Nexus Serious Plots 9: Srsr and srsr [Archive] - Giant in the Playground Forums

5a Violista

2020-11-07, 12:23 AM

[Visiting Family]

While Zophiel stomps on the last little bit of jelly, Hunter draws her sword again and goes to finish the thing off. One burning slash and none of the jelly is moving.
"And there's your demonstration. Good fighting."

Sandstone grabs onto the side of a tree nearby and twists around to look at the battlefield.

[Hell]

Anchor stands back as instructed and watches.
So it is the cold region Sekhmet mentioned. That's a good sign, right?
She's dressed fine for temperatures like these, so just steps in through the rift and quickly looks around.

A Cold Day in Hell

"Phew!" Sekhmet says after everyone's through the rift, her breath forming into an icy cloud in front of her face. "Let me, uh, get my bearings." She closes her eyes and breathes deeply, in and out, in and out. Then she opens them again. "We need to go down." It doesn't look like there's any way down, just a flat plain. "This place is riddled with sinkholes, we, uh, just need to find one." Sekhmet sets off across the icy wastes.

[Visiting Family]

"Yeah. Same," the paladin responds, returning the compliment.

Zophiel looks around just a little more - to make sure there's not any more jelly hiding in a tree waiting for them to think the battle's over.
Once he's confident that if there is more he can't find it, he walks over to retrieve his thrown sword.
"You have really good teamwork with Sandstone," he says.

[A Cold Day]

"So we just walk around until one of us falls through the ground?" Zophiel says, to make sure he gets what they're supposed to do.
Well, if someone happened to have some sort of ultrasonic detection or magic sight then it might actually be pretty easy. However, apparently lacking those, Zophiel decides to maximize the chance of encountering a sinkhole:

namely,
The paladin spreads out from the other two. If they're spread out, then that triples their chance of finding a sinkhole.

Recaiden

2020-11-07, 02:00 PM

[Visiting Family]

Likewise, Hunter goes to stow her sword, retrieve her dropped gun, and check that everything is well.
Sandstone swoops down and lands on her shoulder once again, getting a laugh out of her.

"Aww, thanks. It just takes a lot of practice." And silent psychic singing signaling, that helps.

"Let's get going quickly, though. That was a loud battle."

[A Cold Day]

"Try to see the sinkhole before anyone falls in it." Anchor suggests.

She'll join Zophiel in spreading out a little, trying to be in-between the paladin and the Sekhmet.

A generic sinkhole is not the sort of thing she has any particular ability to find, so walking through the icy wastes it is!

bc56

2020-11-07, 03:30 PM

A Cold Day

This is an inefficient way to search for sinkholes. The group spreads out, but no sinkholes are found. Sekhmet is getting frustrated. "There's, uh, something I can do, but, uh, it will attract attention. Uh, dangerous attention." She closes her eyes, focusing. If Anchor or Zophiel want to stop her, they can.

Reinholdt

2020-11-08, 02:22 AM

[Gem Dungeon - Floor 4 Stairwell]

"Poisons," she immediately answers. "Poisons probably won't work. Unless they're, like, lust-element poisons. Those ones would work well." Super effectively, in fact. "M-maybe don't try light or dark-type things either, since it'll take longer and hurt more." Maybe she should just keep on talking, since just standing here in silence feels weird and awful. But she's run out of resistances so there's nothing else to talk about. "If you have one, I'd recommend a lust sword or abstinaxe or wanton dagger or something like that, since it'd be fastest." 'cause everybody just casually has a lust sword hanging about.

[Gem Dungeon - Floor 4 Stairwell]

Fettina quietly sidles off down the passage after a few moments' deliberation, not wanting to interfere or witness this. She hopes they're doing the right thing here... and that helping Carmen is the right thing in the first place. She's never really been very good at gauging what's the 'right' thing.
[Gem Dungeon - Floor 4 Stairwell]

Fortunately for Tina, she has Reinholdt to help guide her as to what the right thing is!

"Really? I'd have imagined that you'd be exceptionally resistant to lust based attacks. I guess I need to study... succubi? much more closely." Reinholdt replies after a few moments of Tina's footsteps growing distant and quiet. The abstinaxe at least makes sense. To him. There are clearly other rules in place.

"Anyways, I promise it'll be quic-" Reinholdt interrupts himself by swinging an axe as hard as he can at her neck. A shame poison wasn't an option. He figures doing it suddenly while talking will lesson the anxiety of anticipation. It is a relatively boring axe though, enchanted only with a self-cleaning feature. And Carmen could have done something unexpected once Tina leaves them.

But if this successfully does the deed, Rein will move quickly to grasp Carmen's hair while checking her body with his own so that neither decide to take a trip down the stairs. With a quiet sigh he can then get Carmen into a body bag and clean himself up before hoisting said bag up and heading after Tina to catch up with her. If it doesn't work... well then everything will get messier and uglier.

5a Violista

2020-11-08, 04:51 PM

[Visiting Family]

After retrieving his sword and putting both away, the paladin asks Hunter, "Were you hurt?" Just a normal caring-parent thing.

Speaking of it being a loud battle, Zophiel looks around to see if there's anything coming after them right now. He remembers that there was a beheaded dinosaur up ahead, so, rather than going straight towards it, it might be good to go around it. Especially if things from there decide to head straight here. "This way, right?" he says, leaving this jelly-arena.

[A Cold Day]

It is inefficient, but it's just as efficient as most other methods. If only one of them could run really fast then it would be really easy to find one.

Hearing Sekhmet's suggestion, Zophiel stops walking and turns towards her. "As long as it doesn't bring the wrong attention, it's fine." The wrong attention being, specifically, the arch-fiend or whatever that they're trying to avoid.

Not entirely sure what kind of dangerous attention it'll draw, Zophiel draws and readies one of his swords.

[Gem Dungeon]
Floor 4 Stairwell

Carmen opens her mouth, ready to explain the reasons - as far as she knows; a lot of it is just speculation and theories - why succubi are particularly weak to the lust element in spite of also having the greatest affinity towards it, and how that intersects with her heritage of actually being half-succubus and why that should matter, and probably a couple other things on a tangent because by telling him all these things she can draw it out as long as possible because as much as she'd rather be dead than trapped in here, she still doesn't particularly want to be dead so long as that's an option.

She's just waiting for him to finish talking so that she can go into the explanation, but...

...it's cut short.
It happens smoothly, but probably not quite as quickly or painlessly or in-a-single-swingingly as if he had used an absinaxe instead. Actually, thinking about it, if Tina were the one holding the axe then it probably would have been just as effective.

Well,
most people die when they get beheaded.
Everything goes as planned.

=> Floor 5
This room is actually pretty similar (structurally speaking) as the second floor, with the demons. Several cells all around, multiple directions you can go. Up ahead are the stairs downwards - but, since they're headed to the treasure room, there's no need to go down the stairs. The secret passage is in the back of a cell to the left.

The last time Reinholdt was here, the darkness was oppressive.
It still is, but not quite as oppressive. The darkness still eats away at any light coming out from flashlights or anything else. They'll still be able to see, but the light doesn't shine nearly as far as it did on the other floors.
Notably, as well, all the cell doors are open. Nobody's inside any of them.
This floor gives a very similar feeling that they felt earlier in this dungeon, though. The basement-hallway-rooms that they went down to avoid the fire-zombies and the skeletal gorilla is what it feels like. And, like up there, there's sometimes shadowy figures just at the edge of their peripheral vision, whispering things.

It really is fortunate that they don't have to stay here. As long as Rein can remember the right way to go, and they don't veer off the path, then everything goes perfectly.

Recaiden

2020-11-09, 11:12 AM

"It sounds too early to resort to things that will attract attention. I mean, what are you thinking to do?"
Anchor looks around again, but this is a flat empty hellish plain, nothing of use.

"Do you think you could fly up and see one?"

bc56

2020-11-09, 11:23 AM

A Cold Day

Sekhmet thinks for the right words. "I, uh, was going to open my mind to find the, uh, souls that line the walls of the chasms. But your way, uh, sounds safer." Sekhmet flies up and takes a look around, before descending. "There's, uh, an open sinkhole over that way." She points in a direction.

5a Violista

2020-11-09, 03:08 PM

[A Cold Day]

How easy is it to even fly in this temperature?
Well, Sekhmet has her own flame so that's probably not a problem.
Definitely a great idea, though. Zophiel wishes he had thought of it, too.

The paladin looks in that direction.
He tries to see if he can spot the open sinkhole from this height.
"Okay." He turns to go in that direction, and starts walking. "Shouldn't be that far of a jump down, right?"

Murkus

2020-11-09, 06:42 PM

[Platinum Star]

That actually gets a snort out of Maiel. "I'm almost pleased to never have been called that. We can try, if it amuses you, but I doubt anything here will have much effect."

[Gem Dungeon - Floor 5]

Well, the new surrounds certainly aren't helping Tina's mood. She has her arms hugged around herself when Rein gets down there, rubbing her shoulders as if for warmth. In truth she doesn't really feel big differences in temperature any more, but that sounds weird and she hates explaining it. Her eyes scramble back and forth over Carmen's body-bag. A little frown scores her face.

"I hate all this stupid magic bull****!" She exclaims suddenly, walking off in the direction of their objective with her wings flexing and creaking. "Hate it! Ugh! Let's go somewhere less depressing next time, huh?"

Recaiden

2020-11-09, 11:26 PM

It must be pretty chilly, but Sekhmet bravely flies up for them anyway.

"We uh, might want to let people who can fly check that out. I mean, I've got rope if we need to climb down."
But he's right, they can probably just jump.
For the moment though, Anchor just strolls in the direction Sekhmet indicated.

bc56

2020-11-10, 12:16 AM

A Cold Day

Sekhmet flies lower and replies to Zophiel, "Uh, about that." The sinkhole is visible, first as a dark smudge against the snow, then as an actual pit, until it finally resolves into an icy chasm, hundreds of feet deep. People, their faces frozen in twisted expressions of pain and anguish, are encased in the walls by the thousands. Sekhmet shivers, and not just because of the cold. "She'll, uh, be nearby. Maybe, uh, in another one, but, uh, they should be connected."

Reinholdt

2020-11-10, 12:37 AM

[Gem Dungeon - Floor 5]

"Sorry. Most of the happy, fun dungeons already have their treasure looted." Reinholdt remembers this part pretty well actually. Last time he was here, this was one of the most memorable areas. So it doesn't take him very long to find what they're looking for. Especially since he moves with an earnest haste. He doesn't like it down here either and distinctly remembers bad things hiding in the darkness.

