Politics and Big Numbers: A Nation Game

[Kazyan]

Your reactions to Sibald The Lion's invitation to his "diplomatic arrangement for the sake of goodwill" may have varied, and some of you may have declined or sent proxies in your stead.

Those of you who didn't will find that...to whit, you'd say that Sibald had pulled out all the stops to impress you, except that Sibald doesn't seem like the kind of guy who has stops. In the midst of watching only the finest illusionist/performers, partaking of only the finest wines, and the obligatory small talk/introductions, it becomes apparent that Sibald loves to talk--almost as much as he loves to act on his words.

"...And then I said, Prestidigitation. I win." A group of servants near Sibald laugh at his joke. He smiles and drapes himself across the plush, black, shedu-leather chair that he'd been using. Sibald himself is solidly-built, decked out in an expected array of magic items of preposterous power (though his mask was currently lifted to be personable and to enjoy the illusions), and wearing a voluminous headdress that was basically a lion's head reworked into a hat. His extremely shiny rose-gold robes add to the sense of luxury.

He adjusts himself to sit properly, and faces the group that had gathered around the large metal table (mithral, for ease of flipping). You may be among this group, though a few other faces are there. There's a short, fairly thin woman with pockmarked gray skin and vibrant golden hair, currently fiddling with a staff and adjusting her vibrant purple robes; she had introduced herself as "Feather". Sitting next to her, an androgynous-looking and rather sleepy dwarf hums to themselves, dressed in white and with a matching beard. "Hera".

The other two noteables had left the table, but you'd noticed them earlier. "Ikilin" seemed to be a dragon whose coloration and size constantly changed, never wanting to sit still, so she'd likely just crush the seats (even the large ones). The other is apparently a sentient gloom golem, holding onto a vibrant white flail and a rock which emitted a silence effect--Sibald had harped about the incessant howling and handed it over. The two are currently off doing...whatever it is that a dragon and a gloom golem do; you're not entirely sure. You never got the golem's name, but it had an aura of importance about it, so it was probably not just a servant of one of the other nation leaders.

Right now, Sibald is quiet, busy inspecting a ring on his held-aloft hand. If he's actually remembered what this whole event was about, he's not showing any signs of it.

[greenpotato]

An old human man wearing simple linen robes, his rich skin wrinkled and cracked both by age and the harsh desert sun. He looks bemuzed by the extravagant host.
"Your hospitality is marvelous noble sir, but if I could be so brash as to guide your magnificence towards the purpose of this meeting? Pleasant as it is."

[Dr.Orpheus]

Though a large sized adamantine child with magic runes on it's hands looks powerful enough Gnomotron was being as cautious as an expressionless robot can be. It stands by the mithral table saving chairs sense it's machine body never gets tired of standing.

[WebTiefling]

Though over ten feet tall, most reports of her have her much taller still and for those with magical senses, the shrinking magics allowing her to move more easily are evident, almost buried among the layers of other far more complex magical spells.

Though it is her beauty that is far more interesting, at least to beings with humanoid standards of beauty. Iridescent black hair and a statuesque form that has literally inspired painters and sculptors for centuries, tend to distract the courtiers. Gabriel, her companion angel, is seated beside her and has been working the crowds of people, making connections and introductions. He too is covered with magics, and while he is extremely handsome by almost any standard, he fades into the background when around Sharlessa.

Sharlessa leans forward at the man's words. "Indeed, your majesty. Your entertainment has been without peer, truly a new standard has been set for the next hundred years. I assure you that several of your innovative ideas here will be used the next time Ascentia needs to display itself at its very best."

She smells the bouquet of the wine in her cup with relish before taking a sip. "The celestial realms themselves would barely match the wines you have brought together here with such abandon! But, I too am most interested in the deeper purpose of your invitations. Someone of your status does not get there without cunning and planning, and I suspect this celebration is no exception to your wily ways."

[Belial_the_Leveler]

On the other side of the chamber from Sibald there sits a young woman that is as flashy as the illusionist-wielding host himself, if in an entirely different way. If one were to be brief and just a bit crude, they'd describe her as the quintessential tall, leggy blonde. Six feet if she were an inch, athletic and striking both, she'd fit that bland description but barely. Of course such an observer would have to somehow miss the fierce radiance framing her form, or that her hair are not so much blonde as they're made of fire, or the zone of solidity and permanence forming around her. It's like the human shape is an afterthought, a flimsy envelope containing the Sun.
Purpose indeed. She confirms in a sing-song voice that somehow contains a hint of roaring flame, nodding towards the angels. While doubtful the Heavens would be willing to strive for appearances and illusions to begin with, I believe they do have their uses. Though I do hope one of them isn't an attempt at sensory overload so we are easier to sway thereafter. That is said with a small smile but you can't help by notice how everything seems more real close to the young woman; minor spells and enhancements seem to fade near her, leaving everything in their real appearance and texture.

This must be Auriel then, the witch-queen of the North in the flesh. Given a chance to see her in person, you get the idea the title might be misplaced; her magical powers are evident but so is her conviction and outsider heritage... of the kind that would make Pit Fiends have nightmares and beleaguered nations rejoice. You wonder if the stories about her temper and the size of the craters in its aftermath have any basis in reality.

[WebTiefling]

Sharlessa nods to the woman of fire. "As you say, they do indeed have their uses - a lesson I have learned over the centuries here. Beauty, joy, and celebration can be enhanced through illusion and seemings, and these things are sometimes all the more necessary because of their rarity. I hope to make happiness much more common throughout Ascentia and even the world."

She lays a hand on Gabriel's leg, "Gabriel has been using the opportunities of meeting so many others in a single place to lay the groundwork for possible future alliances. Another thing for which I must state my appreciation to our host - merely such a gathering of people is most wonderful by itself."

[Dr.Orpheus]

Auriel's aura is noticed and Gnomotron backs a safe distance away a safe distance in a clunky antisocial way. It stays neer incase the meeting starts, but is still looking everywhere for threats however unlikely they may be.

[Mousedigits]

Kirak simply stands in the corner, as most chairs cannot withstand the weight of one such a him, glaring at the people in the room. He hates most of the people in this room, and enjoys thinking of ways he could overthrow their countries. He flew here on Jupiter, who is now flying above, some 5 miles to the west, ready to respond to a call for help. Anyone who looks up to the west, has a good line of sight (I don't know if the terrain is hilly or not) will vaguely see a black sphere, protecting Jupiter from anyone actually seeing him. And, protecting him from something else, but only a few people know that.

[Promises Kept]

In the corner of the room, deep in shadows, waits a tall construct of incredibly dark black metal, seeming perfectly at home away from the light. During a lull in the conversation, it makes its telepathic introductions to Sibald, broadcasting to the whole room as if speaking aloud. 'Greetings, great Lion. It is a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance. I am Annush Blazeheart, Archmage in service to the Arcadian Lady, Her Serene Radiance Aglaia Iordanou, Monarch of the Celestial Protectorate. She sends her regrets that she is unable to attend, as she has prior obligations. I believe it was a children's choir which she patronizes performing, but I do not recall with certainty. I am authorized to speak for her on any and all matters, however, and have the full authority of the Protectorate.'

