A'kin smiles, then chuckles slightly.
"Nice. But I'm afraid you're far too young on the planes to get yourself into the midst of a rivalry of fiends... even if one of them is a friendly fiend. You're good, Tigerfury, but you're not what people call a real blood yet."
"Which is why you put on a ring you knew nothing about." Ian says.
"Rule number one: when in doubt assume something is magical. If something is magical, assume that it can be dangerous. If you didn't make it yourself, or get it from a very reliable person, assume it can be dangerous to YOU. Thats how you stay alive."
Ian hands A'kin the 1500 from Blackthornes, and 2000 from his own pocket. "This should pay for the scroll of invisibility sphere I was interested in. By the way, A'kin, do you recognize anything magical from the rest of the Illithids stuff? After that, I think we can go."
OOC: We already have the fireproof suits and the Crown in our possession, correct?
[OOC: You have the seven-folded crown of mental control, the powder of normality, the suits, the scrolls and I think that was it... or have I forgotten anything?]
A'kin stares at the illithid's items for a short moment, then nods. "The gemstones... they are ioun stones, but not of the common types. You'll need an identification spell to find out more."
OOC: That was it, everything else had posts that described the transition of ownership, I just could remember if we said we had those or not.
Ian looks thoughtful. "Okay then. Sorry to have troubled you." He turns toward the party. "Lets go. Anything else we need we'll have to get elsewhere, but I think we're set anyway."
"Goodbye A'kin, and the best of luck." He says as he walks toward the door.
"Farewell, my friends."
A'kin bows deeply, looking at every member of the group.
"You have a dire travel before you. I wish you all the best, and that you may accomplish your tasks at hand as quickly as possible."
As he speaks those last words, he looks directly into Ian's eyes.
OOC: Dont forget my boots, and Im guessing we are shipping off now.
*Ophelia gets up from where she was hiding just in time for A'kin to bow to her, and she bows back and nods. Then walks out the door following Ian*
-Ophelia
OOC: Uh, blackthornes? You already have the boots.
He takes another look around the group. "Anything else?"
OOC: oh, crap....EDIT!
Ohalian nods at Ian's little lecture.
"So, in other words, be paranoid about everything. Okay then..."
Packing the remaining things, the group leaves the shop, walking back onto the streets.
The green rain still falls from the dark clouds in the center of Sigil's ring. The streets are dark, the clouds above turning into green mist in the streets, thick enough to cover everything more than six feet away.
Just in front of the group, a giant glabrezu looks down on the adventurers. "Leave my path, mortals", he growls angrily.
Ian steps out of the way, bows his head slightly, and extends his arm in the direction the fiend is walking, hand open, in the universal sign of 'go right ahead.'
The glabrezu gives Ian a hateful look, then grabs his extended arm and rips it out. Blood spills all over the street, and while Ian screams in pain, the tanar'ri pushes his fist into Ian's breast, ripping out his heart.
He throws the still-beating heart into his mouth, munching it, while Ian falls on the ground, realizing he is still alive, and will not die, despite the pain...
... Ian snaps out of the vision as the glabrezu passes him, entering A'kin's shop.
Ian suppresses an urge to shiver, and continues on his way.
Someday, I'll have a helmet that keeps everyone and everything out of my head except me. I dont care If I have to kill several small towns to pay for it, I'll have it.
((OOC: Back! It was raining the entire time, so i left early 
))
The Illumian pipes up while they walk, still looking over the patch, "I'll be able to see what kinds of magic we have on us once we're able to rest. I don't keep spells like that to the forefront of my mind."
Naruk snaps his fingers, letting out a few curses.
"With all that fighting in there, we totally forgot about spell keys. Do we have some jink left for that?"
"Well, I think Ophelia and I have pretty much used up our equipment cash. Blackthornes should have a little left, and the Masked Gnoll has at least 5000 left."
"Wait, I have an idea."
"Charrd said he had to use spells to get to our objective when he went there, right? He probably has spell keys, or knows where to get them. I've never had to use them before. Naruk, how important are they?"
Well, Ian thinks, Now that we have that under control, where is my favorite imaginary friend? You were saying something about power, in between saying I have a hidden fear that even I don't know about, right?
„That’s a good idea,“ Naruk replies. “As for their importance… it’s about as dangerous as cutting your own throat to cast spells in Baator without a spell key. You might survive, but in most cases, you don’t. Well… that’s maybe pushed a bit too far, but you get the idea.”
That you prefer not to know... like a child who prefers to cover under its blanket rather than looking for monsters under its bed.
I'm not sure that analogy works since there are no monsters under the bed, so the fear is baseless. But I'll play along. Assuming I have a hidden fear, whats the point of this conversation? You wouldn't be talking to me unless you wanted something.
And if this is about our frozen friend from the lower planes, I'm sure I could help you If you just told me what you wanted.
OOC: About what time of day is it?
