Well, here\'s part 2 for all you PS fanatsy lovin\' kiddies out there. I\'ve decided to temporarily title the story \"Planeshift - The Quest of Lineage\", but that is still up for debate. Whenever I\'m done with the story, I\'ll probably refine it a bit (fix any setting errors and smoothe out some of the descriptions) and stick the end work on the web some where.
EDIT: Just to clarify, if refered to in game (via a Library Book), the story is called \"The Quest of Lineage\". If posted anywhere else, it is called \"Planeshift - The Quest of Lineage\" (Kind of like that of other book/short story series/genres/settings like Forgotten Realms, Dark Sun, etc).
BTW, all the work (and its characters) is copyrighted by me and is released under the Planeshift license. Do not reproduce these words without mention of the author (Brian \'Kinshadow\' Murray).
Part 2
Despite her success that night, Asuria remained frustrated. An angry twist of her arm sent the newly acquired dagger into her bedroom door. She had already spent several hours that night trying to make sense of the arcane symbols to no avail. Grudgingly she pushed herself out of the lumpy bed to retrieve dagger. Her brother would ask questions if he saw it there.
Being eight years younger than her, Surin had that pre-teen inquisitiveness that irked everyone he met. Surin had never met their mother, with her dying at birth and all, and their father had died a mere four years later in a mining accident. Asuria was his only real family, supporting them with odd and usually illegal jobs.
Recently, life has been good. A twist of fate happened to get her a reputation as a talented tomb robber. Tomb robbing was not a common job in Yilakum, where the corpses of the dead were usually disposed of but tossing them in the abyss. Only people who are both important and eccentric get sealed in tombs. Even then, the tombs are usually more like memorials with no actual corpse to speak of. Little of value is kept in these vaults, usually personal items. The pay off is when the person was a sorcerer and ancient magic items are mistaken for personal ?trash?. Despite the lack of worth, family members still tend to trap the tombs honoring their loved ones to discourage snoopers. That combined with the fact that they are usually located deep in the Stone Labyrinths makes the job less than desirable. The mining skills of her father, a quick mind, and an unusual dose of luck has kept her alive so far. A steady stream of specific treasure requests (sometimes with tomb locations and information) for the last two years have kept the two orphans off the streets and well fed. Most of the well paying requests were from the mysterious Kinshadow figure, but her reputation insured her that other (if not as well funded) relic hungry mages were eager to wait in line.
Asuria pried the knife from the door and tossed it a nearby drawer. The growling of her stomach urged her to open the door and make her way down to the kitchen. Asuria and Surin rented a pair of rooms above a cobblers shop in a ?not-quite-seedy? area of town. For the most part, order was insured by the town guard, but not so much she couldn?t sneak around when she needed.
The kitchen always contained some bread and cheese to nibble on and Asuri helped herself wondering who could have a grudge against her. Who else knew of the drop location or the job in general? She had stolen several similar rods for Kinshadow in the past, but he always insisted on secret meeting places, and took great measures to insure no word was said to anyone about their activities.
Asuria finished her meal and went to bed as the city rose for a busy day. Dark troubles weighed heavy on her mind and she would not have a restful sleep.
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Kinshadow?s magical darkness faded as he strode into his workshop. Tossing his
ji-gi cloak aside, he opened up a black lacquered box on his worktable in the middle of the room. Four black rods laid inside the box, each with its own indentation in green velvet interior. The two empty indentations made the set look wrongly incomplete. With swift hand motions, Kinshadow drew the new rod from the secret pocket dimension in which he?d hidden it and placed by its brethren.
A thin smile crept across his face as he looked on the newest member of his collection. Each of the black rods was carved differently; each representing the deeds of the original owners in more detail than most could imagine possible. These were the
Us-Si Lim, or Soul Rods, of the greatest of his ancestors since his kind journeyed to the caves of the Azure Sun. Their magic is not apparent to any not of the lineage and without a magical talent. The rods not only tell the story of the individual, but also hold the great knowledge and experience that person held. Unfortunately, the power and knowledge one can gain from and individual rod does not compared to wealth that they hold. Only a set of rods working together in a hive-mind can unlock the power they contain.
The quest to own his own lineage of rods has consumed the one known as Kinshadow for many years. With his recent public political success, he gained access to the libraries of knowledge that most citizens Yilakum do not have the privilege to view. The locations and intricacies of his key ancestors tombs were then only a matter of research and persistence. His secrecy insured he did not gain a negative public opinion and kept political opponents from drawing the wrong conclusions about his sorcerous ways.
EDIT (to specifically mention the PS political structure
): This attitude was not uncommon among newly appointed Vigesimi who did not inherit the position. Unlike the Internal Circle, politics in the External Circle can sometimes be turbulent.
Kinshadow concentrated deeply on the new
Us-Si Lim, experiencing as much as the sole rod would let him. Several hours passed and his focus remained absolute as he wove the spells necessary. Only when the hard leather sap smashed into the back of his head, did he realize he was not alone.
