Alphatian Wormhole Commuter Transport System
by Jeff Daly"When a people have peace and prosperity for too long, they can be
sure some goober will come along and ruin it. Either he'll go and
start a war, or he'll sink a heck of a lot of money into some
weenie project. The nice thing about Emperor Alphas III's wormhole,
is that it does free up a lot of the airspace around the major
cities."
--Sage Malvulian speaking at a lecture in the Sundsvall
University.
During the reign of Emperor Alphas III, a long peace held. As a
result, society began to crumble. The old politicians found new
ways to cheat the government out of more money. The youth of the
day became interested only in their own hedonistic pleasures. It
seemed that Alphatia had expanded its borders as much as possible,
without major effort. The Emperor knew that something was needed to
get the people focused. A major undertaking to divert lots of
hitherto wasted energy.
He knew that war was out of the question. Past emperors would
simply pick on Thyatis or some other barbarian kingdom...which had
been fine for a time. But now the barbarians were learning too much
from the Alphatians. Emperor Alphas III certainly did not want to
go down in history as a Kralion X...often known nowadays as "The
Inbred". No, he wanted a much greater legacy. Perhaps something as
unimaginative as "The Great", but better would be something like
"The Innovator" or "The Excellent".
And so it was that he began to consider powerful enchantments and
what might be of benefit to society. His task was a daunting one.
Alphatians, as magically powerful as they are, are not used to
thinking of useful applications of magic. He pondered the wasteful,
though ingenious, flying apparatuses which flew overhead every day.
The many flying castles, towers, and ships, not to mention the
multitude of carpets, brooms, and mortars and pestles, made the
skies overhead cluttered and dark. The frequent collisions tended
to be a problem too.
Emperor Kralion X had actually declared the skies above any major
city to be off-limits to all but military vessels. That had gone
over real well! Wizards fumed and seethed over the regulation.
Alphatians, not being used to even their emperor being so bold as
to regulate spellcasting, began to talk treason. Half a dozen
Council members were ready to challenge the emperor to a duel. This
was the situation which had lead that one to seek war...mainly as a
diversion to domestic distress...
No, banning aerial traffic was not the way to build a legacy.
After much consulting with many top advisers, Emperor Alphas III
declared a quest. The adventurer to bring forth a unique travelling
vessel would inherit a king's ransom in gold. It mattered not that
Alphas had not yet decided WHICH king would give up his
ransom...the adventurer could be betrayed my legal or physical
means, whichever became necessary.
Around this same time, high level wizards in Shraek began
tentatively exploring the Dimension of Nightmares. One of them,
Hulio the Archmagist, found a unique beast which he dubbed the
"phase worm". He found that this worm had the extraordinary ability
to change its own flesh structure during travel. At rest, it was
soft and fleshy and of the general size and shape of a purple worm.
It had a dull grey body with numerous sphincteral orifices. When
moving, and its movement rate was incredible, its flesh would
shimmer and change to a smooth, hard, blade-like quality. Finding
the beast to be docile, Hulio used a light protective spell to
enter the creature through one of its sphincter openings. Its
biological systems were soft and cramped at rest, but would
contract and pull back during travel, leaving an almost hollow
interior. It occurred to him, for some reason, that this creature
could be considered a unique travelling vessel.
The emperor was pleased with the presentation of the creature. He
ordered 1000 of the worms to be captured and trained for use.
Slowly it dawned on him that this did not truly solve the
transportation problem. Rather, it merely added to it.
So he ordered built, a vast wormhole network which would connect
the major cities at various stations. The creatures would be used
to travel from station to station.
Phase Worm/Astral Worm/Silver Worm
What no one realises actually, is that the phase worm is but the
larval stages of a creature which looks like a silver cockroach. It
is intelligent, and while not necessarily evil, will certainly be
very angry if it ever escapes the control of its captors. The
Alphatians maintain special spells of subjugation over the
creatures now...but if there was ever a major calamity (ie, WotI)
perhaps an even greater disaster could result...
Travel Shield Spell
This is a 2nd level spell which grants protection to the caster
against the mucky interior of the phase worm. It grants very little
else. Non- spellcasters unfortunately have to deal with the
muck.
Commuter Stations
These stations are long in construction with vortices at either
end. The phase worm speeds into the station through one vortex,
coming to rest at a platform where the mages and their servants can
board. As it slows down, its skin changes from sleek and
steel-like, to soft and fleshy. Holes open allowing travellers to
board. The mage in charge of the worm will then make a last call
for boarders, and prod the worm into movement. It starts slow, but
before it gets to the next vortex it is moving extremely fast.
Tickets are purchased in 100gp denominations. A portal is located
at the entrance point which will not allow a person through without
a purchased ticket.
The entering vortex automatically deducts 100gp from the
ticket.
The Wormhole Network
One could, theoretically, go from any vortex to any vortex via the
network. Floating guard stations within the wormholes help to
ensure that no one does this. Permanent gates within a heavily
guarded building in Sundsvall allow these guards to get to work
everyday. Another major factor is that the worm "pilots" certainly
want to be paid and will not attempt to circumvent the process.
Finally, there are guards and devices stationed in the stops
themselves which will attack without remorse anyone attempting to
fly through a vortex without a worm.