These messages are the accumulation of the messages that were sent out on 
the Blue Room email list between May 1995 and June 2000.  A large portion 
of the information is directly from Professor M.A.R Barker. When the list 
members joined during the time the list was active, they agreed to refrain 
from sharing this data with non list members.  When the list ended, it was 
urged that the data be made available to non-list Tekumel fans, and it 
seemed like a good idea all around.

I only ask that if you download these digests, or have received them in 
some other way, please respect the agreements the list members made, and 
refrain from passing them around and instead point people to the Tekumel 
web site, www.tekumel.com so that they can download them for themselves, 
and see all the other material available on the Tekumel.com web site.

Many Thanks.
Chris Davis
Moderator:  Blue Room mailing list 

Creative Commons - Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 
CC BY-NC-ND

BLUE ROOM ARCHIVE -- VOLUME 34  [29 May 1999 - 24 July 1999]

991: More Proper Titles
992: More Humor?
993: Ghostly Sakbe Road
994: Miscellaneous Questions
995: Temple of Ksarul Hierarchy
996: Chatting with Chiteng
997: Thursday Night Session 11/19/98
998: Ssu Hypnotism Response
999: Identification on Tekumel
1000:Planar Physics
1001:Report of Machine Intelligences
1002:Chatting with Chiteng Response
1003:Beginning Character Feedback
1004:Another Request for Character Feedback
1005:The Hirilakte Arenas
1006:Notification Message
1007:More on Identification
1008:Chatting with Chiteng Reply
1009:Beginning Character Feedback Reply
1010:Another Character Feedback Reply
1011:Hirilakte Arenas Reply
1012:Identification Reply
1013:Another Character Feedback Response
1014:Thursday Night Group Summary
1015:Thursday Night Group Summary Continued
1016:More Character Feedback
1017:Thumis Legion
1018:Company of the Crystal Sword
1019:Nighted Tower Clan
1020:Legion of Serqu

*******************************

//991

[Moderator's Note:  Professor Barker replies to George Hammonds question about]
[                   Titles and Honorifics.  Leonard Erickson also chimes in.  ]

I think you would find it actually *less* clumsy to learn just those
Tsolyani pronouns (p. 17 of vol. 1 of the "Tsolyani Grammar") that you
need. Use those. Your comrades will quickly catch on. I know this is "extra
language learnng," but it adds verisimilitude.

[Moderator's Note:  George Hammond comments some more on the thread about ]
>[                   the proper use of titles.                             ]
>
>--snip--
>
>>The use of the term "lord" has been a sore point with me for years. For a
>>while almost all of my players were addressing each other as "Lord This"
>>and "Lady That." The custom stems from D-n-D, which is set in a mediaeval
>>world, or perhaps from SCA (the Society for Creative Anachronisms). These
>>titles have thus been engraved in most gamers' memories. I tried to
>>discourage it because it does not suit Tekumel. A stranger who is visibly
>>of high-clan, high-lineage, wealthy, learned, etc. is addressed either with
>>the pronouns given on  p. 17 of vol. 1 of the "Tsolyani Grammar," or else
>>as "Horokoi" ("honourable male person") while a woman is spoken to/of as
>>"Hororakoi." Those of you familiar with Tsolyani grammar will know that the
>>"-koi" is omitted after prepositions and in certain other constructions,
>>and in colloquial Tsolyani, thus, one hears "Horo" and "Hora."
>
>
>I've been wondering about this as well.  I am playing a tirrikamu of
>temple guards in James Maliszewski's Plain of Towers game
>(http://www.addr.com/~rpghost/tekumel/index.html for the curious), and as
>one of low folk on the social totem pole, my character has lots of
>proprieties to keep in mind. To avoid too many "my lord"s, I've been using
>"your excellency" or "your eminence" for superiors generally, "your
>sagacity" for specific scholar-priests, and "noble sorceror" or "noble
>priest" as appropriate.
>
>I've thought about direct translations of the Tsolyani, e.g.:  "your
>perfect piety (piousness?)", "your victoriousness", "your divine
>reverence", but some of these seem rather clumsy ("your spirit
>seekership"?), and some are difficult to convert (the "you of profound
>submission" for instance).
>
>I'd appreciate any other suggestions.

As above: learn the shorter Tsolyani forms themselves! You do not need any
non-English pronouns, of course, if you  don't try for maximum
verisimilitude and reality. You can always just use "you" and say that the
honorifics and fancy language is just "understood."

Regards,
Phil

--
Leonard writes...

>I've thought about direct translations of the Tsolyani, e.g.:  "your
>perfect piety (piousness?)", "your victoriousness", "your divine
>reverence", but some of these seem rather clumsy ("your spirit
>seekership"?), and some are difficult to convert (the "you of profound
>submission" for instance).

Well, I have to admit that "Your submissiveness" might convey the wrong
idea. :-)

But before deciding that things are too clumsy consider the *actual*
titles of various European monarchs as recently as Napoloenic times. 

"His Most Christian Majesty"
"His Most Catholic Majesty"
"His Brittanic Majesty"

-- 
Leonard Erickson (aka Shadow)
 shadow@krypton.rain.com        <--preferred
leonard@qiclab.scn.rain.com     <--last resort
-----
Chris Davis      Moderator, The Blue Room        blueroom@prin.edu
The Blue Room's FTP site:  http://nexus.prin.edu or  ftp://nexus.prin.edu
Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable.

//992

[Moderator's Note:  Bob Dushay offers up a bit of humor.                    ]

The glorious God-Emperor, master of the world, lord of the Petal Throne, of
the Golden Tower of Avanthar and all the lands of Tsolyanu, slurped his
Chumetl as he read the morning report from the Chancellory of Purple Robes.

In a hidden corner of the room, the chorus chanted the paean of praise to
the God-Emperor, sung uninterrupted in Avanthar for over two millennia. 
"The God-Emperor is drinking his Chumetl, and the Gods are gladdened; the
weight of state sits upon his brow as he considers the Empire...." Mirusiya
had learned in his months as Emperor to stop paying attention to the chorus
that followed his every activity.  Studying the report from the Chancellory
more carefully, he pondered the latest problems of the Empire.  The priests
of Sarku, Lord of the Undead, requested the return of certain artifacts
"borrowed" by his brother Dhich'une, last occupant of the Petal Throne and
High Adept of the Temple of Sarku.  Should he confiscate them for the good
of the Empire, or buy some momentary loyalty from the worm-kissers by
returning them?  The Empire might be safer with some of the artifacts out
of the Temple and under Imperial control.  He crooked a finger, and one of
his attendants, a Servitor of Silence, deaf-mute since birth, approached
and prostrated himself.  The singers chanted, "The God-Emperor, glory
surrounding him, summons a servant."  Mirusiya, cursing his inexperience
with the subtle finger-signs used to communicate with his servants,
signaled, "Prepare a message of refusal to the Temple of Sarku.  Place all
of the requested items into a secure storage room, and ask the Temple of
Ksarul for a savant to study their secrets."  As the servant signaled
acquiescence, the Emperor heard a discordant note from the paean of praise,
and he paused.  Could he have possibly heard what he thought he heard?  The
Servitor of Silence could not possibly confirm his suspicion--had the
chorus really sung "The God-Emperor has made a mistake?"  Impossible.  Such
a treasonous action would result in the most terrible punishments the
Empire could devise.  Still, perhaps he had been hasty; it might be poor
strategy to sustain enmity.  Mirusiya signaled again: "Wait.  Tell the
Temple of Sarku we will return the artifacts, but be sure a savant of the
Temple of Ksarul has a day to examine them."  He cocked a careful ear, but
the chorus only sang, "the omniscient God-Emperor has made a ruling of
state."

The next item on the Emperor's report was a request from the Governor of
Purdimal for imperial funds to repair the local Sakbe road.  The Sakbe
roads must certainly be maintained, but the Governor had been sent to the
pestilential city as a punishment for his greed and incompetence.  Opening
the imperial treasury could lead to more embezzlement: it might be better
to force the governor to pay with his own funds.  He chose a compromise and
signaled the Servitor, "Tell the Governor of Purdimal that the Imperium
will supply half of the cost to repair the road, and he must raise money
for the other half."  He felt pleased with the decision, only to realize
the chorus had hiccupped again: had they really sung, "The God-Emperor has
turned a deaf ear to a repentant servant?"  The impudence!  But he couldn't
be certain that it was really what he heard, and the Governor had been
prudent with Imperial funds for the last year or so.  Perhaps another
ally's loyalty could be cemented.  The Emperor thoughtfully signed the
Servitor with new instructions.

...

Some time later, Chancellor Migor hiSsanmira conversed with Lord Trivalsh
hiMorudu.
"The Emperor seems to be under some strain lately.  He is hestitant with
all of his decisions, and often reverses himself."
"It is most unusual," signalled Lord Trivalsh.  "Perhaps he is struggling
with another problem.  I have noticed that he is often distracted, as
though he is paying attention to something else in the room, even when
there are no other persons present."
"Whatever the cause," signalled the Chancellor, "the reconsiderations are
often wiser than his rapid decisions.  Perhaps Lord Thumis is passing on
wisdom."

...

In the Emperor's bedchamber,the chorus was singing, "The God-Emperor will
find wisdom in signing the edict concerning the Pachi Lei, and he will find
comfort in ordering the curtains cleaned throughout the Golden Tower.  He
would be well pleased to choose Chitlasha hiMorollu as his companion
tonight, and the evening breezes in the West Garden would best complement
her beauty.  The God-Emperor might prefer his sheets to be purple
tonight..."
-----
Chris Davis      Moderator, The Blue Room        blueroom@prin.edu
The Blue Room's FTP site:  http://nexus.prin.edu or  ftp://nexus.prin.edu
Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable.

//993

[Moderator's Note:  Thomas Worthington follows up on the ghostly Sakbe Road.]

>The NW frontier gazetteer mentions a couple of haunted locations and
>comments that these are particularly dangerous on nights when the two
>moons are full, while if I remember correctly there's also a reference
>to an entire ghostly Sakbe road which manifests on moonlit nights
>somewhere in the Sourcebook.   

>How common are such manifestations and how might a GM handle them -
>for instance can Tekumelani ghosts possess victims or be bound into
>objects by sorcerers and used as a portable power source, can they
>remember and use any form of sorcery that impacts on the material
>world, are there Tekumelani equivalents to succubi/incubi who can
>drain other beings pedhetl, do priests of Belkhanu or other deities
>have the power to 'exorcise' such revenants etc 

As I remember the ghostly Sakbe road it seemed to be a vision of the
ancient motorway/freeway upon which many of the Sakbes are founded.
Perhaps Tekumel ghosts are just little temporal distortions caused (at
least in this case) by alignments of the moons and or particular currents
in the magical 'flow' of an area. If this is the case then what would be
the scope for players to meddle with events long past, to get traped, or
to find out the answers to some particularly thorny scholars' questions?
And what, if anything, would The College do to prevent paradoxes arising?

Got to be material for a few scenarios in there.

Thomas Worthington
-----
Chris Davis      Moderator, The Blue Room        blueroom@prin.edu
The Blue Room's FTP site:  http://nexus.prin.edu or  ftp://nexus.prin.edu
Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable.

//994

[Moderator's Note:  Bob Dushay asks a few miscellaneous questions.         ]

A couple of random thoughts.

1. Given the bureaucratic nature of the Five Empires combined with the low
rates of literacy, it would seem to be necessary that illiterate guards,
etc., have some means of recognizing whether a document is legitimate or
not.  That implies the Five Empires make great use of seals, stamps, and
chops to legitimize papers.  It also implies that one could use, say a
travelling paper permitting travel to Purdimal to convince a Sakbe road
guard that you're authorized to travel to Bey Su.

2. Astrology is frequently used on Tekumel.  Given that Astrology doesn't
necessarily use magic, is Tsolyani astrology any more accurate than earthly
astrology, and if so, why?

3. The lands of the Lorun are magically barren, yet they have shamans with
sorcerous power.  How does that work?
-----
Chris Davis      Moderator, The Blue Room        blueroom@prin.edu
The Blue Room's FTP site:  http://nexus.prin.edu or  ftp://nexus.prin.edu
Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable.

//995

[Moderator's Note:  Bob Dushay asks about the hierarchy of the temple of    ]
[                   Ksarul and how well known the actual power structure is.]

We all know that the high status members of the Temple of Ksarul have no
real power, and the real powers conceal themselves as minor functionaries. 
Has far has this knowledge penetrated into Tsolyani society?  I'm assuming
the normal population are unaware of this.  Priests seem to catch on during
their training, perhaps by first or second circle.  How much do outsiders
know?  Would priests in other temples know about it?  Senior temple
administrators in other temples?  Imperial officials?

--Bob Dushay
-----
Chris Davis      Moderator, The Blue Room        blueroom@prin.edu
The Blue Room's FTP site:  http://nexus.prin.edu or  ftp://nexus.prin.edu
Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable.

//996

[Moderator's Note:  Mike Klein asks an interesting question about dealing   ]
[                   with the admittedly rare event of meeting face to er,   ]
[                   presence with a God on Tekumel.  (It seems that most of ]
[                   the time you don't know it.  If you do, I imagine that  ]
[                   all the deity present would hear from one of my charac- ]
[                   ters would be muffled floor or dirt, depending on if I  ]
[                   was inside or outside!)                                 ]

I have attempted to DM an EPT campaign for some years however in my
current campaign a situation has occured that I cannot answer.

What is the correct present tense rendering for the full name of
Chiteng?

Would it be 'Chiteng Hlimekluyal'  I wonder because nothing about
Tekumel is ever that simple.

Assuming you encountered Chiteng and lived and wanted to address him by
name:  What would you call him?
This is in formal modern Tsolanyi.

