Through the Living Heir

As you begins to pass out, you see the seagrass. You know you should not eat them; the thought screams in your mind. The sand around them, too, is noticeably inedible.

Nick's hood snaps up, just in case. Through the speakers, he says, "What's wrong?"

Cole panics for a second, then he processes the information. He walks out of the crowd, questioning his sanity. He'd been spared?

"I'll give OWEN authority to drop ballast or fire the thrusters." @Ancient Elantrian

The wings configure themselves into a stretcher. They're very light - in fact, without the ballast, they would float away.

Alvar stays close to the wagons; once they get out into the countryside he'll widen his patrols. He's already sweating under the sun, and realizes he hasn't eaten lunch yet. Hopefully there will be rations in the wagons, or food to forage for.

"Good." "Ok. I'll replenish the xenosuit bandage supply; those can make new blood for him." SIMON comes up with the same advice. "You guys could use a stretcher; my wings might work." Nick takes off the wings; they're stuffed with hydrogen and should make him easier to carry, and the struts parallel a stretcher.

Nick looks alarmed. "Why did I give away my blood loss inhibitor. The suit hasn't grown enough to keep him conscious, but it should be able to keep him alive." Indeed, both of you should have had the suits grow to about your elbow since Nick gave them to you. "Tenth! You can teleport back if you need help, right?"

“I come from a world where ‘magic’ is not real. We have some technology that is effectively magic to most of the worlds I’ve seen so far, but it operates on consistent principles that ‘magic’ things seem to violate. Thus, I’m calling the items that facilitate the magic powers ‘exotic matter’ which is a common term for something theoretical that violates the laws of physics as we know them.” “I have no idea whatsoever, but the chanting is ominous enough that I think we’ll find out.” “Interesting. My job is literally to take strange things found on other planets and use them in devices. If your powers follow consistent rules, I might be able to help.” Nick considers whispering the next sentence, but realizes it won’t do any good. “Meryyn, who is from the world of the people teleporting us, but is trying to stop it, managed to put our next stop at some sort of safe house. It will contain things to help us, potentially including that device.”

Nick jumps. “Teleportation!? Hmmm. Maybe we can boost that somehow. Did you get that power technologically, like a normal person, or is it more exotic matter shenanigans?” He also looks around. @The Stormfather Edit: Nick looks around, trying to figure out where the sound is coming from (I know it’s towards the moon). “That is disconcerting.”

Cole tries to avoid visible panic; the Earl would probably jump on that and execute him. But that man - he was lethally charred, but he was still alive. And he looked like a sailor who’d died in that fire; one whose name Cole never knew. He hadn’t protected them! He’d failed to put the fire out. So he was doomed. And/or insane. “Who are you?” @SpiritOfWrath

Cole stood in the crowd. Why had he even been brought here? He was just a carpenter! His village didn’t really need him, though. Maybe if someone with a family was chosen, he could step up.

Nick shakes Tenth's hand, his xenosuit glove cool to the touch, with some sort of waffling over a non-Newtonian fluid. It doesn't stretch the imagination much to imagine it's bulletproof. "I wish the situation wasn't so dire, but it is truly nice to meet you."

Nick listens to Meryyn. The hideout and its supplies should be invaluable, although Nick hoped for some exotic matter as well; it seemed that other worlds had energy generation that dwarfed that of the IISC. The armies, though, sounded worrying. They likely had weapons that could pierce a xenosuit; it wasn't actually all that difficult, if you knew what to do. Hopefully Meryyn's father hadn't done his research. @TwinSouls Nick gestures for the two newcomers to calm down. "This is going to sound crazy, but you've been pulled from your world by that king guy, who somehow has access to godlike powers. My name is Nick, and I've been being shunted through dimensions with these four for a couple days now. Unfortunately, unless we can somehow beat the king, we're stuck in the rotation. There isn't really anything I can do about that right now, but I think we have a chance."

“Uh oh.” Nick quickly hands the biofabric scrap to a random soldier. “This will stop people from dying of blood loss if you rub it on their wound. It will last around a day. Use it on both sides. Farewe-“ Nick disappears.