With the formal introductions complete, he turns his attention to the other guests, and seems to relax... as much as an entity of metal and shadows can relax, at any rate. 'My Lords and Ladies,' he broadcasts, 'It is a pleasure to meet you all... some not for the first time. You say the wine is good? Perhaps...' the broadcast trails off, as his form writhes and shifts. Within a second, a tiny Fae floats in his place. 'It is nice to stretch my legs like this, and I imagine you all saw through me without any trouble. Just don't tell my soldiers; they'd never let me hear the end of it.' His piece said, he flies rapidly over to the wines, and drains a full goblet (one larger than he is, as a matter of fact) without blinking. His telepathic voice returns, sounding mildly slurred. 'Whew, that is good. Think my blood alcohol may have just breached three hundred percent, though. Actually, wow, that's a pretty nice buzz.' Unsatisfied, he proceeds to drain dry a half-dozen more tankards, all far larger than the first goblet. Having drank at least a dozen times his body mass in alcohol alone, he still seems fairly alert, if a bit crosseyed.

[Belial_the_Leveler]

Auriel looks up at the glaring guy standing in the corner and smiles at him.
Why the long face? As the ruler of Ascentia and our fellow peer said, we're here in the interest of diplomacy and cooperation. She shrugs at Kirak, not in the least put off by his sullenness. If you have a legitimate grievance, you should voice it and it might get resolved. If, for example, you wanted to destroy a kingdom it could be arranged. That the fire-haired woman says in utter sincerity. It depends on how much you were willing to pay and how well you could argue your case.

[Dr.Orpheus]

Gnomotron begins to hum as if computing something which only members of a very magitech nation would be familiar with and then it trundles over to Sharlessa. "Proposition: *zzzzt* Intel suggests that Ascentia would be a good trading partner to exchange metal for natural food sense nearly all the food in my nation is magically made. We would offer metals at a price 5% above standard price for travel time and required spells to avoid monsters in your region. *zzzt* End of Transmission"

[Kazyan]

"Right, purpose. That one thing. I'm told it's important." He chuckles and adjusts his seating to be more proper. Grinning, he looks over the attendees, briefly lowering and raising his mask again to remind himself who was who. Feather is watching with displeasure at a few reticences and less-than-composed behaviors, and Hera seems to be lost in their own little world, but Sibald seems pretty aware of, and pleased by, everyone. "Sensory overload? No, this is a perfectly legitimate attempt at diplomacy and most certainly not an excuse to throw a halfway-decent party without getting chewed out about too much luxury by anyone who pays attention to what I do." He coughs into his fist. "You all don't disappoint me in your differences, and that tells me there are differences in your--hold on, I gotta watch this." He watches Annush consume the excessive amount of wine, with a smile on his face, before continuing. "Yeah, differences in your nations. I don't know about most of you, but most of Clathaham takes after my leadership."

"The case is similar for Kikolenth, depending on the threshold of 'taking after' that you assume," Feather comments.

The conversation continues. At the mention of "if you wanted to destroy a kingdom," Sibald drops a pin, just to complete the metaphorical silence while everyone processes what was just said.

"Anyway, he's skipping to the point," Sibald mentions, gesturing towards Gnomotron. "In addition to actually trying to get us all together and so we can cooperate instead of thinking of clever ways to blow up the unknown, we can bounce ideas for trade off each other. For those of us who are cooperating, let's hear it. Clathaham is, in a big part, coastal. Laying it out on the table here: we always have trouble with building materials, food that isn't fish is a welcome import, and we have way too much glass laying around doing nothing. Any ideas, folks?"

Feather remains quiet.

[Dr.Orpheus]

"Proposition: *zzzzt* There is plenty of good stone for building under the sand that my nation would be willing to trade for wood or fish. *zzzt* End of Transmission"

[greenpotato]

The old desert-withered man mutters something under his breath while staring at the host. He stands up to leave. "Thank you for you hospitality but my faith cannot be swayed with fish and glass"

[WebTiefling]

Gabriel listens with interest to the discussion of destroying nations, and after a brief shocked look on her face Sharlessa gives a severe look at the two who are discussing wiping out tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of lives. While it was't her own country, something like that would almost certainly draw her into action except in the most particular of situations. Perhaps not directly, but ....


Gnomotron ... begins to hum as if computing something which only members of a very magitech nation would be familiar with and then it trundles over to Sharlessa. "Proposition: *zzzzt* Intel suggests that Ascentia would be a good trading partner to exchange metal for natural food sense nearly all the food in my nation is magically made. We would offer metals at a price 5% above standard price for travel time and required spells to avoid monsters in your region. *zzzt* End of Transmission"

The golem's approach drew their attention, but Gabriel returned his attention to the Witch Queen's discussion with the dour Kirak. Sharlessa shifted her attention the the golem and nodded with interest at his proposition.

"Your suggestion is most interesting. The cost of transportation is our largest problem. If you believe your country can operate the trade route, I suspect that the trade will be most lucrative.

"Might I suggest we agree to a trial trade effort - if you bring a shipment of metals through, we will gladly send the trade delegation back with foods valued 5% more than the going rate of the metals. Once the effort has been proven lucrative to both parties, we will be most pleased to work out the finer details of a full, long-term trade agreement."


The old desert-withered man mutters something under his breath while staring at the host. He stands up to leave. "Thank you for you hospitality but my faith cannot be swayed with fish and glass"

"We are not limited to trade here, by any means. Bonds of cooperation, learning, and faith - these are built between nations and rulers as surely as trade routes. Tell me - what do you dream of for your country?"


Sibald ... "Anyway, he's skipping to the point," Sibald mentions, gesturing towards Gnomotron. "In addition to actually trying to get us all together and so we can cooperate instead of thinking of clever ways to blow up the unknown, we can bounce ideas for trade off each other. For those of us who are cooperating, let's hear it. Clathaham is, in a big part, coastal. Laying it out on the table here: we always have trouble with building materials, food that isn't fish is a welcome import, and we have way too much glass laying around doing nothing. Any ideas, folks?"

Feather remains quiet.

"Well, as my interest in trade has been demonstrated, I shall plainly state that we are interested in trade. Glass is a rather delicate transportation situation, but we have little in the way of the materials to make glass nor the expertise to make it even if we did. What we do have boast of is our high quality foodstuffs - grains, fruits, and meats."

She shrugs her alabaster shoulders. "Transportation of foodstuffs is as tricky as glass, though. Teleportation drives the cost of food too high, and the cost of magic to sustain the food during the trip is likewise expensive, though it can be worthwhile if done cheaply enough."

[Dr.Orpheus]

The golem's approach drew their attention, but Gabriel returned his attention to the Witch Queen's discussion with the dour Kirak. Sharlessa shifted her attention the the golem and nodded with interest at his proposition.

"Proposition: *zzzzt* We can take the food on our way back from your nation if you would prefer, I am confident in my cost effective caravan defence. *zzzt* End of Transmission"

[WebTiefling]

"Proposition: *zzzzt* We can take the food on our way back from your nation if you would prefer, I am confident in my cost effective caravan defence. *zzzt* End of Transmission"

"That would be the most efficient system. Just remember that the food will need to be preserved during the trip."

Sharlessa takes a sip of her wine.

"I am curious about your plans for caravans, this has been a sticky point in our trade. We could, of course, send along major forces with a caravan, but that quickly becomes cost prohibitive, especially for things like foodstuff. Spending twenty thousand pieces of gold to transport ten thousand gold worth of food means our prices would be too high.