I know it sounds wierd but I suspect my players are testing my knowledge
of Tekumel =(.

This one has me wary.

Thanks for any help rendered,
Mike Klein
-----
Chris Davis      Moderator, The Blue Room        blueroom@prin.edu
The Blue Room's FTP site:  http://nexus.prin.edu or  ftp://nexus.prin.edu
Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable.

//997

[Moderator's Note:  Giovanna Fregni whipped up a summary of what transpired ]
[                   from the gaming session I sat in on when I visited Phil ]
[                   and crew the last time.  Ken Fletcher took the notes she]
[                   worked from.  We are trying to work out the logistics   ]
[                   of a regular submission from them (weekly) so that folks]
[                   can have an idea of what is happening on Tekumel. (or   ]
[                   where-ever the Thursday night crew happens to be...)    ]

Tales of the Thursday Night Game at Phil's

(as transcribed by Nisaya from notes taken by Mirek)
Earth Date: 19 November 1998
Tekumel Dates: Early 2369 or late 2368

Characters:

Sanjesh hi Kirusaya, High Scholar Priest of Thumis at Usenanu where he has
a fief. He also has a fief outside of Bey Su. Sanjesh is fond of devices of
the ancients and is adept at collecting them.

Ai'is, Sanjesh's first wife. She knows more spells than anyone, with the 
possible exception of Chitlasha. The more we know about Ai'is, the more 
we try to forget about it. Otherwise we'd be terrified...

Vresa, Sanjesh's second and very recent wife. She was brought into the
family to keep an eye on Sanjesh's holdings while he and Ai'is were away
on 'business'. Unfortunately, she stepped into the nexus point and is
trying to hold on to her sanity.

Arjai hi Vai'soner, Priest of Ksarul. He has an amazing knack for
summoning demons. He has also been revivified more times than any player
character on record.

Chitlasha, Arjai's wife. Priestess of Ksarul, at least we think she is.
We don't ask too many questions. Anything said about Ai'is goes for
Chitlasha.

Echune hi Mrishlnu, Priest of Hru'u, a quiet guy. 

Arumel hi Chankolel, Former Hero of the Age. Follower of Vimuhla with a
strong attraction to armor and believes that you can't be a real high and
mighty magic user unless you can blow things up.

Iena, Wife of Arumel. She's also in a class with Chitlasha and Ai'is...

Mtk, A Pei Choi and follower of Wru'u.

Takan hi Viridame, A Hru'u priest, but has had a run in with Dlamelish.
He is prone to hysteria now and then.

Mirek hi Takonai, a humble and lovable priest of Qon

Nisaya hi Takonai, token Avanthe priestess, who is perfectly willing to
let Arumel tread water outside of her Breath of the Goddess spell until
he admits that she doesn't have to blow things up in order to be a high
and mighty magic user.

[Moderator's Note:  A bit of intro is needed here.  The party has been ]
[                   working on the knotty problem of the Red Hats.     ]
[                   They have been working with Fireface (the Livyani  ]
[                   resistance leader) on the problem of the stones the]
[                   Mu'ugalavyani have been using to set up magical    ]
[                   barren zones prior to their attacks.  For those who]
[                   haven't heard these stones, when set in a certain  ]
[                   pattern will negate all magic within that area.    ]
[                   We are talking about major regional areas, not just]
[                   around battlefields or even cities.  Then the Red  ]
[                   Hats come ripping through. The party has discovered]
[                   this information and found it difficult to disrupt ]
[                   the pattern (the stones are apparently well guarded]
[                   all the time).  A stone was found in Kapranoi Bay. ]
[                   Through Nisaya's Breath of the Goddess spell, the  ]
[                   party was successful in disrupting the magic-nega- ]
[                   tion zone, for a little while...                   ]
 
The party is finishing a well earned rest at the tower of Thomar, the
undying wizard.  They successfully (at least they think they were
successful) broke the magical blockade at Tsamra. Unfortunately, Mtk was
fatally wounded in the Chakas. The group was able to bring his body back
to Thomar's tower with the hope that he could be revivified. Only a partial
revivification could be accomplished, he is instructed that he must drink
from the Water of Life from the Temple on the Island of Avanthe off the
coast of Salarvya. This must be done within a month, or else.

In an attempt to make contact with Fireface (the rebel leader of the
Livyani), we ask Thomar to send us back to Tsamra. Once we arrive, we find
out that the blockade was down for only a day. This means that the
information we had about the magical stones that form the blockade was
wrong. We confer with Fireface and arrange for a fishing boat to take us
beyond the blockade, so that we can use a spell to open a nexus point and
get Mtk to the Island of Avanthe.

We manage to skirt Mu'ugalavyani ships (one of which was probably carrying
another shipment of the magic nullifying stones) and cast a spell for a
nexus point. We do it so well that the entire ship goes through! And it
runs aground in a desert. (This has been happening too often lately...)
We are at the bottom of a tall ledge. Up at the top we can see a monastery.
It's extremely hot and Arumel opts to carry his armor. Once at the top the
party starts to look for an entrance. Every door seems to be blocked.
Nisaya comments that this doesn't look like your usual Avanthe type of
place, but Arumel assures her that most monasteries look like this and that
it was possibly the Temple of The Eye of The World. All our confidence is
shaken when we come across a huge pile of amphorae. Some of them are broken
and we can see what look to be the bones of small children.

Echune casts a fly spell to see if he can get a look over the wall. A
silver globe shoots past him and explodes. We all run for cover. Echune
can see that there are people inside the monastery firing a mortar at him.
He returns to earth as they reload. Presently an old woman opens a postern
door (that we hadn't noticed before). She greets us in bad Salarvyani. We
are invited in and meet the high priestess. In fact she tells us that she
is goddess here. She is the Goddess of the Blue Gem, Siringai. When asked
if she was a priestess of Avanthe, she told us that she served an aspect of
her.  Chitlasha tells us that we are safe here. We tell her about Mtk's
problem and she opens up a door into a rainforest paradise. We can see a
fountain nearby. She explains that this door opens up onto another plane
where the Goddess herself likes to visit. She hands a dipper to Mtk, when
he drinks he knows that he is healed. She also touches Arumel's head and
tells him that his heart was in need of healing. Arumel is surprised and
thanks her.

[Moderator's Note:  Even though Gio didn't mention it, Kenichar hiVaika    ]
[                   was also present (your's truly).  I was quite concerned]
[                   by the dead children in the amphorae, and I had no idea]
[                   that priests and priestesses of Avanthe used machines  ]
[                   like (mortars - the silver ball throwers) and laser    ]
[                   like rifles.  Especially in a fire first speak later   ]
[                   mode.               But when Chitlasha said we were    ]
[                   safe, I believed her.  I am glad that I wasn't injured ]
[                   in any way, though!  The next section also deserves    ]
[                   some introduction.  The Temple of the Seven Moons is   ]
[                   located well, we don't exactly know where.  The group  ]
[                   usually reaches it by nexus point, so we don't really  ]
[                   know where (or when!) it is.  It appears that it is, or] 
[                   seems to be, a structure that can deny                 ]
[                   the Goddess's access to Tekumel.  You use a Crystal    ]
[                   Claw and Silver Butterfly to activate the machinery.   ]
[                   Bob or one of the others can describe the process (in  ]
[                   theory) if they feel like it.                          ]

When we have time to talk, she tells us that the black stones that disrupt
magic are called 'Korju'. She also tells us that The Temple of the Seven
Moons in the Valley of the Seven Sighs (where we had recently been) has
been a treaty spot since the Battle of Dormoron Plain. And also, every
time we go there we are accidently stirring things up and accelerating the
cycle (she also told us that disturbances there acted as a summoning to
the minions of the Goddess of the Pale Bone). This was all news to us, and
we'd have to rethink some of the ideas we'd had about The Temple. As she
tells us about how the Gods of Stability will appoint a Hero of the Age, a
small child comes out with a handful of Crystal Claws. We turn to see other
children playing with Silver Butterflies on the floor. While our minds are
reeling at that, she tells us that she can send us directly to the Island
of Avanthe and that the ship and its crew will be safely returned to
Livyanu. When we arrive, we are told that we will see a set of white
tablets and that we should follow the instructions on them.

As we are sent through the nexus point, Mirek sees the Lady has a white
skull face.

Once we arrive, Arumel, who's been here before, assures us that this is
indeed the Island of Avanthe.  Everything is lush and green. We see the
white tablets, but before we read them, Echune casts an ascertainment spell
on them. They disappear, but not before Ai'is notices that the script they
were written in appeared to be Sunuz.

Ahead is a white marble gazebo and in front of that is a fountain. As Mtk
reaches for it, the water boils. He cannot touch it. Other members of the
party are able to dip their hands in and even drink, except for Arumel
(who was also healed by her). We realize that we had been dealing with the
Goddess of the Pale Bone. She had been fairly evasive when asked about
matters pertaining to the Temple of Avanthe, but she had won us over
entirely too easily. We wonder now, what can be done for Arumel and the Pei
Choi and speculate on how much of what she told us was the truth. We also
wonder what kind of damage could have been done by reading those tablets.

[Moderator's Note:  Not only did the water boil, it moved away from Mtk.  ]
[                   It would not allow him to even touch it.              ]

In the evening, food appears, even though we haven't seen any humans here,
besides ourselves. Luminous spirits appear laughing and talking. They join
us for the evening and we spend the night enjoying the pleasures of Avanthe,
except for Arumel and Mtk.
-----
Chris Davis      Moderator, The Blue Room        blueroom@prin.edu
The Blue Room's FTP site:  http://nexus.prin.edu or  ftp://nexus.prin.edu
Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable.

//998

[Moderator's Note:  Brett Slocum responds to Bob's question about Ssu.    ]
[                   His answer sounds like a plausible one.               ]
[             I am going to work on the digests after this message (I am  ]
[             two behind), and send out digests to new members.  So it may]
[             be a couple of days before new stuff comes out.    Chris    ]

> A small question about the Ssu: Is the hypnotization power based on magic? 
> Does it still work in a magically barren area?

I don't know the Official answer, but I've always handled Ssu hypnotism as 
psychic in nature (as opposed to a magic spell) and therefore known by all Ssu. 
I put the Pe Choi's life detection and death of another Pe Choi detection into 
the same category. These are innate abilities of the respective species and not 
learned magic. In my campaign, they work regardless of the local magic level.

---
Brett Slocum  --  slocum@skypoint.com  --  ICQ #13032903
Home page: http://www.skypoint.com/~slocum/
-----
Chris Davis      Moderator, The Blue Room        blueroom@prin.edu
The Blue Room's FTP site:  http://nexus.prin.edu or  ftp://nexus.prin.edu
Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable.

//999

[Moderator's Note:  Joe Saul writes on the subject of identity papers on ]
[                   Tekumel.    Administrative note: The last delay was  ]
[                   caused by a 6 month project coming to a close.  Our  ]
[                   main mail server was replaced and upgraded.  Sorry   ]
[                   for being quiet so long.  I have about 7 messages to ]
[                   send.  You'll be glad to know that one of my official]
[                   projects is to set up internal mail lists.  What does]
[                   have to do with the BlueRoom?  Well, I'll have the   ]
[                   software to handle a moderated list installed on our ]
[                   server, and I can use it for our external list.  That]
[                   will help alleviate the periods when I get busy, as I[
[                   can have some other moderators step in for me.  I'll ]
[                   let everyone know when we make the cutover.          ]

> 1. Given the bureaucratic nature of the Five Empires combined with the low
> rates of literacy, it would seem to be necessary that illiterate guards,
> etc., have some means of recognizing whether a document is legitimate or
> not.  That implies the Five Empires make great use of seals, stamps, and
> chops to legitimize papers.

Agreed completely.  They must.


  It also implies that one could use, say a
> travelling paper permitting travel to Purdimal to convince a Sakbe road
> guard that you're authorized to travel to Bey Su.

I didn't think people needed permits to travel as a general rule.  At
least, I've never assumed that *citizens* do -- perhaps resident
foreigners do.

Joe
-----
Chris Davis      Moderator, The Blue Room        blueroom@prin.edu
The Blue Room's FTP site:  http://nexus.prin.edu or  ftp://nexus.prin.edu
Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable.

//1000

[Moderator's Note:  Well, our 1000th message.  What a great milestone.  Bob]
[                   Alberti discusses the ins and outs of planar inter-    ]
[                   action in Tekumel's universe.  And ooh, we find out the]
[                   Goddess has been busy again...                         ]

>If this is the case then what would be
>the scope for players to meddle with events long past, to get traped, or
>to find out the answers to some particularly thorny scholars' questions?
>And what, if anything, would The College do to prevent paradoxes arising?

Well, paradoxes manifest themselves in more complex fashion than the
traditional sci-fi "I Killed My Grandfather" tradition.

Small historical changes most often simply generate a separate deviant
branch which rejoins the main flow of history.

More significant historical changes can result in a signficant branch-off
from the "main trunk" of history.  If the changes do not contradict the
eventual foundation of the College at the End of Time, then they remain as
separate historical branches, and even these eventually dovetail back into
the main trunk prior to reaching the College. (By definition, they ALL
dovetail back to the main trunk in order to establish the College.)

Significant historical changes which preclude the college usually result in
"bubble planes".  These planes can often evaporate, which is not a pleasant
thing to behold.  If you've ever seen the movie "The Neverending Story," it
looks rather like that, although less violent:  encroaching "nothingness"
into which one can walk if one wishes never to have been.

However, profound paradoxes can occur that alter the entire shape and
structure of the tree of history.  In these the College usually does take a
significant interest, acting to prevent or restore conditions to roughly
what existed before.  Some "recent" events include the deviation of a
sizeable branch of existence out through the Pylons, and a brief
"interregnum" of the entire spacetime of about an hour's duration, during
which nothing existed at all.

