Game: Blades of Git'riban : Primal State

Meanwhile, Ii'Jyka'Vaar straps the large Morningstar back to her belt (which she took of for the duel).

"I was not implying I wanted to sneak in this particular case, I was informing you all that I am able, if neeed be.
Just so you all know what more I can do, apart from hacking a targets limbs of its body..., as I want to be the one they see, and make sure it is the last thing they will ever see at all" Ii'Jyka smiles

When she is finished strapping all the weapons secure, she is also finished with her explenation, and thus stands ready and says; "Whenever anyone is ready?", she grabs her heavy rain cloak and slings it over a shoulder...

Ya'shenn retrieves the psionically charged 'grenade' and puts it away. The psion continues making her own preparations for departure when she pauses in what she's doing, evidently remembering something. "Kith'rak, do you mind if I go take a look at the array -- pardon, the device that we left here -- for a moment before we depart? I don't wish to slow us down, but it turns out the device was in a partially dissassembled state when found. Some of the parts were mixed in with the weapons, and I'd rather leave its components in one place."

Ya'shenn summarizes the previous night's encounter with the two illithid Tamers, as she lays out the crystals she believes to be power sources or detection crystals for the array. "The ulitharid has therefore had some time to start guessing what has happened." Gy-Nath already knows about three of the thralls, but he would probably benefit from knowing about the fight that had nearly killed Daraz, though he had probably inferred much of it already from today's conversation.

The psion goes over what she knows of the array's purpose and powers. "...It may be my mind, but it is your home, captain. If I attempt to reassemble it, the array could have any number of safeguards in place, though I wouldn't be surprised if such defenses were more of the mental than the property-damaging variety. I am willing to take that risk, but I also trust your judgment."

If, and only if, Gy-Nath agrees to it, Ya'shenn begins to experiment with the functioning of the array, something she had not had time to do the night before -- not with Daraz close to death and the possibility of other ghaik arriving in the vicinity.

[A new Psicraft check, if possible. Let me know if I need to provide more specifics about exactly how she's messing with the array. Some things she's interested in: How to turn it completely on/off, whether it has any powers beyond those she surmises it has already, anything having to do with its reaction to the presence of psions, and whether it's still actively recording emanations from any mind-marked thralls in Git'riban.]

Damn.

"I think you should be fine. The sharpener only transmitted while he was dreaming, and you would not have given him a chance to do so. The others, however..." She knows perfectly well what's on the final Mim recording, but Ya'shenn takes the time to personally examine what she guesses to be the last in the 'sharpener' series, the last of the Miik'ka recordings, and the last relating to the Entertainer -- the latter, particularly, to verify whether Grazz was actually successful in killing her. For now, however, she keeps these away from the array itself. The psion touches other crystals, as well, and after some thought, she selects two and offers them to the Rish.

"While I'm doing that, I would like you to examine these two. They're not last of series, but they are fairly recent. I'm not sure whether a non-psion can 'read' these directly, but there's one way to find out."

The first is one of the Mim crystals, a rendering of what he knew of certain sensitive meetings involving the Silver Eyes. The second not only reveals the existence of the Entertainer, but a good deal about one of her more common visitors -- the Accursed One himself, Grazz. It's quite clear from the content of the second crystal that Grazz and the fourth thrall were... intimate.

"I don't think that the most recent information made its way to the House, though it would have if we hadn't put a stop to those two Tamers. I can't be certain until I learn more of the array."

[OK, examining the last-in-series recordings for Miik'ka, the sharpener, and the Entertainer before continuing. She's particularly interested in the last recording pertaining to the Entertainer -- it would be nice to know whether the fourth thrall is dead or still kicking.]

[Ooh, this is going to be good...]

Ya'shenn is quite visibly disturbed by the content of the last Entertainer recording, eventually yanking her hand away from it as if it had been on fire. And for entirely different reasons than the more straightforward horror of the crystals pertaining to the sharpener. After a moment she presses her palms together, apparently concentrating on something, before returning her arms to her sides.

"I'm not certain, on the sharpener. Those crystals come in the form of especially unpleasant nightmares -- while I am willing to try them, I wouldn't be able to vouch for the state of my sanity if I attempt to read them thoroughly. Occupational hazard." To Ii'Jyka'Vaar she answers specifically, "I'm not sure yet whether you come up in any of the sharpener's dreams, but recall what I said about the risk."

"The death of the street-gith is here, as well as that of the Entertainer. The latter was slain by... a certain well-known sharpshadow." She's still not going to utter the name of the Accursed One. "The Razor of Tyrants was involved, as well. The two Tamers were aware of the deaths.