Nick considers examining them, but decides it would be irreverent. He simply walks away, planning to meet up with the others.

Behind the hood, Nick appears mournful. “Very well.” Not truly knowing the commander’s beliefs, he decides to simply nod and stand solemnly.

Nick put his hood back up; being seen as responsible for their commander’s death after he surrendered could start the fighting again. “Use it anyway. The salve helps you survive without air. Maybe I can get the blood out of your lungs. Somehow.”

“I am a man, like you. But I come from a place very far away. A place where many people are - I do not know the word. People who think up ways to make things better. Yes, inventor. Many people where I come from are inventors. We invented ways to make plants grow however we want. We make them grow incredibly fast, and as strong as steel. We travel in ships that sail through the sky, and go to distant lands with strange people, and strange creatures. And as we go, we find more plants that we can use, and people with ideas we can improve.” Nick decides to take a risk and remove his hood. He should be fast enough to block any projectiles that would threaten his brain, at least those these people had access to. “I am here by accident, and I want to keep everyone here alive, before I have to leave again. A man from another land sent me here; he has even more inventions than I do, and can somehow send people through space in an instant. But that does not matter. I can grow a plant that will act as a healing salve - it will prevent from dying of blood loss.” Nick gives the commander a piece of biofabric, which, true to his word, will encourage blood clotting while compensating for the lack of blood.

Veer finishes his meal, not really knowing what time it is. Apparently Mead Bush had left while he was absorbed in the dragonpedia. Veer absently scratches his shoulder, and gets up. He wanders the halls in search of someone or something interesting.

Just going to note that “necro-ing” (reviving old topics) is against forum policy. I’m not sure where to find the list - @Treamayne should have it - but you should read that and post an introduction in the introduction post section. Welcome to the Shard!

Nick walks over and helps the commander up. “I am mortal, though my armor is as high above yours as yours would be above a man fighting with fallen branches. I lack the influence to dictate terms of surrender, but I will grant - I lack the word. It removes wounds, protects from harm from it. - if your people leave. If you are aiming to gain food, I can attempt to grow it for you.”

Nick stops fighting. “Do you surrender?” he calls out, SIMON having gathered enough context to allow him to speak the language of the commander. “Those I have struck down will live. I lack the words to explain why.”

Hi! I’m bored right now, so I’ve finally gotten around to posting this thread. (It’s been months since I first thought of it.) I want to see what creative uses for soulstamps everyone can come up with, because it is the most concrete yet open ended magic system we have. If your scenario requires the magic to work a certain way, note the assumptions you’re making before you give the idea. If you can come up with a different trick that would do something similar if the assumption isn’t true, even better. 1. How to turn lead into gold. (No assumptions made) Although people appear confident that turning lead into gold is impossible, I disagree. My method requires two bars of gold, but makes three. First, you need a lead bar and two gold bars. Flip a coin to decide which bar of gold to mess with. Take your selected bar, and remove most of the gold, replacing it with lead. Keep that gold for yourself. Next, create a soulstamp, stating that you’d chosen the other bar to counterfeit. Apply it to the counterfeit bar, and cover the stamp with more gold. Sell both it and the gold you’d stolen, potentially using the money to repeat the trick. Alternatively, if you work at some sort of treasury, pocket the stolen gold and leave your fake bars. 2. Compact packing (no assumptions that I can think of.) Roll dice to assign the order you pack things into a small, cylindrical container. Among your things, include a wooden disc the minimum size required for a soulstamp. Create soulstamps that say the wooden disc was rolled instead, and use them to turn all of your items to small wooden discs. Remove the soulstamp when you want them back. I’m excited to see what everyone else comes up with.

Alvar finally manages to get the horses to start moving, and stays close to the wagon as it begins to move. “Maybe the person on the roof should direct the wagon…” @J. Magi @TheRavenHasLanded @SpiritOfWrath @TwinSouls @Spark of Hope