Viewers of the Globe of Distant Discernment have noted that these events
were presaged by a fresh assault by the Goddess upon the continuum, in
which encroaching nothingness was seen to spill down from the top of the
Globe like ink poured over a sphere.  Following the interregnum, the
encroachment has been colored bright red rather than black, for reasons
nobody can explain.
-----
Chris Davis      Moderator, The Blue Room        blueroom@prin.edu
The Blue Room's FTP site:  http://nexus.prin.edu or  ftp://nexus.prin.edu
Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable.

//1001

[Moderator's Note:  Michael Schwartz offers up a report of an experience   ]
[                   with a Machine Intelligence.                           ]

James Maliszewski wrote:

>While exploring in the Tsuru'um deep beneath Old Ch'ochi, a party of
>Tsolyani recently encountered several automatons... claiming to serve 
>a "machine intelligence" housed in "The Iridescent Fortress." If these 
>beings are to be believed, this machine intelligence governs some of 
>the environmental controls that made (make?) Tekumel habitable for 
>humans and other species.

>Moreover, several of the Tsolyani are convinced that this Iridescent
>Fortress is associated with the cult of the One Others. Some (servants of
>Ksarul) even go so far as to believe that the Fortress holds one of the Keys
>to the Blue Room!

>Has anyone else heard rumors of such a place, or of machine intelligences of
>this sort?

If the mad ravings of a mariner from Jakalla... apparently the sole 
survivor of a trade expedition to the port of Yra in Shenyu which was 
blown off-course and wrecked upon the shores of Hlussuyal by a freak 
storm... are to be believed, another realm of automatons serving a 
so-called "machine intelligence" exists deep beneath the ancient ruins on 
the western coast of that accursed isle (Map 2, Hex 1802 on the 
Gamescience maps). The man in question... if he could truly be called a 
man any longer... stumbled through a nexus point into the midst of a 
Semetl of temple guards who were escorting a scholarly expedition to the 
Bednalljan levels of the Tsuru'um beneath Urmish roughly five years prior 
to the Civil War. 

One of the priests identified the quaint Tsolyani spoken by the man, who 
was confused and near death, as a millennia-old dialect used by the 
maritime folk of Jakalla which had died out in the aftermath of the 
Mottled Plague of 1,046 AS. By virtue of an Eye held by a member of the 
scholarly contingent, the man's life was preserved long enough so that 
scribes could record his horrifying account of shipwreck; battle with, 
capture by, and escape from the Hluss; descent into a nightmare world 
beyond description; and finally "modification" at the command of the vast 
"intelligence" encounter beneath the surface of Tekumel, which he alone 
among his companions came through with any vestige of sanity.

Tales told of the nature and extent of these "modifications" are beyond 
horrific and, to this very day, the remains are sealed in a vault deep 
beneath Avanthar. The report of the scholar-priest who examined the 
remains, in the library at the temple of Belkhanu in Urmish, tells of 
"flesh and metal intertwined like unto two colors of thread woven 
together upon a loom." The portions which were entirely flesh, moreover, 
were said to be "as dead and blackened as that of an ancient corpse, were 
its burial shroud rent to reveal that within." Whether this is the same 
"intelligence" as that which the automatons beneath Old Ch'ochi claim to 
serve can only be the subject of conjecture.

There are also obscure warnings found among the most ancient surviving 
records of the Palace of the Realm in Fenul, warnings which refer to an 
"Iridescent Fortress" and its "Legions of Steel" as "implacable foes and 
inscrutable allies", and caution against descending too far into the 
Tsuru'um of that city. These date from the time of the Dragon Warriors, 
and are inscribed in imperishable gold so that, in the words of the 
inscriber, "future generations will not forget" the error of the earliest 
overlords of Fenul, "made in pride and paid for with bloodshed 
unimaginable."

Legend has it that Gamulu, founder of the Fisherman Kings dynasty, called 
upon the "Legions of Steel" which rose to his aid in the final, desparate 
years of the Ssu Wars. Amongst the  superstitious commoners of Chaigari, 
Pechano and northwestern Salarvyani the tale is told of a "true heir" of 
Gamulu who will someday return, leading the "Legions of Steel" in a 
final, apocalyptic war to exterminate the dread Ssu for all time.




Michael Schwartz     mschwartz@mindspring.com     Ann Arbor, MI  USA
-----
Chris Davis      Moderator, The Blue Room        blueroom@prin.edu
The Blue Room's FTP site:  http://nexus.prin.edu or  ftp://nexus.prin.edu
Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable.

//1002

[Moderator's Note:  Keith Dalluhn offers up his advice for chatting with   ]
[                   Tekumelani deities.  He probably speaks from first hand]
[                   character experience....  :)                           ]

>What is the correct present tense rendering for the full name of
>Chiteng?
>
>Would it be 'Chiteng Hlimekluyal'  I wonder because nothing about
>Tekumel is ever that simple.
>
>Assuming you encountered Chiteng and lived and wanted to address him by
>name:  What would you call him?
>This is in formal modern Tsolanyi.
>
>I know it sounds wierd but I suspect my players are testing my knowledge
>of Tekumel =(.
>
>This one has me wary.

For my part, I would never use the gods name.  I would use many oh great
ones, a few mighty lord, and even your omnipotence.  To use the actual
name when face to face with him seems to me to be a bit presumptuous.

-----
Chris Davis      Moderator, The Blue Room        blueroom@prin.edu
The Blue Room's FTP site:  http://nexus.prin.edu or  ftp://nexus.prin.edu
Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable.

//1003

[Moderator's Note: Martin asks for some ideas about a beginning character.  ]

We're about to start a campaign and are working out the details of characters 
(I as the first person joining am supposed to direct the direction we are 
going - YIKES!)

I was thinking about meddling in the life of a Livyani adept of Yanaz 
Mitlamu. He would/could bear the scars of the plague and might be part of the 
resistance.

The idea would be for him to be traveling by sea for reasons unknown to all 
but him.

Could I get help in finding one such as he?

Where would I be from?
What clan?
What temple?
Who do I worship?
What are the ritual tattoos on the face? 
Does this even make sense?

Thanks

Martin
-----
Chris Davis      Moderator, The Blue Room        blueroom@prin.edu
The Blue Room's FTP site:  http://nexus.prin.edu or  ftp://nexus.prin.edu
Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable.

//1004

[Moderator's Note:  Mercutio asks some assistance with a new character.   ]

After some years, I'm finally in possession of my own copies of Tekumel
materials. I've just obtained both "Growing up in Tekumel" and "Coming
of Age". I've come to the conclusion that I like the first character
I've rolled up and would appreciate some help in fleshing him out.

     The basic problem I encountered with my first character is that he
was born into a family of fairly devout worshippers of Lord Thumis and
he is of 'slightly less than average' intelligence. After rolling up
Lord Thumis as the God favored by my lineage, I rolled a low
intelligence score. So I rolled a D10 to see how devout my clan fathers
and mothers would be, I got a roll of 7. This pretty much convinced me
that my character would be pushed fairly hard in academic subjects,
despite the fact that he is not greatly gifted with intellect. The
problem of native intelligence was compounded by the roll on the
psychic ability table of 01, an anti-psychic!

     I figured a guy with this sort of background would try hard and
plod, step by step, through the academic subjects and become somewhat
athletic in compensation. I also figured that with a dexterity a bit
above average, he would go into pursuits like calligraphy as well. I am
still trying to get a handle on some specific traits so I can finish
basic character development and go on the solo adventures in "Coming of
Age".

     What I'd like to know is where in his religion an athletic and
somewhat intellectually slow devotee of Lord Thumis might find himself.
I haven't read Blue Room very closely, being busy with school. But I do
remember some commentary about temples to Lord Thumis probably not
supporting Legions, but very likely supporting 'temple police' or
something of the sort. Is this the sort of career my character might
find available with training in the administrative priesthood?

     Is there an Aspect of Lord Thumis such as "Protector of
Knowledge"? I picture the this lad being very attracted to police or
paramilitary work, protecting scholars on digs perhaps. Or acting as a
guardian of Lord Thumis' libraries. Maybe even being a methodical and 
plodding investigator of temple related crimes someday.

     The only other thing on which I'd appreciate some comment would be
lineage and personal names of the Clan in which my character finds
himself, Joyous of Vra'.

     That's where I find myself. I look forward to anything the Blue
Room might contribute. And I apologize for the length of my post.

     mercutio@ripco.com


//1005

[Moderator's Note:  Peter Huston asks about the Hirilakte arenas.         ]

I just finished reading "Cruelty and Civilization" a book on the Roman
"games" including the gladiatorial combats. 

What were the origins and motivations of the original founders of the
Hirilakte arenas? Is there a "higher meaning" to them than spectacle? Has
their ever been? 

I'm not sure how they tie into Tsolyani/ five empires culture in a
meaningful way. Or do they? What do they teach about the people who created
the institution? (Other than that they really don't place too high a value
on their fellow citizens?)    
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Peter Huston phuston@capital.net
-----
Chris Davis      Moderator, The Blue Room        blueroom@prin.edu
The Blue Room's FTP site:  http://nexus.prin.edu or  ftp://nexus.prin.edu
Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable.

//1006

[Moderato's Note: This is a notification message.  In it are messages from ]
[                 Carl Brodt, Peter Gifford, and John Ross.  Carl lists his]
[                 current offerings Tekumel, Peter sends a not about the   ]
[                 tekumel.com website, and John sends notice of an eBay    ]
[                 auction of a Tekumel item.  I will probably group up     ]
[                 messages like these together in the future.              ]

CarlBrodt@aol.com 
Join the Tekumel Revival!

Tita's House of Games, c/o Carl Brodt, 1608 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA.
94703, ph. (510)848-3260, has expanded its Tekumel line to include the
following items for sale:

The Original Rules, World Information, and Adventures
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Empire of the Petal Throne (Different Worlds) - $19.95 
Jakalla Map (a 22" x 23" black and white copy of the Jakalla map from TSR's
      Empire of the Petal Throne, reprinted in a reduced form in the
      Different World's version)  - $2.50 **(5)** 
Western Tekumel Map (western part of the beautiful large two section map
      which originally came with the TSR version of the Empire of the Petal
      Throne - I priced out how much it would cost me to redo on a full scale
      basis, and my cost would be about $12.00) only $4.95 **(5)** **(1)**
The Nightmare Maze of Jigresh (HOG reproduction/adventure) - $3.95
The Nightmare Maze of Jigresh (Judges Guild original/adventure) - $5.95
The Best of the Journal:  The Pettigrew Selections (reproduction from The 
Best 	of the Journals - $7.95
The Art of Tactical Sorcery (also compatible with Swords and Glory below)
       - $5.95 **(1)**
The Best of the Journals Vol.I (cover creased with other minor dings) $20.00 	
**(1)**

Swords and Glory and Compatible Adventures 
-------------------------------------------------------
Swords and Glory Vol. 1, Books 1-3 (World Sourcebook by Gamescience
           / includes the maps below) - $35.00 **(2)**  **(3)**
     Tekumel Maps $14.00  (attractive full color, 11"x17" reproductions of
            the 4-section map in the 1983 Gamescience Swords and Glory)
     Swords & Glory, Vol. 1, Book 1 (Different Worlds) - $12.00
     Swords & Glory, Vol. 1, Book 2 (Different Worlds) - $12.00 **(1)**
Index to S&G Sourcebook Vol. I (1997 printing, good only for Gamescience S&G
           above) - $5.95
Swords and Glory Vol. 2 (reproduction of Players Guide - visually
      stunning 4-color cover with wire binding) - $35.00**(3)**
Combat/Sorcery Summaries(reproduction on special harder-than-normal
      paper for S&G Vol. 2) - $8.95
Swords and Glory Character Sheets (five 8-page booklets with staple in
      each, special harder-than-normal paper) - $5.00
Tomb Complex of Nereshanbo (reproduction/adventure) - $3.00
Jakallan Intrigue (reproduction/adventure) - $3.95
The infamous missing page of the early printings of Jakallan Intrigue (not
      the one above - The page concerns Event 4:  The Battle) - $0.25 **(6)**


Current RPG Rules, Supplements, and Adventures from TOME
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Garda'siyal (includes vol. 1-3 below) - $44.00 **(4)**
      Garda'siyal Deeds of Glory: vol. 1 - Player's Guide - $12.95
      Garda'siyal Deeds of Glory: vol. 2 - Sorcery & Spells - $14.95
      Garda'siyal Deeds of Glory: vol. 3 - Referee's Guide - $16.95
Part one -  Growing up on Tekumel - $10.95
Part two: vol. 1 - Coming of Age in Tekumel - $18.95
Part two: vol. 2 - Beyond the Borders of Tsolyanu - $16.95
Part two: vol. 3 - Beneath the Lands of Tsolyanu - $16.95
The Tekumel Bestiary - $18.95
Mitlanyal: The Gods (coming late-1999?)

Other World Information & Adventures
-----------------------------------------------
Tsolyani Language (2 vols) - $12.95
       Tsolyani Language Tape (reproduction - coming QIII99?)
Book of Ebon Bindings (Different Worlds - Black, larger pages and better
       printing than the original small red Gamescience version) - $19.95
Northwest Frontier Gazetteer and Maps - $10.95
       Northwest Frontier Gazetteer (reproduction) - $7.00
       Northwest Frontier Maps - $4.95
Northeastern Frontier Maps and Gazetter (coming QIV99?)
The Best of Barker  (reproductions from The Best of the Journals and
       elsewhere - coming QI00?)