"As for the young warlock at Void Keys..." Inside her own mind, Ya'shenn fights the revulsion, guilt, and genuine fear she experiences every single time Mim's name comes up. She adds that crystal to the pile -- the one pertaining to the warlock's demise. "He was recording until the moment of his death, but not to such an extent as to identify his assailants. I'm not entirely clear on what role the sharpener played, but the street-gith was clearly used to thoroughly map out Git'riban. The Entertainer kept an eye on the sharpshadows, while the warlock kept track of githyanki movements, in addition to having access to some rather interesting conversations."

Ya'shenn eyes the knight for a few moments, not with hostility, just thinking over what the dragon-rider had said. She definitely notices the twitch, and even allows herself to feel an ounce of sympathy for Ii'Jyka'Vaar. The psion does not have all that much room for the pain of others right now, having lost an incredible number of persons close to her in the past year, but she does notice the blackguard's reaction.

"Very well, sister. I will see what I can make of these." She does wonder what prolonged contact with the sharpener's broken and abused mind will do to her own mental health, though. Settling into a chair, or failing that, into a lotus position on the floor, the psion arranges the "nightmare" crystals near to hand. Entering into a fairly deep meditative trance, she selects one crystal that she guesses, or hopes, will be one of the more significant from the clues she's seen, or one of the later ones in the series. Reminding herself of what had gone through her mind when she'd gone after an illithid Tamer with a borrowed weapon, the psion allows her senses to peer into the crystal.

[Will save below.]

Even in a deep trance state, with her eyes closed, the psion shudders visibly. Several times. Nor is it long before Ya'shenn begins to hyperventilate, sweat starting to run down her face. Obviously, her reading of these crystals isn't going well.

She remains in this state for several minutes, and it is only with increasing, mechanical effort that the woman is able to put one crystal down and pick up the next. Many times, a muscle in her cheek, or arm, or shoulder spasms while she 'listens,' giving some indication of just how much strain the telepath is experiencing. Somehow, Ya'shenn makes her way through the entire series without either falling into complete hysteria or curling up into a fetal ball.

Setting down the final stone, the psion keeps her eyes shut for some time, as her breathing struggles to return to normal. Given the greenish cast to her face, she's probably trying very hard not to vomit.

"Kith'rak," she manages eventually, in a strangely dull voice, "I imagine you've lost siblings to one thing or another over the years. Any of them go completely, utterly mad?" The way Ya'shenn says it suggests that she's not really expecting an answer.

After a few more moments, the psion opens her eyes and wipes a hand across her forehead. She looks down toward the floor, trying to glean useful information from the otherwise unrelenting horror she'd just experienced.

"The sharpener... provided... detailed physical descriptions of what I would guess to be nearly everyone who fought against the ghaik when they attacked Git'riban recently. He paid particular attention to the weapons they used, and more attention was paid to powerful individuals -- or powerful weapons." She looks over at Du'minh. "You were in one of them, after all, as were you, sister. The sharpener also dreamed about his customers and more ordinary events near his shop."

The Double-Edged describes something of what she saw in the 'nightmare crystals,' omitting the most sanity-destroying details, and shying away from much description of the dream about Ii'Jyka'Vaar. Ya'shenn does take time especially to describe his 'final' dream in detail, though in an unusually dull voice. "Aside from tormenting Kith'rak Dhar'Gi'Ghaaz, probably to the point of insanity, these dreams seem to be a compilation of... how a ghaik might want events to have gone -- or to go in future-- in Git'riban."

The psion's eyes suddenly widen. "In the wake of that last dream... I'm suddenly very much reminded of... what our source called the Awakening. I hope that is coincidence, but somehow, I doubt it." She looks back toward Du'minh. "Why would a ghaik go out of its way to slaughter so many others of its kind? These are the fantasies of a nihilist..."

"Thank you." She's clearly thoroughly disturbed at the moment, her mind continuing to ruminate on the sharpener's horrific nightmares, but Ya'shenn takes the drink and looks grateful for it.

"That may be so," the psion agrees, in response to Du'minh's statement. "I..." Her voice trails off, and she starts again. "After what I've just seen, in addition to the content of the other crystals, and the nature of each of the thralls, I think it's possible that another attack on Git'riban -- or at the very least, a major attack on the gith races -- may be coming. What I don't know is when. Or why, really. The Lady would respond to an attack of that magnitude."

She takes a few sips of water, then sets the mug down and looks at each of the others. "So, what do you want to do about the array? My moral sense is inclined to destroy it, not to mention that it might still be dangerous to us in some way. On the other hand, the more we know of such devices, the more we learn about the motives of those who created them. Lastly, I can definitely see the usefulness of an aura that defies remote viewing and clairvoyance."

"If you're sure you want to know..." Ya'shenn describes the nightmare in which Ii'Jyka'Vaar had appeared. She manages to refer to the erotic aspect of the dream in a tasteful way rather than going into excessive detail about that part.