"Most of our trade, such as it is, is with our extremely untrustworthy neighbors or valuable smaller items which our merchants can transport with teleports to and from."

[Mousedigits]

After some thinking, Kirak finds himself favoring the idea of trading. While there are some he wouldn't think of trading with, he does realize a profit can be made here, in addition with an opportunity to get closer to some of the other countries.*Sigh...* All right, then. I suppose I shouldn't make this a worthless trip... Balsennis has a good amount of iron, and we have been running a bit low on textiles.

[greenpotato]

"I dream of nothing, I need not dream, my resolve is absolute that the end will come and all your sins will be washed away in the dawn" the old man turns and walks out of the meeting.

[Dr.Orpheus]

"That would be the most efficient system. Just remember that the food will need to be preserved during the trip."

Sharlessa takes a sip of her wine.

"I am curious about your plans for caravans, this has been a sticky point in our trade. We could, of course, send along major forces with a caravan, but that quickly becomes cost prohibitive, especially for things like foodstuff. Spending twenty thousand pieces of gold to transport ten thousand gold worth of food means our prices would be too high.

"Most of our trade, such as it is, is with our extremely untrustworthy neighbors or valuable smaller items which our merchants can transport with teleports to and from."

"Explanation: *zzzzt* The plan is more of a repulsion then a defense and it is cheep to maintain. *zzzt* End of Transmission"

[Promises Kept]

As the talk of diplomacy begins, the little Petal seems to sober up, though not without a woeful look at the wine left undrunk. His little foray into the violation of physics through alcohol complete, he shifts back into the form of the dark golem, which, you realize, seems to be his usual shape. His telepathic sendings are perfectly clear once more, the construct anatomy having dealt with his intoxication quite well.

'The Protectorate would be interested in trade with our neighbors and friends. Of course, we can provide iron, wood, and the like for ourselves with little trouble, so we would be more interested in the more exotic kinds of goods. Your glass, Sibald, would be more than welcome to our artisans. I am uncertain of what we can offer in return, however. Adamantine and Mithral are always in short supply in our lands, and a coalition of some of the more wealthy merchants have recently petitioned us to find a reliable source of Riverine available for commissioned work. Something about it being in style for decoration, as I recall.

We can provide Cold Iron and Alchemical Silver weaponry at a reasonable cost, for any with problems of an infernal sort. And our spices and wines are of the highest quality... barring those presented here, it seems. But I believe our Brewer's Guild will begin pestering me for Time magic again should they realize they've been outdone, so I will avoid mentioning such to them. Platinum and gold would of course also be welcome in payment, but we do not have the reserves to supply them for sale.

We further have an extremely well trained and equipped military, many of them of the sort that would be adventurers in other lands. It is extremely likely that some would be willing to work for hire as guards, should any of you have a banditry problem, at very little cost beyond that of the spoils from any attackers. I encourage such sabbaticals, as a fashion of sharpening their skills, and they suffer little risk, given the contract they make with the Lady. And, while Aglaia is likely to be unhappy with me for this one, in situations that are not politically sensitive, I can offer my personal power and expertise at a reasonable price. Truly permanent, undispellable Teleportation Circles are within my grasp, for example, and, should we find a need to create a more permanent meeting place for these talks, I can offer each of you a one way circle to such a location at no cost, as a gesture of goodwill.

Beyond all that, the Protectorate is quite beautiful and open to tourism from any who can behave themselves, should you wish to inform your peoples.'

Oh, right, Annush has Mindsight with a radius sufficient to encompass this area. Anything particularly noteworthy, an unusual (Non-Dragon, Construct, Outsider, or Humanoid) type or ridiculously high (50+) Intelligence?

[Dr.Orpheus]

With mindsight nothing is detected as if the construct was mindless.

[Belial_the_Leveler]

Seeing as the bad guy present is intelligent enough not to take the bait she provided, Auriel nods at him and turns her attention back to the discussion on trade and alliances. As soon as she hears about "undispellable" teleportation circles though, she smiles and interrupts.
Practical application of magic being my specialty, I can tell you with confidence that teleportation circles aren't permanent at all and neither are they practical. She says, nodding at Petal. Some merchants kept asking for one in my kingdom and I had to demonstrate its drawbacks so I cast one in a town square. One merchant tried to go through with a wagon, and his draft horse was teleported. The wagon, not being a creature, wasn't. Neither was he as he did not stand within the circle. So we tried pack animals, which takes ten of them to carry what one with a wagon could. We needed separate guides for every animal because horses aren't smart enough to follow when their leader disappears first without major training, but not riders because a rider won't teleport along with his ride; he's a creature and not an object to be carried thus he has to stand in the circle. So with difficulty we finally made it work.
About a hundred draft animals and drivers and three tons of cargo later, the circle stopped working. Turns out that all those feet and heavily loaded animals passing through had worn through the horizontal surface the circle required. Not a lot but one crack or a displaced paving stone and the circle is broken. So we had to recast it on a single steel ramp to ensure is doesn't break, deform or gets easily worn. After we got it working again, I had the merchants arrange a lot of cargo around the destination, as natural for a busy unloading area. And the circle immediately stopped working. Nobody could find anything wrong until I explained that teleportation depends on the precise visual description of the destination. Any sort of unloading area for city-sized trade networks is going to be totally chaotic; its visual description is not going to stay the same as when the circle is first cast and extensive changes are going to make it stop working.
Auriel shrugs.
Teleportation circles are a fine idea in dungeons, wizard academies or strongholds where the environment is controlled. But in any sort of open trade network you'd have to recast them every half an hour or impose military level discipline on traders, many of which will be foreign. Not a totally insurmountable task but ultimately not very cost-effective.

[Mousedigits]

Big red thing about teleport circles
An intelligent observation, indeed. Maybe we can try something a bit more... Mundane. I'm no expert here, but I propose this: We launch the goods in adamantine (Or even just iron or steel) containers, and have a set of stations. Each station has some of our wizards or sorcerers, who will cast featherfall on the goods when thy reach their destination. Heck, we don't even have to put them in a metal canister. We could just tie it together. It's kind of a roundabout way of doing it, but it would technically work.

[Promises Kept]

Annush shifts about in the air while Auriel makes her points, then replies, his broadcast sounding almost dismissive. 'Bah, those are trivial issues and you know it. Engineering issues can damn near always be resolved with a little Transmutation and a tad bit of know how, and destinations can be kept separate from arrival points. Offhand, I'm fairly certain having Animated Object mobile platforms carrying the caravans through the circles and into an unloading area away from the destination point would suffice for most of the issues, and careful construction the rest. With a couple of days to work, I can produce such Objects that could carry around 50000 pounds, which ought to be sufficient for transport. Is there anything I'm forgetting?'

[Belial_the_Leveler]

Is there anything I'm forgetting?'

Indeed. The Witch-Queen confirms. Whatever needs to go through must fit inside the circle, which is only a five-foot radius. An animated object -or any creature- larger than a horse isn't teleportable through one. There was more than one reason that wagon wasn't teleported.