Novels / Used
-----------------
Flamesong - $12.00 (well read)
Man of Gold - $9.00 (well read)

Board Game
---------------
War of Wizards (1999 HOG reproduction)$17.95
War of Wizards (TSR original, counters unpunched) $100.00 **(1)**

Miniatures
------------
Miniatures Painting Guide $5.95 (reproduction)
Tsolyani (4 figures/pack) by PHD Games
     TK1501  $5.99 - Tsolyani command group / temporarily unavailable
     TK1502  $5.49 - Serqu Sword of the Empire - pike / temporarily 
unavailable
     TK1503  $5.49 - Serqu Sword of the Empire - bow / temporarily unavailable
     TK1504  $5.49 - Legion of the Mighty Prince / temporarily unavailable
     TK1505  $5.49 - Legion of Hnalla 
     TK1506  $5.49 - Legion of Hnalla / temporarily unavailable
     TK1507  $5.49 - Omnipotent Azure Legion  / temporarily unavailable
     TK1508  $5.49 - Omnipotent Azure Legion **(1)**
     TK1509  $5.49 - Legion of Red Devastation 
     TK1510  $5.49 - Legion of the Seal of the Worm / temporarily unavailable
     TK1511  $5.49 - Tsolyani medium infantry **(1)**
     TK1512  $5.49 - Legion of Lord Kharihaya**(1)**
     TK1513  $5.49 - Legion of Joyful Vrayani 
     TK1514  $5.49 - Sakbe Road Guard  
     TK1515  $5.49 - Legion of Ever-Present Glory**(1)** 
     TK1516  $5.49 - Legion of the Doomed Prince - halberd **(1)**
     TK1517  $5.49 - Legion of Lord Chegarra 
     TK1518  $5.49 - Legion of the Broken Bough / temporarily unavailable
     TK1519  $5.49 - Legion of Sweet Singers of Nakome / temporarily 
unavailable
Yan Koryani (5 figures/pack) by PHD Games
     TK2501  $4.99 - Yan Kor command group (3 figures) **(1)**
     TK2502  $5.99 - Mighty of Yan Kor **(1)**
     TK2503  $5.99 - Gurek of Hekkekka Nna **(1)**
     TK2504  $5.99 - Yan Kor infantry/  temporarily unavailable
     TK2505  $5.99 - Yan Kor infantry / temporarily unavailable
     TK2506  $5.99 - Gurek of Ngaku / temporarily unavailable
     TK2507  $5.99 - Gurek of Dharu or Vanu 
     TK2508  $5.99 - Gurek of Dharu or Vanu 
     TK2509  $5.99 - Gurek of Tleku Miriya 
     TK2510  $5.99 - Yan Kor infantry 
     TK2511  $5.99 - Gurek of the Mad Ones of Hlikku / temporarily unavailable
     TK2512  $5.99 - Yan Kor infantry / temporarily unavailable
     TK2513  $5.99 - Gurek of Makhis 
Mu'ugalavyani (5 figures/pack) by PHD Games
     TK3501  $4.99 - Mu'ugalavya command group **(1)**
     TK3502  $5.99 - Legion of Victorious in Vimuhla / temporarily unavailable
     TK3503  $5.99 - Legion of Destroy in Glory **(1)**
     TK3504  $5.99 - Legion of the Exhalted Flame 
     TK3505  $5.99 - Legion of Sanguine Victory / temporarily unavailable
     TK3506  $5.99 - Legion of the Lightning Shaft (3 figures) / temporarily  
    		unavailable
     TK3507  $5.99 - Legion of the Long Arrow / temporarily unavailable
     TK3508  $5.99 - Mu'ugalavya infantry **(1)**
     TK3509  $5.99 - Legion of Triumphant in Terror **(1)**
Salarvyani ($2.50 per figure / combine any 2 figures to make a pack) by 
Robert 		Richardson
     E-1        Nchech of the Mace of Steel
     E-2        Nchech of th Sable Sea
     E-3        Nchech of the Grey Standard
     E-4        Nchech of the Silver Standard
     E-5        Nchech of the Black Standard
     E-6        Nchech of the Unsheathed Blade
     E-7        Archer
     E-8        Slinger
     E-9        Sreddeq
     E-10       Standard Bearer
     E-11       Warrior with 2-Handed Axe
     E-12       Trumplet Player
     E-13       Light Foot Soldier with 2-Handed Axe
     E-14       Unavailable
     E-15       Light Foot Solder with Axe & Spear
     E-16       Sapper 
Other States/Individuals by PHD Games
     TK6501  $4.99 - Nluss (4 figures)  / temporarily unavailable
     TK7501  $4.99 - bearer slave (5 figures) / temporarily unavailable
     TK7502  $6.99 - Priests and priestesses (five figures)  **(1)**
     TK8501 $34.99 - winged Sro (1 figure) / temporarily unavailable
     TK8502 $29.99 - wingless Sro (1 figure) / temporarily unavailable
     TK8503  $7.99 - Churstalli (1 figure) **(1)**
     TK8504  $4.99 - Mrur (3 figures) **(1)**
Non-Humans by PHD Games
     TK9501  $3.99 - Unarmored Shen (2 figures) 
     TK9502  $3.99 - Armored Shen (2 figures) / temporarily unavailable
     TK9503  $7.49 - unarmored Ahoggya (2 figures) **(1)**
     TK9504  $7.49 - armored Ahoggya (2 figures) **(1)**
     TK9505  $5.99 - Hlaka (2 figures) / temporarily unavailable
     TK9506  $5.99 - grey Ssu (3 figures)  
     TK9507  $6.49 - black Ssu (2 figures)
     TK9508  $7.49 - Pachi Lei (2 figures) / temporarily unavailable
     TK9509  $4.99 - Mihalli warrior (3 figures) **(1)**
     TK9510  $4.99 - Mihalli sorceror (3 figures) **(1)**
     TK9511  $5.49 - unarmored Pe Choi (2 figures)
     TK9512  $5.49 - armored Pe Choi (2 figures) 
     TK9513  $6.99 - Hluss neuter warrior (2 figures) **(1)**
     TK9514  $4.99 - Unarmored Tinaliya (4 figures)  / temporarily unavailable
     TK9515  $5.99 - Urunen command group (4 figures) / temporarily 
unavailable
     TK9516  $4.99 - Urunen halbardier (5 figures) / temporarily unavailable
     TK9517  $4.99 - Urunen crossbowman (5 figures) / temporarily unavailable
     TK9518  $4.99 - armored Tinaliya (4 figures) / temporarily unavailable
     TK9519  $4.99 - armored Pygmy Folk (4 figures) / **(1)**

Wargames and Miniatures Combat
----------------------------------------
Missum: Miniature Rules for Tekumel - $2.95
Missumdalikoi - large unit combat using Armies books below (coming 2000?)
Legions of the Petal Throne: Fantasy Miniatures Wargames Rules (reproduction)
      - $6.50 **(1)**
Qadardalikoi: Miniature Campaigns on the World of Tekumel  (reproduction) 
      - $9.95
Qadardalikoi cards (supplement) - $8.95 

Military History and Statistics
-----------------------------------
The Deeds of the Ever-Glorious (reproduction) - $9.95
Armies of Tekumel I $4.95
Armies of Tekumel II $4.95
Armies of Tekumel III (1997 edition)- $6.95
Armies of Tekumel IV (1997 edition) - $6.95
Armies of Tekumel V (1997 edition) - $7.95
Armies of Tekumel VI plus "The Splendor of Shenyu" (1998 release) - $7.95

Print
------
Declaration of War print (a smaller high gloss print of the old TSR poster 
below 
         - slightly more colorful because of an orangish tint of what are flat
         browns on the original poster) - $5.95 **(5)**
Declaration of War poster - $5.95 **(3)**

Magazines and Fanzines
----------------------------
Seal of Imperium #1 (coming August or so in retail stores - to be fair, I 
shall 		not make internet sales to customers for at least 45 days 
after 			shipping to distributors unless the internet customer 
makes a 			convincing case that he or she does not live 
near retail game store)
Seal of Imperium #2 (coming QI00?)
Different Worlds #47 (with a 2 page article by MAR Barker on 
         the Temple of Vimuhla in the city of Katala - other articles include:
         Monty Haul Gamemasters, The Powers of the Pentacle, Lovecraft and
         The Necronomicon, Dennis Wheatley's Tales of Black Magic, Egyptian
         Magic in the Call of Cthulhu) $3.00 **(1)**
Eye of All Seeing Wonder 1, $5.00 (US reproduction)
Eye of All Seeing Wonder 2, $5.00 (US reproduction)
Eye of All Seeing Wonder 3, unavailable 
Eye of All Seeing Wonder 4, $7.00 (US reproduction)
Eye of All Seeing Wonder 5, $7.00 (US reproduction)
Eye of All Seeing Wonder 6, $8.00 (US reproduction)

**(1)** low quantities 
**(2)** not original maps
**(3)** extra shipping cost of $1.00
**(4)** extra shipping cost of $3.00
**(5)** $1.00 less shipping cost if shipped with some other order
**(6)**  free shipping if shipped with some other order; otherwise, only
shipped if you send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to me

Shipping Costs on Items other than Miniatures
--------------------------------
Unless otherwise noted above, shipping and handling inside the United States 
is $3.20 per item for orders under $50, and the shipping and handling drops 
to $2.00 per item if your order is over $50.  Unless otherwise noted,
shipping and handling outside the United States is $4.00 per item for orders 
under $50, and the shipping and handling drops to $3.00 per item if your 
order 
is over $50.  

Shipping Costs for Miniatures
-----------------------------------
Unless otherwise noted, shipping and handling inside the United States for 
orders under $50 is $3.20 or $1.60 per miniature pack, whichever is greater.  
If the order exceeds $50, the shipping and handling cost is $1.00 per 
miniature packet.

Unless otherwise noted, shipping and handling outside the US for orders under 
$50 is $4.00 or $2.00 per miniature pack, whichever is greater.  If any order 
exceeds $50, the shipping and handling cost is $1.50 per pack, and if an 
order exceeds $100, the shipping and handling charge is $1.25 per miniature 
pack.

Discount
----------
If an order (before shipping and handling charges, and any sales tax) exceeds 
$100, the buyer receives a 10% discount on the overage.

California Sales Tax
------------------------
We must also charge 8.25% sales tax if I ship to an address in California.

N.B.  The aforementioned telephone number is to my home, not to my business,
so please be conscious of the time when you call.  If you do not reach me or
Tita, tell the person answering the telephone that you will immediately call
back and leave a message on the answering machine.  Thanks.

-----------------------------------------
Peter Gifford <head@universalhead.com.au>
Subject: Small tekumel.com update

Dear Tekumel fans,
A small update to http://www.tekumel.com The World of the Petal Throne.
tekumel.com has its first printed advertisement! You can see a copy at
http://www.tekumel.com/siteinfoframeset.html
(the Site Info section)
and
The latest price list (Jul 99) for Tita's House of Games is up at the Eye
of Retaining All Things. http://www.tekumel.com/archiveframeset.html

Regards
Peter
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peter Gifford
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-------------------------------------------------
sjohn@io.com 

Hi! Sorry for the uninvited ad, but I felt that, given your interest in
Barker's world, it might be of interest to you or other Tekumel fans you
know of. Please pass this notice along if you know of any mailing lists,
etc, devoted to Tekumel that would not be offended by an auction
advertisement. With many thanks -

Sjohn

=====================================

http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=133233240

Legions of the Petal Throne, published by TSR in 1977, is an early set of
tabletop miniatures rules set in Tekumel, M.A.R. Barker's "Empire of the
Petal Throne." The book is illustrated throughout by designer David C.
Sutherland, and includes essays on Tekumel warfare by professor Barker
("Military Formations of Tekumel" and "Warfare on the World of Tekumel,"
both collected from early issues of The Dragon), and Barker's lists of
Tekumel armies. Rules are included for both conventional and magical
aspects of the Tekumel battlefield, and the full range of nonhuman races as
well as the human nations, with appropriate world-related information.

This very rare item is in good condition, with all pages present and still
tightly saddle-stitched; the cover is worn but of very strong stock; this
book has seen some play but could see a lot more and still be sound. There
is some surface-rust on the staples, but the book has not been written in,
stained, or otherwise harmed. The scanned image provided (see URL) is a
composite showing both the condition of the cover and a representative
sample of interior diagrams.

Buyer pays $4.00 for shipping & handling for domestic purchase; more (the
exact shipping costs) if overseas shipping or special arrangements are
required. Payment is by Money Order or Cashier's Check for immediate
delivery upon reciept, or by personal check if the buyer doesn't mind
waiting for the check to be cleared by the bank. Please feel free to email
me with questions at sjohn@io.com, and to visit my gaming website, the Blue
Room. This is a no-reserve auction.

http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=133233240
-----
Chris Davis      Moderator, The Blue Room        blueroom@prin.edu
The Blue Room's FTP site:  http://nexus.prin.edu or  ftp://nexus.prin.edu
Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable.

//1007

[Moderator's Note:  David Bailey writes about Identification on Tekumel.    ]
[                   Wow!  One benefit of my new mail server is that messages]
[                   mail out now in seconds (close to a minute) instead of  ]
[                   the better part of an hour or more.  This will radically]
[                   reduce the increased occurance of "quiet" moments in the]
[                   list.   I just can't believe how fast this is!  WooHoo! ]

Q: is there a profession of "Verifier of Seals", perhaps resident in 
the Palace of the Realm?

I ask having spent many hours wondering over the collections of seals 
and chops from Egypt, China, Sumeria and the like in the British 
Museum, Ashmolean Museum, Pitt Rivers Collection and the Pushkin in 
Moscow.  When a single business may have had some dozens of seals (for 
contracts, valuables, personal letters, business correspondence and 
negotiable instruments), identification and verification could be very 
 complex.  Add to this the lengthy "chains of trust" that must have 
existed (whereby "you can trust me because the Governor of Jakalla has 
sealed my seal on a document, and you can trust him because his seal 
was originally sealed by the Emperor, and we both trust the Emperor, 
don't we"), and you have a recipe for bureaucrats heaped into piles.

