[3.5] To Wayward Kingdoms and Sideways Realities - Chapter One: Boldly Leaving

[Cardea]

You Are In: IC
Here Is The: OOC (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=241594)


{table=head]Player|Character|Race|Build|DM Item
Demidos|Arak Suul (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=391076)|Naenaesh Illumian|Necronomist 13//Ghost 5/Chameleon 8|Paper Puzzlebox
rypt|Sydris (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=391347) and Haja (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=391605)|Feytouched|Bard 10/Sublime Chord 3//Druid 13|Horns of the Unloved
darkbuu_1|Alexander Makay (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=390942)|Human|Wu Jen 5/Incantatrix 1/Force Missile Mage 5/Incantatrix +2//Spellthief 13|Blade of Lost Pathways
THEChanger|Dylan Blevins (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=390966)|Human|Psion 13//Incarnate 6/Auran Pirate 7|Captain's Hat
DeusMortuusEst|Azim Blackblood (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=394330)|Human|Binder 13//Cloistered cleric 4/Crusader 1//Ruby Knight Vindicator 8|Reminder of Faith and Fallen[/table]

Sydris, Haja, Dylan


They say that one should expect the unexpected. This is especially true when dealing with Pirates. But you'd think that elementals would stay bound to the same person, instead of, say, being taken as you're sailing the waters of the Material Plane's Korang Ocean. That, say, you wouldn't be drugged and clubbed in your sleep, and thrown in a previously-unknown portal to Sigil. By gods, mutiny? Surprising.

And yet here you three are, in Sigil, the city of doorways and pathways, of the lost and found, of those who wander and those who settle. And yet, despite your want, you no longer have the same means. You have no ship, no crew and if it wasn't enough, Dylan himself has the irony of still having a Captain's Hat. Oh, how the universe does love its irony.

Wandering, you find a new portal to the material plane. To the city of Rhamka, one of the major port cities of its respective continent of Yahashra. And stepping through the doorway, you realize the true irony of the universe in all its twisted, humble glory: It breaks behind you, as a dragon falls on top of it, dead. You take note of the color, a fine blue, as you look around. Yahashra is under siege, and by quite a few more dragons.

Oh, how the universe does love its irony.

Alexander Makay


Yahashra's Library of the World has... not... lived up to its full name. While it did have subjects on arcane theories and spoke at length about the use of force magic, it did very little to actually teach you things you didn't know, aside from how it can be used to kill small mammals. Staying in a rather nice Inn, paid for in advance by your last adventuring group, which disbanded due to romantic pursuits of others, you have spent the past week in relative ease. Spending your days trying to further research, as well as some of your nights, you've progressed as much as a child would.

But in the midst of your research, you found a rather new situation unfold in the middle of the day. The sky turned red at first, what of it you could see beyond black smoke clouds. And in the middle of trying to fully comprehend the situation, a dragon, of all things, crashed through the glass ceiling, which seems like such a... bad idea now, onto the library floor, its blue scales destroying the tile work. Those in the library turning to run, as well as most of the guard. Its focus on those who remain, its back towards you, as you hold a book aloft in one of the aisles.

Arak Suul


The ghost of the ship routine seemed a bit overdone, when you first boarded. Hiding your puzzle box among the cargo, you stayed on the vessel, observing those who traveled on board. From children, to elderly. From Captain, to dock hand. Occasionally, you'd dip below the ship, watching the ocean below it. And on the two occasions when something would try and attack the ship, you... 'subdued' it... into falling to the ocean floor. All in all, it was a relatively safe route. On the fifth day of sailing, however, things changed.

And very rapidly.

As you traveled from the floors below, you rose up to the main deck to see a faraway city under siege. Dark shapes floated and danced, shooting streaks of lightning into the city below. You could hear the screams even across the long distance you were at. You could make out five that were falling as you looked, but there still so many. And far away from the city itself, you could see a cloud moving across the landscape. Huge, and moving at a steady pace, it approached the city. And as the ship picked up speed, now only a few minutes away from the city, you realized one thing.

That cloud? That was an army.

Azim Blackblood


You don't know when it started, or even how. All that mattered now, was the two men in front of you, wearing similar suits of armor, yelling in a language that was harsh even to listen to, wielding swords that looked just as harsh as their language. You sidestep a blow, slamming him into a brick wall with your weapon. The other hesitates for a moment, but that's all you need, as you send him flying back into the street behind him. That was the eighteenth.