"But you're right. Ninety percent of the time, magic is the exemplification of Power Abuse. We'll find something more upbeat next time. I still want to see where they sell those hard light chair things of yours. Or maybe even get my hair to light up, but only on weekends. What do you think, would I look good in neon?" Rein throws out a reassuring smile in an attempt to lighten Tina's mood. Partially because he knows they're almost done, barring complications.

Shadowcaller

2020-11-10, 05:23 AM

[Platinum Star]

"Now that is simply outrageous. Any party in skyside worth its guests simply must have beverages adapted for other species than humans. So if you can get buzzed at all there are alternatives. If not here, then in my own private collection." Though it really wouldn't look good for the Platinum Star if she had to use that. "I simply can't have have my plus one sober at a party. People would be talking you know?"

Felandria

2020-11-10, 11:17 AM

[The Platinum Star] Fel and Rosie

Rosie looks super-surprised. A god actually caring for their children, of arguably lower status? She has to remember that they're from different worlds. In fact, Felandria seems to be a native Nexusian, whereas she herself is not.

She also quickly remembers that as Fel's girlfriend, she should be more supportive rather than judgemental, and holds back the scoff she was going to make. "... I'm glad that's so, babe."

She squeezes Fel's hand and takes a tiny sip of her drink, making said sip look longer than it really was. "Will you introduce me, sometime? You can meet my mom and dad, as well." She trusts Fel, but wants to meet this Zeus for herself.

Fel squeezes back and finishes her drink.

I’d like that very much.

Tell me more about your parents, then.

5a Violista

2020-11-10, 07:34 PM

Recaiden

2020-11-10, 10:05 PM

Anchor looks down into the pit of hell.
Most of these people, presumably, deserve to be here in a sense, for their misdeeds during life. But it still awful to behold.

"Not really. We would have to go down in several steps."
She just has about 100' of ropes, and the pit is several times that.
"I'll go down as far as I can, you follow, and then Sekhmet can untie the rope and fly down? I mean, and then we repeat that until we're deep enough."
She gets out the rope and materializes a black spike to anchor it into the icy surface. Which provides a good excuse to look away from the chasm.

bc56

2020-11-10, 10:30 PM

A Cold Day

"I, uh, can do that." Sekhmet descends into the pit. She calls up from a point about a hundred and fifty feet down the chasm. "The passage is right here! Can you get down here?" She waves up at them and conjures a little flame so she's easier to see. Suddenly, her eyes widen in shock. "What? Aiiiiiiieeeeeee!" A clawed chitinous limb grabs her and pulls her into a fissure in the icy wall.

That's not good. Not good at all. Not only is it bad for Sekhmet, but without her, Anchor and Zophiel might be stranded in this hellish snowscape.

5a Violista

2020-11-12, 11:43 PM

[A Cold Day]

Oh no!
Everything is going in the wrong order. She was supposed to wait up here.

Not only that, but the rope doesn't go down far enough. Since the plans were abruptly changed, they can't just follow the same plan. Need to come up with an alternative to get down that far. He could...get down to the bottom of the road, anchor the bottom of the rope to the wall with a sword, and then Anchor releases the rope from up here. Unfortunately, that would strand her up here without a way down. Maybe he could jump, but...in a place like this, that might have some bad consequences later on. But would it be worse than letting Sekhmet be taken?
He needs to come up with a way to minimize the long-lasting effects. Maybe if Anchor goes down first and he stays up here, that won't leave her up here and then he'll have time to figure out how to minimize seal modification and still get down.

He quickly pulls the rope back up so he can get to the other end of it. He has an idea. "You go down," he says to Anchor, telling her his idea. "When you get to the bottom, press this sword's tip against the wall." With the end of the rope, he starts tying Mercy's handle to the rope. Black spreads along the blade, down to the tip. "That'll fix it in place, and I'll release it up here," from the black spike.

Zophiel waits a moment, and then lowers the sword and rope. "Then the rope will drop far enough for you to reach her."

Recaiden

2020-11-13, 10:56 AM

Oh, they found the passage already. That's good. It's not even at the bottom.
Then Sekhmet gets grabbed by a monster, which is less good.

Anchor's shadow rushes up to her.
But luckily Zophiel has a plan, so they don't have to do anything too hasty.
"Okay!" She grabs the sword in one hand - wow that's heavy - the rope in the other, and starts sliding over the edge. "Let's go, Mercy."

She slides down the rope pretty quickly, and, assuming no fiends reach out to get her, will heft the sword up and prick it into the ice.
"Now!"
For a few moments, Anchor is just hanging with one hand from this sword that's held in the ice by paladin magic.

bc56

2020-11-13, 11:46 AM

A Cold Day

"AAAAA! HELP!" Sekhmet screams from inside the crack in the wall. There's a burning sound and more screaming. That does not sound good. Anchor's now about 50 feet above the opening. "Back off! Let me go!" More screaming ensues.

Murkus

2020-11-13, 08:29 PM

[Gem Dungeon - Floor 5]

Rein might be pleased to get a laugh out of her. Fettina shivers and folds her wings close again. "I think you'd look great. Hell, I think there might be a few places like this back where I come from... just maybe a little less sad. I remember going to some parties in a couple seriously creepy places..." Creepy she can deal with, but this place was heavy, and Tina doesn't do heavy.

Then, of course, they hit the treasure room and Fettina's attitude soars. She freezes. Starts to do a little dance and clap her hands, which makes a resounding metallic bang. She half glides forward over the stones and starts to pass her hands over just about everything. She will pick up the hooded cloak and try it on, then grab the sword to flick it around a little.

[Platinum Star]

Oh my, that almost seems to make Maiel crack a smile. She's teased a genuine smile out of him. "Hmm? And what would they be saying, Tellysandra?"

5a Violista

2020-11-13, 09:12 PM

[A Cold Day]

The sword fixes itself in place when instructed to.
Zophiel looks down, glad that she was able to do that. At the right time, Zophiel removes the spike and tosses the rope down. "There!" he calls down. The rope falls, which should reach plenty far down enough for Anchor to get to the cave.

The paladin watches for a few moments to make sure everything works out well. Once he's confident that everything appears to be going well, he steps back a little from the edge, and begins working on his own way down:
He can't directly manipulate magic himself, so he starts tracing several seals into the snow. One by one, they make certain parts of the ambient magic swirl around. (They are in the underworld, though, right? So, what, ambient magic is hellish or something? Probably not a big deal.)

Recaiden

2020-11-13, 09:33 PM

With the rope freed up, Anchor slides down it in a hurry, letting go of the sword, grabbing back onto the rope, and drawing her own sword with her other hand.
Pushing a bit off the icy wall so that she'll swing into the opening that Sekhmet disappeared into.
Now, just what is it that's in here?

bc56

2020-11-13, 09:50 PM

A Cold Day

Anchor swings into an icy tunnel.
In here is Sekhmet. She's alive, and mostly unharmed. However she is gripped in an oversized clawed hand, which belongs to a grotesque spindly creature, shaped like a pale, hunched humanoid, with too-long, too-thin arms and legs and chitinous plated skin from which cubic white crystals protrude at odd angles. Its five eyes are an uncomfortable, piercing blue. Its body is marked by several large burns, and Sekhmet is busy throwing more fire at it. "Let me go!" The screams seem to be equally coming from both combatants, Sekhmet in fear and panic, the demon in pain and rage.

Meanwhile, Zophiel starts drawing on the ambient magic of this place. Infernal fiendish energy begins pooling in the seals around him. This power is aligned with the power of Despair, which may infect the magic he's attempting to work.

Recaiden

2020-11-13, 10:54 PM

5a Violista

2020-11-14, 01:15 AM

[A Cold Day]

Zophiel, up top, finishes the seal. The fiendish despair and energy swirls around in a very unique vortex.

...
Of course, he doesn't want it to take effect indiscriminantely, so he makes one final step: he mixes a vial of magic ink with some of his own blood. This way, it'll absorb the swirling energy really quickly in places where it's painted on, much more quickly than just the ink alone. That way, he won't have to remain in the vortex for as long and it'll affect him unevenly.

He puts the blood-ink mixture on his hands, and then traces shapes out on his shoulders and waist. He places himself in the vortex, next, and...waits.

It doesn't take long. Everywhere that ink was placed begins changing rapidly. Two pairs of wings form; one from his shoulderblades - black, feathery, large, and with large clawed hands coming out of the first joint - and one from his waist: smaller, black, and leathery and bony. His hands change, too, but it's pretty minor. His hands become softer and his fingernails, longer. That's about it.

The Despair isn't really ideal, but it'll do. It's fiendish energy. It works. The despair tries to assault the mental part of the four-part seal.
He falls to his hands and knees, and the traced seals on the ground are disrupted. Because the ink absorbed it, it continues applying the same effect, causing them to continue to grow in.

It's painful, but...it's a way down, he supposes. Needs to be done in case something goes wrong down there and he needs to quickly descend.
Zophiel makes sure not to cry out, because that could distract them down there, where it's probably life-or-death.

[Visiting Family]

"It did," he admits, "but I'm better now." You can even look at his neck to check.

"Smell like blood, though." All over his neck and hand. "So...we should definitely hurry out." There's probably loads of things around here that hunt by scent, and the scent of blood is almost universally the smell of 'injured' or 'weakened'.

Speaking of hurrying out, the paladin speeds up.

Recaiden

2020-11-14, 02:10 AM

[A Cold Day]

Anchor swings into the tunnel, lets go the rope, lands lightly on her feet, and lunge forward to swing her sword at the monster. Specifically, at the shoulder of the spindly hand holding Sekhmet. It all flows together very gracefully, if not necessarily effectively.
"You heard; let her go."

Anchor's shadow remains right beside her, wary (claws out, wings half-unfurled, tail stiff) for any surprises the tunnel might have.

[Visiting Family]

It's true, one is sure to find a nice, injured Zophiel here, that's what the scents say. But the smells of gunpowder and dead jelly-monster are more ambiguous.
I think that if they hurry, they'll make it back to town without anything trying to eat them.
As long as there's no distractions or delays.

Reinholdt

2020-11-14, 08:05 AM

[Gem Dungeon - Floor 5] => Treasure room

After walking into one of the open cells, there is a little passage in the back that you have to crouch to go through. Going up the passage might be a little tight, especially with wings, but they both should be able to go through it fine. The uphill path is also a little steeper than would be standard regulation.