Imagine a foreigner trying to ascertain whether a contract was 
enforceable from the seal alone!

-=Midori Ito=-
(known on other less interesting planes as David Bailey)
David@Bailey.net
-----
Chris Davis      Moderator, The Blue Room        blueroom@prin.edu
The Blue Room's FTP site:  http://nexus.prin.edu or  ftp://nexus.prin.edu
Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable.

//1008

[Moderator's Note:  Professor Barker replies to Mike's question about   ]
[                   how to address a deity.                             ]

>>What is the correct present tense rendering for the full name of
>>Chiteng?

Pronouns do not have "present tense" or "past tense" forms.  The proper
address for a god is /tsam/, the simplest form of "you." Cf."The Tsolyani
Language," vol. 1, pp. 17-18. The special pronouns there are more or less
reserved for beings who somehow fit into human society.  Occasionally a
speaker may forget and use one of the special pronouns for a god, but this
is clearly against custom and usage.

>>Would it be 'Chiteng Hlimekluyal'  I wonder because nothing about
>>Tekumel is ever that simple.

No, probably just Chiteng, or Chitengdalidalisa ("Great and Powerful
Chiteng").

>>Assuming you encountered Chiteng and lived and wanted to address him by
>>name:  What would you call him?
>>This is in formal modern Tsolanyi.

Chitengdalidalisa.

>>I know it sounds wierd but I suspect my players are testing my knowledge
>>of Tekumel =(.
>>
>>This one has me wary.

Wise of you.

>For my part, I would never use the gods name.  I would use many oh great
>ones, a few mighty lord, and even your omnipotence.  To use the actual
>name when face to face with him seems to me to be a bit presumptuous.

Tsolyani agrees, but one can use the god's name (with honorific suffixes
attached), if the situation seems to call for it.

Regards,
Phil
-----
Chris Davis      Moderator, The Blue Room        blueroom@prin.edu
The Blue Room's FTP site:  http://nexus.prin.edu or  ftp://nexus.prin.edu
Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable.

//1009

[Moderator's Note:  Professor Barker replies to Martin's request for info   ]
[                   about a starting Livyani character.  And provides some  ]
[                   news about Livyanu in general.                          ]

>We're about to start a campaign and are working out the details of characters
>(I as the first person joining am supposed to direct the direction we are
>going - YIKES!)

>I was thinking about meddling in the life of a Livyani adept of Yanaz
>Mitlamu. He would/could bear the scars of the plague and might be part of the
>resistance.

This is possible. A number of people escaped the Plague by travelling far
out to sea, avoiding the coasts and the polluted shallows, and waiting
(starving?) aboard ship until the plague had passed. As far as the
"resistance" is converned, ask somebody to take him to "Fire Face," the
nom-de-guerre of the Wizard Eyloa's wife's younger sister. Her face is now
scarred by bright red weals, due to a side effect of the plague. She's
leading the fight against the Mu'ugalavyani from a labyrinth below old
Tsamra.

>The idea would be for him to be traveling by sea for reasons unknown to
>all but him.

Fine, but it is likely that he is just escaping the plague this way.

>Could I get help in finding one such as he?

I can suggest Arkuo Minaz, a friend of Tarshaz Arrio of the city of Sraon.

>Where would I be from?

Sraon.

>What clan?

Arkuo belongs to the Foam-topped Wave, an old maritime clan.

>What temple?

He'd never tell, but I think he might be Kikumarsha.

>Who do I worship?

Kikumarsha.

>What are the ritual tattoos on the face?

They represent his clan, lineage, temple affiliAtion. Later tattooes may
represent his social standing.: like most Livyani adults, Arkuo is a member
of the Vru'uneb. He is 7th of 12.

>Does this even make sense?

Yes, Arkuo is a pleasant, rather naive young man, about 23 years old,
handsome and somewhat of a lady's man, jolly and social, even with
nonhumans (much to their puzzlement...!), and rather good with magic --
which does not work in Livyanu much any more, due to the Mu'ugalavyani plot
of erect "patterns" of special anti-magical stones throughout that
sorrowful land. Heis about average with such physical weapons as swords and
daggers, but has never fought a duel, much less a military battle. If you
ask him his occupation, he'll probably reply, "Sea-trader."

Regards,

Phil
-----
Chris Davis      Moderator, The Blue Room        blueroom@prin.edu
The Blue Room's FTP site:  http://nexus.prin.edu or  ftp://nexus.prin.edu
Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable.

//1010

[Moderator's Note:  Professor Barker responds to Mercutio's questions.   ]

>After some years, I'm finally in possession of my own copies of Tekumel
>materials. I've just obtained both "Growing up in Tekumel" and "Coming
>of Age". I've come to the conclusion that I like the first character
>I've rolled up and would appreciate some help in fleshing him out.

>     The basic problem I encountered with my first character is that he
>was born into a family of fairly devout worshippers of Lord Thumis and
>he is of 'slightly less than average' intelligence. After rolling up
>Lord Thumis as the God favored by my lineage, I rolled a low
>intelligence score. So I rolled a D10 to see how devout my clan fathers
>and mothers would be, I got a roll of 7. This pretty much convinced me
>that my character would be pushed fairly hard in academic subjects,
>despite the fact that he is not greatly gifted with intellect. The
>problem of native intelligence was compounded by the roll on the
>psychic ability table of 01, an anti-psychic!

I would tend to let a really unintelligent fellow "wander away into the
sunset" and roll again. If you like him, however, you should compensate
with a few really good traits he can use -- otherwise he is "spilled
Chumetl," as the Tsolyani idiom has it.

>     I figured a guy with this sort of background would try hard and
>plod, step by step, through the academic subjects and become somewhat
>athletic in compensation. I also figured that with a dexterity a bit
>above average, he would go into pursuits like calligraphy as well. I am
>still trying to get a handle on some specific traits so I can finish
>basic character development and go on the solo adventures in "Coming of
>Age".

He has reading and writing, some history, some language or other (as much
as his mind can use), perhaps some extra strength and some skills with
weapons. He can also have other skills, if you wish: e,g, accounting,
sailing, management, but he is never going to be a genius at these.

>     What I'd like to know is where in his religion an athletic and
>somewhat intellectually slow devotee of Lord Thumis might find himself.
>I haven't read Blue Room very closely, being busy with school. But I do
>remember some commentary about temples to Lord Thumis probably not
>supporting Legions, but very likely supporting 'temple police' or
>something of the sort. Is this the sort of career my character might
>find available with training in the administrative priesthood?

This is true, although there are a couple of good Thumis legions; cf. the
Tsolyani Army List.. He can be a temple guard officer (not all officers --
in any culture or any army) are brilliant!  He must depend for his wealth,
social status, etc. on his clan and lineage.  If he comes from around Paya
Gupa, he may have met the Head of the Thumis temple in Tsolyanu: Gamulu
hiBeshyene. Gamulu can perhaps ind some use for him.

>     Is there an Aspect of Lord Thumis such as "Protector of
>Knowledge"? I picture the this lad being very attracted to police or
>paramilitary work, protecting scholars on digs perhaps. Or acting as a
>guardian of Lord Thumis' libraries. Maybe even being a methodical and
>plodding investigator of temple related crimes someday.

All are reasonably possible. Get a copy of "Mitlanyal" from Bob Alberti and
look through Thumis' aspects. If you can't find a copy, you might ask Bob
(whose e-mail address is on this list, I think) to glance over the Thumis
section and pick an Aspect for you.

>     The only other thing on which I'd appreciate some comment would be
>lineage and personal names of the Clan in which my character finds
>himself, Joyous of Vra'.

The Vrayani have slightly different names than the mainlanders. They also
use /vu-/ for "of." rather than /hi-/. I rather like the old Vrayani name
Dalku. The man I know is Dalku vuCharesh, a rather likeable fellow with a
penchant for jokes (a Vrayani speciality). The Joyous of Vra is a fine clan
with many internal lineages: e.g. Telemo, Markhaz (some Livyani
influence?), Dekkomai, Mikkar, etc. There are large and famous ones, as
well as small ones. You'll have to see what sort of person your lad is and
then pick. If you want to tie in with Dalku vuCharesh, you'll find yourself
in a good, middle-class lineage, with lots of clan-brothers and sisters.
Dalku is unmarried but has his eye on a certain Le'en vuKhrio, who is from
a somewhat higher lineage. She's studying to be a priestess in the Temple
of Ksarul at Vra, a pretty, pleasant, outgoing girl with some competence in
sorcery. She's about halfway through basic training and should be initiated
into Level One soon.

>     That's where I find myself. I look forward to anything the Blue
>Room might contribute. And I apologize for the length of my post.

No problem. I hope you  enjoy Dalku. If you want somebody different, let me
know.

Regards,

Phil
-----
Chris Davis      Moderator, The Blue Room        blueroom@prin.edu
The Blue Room's FTP site:  http://nexus.prin.edu or  ftp://nexus.prin.edu
Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable.

//1011

[Moderator's Note:  Professor Barker replies to Peter Huston's message on ]
[                   the Hirilakte Arenas.                                 ]

>I just finished reading "Cruelty and Civilization" a book on the Roman
>"games" including the gladiatorial combats.

>What were the origins and motivations of the original founders of the
>Hirilakte arenas? Is there a "higher meaning" to them than spectacle? Has
>their ever been?

The arenas were probably founded during Bednalljan times as a means of
pleasing the mob ("bread and circuses," to quote the Romans). They became
somewhat less during the Engsvanyali age but grew up again under the
Vimuhla-worshipping emperors of Tsolyanu (e.g. the fierce Emperor, Trakonel
II). Less militant rulers have tried to cut these arenas down somewhat, but
the crowds love them, and so they persist.

>I'm not sure how they tie into Tsolyani/ five empires culture in a
>meaningful way. Or do they? What do they teach about the people who created
>the institution? (Other than that they really don't place too high a value
>on their fellow citizens?)

These arenas date back a *long* ways and are bound about with semi-military
sanctions and customs. Modern citzens of the Five Empires usually show
honour to them and their ancient creators, although not everybody attends
them or enjoys watching the games, duels, and contests there. Lord
Karakan's soldiers have a sort of sub-cult to the Hirilakte arenas and
their gladiators; Lord Vimuhla and Lord Chiteng have other societies. These
are rarely allowed to fight serious duels for fear of the violence
spreading.

Regards,

Phil
-----
Chris Davis      Moderator, The Blue Room        blueroom@prin.edu
The Blue Room's FTP site:  http://nexus.prin.edu or  ftp://nexus.prin.edu
Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable.

//1012

[Moderator's Note:  Professor Barker replies to David's message about seals]
[                   and the proper identification of documents on Tekumel. ]

>Q: is there a profession of "Verifier of Seals", perhaps resident in
>the Palace of the Realm?

>I ask having spent many hours wondering over the collections of seals
>and chops from Egypt, China, Sumeria and the like in the British
>Museum, Ashmolean Museum, Pitt Rivers Collection and the Pushkin in
>Moscow.  When a single business may have had some dozens of seals (for
>contracts, valuables, personal letters, business correspondence and
>negotiable instruments), identification and verification could be very
> complex.  Add to this the lengthy "chains of trust" that must have
>existed (whereby "you can trust me because the Governor of Jakalla has
>sealed my seal on a document, and you can trust him because his seal
>was originally sealed by the Emperor, and we both trust the Emperor,
>don't we"), and you have a recipe for bureaucrats heaped into piles.

There is no fixed Imperial post of "Verifier of Seals," but within every
clan, every office, every business, every temple, etc. there are
individuals who learn this competence and fill this function. In Prinve
Rereshqala's Chancery at Avanther there is a separate high dais where some
20-30 officials take care of incoming and outgoing documents that have
seals. A similar group occupies another dais and oversees the dealing of
outgoing items. There are specialists in waxes, inks, and paper, as well as
sorcerers with training in verifying seals that seem dubious.

One of the most difficult things for players on Tekumel is the lack of
paper money, larger denominations of coins, and easily portable
identification papers. Your clan will honour your word and supply a loan of
cash if you need it -- but, then, how does one *prove* one is a member of
that clan in good standing? Especially if one's home clanhouse is halfway
across the Empire? Most such identification is done with sorcery" looking
into the person's mind. If there is no muddle there, no lies, no attempt to
hide another identity, the clans usually allow the loan to go through.
Failure gets one arrested and questioned. This is hard for adventurers who
enter through a nexus point or tubeway car; it would take months for one's
I.D. to be sent out to one's home city for verification, and then return
via clan messengers or Imperial officials. Talk about "snail-mail!" The
magical method is much better and quicker, though it, too, has its
problems. These problems do not often arise on "real" Tekumel, since most
people do not move far from their place of origin. Players, of course, are
sort of "peripheral people," anyway, and they merit special treatment.

There are varieties of special seals, made of many substances, many shapes,
with many types of inscriptions. I think there is an illustrated scroll on
this topic in the Chanvery at Avanthar.

>Imagine a foreigner trying to ascertain whether a contract was
>enforceable from the seal alone!

Difficult! He'd have to employ a knowledgeable local -- plus a lawyer!

Regards,

Phil
-----
Chris Davis      Moderator, The Blue Room        blueroom@prin.edu
The Blue Room's FTP site:  http://nexus.prin.edu or  ftp://nexus.prin.edu
Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable.

