Chapter 2: Down the Future Path (To the Past)

Alistair placed a careful hand on his chin, thinking pensively as he looked and gauged the room and its contents.
"Yes. This should work out nicely. We could potentially make something here that could benefit us all greatly."

Skivven wrote: A small creature rounds the corner into view and pauses to speak with the guard. "Skivven needs these two, supposed to take em to the lab. Also Skivven want cells cleaned." He states before turning to peer into your cell. "You two follow Skivven now, not sure why you wanted in labs but long as you not try to run Skivven not shoot you." He pauses looking with a slight frown at the cells third occupant. "Big lizard stays here for now, not ordered to get him Skivven thinks."

Liana Shadowstalker wrote:


A young Drow woman looks up from her work and adjusts her spectacles when she sees the Kaiser and Cecilia enter. Her eyes widen when she notices that Cecilia is human.

"Ah, Kaiser, this must be the woman you told me about. I'm quite surprised, though...a human? Here in the city? That is truly an unusual sight!"

Liana returns to her work, moving quickly and efficiently about the lab. She is clearly someone who has spent a great deal of time working with alchemist's tools.

"You must tell me more about yourself! I am very interested to hear why and how a human has come here!"

[For what it's worth, 14+18-2 = 30 Disguise]

Drow Guard wrote:
"Hey, boss, uh, do y'haf'ta leave me all alone here with that thing? What if it eats through the bars?"

The guard is still clearly disturbed by the dinosaur.

Kaiser Trenton wrote:

Trenton smiles.

"Yes, this is Cecilia. Cecilia, this is Diana, one of our most astute alchemists. If you have any questions, I'm sure she'd be more than happy to help you out."

Trenton walks up to Diana and tinkers with a few chemicals. Very quietly to Diana, he says:

"Among those that Skivven is bringing is a Fetchling. I need you to bring him to the hidden chamber behind the experiment pods. We have a more important use for him than the rest, so please take him alive, quietly, and most importantly, without the others seeing you."

35 Stealth!

Trenton drinks his concoction and heads for the door.

"I will be back to speak with you all about your progress soon. Please do not disappoint me."

With that, Trenton is gone.

Cecilia Phron wrote:Cecilia takes a moment to look over "Diana", trying to decide what she makes of her.
[Perception: 16+14 = 30. In the event that this wins, Bluff: 12+16 = 28 to hide the fact that she noticed anything.]

As Trenton speaks, Cecilia strains to hear what he says.
[Perception: 2+9 = 11... Dunno why I bothered]

After Trenton leaves, Cecilia turns to address "Diana".

"...Diana, was it? We arrived accidentally and are in a rush to ensure our return. Give me any notes the Drow have regarding the seal. I will research those to find a solution, while Alistair uses his expertise to find another way." Turning back to Alistair: "Does this plan meet with your approval, alchemist?"

Drow Guard wrote:
The guard sees the look on Skivven's face and relents.

"Okay, okay...I'll keep an eye on it."

He unlocks the cell.

Saul wrote:

Saul puts his hand on his dinosaur, and pets it. "Now now, Boshi. You be a good boy and stay in the cell, alright? Don't give them any trouble."

Saul turns to Skivven. "Lead the way, good sir."

Skivven wrote: Skivven frowns at the guard as he waits for the cell to be relocked. "Feed lizard and clean cells, we talk later about finding you less scary job if needed." He grumbles at guard before turning to Saul. "In front of Skivven please, will tell way as we go." He says with a smile as he checks the chamber of his gun. "Precaution. Where you get big lizard anyway?"He asks while pointing the direction out.

Saul wrote:

"I got him from this oasis which is supposedly beyond time...it is also how me and my group ended up in this place to begin with."

Drow Guard wrote:
The guard locks the cell after the two step out.

"Oasis? Beyond time? Sounds like somebody's gotten into some Drow Poison lately..."

Liana Shadowstalker wrote:


"Diana" continues her work, pouring liquid from one vial to another. She swirls the mixture around a bit, examining it closely. She mutters to herself:

"Hrm, I think...yes! That's it! Excellent."

Seemingly satisfied, she finally turns her attention back to Cecilia.