By following the path, they will leave the awful prison dungeon behind and find their way in to the treasure room.

It's actually a pretty large room. Well-lit. High ceiling, wide walls, and just piles of treasure all around. Most of it is just regular gold and silver and titanium and gems, but there are a couple more interesting things, like a baby dragon skeleton made entirely of gold, a pile of clothes and a red hood that would fit a teenage girl, a fancy and probably magic sword, a neat scepter, a handful of ancient books, a really old music box that could use a few repairs, crowns and tiaras and another one of those boxes just like the one they found tipped over in that first bedroom/construction break room, or like the one that was found in that bedroom where they had that fight against that awful queen. Good things might happen if you open it!

Congrats!
They made it to the most important room of the dungeon.

There's massive doors on one side of the room, currently closed and locked, that will lead out of the room. Fortunately, from the inside you can easily undo the lock so they can stay as long as they want without worrying about being interrupted.

[Gem Dungeon - Floor 5]

Rein might be pleased to get a laugh out of her. Fettina shivers and folds her wings close again. "I think you'd look great. Hell, I think there might be a few places like this back where I come from... just maybe a little less sad. I remember going to some parties in a couple seriously creepy places..." Creepy she can deal with, but this place was heavy, and Tina doesn't do heavy.

Then, of course, they hit the treasure room and Fettina's attitude soars. She freezes. Starts to do a little dance and clap her hands, which makes a resounding metallic bang. She half glides forward over the stones and starts to pass her hands over just about everything. She will pick up the hooded cloak and try it on, then grab the sword to flick it around a little.
[Gem Dungeon - Floor 5]

"Yeah?" Reinholdt runs his hand through his hair, wondering. Might be fun to try out.

Fortunately treasure! Nothing quite cures the spirit like a pile of gems. He even has to smile at Fettina's metallic clap. Rein starts heading towards the clothes and the cloak, but Tina gets to it first! "Ah! Uhh... mind if I get that one? I have a really good place in mind for it." He says, picking up the scepter and testing the weight in his hands in order to play off its importance to him. It's clearly not that big a deal.

bc56

2020-11-14, 08:31 AM

A Cold Day

The creature's arm is cut off at the shoulder. Freezing-cold water sprays out of the wound, soaking Sekhmet. It might get Anchor too if she's in the wrong place at the wrong time. The creature takes advantage of the distraction to flee away down the tunnel.
Sekhmet spits out water and shivers. "Brrrrrrr. Uh, thanks." She tries to take a step down the passage, but her foot won't move. The water covering her is already solidifying into ice. "Aaaaa! Help!" She screams again. If Anchor too got wet, she'll be in a similar predicament.
All just in time for Zophiel to arrive.

5a Violista

2020-11-14, 05:44 PM

[Gem Dungeon - Treasure Room]

The hooded cloak is pretty well-made. Pretty decent quality, actually! Pretty warm, too. Not particularly special or magical, but it does look good.

The sword is also pretty cool. It makes audible sounds as it swings around, and that's because it's doing something to the air behind it as it swings. Specifically, as it swings it causes the air around it to be very turbulent and leaves little vortices in its wake. It's nothing phenomenal, but it does have its uses.

The scepter, meanwhile, is really fancy. Not magical, but it's really well-made. Really well-balanced, too.

Meanwhile meanwhile, that awful box is still lonely, but it also looks really well-made.

[Visiting Family]

Zophiel himself doesn't cause any distractions.

So, presumably, they make it back to the town easily.
"Well, that was exciting," he says when they get back. "Is that how most your days go?"

[A Cold Day]

It would be really convenient if Zophiel suddenly showed up right then.

Up top, the wings still aren't completely grown in yet.
He hears the latest scream for help, though. He crawls over to the edge of the pit.

He should be there soon.

Recaiden

2020-11-15, 03:12 AM

[Visiting Family]

Back to Huntside!
"Yeah I'd say that's fairly typical. Hunting monsters, a strange person I turn out to have some connection to shows up, fleeing through the darkness, etc."
Hunter nods.
"It's a good living."
The house Hunter leads them to is a sort of pyramidal sunken bunker, on the west end of the town. It is filled with animals of all descriptions (except that none of them are normal), all singing silently.

[A Cold Day]

Luckily Anchor was on the other side of the monster, cutting across. So she is mostly free of ice water.

What she is, is going to chase after the spindly tunnel monster. And as she goes, she says d̟̪̯̟̽̋̌ ̠͚͔̝̰͑̑̉̉ͣͬͣ͗́ẻ̐҉̥͕̯͍̺ after it, a spell of confusion and disorientation. Hopefully that will slow it down.
She does turn back to Sekhmet though, a baffled sound in her voice.
"You have fire magic. Melt through it."
There's probably some reason that won't work, that she doesn't know yet. But it seems like the obvious answer to her.

bc56

2020-11-15, 09:52 AM

A Cold Day

Sekhmet looks embarrassed and starts melting the ice. It's slow going, slower than it should be. The ice here is strangely resistant to heat. It doesn't help that Sekhmet usually uses her hands to direct her fire, and they're currently frozen in place. "I'm going to be stuck here forever and never see Prumathe again or feel the sun on my face or even move," Sekhmet despairs. The ice thickens and spreads over more of her body.

Rebonack

2020-11-15, 01:17 PM

[Sylvanas]

It's snowing. Snowing in an endless forest, an impossible tangle of roots and trunks and branches and leaves that stretch in all directions in defiance of sense and gravity. Bright orange leaves drift through the air and settle in heaps, filling the forest with the scent of damp and decay. Veins of eldritch power pulse through the branches, thumping with a heartbeat that suffuses the forest. Here and there unearthly pink fruits and growths hang from trees, pink spores and petals dancing in the wind. And everywhere hungry things prowl.

The Hart of the Forest beats.

Beware, lest your heart beat along with it.

Magdalene died.

But that's okay.

It happens every now and again.

A huge pink fruit growing on an inverted trunk swells. Bigger, fatter, straining until at least it burst with a wet pop, disgorging a monster that looks like a cross between a human, a wolf, and a reindeer into a snowdrift stained pink with eldritch magic. The monster heaves, vomiting out pink fluid into a puddle around her claws. For a moment she rests there, panting, her breath turning to clouds in the cold. Thoughts are getting fuzzy. Words are getting hard. Break. Break them. Snap and break bad.

She reaches up, grips her antlers, and with a roar and a crack of bone sunders them. In an all too familiar sensation her monstrous form begins rotting away until all that remains in a small, shivering, human child.

Defiant.

Not frightened.

She grabs the furry hide of her former body and wraps it around herself to stave off the cold and begins climbing. She's too deep, here. To escape she must ascend.

5a Violista

2020-11-15, 03:07 PM

[Visiting Family]

"It sounds pretty good," Zophiel says. Pretty similar to what he was doing in the emptied fort before coming back to the Nexus, when he wasn't studying seals and history.
But, if you asked him, he'd rather there be more people around. Sure, there's people here in Huntside, but it's not quite the same. Not, like, a population-dense city or whatever, but...it's just different. Not sure how to describe it.

He goes inside.

Looking at all the animals, he starts to wonder a few things, one of which he asks about: "So, all these. Did you tame them, or make them, or something else? It's pretty impressive how many there are." Since it seems like she can make some, but if he remembers correctly she raised some of them or other things?

[A Cold Day]

About...twenty or twenty-five seconds later, the paladin reaches the cave, with his new wings (and the corresponding clothing torn a little to allow space for the wings) and also the sword-and-rope that was stuck in the wall; the rope is trailing behind him and still dangling out. The sword is on his back, and after seeing what's going on and how Sekhmet needs help, he draws the other one - the blue one.

He holds the sword horizontally, with one hand near the tip, and starts circulating spiritual energy through it. "Decide what to cut and what to leave whole," he instructs the sword, reminding it of its job.

He swings it at the ice that's entrapping Sekhmet.
Rather than dividing the ice, though, a sword of this size would smash and shatter something like ice while it cuts through it. Of course, the sword remembers to not cut Sekhmet as it passes by and through her.

Recaiden

2020-11-15, 03:58 PM

[Visiting Family]

"Oh, it's a mix. This guy-" After taking her helmet back off and putting it on a rack near the door, Hunter picks up a long snaky thing of beautiful colors and twines it around her neck. "-I rescued from a crashed ship that was sinking into the ocean. First thing I ever did after becoming Hunter. That's where I learned to sing. While these-" she waves at the little pterosaurs in the rafters, who have one big eye at the end of their tail and long needle-thing noses "-I created myself. And that there-" she grabs a medium-sized hamsterball that has an orange ooze thing in it, and swings it about playfully. "-is a failed experiment Leah and I were working on together. It's friendly, though." The ooze twists itself around in tandem with being swung, and then bobbles in Zophiel's direction once it's let go again. A pack of rat-sized foxes spring up from their den and swarm around the feet of the two visitors, yipping and laughing. "And those are from Message's work. So really it's a whole lot of different things."

[A Cold Day]

Anchor turns back upon hearing that. Ice of despair, isn't it?
"Hey, you're going to be fine. I mean, we're right here. We'll get you out."
She speaks a few hard-to-render words and creates a wave of warmth to help get rid of the ice after Zophiel shattered it.

bc56

2020-11-15, 04:17 PM

A Cold Day

Sekhmet starts when Zophiel swings the sword at her, but she can't move so she doesn't avoid it. With the ice smashed off part of her, she starts breathing more calmly and between herself and Anchor, the rest of the ice can be melted off. She's still freezing cold, pretty damp, and constantly shivering. "Brrr. Uh, thanks. She, uh, should be in the next chasm." Sekhmet continues along the passage much more slowly than before. Until they reach the end. A new chasm, even larger than the first, meets the heroes eyes. They've emerged somewhere near the top of a huge vertical shaft of ice in pitch blackness. Sekhmet casts forward a ball of flame, illuminating the screaming frozen faces in flickering firelight. "It's, uh, bigger than I expected. This, uh, might take a while."

Earl of Purple

2020-11-15, 05:56 PM

Sylvanas

Also trapped in the trees is someone else, a mortal human. Or mostly human. They're a young man, with dark skin and black hair and blue eyes standing out from their otherwise dark skin. They're covered in scratches and cuts, and their clothes- a pair of brown trousers and nothing else- are ripped and torn. A leather lead is attached to a slightly tarnished copper collar around their neck. He's very scared, unarmed and bleeding quite a bit. "Hello? Hello, are you there? Um, can you help me? I... I don't know how I got here."

