Myth: A New Age CYOA

[Nevill]

An impressive infodump, thanks!

The champion of the Light failed to stop the Myrkridian hordes from spilling out upon the world and driving mankind back to a handful of cities isolated from each other by a sea of wilderness and darkness.

Whoa, so the civilization survived and there were actual cities to speak about? I thought humanity was driven back to the caves or something. How did they manage that feat? Nobody cared enough to raze them?

Ghôls are free willed mortals. They are the same as dwarves or humans in that regard. Some chose and choose to follow the Dark out of conviction, others out of the opportunities it brings, some refuse to serve, they run the whole gambit really. But the ones that humans see the most often are those that follow the Leveler's armies westward so the ghôls do have a certain stigma attached to them. In Finn's experience they are not necessarily any more 'evil' than dwarves, humans, fir'Bolg or mauls in and of themselves.

Has he or his people had many interactions with the ghols? Do they serve Dark Gods, actual Gods, in the same way the cultists serve the Spider Goddess? If yes, what does he know of those Gods?

Does he know the roots of their mutual hatred with the dwarves?

The Faceless Man has no particular love for anyone but himself, at least that is what Finn could discern from the few conversations they have had over the millenia, but he does seem to take a certain liking to a handful of humans every generation (and they always are humans for some reason, never dwarves, or mauls, or fir'Bolg or ghôls, just humans).

Does he know who Faceless originally was, or does the mage predate even Finn himself?

Does he know what became of the humans Faceless took interest in over the years?

Finn asks you not to say anything about this around Mazzarin. The Great Mage is convinced that Faceless is a staunch follower of the Dark, possibly because the two have been enemies for so long and Mazzarin's identity is so closely bound to the concept of the Light.

Does Finn know when or how their enmity started?

Finn does not believe that most of the Fallen Lords served willingly.

What does he mean? Does the Leveller possess the power to bind any person he can into his service? We are talking the strongest mages in the Universe here.

Or was it only Balor's power?

Was anything known about the allies or servants of Moagim? Are Fallen Lords something that is unique to our Age?

Presumably it has something to do with the fact that Myrdred was not a necromancer.

But he had a sizeable army of undead under his command. Where did they come from?

If you are asking, 'Does a thing have meaning for those it does not effect in any way?' Then Finn would say, probably not.

I am just trying to see whom this phenomenon affects. It seems to be tied to the human race somehow, as the Levellers and heroes are all, without an exception, human, and the cycles did not come about before the rise of humanity.

They helped to fight Balor in their own small way.

What was the fairies' role in the war?

Oh, they definitely noticed. It is hard not to notice the near extinction of your neighbors.

Yes, but were they affected or in any way in danger of the extinction themselves?

How long was it since the rest of the fairies have left the land?

 

[Karwelas]

Of course, don't expect them to charge an archmage or do something suicidal for a little food.

What about a lot of Scooby Snacks?

Fixed.

 

[Baltika9]

Of course, don't expect them to charge an archmage or do something suicidal for a little food.

What about a lot of Scooby Snacks?

Fixed.

We have an entire army of Scooby Doos. Thanks, Karwelas, I never realized that until you pointed it out. This will be awesome!
Anyway, voting 5B and 6C. Edit: also, flipping to 2C.

 

[Nevill]

Now I can't get the images out of my head!

 

[Kz3r0]

1. D.
2. C.
3. B.
4. Aii.
5. B.
6. A.

 

[Fangshi]

Whoa, so the civilization survived and there were actual cities to speak about? I thought humanity was driven back to the caves or something. How did they manage that feat? Nobody cared enough to raze them?

Well, a lot of them did fall eventually. By the time Connacht appeared on the eastern borders of the known world the only real city of note left was Llancarfan (what is today known as Muirthemne).

When Moagim beat the champion of the Light at the end of the Age of Reason, the Empire of the Cath Bruig was quite a bit bigger then that. Not so big that the Trow considered it a threat (though the human Emperors did have to pay tithe to the Trow Consuls) but big enough to meet humanity's needs. Moagim's victory reduced the empire to essentially the city of Llancarfan and the humans living around it. Humanity fought a defensive war from that point on, unable to expand much, if at all, during the Wind Age.

The other cities that survived were all far to the west. The Free Cities of the North were founded by the survivors of the drowned Kingdom of Yer-Ks. These were mostly people that fled before the Trow legions arrived and people that lived in what is now the Deep Mire but had to move when the land became too soggy to farm and the marshes expanded to encompass the entire area.