Stepping out of the alleyway, you start to get a grasp of the situation. Dragons overhead, laying siege. There were only a few of them, and the men you just broke were wearing very light armor; the kind you'd expect from someone who needed speed over defense. Scouts. That was a scouting party. This wasn't a true siege, no. This was just the first strike.

This was just a warning.

In the distance, you see one of the dragons overhead fall from the sky. You hear the sound of glass, hundreds of panels, breaking under its weight. But just as far, you see another fall, this one hitting stone. You hear screams coming from both locations.

Everyone


What do you do?

[DeusMortuusEst]

Azim

The combat rush slowly begins to evaporate and once again he can feel his chest heaving from his heavy breathing and the sweat on his back and in his palms. The fallen enemies are already forgotten as the dark thoughts, or voices, return.

It is hopeless. You will fall today, they are too many and too powerful. Even now, after this simple battle your hands are shaking. Give up now, surrender, die and join me...
The whisper of the spider sounds like the strumming of a thread, a shuffle of legs and the crunching of dry bones. His hammer feels heavy today.

Dragons! Cowards, betrayers! Cursed be their entire race, onwards, my chosen one, and slay them all!
The roaring voice of the knight feels like a sharp rock against his head and with newfound determination he starts running towards the sound of the shattered glass.

[THEChanger]

Dylan gazed skyward, at the mass of dragons circling the city's air space. A small sigh escaped his lips. It had not been a good week. For that matter, it hadn't been a good couple of months. Ships getting stolen, wandering about Sigil(which, to be honest, was one of Dylan's least favorite places. No water.), and now, after finally finding a portal to a blasted port city on the Prime Material, he shows up to find this? Dylan activated a few personal defenses, and then turned to Sydris. "What do you think, Sydris? Shall we play at being heroes today?"

Manifesting Force Shield for 5 PP, Psionic True Seeing for 9 PP, and Personal Mind Blank for 13 PP. Leaves me with 146 PP remaining.

[Demidos]

Ara'k looks, his eyes widening as his body slowly exits from the body of the ship. That poor city. It stands little chance. His eyes flare purple. We shall see.
He swiftly moves forward, uttering a string of syllables that might have seemed nonsense in the mouth of another, but carry a sinister weight as he says them.
Around him form towering pillars of darkness, three of them, dark shadows cast by nobody. Ara'k sinks to grab his precious barrel, shrinking it even as he catches it up and bears it out, and then the four shapes speed off towards the city, fast as the wind, his voice still wavering on the breeze.

Using shrink item on the barrel. Summoning three shadows via necronomist powers. Using recitation of the harried step (+5 ac, +50 move speed)

[darkbuu_1]

A couple of seconds passed by as Alexander stood, transfixed, with his arm outstretched, midway through replacing a book onto the shelf that hadn't quite been as definitively about learning magic as the title had implied. His considerable mind sped through all of the possible courses of action he could take in the time that elapsed between the ceiling smashing down and the dragon hitting floor, he eventually settled on his third plan it would potentially save the most people and allow him a reasonable chance of surviving.


Knowledge Arcana Check to glean information about the age and abilities of the enemy.
[roll0]

Snapping out of his thought process as the focus of the massive beast turned away from him, Alexander registered that it was almost time to act. He shoved the book back into its allotted space on the shelf and brought his hands up in preparation for his spell.

He flourished and let loose a concentrated wave of tiny needles, if everything goes as he imagined it will feel to be no more than a simple pat on the shoulder to a beast like that. Hopefully enough to draw his attention away from the other innocent people in the library.


[roll1] Ranged attack, Invisible Needles feat.
[roll2]
[roll3] sneak attack
-1d6 Steal energy resistance (20)

Before the needles strike, Alex reasons that jumping behind the closest bookcase will be the most conducive way to buy himself at least one more round and potentially a few more years for those that hadn't managed to escape yet. Alexander calls from his hideout trying to focus the attention of the dragon over to his general area, speaking in the language of dragons he shouts “Hey! ... Dragon, wh-what are you doing here?”.

