:47] * Soul snickers
06[03:47] * Kris lets some essence circulate, illuminating the mark on her forehead
[03:47] <@Clarence|ST> "I'm sure they're decent people. At least they didn't try to punch us out at first sight..." He reminisces with Rel about the time they met with some dragonbloods
[03:48] <Gandr> "What are we all ?"
06[03:48] * Gandr is becoming visibly worried.
01[03:48] <Shim> "I'm high, as a kite!" She nods.
06[03:48] * Kris looks to Gander. "Chosen of the Unconqoured Sun."
06[03:48] * Relain gulps "I, well, somewhat."
06[03:48] * Gandr a look of understanding (or, atleast relief) dawns on Gandr's face.
[03:48] <Gandr> "Oooh, that. Yeah."
[03:48] <Relain> "You could punch a damned hole in me!"
06[03:48] * Gandr smiles broadly.
06[03:48] * Relain points at Shim "SHE could punch a hole in me!"
06[03:49] * Kris laughs. "Not me, I'm just a dancer... Well, an excellent dancer."
[03:49] <Gandr> "But that wouldn't solve anything.", looking askance at Relain.
06[03:49] * Shim gives a wave as if she were an innocent child unaware of the worry around her.
[03:49] <Soul> "She couldn't hurt a damned fly. And as for me...my allegiance is to the Guild. I'd probably be sacked of I killed a person we were contracted to work with."
06[03:49] * Relain sighs, massaging his brow "Right... Right..."
[03:49] <Relain> "...So, I will be providing battle plans for... For..."
[03:49] <Gandr> "Me."
[03:50] <Soul> "...maybe you'd better relax for now. We're not going in to battle any time immediately soon, assuming we don't screw things up massively."
[03:50] <Gandr> "You're saying that as though you assume we're gonna meet something I can't kill."
[03:50] <Kris> "I'm no slouch at combat either, though no where near as comptent as Gandr here."
06[03:51] * Relain reclines in his chair, sighing "Shi, what have you gotten me into...?"
[03:51] <@Clarence|ST> "Into something that will make good use of your potential."
06[03:51] * Shim draws her guitar and shuffles on her rear towards Rel, "Dude, chill." She strums a chord and begins playing to sooth him!
06[03:51] * Gandr looks smiling at Kris.
[03:51] <Gandr> "Flattery is nice, but you haven't actually SEEN me in combat yet."
06[03:52] * Kris looks up at Gandr. "You're at least a foot taller than me and probably weigh twice as much in pure muscle, you're almost guaranteed to be a better direct combatant."
[03:52] <Relain> "Well, I suppose arranging a regiment of solars would be an interesting new expirience..."
06[03:52] * Relain looks up, smiling "Could even be fun..." he frowns again "I hope."
[03:53] <@Clarence|ST> "I chose you to arrange the Battles up ahead for a reason, Relain."
06[03:53] * Relain nods "Alright, I'm in."
[03:53] <Soul> "Well, now that we've got HIM calmed down...should we rest before we head out into the woods?"
[03:54] <@Clarence|ST> "Alright."
[03:54] <Gandr> "Still, Kris.
[03:54] <Gandr> "
[03:54] <Gandr> "Don't judge a fighter by his weapons."
[03:54] <Gandr> "Judge him by the shattered corpses around him."
[03:54] <@Clarence|ST> "After a little bit of rest and relaxation, we're going to go out to the forest and ingredient hunting."
[03:55] <Soul> "All right. Lemy, you'll get a chance to show me just how much you really know."
[03:55] <@Clarence|ST> Lemy grins, and salutes Soul playfully & momentarily with two fingers.
[03:56] <@Clarence|ST> AND SO OUR HEROES TOTALLY CHILLAX
[03:56] <Soul> "Chei, where will we be staying in the interim?"
01[03:57] <Shim> And Shim plays guitar for them long time! :D
[03:58] <@Clarence|ST> THIS IS A WEIRD DISEASE MAN
06[03:58] * Gandr strokes the snake at his waist.
[03:58] <@Clarence|ST> AND LEMY IS LIKE, ALL CUTE AND SHIT
[03:58] <@Clarence|ST> AND SHIM IS CHILLAXING EVERYOEN WITH HER SMOOTH TUNES
06[03:58] * Soul ends up dragging Lemy back to his room and making a man out of him
[03:58] <@Clarence|ST> NO GETTING DOWN TO BUSINESS
[03:58] <Soul> NO WAIT END SESSION BEGIN ANEW
[03:58] <@Clarence|ST> == END SESSION ==