These cities did reasonably well as the Myrkridia were less numerous in the west than the east. The humans of the free cities fought mostly with the fir'Bolg and the Skrael but they were able to maintain a degree of trade and communication amongst themselves.

So, yes, for most of the cities it was a case of them not being important enough. Llancarfan managed to hold out to a degree. It's outer walls and a decent chunk of the city fell but the second set of walls were not breached and the Cath Bruig military was able to push back out into the outer city and then the countryside beyond.

Has he or his people had many interactions with the ghols?

Not much, no.

Do they serve Dark Gods, actual Gods, in the same way the cultists serve the Spider Goddess? If yes, what does he know of those Gods?

From what he understands yes. He doesn't know if they are actually real though. He knows next to nothing about them.

Does he know the roots of their mutual hatred with the dwarves?

No, he never thought to investigate it. Their war is of little interest to him.

Does he know who Faceless originally was, or does the mage predate even Finn himself?

He does not know who Faceless was. He does not know if the mage predates him.

Does he know what became of the humans Faceless took interest in over the years?

Well, he is almost exclusively interested in mages or people that have the talent to become mages. As a result most of them went the way that mages do. They went insane or they attacked someone they should not have, the end result was usually death. Finn would not blame Faceless for that necessarily since as far as the King knows he was rarely directly involved in the demise of his students, but from what he knows of the archmage he also would not put it past Faceless to murder his own students over a slight or for entertainment.

Does Finn know when or how their enmity started?

As far as he knows Faceless insulted Mazzarin somehow and, being Faceless, he did not apologize. When Faceless saw how upset the Great Mage got that merely encouraged him to keep pushing.

What does he mean? Does the Leveller possess the power to bind any person he can into his service? We are talking the strongest mages in the Universe here.

It is possible perhaps but he does not know.

Or was it only Balor's power?

That seems more likely as Balor was rumoured to be in possession of the Dream of Domination.

Was anything known about the allies or servants of Moagim? Are Fallen Lords something that is unique to our Age?

The idea of Fallen Lords does seem to be new to the last age, at least from what Finn can tell.

Finn knows that the Watcher served alongside Moagim (either as a subordinate or, more likely, as an ally) but the Watcher did not risk himself in Moagim's war. When it was clear the Connacht would win the Watcher withdrew and left the Leveler to his own devices. Contrast that with the Watcher's defense of Balor as Alric pushed toward the Trow city of Rhi'anon. Now, it could simply be the case that Alric did not look like he was going to win the war so the Watcher was less careful or it might be something else. Perhaps the Watcher had to protect Balor, perhaps he had no choice.

Aside from the Watcher though Moagim did not have powerful generals under his command. He had the hordes of Myrkridia which had leaders but no one on the level of a Fallen Lord.

But he had a sizeable army of undead under his command. Where did they come from?

Shades. It is known to only a few but the Deceiver had a spell that allowed him to completely dominate the minds of others. Finn knows for a fact that Myrdred had some of the Watcher's shades working for him and they would not do that willingly. Finn thinks the Deceiver bound them to his service much in the same way that the Fallen Lords were said to be bound to Balor's service.

What was thefairies' role in the war?

Assassination mostly. They don't have the numbers to fight the armies of the Fallen Lords but they do have mobility and skill on their side. They would pick off shades and necromancers whenever they could, leaving the enemy forces disorganized, to drift on their own until the Legion could smash them.

To give an example:

They ambushed and killed twenty necromancers controlling a column of Soulless at the Devil's Outlook, near Bagrada. They then left the Soulless to drift in the snow. Finn is told that the Legion took care of the rest.

Yes, but were they affected or in any way in danger of the extinction themselves?

If they had been found then they would have been killed, yes.

But his people have already left the continent for the most part. It is possible his race would not have died with him.

How long was it since the rest of the fairies have left the land?

Several hundred years.