Hide check
[roll4]

[rypt]

Waving a hand to disperse the cloud of dust ejected by the fallen dragon, Sydris groans. "Likho's1 gaze haunts our steps," he manages between coughs.

As the air begins to clear, and the calamitous extent of their situation becomes apparent, the fey hunter's eyes fall, rather unsympathetically, from the scaled host circling overhead to the bodies of fallen Rhamkan defenders lining the city streets. "I would say there are players enough already," he answers his captain wryly. "This is not our war, and we would do well to keep it that way."

The huntmaster then turns away and calls his companion to his side. As large as a horse, and with a bite far worse than his bark, Haja is a creature built for speed -- for the hunt -- and he approaches his master with a silence that defies his size. "Mae tyri2," Sydris says, placing one hand on the hound's back while the other traces the patterns of magic through the air.

Once this spell is complete, Sydris raises his voice in song and begins to weave magic and music in the casting of a second, far more powerful spell. The air seems to shift with each of the song's melodious notes, but while Captain Blevins can perceive nothing more than a gentle breeze, Sydris' clothes and hair swirl as though caught in a roaring tempest. When the song finally ends, and the air grows unnaturally still, Sydris exhales a deep, steadying breath, and the sky itself seems to exhale with him.


1 One-eyed Likho is the eldest of the Moroi hag-sisters. She is known as the Mistress of Misfortune.
2 "Stay close" in Sylvan.

Sydris casts greater magic fang on Haja. +3 enhancement bonus to his bite attacks for 13 hours.

Sydris expends a use of his bardic music via the Sublime Chord's Song of Arcane Power class feature to cast control winds with a +4 bonus to his caster level. For the next 170 minutes (almost 3 hours), he can raise or lower the speed of the wind within a radius of 680 feet up to the strength of a tornado.

[Cardea]

Sydris, Haja, Dylan


With few moments to finally take heed of your surroundings, you get the full picture. Dragons circle overhead, some with riders, some without. Some with armor, some without. The 'portal' you had just left was, from what you gather, the front door of a newly demolished home. On the streets, the assault above seem more like an illusion. It would be, too, were it not for the noise and the smells.

In the distance, you hear a roar; this one much closer than the moaning from above. Looking down the street, you see a large building: white marble and stone formed its base, with pillars reaching up to its roof. A massive thing, most likely a form of pride by the city. On the roof, however, you see a glass dome, now half-shattered. People run outside of the library, escorted by men and women in uniform.

Azim Blackblood


Your armor slows you down at first, but you find a rhythm, and soon you are making good distance across the roads. Shying away from any crowds, and moving fast to avoid being out in the open, your bulky frame lends you to moving through most small obstacles. But still, it takes time to move, and you see more and more of the destruction of the assault from above.

Buildings destroyed, their remains either collapsed, burning or otherwise gone. You pass a few corpses, some of them large and scaled and blue, but most of them soft and fleshy. Some are unrecognizable, as you don't pause to inspect them.

Alexander Makay


"Captain Ghini!" The dragon roars, at one of the guards still remaining. "You need to get these people down to the sub-levels! You have ten minutes before they start tearing down the main gates! We are still trying to distract ________ from burning down the entire city! Hurry!"

Whatever it is 'they' are trying to distract, you cannot figure out, as the entire world seemed to fade out as he said it. The guard he speaks to nods, salutes, and hurries off with the rest of the guard. As she leaves, your needles find their mark, stinging the backside of the dragon. He roars, and you can see a shimmer of light blue crackle around him, as the game spark appears around you. He looks at you now, his eyes glaring. His voice booms throughout the library, in common.

"You? You dare ask who I am, fledgeling arcanist? You will answer my questions, lest I burn your miserable self down to the ground, for assaulting an Officer of Rhamka!" He steps forward, the bookshelves falling backwards away from him. Up close, you can see several heavy wounds in him, his breath ragged. But despite his injuries, his jaw is slightly open, and you can see the beginning of a bolt of lightning.

Alexander has gained: Electricity Resistance 20.

Arak Suul


Despite your words, the box still remains unchanged. Hoisting the large box, you fly forward, your summonings following after you. The ocean flies underneath you and you surge forward towards the city. As you get further and closer, you start to see shapes above the city. Flying creatures, large as a building, firing bolts of lightning at a central target they fly towards. What it is, you can't tell. Even focusing on it seems to fade everything from the world around you.