Rebonack

2020-11-15, 07:07 PM

[Sylvanas]

Magdalene ascends.

The snow-caked roots and branches are cold, but the cold hasn't bothered her much for a long time. The hide helps. Keeps things from freezing. And wearing clothing, even rudimentary clothing, helps remind her that she isn't a beast. That's something you have to learn quickly when traveling through the tangled roots of the forest. Find ways to remind yourself that you aren't a beast otherwise you'll end up as one.

Or maybe a meal for one.

But getting eaten might still happen even if you DO keep your wits.

Thankfully for Magdalene that would just be a setback. She would be born again deep down in the roots and she would have to start climbing toward the canopy again. A pain. A setback. More likely that someone else will kill her corpse and loot it. But, in the end, not a huge problem.

As she's walking barefoot across a huge snowy branch, the furs pulled tight around her, she comes upon a curious sight.

Below her a few levels, stumbling around and making WAY to much noise, is another human.

An idiot.

A normie.

Magdalene pauses for a few seconds, glaring at him. What a jerk, going and letting himself get seen by her. It's going to be SO MUCH harder getting out of here while protecting his stupid butt. Couldn't he have just gotten eaten by some beasts and saved her the trouble? Magdalene does not, however, consider pretending she didn't see him and moving on. The thought doesn't even cross her mind. No, she swiftly and with practiced care climbs down through the roots toward him.

He'll soon see a girl climbing out of the brush wrapped in furs, a dusting of snow on her shoulders. She looks maybe fourteen or fifteen years old with strangely white, shaggy hair shot through with mottled brown. Her eyes are an eerie shade of pink and glow in the low light. The same color as the veins of eldritch magic winding through the branches. A similar pink glow can be seen bleeding out from under her furs right about where her heart out to be.

"Be QUIET you idiot," Magdalene hisses. "Do you want the whole (flowering) forest to hear you?"

The forest is, as it happens, deathly quiet. There is only the sound of the Hartbeat and the steady falling of snow.

Earl of Purple

2020-11-15, 07:22 PM

Sylvanas

The lad shivers as Magdalene approaches, and he jumps at even the whisper of her voice. He turns and looks, still shivering, and nods vigorously. "Sorry, I, um, I don't know where I am. My... master dropped my lead, and I ran and ran and found my way here and can't figure out the way back." Her unusual appearance goes uncommented on; he's not in a situation to pick and choose who rescues him.

Rebonack

2020-11-15, 07:46 PM

[Sylvanas]

So he just stumbled headlong into the forest.

UGH.

Well, that happens sometimes. Usually people just get eaten when they wander into the woods. This kid is REALLY lucky. And really UNlucky. Maybe he's just extremely lucky? Either way, Magdalene motions for him to follow.

"Then stay with me. And stay quiet. I know how to get out. We gotta get up higher where the gates are open," she says as she starts off through the snow. The lad has found himself trudging through it, the drifts nearly up to his knees. Magdalene, by contrast, is walking along the surface of the snow as if she weighed nothing.

Perhaps most disturbingly is the fact that she's leaving large deer hoofprints in the snow rather than small human footprints.

She pauses at the trunk of a huge tree covered in swollen pink fruits, staring into a great gash in the trunk. Her gaze moves from the tree, to the lad struggling in the snow, to the tree again. Magdalene heaves a heavy sigh.

"Hey you're cold right? We can go through part of the forest that hasn't got any snow but there are going to be more monsters. You rather die of cold or die of getting eaten?"

That isn't a great choice.

5a Violista

2020-11-15, 10:29 PM

[Visiting Family]

"Oh," he says, "cool." That's an amazing variety. "And you're still trying to make new kinds?"

He waves at the ooze.

He was walking so that he could look at more of them at different angles, but when they get swarmed by foxes he suddenly stops: they look pretty easy to accidentally step on (especially since they're so friendly), and he doesn't want to do that.

[A Cold Day]

It's probably that the more hopeless everything feels, the harder it is to melt and the more it spreads.

As they walk, Zophiel loops up the rope and unties it from the sword. Once it's looped up, he tries to return it to Anchor.
He then keeps his sword drawn as they go through. He doesn't try to pass anybody, because wings are awkward when trying to pass someone. Especially when you're not used to them. Because of this, he walks in the back and when they get to the new chasm, he doesn't try to get closer to look at it.

It's rather fortunate, then, that he's pretty tall so he can see over them decently.

"So, is she stuck in the wall? Or do we have to search all the branching caves?" the paladin* asks, because even from his angle he can see how massive it is.

Recaiden

2020-11-15, 11:37 PM

[Visiting Family]

"That's right! All sorts of different kinds, with different strengths and abilities." Hunter hops over to a counter and retrieves a snack with which to distract the foxes, so that Zophiel can go free and admire the animals from more angles. Being able to watch Zophiel from different angles is a pretty common feature among them, as it happens.
They're harder to step on than you might think; relatively they're very quick. But it is a possibility. They live very dangerous lives, the miniature foxes.
"Which brings us to why we're here! Well, sorta, forest sharks aren't exactly new."
She ducks into another room and comes back carrying an armful of jars, each of which are filled with light.
"Have you thought of a name you'd like to give it?"

[A Cold Day]

Anchor nods to Sekhmet.
"Right. I mean, if we work together, we have nothing to worry about, so don't let this place get to you."
She puts the sword back in its scabbard, and, as they walk along, accepts the rope back from Zophiel.

When they reach the edge of the chasm, she hangs back, looking through the dim light.
"A while because of how big it is? Or because you don't know where in the chasm she is? I mean, I think I can help with the second one, now that we're close."

bc56

2020-11-15, 11:48 PM

A Cold Day

"Just, uh, how big it is. Unless you can, uh, fly, we, uh, might need to leave you here and, uh, go on ourselves." She's not sure where Zophiel got those wings from, but she doesn't especially care. She flaps out into the chasm. "She's along this wall, over there." She points. That would be a pretty long climb, mostly horizontal, but a little downwards, and the wall is slippery. "It's, uh, really clear now." There's some sort of supernatural connection between the two Sekhmets, one that gives them an awareness of each other.

Where did that creature go? There were no branching paths, they should've encountered it? Maybe in its confusion it fell to its demise in this pit? Weird.

Earl of Purple

2020-11-16, 04:35 PM

Sylvanas

The lad nods and doesn't say anything, trudging after Magdalene. The footprints are weird, but so is this forest. He holds his arms close against his body, thrusting hands into his armpits to try and warm them up. He stumbles occasionally, as his feet are numb and probably frostbitten.

His teeth chattering, he stops when Magdalene does. He clenches his teeth briefly before trying to talk, and it's still rather hard to hear. "E-e-eaten s-sounds f-faster. Th-that sounds g-good. W-well, not-ot g-g-good, bu-but. Y'kn-know." And he's already freezing to death. Not freezing first would improve his ability to escape.

5a Violista

2020-11-16, 08:38 PM

[Visiting Family]

"I was thinking about it," he says, but then the fight happened and he was distracted and forgot to finish thinking about it.

So.
"Um..." He stops looking at all the creatures around so that he can focus on it.

He thinks.
Hm.
Hm hm hm.
He goes with one of the first things that comes to mind. It feels really really familiar, so that probably means it's a good name. "How about Caramel?" he suggests. It really does feel familiar, so he should definitely go with that one.

[A Cold Day]

Obviously Zophiel got his wings by tearing them off of a passing demon and sewed them on himself.

Zophiel is torn.
"I don't think we should leave anyone alone," he says. Especially because they didn't run into whoever attacked those two. "And since there's three of us..."

"But we also have to keep track of this tunnel because we don't want to get lost on the way back."

He sighs and turns towards Anchor, letting her decide because it affects her the most: "What do you think?"

Recaiden

2020-11-16, 09:15 PM

[A Cold Day]

"We don't have to leave the way we came. I mean, we can just go up out of this chasm, right?"

Anchor gets one of the books from her belt and flips to a marked page.
"I can fly for a medium-while."
She starts whispering the spell from that page, and her shadow wraps around her, and its wings now seem not insubstantial shapes of darkness, but even more real and solid than Anchor herself.
"Lead the way, Sekhmet."

bc56

2020-11-16, 09:31 PM

A Cold Day

Sekhmet flies off towards where she pointed. It's a few minutes of flying later that the trio arrives at what they seek. There, frozen into the wall, is Sekhmet as Zophiel and Anchor would recognize. Her face is frozen in a silent, tormented scream. Sekhmet flaps next to her and then presses her hand against the ice right in front of her double's face. "I'll, uh, need time to melt her free and awaken her. This, uh, has to be done carefully." She begins using her fire to thaw out the frozen Sekhmet. Hopefully nothing disturbs them during the process.

Nope.

A series of unearthly screeches tears through the chamber from below, dislodging chunks of ice from the ceiling. Then, after a second, the source comes into view. Dozens of those creatures they encountered attacking Sekhmet are running up the wall towards them, apparently unconcerned with gravity. Sekhmet glances down. "Can you hold them, uh, off of me while I'm working?" She is not good at fighting.

Recaiden

2020-11-16, 09:41 PM

[Visiting Family]

Hunter gets to work assembling a forest shark, uncapping each bottle in turn and spinning the contents through her fingers and into real matter. Behind the visor that mostly conceals them, her eyes are glowing a deep blue.
"Excellent name! Caramel. Hmm."
First it's just a black outline, then it fills out into a shape with depth and shade, and then it gets its sunny brown color.
The singing gets quite different in tone and slows rather down, all the creatures in the bunker watching the creation.

And before you know it, there's a living being!
The forest shark does look cute, with its big head, big eyes, big ears, and its fluffy fur. But you know, it does have quite a bite!
Caramel looks up to Hunter, and then over to Zophiel, tails wagging, and unsteadily stands up.

Rebonack

2020-11-17, 12:04 AM

[Sylvanas]

Well he probably shouldn't have gone and walked into an icy forest then? Should have thought twice before doing something so dumb!

"Yeah yeah, c'mon you idiot," Magdalene says as she leads the lad into the hollow tree trunk. The inside is... well. It's just a hollow tree? Slightly warmer in here. Especially since there's no snow to stand in. Magdalene begins riffling through the leaf-litter on the floor with her fingers in search of something. "Where the (flower) is it? There's always bones and coals in these trees..." she mutters.

After a minute or so she gives a little, "Ha!" and comes up with a rib! Also a little black peace of charcoal!

