07.07x2: Mage Towers

[Rasanam]

Eventually the topic segues from a discussion of constructs (a topic Ruby has some significant interest in) into a discussion of more conventional labor sources (which Ruby is much more indifferent towards). When the topic of slavery comes up, Ruby sortof shrugs.

"Illegal," she says, "And even if it weren't, I'd hope that things like the Kadrien Revolution of 284 adequately demonstrates that large scale use tends to backfire over the long term. Of course, most of the shorter-lived races tend to be relatively poor at planning on the scale of a century or more, so it's probably wisest to just keep it illegal."

((Posted this because some discussion with the GM suggests that what Lazarus considers important is Ruby's opinion on topics such as slavery and worker's rights.))

[Joshua]

"And what about on the smaller scale?" Lazarus will ask.

[Rasanam]

Ruby shrugs again. "Still illegal. Not clearly stupid, as long as you keep the scale reasonable - but again, the short term rewards would all line up with not keeping the scale reasonable. You see similar problems in any form of comparatively-unskilled manufacturing - it takes a significant effort to avoid rewarding people for cutting corners on their own safety, especially when the penalties for cutting corners are unlikely to manifest immediately."

[Joshua]

"That makes sense I suppose. It is something that is difficult to explain." He will look over at the orc, who will head into another room. "I've been going through a tribe of orcs, but that's one at a time. Explaining the need for them to take care of themselves is difficult. Orcs don't do that normally anyhow." He will shrug.

"The emerald guild has come up with some variations on unseen labor. Like the autoplow and the autoquill. Ruby usually prefers other forms of labor though. From constructs to undead. Kothu did attempt to build up a life-force battery."

[Rasanam]

Ruby flips back to the appendix for a moment. "Interesting; I would not have expected an unseen servant variant to have enough force to run a plow. Probably a bit cheaper to maintain than any sort of construct, too. Undead, though..." she shakes her head. "I don't much like necromancy. A flesh golem is one thing; an animated skeleton that's just asking for any passing paladin to smite it... I suppose it's probably okay if you're using, oh, skeletal horses or monkeys or the like, or powering a life force battery with rabbits. Still not something I'd be happy about. And if someone has found a way to legally work with the remains of something sentient... that's the sort of loophole I'd want to see closed."

[ShadowOfPreservation]

"Agreed" Lyra says with a shudder. "It'd probably be a good idea if we find a way to get that battery out of Kothu's claws. I doubt simply making the use of a lifeforce battery illegal would deter him from using it." Turning to Ruby Lyra continues "We found that on. It's big. Big enough to fit a dragon. We freed the one that was in it but...things like that I'd rather see destroyed."

[Joshua]

Unfortunately, as almost none of this will impact the larger game, it's going to settle down into small talk and discussions of current issues.

[Rasanam]

The next morning, Ruby heads out to the Ruby guild - on her own. The news reports resulting are... interesting; things like "800 year old dragon-elf challenges Scion!" - nevermind that Ruby is actually a bit less than 800 years old, or that in terms of biological time she's only 230-ish, well within the lifespan of a normal elf, let alone a half-dragon one.

The actual challenge is scheduled for the end of the week; Scion will be fighting by proxy using his latest fleshcrafting abomination; Ruby has declined to use a proxy or champion, commenting that while she'd prefer to build a construct to match against Scion's work, that would take her significantly longer than a week's worth of time to prepare.

There are also, somewhat quieter, reports of a few criminal cases the Arbiter's Guild had open being suddenly closed thanks to new information; reading between the lines, it's fairly obvious that Ruby has put a significant amount of effort into divination magics to track down any wrongdoing from members of her guild - though she has also cut deals with the Arbiters to keep the actual punishment in-house, should she win the challenge. Of course, win or lose, Scion will likely be facing investigation into how such problems occurred without his (apparent) knowledge...

And it's about three days later that Ruby will track Lyra down again, saying, "We need to talk. In private."

[ShadowOfPreservation]

"Of course" She replies and will likely lead Ruby to somewhere within the temple, to a seldom used room for study and contemplation that she is sure will offer privacy, having long ago been warded for use as a confessional in the early days of the temple before expanding and outgrowing the small room. "How have things been settling into life in the city after your absence?" This being the Temple, Lyra would be in her standard half-drow form that all of the clergy are used to.

[Rasanam]

"I've been doing reasonably well. But I think you may be asking the wrong question... Here, I'd like to show you something."

Ruby calls up a shimmering portal (the ninth level spell Gate), which opens up onto the swirling chaos of the astral plane. Dead ahead is a familiar looking tower - the same one Lyra and Rasanam found Ruby in. Except, of course, it's not literally the same tower, because this one isn't out in shadow...

"After you," Ruby says, gesturing at the portal.