But within a few minutes, you find yourself at the city docks. People have gathered at the boardwalks, boarding ships as fast as they can, ignoring such advice as 'one at a time'. Only eight boats are in the dock, you realize, and eighteen are already leaving. Whoever else is in the city is short on time.

[DeusMortuusEst]

Azim

The familiar feeling of his armor shielding him from the outside is a comfort to the running knight as the smell of blood and fire reaches his nostrils. It reminds him of battles before this one, and darker events, but this was unexpected and he is unprepared, still trying to understand what is going on.

He scrambles over one of the scaled corpses, hardly noticing the size of the thing, or the massive wounds on its neck and head, just to land on top of a pale, sweaty man dressed in clothes far too small for a man of his size. Shouting an apology straight into the man’s ear Azim quickly gets back up and continues towards the place where he heard the sound of shattering glass.

He'll have to take care of himself, he thinks as he smashes through a clumsily built fence and into someone’s back yard. Moments later he’s out on the streets again, trying to hold his course the best he can, but it is difficult with the buildings and smoke, and he does not wish to waste his magic too early.

[rypt]

Sydris sets his jaw and sighs as panicked citizens continue to stream from the broken building, their timorous cries surely carrying with them any chance of Captain Blevins heeding his first mate's warning.

The vanity of men, he muses. The captain was only human after all -- given to spirited impulse and a capricious yet willful tenacity that defied logic, reason, and the counsel of elders. It was, as Sydris had come to understand it at least, a matter of legacies -- a desire to be remembered that seemed at times to be humanity's greatest strength, and at others, their greatest weakness.

Sydris eyes his friend and captain expectantly. Which would it be today?

[THEChanger]

Dylan clenched his eyes shut, desperately trying to shut out the din of battle. It was difficult to think straight. It was even more difficult to think straight knowing that, just a little bit aways, there was a battle, and excitement going on. They really ought to get away. It was extremely dangerous here. They ought to find a ship, ought to get as far away from crazy dragons as-
"Sydris. I hear the bells again." With that, Dylan clicked his heels together, summoning forth the power of the wind, and began flying for the library. He just couldn't take it anymore. They had been couped up in Sigil, which was quite possibly Dylan's least favorite city ever, with nothing to do except wait for a portal and drink, and Dylan had quite had it. He desperately needed adventure again, and he was just supposed to ignore it when it quite literally came crashing down on top of him? Fat chance of that.

[Demidos]

Arak continues his present course, doing his best to remain unseen, (which is pretty good for a ghost). Invisibly, the four shapes move onward, into the city, seeking the source of the commotion, anyone in command, or really just any knowledge on what is happening.
Turning invisible (along with shadows) using a recitation

[darkbuu_1]

Alexander cautiously steps out from behind his hiding place, he already regrets his actions as the crackling sound of the dragon's breath seems to fill the air around him, “Oh . . . uh. . . Sorry about that Officer, but when I see a dragon crash through the roof of a library I have to assume the worst...”

Avoiding the dragon's eyes out of shame, Alexander notices that the great scaled body is covered in large, deep wounds and his sentence trails off as he marvels at the great beast, an edge of fear starting to creep up his spine, making him wonder what could do such damage to a dragon.

With a greater twinge of regret he brings himself to look the dragon in the eye, “What was it you wanted to ask me... uh, officer, and is there any way I can h-help?” He asks nervously, hunching his frame and grasping one elbow.

[rypt]

Sydris reaches out with one hand, "Captain, don't--" but Blevins is already flying away. "Haja!" the huntmaster roars, giving chase. His voice is edged with anger now, an urgency his companion seems to appreciate. Haja explodes into motion, the earth cratering beneath the force of his enormous paws. He overtakes Sydris in a single bound, a mane of phantasmal fur rising from his shoulders, trailing out over his back as he speeds after his master's master.

Where ever Dylan goes, Sydris and Haja will follow.

