milliways_bar | (no subject)

OOC: Is this closed?

[ooc: no, still open]

There is a being clearly from another world at the Bar's counter. Everything about him implies 'alien', from his long white hair, to the medieval-ish armor he is wearing to the black skin, red eyes and pointy ears.

And his choice of drink, which seems to be a luminous (glowing!) slightly greenish white liquid in a glass goblet.

He seems to be staring owlishly at a human anatomy textbook. A medical textbook.

The publishing year date on the textbook in question is 2005. Looks like he too, is making use of Milliways' advantages.

Howard tries not to stare.

But it can't be helped. The creature is really strange. The first true alien Howard's seen, in fact. He knew it was possible. But never believed it till now.

"Er, hello."

Oh. Hey!

The armored alien puts down his textbook,closes it and turns to face Howard. The glowing drink is carefully moved out of the way.

"Greetings." he nods to him, seemingly friendly enough. "My name is Zaknafein. Is there something you wished to ask?"

(Because, he doesn't say, you are looking at me like I have two heads. Or something like that.)

His voice is melodious, and his English has a clear accent to it, making it clear this isn't his first language.

"No. Just noticing you. I don't think I know your species." He tries to sound like alien meetings are a daily thing for him. It might not be working.

Oh.

Zak thinks he has an inkling now.

"My 'species' is called 'drow' by those who have met us before." Zak says mildly, paying careful attention to this human's reactions. "If it helps. I come from a cavernous realm called the Underdark. Most of my species are not of a... friendly.. disposition. Fortunately for everyone concerned, the Bar has better taste in guests."

A moment's pause.

"How recently have you discovered the Bar? I can assure you there are many other races represented here as well, you may meet the others depending on the day you find your way here."

"I'm here three years, give or take." Like a two year gap in the middle. "I guess I never came here at the right moment." He surely would have noticed someone like the drow. "And I can't say I know your race or your, er, realm. What planet is that on?"

"Fair enough, the doors are unpredictable." Zak agrees. "As far as I know,the people of my world don't have what you might call 'spaceflight'.

Transportation to other worlds is generally done by portal; similar to the Bar's doors." Zak says, thinking things over and dredging his memory for more information.

"Abeir Toril is the name of the planet, I believe, and it has a yellow sun. The Underdark is on the continent called Faerun, though I do not know its location relative to the Bar. Or other worlds."

Like, say, Earth.

"You might have better luck with some of the others who come here, if you are looking for names of planets that you can recognize. Perhaps Zhaan's home is closer?"

Or if you haven't met any aliens at all.. Maybe he should describe her so he knows what to look for?

"She's blue, very interesting skin patterning, is a healer. Very kind and calm."

And is Zak's teacher.

"Blue."

Pause.

"I would remember that.

"And I guess asking the name of your homeworld was probably a fool's errand. I suppose I was hoping you were from Mars. That's the planet next out from Earth. We haven't ruled out hope of life there yet." Though he hears it's not likely.

"If it matters, we don't have spaceflight yet, either. Though we will. Soon." He bets it will happen by 1960.

"Hm. I've not heard of any 'Mars' as far as I remember, but I have no doubts your Earth will have no trouble gaining spaceflight soon." Zak agrees. "Much sooner than my own world."

Mostly because Gond, the so-called deity of craft and smithwork apparently controls the technological progress of Faerun and to be frank, he's being incredibly obstructive.

Zak has dealt with smokepowder more than once in his long life; he's not fond of it. Or of gnomes. Or illithids.

He shrugs. "I am quite glad to have moved to the Bar on a... semi-permanent basis, hopefully; I have no intention of returning to my previous home."

Because people are out for his hide, back 'home'.

"The Bar also has several visitors who are shades of green in color, if it helps? The family I have met so far from that species are quite friendly and technologically inclined."

Howard makes a mental note to be a lot more observant.

"And how do you pass the time here?"

"I have some friends who allow me to borrow their doors; by which I mean, once they extend their permission, I go with them when they return to their homes." Zak says mildly.

"When they do, I bring things to trade from one world to another. Sometimes I accept commissions to hunt certain creatures they do not want to remain in their territories; if the creatures are venomous, part of my payment is in the venom I collect in order to make either poisons or antidotes. When in the Bar proper, I am trying to learn how to heal others and perhaps make things out of herbs on the side, hence my current reading material."

(OOC: And if you want a six legged/limbed animal carcass for dissection and for evidence that such alien worlds exist, Zak probably has one or two which he can hand you.Somewhere in that bag of his. It won't be large, though.)

"Ah. So you are a hunter and a doctor? Interesting combination." This creature? It's going to take Howard a little time to get used to it...him.

Well, technically, he's a former assassin and war-leader.

And some of the things he kills still happen to be people; like he did when he followed Rhoslyn Underhill and she insisted on taking her friends Overhill, and well, the Wild Hunt can be quite useful to take down certain two-legged predators.

Especially since Zak has no weakness towards iron; which makes him a good vanguard for running down an armed or armored human.

But to be considered a hunter and doctor are nice.