Then she takes dead ember and begins drawing on the inside of the trunk with it. A crude snowflake at the top. Then a poorly drawn flower. Then a simple sun. And finally a full moon. Then she stabs the rib into the wood so part of it is facing generally in the direction of the snowflake and begins turning it. She moves the bone from the snowflake to the flower and stops at the sun.

"Okay, there. Let's go," she says, stepping back out of the hollow tree into the forest the same way she came. "You're lucky I know all the shortcuts."

The forest outside the tree is exactly the same. Except instead of snowdrifts there are marshy pools of spongy soil, mud, and water. It's incredibly hot and humid, the trees covered in lush green leaves and tufts of brown grass that has gone to seed abounds. The sound of droning insects is almost deafening and the lad will almost immediately find himself beset by biting flies. Magdalene tosses her heavy furs aside and focuses, frost like white fur crystallizing across most of her body to provide some much needed relief from the sweltering heat AND a little bit of modesty since there's a stupid boy following her around. Her broken antlers drop off as velvety new antlers start growing in. The eldritch light lodged in her chest is plain to see, pulsing in tune with the heartbeat of the forest.

She swats at the pesky flies a few times, then with a clinching gesture conjures a hungering totem. She grips it with both hands and pulls it up by the roots, placing the hideous thing over her shoulder. It begins sapping the ravenous insects of their vitality and feeding it into the lad to mend his wounds.

"Okay that'll keep the (flowering) bugs off. C'mon," she commands as she sets out again.

Earl of Purple

2020-11-17, 12:51 PM

Sylvanas

The young man- who's probably not quite eighteen yet- frowns as Magdalene rummages in the soil in the hollow tree, curious as to what she's doing. He follows her out, eyes wide in astonishment. "How'd you do that? It was amazing." And there's more to come, as she's just taken off her furs and grown ice instead. He's not really used to the idea of modesty; his own skimpy clothing, the collar and the lead hanging from it suggest his own modesty hasn't been a consideration for a while.

The totem dealing both with the annoying flies and patching up his many aggravating cuts, scratches and frostbite.

Rebonack

2020-11-17, 01:14 PM

[Sylvanas]

This weird girl he found is definitely strange and probably not actually human.

Magdalene immediately sets off to climbing upward, striking off on a a huge branch wrapping around the trunk of a tree. Mashy water flows down a depression in the middle of the branch, full of little critters that would be more than happy to begin eating the feet of anyone making the ascent. Thankfully the totem that Magdalene is carrying is eating all the little pests before they can cause any harm. Otherwise the lad's feet would probably be covered in leeches by now.

"So who are you, anyway?" Magdalene shouts to be heard over the din of insects everywhere. "Who beat you up? Or did you get smacked by some beasties here in the forest?"

She's not going to explain exactly where the lad is.

Why would she?

It isn't like she knows more about the Hart of the Forest than anyone else.

It's big and asleep and hungry. The end.

Earl of Purple

2020-11-17, 01:53 PM

Sylvanas

"I... My master called me Fido. I can't remember what my mother named me. He took me for a walk in the woods. I walked, he sat on a palanquin held by guards. A gang of muggers appeared, and demanded his money. I yanked my lead from the guard holding me and ran into the thickest set of brambles I could. I got the scratches from the trees, there and here. I'm... not really used to forestry. I don't think this is the forest I ran into, though. Where are we?" He shouts back, waving away more of the insects. Most of the injuries are quite shallow, but a few are deeper and taking longer to heal. He's got a few splinters of wood stuck in his flesh, too. Not sure if they'd be pushed out or healed around by the totem.

Rebonack

2020-11-18, 12:31 PM

[Sylvanas]

"Fido?" Magdalene replies, pulling disgusted look. "Like a dog? Your master sounds like a real (flowering) piece of (rose)."

She has such an artful way with words.

The girl shoves some underbrush out of the way and keeps walking, careful as she skirts around a rather unfriendly tree trunk covered in thousands of sharp spines.

"Summertime part of Sylvanas, I guess. The Hart of the Forest. You're climbing around inside an old god," Magdalene replies matter of factly. Oh, well. That's good to know, right? "Hungry things live here. Sometimes they get out into the human world and eat people. Sometimes they do worse than eat people."

Sometimes they make people at each other.

"There's riftgates up higher that'll get us out of here. Can't just gate out this deep," she says. Then moves to sharply shove the lad into a nearby shrub and dive in after him. "Don't move and don't make a sound," she hisses.

Branches snap and leaves rustle as something large approaches.

5a Violista

2020-11-18, 12:39 PM

[A Cold Day]

Oh. Yeah. They probably can just break through the ceiling. It looked capped off and they couldn't see it from the surface, but it shouldn't be that hard to just break through. "Yeah, you're right. It should be easy to break through the roof."

He flies afterwards. The wings don't feel very natural yet, so he's not that agile with them.

Zophiel gets there and spots the frozen Sekhmet.
...
He feels a pang of regret. When she's free, he really needs to make it up to her and apologize just like he did with Selekhael.

He looks down and sees all those creatures.
"Yes, I'll go down there and try to stop them," he says. He then recommends to Anchor that she take care of the closest ones and any that get through.

The paladin stops flapping his wings, so that he can freefall towards the creatures. He needs to do something really flashy that makes a big splash, to force them to pay attention to him. While falling, he draws the red blade again and runs his hand along its blade. It becomes covered in black threads again.
Nearing them, he slows his fall and prepares to throw the sword.
Rather than throwing it at any one of them in particular, he throws the sword into one of the caves. As the sword sails through the air, the threads parachute out like a spider web blowing in the wind - and, like a massive spider web, it clings to the wall over a large area. Any of the creatures who are caught in the web or who later walk over the threads aren't trapped or stuck to it; instead, they'll feel like time is slowed to a crawl for them, that they have so much time to think but their bodies are just far too slow for them. In effect, it'll significantly slow them down.

[Visiting Family]

The paladin watches the process. It's really neat, and he's not entirely sure how it's working. But it's definitely good to watch.

Seeing the three-tailed six-legged cute fluffy creature, he wants to pet it.

He crouches down to get closer to Caramel, and holds his hand out, while letting Caramel close the rest of the distance. "Hi, there," he says. Some animals don't like it if you reach straight at them, so...he assumes this one might be the same.

Earl of Purple

2020-11-18, 03:27 PM

Sylvanas

"He... There's a reason why I ran away." Fido doesn't say anything more than that.

He doesn't have much time to think about what Magdalene said before he's suddenly pushed into a bush and Magdalene lands on top of him. He blushes at the closeness, before he pales from the sounds of the thing moving nearby. He's not moving, and biting his lip, and trying desperately not to breathe too hard.

Purple Eagle

2020-11-18, 03:52 PM

Fel squeezes back and finishes her drink.

I’d like that very much.

Tell me more about your parents, then.

[The Planet Express - Fel and Rosie]

Rosie takes a sip of her drink, being careful not to finish it too quickly. "Well..." She starts, looking up and to the side as she taps her chin, then back at her girlfriend. "My Dad's not from the Nexus, a Tall Human like myself. My mum's from Inside. They fell in love and had me. Dad had to be absent at times for work, but he made it up to me when he was around. I was bigger than my mum by the time I was 5 years old, but my size didn't help me any when I chased a butterfly into the Red Zone. After I awakened my power of Conqueror's Haki, I got to see Dad's world for myself, and trained under warriors. We got even closer, and when he brought me back he chose to retire. Now he's in Inside working as a weaponsmith."

She shrinks and jumps up so she's riding Fel's shoulder. "It's during that period I got the ability to shrink my size. As for my mum, she's an Insider from the Blue Zone with a rich family. They didn't accept my Dad at first, but after seeing how much they love each other, they yielded. No regrets so far... I suppose you got your powers from your Dad? Any ones I don't know of yet?"

Recaiden

2020-11-18, 10:05 PM

[A Cold Day]

Anchor looks at 'past Sekhmet' through the distortion of the ice for a few moments, saying nothing.
And then comes the screeching.

"Yeah. I mean, just focus on getting her out."
The spindly chasm monsters may be ignoring gravity, but other things aren't. Look how her hard shadow wings have to keep beating to hold her in approximately the same place!
So the first thing Anchor does is start materializing huge cubes of darkness, a little below where the Sekhmets are, to fall down the face of the ice. Ideally they'll crash into the monsters and send them way down, but at the very least they should get in the way.

[Visiting Family]

Hunter closes up the jars of light and ferries them back to where they belong.
Caramel considers Zophiel, eyeing him suspiciously, and then pounces! Jumping on his hand, to pin it with the front two paws-
-and lick him! Scent and taste are their best senses, after all. Then scrambles around to examine him and this whole strange room they have appeared in.

bc56

2020-11-18, 10:18 PM

A Cold Day

Sekhmet nods and gets to melting Sekhmet out of the ice. Meanwhile a lot of darkness-themed attacks start raining down on the climbing monsters. A large group is bogged down in slowing tendrils, and a lot more are knocked off the wall by shadow blocks, plummeting screaming into the abyss. But they still come, clawing their way through the darkness towards the heroes.

Meanwhile, an extra set of heavy breathing suddenly joins the heroes up above. Sekhmet has melted off the ice from her double's nose and mouth, and she's now breathing, heavily and uncomfortably.

5a Violista

2020-11-19, 05:13 PM

[A Cold Day]

The paladin sees that...while it slowed them down, that's only a temporary measure. Hopefully it helps get enough time for up there to work out.

After watching the darkness cubes for a few moments, he can now see where the majority are getting stopped and where some are getting through. Drawing his blue sword, the paladin flies to one of the caves above the climbing creatures. He lands so that he can get good footing, and then starts building up energy in the sword. Once there's enough and the creatures have drawn closer, he leans out and swings - and a line of cut goes down the wall, cutting at the creatures around and below him.

"How much longer, do you think?" he calls up since he can't really see the progress and doesn't want to overextend and then leave everyone open when there's still a lot of time left.

[Visiting Family]

As Zophiel's hand is pinned, he expects it to get bitten.
He's a little relieved that it's just a tongue and not teeth.

He tastes like a paladin, mostly.

Rebonack

2020-11-19, 05:35 PM

[Sylvanas]

Okay.

So.

Imagine a large predatory beetle. Like a tiger beetle! The sort that run around really quickly in the sand while being a nice metallic green color.

Now imagine a bear. You know what bears look like, right? Of course you do.