[Cardea]

Sydris, Haja, Dylan


Bounding forward, Haja's form moving across the cobblestone street, his paws shattering some, and leaving the rest displaced under impact. Sydris follows after, as Dylan leads ahead of them. As the three of you reach the door, you hear a loud clanking of metal upon stone. Turning to the direction of it, you see a man in heavy, tarnished armor, moving fast towards the entrance. Despite the sweat accumulating on his brow, he doesn't seem to be exhausted or slowed by the weight of it.

Inside, however, you can hear half of a conversation. There is one voice, though it is quiet, either because of how quiet it actually is, or something muffling it. The second voice can be heard distinctly. It is booming, and sounds old. "If you wish to help, stranger, then get citizens out to the boats before ________ overcomes my squad." You hear a great push of wind against the door, rattling it in its way, and overhead you can see a creature, a dragon with blue scales, exit out of the library.

Azim Blackblood


After hauling your bulky frame across the city, you find your destination coming up. White pillars surrounding a building, rising a good couple of stories above its surrounding structures. Though clean once, it is now covered in singe marks and debris, most of it coming from broken and fallen pillars. As you jog closer to the entrance, you find three figures at the entrance, who stop and look at you. A sailor, as best as you can put it, a hound that looks like it should belong in something in a children's story and finally, the strangest out of the three, something that looks similar to a man; though its tall stature, face and iron horns say otherwise.

Alexander Makay


The dragon stares at you for a moment, before it speaks again, its breath smelling like ozone. "You've come at a very bad time, I am afraid. The Nameless Legion approaches, and we've spent far too much time with their leader to deal with the Legion itself. If you wish to help, stranger, then get citizens out to the boats before ________ overcomes my squad." He crouches momentarily, before jumping up and up, rising higher and higher, a single flap of his wings shooting him far out of the libraries ceiling, and out of view. The library is empty of people now, you realize, an eerie silence overcoming it all.

Arak Suul


Further flight into the city doesn't reveal much. The farther you go, the less people there are. Eventually you stop seeing groups of people, and only see dead bodies, or those too afraid to move. You find several children, alone and shaking, however, most of them calling out for parents. Beyond that, you do not see many people. Farther ahead you find some of the larger structures of the city, far out from the homes you see here.

[DeusMortuusEst]

Azim

Seeing the unfamiliar trio standing on the steps of his goal the young knight slows down to a walk. With one hand still gripping the metal handle of Dombringer, the familiar weight of the hammer providing a reassuring feeling, he raises the other in a greeting.

That beast looks quick, better be on my guard, keep my distance at first and see what they do.
Azim stops a fair distance from the other group and calls out.
"I do not wish to do battle with you, unless you intend to harm me, or the people of this town! Stand aside so that I may help those who need it!"

[rypt]

Sydris' eyes follow the dragon as it soars overhead. "Whatever compels you to open this door," he begins, addressing his captain but refusing to acknowledge the delusive bells, "do not give yourself so freely to its madness." The fey looks briefly then to the approaching figure, but after hearing the man's intentions, simply rolls his eyes and turns away, utterly disinterested in the stranger's noble cause. "We have come too far and endured too much to surrender our lives to foolishness."

[darkbuu_1]

Alexander now stands alone in the eerily silent library, his heart still hammering loudly in his ears and against his chest, slowing as he takes a second to comprehend the fact that he wasn't fried on the spot. After a few seconds his eyes set, and his posture straightens “People need me.” He declares aloud to no one in particular, inspiring himself to act.

The young mage grabs his magical canvas backpack from the ground, and suspending it on the edge of the table quickly sweeps his notes into it. With an enthusiastic flourish he swings it onto his back and then proceeds to jog determinedly to the entrance of the library.

The city that stands before him is no longer the same place it was mere hours ago as he set out on his journey to gain knowledge. The wreckage and blind panic engulfing the area make it initially difficult for Alexander to choose a clear course of action, but after taking in the scene for a few seconds he allows his thoughts to settle, and then strides a ways out from the main door searching for any sign of survivors trapped amongst the debris, or people in mortal peril that he can assist.


Spot check
[roll0]

And if I need to roll to see how dead people are.
Heal check.
[roll1]

[THEChanger]

"Sydris, I know this doesn't make sense to you. I know hardly anything I do ever makes sense to you. But will you please, just this once, trust me? I feel this. This is right. Whatever happens next, it will benefit both of us. And right now, I think-" Then, the man wearing knightly armor strode forward, and shouted out to them. Dylan was just about to repremand the man, but then an idea flitted into his head. "Greetings, my good sir! We're also here to aid these people. There's something rather odd going on, but someone from inside the library shouted that it needed help getting the citizens out to the boats. I'm not familiar with the area though. Do you think you could help us round up people and get them to the docks?"