Auriel sighs.
Teleportation isn't really impossible. But I would feel better if a single accident, mishandling or deliberate action didn't make the thing inoperable. She shrugs again. Or it weren't so simple to divert or delay its destination. How would you guard the circles 24/7 to prevent even a wizard of middling power from casting a second circle atop the old one and thus divert the commodities wherever he wanted? It's not as if most people can tell where a circle goes before they go through it and we do have a lot of enemies, don't we?

[WebTiefling]

"I believe I could take care of the concerns of teleportation, but I have concerns about the effects it may have on our societies. Instant travel for anyone to anywhere in the world is a huge disruption factor which I am somewhat hesitant to let loose on the world without some careful thought."

Sharlessa's voice rolls forth in soft waves.

"I have a Greater Platform of Jaunting1 which I use for myself, and I have been experimenting with lesser ones in my capital city to see their effects on a lesser scale2. A ten foot circle platform which will take a person and a little over 800 pounds to any place for which they have a reliable description. If their mental image is faulty or too vague, the teleportation merely fails without harming them. This obviously rules out things like wagons and horses, but for lesser masses of trade goods, it could be a solution.

"But, these are obviously far more disruptive than merely easy, long-distance trade. Anyone can visit any place for which they have a good description. That is ...." she pauses for a moment considering how to express the magnitude of the effects, and then gives up.

"That will have an unimaginably vast effect on society."

1. Stronghold Builder's Guide, pg. 81

2. The Empyrean Palace is her palace and government center in Ascentia's capital city of Gloria. It has a network of scores of Lesser Platforms of Jaunting which allow anyone to travel throughout the palace grounds (many square miles) without walking more than a few hundred steps, total.

[Dr.Orpheus]

"Explanation: *zzzzt* Teleportation can help trade and tourism, however, it also reduces national security if spies can just warp to anywhere they can picture in there mind. *zzzt* End of Transmission"

[Mikal]

As the others talked amongst themselves, a latecomer arrived. At first one would have thought the three were brothers, perhaps with Giant blood in them. The tallest was over 7 feet tall and powerfully built, while the other two were a precise 6 and a half feet. The larger being radiated with undeniably holy power, casting light almost equal to the blazing sun, though as they entered the chambers the aura faded to a soft golden glow.


http://www.mrwallpaper.com/wallpapers/winged-warrior-knight-1920x1080.jpg The escorts

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee236/pyrokin_photo/PaladinTierTyrial2.jpg The larger man in the center


As the glow dissipated, one could see that the two companions flanking the taller were... different. From what could be seen of their features, they seemed to be made of the same material as their armor.... one would think they were golems, but they moved too fluidly, their gazes, hidden beneath their hoods, too piercing and intelligent. All three bore the sigil of Junil, a stern god of law and order.. it seems that the arrivals from the Theocracy of Krath had arrived... with what appears to be their leader, the Archangel Tyreal himself attending.

Tyreal's head turned left and right, as if silently judging each person... sometimes passing them by quickly, sometimes focusing his gaze uncomfortably, his presence of character causing some of the less shall we say... "pious" amongst the servers to head away from his party as quickly as decorum allowed.

[WebTiefling]

"Well come Archangel Tyreal," Gabriel stands as the angel gets closer. "You have missed some of the celebrations, but we're in the middle of trade and transportation discussions."

Sharlessa nods to Tyreal, but returns to the discussion.

"I suspect, Gnomotron, that spies are not particularly limited even now. Basic spycraft, scrying, and regular teleportation make our countries open to infiltration by individuals already. Teleportation circles allow in large groups of troops who are careful not to disrupt the circle. The challenge of teleporting massive quantities of goods is a distinct problem from those concerns.

"With a pair of the greater platforms of jaunting, tradesmen could quickly and safely travel back and forth, each time with up to 850 pounds. With a minute per round trip to take care of the goods on either end, a person can transport over 25 tons of goods. Obviously that requires a pair of the platforms and coordination on both ends to avoid confusion and jamming."

She grimaces slightly, thinking.

"Perhaps some basic fees will slow the disruption to regular people, but I still don't like opening it up. A thief could bypass the walls of any house, for example, and the protections against entry by teleportation are far too expensive for common people. I am not completely opposed to this method, I am just ... concerned. Any wisdom would be most welcome."

Gabriel looks down at her, "And the only way to determine if the concerns are valid is to test it."

She nods with a warm smile, "As you have said many times."

[Dr.Orpheus]

"Reply *zzzzt* Spies would be a problem just as much as thieves for the same reason neither would have a problem entering our nations if teleportation was made so available. *zzzt* End of Transmission"

[WebTiefling]

"Spies are usually state-sponsored, so five hundred gold pieces of casting is no block at all. But for common thieves, they need a scroll costing over a thousand gold pieces to teleport. That keeps teleportation out of their hands for all but the biggest targets, and those large targets can afford lots of protection against teleportation.

"If cheap teleportation becomes available, call it five gold coins per trip, thieves can hit commoner homes."

Sharlessa shakes her head.

"I'll put some more thought into some protections. I will be glad to build a platform for any country with whom we trade."

She smiles, "For its price, of course. They are rather expensive."

[Belial_the_Leveler]

That's easily solvable. Auriel says. I simply had teleportation prevented to every house or other building their owners asked me to across my entire nation. It took me about a day's work all things said.
She looks at Sharlessa and nods.
Not so much a barrier against spies and thieves as one against devils and similar dangers. The distant north is a dangerous place, after all.

[WebTiefling]

"If I introduce such a system in the large scale, I might have to do something like that myself. What technique did you use? Forbiddance seems the easiest, though that would certainly have other issues."

Gabriel frowns slightly at Sharlessa's statement, "And how does this encourage our people to grow and overcome challenges themselves? I would suggest that we carefully limit it to trade use only and slowly advance its use from there."

He shakes his head and turns back to the rest of the beings, "That doesn't change things, though. We are eager to trade, and for cost, we will provide a Greater Platform of Jaunting for the exchange of trade goods. We have plenty of food and textiles." He nods to Gnomotron, "Your trade caravans are more than welcome, and if you are interested we can provide large quantities of water as well."

[Mikal]

Tyreal listened in, quickly surmising the purpose of the conversation. He spoke flatly, his voice curt and to the point.

"No teleportation is allowed within the cities of the Krath, nor will it be allowed in the future. If you wish to trade with my people, other arrangements could be made for specific waypoints."

[WebTiefling]

"Of course, that will be perfectly fine. A trading depot close outside your cities would probably work just fine. What sort of goods do you have to trade?"

Gabriel's expression during Tyreal's statement was considering. Locking down his cities suggested extreme control, limiting individual growth. The Witch Queen going about doing things like that for her subjects would leave them dependent on her and lacking their own initiative.

This flowed across as a gestalt concept to Sharlessa through their mental bond.

"We aren't invading them, so, what?"

"Just a diplomatic/economic advantage to consider."

[Dr.Orpheus]

"Explanation: *zzzzt* Teleportation has the capability to be a great tool, but any type of magic we introduce on an international scale will have drawbacks. Nearly all drawbacks can be solved with abjuration magic, so if I may redirect the conversation slightly we should be asking how much we can each endure the cost casting permanency, contingency, and wish.
Some nations are less magically inclined and if we approved several magical methods to better transportation, communication, and resource production that other nations could not afford then that is where war will start. If want a mutually beneficial result in introducing international magic we subsidize less magical nations, create a collective fund based on a ratio of our own wealth or the cost of the magic, or we could ban magic that others can't perform. It's a tough question, but with input from everyone we should get a consensuses on what option to pick. *zzzt* End of Transmission"

[WebTiefling]

"Well reasoned, your majesty!"

