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Post by zipp on Mar 20, 2009 2:02:18 GMT
And the world held their breath for Naseir's input...
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Post by Dirac Sil on Mar 20, 2009 6:30:13 GMT
"At the moment, none can be said to definitely truth-tellers or liars. It is important we remember the exact wording. The 'bard' said the knight and princess would help. Ansd that the archer could ot help aways lying. And thts the light was flase, and the ruing water was where to head. "
"For te sake of argument, let us say the knight is true. Then he said the bard always partially got things wrong. Hence, we know that both the knight and princess canot be true, but nether can they both be false. To keep consistence, let us say the knight speaks true, the princess false. and the archer must not fully lie, but neither can he fully tell the truth.
"So Aram, in that circumstances the exact wording of the archer is important. Did he really say the bard and knight always tell the truth? That the princess always lies? If so, the only way he can tell a half truth there is if the princess is true, which contradicts the true knight, or if they all both lie and tell the truth, which leaves us in unhelpful shifting sands! All his statements cannot be lies, but they all cannot be true. If we take the knight as true for the sake of argument just now, can we keep consistent information?
"Perhaps he was mistaken, it is not whom we can trust, but whom we cannot - we can build a patchwork of unreliable information, and find one choice has not been contradicted?"
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Post by zipp on Mar 20, 2009 8:02:54 GMT
Hopefully Naseir will post sometime soon. I'm going to try and beat RE5 and then I'm going to bed. If Naseir hasn't posted by the time I wake up, I'll go ahead and post his piece of the puzzle for him. This is a situation where I don't think it would benefit him much to keep his piece hidden.
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Post by zipp on Mar 20, 2009 22:18:51 GMT
Hm, well, Naseir has had more than enough time to post. Where is our newbie Vassagonian?
Naseir had been listening to the others, now he finally spoke up.
"One of us always tells the truth, while another has spoken naught but lies since the womb. The other two mix truth and lie in a single story as it serves them. Only the liar knows the way out. That's what I was told by a young maiden, presumably this princess that you speak of."
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Sir Aram
Hardened Gamer
Is Mr. Handy
Posts: 350
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Post by Sir Aram on Mar 21, 2009 4:30:20 GMT
"I am certain that the archer claimed that the knight and the bard always speak the truth," Aram says to Meldorac. "His exact words were: 'I come to tell you how to leave this place! The trick is knowing who to trust. The bard and the knight always tell the truth, if you can find them. The princess lies, she always has. Don't listen to her.'
"You may be right the trick is knowing who not to trust. If we can figure out who always lies, and if that person told us not to go in a certain direction, then that is the way we must head. We have all the pieces, so now we must put them together. Let us start with what we know so far. The archer does not always speak the truth, but we do not yet know whether he always lies.
"The princess has not accused any of the others directly, but the bard said she always tells the truth and the knight and the archer said she always lies. Meldorac said we can trust the princess, though I am not sure why he thinks so. If the princess always tells the truth, then we should have enough clues to decide which way to go.
"Assuming the princess speaks true, we know that one of the other three is the liar and the remaining two sometimes tell the truth and sometimes lie. The bard said that the princess always tells the truth, so he does not always lie. And the knight said that the bard sometimes tells the truth and sometimes lies, so he does not always lie either. This leaves the archer as the liar. He told us not to go toward the sound of battle, which means that is the way we must head and my first instinct was correct - if the princess can be trusted. If everything she says is true, then everything the archer says can be shown to be false."
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Post by Dirac Sil on Mar 21, 2009 7:23:06 GMT
Meldorac looks around the darkness nervously, obviously his numbness from earlier wears off as the nature and potential danger of the puzzle starts to become apparent. Darkness that apparently welcomed him once and gave him hope now increasingly becoming fearsome and terrible again.
"What?" he says, looking in confusion at Aram and trying to focus on the words. "Yes the princess...I, I seem to have been given flavours you others have not because of my first experience - seen the same people again." Meldorac then has a realisation. "My words on the princess do not help us. As I told you - she has a twin that means us harm. Without her name, I cannot tell you if Naesir's princess is false or true!" Meldorac seems to have a further realisation. "Infact, if Sherri were here, she could tell us if 'Thahn' was telling the whole truth, partial truth, or lies too. That must be why she - and Gregor - are kept back from us still! Nothing I first encountered or was told will help until this puzzle is solved! Gah, clever and fiendish!"
Meldorac rallies. "For some reason, my gut agrees that because we have all initially had doubt to distrust the princess's part in the riddle, that we should see if she can be believed. Also, as Aram, I feel it correct that being steered to the greatest apparently danger in the sound of battle is the way to escape this nightmare. Perhaps it is dangerous, to look for logic to back up this hunch, but I do feel this the correct path - let us ensure there is no hole in that logic before we steer towards the sound of battle."
"For my part, the bard's exact words were something like, 'the knight and the princess will both steer you right. Do not listen to the archer, he couldn't tell the truth to save his life,' and , 'if you do want to leave, you have to go towards the sound of running water,' and 'do not go towards the light'. "
Meldorac then slaps his head. "And tellingly, he even said 'Beware of what my friends tell you - they will all tell you to go a different way. ' That is true, so he cannot fully lie! So far, the logic of your supposition if supported Aram. I vote to go towards the sound of battle. And, as we have proven, if the princess in Naesir's vision is the princess that came to me before, then she can be trusted, for she always speaks the truth."
Meldorac gives a small rueful smirk. "So either the bard was not Thahn, or Thahn is no bard!"