Now mix both of those things together and add some antlers that might also be antenna.

That's what suddenly comes crashing through the underbrush with disturbing speed, only to briefly stop and begin sniffing around.

It clacks its mandibles together, caustic green fluid dripping to the forest floor.

Magdalene reaches over to clap her hand over Fido's mouth just in case he does something dumb.

Could Magdalene take it without any of her gear? Maybe. Could she take it without any of her gear while ALSO making sure it doesn't kill Fido?

She isn't sure of that.

Earl of Purple

2020-11-19, 06:58 PM

Sylvanas

Fido has no intent on saying anything, eyes wide at the horrific bugbear he sees. He doesn't resist the hand over his mouth, but doesn't even whimper.

He might still give his position away, though. He's just wet himself, which would be very embarrassing if he weren't so absolutely terrified.

Recaiden

2020-11-21, 10:57 AM

[A Cold Day]

Lots are down, lots are left. This sure would be easier if she could adjust which way was 'down'.
"Still a while longer." Anchor calls down. It seems like just Sekhmet's head is free.

Now, these souls frozen in the walls of the chasm, silently screaming for eternity, they must be suffering immensely, right?
Anchor starts trying to collect that suffering.

" ͍̗̹͖̝̝ͨ͛̎̕͝l̶̴͉̣̣̼̔͞ ͖̜͙̰͚͎̰͏͂ͤ͐̎s̠͏̀ͩ̓ͦ ̢̢̩̻ͤ̄͐p ͍̗̹͖̝̝ͨ͛̎̕͝l̶̴͉̣̣̼̔͞ ͖̜͙̰͚͎̰͏͂ͤ͐̎s̠͏̀ͩ̓ͦ ̢̢̩̻ͤ̄͐p ͍̗̹͖̝̝ͨ͛̎̕͝l̶̴͉̣̣̼̔͞ ͖̜͙̰͚͎̰͏͂ͤ͐̎s̠͏̀ͩ̓ͦ ̢̢̩̻ͤ̄͐p-" she chants, collecting the feelings of biting cold, of being hopelessly trapped, and turning them into energy that glows brighter and brighter between her fingertips as she moves through the motions of the rest of the spell.

[Visiting Family]

I don't think anyone here knew that 'paladin' was a distinct taste.
"Hey, they like you."
And now, we can leave Zophiel to get to know his new animal.

bc56

2020-11-21, 12:14 PM

A Cold Day

Zophiel slices a lot of things. He slices a line through the creatures, sending parts of them into the abyss. He slices into the ice wall,. cracking it. The cracks begin to spiderweb across its surface. Meanwhile, Sekhmet screams. And then immediately says, "Shh. I'm here to rescue you."
"Who are you?" "I'm, uh, you, I guess?"
"No! You can't be! You're everything I always wanted to prove I wasn't!"

The two Sekhmets are suddenly fighting, one frozen up to her waist in ice shoving at the other who's struggling to keep flying and melting the first free in the face of the onslaught.

And Anchor?
She can gather tons of suffering here. Thousands of souls, all trapped in hopeless frozen agony for eternity, feed her magic.

Rebonack

2020-11-21, 12:25 PM

[Sylvanas]

That smell.

There are lots of smells here. Lots of scents. Likes of creatures. But if there's anything that will catch the attention of any predatory beast it's the smell of fresh urine and fear. The bugbear immediately turns toward the huddled hiding place, its antlers (antenna?) waving with interest.

"(Flower) here I go killin' stuff again. When I'm done don't (flowering) run or I will (flowering) eat you," Magdalene hisses as her antlers grow in at a terrifying rate, the velvet splitting open with a spurt of blood and eldritch magic.

Then she transforms into a huge, awful monster that's equal part human, reindeer, and wolf. That bitter, hungry cold of the winter forest radiates from her making Fido's skin numb and stomach cramp with emptiness. Thankfully Magdalene doesn't stay nearby for very long. No, the wendigo pounces on the bugbear and the two huge predators are immediately tearing at each other.

Well!

This is definitely no less fearful than the previous situation was.

Is Fido going to stay in place?

Or is he goes to run?

Earl of Purple

2020-11-21, 02:03 PM

Sylvanas

If he runs, the scary monster the girl turned into will eat him. If he stays here and she loses, the bugbear will eat him.

Fido watches as Magdalene leaves, and watches the two beasties fight. He's lost, totally and utterly. He needs the girl to get him out of here. If he runs, and she can't find him, he's helpless and alone until he's eaten by the next beasty, or slips and falls through the trees. There's no ground, so he's practically guaranteed to be injured when he stops falling. If he runs and she does find him, she'll eat him. And hopefully feel bad about it, but that won't help him. If she loses, he can try to get away from here whilst the bugbear eats her corpse, see if he can find his own way out. Or get eaten by something else.

Best bet, therefore, is staying put. He watches the fight, knowing that the victor will pretty much decide his fate, if he gets out of here or is eaten.

5a Violista

2020-11-21, 11:49 PM

[A Cold Day]

All Zophiel really can do is buy time.
With this many creatures, he can't hold them off forever. Eventually, one will slip past both him and Anchor.
All he can do is buy enough time for her to get out.
That's why hearing Sekhmet arguing in stereo is concerning. No progress means eventually one will get through.

He leans out of the cave and takes the risk to look upwards to see what's happening up there. Anchor...well, so far, she's been more effective than Zophiel at stopping them, he thinks. And she looks busy preparing something, so she probably won't be able to interfere.
Holding his single sword tight, the paladin jumps out of the cave and starts flying again, flying upwards as fast as he can. If those two keep on fighting, one of them is going to fall and the other is going to still be stuck, and then they'll fail. So, in his mind, stopping them from fighting like that is the only way they can all get out of this safely.

Given how far down he dove (to set the front line down as far as possible), it takes him a few long moments to get up.

Once the paladin finally reaches the Sekhmets, he says, "Hey," to draw attention to himself, and then thrusts the sword into the icewall above and to the side of the Sekhmets.

He still holds on to the sword so that he can hang there without having to fly or interfere with Sekhmet's flight.
With his other arm, and with the goal of holding the frozen Sekhmet and calming her down and stopping the fighting and also to apologize to her, he tries to grab her upper body into a one-armed hug. "Don't worry, you're going to be okay now," he says. "I shouldn't have left you alone in that church; I'm sorry, you're in this mess because of me."

Unfortunately, wrapping an arm around the frozen Sekhmet would mean that arm is too close to the flying Sekhmet's ice-melting flames.
While ordinarily you'd assume someone would need three arms to hold the sword, Zophiel can manage fine with just one. So it's not a huge loss if one gets burned by Sekhmet's flames.

[VF]

Yup. Zophiel gets to know Caramel.
And paladins definitely do have their own unique taste. Probably. Well, maybe not all paladins.

Recaiden

2020-11-22, 01:59 PM

Well, it sounds like someone needs to resolve things between the two Sekhmets. How ironic that the person they came to rescue would cause such trouble!
But Anchor has to finish this spell, do something with all the absorbed suffering, or they'll have several problems.
Oh good, Zophiel is going to handle it. She lets herself glide down a few moments, until they two of them have passed...

And then she recites -p̢̢̻̩͐̄ͤ ͦ̓ͩ̀͏̠s̎͐ͤ͂͏̰͎͚̰͙̜͖ ̴̶̼̣̣͉̔͞l̝̝͖̹̗͍̎͛ͨ̕͝ i̇̽̏̃́͟ ̘͔͖̗͎ͯ͊̓͊͋c̙ͪ ̷̘͉̘̒n̢͕̼ͥ̔ͦ̌͑ ä̧̧̮̤͍̗͙̘̫̹́͆̅̑̓̒ͬ̾g͈̭̱̤̞̭̺̿̍ͯ ̠̲ͣ͋ͮ̏ͭ̒ͩ́ ̶͈̖̻̬̓̓̉ͭͩ̽ͧn̶̺̰̮̠͕̠ͩͮ̉ ̗̞̜͕̤̹͔̱̔ͫͦͮͮ̋̃̑ͮ̀̕͞ẓ̷̛̼̖͇̥̼͇̜͐̚ ̅ͦͬ͂̃ͤ͏͙͇͓r̖̹͙̹̦̀̉̈́̔̌̊͝! and completes the spell.

A pillar of fire shoots down from Anchor's outstretched hands, and then divides and divides again until there's a beam of flames racing towards every single one of the charging monsters. And a few more beams just filling the air, melting into the landscape, etc. For a few moments, the thousands of damned souls here should be relatively free of their torment, as it's all used to fuel this terrible outpouring of destructive magic.

bc56

2020-11-22, 02:43 PM

A Cold Day

Sekhmet sees Zophiel and actually calms down a bit. "You, uh. It wasn't your fault." She definitely recognizes him. "Okay. Uh, I'll come with you." There's one problem though. She doesn't have wings. Sekhmet finally melts Sekhmet free. "Here, uh, grab hold of me." Sekhmet grabs onto Sekhmet... And then there's suddenly a panic. "What are you doing? Get your hand out of me!" When they're looked at, the others can see the two Sekhmets liquifying and flowing into each other. It's a horrifying process.

And Anchor.
Her spell disintegrates a large section of the cavern, along with all the creatures. Eerie silence fills the abyss. Then with a horrible creaking sound, it begins to collapse, huge chunks of ice from the walls and ceiling tumbling down. They need to get out of here. Now.

5a Violista

2020-11-22, 03:15 PM

[A Cold Day]

Once the frozen Sekhmet is free, Zophiel lets go over her (thinking the other Sekhmet would be the best option to fly her out) and pushes off the wall to dislodge his sword.
He falls for a bit, which
unfortunately
leaves him too far from the two to actually do anything. There's nothing he could really do fast enough, anyway, to stop those two from flowing into each other, but. . .if he was closer, he would at least try something. Already too far, though, so.

His wings start flapping, to stop his fall. "Fly upwards!" he shouts. "Watch out! We'll sort this out when we're safe!" he then promises.

The paladin puts the sword away and flies sideways to avoid a falling chunk of ceiling.
He still needs to retrieve his other sword. He pulls on a transparent thread, and the black web below collapses; he starts reeling in the sword that's down low.