 

[Fangshi]

Current Tally:

Spoiler

Baltika9 1D>C 2C 3C 4Aiv 5B 6C
Kz3r0 1D 2C 3B 4Aii 5B 6A
Nevill 1C 2C 3C 4Aiv 5B 6X
Karwelas 1C 2C 3C 4Aiv 5B 6C
Grimgravy 1B>C 2B 3C 4Aiv 5A 6B
Azira 1Fi>Fx 2B 3C 4Aiii>Ai 5X 6X
Absinthe 1Fvii>Fi 2C 3X 4X 5A 6X
Jester 1C 2C 3C 4Aiv 5A 6C

1.
B - 1 (0)
C - 3 (5)
D - 2 (1)
F - 2

2.
B - 2
C - 6

3.
B - 1
C - 6

4.
Aii - 1
Aiii - 1
Aiv - 5

5. Shapeshifting, A - yes, B - no
A - 3
B - 4

6. Elephants, B - leave it, C - warn the handlers not to mistreat the elephants, but otherwise leave it until better times
A - 1
B - 1
C - 3

I will close the vote in fifteen hours so that I can make an attempt at completing it this weekend.

 

[Grimgravy]

You can remove the ? from my votes. I'm cool with them.

 

[Fangshi]

You can remove the ? from my votes. I'm cool with them.

Sure thing, done.





I should have the character index done soon too, only a little over twenty characters left to do and then I just need to add the new ones.

When I finish I will connect it to the main page.

 

[Jester]

C
C - personally I thinkthey should be drilled a bit
C - big M thinks that us opening mouth is bad, time to prove him right
A4
A - guess wue might negotiate and later
C - letter we might want to use colossus tech and forget to tell hounds that insulation might be good investment

 

[Fangshi]

Alright, I am going to close the vote.

1.C wins, you will continue to add to your growing zoo by recruiting a pack of Cú Sídh. They are yours to keep provided they do not decide to wander off.

2.C wins you will take the middle path, keeping the stone but also trying to show the Old Man that you need not be enemies

3.C you will appeal to the quirks of Big M's character, attempting to convince him to help you against the threats to the Kigndom as detailed here.

4.Aiv you will proceed with the plan detailed here.

5.B by a slim margin you will not attempt to bargain seperately with Finn for shapeshifting training, at least at the moment.

6.C you will warn the Hounds not to further mistreat the elephants but you will put off any serious decisions about them until later.

I will begin working on the update tomorrow. Ideally it will be done within forty eight hours.

 

[Jester]

Well if we ever quit being mages we can open circus.

 

[Nevill]

While we are waiting, a few questions.

- What can Finn tell us about the armies the Watcher has left? Any intel they were able to gather (numbers, locations, leaders, goals etc)?
- What about the other armies, if the fairies crossed paths with them, of course?
- How exactly does his control gem work? Is it keyed to us? If we give it to Thais, can she activate it? Or can anyone activate it if they know the 'command word/thought'? Can it be activated over a distance? (it would be nice if the Seekers couldn't hear us, too)

 

[Fangshi]

- What can Finn tell us about the armies the Watcher has left? Any intel they were able to gather (numbers, locations, leaders, goals etc)?

Just the one from what Finn can tell. He grins and says that from what he has heard you dealt with all the others!

It swept up out of the mountains and it is quite big but it seems to be alone. If he had to guess it numbers about five thousand ghasts, a thousand thralls and about seven hundred wights that they very carefully guard. He has noticed a few packs of the Thin White Mage's hounds around the Beast's camp as well, it is odd behavior for them since they tend not to hang out with the armies but he is at a loss to explain their presence. He figures there can not be more than thirty to fifth necromancers in the entire host as well. It is too slow, too unwieldy to have more than a handful in charge of it. Of course, that handful is more than enough to point it at a city and weight alone can accomplish a lot.

What is really interesting is that about two thirds of the ghasts are not even dwarf corpses, they are ghôl corpses. Seems the Beast may have rolled over a few tribes in the south before heading north.

Then there is the Beast and his honour guard and they seem to be able to control the undead without much effort as well.

By far, the most dangerous thing in that host is the Beast but the necormancers have also erected four big tents around the city and they are feverishly working on something inside of them. He has not been able to get close enough yet to know what though.

Finn does not know what else the Watcher has but he completely expects the Thin White Mage to make an appearance at some point. He doubts that the Horror's pride will let him miss the sack of Stoneheim.

The Watcher's other generals have all been fairly quiet. Finn thinks they are either in hiding somewhere in the South or they are on some sort of mission for their master.

- What about the other armies, if the fairies crossed paths with them, of course?

Finn has avoided the other armies. He saw fighting them as an unnecesary risk.