//1013

[Moderator's Note:  George Hammond offers up some ideas on Mercutio's     ]
[                   character dilemma.                                    ]

On Sun, 18 Jul 1999, The Blue Room Mailing List wrote:

>      What I'd like to know is where in his religion an athletic and
> somewhat intellectually slow devotee of Lord Thumis might find himself.
> I haven't read Blue Room very closely, being busy with school. But I do
> remember some commentary about temples to Lord Thumis probably not
> supporting Legions, but very likely supporting 'temple police' or
> something of the sort. Is this the sort of career my character might
> find available with training in the administrative priesthood?

>      Is there an Aspect of Lord Thumis such as "Protector of
> Knowledge"? I picture the this lad being very attracted to police or
> paramilitary work, protecting scholars on digs perhaps. Or acting as a
> guardian of Lord Thumis' libraries. Maybe even being a methodical and 
> plodding investigator of temple related crimes someday.

Every temple has some form of "temple guard".  Most of them don't have
very glamorous jobs (lots of standing around directing traffic, serving in
honor guards), but a few protect temple assets in dangerous places (the
Underworld, for one) and/or accompany traveling priests on long, perhaps
hazardous journeys.  Temple guards don't have to endure much priestly
training, they are separated from the common pool of novices at the 1st
Circle, or thereabouts, they don't follow the scholar/ritual/admin tracks.

Every temple has large mundane components:  farms and plantations,
estates, workshops, mills, etc. that have to be managed.  Perhaps once his
lack of intellectual capacity was determined, he was equipped with
hard-won basics of accounting and sent to oversee some facility or
another.  Out in the countryside he might be an enthusiast of hunting or
falconry, relying on a clever major domo to make sure the Mash groves and
Dna fields are properly maintained.  If he's Vrayani, he might be involved
with ships, or a port of some kind.

Another possibility might be that your character's intelligence might
just not be suitable to literate pursuits.  Maybe he's plenty quick, but
dyslexic.  So not very literate, but possessed of an abundance of common
sense and wit.   

Just some thoughts off the top of my head,

George H.
-----
Chris Davis      Moderator, The Blue Room        blueroom@prin.edu
The Blue Room's FTP site:  http://nexus.prin.edu or  ftp://nexus.prin.edu
Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable.

//1014

[Moderator's Note:  Giovanna Fregni and Ken Fletcher are providing some    ]
[                   running summaries of the Thursday night group's adven- ]
[                   tures.  This is the first of 2 that happened recently. ]

Back in Avanthar, the group thought it was being sent on a mission
outlined by Prince Rereshqala.  But Arjai was taken aside by The Prince 
Taksuru and told of a more urgent matter that had to be attended to.  He
explained that the emperor would not notice that the mission was delayed
and that it should be a simple matter of retrieving a person out of
Hmakuyal and returning.

It appeared that during his youth in that city, Taksuru was spurned by a 
certain young woman and that now that he was established in Avanthar, he 
wanted to reacquaint himself with her.  Perhaps with his change in 
station she would see things differently now.

Arjai had the group take a tubeway car to Hmakuyal and explained that it 
was a likely place to begin the mission for Rereshqala, plus he would 
have an opportunity to visit his mother there.  Mirek objected, but Arjai 
further explained that this was was politically expedient (in other words, 
being a worshipper of Ksarul, he couldn't say no...).

Once in Hmakuyal, the party was greeted by guards dressed in dark blue and
black.  They left the tubeway station and were given a view of the city from
the outside.  Hmakuyal is situated in a crater filled with a honeycomb of 
caverns.  On one end of the crater there is a notch where there is a 
secondary sakbe road that leads out of city.  On the way the party saw lots 
of shrines and pilgrims, sellers of amulets and tomb police.  One notable 
seller had a display of 'eyes' nailed to a cross of wood.  The group stared 
in disbelief at such a waste (although on closer inspection they saw that 
the 'eyes' were all fakes).  For the more astute, he produced a pocketful 
of 'eyes' that he promised would work, plus even more at his shop in the 
marketplace.  Of course firing of such dangerous weapons was forbidden in 
the area, so testing the 'eyes' was out of the question.

Only those who worship Ksarul are allowed within the inner city.  Non
worshippers are put up at hostels outside the walls.  Arumel recalled a
good place to stay and the group went there while Arjai and Chitlasha
went on into the city to his mother's house.

Once at home, Arjai's mom was rather cool toward Chitlasha and not
so warm toward her son.  After news about the family, Arjai turned the
conversation around to the subject of Taksuru.  Arjai had met him a
couple of times when they were young, being of the same clan, but didn't
recall any details.  His mother filled him in saying that "Taksuru was
never the object of unrequited love" in fact he was quite handsome and
had no end of young women coming after him.  She told Arjai that if he
needed more information about Taksuru's childhood he should talk to the
'old biddy' up the road.  Arjai's mom then offered to make dinner for 
them plus extra to take to his friends off at the hostel.  While she did 
that, Arjai and Chitlasha decide to talk to the old woman.

The 'old woman' turned out to be fairly young (mid 30's) and pretty good 
looking.  Arjai tried to be circumspect about his questions. She told him 
that it was dangerous to ask or answer questions about the royal family.  
Arjai got no more information from the woman, so he and Chitlasha returned 
to pick up the food to take out to the hostel.

The food was good, spicy and full of hling seed.  Entertainment was 
provided in the form of a recitation of "Nar Evirge" accompanied by music.  
Na Everge is a varient of the Ksarul hymn that is popular in most temples 
of this diety)  A young woman came by with a tray of various drinks. 
Arumel chose a dark red wine.  Nisaya asked for a recommendation, since 
most of these seemed unfamiliar to her.  The servant pointed out a light 
wine that Iena also chose.  After a moment, Nisaya noticed that her wine 
had turned a light blue ( something that Avanthe priestesses can do, but 
Nisaya hadn't performed that spell).  Echine, being a worshipper of Hru'u, 
chose a dark purple wine.  The serving girl quietly warned him away from it
saying that it could cause him to do some things due to a loss of
inhibitions.  (later he learned that if he had chosen that wine he would
have voluntarily gone with inquisitors into the city where he would
gladly have told them anything they wanted to know.  The whole choosing of
wines was a test that the group apparently passed).  The evening drew on and
eventually Arjai and Chitlasha returned to his mother's house and the
rest of the party retired to their rooms.

Chitlasha suggested that they sleep in separate rooms for reasons of
safety.  Arjai reluctantly agreed.  Before Arjai retired, his mom told him 
that a man had come asking for him, and that she would find out what she 
could about Taksuru's youth while at the midnight rituals.

Late in the night Arjai was awakened by noises made by an intruder.  Arjai 
fired Missiles of Metallja toward the ceiling, not to cause damage, but to 
provide some sudden light to see what was happening.  In the nearly 
blinding flash, he made out a man with two swords.  Arjai successfully 
dodged the blows.  The door opened and mom entered with some guards and 
the assassin was captured.  He was a very arrogant young man with wild 
hair and a tattoo of a blue and red star(the symbol of the Ndalu clan).  
He offered to kill Arjai quickly and cleanly, and told them that if Arjai 
had him killed Arjai would die anyway.  Arjai's mom said that killing the 
assassin wouldn't be a good idea, and suggested that he be put down in 
the cellar caverns where it could take months for him to find his way 
out.  "He could be with your Dad, Arjai" Arjai dared not ask why his dad 
was in the cellars (in fact it had been some years since Arjai had seen 
his dad....)

Arjai then noticed that Chitlasha was missing.  His mom told him that she
went to the inner temple in town for dawn services.

Back at the hostel, A'is and Iena woke about 3 am.  They went out on the 
balcony to talk.  M'tk also woke up.  Ais looked at him and told him to
go back to sleep.  Mre warned him that he should stay down, that A'is 
and Iena are taking pot shots at creatures of the night outside.  Mre even
noticed some of the faintly visible creatures in the room.

The next morning Arjai was awakened by a strange man who told him to wash 
and dress in the clothes provided.  Arjai was paranoid (with good reason) 
and without dressing, told the man to precede him down the hall.  Arjai 
found his mother arranging preparations for breakfast. She explained that 
the man is her servant sent to get Arjai ready for company.  Arjai, 
satisfied, bathed, dressed and returned to the dining hall.  There were 
several guests, one of whom was a young woman named Anga.  Anga told Arjai 
that she is Aridani, and an administrative priestess who had been widowed 
three times over, losing all her husbands in the recent war, in fact all 
in the same battle.  Arjai's mother suggested that Anga give Arjai a tour 
of the city.  As they left, Anga quietly offered Arjai a contact source 
for the information he needed. 

Together, they walked up to the neighbor's house that Arjai visited 
yesterday.  Nobody appeared to be home.  When they entered, they found a 
pile of meat and bones.  Someone was shredded to death.  Anga explained 
that it was the work of assassins using 'the crushing death with skin and 
brain removal' technique. It was meant as a warning.

Anga turned to Arjai and confronted him, "You don't understand, I'm the 
girl Taksuru wants.  I don't want to go to Avanthar.  I don't like 
Taksuru, he's political and is not religious.  Go away, or do you want 
to fight?"  Arjai backed off, and when she was calmer, Anga suggested that 
the bloody remains be shipped to Avanthar in her stead and in return she'd 
guarantee the safety of his mom and sister.  Arjai agreed.  Suddenly, a 
hulking lout appeared with a valise, scooped up the remains and exited.  
Arjai's mind wasn't doing too well at this point and he returned home.  
His mom told him that it's for the best, after all, Anga is a dear friend 
of hers.

Later, Chitlasha met Arjai at the hostel and told him that she met the 
woman that Taksuru wanted at the temple.  She was young, vapid and 
weeping.  Apparently, she had been a fellow student in his senior 
demonology class.  Her physical description did not fit that of Anga at 
all.  Chitlasha explained that "Anga is a front for the powers in the 
Ndalu clan".

The group went out for breakfast and shopping and found the seller of
'eyes' again.  He demonstrated the use of one of the eyes by blowing up 
a rock.  Chitlasha became suspicious and quietly performed a psychic 
spell.  Suddenly the eye seller became extremely embarrassed.  Chitlasha 
had used the spell of efficacious defecation on him.  She explained that 
he was using spells to make it look as if the eyes were working.

When the party returned to the hostel, a man arrived explaining that he 
was to be a guide for their journey.  They went down the street, around 
a corner and came to a wall.  At a wave of his hand, a portion of the wall 
became transparent.  The party entered to find a room with black, polished 
door.  The guide indicated the door and told them 'to go through to your 
foe and when you are successful you may return the same way'.  Arumel, 
wearing armor and with blade drawn, walked through first. He was 
immediately confronted by two large creatures (Hra) armed with swords.  
The light was poor and it took awhile for his sight to adjust.  Arumel 
killed the first creature but was injured by the second.  Mirek shot 
the surviving Hra with a poisoned arrow.  It went down immediately.  
Arumel was healed after his armor was removed.  The party found itself 
in a massive cavern with no sign of the door they came through.
-----
Chris Davis      Moderator, The Blue Room        blueroom@prin.edu
The Blue Room's FTP site:  http://nexus.prin.edu or  ftp://nexus.prin.edu
Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable.

//1015

[Moderator's Note:  Giovanna Fregni provides another summary of the Thursday]
[                   Night Group's travellings through Tekumel.  The summary ]
[                   was written by Gio and Ken Fletcher.                    ]

14 Shapru 2369

After entering the nexus doorway and battling the two huge Hra
guardians, the party found itself in a massive, dimly lit cavern.
The floor sloped down, and at the bottom was an area with four entrances.

The one on the left had an incoming breeze and was little more than a
tall, thin crack. A spell of elicitation revealed the recent presence of
some sort of creature. The left and right central entries were arched,
and elicitation revealed nothing. The far right was a pit with gurgling
noises. It soon became apparent that the gurgling water was rising. As
it crested, Arjai performed a conjulation spell, turning the surface to
a thick layer of ice. The party realized that the rising pressure from
the water would cause some destruction, so they had better get moving. 
Th e group decided to go through the right center cave. The passage was 
so dark, light spells hardly worked. Close examination revealed that the 
walls are made of black sooty rock. Party members who were armed moved ahead.
Farther back in the line, Ai'is noticed a trigger for a trap and used  a
fly spell to get the rest of the group over it. She believed that it was
a device designed to be triggered going one way and then sprung as they
returned. As she caught up with the others, the party saw two globes of
soft light bobbing in mid air. Not one to mess around, Sanjesh fired the
spell named Missiles of Metalja. He hit one creature, that looked vaguely 
human (it was a Qol, wrapped in tatters of something cloth-like. A grub-
like critter scuttled out of its pouch. The pouch also contained a warm 
rock. Arjai quickly grabbed it and threw it back down the passageway as 
hard as he could. There was an explosion, blocking the passage we came 
from.

Ahead, the passage continued with a shallow staircase. It seemed to go 
down another 40 feet. At the bottom it branched off into two tunnels.  The
landing before the fork contained a finely detailed bas relief including 
the squared off script of the ancients. Arjai did an elicitation, fried
his brain and fell down in a heap. Chitlasha magically searched for him,
and found Arjai's spirit on another plane. Arumel offered to go and bring 
him back.
[Pretty typical...  ;)   Chris]

When Arumel was magically inserted into the other world, he found a 
completely black void. (Arjai described it as the Never-ending Gray, only 
black)  Arumel searched for Arjai, moving through the blackness as if it 
were thick Jell-O. He finally reached Arjai, who was ahead and below him.  
Seeing Arjai, he quickly moved through the murk and realized that it was
willpower that propelled him, rather than the swimming motion he was mak-
ing. He grabbed Arjai and willed himself to return to the party.  