"Trader, I qualify for, but I am not ready to be a doctor yet. The book makes it quite clear that I have a long way to go before I gain such a distinction. It is a worthwhile goal, though."

"Human doctors, in my day, train for years. About 20, including elementary education." He has no idea how doctors were trained before there was med school. History is not his strong suit.

"This 'elementary education', at what age does it start?" Zak asked.

He's trying to figure out if it's the same as drow indoctrination, which lasts until the Academy and starts as soon as a child can recognize words.

If it does, then it means that humans are fully trained healers by the time that a talented young drow warrior in training would have reached fourth year in the Academy,since indoctrination at home lasts until the 16th year before leaving for further schooling, that is, if they leave at all.

"My kind tend to spend their first 16 years in their home, being trained by their Houses or I think a better term for human understanding would be, to call them clans... before they are sent off for further training in the Academy. But they only qualify for the Academy if they are deemed worthy of it because of talent or bloodline.

Those who have more... specialized professions in mind arrive at the Academy later than those who are to be fighters."

Because there is intensive book learning in addition to the standard indoctrination and self defense/fighting classes.

"Most children start school at age six. And it's in the school for the most part. There is a rather general course of education in most places for 12 years. Then college - I guess that would be like your academy - is where things become more specific. That's four years for most. And after that, if you want a higher education as a lawyer or scientist or doctor, more school.

"I stopped after college, though I could have gone further." Caltech though he would make a great PhD candidate.

Ah.

"I studied in Melee-Magthere; the fighter's school, until I gained honors and a position in the House I served in. One of the other schools, Arach-Tinilith, teaches only females and is heavily religious-based, and the third school, Sorcere, requires all of the students who enter it to have the innate ability to set fire to other people. With their minds."

A moment's pause. "Whereas, what I could do is this. Only larger."

He conjures a small globe of impenetrable darkness around his glowing drink, which vanishes within it until he cancels the darkness spell.

"Well, that and making something glow in a specific color. Fairly good for targeting, not so much in terms of actual damage."

"Wow.

"That's...some sort of magic? Or a mental power?" Is there a difference?

"Does that have any battlefield application?"

"Hm. For battlefield applications, I can enlarge the globe to blind creatures and use it for other stealth applications and the glow ability allows me to find my opponents whenever they're hiding behind something.

As for the fire-casters who enter Sorcere, once they enter it, they progress to blizzards, lightning, other elemental effects and the production of acid or worse before they leave.

Essentially multiple area or targeted effects which may or may not require complicated preparations at least a day before triggering in rapid succession. They tend to be ranked from first level upwards, depending on how many abilities they may use in a day.

As for it being magic or mental powers; the closest I can come to describe it in human terms is apparently taking energy either produced by the caster from what they eat, or inherent in the caster's surroundings or bound into an item of some sort, and reshaping it to produce a specified effect.

Bear in mind, where I come from, _we_ call it magic, but then this is based on the fact our technological level is fairly...craftsmanship based? And we do not normally do mass production so you have many... specialists? Each with their chosen field of manipulation of the energy in question, each discovering a specific way of using it.

And most of these do not share their knowledge unless they get paid exorbitantly high in ah... creature parts or valuable metals and minerals or gems.

You may probably come up with different terms for the usage of such energies if or when your people discover your own methods of how to harness it."

Howard is enthralled. He has no idea how it works. But if it exists, it can be replicated and then produced. An army with stealth capability, or the ability to control the elements, would be unstoppable. Which might make sure applications dangerous since inevitably, everyone would have such weapons.

But that doesn't stop him from considering the possibilities.

"The only energy weapons we have are flamethrowers and atomic bombs. And the latter is a lot harder to focus and control."

Zak is somewhat pleased that Howard finds his explanation useful though he makes a note not to mention anything like the Abyssal planes or otherworldly summoning. It would be a ticking time bomb.

Zak shrugs slightly. "I am afraid I know nothing of this atomic bomb you speak of. But all power I know of tends to be hard to focus and control; hence the tendency to have specializations among the people on my world, mostly because there is a fairly high chance of an energy user getting him or herself killed and the surrounding area wrecked spectacularly if they fail at any of the complex and necessary preparations for the energy harnessing."

He's seen flamethrowers before. And firebombs. And smoke bombs of a rough and ah... uncertain sort.

"Those 'flamethrowers' that exist where I come from have a fairly high chance of being a hazard to their wielders where I come from, so I would guess your people's skills with producing such machines needing noxious fluids are higher than ours."

Also, anything with such chemicals are mostly made by Gondish gnomes.

"For us, at least, it is generally easier to bribe an energy user to use their ability to bind the energies into trigger activated patterns using forms of symbology, lettering and inlaid metals; though I do not have much skill with such creations, myself. I may use them, but I cannot make any or understand how they were made."

A slight shrug. "There have been mentions of conductivity in the materials used for the creation of energy weapons or armor, but as I said; I am only a fighter and I was eager to finish my term of study in tandem with an actual student from Sorcere.

I did not pay much attention to my assigned partner's attempts to educate me on the finer points of such things when I could avoid doing so."