"As far as the array goes, I don't think I have the knowledge to say whether we should keep it or destroy it, but we should--if it is possible--find somewhere to store it where it will be dificult for the Ghaik to recover. Better still if we could find somewhere where it provides no valueble inteligence to the Enemy. If it comes to it, we could smash it and throw it off the edge of the ring, of course. On a somewhat different note, we have not assumed that this opportunity is a trap. I know it's paranoid, but paranioa keeps you alive, and the fact really needs to be considered. If the ghaik have been expecting us, we need to have a way to escape, or failing that, a way to kill as many of them as possible."

When the relationship between Ii’Jyka’Vaar and the gith he had slain becomes clear to Du’minh, he averts his eyes from the others’ for a moment – he had never considered such intimacy to play a part in this. Following up on the issue of the array, he consciously avoids dwelling on the former subject now.

“I would not be too hasty in destroying the array if there is potential that it can be turned against our enemies. It is a rare chance for such a remedy to fall into our hands, and with proper modification it might be tuned to spy on the House and its operatives.”

“That being said, I would definitely rather see it destroyed than return to its original intended purpose – perhaps some sort of magical or psionic trigger to destroy it, should illithid influence ever taint it again? I take it that this abode has the “usual Git’riban precautions” to deter scrying attempts or the like? If not, my home has proper lead shielding in place where it might be hidden until we return.”

[Waiting to see if Ya'shenn can figure out more about the array before giving her opinion on what to do with it. Please let me know if you want a Take 20 Psicraft, or a roll, or what, Azure. She's concerned that it might pose a danger to the group.]

"I share these concerns also." Ya'shenn looks over at the crystal Ar'dru now holds in his hand. "Why would a ghaik deliberately aid Zur Khaan in order to kill other illithid? Their hatred of the githzerai is without limit. I would imagine that either there is a question of the Razor's... free will... or more likely the ghaik is simply giving him just enough information to eliminate Its rivals. At first I thought the ulitharid might simply be abnormally ruthless in its quest for power, and perhaps also the betterment of its Creed. I suppose it is also possible that It may be the illithid equivalent of a Sinker."

The psion takes a moment to wipe now-cooling sweat from her face and take another drink of water. She looks thoughtful for a moment -- her mention of the Sinkers makes her think of Grazz, and that brings back a memory from the day before.

Carefully not looking at Gy-Nath as she says this, the psion muses: "Speaking of these 'Awakeners,' I vaguely recall someone yesterday referring to a group of them -- on Pandemonium, I think it was. A pity that we know of no one who might have previously encountered this 'Awakener Creed' or cult or whatever these ghaik might be. Such a person might have valuable, even vital, insight to contribute."

Ya'shenn listens closely to the story Gy-Nath relates. You have had much contact with the Embassy, yet you speak of Telas-Niah as an ally. You cast your net widely, captain.

After digesting what he'd said, she replies, "I am not entirely sure what to make of this news, captain, but I thank you for it." She might want to wish Telas-Niah well, but she is not willing or ready to speak glowingly of that infamous one in such politically mixed company.

The psion spends several minutes working on the array. After a while, she says to the group, "I think we are safe enough leaving the array here for now. It is not sending anything out -- hence why it required a pair of ghaik to tend it. The main danger it poses is the moral one of being an illithid-wrought device." So says the Qualith expert and psi-dominator -- who is currently carrying illithid weaponry with the intent to use it. "It sounds as though most of those here are in favor of keeping it intact, but I feel obligated to caution you all that a device such as this is designed from start to finish for evil use. I suppose the aura it generates is useful, though."

"It looks as though these crystals are cycled every two weeks. I would guess that we encountered those two Tamers around the middle of that cycle. If we are very lucky, this may mean those two ghaik will not be missed for several days."

“If we are settled for now on the array and have no other immediate concerns to address, I suggest we wrap up and prepare to head out. We have already one team on the move and with the ghaiks expecting our company shortly, I would rather not disappoint.”

"Understood. I am not rich, but I'll not be miserly, either." Very rarely does a healer among the Githyanki ever starve.

Ya'shenn arranges the various memory crystals and assorted array components into some kind of order, before turning her attention to Du'minh. "Do you still have the blades we acquired last night, brother? I believe at least one of them may be psionically imbued, and I'd like to make sure of that."

[Psicraft check on the shortsword and two scimitars. The roll doesn't include possible bonuses for synergy with Knowledge: Psionics or abilities related to the telepathy discipline.]

Edit: Ugh...

[That does sound like a good idea...]

[ooc- would knowledge (Psionics) help? If Ya’shenn doesn't know anything then Ar'dru'll have a go. If she's so wrong that she thinks she's right he would probably just trust her judgement]

roll below just in case

[edit: I guess Illithid tech isn't Ar'dru's speciality either]

ooc: i am ready to 'rock', i don't need stopping except illithid lives

When Gy-Nath is about to set of, Ii'Jyka'Vaar will walk with him where he goes (as no clear definition was given where she would go with whom, only that she was to dimensiondoor in when the attack was to commence)

(ooc: i lost the plot a little)