Recaiden

2020-11-22, 03:37 PM

Oh. Hmm. Anchor suspects that she may have overdone it a bit there.
But the spindly tunnel fiends are gone. On that measure it was an inarguable success.
She flies back up towards Sekhmet, delayed as a patch of ice in front of her cracks and crumbles out of the wall, forcing her to swoop around it.
"What happened? I mean, is her soul trying to get back into its body?"
"Doesn't matter - can you fly?"
If she gets a negative response, Anchor will try to grab the melting Sekhmets and lift them up with her. Which would be a terrible strain on her shadow wings, but she can manage it for a short time.

bc56

2020-11-22, 04:26 PM

A Cold Day

Sekhmet starts flying awkwardly up. Her voices are starting to mingle together into one, "I don't know what's happening!" Four eyes are nervously flicking about as she continues upward. "But I'm starting to remember things I didn't do!" They both say that, looking very worried. "I remember-

-Finding relics in Marlick Bay!"

-Marrying Prumathe!"

The two are looking increasingly difficult to distinguish. It's harder and harder to tell that they're not one person.

Rebonack

2020-11-22, 06:55 PM

[Sylvanas]

The fight is short, brutal, and bloody.

Fights like these, battles to the death, usually don't last long. They continue until one party manages to mortally wound the other. In this case vines covered in icy teeth exploding out of Magdalene and chomping down on the bugbear, holding it still for the vital moment it takes for the wendigo to sink her fangs into the bear's neck and rip its throat out.

The bottom of the throat, of course.

That's where the nerve ganglia is in these things.

Then, rather unceremoniously, the bugbear is eaten. Soon enough all that remains are a few fragments of iridescent carapace.

Battle finished, the wendigo turns toward Fido's hiding place and begins plodding toward him, sniffing at the air now and again. She's heading straight toward him, reaching out with a huge paw nearly as wide at the palm as his torso. This monster is absolutely gigantic and he's about to grab him.

What does Fido do?

5a Violista

2020-11-22, 07:05 PM

[A Cold Day]

The paladin eventually gets his sword back.

He starts flying upwards after the others.

He can hear what's going on, but . . .
Need to get out of here first, then can figure out or try to solve whatever's going on after.

Earl of Purple

2020-11-22, 07:15 PM

Sylvanas

Fido does the sensible thing. He shuts his eyes and hopes it's quick. Or else that Magdalene has enough self-control to not eat him. If he runs, he's dead, she said as much. And there's going to be worse out in this weird forest. He can't survive here on his own, not yet at least. He needs Magdalene to show him how. And hopefully not eat him.

Recaiden

2020-11-22, 08:31 PM

"You were both the same person, in different times. I mean, maybe you're catching up memories of the split timeline."
Except, can you just fit another Sekhmet inside Sekhmet? Will the dead one try to take over? :smalleek:

Anchor continues flying upwards, here pushing off an icy cliff, there knocking a smaller piece of debris aside with her sword, now glancing back to make sure everyone else is okay...

bc56

2020-11-22, 09:50 PM

A Cold Day

The open air suddenly blasts in from above as the ceiling opens up all the way. Sekhmet, barely distinguishable from a single entity now, barely dodges a slab of ice as she escapes into the open and lands roughly on the snow. She drops to the ground, lies down, and clutches her head. "Ooooooh, my head aches." She remembers both things. She remembers finding the relics in Marlick Bay and becoming obsessed with and controlled by them. She remembers being lured into Eurus Hive and being transformed. She knows what happened to her along both times, but she is one, the two fiends with the same Name merging into the one being they're supposed to be.

5a Violista

2020-11-22, 10:13 PM

[A Cold Day]

The paladin Zophiel has to avoid some more falling debris and ceiling and everything else, which ended up delaying him some more. There were some really close calls there.

However!
He eventually gets up there.

He lands. He looks at the singular(!) Sekhmet, and then at Anchor. "Are...are you all alright?" he asks.

Notably,
His wings are still staying there, even though presumably they won't need them anymore. They might be stuck. His hands, too. Or maybe it'll wear off some time after they leave.

Rebonack

2020-11-22, 11:59 PM

[Sylvanas]

Fido is grabbed.

The wendigo holds him up to her face and sniffs him a few times with her bright pink glowing nose.

And then?

She holds him up where he'll be able to sit on her shoulders and hold onto her antlers for support. The monster makes some awful bestial noises that sound like they're trying to be words, but they're impossible to make out. This close Magdalene is incredibly cold. But really, it just feels like the chill radiating off her is mostly canceling out the sweltering heat of the summertime forest.

So...

It could be worse?

Magdalene begins climbing higher, sinking her claws into the endless branching and scaling sheer trunks with ease. She's making quite a bit better time now that she doesn't have to worry about Fido stumbling around. Though... judging from the fact that her ears are laying flat she's probably upset at him. Or at least that seems to be the impression he'll get if he knows the least bit about animal body language.

Somehow, impossibly, the forest just keeps getting hotter and wetter the higher they climb. Soon the temperature difference between Magdalene and the surrounding woods are so great that the air begins wavering around her like a mirage.

Earl of Purple

2020-11-23, 03:52 PM

Sylvanas

When he's grabbed he shrieks a little and opens his eyes- seeing himself held dangerously close to a giant monster's maw, he'd wet himself again if his bladder weren't empty. He gets the idea and grabs hold of her antlers, and licks his lips. He's really quite scared, by everything here.

"I'm sorry about my... my accident. I've never seen such a thing before." And it's not something he was planning on doing, either.

Recaiden

2020-11-23, 09:54 PM

[Cold Day]

Aha, the way out!
Anchor soars up out of the collapsed chasm and lands crouching next to Sekhmet. Her shadow separates and flattens itself out again.
"You thought you would have different names, but I guess not. I mean, you're back together again."
"Shall we get out of here?"
She gives Zophiel a nod. Perfectly ok!

bc56

2020-11-23, 10:00 PM

A Cold Day

Sekhmet looks at Zophiel. For a moment, one of her eyes has two pupils, before it finishes merging. She speaks to him with familiarity. "I'm fine, Zophiel. I, uh," She comes over to hug him. "I'm sorry I messed everything up in Marlick Bay. I should've listened to you and left those relics alone."

5a Violista

2020-11-24, 02:01 AM

[A Cold Day]

Zophiel is glad that they all got out of that safely.

As it turns out, Zophiel actually kinda likes hugs.
"You're alright now, so it's fine," he tells Sekhmet. There's still that question of that other Sekhmet...Selekhael, who presumably is still around somewhere. "And we managed to not attract an archfiend, I think, too," he says.

Well, so long as they stay in here then there's still a chance of that happening.

Rebonack

2020-11-24, 10:25 AM

[Sylvanas]

Magdalene growls something back at Fido. The animal noise sounds agitated, but not necessarily threatening. Once Magdalene has intentionally changed down here she can't change back and that's an issue. Especially since she can feel those predatory instincts roiling around inside her. Thinking grows increasingly difficult with time. She has learned through years of experience that things are getting bad once thinking with words becomes impossible. If she stays in beasty form much longer than that then all semblance of reasoning goes out the window.

If she finds herself slipping in that direction she'll just be running around in the forest doing beast things until something manages to kill her. Then she'll respawn and have to start trying to climb out again. But that means she would absolutely eat Fido, too. Which means if she starts losing it she's going to have to just chuck him in the general direction of the portals and start running the other way. Hope for the best.

(Flowering) normie. Why couldn't he have had better bladder control?

Another growl and the wendigo presses on, clawing her way up the surface of a sheer trunk toward the canopy. At least she's making good time. Her face contorts a bit and she tries her best to speak. All that comes out is, "Drrn wrruh rrrr eh." Fido will be able to tell that Magdalene is definitely trying to talk, her mouth, tongue, and vocal cords just aren't the right shape for it. That MIGHT have been 'Don't worry about it.'

Fido will have a pretty good view of the forest from up here. An endless jungle that stretches for as far as the eye can see. Mist drifts through the trees, though some of those clouds in the distance move strangely. If Fido watches them for a while, he may discern that they're actually vast swarms of insects. Now and again a huge flying behemoth of a creature will buzz past, though whenever this happens Magdalene will quickly shimmy to the opposite side of the trunk so the insectile abomination doesn't spot them.

Recaiden

2020-11-24, 11:37 AM

Anchor looks around to make sure they're all alone on the icy wastelands still. That there's nothing coming up from the hole in the ice or down from the sky, for example.
"Are you gonna be okay, having been in here? I mean, in one past timeline." It actually feels more confusing now that they've recombined.

bc56

2020-11-24, 02:05 PM

A Cold Day

"Uh..." Sekhmet can feel the ice around her. She can't move, can't breathe, can't see. She's so cold, trapped in her nightmarish prison for an eternity. "Let's just get out of here." She staggers towards the portal, shivering.

5a Violista

2020-11-24, 03:38 PM

[A Cold Day]

Y'know...
The cold didn't bother the paladin that much originally, but after growing those wings, it was hardly bothersome at all.

"Yes, let's," he says. "I don't really like the feel of this place."

Or, more accurately, he doesn't like how comfortable this place feels.
He suspects that's not really a good sign, but he decides that there's no point in needlessly worrying anybody.

He goes to the portal, too.

Recaiden

2020-11-24, 03:53 PM

Anchor offers Sekhmet an arm to steady her as they make their way to the portal. She seems to be having a bit of a hard time with this place.
Probably just the cold.

Earl of Purple

2020-11-24, 07:00 PM

Sylvanas

It's a good thing Fido doesn't realise how dangerous it actually is to be this close to Magdalene for a long period of time, and doesn't notice any increased haste in getting out of here. He nods in response to her attempted words, but can't really make it out for certain. He thinks she said not to worry about it, but he's not sure.

Every time something flies past close and dangerous-looking, he cowers between Magdalene's antlers and desperately hopes they aren't spotted. It seems everything here is predatory, except possibly Fido. This is not a good place. After the third such flyby, he mutters something to himself. Magdalene's big deer-ears might pick it up. "Maybe I shouldn't have run away."

bc56

2020-11-24, 09:38 PM

A Cold Day

The party gets out of there! With a gasp of relief, Sekhmet closes the portal. She's still shivering, even though this place is far warmer. The ice is still around her, she feels as if she's still down there. All this is just an illusion. The ice will reveal itself any moment. There is no hope for her. A thin skein of frost begins to etch its way across her skin.

5a Violista

2020-11-24, 10:11 PM

[A Cold Day]

After they get through the portal, Zophiel is relieved that it all seems to be over.