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Post by Brother Owain on Mar 21, 2009 7:56:17 GMT
"My thinking agrees with your own," says Owain. "I was contemplating the tapestry we saw before being transported here. It showed a knight who won a great battle against evil, but was then exposed as a Drakkar and executed. This contradiction, I think, is a hint that the knight was not entirely truthful. Of the three pieces of information he gave us, Aram's logic agrees with two of those but disregards the third - that the light is the direction towards which we should go. "As you both have already voted, I will make it three. Towards battle it is. After you, Meldorac," adds the priest, with the merest hint of a mocking smile.
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Post by Dirac Sil on Mar 21, 2009 8:13:58 GMT
Meldorac's eyes narrow, but he returns the comment in good humour. "I have not the faith of you, brother," returns Meldorac, "I will guard our rear. After all, I have been in the darkness once before, I think I will be able to spot if something changes behind us better than the rest of you."
Meldorac falls in to step at the back, hand on his dagger - for all the potential good it may well do.
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Post by zipp on Mar 21, 2009 10:11:34 GMT
The four headed towards the sound of battle, Naseir saying nothing but obviously deferring to the others as he followed without complaint.
None of the companions were quite sure when exactly it happened, but suddenly they were no longer in the darkness but instead staring out across a vast, scarred, and broken battle plain. They had arrived at the end of a massive conflict. Here and there the forces were still engaged: one side was made up of human warriors, the other of squat monsters with thick scaly hides. They looked like a sort've pre-cursor to Gourgaz, not near as tall, and even less human-looking.
The companions themselves were on a high ridge: the battle plain took up their entire vision.
Owain, check board momentarily
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Post by Dirac Sil on Mar 21, 2009 19:26:34 GMT
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Post by zipp on Mar 21, 2009 20:00:43 GMT
I count 20's and 1's as two successes or failures, respectively. In this it all evens out to a big ol' nothing.
If the armies carried any banners, they now lay trampled and blood-stained on the battlefield under the fight of the few that were still standing.
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Sir Aram
Hardened Gamer
Is Mr. Handy
Posts: 350
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Post by Sir Aram on Mar 21, 2009 20:55:43 GMT
"It is possible that we are looking at some battle of a bygone age," says Sir Aram as he also surveys the battlefield, "yet it must have relevance to the present. I doubt a Drakkarim commander would risk the wrath of his fell masters by acting on his own without at least their tacit approval. It is far more likely that the army is here on behalf of one Darklord or another. With Zagarna destroyed, the other Darklords will no doubt be jockeying for position. They may believe that the prize they can obtain from plundering Oasis will give them an advantage in their power struggle. I can tell little from here. Naseir, do you know the history of Oasis well? Was there a battle fought there in the past that would match what we see here?" SKILL roll (2 dice) examining the battlefield to try to identify the historical battle and the parties involved. (1d20=4, 1d20=8)
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Post by Dirac Sil on Mar 21, 2009 21:01:04 GMT
Well Aram, between us and our wonderful skill rolls, I think we can tell that a battle is happening...and that's about it. Perhaps if we pool our numbers we can even spot the direction!
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Post by zipp on Mar 21, 2009 21:31:30 GMT
I don't know... between your and Aram's rolls, I'm beginning to wonder if you think there's a battle going on at all! Maybe you're really at a tea party. On the subject of tea parties, is Nasier's over yet? Where is that man?
Aram could tell as little about the scene as Meldorac. Neither the creatures nor the humans meant anything to him. He'd never even SEEN the creatures before. It was like the whole scene was out of someone's fancy or fantasy. Just where were they?
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Post by zipp on Mar 23, 2009 17:38:49 GMT
Suddenly, two fighters appeared on the ridge. It was a knight chasing down one of the monstrous creatures. The two ignored the four men watching them, intent on their own struggle. The monster, looking like a mostly hairless gorilla with scales and a tail, reached the edge of the ridge and froze. Ahead lay only the abyss, the open drop leading to the battle plain far below. With a cry of triumph, the knight reached the creature and engaged it. Though larger, the monster's skill was no match for the man's, and in a couple strokes, the beast lay dead.
His opponent slain, the knight turned... and saw the companions. But before they could call out to him, a roar announced the arrival of two more monsters. With a battle cry of his own, the knight rushed them, but luck had run its course. The monsters dodged his charge and one, wielding a spiked ball and chain, got a vicious blow on the knight's sword arm. With a scream, his arm broke, and his weapon dropped. The other monster, seeing an opening, attacked with fists covered in metal spikes. It's blow was so powerful that it punctured the knight's armour. Blood flowed through his visor. He turned and tried to make a stand, but with no weapon there wasn't much he could do. The monsters leapt on him and tore his armour from him piece by piece until it lay strewn over the ground... with many of his body parts still inside.
The squat beasts seemed unsatisfied by the ease of their kill. They sniffed the air... and then turned to the companions, hissing. Not a second later, they had charged.
Meldorac and Aram were the only two to react. Nasier stood frozen, still gazing into the distance and looking not quite all there. The colour was completely drained from his face, and his mouth hung open. Owain... was nowhere to be seen.
Alright, you are in combat, and this could be a nasty one. Your enemies are these two:
Monster w/spiked fists (13 threat) 10/10 +3 damage, rolls 5 dice Monster w/ball and chain (10 threat) 10/10 +2 damage, rolls 4 dice
This round, Spikey is attacking Aram, and Cheney is attacking Meldorac. Owain can't participate... at least not in the usual way. And Naseir I'm giving a couple rounds to join in. If I haven't heard from him by then, his character will phase out of the game until he has more free time to post.
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