"I'm afraid we don't have any notes on the seal, or at least I'm not privy to any information on it. You probably know more about it than I do."

Cecilia Phron wrote:Cecilia sneers, clearly annoyed.

"...Nothing at all. Wonderful." She sighs and looks around at the equipment in the room, taking a casual glance and the strange liquid 'Diana' was mixing.

"Just going to have to start from scratch, I suppose. Unless the Kaiser would like to have someone a bit more knowledgeable assist, of course." She quickly turns back to 'Diana.'

"Well, Diana, I hope you can at least make yourself useful. I doubt Trenton will be especially patient with regards to our progress. Even if he is, however, I am not. If you cannot be useful, then stay back while I find the solution myself. I'd rather work alone than have someone incompetent 'helping'."

With nothing else to add, Cecilia begins making use of whatever materials are in the room to come up with some solution to the problem of the seal. While she works, she keeps 'Diana' within her line-of-sight, periodically looking to see what she is doing.

Liana Shadowstalker wrote:


"Diana" jots some notes down in a nearby notebook, being careful to hide her growing annoyance. She then returns to the mixture, adding new ingredients and taking more notes as necessary. She smirks as she works, clearly pleased with the results of her seemingly chaotic work.

"I assure you, Ms. Cecilia, I am here because I am the best at what I do. The Kaiser is...rather picky about his help, after all. I have been working in this laboratory for years, so if you need to know where something is, by all means let me know. Am I correct in assuming you have no information on the seal?"

Cecilia Phron wrote:Cecilia quirks her eyebrow, smiling slightly. Without looking up:

"If you're asking if I've sat down and researched it before, then no, I have not... Not at great length, anyway. However, I've already gathered quite a bit of intel. I know that the seal is directly connected to the so-called 'Oasis Beyond Time.' I know that the oasis itself was easily accessible. I know that the seal can simply be bypassed. And, most importantly, I know these things because I have personally experienced them. That, Diana..." Cecilia glares straight at the lab assistant. "...Is why the Kaiser believes I can do this. And that is why you would do well not to doubt me again."

Cecilia looks back to her research. After a brief pause, she adds: "...And what, out of curiosity, is it that you do, exactly? Don't tell me the Drow alchemists need someone to tell them where their own ingredients are located."

Liana Shadowstalker wrote:


"What do I do? Oh, mostly research projects for the government. Right now I'm working on testing the potency of various combinations of chemicals to see which of these will be most effective medicine."

"Diana" forces a smile, her patience wearing thin. She continues to work as she talks, not bothering to look at Cecilia.

"But honestly, enough about my work. It's the sort of thing a non-alchemist such as yourself would neither know nor care about. I am curious what your plans are for the seal, and how you think this laboratory will help. It doesn't seem like you could find what you need in an alchemist's lab."

Cecilia Phron wrote:Again speaking without otherwise acknowledging "Diana's" presence:

"Hmph. My plans are simple. I want to return to Amroth and, if the alliance with Trenton works out, bring the Drow with me. As for the lab, the resources here are useful enough. That said..." Cecilia sighs, slightly annoyed. "I do not understand why your Kaiser believes the alchemy lab is the best place to find a solution, but I will make do with what I have."

Storyteller wrote:
After browsing through texts during her banter with "Diana", Cecilia finds that many of these texts refer to a powerful artifact. Some are rather vague in their descriptions of it, but after reading through enough, she realizes that all the important texts are talking about something she's already seen before: the Philosopher's Stone. She is able to discern that a Philosopher's Stone can have many effects, depending on who created it, how powerful its creator was, and other factors. Unfortunately, she is unable to discover what the other factors are, because the book detailing the creation of a Philosopher's Stone is damaged! It is missing more than half of its pages!

Cecilia Phron wrote:As Cecilia reads through the text, her eyes widen in rage.

"Dammit, DAMMIT! Where's the rest!?" She angrily (and, futilely) flips through the book, trying to find the missing pieces. In one motion, she gets up and throws the book at 'Diana.' "Find the rest of this book! And learn to take better care of your research notes!"

Storyteller wrote:
Cecilia throws the book at Diana, but it slips out of her hand and falls harmlessly to the floor next to her.

