Starborn Oddessey (Mastergryph and Whitebrand)

[MasterGryph]

"Well, my first thought was finding food and making a stockpile of it in an accessible place," she said, "That would give a bit more leeway in exploration. When I found Habitat Sector A, that seemed perfect as a place to look. Then I realized that I wasn't at the top of the food chain, so I took some time to gather weapons first." She shifted her bundle of sticks in her grip, "They're not much, but having them handy will help any successors."

The dimly-lit hallway had several branching pathways and other doors set into the walls. Celia led Brand through the most well-lit path, ignoring most of the alternatives for now. Some of the doors looked like they were jammed shut, and a side hallway was lit by dangerous-looking sparks coming out of a torn wall.

Eventually they made it to a section that was lit in softer blue and white. Brand caught a glimpse of what looked like a kind of bedroom down a side path - with the beds being made in openings in the walls before she pulled him into a room built for something else.

Pods built out of metal and glass large enough to fit a person leaned against the walls, and a strange boxy opening was built into a wall. A few pieces of paper had fallen on the floor, and Celia set the sticks she'd gathered in a corner of the room.

"Well, here's where I woke up."

[Whitebrand]

Brand knelt and examined the papers for himself...and wondered what had been used to write them for a brief moment before getting to the messages. Who knew...maybe he’d spot something she’d missed somehow.

“Are there any others like you?” Brand asked as he read.

As weapons her sticks weren’t bad...but some of them might need a bit of reshaping. Maybe he’d tend to that next...

[MasterGryph]

The paper and ink seemed of low quality, but the lettering style was the same as he'd seen on Celia's tablet.

Cecie Una,

Something is broken or disconnected. Information about the surrounding area is currently unavailable. It is unlikely that you will be able to repair what is wrong, but finding it out might be helpful in the meantime. It may be dangerous.

All intelligent beings have wills and can choose their own way. As such, I cannot stop you should you choose to ignore this set of directions. However, investigating as I ask is the most likely of your options to improve the situation in the long term.

Corna Dos,

Power reserves are minimal. Information about the surrounding area is unavailable. It is confirmed that there is something dangerous outside, but there is no food in this safe area.

Chances of survival are low. However, there may be something productive you can accomplish in the time that you have. By gathering information and mapping out the area outside my influence, the chance of survival increases for you and others.

All intelligent beings have wills and can choose their own way. As such, I cannot stop you should you choose to ignore this set of directions. However, investigating as I ask is the most likely of your options to improve the situation in the long term.

"I... haven't seen anyone else," Celia said, nervousness showing, "I expect that they were eaten by something in the habitat area... or opened a different door and ran into something else."

[Whitebrand]

“Well you have me now,” Brand said. “They didn’t. The first one was to try to find something broken. The second to map a location. You were told to gather unspecified resources. Someone’s building up to something.”

Brand stood up and walked over to the pile of sticks and picked one out. He swung it a couple of times, subtly reshaping and solidifying it with his magic. Once he was satisfied he handed the weapon to the girl.

“All right, Miss,” he said. “You seem to have an idea what to expect here. What would you like to find next?”

[MasterGryph]

"That's one way to look at it. I think the original goal's been sidetracked," Celia mumbled.

"I'd seen some fruit trees in my earlier search. I put off trying to harvest from them, but it's an obvious priority-" The tablet emitted a strange chime, so the woman cut herself off to see what was up with it. "...It looks like there's a message for you now."

She showed him the display:

Brand,

Please place your hand on the back wall of the synthesizer - The square opening on the starboard wall.

[Whitebrand]

Brand stared at the message for a moment. Obviously he was being watched. He looked around at the walls and ceiling.

“You have the advantage of me, wizard,” Brand said defiantly. “And I’m not doing any such thing unless you come out and talk to me! I don’t trust someone whose face I can’t see!”

They knew who and what he was. Not good.

[MasterGryph]

The tablet produced a few negative buzzes and beeps, before new words appeared.

Inapplicable.

The device you see is currently my primary method of communication.
Creating it was a far greater expenditure of resources than the paper notes used previously.
Inside are specialized sensors, transmitters and receivers. This also allows it to function as my eyes and ears in the physical world.

"Uh, Brand, this thing was lying inside the 'synthesizer' when I woke up," Celia pointed out, "It has been useful, in it's way," so don't break it.

[Whitebrand]

Interesting...

“What is the purpose of putting my hand on this panel of yours?” He wanted to know. “What are your intentions?”

In his adventurer says he’d gotten stung a few times by such lures...one of his companions had called it “shmuck bait”. He knew enough to be cautious.