Sharlessa leans forward with a wry smile. "Avoiding war between countries is an excellent goal, it's just the execution of that desire. Balancing power capabilities is one such way.

"Might I suggest a slight tweak, however. Nations rarely react well to others declaring how much of what they may have. The less magically inclined countries will certainly resent whatever a collective might declare they are allowed to have - they shall certainly feel they should have more. We could force such a state of affairs upon them and live with the friction and complaints, or we could propose a different approach.

"Provide Platforms for sale only to governments, and for those which cannot afford them, provide loans which they will repay over time. We can draw up agreements to limit their use to trade purposes."

[Belial_the_Leveler]

I used Forbiddance, yes. Auriel confirms. It is my policy to grant reasonable requests insofar as such promote individual thinking, growth and advancement. The Witch-Queen laughs. You'd be surprised how much that request promoted attention to detail, a good memory and intelligent decision-making for example; when forgetting a password can lead to the equivalent of a battleaxe to the face, many people are highly motivated to develop those portions of their personality. Especially if government-granted Resurrection carries several months of community service as a fine for monumental stupidity.
The fire-haired woman smiles.
My people are more secure in their homes, a bit more motivated to learn and remember than before, the less observant and more forgetful among them are identified and helped improve, and the government has a good flow of self-proclaimed volunteers that will be learning useful skills during community service whether they wanted or not.

And that's far from the only way I promote self-improvement in my domain.

[Dr.Orpheus]

"Reply: *zzzzt* Tally 1: Collective fund with ratio of total cost for all nations from Sharlessa. Tally 1: Status quo from Gnomotron. Tally 0: All other options. *zzzt* End of Transmission"

[WebTiefling]

Auriel's description brings a considering look to Gabriel's face, Sharlessa's looks distinctly pained.

"Dare I ask how many people die each day from that? I hate to imagine a child forgetting the password at a friend's house. Do many run such a risk for their security?"

Gabriel's question was more practical, "What's the cost on raising them? Surely you've put together some method that is free and doesn't require you to do it yourself. How does that work?"

Sharlessa's looks skeptically at Gabriel's interest in Auriel's methods. "Perhaps we'll look into Dimensional Lock methods if it comes to that."

[Belial_the_Leveler]

We started with a couple hundred daily deaths. A few months into the whole thing and we no longer have to deal with stupidity-induced deaths in this situation. Think of it as a palisade with sharp spikes. Back when the things were first invented, a lot of people must have tried to cross them and failed messily but after some time and some painful deaths, people learned and adapted. Same thing with horseback riding, open-sea sailing, multi-story building construction and so on and so forth.
Auriel is very serious now.
Nothing worth doing is ever easy or safe, and there is no improvement and progress without hazards or conflict. My mission as leader to my people is to both provide situations where they can improve themselves, and second chances for when they do fail that do not invalidate the failure entirely but do give them a chance to learn. And yes, I do spend at least an hour every day personally resurrecting those that die before their time in my domain through no fault of their own. If the fault is theirs though, there are penalties - and second chances are not infinite.

[Dr.Orpheus]

During a silence in the conversation Gnomotron takes an opportunity to speak to everyone "Advert: *zzzzt* On the previous topics of trade and magic use I think that something you might all want is my nations Magical Power Armor. They shallow in comparison to the lost mech mentioned in stories of my ancestors, but a few smiths that tried recreating that lost epic artifact have made armor that rivals the average artifact that can come in a heavy, medium, light, and arcane friendly version. I would recommend it for any purpose outside of combat if you did not want to go to war because it can customized with parts that make it suited for a task like farming, building, or even music. *zzzt* End of Transmission"

[Promises Kept]

Annush remains silent for some time after the Witch Queen's remarks, but seems quite attentive and interested as the discussion of jaunting platforms begins. He responds slowly, "I have little experience with these platforms myself, but they do sound quite intriguing. And, while I feel designated start and end points are safer for everyone involved, I admit the difficulties with Circles are significant, though not at all insurmountable.

I believe that we would be interested in purchasing some of these Jaunting platforms, and distributing them to those we feel could use them safely. As a matter of fact, I suspect we will have very little in the way of difficulties with crime, should we adopt them on a wide scale. The Lady and I do not deal weakly with criminals. We have little issue with those of small power; those few who exist are Geas'd twice over, once to refrain from evil and once to return to have the first renewed before it expires. In general, forced to act rightly, they come to repent or willingly exile themselves, in which case we leave them with a Mark of Justice and send them on their way. More powerful followers of evil are stripped of their magical power and wealth, have Marks of Justice placed upon them until they would be totally incapacitated should they return to evil or attempt to have the Marks removed, and set free. We very, very rarely have repeat offenders. Those of any real power we do have are slain and their souls bound for three centuries, then released into the afterlife.'

[Kazyan]

Sibald seems to have gotten distracted by a pair of illusionists setting up a mock battle with Shadow Conjurations emulating Regal Procession, and by the time he reverts his attention to the conversation, he appears a bit confused. Wanting to save face, he continues listening instead of asking to brought up to speed. "Clathaham's arcane and everything, but we haven't evolved to the point of having jaunting platforms everywhere or using magic to improve a judicial system. I'd be interested in getting some of those platforms. Do they work on things like, I dunno, large fishing ships? Because I can already imagine that making things super efficient."


"I dream of nothing, I need not dream, my resolve is absolute that the end will come and all your sins will be washed away in the dawn" the old man turns and walks out of the meeting.

Feather smiled wryly, looking in the man's leaving direction. She hadn't spoken for a while. "Conviction's lasts gasps for life manage to draw breath for once. A shame he did not stay for longer."

It seems Feather has been actively exerting great self-control to remain quiet and still for most of the conversation.


Tyreal's head turned left and right, as if silently judging each person... sometimes passing them by quickly, sometimes focusing his gaze uncomfortably, his presence of character causing some of the less shall we say... "pious" amongst the servers to head away from his party as quickly as decorum allowed.

Feather locks her gaze onto Tyreal, a subtle battle of wills to get him to look away first. Still, she listens in on the conversation, adding her thoughts:

"There would be no purpose in sending Greater Platofrms of Jaunting to Kikolenth. Regarding travel, it would make my populace lazy, in a word, which I cannot forgive." Her nose crinkled. "Though I would permit one--for trade purposes, as mentioned. Any initiative for international magical advancement would be heavily filtered in Kikolenth."

"Killjoy," Sibald adds.

"Infant."

[Dr.Orpheus]

"Explanation: *zzzzt* The majority has spoken, it sounds like 5 or 6 of us are willing to pay for teleportation platforms if we require them. Would you all have the same opinion for magic communicators, and other productive hardwear. *zzzt* End of Transmission"

[WebTiefling]

"Alas, your majesty, they do not provide such large-scale transportation. They only take a person and up to 850 pounds of goods they are touching. In some ways this could be advantageous as a person could take a cart of goods with them which they couldn't carry themselves. It does though have the disadvantage of being unable to transport truly massive objects or quantities of goods."