He knows the cultist forces are much more dangerous than the ghôls though. The ghôlish raiders are not terribly centralized or organized and probably only number in the hundred. The cultists though have leaders, are very well armed and many seem to be slightly more than mere dwarves and men. Then there are the spider demons of course... nasty things, spider demons.

- How exactly does his control gem work? Is it keyed to us? If we give it to Thais, can she activate it? Or can anyone activate it if they know the 'command word/thought'? Can it be activated over a distance? (it would be nice if the Seekers couldn't hear us, too)

It is not keyed to you. All someone has to do is hold the stone and think and will for the Seeker in question to die. The stone does the rest, it sends off a signal to the collar and *BAM*.

It can be activated over a distance but only up to fifty metres. That is the maximum range for the stone. If they are outside of that they are safe unless they somehow manage to set off the collar (tampering with it would do it).



The update is just under half done, I will keep pecking away at it whenever I have a moment.

 

[Nevill]

Also, can the Cú Sídh detect the Watcher's minions?

Yes, as long as they get the right scent they will be able to sniff out the Watcher's agents.

The same process applies to most agents of gods or archmages. They will all test positive if they have been directly compromised by the specific being you are testing for.

So anyone who has, say, structures of black marble in their minds would fall suspect, as those denote some kind of tampering that was not present in the mind natively. Is that correct?

What about someone like Hesse, who had a protective screen over his mind?

His defences take the form of a single massive black sheet draped over the world that is his mind. Not terribly original but sufficient to prevent casual attempts to come to grips with his mind.

Would the dogs be able to sense it, or at least sense that something is not quite right?

Supposedly the Sliver is not doing well, it is being opposed by two separate groups.

The first is led by some sort of barbarian king who has managed to raise a war host. Rumours say he is eight feet tall and capable of breaking or mending a man with a single touch. They say he wields a great sword in each hand and can fire light from his eyes. His wife is also a terror, a master of poison and the dark arts, unmatched in cunning and in beauty...

Do we recognize Serpent and Christine in that description and can our characters act upon that information?

 

[Fangshi]

So anyone who has, say, structures of black marble in their minds would fall suspect, as those denote some kind of tampering that was not present in the mind natively. Is that correct?

They can denote tampering but they do not have to. It has more to do with the fact that the black marble is completely unlike anything else around it. If you are looking for tampering then that is what you should focus on.

As yourself, "Is there something here that this mind would not create on its own?"

Naturally, as D&T get better they will be able to notice subtler alterations, and not every 'foreign influence' is going to proudly declare itself with a giant piece of rock.

What about someone like Hesse, who had a protective screen over his mind?

That just means that they have had someone install defenses for their mind. It does not necessarily mean their mind has been tampered with.

Hesse's shield is a lot like Mayer's tower in that regard, it is a shield to prevent prying mentalists from easily taking a peek.

Would the dogs be able to sense it, or at least sense that something is not quite right?

Only if they had been told to react to all magical 'scents'. Generally you tell them which precise magical signals you want them to check for and they will sniff those out. If you tell them to go after everything then anyone that has had work done will set off alarms.

Do we recognize Serpent and Christine in that description and can our characters act upon that information?

A warrior king, a giant of a man that wields a blade in each hand and his stunningly beautiful queen... To be honest that is not what Derryth thinks of when she thinks of S&C.

You can act on the information should you desire, you just don't know it is Serpent and Christine.

 

[Nevill]

A warrior king, a giant of a man that wields a blade in each hand and his stunningly beautiful queen... To be honest that is not what Derryth thinks of when she thinks of S&C.

Well, when they tell of a pair of beautiful and terrible mercenaries from the depths of the empire, seven feet tall with eyes of steel and tongues of flame, one would not usually think of D&T either.

Divide everything by two, and you will get a married couple - a healer and a poisoner. Could be our guys.

But I will concede, Derryth will never acknowledge Christie as 'unmatched in beauty'.

I am thinking of making contact with the Gower group and the northern tribes, seeing as we are both fighting against the same enemy. That is probably a matter for another time, though.


What would Morpheus want from us for making contact with Nephila through the Dreaming?

Would inviting him to listen to our victory concert we will hold at the Silver Flame do it?

Actually, what would he want for his Nightmare? Another of the Watcher's generals? Eberhardt resurrected? Something/someone else?

 

[Fangshi]

What would Morpheus want from us for making contact with Nephila through the Dreaming?

Well, what have you got left to give him? Seems to me you have traded just about everything you have already.

