Single Guard Seeks Thief…

[conjuredskies]

...Wait, no, not that way.

Having been absent from his post for a couple of weeks or so, Felix is once again in Legion leathers and stationed outside the heavy rune-inscribed doors that mark ‘his’ portal. He’s sitting casually atop the desk draped with its red and black Imperial banner, turning something blue-white and glimmering over in his hand. A quill? A feather? Some sort of pin?

“How is it that when you want to find a particular sort of person, they’re nowhere to be found?” he asks, pushing his hood back. “Even when normally you’d be shaking them out of your pockets.”

Comments

[conjuredskies]

"It determines which to protect." He's not going to claim it's perfect, just that it works.

Enchanted banhammer, fifty points flame damage!

"We're good at finding power. What do you mean by 'broadcasting'? It sounds... like casting power with a wide spread?"

Does that banhammer also inflict a Silence effect?

[onemorebounty]

Mmh.

*Not perfect, no. But he clearly isn't thrilled with the idea, either, so there's hope--and a beachhead.*

Broadcasting refers to one mode of wireless communication--with enough power, a single transmitter can cover a hundred-mile radius or more. If you run electricity through an antenna--usually an arrangement of long, thin pieces of metal--it emits some of the more benign kinds of invisible light that I discussed with Stratos. Other antennas within range interact with the light. Modulate the current on the transmitting antenna, and the receiving antennas will resonate; connect them to something that can translate those modulations into some other form, and you have long-distance, wireless communication.

A very permanent kind.

[conjuredskies]

Gods help them all, if they're depending on Felix to make a moral stand.

He has to concentrate to follow her explanation, but follow he does - the concept of long-distance resonance used for communication is an easy one for him. "Antennae?" He smiles a little. "How do you prepare them so they'll emit the light?"

He's still thinking in terms of mystic connections: it hasn't clicked that 'gives off light' might be something ordinary metal does.

By that logic, every weapon inflicts Silence. Paralysis, too.

[onemorebounty]

*If someone as morally flexible as Felix can recognize that there might be something wrong about treating sentient beings as less-than simply because they aren't close enough to human, then there's hope for the civilization as a whole.*

Mostly it's just a matter of running the current through it. Working it into an appropriate shape can make for a more effective transmitter. Some alloys make more effective transmitters than others, too.

...Are you saying the blacksmith overcharged me?

[conjuredskies]

"That easy?" He's startled. "But... then any metal that carries a current gives off light? Any weapon enchanted with lightning, for example?"

[onemorebounty]

*That's something she hadn't considered, and raises a brow now as she does so.*

Huh. That's a good question. Naturally occurring electromagnetic noise can interrupt a signal. Is there electricity moving in these lightning weapons at all times, or only when they actually strike?

*Wheels are turning in her head.*

If enchanted weapons do give off radio waves, it could be possible to track them. Huh. Going to have to run some experiments on that.

[conjuredskies]

He nods, looking pleased: she's followed the same line of thought he had, and it's nice to make a worthwhile suggestion. See, he can too act clever.

"When they strike, I think. The enchantment stores energy in potentia, and that's what you sense when examining it. So when someone used the weapon it would light up, right? Perhaps it would even work if you cast lightning at ordinary metal."

[onemorebounty]

*She gives a thoughtful nod.*

Lightning does make some radio noise, it would make sense. Hmm, your people might have easier access to radio jamming than most.

[conjuredskies]

“That’s good. ...What does it mean?”

[onemorebounty]

A radio signal can be jammed by putting something near the transmitter or the receiver that transmits on the same wavelength, and then having it put out a great deal of noise. It would be like you and I trying to have a conversation with someone standing between us shouting nonsense.

[conjuredskies]

"I see. So... how do you stop the receiving antenna picking up all kinds of electricity? S- the tribune said your world was full of electrical devices. Or what about light from other sources than the one you want?"

[onemorebounty]

You don't. You connect the antenna to something that can hone in on voice at a time from the multitude, one channel, and filter out the rest. You only get interference from lightning, or jamming, because it's making noise across all the channels at once.

[conjuredskies]

“Oh. Still, if we’re discreet it should take people a long time to work out the trick of jamming them. Maybe a storm elemental would know how to filter out different kinds of lightning.” He’s looking dangerously thoughtful. The details and electrical devices aren’t his thing, but he can see plenty of exciting possibilities here.

[onemorebounty]

Discretion is a good habit in any endeavor. And if these storm elementals are sensitive to the electromagnetic fields around them, they might have some insights on the subject, yes. Do you have a way to ask one?

[conjuredskies]

“I’ve been studying how to summon one.” Or he was. Maybe he has a new excuse. Felix twiddles the feather in his hand and gives her a grin. “The tribune couldn’t object if I investigated further, could he? I mean, in the Empire’s interest.”

[onemorebounty]

Is summoning one something he'd normally object to? Or need to?

[conjuredskies]

“The tribune is a responsible, upstanding citizen. Naturally he doesn’t approve of dealing with daedra.” Felix sighs. “I think he had to convince himself that the people here don’t count. It's a shame: his knowledge would be very useful for a summoning."

[onemorebounty]

Well, I don't know what constitutes upstanding citizenry where you're from. Perhaps he'd help if you said you needed his input to make sure it doesn't go wrong?

[conjuredskies]

"That could sway him. But we'd have to get him committed to these radio receivers first. Otherwise he'll just order me to go back to my destruction studies." Which he really should put time into: Felix himself considers it a bad joke that he's being called a 'battlemage' when destruction is one of his worst areas.

[onemorebounty]

Well, that's easy.

*She smirks.*

Ask him if he thinks instantaneous communication between cities is in the Empire's interest.

[conjuredskies]

"The next time he complains about how to get news from the south? I'll bet I can talk him into it before he knows what's happening."

[onemorebounty]

Well, there you go.

*A smirk tugs at her lips.*

If you need help, send him my way. I've got a half-billion worlds' worth of military history, full of examples of groups that prioritized developing better communication winning against groups that prioritized better weapons.

*She sobers.*

Because there's another war coming, isn't there?

[conjuredskies]

He's nodding happily when her question makes him blink.

"War?" He does a rather good job of feigning surprise for all of a minute before it's broken by a slight smile. "It's that easy to see, is it?"

[onemorebounty]

Maybe not for everyone, but war is kind of my thing. So. Tell me about the enemy?

[conjuredskies]

"The Thalmor? The tribune told you some of it, didn't he?" Not that he has any qualms about sharing.

"High Elves from the Summerset Isles. They're religious fanatics obsessed with cultural purity. They're taller than humans, they live at least three times longer, they're better at magic - on the average. As far as I can tell, Thalmor resent humans and despise lesser elves. Including those of their own race who don't adhere to their dogma."