Liana Shadowstalker wrote:


"Diana" tries to stay in character as she witnesses Cecilia's embarassing display, but seeing someone she hates fail so hilariously brings some of true Liana out. She walks over and picks up the book.

"And I assume you meant to do that? Honestly...they don't usually allow petulant children into alchemy laboratories."

She begins idly flipping through the book.

"I'm afraid this covers material that is outside my normal research projects. Finding the missing pages will likely be difficult, if they are even still in the lab."

Cecilia Phron wrote:Cecilia is... livid, to say the least. Her eye twitches, and she's practically shaking with rage.

"Was pretending to be a Drow taking too much of your brain matter that you couldn't bother pretending to be useful?! Search the lab for the rest of the texts, or find someone capable of more than shallow platitudes! I- AUGH!" Cecilia pounds the table with her fists, which would sting if she wasn't running on so much adrenaline from the anger. She takes a breath to collect herself, but she only manages to lower her voice and adjust her goggles. Her body tensed with hands on the table, she narrows her eyes at 'Diana' underneath her hat.

"I am transported to this city against my will, and then enlisted to bring the Drow back to Amroth." Cecilia's voice slowly rises as she continues. "While I am working towards that end, you offer only useless 'aid' while occupying yourself across the room. When I am successful, there is still the matter of the war Trenton intends to start. Of course, this isn't even taking into account the entirety of dragon-kind out to kill me, a lich who went to great lengths to undermine my group's previous efforts, an unknown enemy who has been trying to kill me from the start, and a queen who will no doubt side against me out of some misguided sense of 'honor', despite the fact that this same code should be binding her to me. Oh! And there's the matter of my teacher, whose goals I can't even tell, but probably involve my demise! And the worst thing is that, despite how much I want to, I can't even kill you right now because I'm trying to forge an alliance with Trenton! And where in the bloody hells is my damn pet, Rickets?!" Cecilia glares at Diana for only a moment before she falls back into her seat with a sigh.

"Damn it all... It has not been a good month. Just... just search the damn room or... something." After resting her forehead on her fingers, Cecilia looks around the room for anything that might be related to the missing pages of the book.

Liana Shadowstalker wrote:


Liana feels somewhat uneasy with Cecilia's glare at her back, but she shakes the feeling off. She continues working, not even bothering to look back at the aggravated human.

"I understand that you've had some rough times, but there's no reason to take it out on a laboratory assistant. I mean honestly, 'pretending to be a drow'? I don't even know what you're going on about now."

"Diana" sets a beaker on a burner, leaving the mixture to heat for a while. She finally turns to look at Cecilia, walking over to grab the book and again flip through it. Soon, she sighs and says:

"I have very little to do with the stocking and upkeep of the research materials here, outside of my own notes. I can help you look, but I doubt we'll find your missing pages. We'll need to talk to the Kaiser and the other researchers to get a better lead. In the meantime, it would probably be a better idea to look through the other texts to find whatever it is you are looking for."

Storyteller wrote:
Cecilia is quite certain that Liana isn't a normal Drow, but she's not sure what to make of her. She most certainly must be a lab assistant, however. Why else would she be in the alchemists' laboratory, mixing chemicals?

Cecilia and Skivven, though in separate areas, both suddenly hear the same telepathic message.

"It is time. The fetchling should be subdued and captured and brought through the trapdoor in front of the alchemists' laboratory, Liana. Skivven, he is about to experience an irresistable urge to be elsewhere. See that you let him wander off without his companion growing suspicious. Expect that he will head for the east lavatory."

Will wrote:
Will suddenly stops.

"Excuse me, mister...Skivven, was it? Could you point me in the direction of the nearest restroom?"

Cecilia Phron wrote:Cecilia tilts her head at 'Diana' with an annoyed look.

"Do not insult my intelligence, Diana. I can tell that you are no Drow. ...For what it's worth, however, I don't entirely give a damn. Now, give me back the book and make a cursory check of the room, just in case the rest of the text is here. The pages are torn, as though they were stolen, so... you're right. They probably won't be here. However, I will not use that as an excuse to be careless." She waits expectantly for 'Diana' to give her back the book