[OOC: I'm not sure if we've ever said something about the time of day during this thread. Anyone remembers? If not, I'd just say it's (in "earthly" measures) between 4 P.M. and 5 P.M.]
I already did, the voice replies. I did, but your ears are deaf, just as your eyes are dull, unable to see the monsters, unable to feel the fear... yet still being torn apart by it.
A few seconds pass before the voice continues.
There is only one kind of creatures not afraid of monsters. Do you know which one?
Mr. Smith? I'm off, the guys from...
Duke Charper's voice ends abruptly. Only a few seconds later, Ohalian hears a new voice, a male voice, hard and commanding. From all he knows, it sounds like some military guy.
Hello Mr. Smith, this is Vern Gritham, security chief. I'm afraid we're having some trouble with Mr. Charper, your previous contact. He wasn't following orders, thinking he got a better overview than the team leaders. I'll be your contact for the next time. Are you ready for installing the visual cyber plugin software?
Something seems to knock on Blackthornes' mind, something hidden deep within him... a voice, a voice he can feel, but not yet hear...
What kind of creature? The monster itself. And I'll admit, I was somewhat distracted before. If you did say what you wanted, I don't recall. If you could repeat it, this will go much faster. Maybe its just me, but this conversation really doesn't seem to be going anywhere.
OOC: Diplomacy vs the voice: roll: 11 + 16 mod = 27
The voice comes out as clear as never before.
Are you ever really afraid of something?
There was... once. I was young. Very young and... my mother disappered. I couldn't find her. Those first few weeks, before I really learned how to live on Sigil's streets, I was afraid. Afraid that I'd be eaten by some fiend and no one would notice, or that I wouldn't be able to take care of myself and I'd die. But that was before I was taken in by the Light Boys, and I learned to take care of myself after that.
I haven't been truely scared since then, and after I started killing people for a living, I stopped worring about what would happen to my soul when I died. No sense kidding yourself. But I can't say Ive been scared for a long time. Startled, yes. Confused, almost daily. But never anything I could call fear, except for that one time I got hit with that Panic inducing spell. Boy, I enjoyed killing that guy.
So you became the monster instead of being the monsters' victim...
I guess thats a way of looking at it. However, while I killed, even with that bastard with the panic spell, I never let them suffer. It was always over as quickly as I could manage. In all liklyhood, thats just me trying to make it so I can live with myself. But I would prefer to think of it as a merciful death, all things considered. After all, I wouldn't be killing them unless someone wanted them dead, someone who could have hired one of the really sadistic ones. I try to give them a painless way out. Thats how I want to go, when my time comes. As if it matters, once I hit the other side the fun and games end.
And so you still end up as the monster's victim...
And, as the victim, will eventually either be eaten or slowly begin to progress through the ranks of the fiends, eventually becoming a monster again. Wonderful cycle, aint it?
So, enough about me, lets talk about you. I'm mean, here we are going on and on about me and I don't even know your name. Thats just damn impolite of me. Care to share it, friend?
*Blackthornes seems surprised for no appearant reason, and then shakes the feeling off like a cold chill.*
"So guys, are we headed to charrd or are we to look somewhere else for the spell key thing?"
I find the lack of the sound of a struggle rather disconcerting, but I don't care much about your office politics unless I stand to profit as a result of them, or be harmed by them. Unless that is the case, feel free to go ahead with the vision link. I expect it to be able to be deactivated by me at will, however, for the reasons I have stated before.
Also, I believe that certain beings may have gained knowledge of our world from my mind. I don't know what they intend to with that knowledge, but they were working with a member of a species that I beleive is known for its tendency for enslaving others. If I can get more information, I'll relay it to you, but in the mean time, I'd recommend making covert preparations for a potential invasion. I say covert, because if the invasion doesn't materialize, you'll stand to lose PR.
The voice in Ian's mind chuckles, but somehow this sounds sad.
Why do you cut the topic so quick? Are you afraid, young boy?
For a moment, Blackthornes thought the weird feeling was gone, but just a second later, it is there again. A pulsating feeling in his brain, an unspoken sound, knocking on his mind like a heartbeat...
Sure, Vern Gritham replies. Can you stop walking for a few seconds, so we can do the installation process? It's more secure for yourself when you just stand then.
Young boy? Okay, I guess depending on what you are, my age may be insignificant, but I am an adult. But I digress, since we had already reached the point of my death in the conversation, I thought we had reached the end of that topic. But if you want to continue it, go ahead. But before that, can I at least know your name? Otherwise all I'll be able to call you is 'nameless voice'. Not exactly friendly terms there.
Bestow a name upon me, the voice says. That will be my name for all.
As for our conversation... I realize you are not yet capable of listening to me. You hear the words, but not their meaning. You have to learn, or you will perish. Say... what do you think of Blackthornes?