[MasterGryph]

It will allow me to take an infinitesimal sample of blood, and add to my library of species.

Most of the information in my records has been lost or damaged. While dragons were never a part of my purview to begin with, having a reptilian sample to serve as a comparison may assist in repairing the records of a few species. Similarly, comparison with a being from Outside may help find recent changes in usable profiles.

It may even allow the creation of something new.

Should you continue to refuse, I of course have no ability or desire to coerce you.

[Whitebrand]

“Reptilian? I am a dra-gon. I don’t do that tongue thing

He glared down at the tablet. He had a bit of an advantage here.

“And what do I gain from giving up some of my blood?” Brand asked. “How much do you want it?”

Maybe he could wrangle some answers out of this wizard.

[MasterGryph]

There was a pause.

A joke?

"I think so?" Celia couldn't help responding.

No one is laughing.

"Apparently."

Calculating.

Perhaps it was not funny?

"I wouldn't say that. I'm just not in a mood for it," Celia remarked. She hadn't been through much that would raise her spirits.

After another pause, more messages appeared.

Brand,
It would take days to make something to repay you with.
In the meantime, you could be granted an honorary but official leadership position in the investigation and repair campaign. Your Tactical skill is potentially more valuable to the restoration effort than your blood.

As always, your choices are your own.

[Whitebrand]

Brand walked over to the panel on the wall. He didn’t see a blade or needle at all. More magic at work? He stared at it for a moment before finally placing his palm on it. His hand could have easily cupped a volleyball.

“Like this?” He said, spreading his fingers until his hand covered the entire panel.

[MasterGryph]

The opening was a bit over a foot deep, foot and a half tall, and 2 feet wide. This was a strange time and place for the dragon to test the odder uses of his shapeshifting.

As Brand placed his hand on the inside back wall, it would feel softer than he expected. He would feel a tiny pinprick as something on the other side poked through, but that was all.

A chime came from the tablet.

Thank you, Chief Brand.

Your assistance is appreciated.
Comparison with recorded data is currently in progress.

"I guess that's it for now," Celia said when nothing else seemed to be forthcoming, "I mentioned something about gathering fruit earlier?"

[Whitebrand]

“Let me handle that,” Brand said chivalrously. “You’ve had a bad enough time already. Rest and I’ll bring back some fruit or roots or something. And if something attacks me, maybe meat. Just...teach me how to open those doors.”

This last sentence was spoken with a certain amount of embarrassment.

[MasterGryph]

"Slide them to the side, but not so much that they can't be closed again," she answered, giving a demonstration on the door to the starting room.

"You should probably take this," she offered the tablet, "It won't do much good staying around here."

[Whitebrand]

Brand took the tablet and tucked it into his tunic.

“All right,” he said. “Sit tight.”

Brand headed back out to the forested area. The hallway still unnerved him a bit, though he was getting used to it. At least it was unlikely that something would be bursting through the walls. It didn’t take long for him to reach the forest. Once there he breathed a small sigh of relief. The forest was odd but at least it was more familiar. He tagged the entrance with a magical rune so he could find it easily.

He set out into the forest, searching for a fruit tree.

[MasterGryph]

With his experience in wilderness survival, he recognized the first wild apple tree he saw, about half an hour into his search. Unfortunately, a person-sized snake was resting at the foot of the tree, which extended venomous fangs as it saw him...

[Whitebrand]

“Relax, big guy,” Brand said, approaching slowly. “I just want the fruit. You aren’t hungry, and I don’t mean to hurt you, so how about we compromise a bit?”

He looked around for a rock to throw. Most snakes could be coaxed to move on when they realized that he could hit them without them being able to get him. It would probably take several throws, depending on how stubborn the thing was.

[MasterGryph]

There weren't a lot of rocks around, strangely enough. He did find quite a few sticks which might work.

The snake wasn't capable of conversing, but if it were, Brand might get a response like "Who says I'm not hungry?" as it slithered quickly towards him and tried to sink it's fangs into him.

[Whitebrand]

Brand yanked his arm back and grabbed at the back of the snake’s head.

“Sorry, big guy,” Brand said as he wrenched the snake’s neck 360 degrees. “Someone here is hungrier than you.”

Leaving the limp body where it lay, he looked up at the tree. He ran a hand through his fingers as he contemplated it.

“Okay,” he said. “Maybe a little coaxing.”

Brand put his hand to the tree and let the magic flow, encouraging the already existing fruit to grow and ripen noticeably faster and nudge the tree into producing more. After about a minute he set about picking down an armful. That done he picked up the snake and put it over a shoulder.

“Mission accomplished,” he said as he retraced his steps.