Morpheus is a demon, he is infinitely changeable. Propose something and if it tickles his fancy then he will agree, if it does not interest him then he will politely refuse.

For example:

Would inviting him to listen to our victory concert we will hold at the Silver Flame do it?

It is his wife's club, he would be there anyway or at least watching it, so no deal. :D

Actually, what would he want for his Nightmare? Another of the Watcher's generals? Eberhardt resurrected? Something/someone else?

He offered it to you in exchange for TWM so to get that offer again you would need to give him something comparable. (If I remember right that would be about 2000IP).

 

[Azira]

If TWM has escaped, then we recapture him and voila. Worth more than 2000IP this time around, for the simple reason of Payback.

 

[Nevill]

It is his wife's club, he would be there anyway or at least watching it, so no deal. :D

If there is a concert, which is not a certainty. Otherwise there would be nothing to watch. There are plenty of other ways to celebrate and places to do it at, y'know.

What we offer is essentially a performance at his wife's club, yes. A relatively minor offering for a relatively minor favor.

Will probably make the place more popular, too.

If TWM has escaped, then we recapture him and voila. Worth more than 2000IP this time around, for the simple reason of Payback.

Infinite money IP cheat!

Actually, can we ask him to tell us if TWM ever escapes?

He offered it to you in exchange for TWM so to get that offer again you would need to give him something comparable. (If I remember right that would be about 2000IP).

So the question becomes, what is comparable with TWM?

 

[Fangshi]

Actually, can we ask him to tell us if TWM ever escapes?

Sure, you can ask him to...

So the question becomes, what is comparable with TWM?

Well TWM was a centuries-old undead mage that does not seem to be able to truly die. So something at least as interesting as that.

 

[Nevill]

"It is not an easy thing to bear Cousin, being called something your not," he snorts, "I done plenty that can be rightfully laid at my door, I have robbed barons, I have kidnapped princesses, not that they minded much, mind you, and I have sorely used the odd self-important general. All that I can be rightly accused of and won't take the slightest offense to but to be called a demon and have all that they do laid at my feet, no Cousin, I don't much like that at all."

So... does Cropper mind telling us about some of his exploits?

What was that about generals?

Can he introduce us to some pretty princesses?

When did his encounter with a lusty dwarf take place, by the way? Was it in the recent month when Finn got summoned to the Kingdom, or is he talking some old history?

Is his current form his 'true' one (by that I mean the one he wears most of the time), or is it just one of his many faces? Can he hide his, uh, distinguishing features if he wants to? He clearly was able to turn into a Myrkridia, and I doubt a Myrkridia with hare ears would be very convincing.

Can he pass for a ghol or a dwarf if he wanted to? Are there limits to what he can pose as?

Don't take offence for that one, but do Pucas share a special connection to certain animals whose features they share? Like, increased empathy or an ability to understand their speech or something like inheriting their traits?

Why is is that he is the most friendly and outgoing out of his group of hunters? Has he spent a lot of time near human settlements?

Each is dressed in a tunic and trousers of the brightest crimson with a mantle as green as the deep pines on top. Their mantle is further decorated by gold embroidery, it takes the form of leaves and hinds, hares and great flowering trees, each bears a single symbol on their left shoulder as well. A silver badge in the shape of an oak leaf. The final piece of their kit to draw your eye is the weapon each carries. A long, broad headed club, notched up and down its length with symbols you do not recognize.

What is the significance of their silver badge? Does it denote their allegiance to Finn's court, or is it something else?

What are the writings on his club? Are they just inscriptions in Fey, or are they enchantment runes, or maybe both?

---
About the controlling gem. Does it emit magical 'radiation'? Can anyone determine who is currently holding the gem if they know what to look for, or is it 'silent' because it does not bear an active enchantment?

Do the Seekers' 'collars' emit 'radiation' and give their position away?

 

[Karwelas]

5. A - How can you say no to a personal slave girl?

Just found it! Whaaaat?!
But, thanks God - Nevill character seems changed since then! Neutral good?

 

[Nevill]

Nope, I just learned to hide it better.

But yes, I have started to take it a bit more seriously around the 13th chapter or so. Before that I was just trying to screw with the characters for the lulz.

 

[Fangshi]

So... does Cropper mind telling us about some of his exploits?

Well, there are an awful lot of them but he could list a few perhaps.