Sharlessa shrugs in apology to the king. "Greater masses would require very different magics, I'm afraid."

"But," she says to everyone there, "Ascentia can certainly provide the platforms, and for those of us here, I will be glad to do so for a discount, a bit over fifty three thousand gold pieces per platform. The crafting takes some time, about a month, but we can produce multiples at a time."

She picks up a lesser goblet, silver with golden highlights and studded with gems.

"With your majesty's permission," she looks to King Sibald and at his nod casts a basic Fabricate spell. The silver goblet stretches out into a thin, square plate while and the gold, which had been highlights on the cup, forms a paper thin coating on the top. The gems form themselves into a stylus with a diamond tip.

Sharlessa signs at the top, the soft gold easily scratching away to display the silver beneath, providing an exquisitely beautiful and expensive writing set. She hands it Gabriel.

"How many are needed?"

They normally cost 76500 gp, but everyone here can figure out that 53500 is the cost of materials (38250) plus 5 gp per XP point (3060 XP) needed to create the items. 38250 + 15300 = 53550. She is rounding down as an added bit of discount. Obviously not everyone will need to purchase them, but for those who do or just don't want to bother making them themselves, there's the offer.

[Mousedigits]

I guess I'll buy some... Put me down for 3 of them, for now...

[Belial_the_Leveler]

There might be another solution, lacking all the problems the platforms have. the Witch-Queen says. Specifically, portals. A portal only leads to one other location, usually another portal. That resolves the social issues of people being able to go places you don't want them to. Secondly, a six-foot portal can fit wagons carrying a lot more than 800 pounds at a time and, being constantly open rather than use-activated, would allow for whole caravans to go through without interruptions. Third, it lacks the issues of teleportation inaccuracy I described before. Fourth, you can see through it, negating occupancy-related accidents or doubts about its destination. Auriel marks each point she mentions then smiles as if a particularly interesting thought occurred to her. Last but not least, functioning portals have existed inside magical castles that could teleport themselves, have they not? Simply construct a pair of linked portals, each in the smallest and simplest possible edifice capable of self-teleportation and you have a secure trade route that can relocate at either end instantly when required.

[Mousedigits]

Hmmm... Good point. Call off those plate things, What'syourname...

[WebTiefling]

Sharlessa looks at the Witch Queen oddly.

"Perhaps you know of a style of portal unknown to me. The portals of which I know do not allow you to see through them - the only way to know what is on the other side is to go completely through. Also, they only allow through 850 pounds per person, and unattended items cannot pass through."

Sharlessa shrugs, "But aside from that, I agree that portals do indeed limit them to one and only one location - they cannot be changed and that is certainly much better for security. That will dramatically increase the cost of a trade network, though. Four kingdoms need only one Platform each, to be able to travel to and from all the other kingdoms. However, with portals each kingdom needs three portals - each one going to a specific point in another kingdom.

"You need to create two portals for a round trip - the first is the most expensive and the going market rate is around one hundred thousand gold pieces, and the return portal is about half the price. They also go in and out of the same spot on each side, so incoming traffic will get in the way of outgoing traffic."

Sharlessa lifts her hands up and down in the air as if balancing something. "It's a higher cost and difficulty versus privacy and security balancing act."

Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting pages 59-62. Is there another place that has different rules for portals?

[Kazyan]

"Aha. Oh man, Common is funny. When I said 'on fishing ships', I meant if a platform worked when installed on something mobile like that." Sibald crossed his arms and smiles at the writing set. "Nice. If platforms work on ships, put me down for five. If not, just one."

Feather crinkles her nose, thinking. "One."

Hera finally speaks up. "One."

[Dr.Orpheus]

"Reply: *zzzzt* I won't require any as my creators ancestors can turn a magic items into other magic items, and I would be willing to turn other peoples magic items into portals or platforms for those that do not have the required money on hand as a friendly gesture. *zzzt* End of Transmission"
OoC: The item must be of equal or greater value and any remainder can be turned into any number of other magic items as long as it does not go over the cost of the original item, but I cannot provide change in gold and xp.

[Mousedigits]

Hmm, cheap platform, or expensive portal? Well, with the lesser cost, I think I'll go back to the platform... Just one this time, however.
In case you haven't noticed, Kirak isn't exactly the best decision maker.

[WebTiefling]

Sharlessa's eyes twinkle, literally, with humor. "I understand your statement now, your majesty - yes they will work perfectly well onboard a ship. If you want one of them to be particularly resplendent, I will commission our finest artists to do it justice for you."

She takes a sip of wine. "Common is indeed a quirky language. I nearly destroyed a convention of cobblers once when I overheard them selling some particular shoe parts."

Gabriel snorts, "I even have the petition they later submitted to officially change the word for the bottom a shoe."

[WebTiefling]

A slight blush rises in Sharlessa's alabaster cheeks and Gabriel smothers a grin as he very studiously etches the orders upon his silver and gold tablet.




Sibald - 5
Feather -1
Hera - 1
Kirak - 1




"Yes, well."

She clears her throat.

"Back to trade, I believe we have the groundwork for some excellent trading among all our countries. Gnomotron's metals will be most welcome and I do hope your people enjoy our produce. Our most esteemed host has most excellent glass for which we will be most happy to trade. And Kirak's domain has a great deal of iron which we will be most happy to trade for food, textiles, lumber, and goods."

Her face remains pleasant during her mention of trading with Kirak, but is perhaps a bit woodenly pleasant - his words have given her caution as to his nature. Still, as they are not in conflict or appear to become so enjoined soon, trading is always desirable.

"I'm sure our respective governments can draw up official contracts and agreements. With a bit of help, I'm sure Ascentia's craftsmen will be able to produce the Platforms in time to begin trading."

[Promises Kept]

'Ah, one moment, please,' Annush interrupts. 'I became lost in my own thoughts. Put the Protectorate down for a pair, for now. I'd like to see how effective they are in person before we buy in bulk. My apologies.'

[WebTiefling]

"Of course," Gabriel nods, and the ruby-tipped stylus swirls across the tablet.




Sibald - 5
Feather -1
Hera - 1
Kirak - 1
Annush - 2

[Dr.Orpheus]

"Question: *zzzzt* I've met my goals with trade are there any other issues to be discused? *zzzt* End of Transmission"

[WebTiefling]

Sharlessa carefully picks her words, "There are many other things which I hope will grow from our trade agreements - treaties, mutual aid, joint projects. However, these things require firm foundations of trust to grow - foundations that trade will hopefully begin building. I very much look forward to those fruits of our mutual dealings."

[Kazyan]

"Nothing else to talk about, I guess. You can stick around for a while, though. I'm not going home for a bit, at least," Sibald adds with a laugh.

"I am, though." Her eyes scan over the various people in the group, visible disdain in her eyes, until she settles on Gabriel. "I'd like to talk to you, specifically, in private." Feather stands.

[Mousedigits]

"If that's the case, then I'll go ahead and head back to Balennis."
Kirak will head off to Jupiter's location, then head back to his home country.

[Promises Kept]

'Well, this has been rather... pleasant, as far as my experience with diplomacy goes. No Elder Evils crashing the party, no drinks made from the blood of angels, nobody trying to unmake my mind with an Artifact. For that matter, no Aglaia standing over me disapprovingly while I drink myself into a stupor. It has been a fine gathering, ladies and gentleman.' Annush seems quite pleased, judging by the tone of his broadcast. 'But I do believe I shall depart. My Lady will no doubt wish to hear of the agreements made here, and I've got some recruits in sore need of a beating into shape.' With this, he departs, seeming to simply vanish.