"Well, we also need to get those treveling logs from Charrds friend there. I say that we grab the stuff from him, check in with Charrd and see if he has any Spell keys, and if not we can grab some before dinner. Any objections?"
"Unless..." he turns toward Loreveil. "Do you have anything yo need to get from home before you leave?"
Listen... or perish? Hmmm. Is this one of those things where you impart knowledge that, if I can figure it out, one day saves my life? Or will you actually kill me If I dont get the message.
Blackthornes? I can't say I expect alot from the fellow. He seems like he knew his stuff on whatever prime he came from. Except this is the planes, and I honestly don't think that he'll survive long enough to figure out the differance. Maybe Ophelia will take care of him, I don't know. But I figure in a worst case scenario, I can use him as a shield. It's not like he seems to have any other skills besides making a general pain of himself. He was still trying to diplomacize with that Illithid when it was clearly trying to kill us! Illithids where he comes from must have eaten way too many idiots for their own good if thats what he's used to.
Any reason why you asked?
I will not kill you, the voice answers. I want you to stay alive. But I am not yet sure what you want.
So... Blackthornes is no more than a living shield to you. I wonder how you would have felt as a little boy if the Light Boys would have spoken about you like that.
Despite the words, there is no accusation in what the voice says.
I would have been upset at the time, but it would have been a perfectly valid idea. Besides, theres a reason they keep younger kids in the light boys, they cant run as fast.
Now that was your answer... but what would the boy that you were have answered?
Considering my age at the time? I probably would have bawled my eyes out. There is a pause. So, if your in my head, is this strictly a communication thing? Or can you actually make use of some of my senses too? If so, we'll probably have something to eat when we get back to Charrds, so what are your preferances?"
Ohalian stops walking for a moment.
Okay... but I want to know how you knew I was walking.
The surrounding sound, Gritham explains. Our sound engineers can even tell at what speed you're going.
If you want to survive, Ian, find that young boy again. As for what I perceive... I will not tell you yet. But know so much that I have transcended the idea of preferences, a long, long time ago.
You know, maybe its just me, but I don't see alot of survival value in , emotionally, becoming a small child. Back then, I wouldn't have fought even and Imp to save my life, I would have done what ever child does: run as fast as I can and scream for help all the way. It's pretty safe to say I don't have that option where I'm going.
And, I have to admit, I'm feeling like I might be getting the short end of the stick here. Now, I've answered your questions as honestly as I can, may I at least ask you a few questions of my own? Nothing about your powers or defenses, that is something no one I know would divulge, but at least what you are. As you can understand, I have to be at least a little paranoid until I know enough about you that I am reasonably sure of what, if not who, you are.
I am a spirit spark of an ancient being, a tiny aspect of something greater. I have been in a light slumber for many years now, but now I have been awakened, and I am here - among other things - to protect you.
I have no name because my greater self hasn't given me a name, and I myself do not know the name of my greater self. That is why you may bestow a name upon me.
More I cannot tell you about me yet. But about you, I can tell that you know nothing of a child's power yet.
Observe Blackthornes. He might become your personal saviour, the one teaching you what you have lost yourself.
Ian pauses and considers what the voice has said. Very well then, I will observe Blackthornes.
If you are in need of a name, then, are you opposed to the name Lomax? And...
Are you the being that Charrd brought back from Baator in that orb? If, so, I might be able to help you get out if thats what you want.
Lomax is perfectly fine. So, I am Lomax now.
The orb should not be your center of attention yet. Something else comes before... but you will see that in Baator.
When observing Blackthornes, look out for the child within him.
So... you know the place we are going in Baator? Is there anything you would reccomend brining, as far as equipment goes?
I'm standing in the middle of a busy city street. There's no way you could distinguish my footfalls from those of everybody else. Try again.
As he sends out the message, he pulls up a log of the connections that were made to his legs. If they'd sent a half decent noderunner in, he'd of erased the relevant entries, but it'll show anyone who is logged on currently. If noone's on now, he'll write up a little script that alerts him whenever anyone (even him) connects to it by anything other than the direct neural interface that lets him control it as a part of his body.
[OOC: In order to do that, you'd need at least a minute or so of staying where you are. I see it right that Ohalian has stopped moving?]
Don't underestimate our sound engineers, Mr. Smith. We can part out any single sound in a twenty-feet-area, and still a good bunch beyond that area. The sound engineers can filter the signals so that nothing but your individual footsteps are heard, or the wind blowing into your ear, or whatever else we decide for.
You're better off trusting us, Mr. Smith. We're your only connection to your home world.
As he looks up the log files, he doesn't see any suspicious log entries.
"Okay..."
He'll then reach down, pick it up, and put it in one of the pouches in his harness.
"Hooray for hot goods... wait, isn't there another one of your species here that you're rivals with who runs a criminal network? I think that if it can be traced, we might be able to do each other a mutual favor here... if you know what I mean."