Arjai was healed. As he recovered, a Qaqtla, a huge crab-like creature
appeared from the left passageway.  Arumel drew his sword and moved in 
with piercing thrusts. When the creature was injured, Arjai did a spell of
desiccation and turned it to dust.  The party decided that if this tunnel
needs such a guardian, it must be the right way.  (This is adventure gam-
ing after all...)

A little way in the tunnel was found to be collapsed, but there was a 
hole through the top with a dim light showing through.  The party scrambled 
up and over. At the top was a long slope into a huge, dimly lit cavern.  
At the bottom, it looked  as if there were a line of creatures.  Takan
and Mirek cautiously started down the slope, and in spite of being experi-
enced hunters, caused a major landslide.  Boulders started to roll behind
the two of them.  Mirek scrambled off to the left side,only slightly scuf-
fed  and not too badly injured.  Takan bravely ran ahead of the landslide 
and found that the line of creatures was a troop of Mrur.  Takan used his 
defusillator (a tool of the ancients) and managed to break through their 
line, followed by a mass of boulders. By the time the dust settled, the 
Mrur had retreated.  The rest of the party came down the slope much more 
cautiously and arrived at the bottom without incident.
 
The cavern was huge, with a large archway at the other end. Without much 
discussion the group headed through and become aware that they had entered 
a nexus point. Mirek, the last one through, did a spell of the Periplus of 
the Planes. (They almost wished he hadn't)

The landscape on the other side was covered in [with] black vegetation.  
Mirek announced that they were now in the Land of Qelem, a plane ruled
by the demon, Ru'utlanish.  The party was not happy. This is a land that 
is described well in the Book of Ebon Bindings.  Most notable is the 
advice that that the traveller is told Not To Go There, but if he does, 
he is not likely to return.

Turning around, they saw no sign of a nexus point.  Ahead, the path sloped
down to a black swamp with white waxy flowers.  The party turned around
and headed up the hill where the nexus point had been.  The sky was a cloudy
black and grey. In the distance were huge, grey, jagged walls, that Arumel 
identified it as battlements.  Ahead lay stretches of swamp with small
globes of light floating above it.  Ill-defined creatures gamboled in the 
muck.  The party combined fly spells and used them to go more directly
to the battlements.  Once there, it looked as if there were humanoid crea-
tures on guard.  On moving closer, they looked  more like finely detailed 
statues.  Arumel inspected  the statues and realized that they were moving 
very slowly and changing.  One of the party said that Ru'utlanish gets 
hundreds of sacrifices, these are probably the souls of the sacrificed 
coming to life in their new world.

The battlements were about fifty feet thick.  There was a gap and then
an inner wall that was fairly wide and higher. Beyond that were more buil-
dings.  The party flew up only to find they were greeted by scores of
Vorodla that emerged out of slits high in the rock wall.  The Vorodla dive-
bombed  the party and one succeeded in capturing Mre, the human companion 
of Mt'tk, the Pei Choi.  She was carried away into the darkness below the 
walls.  The party knew that they were helpless to rescue her.  (The more 
learned of the party realized that Vorodla were not creatures of 
Ru'utlanish, but much more likely to belong to Dhich'une.)

The group continued on into a door in the inner wall.  There were windows 
15-20 feet tall.  They went through a window and entered into a short 
passageway, which opened into a large hall, complete with buttresses and 
perches for the Vorodla.  The chamber echoed with clattering noises.  A few 
Vorodla flew around the ceiling.  Across the hall, a creature approached 
the party.  It was vague and formless, a sketch of a human by someone 
trying to mimic a human form.  Mt'tk congelates it before it even got near.  

They passed the creature's body and entered a cathedral-sized space.  The
floor was covered by an immense pattern.  None of the party dareed look 
down.  Nisaya cast a fly spell to avoid even stepping on it.  Out of the 
shadowy edges of the chamber came hundreds of short, dark creatures.  The 
party tried to fly over the pattern and the massing creatures.  The flight 
became wobbly.  The pattern influenced magic ability.  The party flew 
higher, but the Vorodla swooped down, trying to attack.  When they got 
too low, they quickly lost control of their ability to fly.  The party 
headed for a pillar across the room, while trying to maintain a level 
between the Vorodla and the pattern.  Suddenly they saw the room merge 
into a grey orchard, but with the pattern continuing on the ground below.  
The party ascended and the pattern looked more and more like a random 
pattern of leaves.  

Sanjesh heard a voice, "You're in my garden"! It was his old pal, the
demon lord, Horodai.  Sanjesh asked if they could spend some time in the 
gazebo.  Horodai agreed and mentioned that they should wait until it had 
been cleaned out, and one of Horodai's offspring chased out many scuttling 
creatures.  The gazebo was octagonal on a four sided platform topped with 
a pointed cupola.  The garden was extensive, filled with fur covered, 
black vegetation. There were some grayish blue plants with dark yellow 
flowers.  Sanjesh warned the party not to walk in the garden.

Once the party settled down, Horodai appeared.  Sanjesh explained the 
mission, (searching for Dhich'une).  Horodai explained that the Land of 
Qelem is 'next door' to his plane.  Sanjesh was sure that Dhich'une was 
currently in Qelem.  Horodai sent one of his offspring over to see if 
this was so and also to find out what happened to Mre.

Word came back that 'the Prince of Qelem's guest would not come and would 
not do our bidding'.  Horodai insisted that Arjai not do any spells while 
on his plane.
[A reasonable request.  Sorry Bob, couldn't resist.  Chris]

While this occured Takan became aware that his brain was being scanned.  
Takan heard a voice in his head tell him to 'go away and to leave my 
master alone'.   Horodai asked Sanjesh what he planned to do, and what 
about the invisible guests in our midst.  We were unaware of them, so 
Horodai made them visible.  There were several men in copper armor, an 
elderly man, that we recognised as Dhich'une's sorcerer Vridekka, and a 
tall man with thick eyebrows:  This was the Sarku priest, Jayargo, who 
was on reasonable terms with Arjai.  He invited the party to lunch.  
Vridekka turned to Mt'tk and told him to 'return to his forests, enjoy 
life and have many young Pe Choi.  "I have come from [our plane] next door 
to tell you this."  Vridekka and his party faded away.  There was a thump 
in the gazebo, a dazed and confused Mre was deposited on the floor.  
-----
Chris Davis      Moderator, The Blue Room        blueroom@prin.edu
The Blue Room's FTP site:  http://nexus.prin.edu or  ftp://nexus.prin.edu
Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable.

//1016

[Moderator's Note:  Professor Barker adds to George's comments, and Gordon ]
[                   Neff also comments on the subject of less than perfect ]
[                   characters.                                            ]

I'll also interject a few words, if I may.. Phil

>On Sun, 18 Jul 1999, The Blue Room Mailing List wrote:

>Every temple has some form of "temple guard".  Most of them don't have
>very glamorous jobs (lots of standing around directing traffic, serving in
>honor guards), but a few protect temple assets in dangerous places (the
>Underworld, for one) and/or accompany traveling priests on long, perhaps
>hazardous journeys.  Temple guards don't have to endure much priestly
>training, they are separated from the common pool of novices at the 1st
>Circle, or thereabouts, they don't follow the scholar/ritual/admin tracks.

All accurate. There are also some minor roles in the ritual priesthood: the
equivalent of "extras" or "spearchuckers." The temples employ large staffs
of chamberlains, administrators, and everything from estate managers to
bottle washers, as accurately noted below.

>Every temple has large mundane components:  farms and plantations,
>estates, workshops, mills, etc. that have to be managed.  Perhaps once his
>lack of intellectual capacity was determined, he was equipped with
>hard-won basics of accounting and sent to oversee some facility or
>another.  Out in the countryside he might be an enthusiast of hunting or
>falconry, relying on a clever major domo to make sure the Mash groves and
>Dna fields are properly maintained.  If he's Vrayani, he might be involved
>with ships, or a port of some kind.

All true.

>Another possibility might be that your character's intelligence might
>just not be suitable to literate pursuits.  Maybe he's plenty quick, but
>dyslexic.  So not very literate, but possessed of an abundance of common
>sense and wit.
>
>Just some thoughts off the top of my head,

Excellent ideas.

Phil
---

Gordon Neff writes...

>      What I'd like to know is where in his religion an athletic and
> somewhat intellectually slow devotee of Lord Thumis might find himself.

        As a Temple bodyguard, almost certainly. The High Priest needs
-someone- to bludgeon the unwashed rabble out of his path, and to
cheerfully 'take a bullet' for him at need, yes?
-----
Chris Davis      Moderator, The Blue Room        blueroom@prin.edu
The Blue Room's FTP site:  http://nexus.prin.edu or  ftp://nexus.prin.edu
Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable.

//1017

[Moderator's Note:  Joe Saul adds some info about a Legion devoted to Thumis.]

The Temple of Thumis does, in fact, have one Legion associated with it --
The Legion of the Lord of Wisdom, 22nd Imperial Heavy Infantry.  That
might also be an option for the character, though it's a relatively new
legion, and may still be mostly composed of "forest peoples" from the area
of Paya Gupa.

I don't know what it's up to at present, but it's listed in Armies of
Tekumel:  Volume I, Tsolyanu.

Joe
-----
Chris Davis      Moderator, The Blue Room        blueroom@prin.edu
The Blue Room's FTP site:  http://nexus.prin.edu or  ftp://nexus.prin.edu
Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable.

//1018

[Moderator's Note:  Since nothing new has come in recently, I have gone back]
[                   to a list of stuff that required heavier moderation.    ]
[                   The following adventure notes are from Jack Bramah, and ]
[                   describe the exploits of the Company of the Crystal     ]
[                   Sword.  Parts 1 and 2 had accented characters which I   ]
[                   changed to plain text.  3-6 dropped the accented char-  ]
[                   acters, so I had to insert them back.  Anything enclosed]
[                   by (?   ?) is something I counldn't identify.  Sorry it ]
[                   has taken so long, Jack.                                ]

Dramatis Personae [Players]
Hetepek hiAztlan [Dave Morris]          Leader of the Company of the
Crystal Sword, and Eventually Clan Elder of the Clan of the Silver Links

Chamikiang hiAztlan [Roz Morris]        Wife of Hetepek, Citizen of Chung
An Satar, an island to the south-west of the lands of Tane (for more
information see Steve Foster's article in Eye of All-Seeing Wonder No.2
"Land of the Manifest Spirit")

Barakesh hiVu'urmal [myself]            Writer of the Diaries, and Military
Commander of the Company of the Crystal Sword.

Danuo hi??? [Ollie Johnson]             Deputy to Barakesh, Commander of
the Steel Arrow Squad

Tulumgaz                                Commander of Squad 1

Cheshtal                                Commander of the Guardians of Badru 

Epengar hiVu'urtesh [Ian Marsh]         Commander of Squad 4

Uchang                                  Commander of Squad 6

Dore                                    Leader of the Silver Shields -
Hetepek's Personal Guard

Ssudusanu (aka Ghost Dancer)            Special Assignment Squad

Targdaz hiAztlan [Jamie Thomson]        Sorcerer to Hetepek

Tegelbe hi Nrantu [Steve Foster]        Advisor to Hetepek



The Company of the Crystal Sword helped revive the fortunes of the almost
defunct Clan of the Silver Links of Fasiltum by providing badly needed
finances to the young clan-chiefs after their elders absconded with much of
the clan's wealth. In gratitude, the whole of the Company of the Crystal
Sword was inducted into the clan.

Our erstwhile employer, and now clan-father, Hetepek hiAztlan formed the
hierarchy of the new lineages according to status within the Company.

Hetepek himself took a very high lineage, whilst the senior commanders -
myself, Danuo and Ghost Dancer were allowed high lineages. The commanders
of the separate squads were made heads of the medium lineages: Cheshtal,
Epengar, Serlak, Nashmiyel, Tulumgaz, and the members of the various squads
had the option of joining the lineage of their commander, or forming their
own low lineage. Additionally, in recognition of their extended service,
all veterans of the First Mount Badru Expedition were invited to join the
Vu'urmal lineage.

Thus was the Clan of the Silver Links reborn.   


I, Barakesh hiVu'urmal, Clan Elder and Lineage Head of the Clan of the
Silver Links wish to express my gratitude and undying loyalty to Lord
Hetepek hiAztlan, our esteemed clan-patriarch and Benefactor Supreme of the
Company of the Crystal Sword.


In the beginning we were a band of hardy adventurers of moderate clan,
seeking fame and fortune as the protectors of Hetepek.

In the course of time the wealth of Hetepek grew and he became aware of a
legend of great antiquity concerning a King of the Dragon-Warrior and his
six sons. To each of these sons he gave a powerful sword, each partaking of
the essence of one of the elements. Into Hetepek's possession came Atranku,
the Sword of Stone, and he decided to form the Company of the Crystal Sword
to retrieve the remaining five swords. We drew people from all walks of
life to form the Military Arm, and we set off for the Armoury of the
Dragon-Lords at Mount Badru, to the west of Mu'ugalavya, which we crossed
in the guise of merchants.

After months of travelling across vast wastes we came to Mount Badru, where
we found the spirit of the King still alive guarded by fierce warriors. in
the course of outwitting this spirit, Danuo was bound in service to the
King for 1000 years.

At Mount Badru we discovered that we had a rival in our quest for the
swords in Kuliang, a fellow countryman of our own clan's senior wife
Chamikiang.

Over the aeons the swords had become dispersed, being spread over all the
continent, some lost, some buried with their owners. As the Armoury
displays which showed the names of the last person to attune each of the
swords we had clues as to their last known whereabouts.

Our first efforts were in Fasiltum, where a former commander of the Legion
of the Searing Flame had possessed the sword. He had died, it was believed,
in a battle at a fort near Fasiltum. We searched for the sword there,
except that the vile Kuliang and his Black Ssu minions beat us to it.