[WebTiefling]

Sharlessa smiles at Sibald, "I believe we shall stay for a while - the entertainment and company is a delightful change from our regular duty of caring for our country. And I admit that talking with another ruler who understands the challenges of ruling is refreshing as well. While I love the people of Ascentia, it is hard to have a meaningful conversation with people who would nod along in agreement if I were to say the sky were covered with purple polka dots."

Sharlessa relaxes now that the political wrangling has concluded, settling in to enjoy another day of entertainment and relative peace away from the concerns of ruling.


"Nothing else to talk about, I guess. You can stick around for a while, though. I'm not going home for a bit, at least," Sibald adds with a laugh.

"I am, though." Her eyes scan over the various people in the group, visible disdain in her eyes, until she settles on Gabriel. "I'd like to talk to you, specifically, in private." Feather stands.

Gabriel's mein had not relaxed, and his return look was measuring, though his face was a proper mixture of delighted politeness. "It would be my pleasure, my lady."

He gives a short bow to Sibald and Sharlessa, "By your leave," and walks over to Feather and offers his arm as an escort. "Might a walk about the palace suffice, or would a more secure setting be preferable? The Lady Sharlessa tends to operate in trust unless shown otherwise; I tend to be more ... circumspect."

Sharlessa's thought popped into his mind, "Enjoy yourself. She fits you well." The mental tone was amused with undertones of innuendo.

Gabriel's returning tone was more serious, "She's cunning, powerful, and has little patience for frippery."

"Like I said, fits you well." *Stronger amusement*

"Too much like myself. Too cunning." *Wryness*

"Oh learn to relax a little." *Scolding*

"I doubt this is a matter of relaxation." *Longsuffering*

"Sure it is! Thirty seconds and all your stiffness will be gone!" *Delighted teasing.*

"Sit and swivel, 'your majesty'." The thought was accompanied by a rude finger behind his back.

"You promise?"

Gabriel's response was more a mental impression than a specific thought - a variety of obscene gestures rolled into one.

[Dr.Orpheus]

"Fairwell: *zzzzt* My nation has prepared to accept visitors so you can meet me in Gnoasis if you would like to speak to me. *zzzt* End of Transmission"

[WebTiefling]

"I assure you we shall be there to visit soon. Our countries should have a great deal of opportunity for mutual benefit. Here," Sharlessa hands the construct a tiny scroll case holding not a magical scroll but a carefully colored sheet of paper depicting with great accuracy Ascentia's diplomatic teleportation receiving room.

"We would be happy to see you or your emissaries."

[Kazyan]

Sharlessa smiles at Sibald, "I believe we shall stay for a while - the entertainment and company is a delightful change from our regular duty of caring for our country. And I admit that talking with another ruler who understands the challenges of ruling is refreshing as well. While I love the people of Ascentia, it is hard to have a meaningful conversation with people who would nod along in agreement if I were to say the sky were covered with purple polka dots."

"Yeah, sometimes I'd rather be one of the people I rule over. Then I realize I'm assuming the rulership would be a same, like if at the same time I was...you get the idea." He sits up straight. "I'm surprised this went as well as it did. It's not like there's not a few people I'm going to pay attention to, though."


Gabriel's mein had not relaxed, and his return look was measuring, though his face was a proper mixture of delighted politeness. "It would be my pleasure, my lady."

He gives a short bow to Sibald and Sharlessa, "By your leave," and walks over to Feather and offers his arm as an escort. "Might a walk about the palace suffice, or would a more secure setting be preferable? The Lady Sharlessa tends to operate in trust unless shown otherwise; I tend to be more ... circumspect."

"I prefer a walk. I've been sitting still for too long." She switches to a highly exotic language, with the clear assumption that Gabriel has tongues.

Feather is speaking a constructed language, not a natural one, so there's no way anyone could tell what she's saying without comprehend languages or similar. It's quite elaborate.

"Any more layers of secrecy than this would be unbecoming, so I'll continue. If you have telepathy, don't bother; my mind is mine alone. Frankly...it taxes me to bear the presences of most of these national figureheads. Several of them lack discipline, and I avoid specificity in number because their weaknesses too incomplete to divide them into two groups cleanly. If find you more shrewd and, overall, a mental equal." (On Mindsight, Feather has an Intelligence score of 62, for reference. If she doesn't act like it, it's because, OOC, I can't even.) "I will refuse degrees of association with them, as appropriate, on principle...but I will remain open to you. Your thoughts on the others?"

[WebTiefling]

"Yeah, sometimes I'd rather be one of the people I rule over. Then I realize I'm assuming the rulership would be a same, like if at the same time I was...you get the idea." He sits up straight. "I'm surprised this went as well as it did. It's not like there's not a few people I'm going to pay attention to, though."

"I ... yes. I've gone incognito to live with some citizens, and the concerns are definitely different. They seem to see their issues as worrisome as I see mine. I think ours are a bit more serious, though. Having neighbors considering invading to enslave everyone is a bit more important than Timmy having bad friends or Tina getting pregnant when she shouldn't.

"Some of the rulers here ... well, a careful eye is needed. Gnomotron seems to be pretty content in its sphere of influence. A couple of the others, though ... well. Auriel has an interesting approach about which I have some reservations. Tyreal will always do the right thing, as he sees it, no matter the consequences. Aglaia's delegate Annush is delightful and I hope the same is true of Aglaia. I would like to meet her. Kirak - well, obviously a person to keep an eye on.

Sharlessa laughs, and accepts another glass of wine, taking a sip and savoring the bouquet. "I can't seem to stop talking shop. I guess I really wouldn't have it any other way, though."


"I prefer a walk. I've been sitting still for too long." She switches to a highly exotic language, with the clear assumption that Gabriel has tongues.

Feather is speaking a constructed language, not a natural one, so there's no way anyone could tell what she's saying without comprehend languages or similar. It's quite elaborate.

"Any more layers of secrecy than this would be unbecoming, so I'll continue. If you have telepathy, don't bother; my mind is mine alone. Frankly...it taxes me to bear the presences of most of these national figureheads. Several of them lack discipline, and I avoid specificity in number because their weaknesses too incomplete to divide them into two groups cleanly. If find you more shrewd and, overall, a mental equal." (On Mindsight, Feather has an Intelligence score of 62, for reference. If she doesn't act like it, it's because, OOC, I can't even.) "I will refuse degrees of association with them, as appropriate, on principle...but I will remain open to you. Your thoughts on the others?"

Gabriel gurgles and claps his free hand against his thigh making a close-enough clapping sound to speak in Odopi. "Liking favored obscure language yours over this much better." He switches to Feather's constructed language. "I assure you that I would never seek to peek into your mind unless it were most vitally necessary." Gabriel shrugs, "We both know that 'I would never...' is dissimulation at best. Whether I could make it past your protections is ... doubtful. Hopefully mine will slow you down should events ever lead you to that.

He'll show up as 56 Intelligence. He'll have the standard Mindblank up, an undead mind "type", and heavy layers of mental barriers, most not magical, to provide mental resistance.