Howard chooses not to educate the being about the A-bomb. He doubts anyone from such a pre-technological world would be able to understand it. Or cope with it.

"It sounds like you spent a lot of your life thinking about such things. I guess I have as well, though from the point of view of a manufacturer of war materials. Among other things."

"In my case, I was a regular user of such war materials as were available to us, for my House's purposes." Zak says. "So I was required to at least have a rudimentary understanding of such things and what to do to make sure they could not be used as they were intended if they were pointed at us, of course. And the range of the resulting collateral damage, so we might avoid traps involving such items."

He'd rather not say what he was trained for, exactly. Indoctrination is a pain in the ass, and so is the fact he'd had to use his weapons on what may have been innocents, or caused the death of innocents by killing their protectors on his House's rise to power.

All things he'd rather not think about.

He'd also rather not let slip that he's been learning quite a bit more in terms of magic than he's actually let on. Being classified as a warrior and only a warrior is useful, when full mages tend to underestimate warriors.

It comes with the occasional pyromania and ego trips, one might think.

"Most of our soldiers knew enough about their guns and tanks to use them, but if you asked a typical grunt just how guns work, he would have no idea. Unless he was one of those people who could field strip and assemble a rifle in two minutes." Those soldiers always seemed a bit too intense for Howard.

"Ah, then I suppose you could call me whatever rank was required to teach all the young recruits of the House's private army and make them ready for battle." Zak smiles wryly, amused despite himself by the term 'grunts'. "I am uncertain if this is considered being a 'grunt' or not, but it was a fairly coveted position."

"Then you were a drill sergeant. The grunts were the bottom rung. The drill sergeant trained them, like it or not." Captain Rogers used to talk about one such sterling example of humanity.

"Good enough term I suppose."
Zak won't mention that the weaponsmaster rank is actually minor drow nobility.

"Mostly, we drow fighters were involved with inter-house fighting due to politics. And when it wasn't politics, it was the brain-eating tentacled bipeds of the territory nearby."

Illithids. Zak hates illithids. And politics.

"Or whatever abysmal creature thought it would be a good idea to attack the city borders."

A moment's pause.

"At least the giant crabs were tasty."

Brain eating...

"Seriously?"

Howard is not sure what to make of that.

"Yes, seriously. Ugly too." And connected to each other mentally with skills in psionics. "Remember, I _did_ mention that the Underdark is full of ambient energies. That leads to creatures within it adapting to take advantage of the energy in their own ways, most of which leads to a multitude of predatory species of exceeding size and ah... strange dietary needs in several cases. The tentacled bipeds are intelligent enough to make war on us and on other intelligent species in the same cavern-realms, and they eat brains specifically because sentients' brains contain whatever it is that allow them to use their own inherent racial capabilities.

In short, the Underdark's energies foster the gaining of both intelligence and predation as attributes in varying quantities. Hence my tendency to hunt for certain creatures because in some cases those creature parts may be reduced to sludge and rendered down for... well, whatever compound it is that allow their particular abilities to be harnessed."

"I don't think I want to know how all that evolved. I think it would give the biologists back home fits to even try to understand it." Since he's not that sort of thinker, he's trying to just let it go.

It's not quite happening.

This is what happens when you're too intelligent and curious for your own good. You get all sorts of ideas.

"The only reason I know these things is because I make a profit out of it." Zak agrees.

"How so? You work as a mercenary?"

"Somewhat, for people who I have met in the Bar after I ... left my previous position in the Underdark. I prefer to know the objectives of those who I am working for, this time around." Zak agrees.

"One of my clients is a woman from a world with a green sky, a copper moon and a greenish yellow sun, for one. She looks human enough, but I noticed that the nonsentient creatures native to her world all have 6 limbs. Mostly I trade items brought from other places.

Another client is a woman with pointed ears and pale skin from another realm which uses energy harnessing, as well. Every so often the jobs I undertake for one or the other may include hunting down creatures, which as I said, have parts which may be rendered down and used for components."

Which is fairly true; there are escaped creatures Underhill which are vulnerable to iron, which may feed on magic and which have to be taken down with extreme prejudice.

Given the Unseelighe tendency to create such creatures for their own purposes, there's not going to be a shortage of that kind of job.

"Sounds you lead a very full, interesting, and strange life. Which I know wouldn't be for me." Mad pilot skills or not, Howard didn't enlist for a reason.

"It does fit all of those descriptors." Zak agreed. "My somewhat short stay at the Bar so far has been a great improvement over the past 400 years before my... retirement. This place is full of interesting people."

Drow who don't get themselves killed early can live to absurdly long ages, like say Matron Baenre, _rumored_ to be close to two thousand years of age, if not older.

Given that Zak's currently in a cloned body, it's probably safe to assume he has a very long life left to live, and he intends to enjoy it. If he's lucky, perhaps Drizzt or Jarlaxle may eventually make it to the Bar as well.

"400...you don't look a day over 100." This might be the oddest chat he's had in a long time.

OOC: My apologies, my brain decided to fail me while I was trying to think of a fadeout post for this. Still have no idea what to say, Sorry. D:

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