By a variety of bribery and discovery we secured two more swords  - Shrang,
the Sword of Shadow, and Baijan, the Sword of Magic. In order to better
combat Kuliang and deliver a surprise, Danuo and myself were attuned to one
of these swords each.

We set off for Livyanu  

End of Part 1
-- 
Viscount Veshtaru hiChaishyani (Jack Bramah)
Legion of the Mighty Heroes of Avanthar
Molmitlan Otulengba!
veshtaru@catland.demon.co.uk

Actions of the Company of the Crystal Sword Part II

5th Trantor 2375

One of the strangest episodes in the history of the Company if the
Crystal Sword occurred today.

Our ships, the Meteor and the Illustrious became fogbound close by an
island, so we anchored for safety, and sent a party ashore.
We found ourselves on a jungle-clad island whose Tsolyani-speaking
inhabitants were being attacked by the Castellan of the Casting Iris.
His pretext was that he was trying to close the Gate of the Ngoro. It
was said that he had brought all four of his knights to accomplish this.

We were standing in the middle of the Citadel of Salth-Tashuir, outside
the Legation of the Ngoro, when the four knights, Nitralu, Nimeru,
Ugashtu and Kanoru arrived. We quickly determined that siding with these
four worthies would be prudent, as we recognised them as none other than
the four Demon Brothers - Niritlal, Nimune, Nurgashte and Akhone.
We assisted them, leading the assault on the Legation and storming the
chambers, slaying several Ngoro. Those in the van were awarded the Iron
Ring of Valour. The Castellan himself arrived, and turned out to be
named Huggaru - none other than the mighty Hrugga himself! He closed off
the Portal, which seemed to be a dangerous Nexus with the Sky of Lights,
and there was a rushing and we appeared alone in the middle of a flat
plain with a device of the Ancients, with which Targdaz conversed in
Llyani.

We must have been transported somehow to the Time of Heroes. We must
check the legends thoroughly when we return, as I made sure the Demons
and Mighty Hrugga knew the name of the Company of the Crystal Sword.

End of Part II
-- 
Viscount Veshtaru hiChaishyani (Jack Bramah)
Legion of the Mighty Heroes of Avanthar
Molmitlan Otulengba!
veshtaru@catland.demon.co.uk

Annals of the Company of the Crystal Sword Part III

In Livyanu.

We were quartered in sumptuous apartments in Tsamra, while we organised
the transfer of cargo from Bey Su. Utmost secrecy was being held as
usual over the specialist devices we own, particularly so in Livyanu,
given the all-pervading presence of the Vru'uneb.
On boarding the ship to inspect progress we discovered that the captain
had uncovered a stowaway with a strange story:

He claimed to be a Tsolyani merchant who, with other merchants of
various nations had been invited to visit the Forbidden City of Dlash
with a view to opening trade links. On arriving there he claims that the
Priests of the One of Fears drove them out of the city and hunted them
for sport. This man claimed to be the last survivor, and he begged us to
take him back home.
Danuo and I had a discussion about whether to use the gong to transfer
him straight back to Bey Su. During this discussion I overheard the man
questioning the others closely about the fact that we appeared to be
unladen. This convinced me that the man was probably an agent of the
Vru'uneb. I warned Danuo to be extremely careful about mentioning any of
our "devices". He went back to talk to the man and immediately started
talking about the Gong. This induced Ghost Dancer to kill the man
immediately.

[I forget exactly what the Gong did, but I vaguely remember that we had
a pair, or even three of them, and you could transport between the
locations of each other; in this way our esteemed leader got to spend
most of the time we spent hacking our way across the continent at home,
and just stepping through the gong when we arrived somewhere
interesting]

We decided then that we must dispose of the body as soon as possible. We
had two options:
i)      Gong the body back to Bey Su
ii)     Transfer it to a ditch in the Foreigner's Quarter

The disadvantage of option i) was that if he were an agent of the
Vru'uneb his disappearance would be likely to bring more unwanted and
direct attention. Option ii) had the disadvantage of either requiring
the taking of the gong off the ship (something we would wish to avoid)
or the use of both our Claustration scrolls.

At this point Danuo panicked and gonged himself back to Bey Su to
consult Hetepek. Conscious that this would do no good, Uchang and I
gonged through to get him back - we did, but when Hetepek came back to
the clanhouse he followed us through.

End of Part III

Annals of the Company of the Crystal Sword Part IV

Marine Action

Danuo now seems reluctant to give the order to charge. He has the squad
cowering behind their shields, rather than charging our attackers. WHAT
is he doing???????
He charges like an enraged chlen when it's not required, and stands
about in the face of a hail of crossbow bolts.
Finally he attacks whilst I, virtually alone, assault the enemy ship.

The action was intended to rescue part of our fleet's magic contingent.
The whole business was a trap. We escaped with very light casualties,
and managed to capture an enemy warship, which we are now sailing as
part of the Loyalist Fleet.

We have put ourselves in the Loyalist Army, along with our troops - both
the Company of the Crystal Sword, and the two cohorts of the Legion of
Mighty Jakalla. These troops are now spread out between the ships of the
fleet. Each cohort has been placed under the command of one of the
Crystal Sword Officers. As a unit we are independent of (?Satri?) command.

Black Ssu Marines

Whilst our vessel was on scouting duty we were attacked by an Akho,
which attempted to sink us. Whilst we were engaged in defeating the
monster a shipload of Black Ssu snuck up on us and attempted to destroy
the ship.

They attacked us from both ends of the ship, with one party being
defended against by the Ship's crew, and the other by ourselves. Danuo
was in command, but it seems he took several bad decisions, resulting in
the deaths of several of the squad.

As a result Danuo has resigned his command of any troops other than the
Steel Arrow Squad.

End of Part IV
-- 
Viscount Veshtaru hiChaishyani (Jack Bramah)
Legion of the Mighty Heroes of Avanthar
Molmitlan Otulengba!
veshtaru@catland.demon.co.uk

Crystal Sword Archives Part V

Commando Raid

During Hetepek's absence we found ourselves "volunteering" for a raid on
a small coastal village which was supposedly a store depot for the Black
Ssu. We attacked using 36 men, including the officers and three squads
(1st, 3rd , and 5th ). We landed some tsn from the village on the other
side of a large hill.

We sent (?Karm Kavr?), a local freedom fighter, into the village to scout
out the opposition. Just after midnight he reappeared, confirming that
there were, as reported by our intelligence, only 15 guards. However
there was a slight problem which we had not foreseen. A very fast, small
warship had recently arrived in the harbour, meaning that we had to make
changes to our carefully laid plans.

We decided to split into two uneven groups. the smaller one would attack
and burn the warehouse shortly after the larger group attempted to take
the ship in order to draw the guards away from the warehouse.

The attack on the warehouse seemed to go as planned, except for the fact
that the warehouse did not contain any Food of the Ssu. There were
several vile undead labourers re-digging a tunnel towards the hill
behind the village.

Meanwhile, back at the ship:-
We managed to get close to the ship and dealt with the few guards.
Unfortunately this awoke the rest of the ship. Fortunately we were able
to seize the forecastle, and with that the entire crew, without
incident. We were unable to get to the cabins before the occupants were
able to prepare themselves.

These were three - a sorcerer and two bodyguards. They attacked us
whilst under the influence of the effects of several Eyes, using more
against our men.
At this point Uchang was placed under the Eye of Command and he attacked
us.
Epengar now decided that it was safe to see what was happening at the
warehouse.
Immediately our forces were attacked by the sorcerer and the surviving
bodyguard. Several of our men fell under the influence of the Eye of
Command, and unfortunately Uchang was released from the Excellent Ruby
Eye and started to attack us again. We were lucky that Epengar's squad
were all equipped with bags of fine dust, with which we were able to get
a vague idea of the location of our invisible assailants.
Using the Terrible Eye of Raging Power I succeeded in killing the
bodyguard as they were floating down to the deck. This was a stroke of
luck, as it was the bodyguard who was operating the Eye of Aerial
Excellence, leaving the sorcerer floating helpless in the air. He had
exhausted his eye of Command and was killed by Epengar against my
orders.
We took the (lightly) damaged, and very a-fast ship for our navy and
sailed out to join the fleet, having suffered four dead and several
wounded. We lost two of the haunted suits of armour, corroded by the
Creeping Fog of Doom.
In addition to the ship we captured several magical weapons - a sword, a
crossbow, a shield, two suits of enchanted steel armour, five Eyes and a
ring of some sort.

End of Part V

The Final Battle at (?jong Kum?)

We gonged up Mount Chung An, where it was decided that the Tsolyani
contingent would march down in full regalia, with Lord Hetepek assuming
the mantle of the Chosen of Chung An.

This ploy was very effective, as it sowed dissent among the forces of
the Usurper Kuliang, and gathered a large crowd of enthusiastic, if
untrained volunteers to swell our ranks. Supply also became easy.

The plan for the battle was to expend our militia in an assault which we
knew would fail, in order to throw the enemy into disorder before a
proper attack by our regular troops. It was decided that we should place
the First Cohort of the Legion of Mighty Jakalla opposite our foe's
Black Ssu cohorts. They were to advance and lightly engage the vile
creatures, and then withdraw, attempting to lure the Hated Ones into an
outnumbering trap.

While this took place, the Company of the Crystal Sword would enter the
city and kill Kuliang if possible, and seize the Chamber of Deputies.
Should the battle fail we would be in a position to retreat.

Captain (?Chshtal?) was placed in command of the First Cohort, and they
were armoured in the haunted armour. This had a detrimental effect on
the execution of the Plan, since the cohort charged madly straight at
the Black Ssu. They were affected and even possessed by the spirits
inhabiting the armour. They fought like no one has ever fought against
the Black Ones. The reputation of the legion has been restored by that.
How fitting that Lord (?Chirngga?) was there to witness the glory. They
swept the Black Ssu before them, and when they broke the army's
structure collapsed, and we pursued the fleeing enemy into the city
itself.

[There is a gap here in the records, but it is clear that the Usurper
Kuliang was killed, and Hetepek was proclaimed King]

All six of the Swords were recovered and distributed as follows to the
Paladins of the Elements.

Barakesh - (?gni?), Sword of Fire
Tulumgaz - ???, Sword of Death
Epengar - Bijan, Sword of Magic
Uchang - ???, Sword of Weather
Ssudusanu - Shrang, Sword of Shadow
Danuo - Atranku, Sword of Stone

The following appointments were also made, by Hetepek hiAztlan, King of
Chung An Satar, & Chosen One of Chung An as advised by Chamikiang, Jewel
of Heaven, and his Queen.

Targdaz hiAztlan adopted as the Brother of the King

Barakesh hiVu'urmal appointed Supreme General and Marshal of Chung An
Satar

Danuo made Chief of the Intelligence Service

Uchang is created Admiral of the Fleet, and Commander of Exploration
Epengar hiVu'urtesh is made Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Bodyguard

Tulumgaz is created Commandant of the Military Priesthood.

Wise Sayings of King Hetepek, Number 1: "There shouldn't be any
problems, it's just the one demon".
-- 
Viscount Veshtaru hiChaishyani (Jack Bramah)
Legion of the Mighty Heroes of Avanthar
Molmitlan Otulengba!
veshtaru@catland.demon.co.uk
-----
Chris Davis      Moderator, The Blue Room        blueroom@prin.edu
The Blue Room's FTP site:  http://nexus.prin.edu or  ftp://nexus.prin.edu
Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable.

//1019

[Moderator's Note:  Michael Schwartz asks about the Nighted Tower Clan.   ]

Hey folks,

The Tekumel Sourcebook tells us that Nighted Tower is a very low clan 
mainly of tomb guards and manufacturers of various chemicals, often 
accused of being tomb robbers also. The main clanhouse resides at 
Purdimal in the Swamps of Ksarul, but clansfolk can be found throughout 
northwestern Tsolyanu. Nighted Tower clansfolk are primarily devoted to 
the Lords of Change, save for Vimuhla and Chiteng.

What else is known about Nighted Tower, and how much of a presence do 
they have in provinces other than those of the northwest?
==================================================================== 
Michael Schwartz     mschwartz@mindspring.com     Ann Arbor, MI  USA
-----
Chris Davis      Moderator, The Blue Room        blueroom@prin.edu
The Blue Room's FTP site:  http://nexus.prin.edu or  ftp://nexus.prin.edu
Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable.


//1020

[Moderator's Note:  Michael Schwartz also asks about the Legion of Serqu,   ]
[                   Sword of the Empire.                                    ]

Hey folks,

The entry detailing the Legion or Serqu, Sword of the Empire (14th 
Imperial Heavy Infantry) from DEEDS OF THE EVER-GLORIOUS mentions the 
epic deeds of the seventeenth commander of the legion, called Serqu "the 
Swathe of Red". According to the epics, in late Bednalljan times this 
Serqu defeated the assembled Salarvyani forces at Tsatsayagga and later 
went on to wed one Alitle Nradesu, a princess of Pechano whom he loved.

DEEDS additionally states that the wedding was attended by Chnur, King of 
the Ssu, (as a guest no less) and that the epic poem recounting the 
events of the wedding feast could be found in the libraries of the temple 
of Karakan. I'd love to know more about the deeds of this particular 
Serqu, especially details concerning the events of his wedding.

Has anyone has come across any of the temple, legion or Golden Sunburst 
epics regarding this man?

==================================================================== 
Michael Schwartz     mschwartz@mindspring.com     Ann Arbor, MI  USA
-----
Chris Davis      Moderator, The Blue Room        blueroom@prin.edu
The Blue Room's FTP site:  http://nexus.prin.edu or  ftp://nexus.prin.edu
Available 24 hours a day, except when my PC is down, or unavailable.