Multiple racial and template features, class features, and spells all stack to make a VERY high Willpower save.

"But with that honesty as a setting, well ..." Gabriel speaks in bare minimalist language but with precise undertones and connotations, trusting Feather's obvious Intelligence to parse and acquire the full communication where lower intelligences would understand merely bland and slightly oddly phrased descriptions.

Gnomotron's primary: self-contained country without expansionism but for special matters. Ascentia won't trigger them.
Auriel: aggressive and broadly beneficial in her long term goals, which makes for an ally for Ascentia, though her ways and Sharlessa's may clash.
Annush and Aglaia: not aggressive, militarily, against Ascentia. Beyond that is less certain speculation.
Kirak: power in abundance without scruples in using it for his own gain and enjoyment. His enjoyment would be inimical to anyone else's.
Tyreal: strict and operates on unbending laws. Reliable exactly as well as one understands his laws.
Of the old man's country, I know nothing of but what could be deduced from the type of person they sent. Nothing reassuring.

"Are there any concerns in particular which you have? I suspect that our goals will rarely if ever come into conflict."

[Kazyan]

"I ... yes. I've gone incognito to live with some citizens, and the concerns are definitely different. They seem to see their issues as worrisome as I see mine. I think ours are a bit more serious, though. Having neighbors considering invading to enslave everyone is a bit more important than Timmy having bad friends or Tina getting pregnant when she shouldn't.

"Some of the rulers here ... well, a careful eye is needed. Gnomotron seems to be pretty content in its sphere of influence. A couple of the others, though ... well. Auriel has an interesting approach about which I have some reservations. Tyreal will always do the right thing, as he sees it, no matter the consequences. Aglaia's delegate Annush is delightful and I hope the same is true of Aglaia. I would like to meet her. Kirak - well, obviously a person to keep an eye on.

Sharlessa laughs, and accepts another glass of wine, taking a sip and savoring the bouquet. "I can't seem to stop talking shop. I guess I really wouldn't have it any other way, though."

"People only have one set of emotions, so they make it fit their experiences instead of the other way around. I wouldn't have it any other way..otherwise I couldn't even remember what it was like when I was a kid and didn't have an entire chunk of the Material Plane to run, since it would be so dull when I thought about it." Sibald shifts in his seat.

"Tyreal...well, people who think they're axiomatically right are usually wrong," He says, now scowling. "Not too worried about Kirak; obvious problems have obvious solutions. Sometimes." Sibald shrugs and stops scowling.


Gabriel gurgles and claps his free hand against his thigh making a close-enough clapping sound to speak in Odopi. "Liking favored obscure language yours over this much better." He switches to Feather's constructed language. "I assure you that I would never seek to peek into your mind unless it were most vitally necessary." Gabriel shrugs, "We both know that 'I would never...' is dissimulation at best. Whether I could make it past your protections is ... doubtful. Hopefully mine will slow you down should events ever lead you to that.

He'll show up as 56 Intelligence. He'll have the standard Mindblank up, an undead mind "type", and heavy layers of mental barriers, most not magical, to provide mental resistance.

Multiple racial and template features, class features, and spells all stack to make a VERY high Willpower save.

"But with that honesty as a setting, well ..." Gabriel speaks in bare minimalist language but with precise undertones and connotations, trusting Feather's obvious Intelligence to parse and acquire the full communication where lower intelligences would understand merely bland and slightly oddly phrased descriptions.

Gnomotron's primary: self-contained country without expansionism but for special matters. Ascentia won't trigger them.
Auriel: aggressive and broadly beneficial in her long term goals, which makes for an ally for Ascentia, though her ways and Sharlessa's may clash.
Annush and Aglaia: not aggressive, militarily, against Ascentia. Beyond that is less certain speculation.
Kirak: power in abundance without scruples in using it for his own gain and enjoyment. His enjoyment would be inimical to anyone else's.
Tyreal: strict and operates on unbending laws. Reliable exactly as well as one understands his laws.
Of the old man's country, I know nothing of but what could be deduced from the type of person they sent. Nothing reassuring.

"Are there any concerns in particular which you have? I suspect that our goals will rarely if ever come into conflict."

"It is unlikely. I have doubts regarding the stability of nations without self-controlled rulers, such as Sharlessa, though I'm not willing to rule out that you have a degree of power behind the her metaphorical throne. I predict Kirak will implode at any significant resistance. Beyond this, I have been analyzing this group, but I've become so mentally exhausted that progress is slow. I...am fairly socially inept, admittedly. It requires extreme effort, which is partially why I ask to speak with you alone.

I have little ambition--in the negative sense of the Common translation of the word--so you need not be concerned for Ascentia. I merely wish to improve the mental strengths of my people, set an example for the rest of existence, and perhaps teach them when appropriate." Feather takes a long look at Gabriel, meeting his eyes, as she walks. "In most cases, self-control is a defining separator of animals from intelligent races. I firmly believe that intelligence is a direct result of willpower, because I have not received significant enough examples to the contrary, and while the former is nearly impossible to train directly, the latter is more feasible." If Gabriel didn't interject, she'd continue rambling about her belief--at this point, she was sharing philosophy instead of talking business.

[WebTiefling]

"Well, those who have attended your invitation are certainly an interesting group, but perhaps those who didn't attend are also of interest. My neighbors are universally a nasty bunch, and while I could go remove most them personally, building Ascentia's people so they can do it themselves is my particular method. What concerns of safety does your nation have, Sibald?"


"It is unlikely. I have doubts regarding the stability of nations without self-controlled rulers, such as Sharlessa, though I'm not willing to rule out that you have a degree of power behind the her metaphorical throne. I predict Kirak will implode at any significant resistance. Beyond this, I have been analyzing this group, but I've become so mentally exhausted that progress is slow. I...am fairly socially inept, admittedly. It requires extreme effort, which is partially why I ask to speak with you alone.

I have little ambition--in the negative sense of the Common translation of the word--so you need not be concerned for Ascentia. I merely wish to improve the mental strengths of my people, set an example for the rest of existence, and perhaps teach them when appropriate." Feather takes a long look at Gabriel, meeting his eyes, as she walks. "In most cases, self-control is a defining separator of animals from intelligent races. I firmly believe that intelligence is a direct result of willpower, because I have not received significant enough examples to the contrary, and while the former is nearly impossible to train directly, the latter is more feasible." If Gabriel didn't interject, she'd continue rambling about her belief--at this point, she was sharing philosophy instead of talking business.

"Sharlessa and I work together quite well - strengths and weaknesses supporting each other. I might deceive myself, but I believe I have been of significant beneficial influence on Ascentia's path. We are far from finished though, and patience has come to be my greatest challenge as we work. We also hope to make the people of Ascentia capable and self-sustaining by themselves, for a strong country whose only strength is its ruler is not. Success will be a country to bring benefit to the world and able to sustain itself and grow against all challenges."

Gabriel soon loses himself in the discussion, thoughts of politics fading as the chance to relax and discuss greater philosophical issues with someone new and intelligent.

"Self control, willpower over oneself, perseverance - it is indeed the hallmark of improvement. Willpower poorly directed merely makes one stubborn, but when it is directed toward improving oneself by bending all ones faculty to ....." Gabriel will gladly talk philosophy for hours and hours with Feather. A kindred spirit!