[DeusMortuusEst]

Azim

Upon hearing the horned humanoid's reply, Azim frowns, both suprised and slightly disappointed.
"As always, those with power think only of themselves."
But when the sailor replies the knight's mood is lifted and he grins.
"Ah! It is good to see that there still are those who will lend aid to people in need." The massive man relaxes, his shoulders dropping slightly as he continues forward to the group.
"I will gladly lend whatever strength I can to you in helping civilians out of this place. I must confess though that I just recently arrived to this city, and my knowledge of it's streets is very limited, but if you guide me I will do what I can."
He pauses for a moment and looks up, at the battle raging above.
"And perhaps you could fill me in on what this war is about and who is fighting it?"

[rypt]

Sydris glances briefly toward his captain, chuckling humorlessly at the stranger's request. "No, we cannot," he answers in a tone edged with bitterness.

Stepping past the armored knight, the lithe fey crouches down and scoops a handful of dirt from the side of the street. He cups the dirt in both hands, holding it close to his mouth as he whispers words in a language lost to time. He rises then, and tosses the dirt into the air in a wide, sweeping arc. With shrieking cry, a massive golden eagle bursts from the billowing cloud, its wings swept back against its body as it soars skyward.

"Sai si sharaes!1" Sydris calls after it.

1 "To the water!" in Sylvan.

Sydris will expend zone of natural purity to spontaneously cast summon nature's ally II. By his Ring of the Beast, this spell is treated as summon nature's ally III, which he uses to summon a giant eagle. The eagle will only last for about a minute of a half, and will simply show them the direction to the docks.

[Demidos]

Arak cursed silently to himself. The invading army was clearly going to kill hundreds if not thousands of innocent civilians if they didnt evacuate quickly and in an orderly fashion. And they werent. He cursed again. It looked like he would have to help. Clearing his throat, he quickly planned a route in his head to the dock, and then shouted out to the civilians below:

"All of you, listen to me. An army is on its way. You want to get to the docks. I want to help you get to the docks. If you want to live you'll listen. Start jogging in an ORDERLY FASHION down the street to your left. I have magically enhanced your speed. You will arrive faster than if you ran. Now MOVE. Arak shouted, praying that they'd listen
Their movespeed is passively increased by his recitation by 40 feet.

[DeusMortuusEst]

Azim

As the giant bird rises from the earth Azim takes a step towards its conjurer.
"Fine, we are all allowed our secrets. Keep yours and I shall do the same."

With a sigh the large knight holds out his hand towards Sydris.
"My name is Azim."

[rypt]

The fey hunter makes no effort to accept Azim's outstretched hand. Instead, it is Haja that steps forward to greet the knight, circling his armored form while tasting his strange and foreign scents. The great hound's jaws are never more than an inch from the knight's body, yet Haja makes no sound or movement that could be construed as threatening or predatory; rather, the entire proceeding seems more like the olfactory equivalent of a pat-down.

Only once the horse-sized canine has returned to its master's side does Sydris acknowledge Azim's introduction with the slightest of nods. "Sydris." He then runs a hand through the fur on his companion's back, "and you have already met Haja."

[THEChanger]

Dylan glared at Sydris' rudeness, before turning back to Azim. "Captain Dylan Blevins, formerly of the S.S. Skyhawk. A pleasure, I'm sure. But for now, let's focus on getting people towards the docks." With that, Dylan adjusted his hat, and began bellowing in true captainly fashion. "SYDRIS! GET THAT BIRD TO LEAD THE WAY TOWARDS THE WATER! ANYONE ELSE WITHIN THE SOUND OF MY VOICE! THE SEA IS CURRENTLY THE ONLY SAFE PLACE! IF YOU KNOW THE WAY TO THE DOCKS, MOVE AS FAST AS YOU CAN AND GET ON A SHIP! THE REST OF YOU, FOLLOW THE HORNED GENTLEMAN, IN AN ORDERLY FASHION IF YOU PLEASE!"