A lot of them follow the same basic formula, he meets someone, helps them or hinders them, sometimes he kidnaps them or robs them, then he goes on his way. You heard the one about the dwarf but another one that comes to mind is when he abducted a whole caravan by himself!

The caravan was headed from the Province to the Dwarven Kingdom and he happened to stumble upon it in his wanderings. He took the form of a human beggar and wandered up to the caravan leader to ask for charity, a bit of bread, some whiskey, maybe some cream since the caravan was absolutely loaded down with exotic goods.

Not only did the caravan master refuse to offer a fellow traveler a little hospitality but when Cropper persisted he gave Cropper a sound beating. Cropper took the beating, forty seven lashes in all and then Cropper swore an oath! For forty seven years would the caravan wander, lost, unable to reach its destination!

The caravan master gave him a good kick for that so he made it forty eight.

Cropper hobbled off and slipped into Finn's treasury, using his unparalleled wits and braver he valiantly stole a few artifacts and returned to the human caravan. With phantom horrors and great frights he drove the entire caravan into the tiniest piece of a twisting mirror that Finn keeps for just such an occasion. Confined they were, and confined they remain till forty eight years have come and gone. Cropper reckons it has been maybe fifteen or sixteen years so far but he has a hard time remembering the 'when of it'.

Oh! There were also those six times he managed to convince peasant villagers that he was a god (four of those times it was a god of fertility... peasants will believe anything though he does not remember anyone complaining).

What was that about generals?

He doubts it would be anyone you know. From what he has heard most of them died with the King of the Province when the Fallen Lords pushed over the Cloudspine.

Well, except Mauriac, but Cropper likes Mauriac. Cropper informs you that the old general is, 'A spirited old bastard' and a great deal of fun.

Can he introduce us to some pretty princesses?

Not unless you want to meet some things that are decidedly not human. You are aware of most of the 'mortal' royalty already.

When did his encounter with a lusty dwarf take place, by the way? Was it in the recent month when Finn got summoned to the Kingdom, or is he talking some old history?

Yeah, it is recent history.

Is his current form his 'true' one (by that I mean the one he wears most of the time), or is it just one of his many faces? Can he hide his, uh, distinguishing features if he wants to? He clearly was able to turn into a Myrkridia, and I doubt a Myrkridia with hare ears would be very convincing.

Sure, it is the one he has taken a fancy to lately. That may change though.

Yeah, he can hide the ears and the like if he has to but he won't generally care to.

Can he pass for a ghol or a dwarf if he wanted to? Are there limits to what he can pose as?

He is sure there are limitations, he doubts he could pose as a Trow for example, too big. But he can manage the shapes you have mentioned.

Don't take offence for that one, but do Pucas share a special connection to certain animals whose features they share? Like, increased empathy or an ability to understand their speech or something like inheriting their traits?

"What are you insinuating Cousin!" he shouts then bursts into laughter, "Nah, Cousin, we take the animal features that match our traits, not the other way round. Like me, I am quick, and smart as a hare!"

He beams.

You are not sure that hares are renowned for their intellect but you do not correct him.

Why is is that he is the most friendly and outgoing out of his group of hunters? Has he spent a lot of time near human settlements?

"Just the way I stumbled out into this cruel, cold world," he chucks, "I simply have more experience talking with mortal, simple as that. Well, that and brothers Beater and Bounder were bored, looking for a bit of tussling, a bit of fun, and you were it, Cousin, sorry to say."

What is the significance of their silver badge? Does it denote their allegiance to Finn's court, or is it something else?

"Badge o' Office, nothing more," he replies dismissively.

What are the writings on his club? Are they just inscriptions in Fey, or are they enchantment runes, or maybe both?

"What?" he glances at the many marks on his club, "Ah, Cousin, those marks are for the villains I have put below the earth, or returned below the earth when dealing with the undead. Just my way of keeping score."

About the controlling gem. Does it emit magical 'radiation'? Can anyone determine who is currently holding the gem if they know what to look for, or is it 'silent' because it does not bear an active enchantment?

It does not emit a signal so long as it is not used. If it were used then it probably would.

Do the Seekers' 'collars' emit 'radiation' and give their position away?

Finn says, nothing more than the enchanted items they are already wearing. You are not skilled enough to pick up a difference but Mazzarin probably could.

Nope, I just learned to hide it better.

Can he introduce us to some pretty princesses?

Sure you did.