.
.
.
Then, he notices that Sekhmet is still getting colder.
He steps to her, and rubs his hands up and down her arms. "Hey. You're still getting colder." He took in a lot of the ambient demonic energy there, so he suspects he knows what's happening.
"You are alright now. Take a deep breath, think about who you want to see the most right now." As they were merging, he did hear one of them say something about remembering getting married, so he hopes this works.

Recaiden

2020-11-25, 12:57 AM

Oh, Zophiel. We should be so lucky as for things to end simply when they're over.

Anchor takes off her helmet to put on her sunglasses again. Her shadow scampers off across the temple grounds and flops onto a pile of pillows.
Sekhmet should feel the same acceptance of the divine that she did when she first came to Message's temple. Something past-Sekhmet never really encountered, did she?
"Hey, Sekhmet, you did it. You saved...yourself."

bc56

2020-11-25, 01:43 AM

A Cold Day

Sekhmet is breathing heavily, trying to stave off panic. She hears the words, but they're hard to believe. "Prumathe. I want to see Prumathe. I want to touch him, to be sure he's real." All that's real is the ice. This hallucination shall pass, and you shall return to the ice where you belong. Sekhmet is shivering uncontrollably now. She's so sure this all will shatter into nothing and leave her trapped again. But she staggers towards the temple gate. She will see Prumathe, one last time before she freezes. She's determined about that.

5a Violista

2020-11-25, 01:11 PM

[A Cold Day]

"Just hold on to that feeling," the paladin tells Sekhmet. He follows her for a little, but realizes that unless he's literally just outside, she's going too slow. "Do you know where he was before we went into the portal?" he asks. If he's not just here in town...well, Zophiel still has wings. He could fly her there a lot faster than she can stumble around. The paladin - because of her wings - decides that a princess carry is probably the easiest way to carry her if necessary, so he tries to pick her up like that.

He turns his head to Anchor: "Do you know where he is? Or can you find him?"

Rebonack

2020-11-25, 02:44 PM

[Sylvanas]

Magdalene is still holding out.

She's still holding on. She hasn't even started to feel herself slip yet. That's a good sign, right? Is she getting better at holding off the feral instincts? She can only hope so. She really doesn't want to get stuck down here running around and eating giant bugs. And Fido. She doesn't want to eat Fideo, either.

Her ear twitches when he mutters something.

"Trrth surrd rh rhn arah," the beast growls back at Fido.

Ugh.

This is so (flowering) stupid.

Why does her stupid dumb monster face have to be so impossible to talk with? Hopefully Fido gets the idea, she's trying to be encouraging here.

At last she hauls them both up through the thick leaves of the canopy, leaves and branches so thick that one can walk on them without difficulty. Above them stretches an endless starry sky full of strange, glittering clouds of alien colors. A vast eldritch vista that reaches off into eternity. Below them looms the Sylvanas. And from here at its roof Fido will be able to see that the forest holds the shape of some incomprehensibly vast slumbering beast. In the far distance, drifting through the void, are other such beings too terrible to describe. Without any visual reference it is difficult to guess what size they are, but judging from the forest they to are on a scale difficult to grasp.

As Fido gazes out into the firmament he may notice stars winking out, one at a time, in a dead black patch of the sky. Hungry darkness devouring light.

Not too far away, rimmed in twisted branches, is a swirling portal of pink eldritch energy. Magdalene is heading toward it.

Recaiden

2020-11-25, 03:21 PM

Oh wow. Rescuing Sekhmet was not great for Sekhmet, was it?
"You can see him. Just take it slowly. I mean, you two must have a lot to catch up on now." She suggests, trying to keep her voice smooth and calm.

"He'd be back at GLoG or at his job in Mallside, most likely." Anchor venture.
"Focus on Prumathe and focus on us. This is real; you're here."

Earl of Purple

2020-11-25, 08:21 PM

Sylvanas

"I don't know what you just said, sorry. Oh, wow." Fido's eyes are wide as he looks around at the top of the forest, at the trees everywhere and the beasts floating in the void above. He absentmindedly scratches his arm, where a mosquito bit him earlier. He notices the sucking void devouring stars, and shudders. He can't look away, though; it's captured his attention far too effectively. He stares, scratches his arm, and doesn't notice the approaching portal.

bc56

2020-11-25, 11:45 PM

A Cold Day

"Please, take me to him. I don't want to freeze here. I don't want to die forever. Please, help me!" Sekhmet's teeth are chattering, her muscles spasming. She stumbles, and chunks of ice begin to grow from her. "No no no no no no no no!"

5a Violista

2020-11-26, 02:49 AM

[A Cold Day]

Zophiel removes his swords and leave them here; he's pretty sure he could fly faster without them.
"If he's not at GLoG, I believe I could rule that out faster than if he's not at Mallside," the paladin says, informing Anchor that he's going to check GLoG first and pray that he's there.

He lifts Sekhmet, and hurries out of the building, to pick up speed so that he can take off more easily. "Hold on tight," he tells her. "Both arms."

Once in the air, he turns towards GLoG and flies as fast as he can, even though it may mean straining the muscles. Over the sound of the air, he instructs Sekhmet, "I haven't met Prumathe. Tell me what he's like." Keeping her focused on this instead of freezing and dying will slow it down or even stop it, he hopes.

Rebonack

2020-11-26, 06:47 PM

[Sylvanas]

Gazing off into the void Fide finds himself enraptured by the site.

It's so close.

It feels so close.

The bottomless blackness. The hungering night. Staring into the sky feels like standing at the edge of the precipice and feeling that urge to jump. Like he could just take a step and go tumbling away into it. To loose himself in it. To be lost in its endless, cold embrace. It feels like Nyx is reaching for him. Will Fido reach back?

Whatever he does, Magdalene is not noticing. She's focused on hurrying through the portal because she just realized that words have slipped away from her. All that's left now are emotions, sensations, and appetites. She's going to dive through that portal as quickly as she can and break her antlers off as soon as she's on the other side.

Safe.

Warm.

Good.

Run.

Earl of Purple

2020-11-26, 06:56 PM

Sylvanas

Fido stands up, letting go of Magdalene's antlers and reaches up, ignoring the itch as he reaches up to the sucking void that feels as though it's pulling him in. He does take that step, tumbling into the void that sucks and devours, and... maybe he gets devoured, too.

Rebonack

2020-11-26, 07:16 PM

[Nyx]

It is dark.

Is Fido standing on something?

It feels like he's standing on something.

It is cold.

But not cold like the snow. Cold link nothing? How could nothing feel like something?

His arm doesn't itch anymore. His eyes are adjusting to... whatever this is. There's something like stone under his feet. It's pitted and porous, full of organic geometries that give Fido a bone-deep sense of wrongness. It's black. Or not black? A subtle sheen of color. Such a deep purple it's almost painful to look at. It ripples and breaths. There are things like stones here, but they breath with strobes of neon light. There is something like grass. Or flames. With laves and licks, shimmering with orange where the purple doesn't snuff it out. Rivers of red like water like blood like a painful memory flows across the surface. Something like a great pane of glass rises from the surface in front of him, tilted at an oblique angle, faintly reflective in the unlight. Part of a building, a cathedral maybe? hangs in the void. The impossible shade of purple is slowly consuming it, but it looks shockingly normal in this surreal landscape.

There is the strange glass monolith in the distance. And the field of waving color. The breathing stones. The unnatural river. The ruined cathedral. Several things that Fido could investigate if he wishes.

He is likely to be struck by the feeling that he is very, very small. And very lost. As terrible as Sylvanas was it made some degree of sense. This place? It is absolutely inhospitable and alien. Even the air, if there exists such a thing, feels foreign to Fido's lungs.

Earl of Purple

2020-11-26, 07:34 PM

Nyx

Fido gulps. Oh, dear. Oh, dear. This is exactly what Magdalene was warning him about, right? No, wait. This isn't the forest. This is very odd. Fido looks around, lungs aching as he breathes, eyes aching as he sees what's around him.

He heads towards the ruined cathedral. At least that is somewhat familiar and understandable.

Rebonack

2020-11-26, 08:08 PM

[Nyx]

Exactly?

No.

Related?

Yes.

Wandering off into the void is at least as bad as wandering off into the forest.

The cathedral is seems to be floating about eight feet off the ground, twisted at a strange angle. As Fido reaches for it he'll feel a sudden wrenching sensation as the definition of down shifts. Before down was toward the center of the stone? sphere he's been walking on. Now 'down' is toward the ornate wooden doors of the cathedral. The lad will find himself suddenly falling 'upward' into the door, which will bang with the impact. He's now standing on the facade of the building, but it is different. Warped. Slowly folding in on itself to create another drifting sphere in the darkness, that horrible purple light slowly eating its way across it. Hexagonal pillars of stone begin jutting out of a far distant sphere, slowly crunching their way toward the cathedral sphere.

He could open the door, though now it's more of a trap door on the 'floor' than it is a more traditional door. Fido can hear voices inside the cathedral/tiny planet, but they sound eerie and distorted. A tremor ripples through the ground as the spire of the cathedral suddenly lurches upright, replicating discordantly into a fractal bridge of mirrored steeples throbbing with violet light as they grow toward still another planet drifting through the void.

Recaiden

2020-11-26, 11:03 PM

"Please, take me to him. I don't want to freeze here. I don't want to die forever. Please, help me!" Sekhmet's teeth are chattering, her muscles spasming. She stumbles, and chunks of ice begin to grow from her. "No no no no no no no no!"
Zophiel removes his swords and leave them here; he's pretty sure he could fly faster without them.
"If he's not at GLoG, I believe I could rule that out faster than if he's not at Mallside," the paladin says, informing Anchor that he's going to check GLoG first and pray that he's there.

He lifts Sekhmet, and hurries out of the building, to pick up speed so that he can take off more easily. "Hold on tight," he tells her. "Both arms."

Once in the air, he turns towards GLoG and flies as fast as he can, even though it may mean straining the muscles. Over the sound of the air, he instructs Sekhmet, "I haven't met Prumathe. Tell me what he's like." Keeping her focused on this instead of freezing and dying will slow it down or even stop it, he hopes.

Anchor simply could not fly to keep up with Zophiel, not after all the flying they did getting Sekhmet out of hell.
So she tries to call Prumathe on the phone. A simple practical thing that might help.

bc56

2020-11-27, 12:35 AM

A Cold Day

Sekhmet is carried towards GLoG. Her body becomes increasingly cold and icy as Zophiel flies. The frost on her skin spreads and thickens. She's shivering and her teeth chattering against each other. But she watches ahead, waiting to see the camp approaching.

5a Violista

2020-11-27, 01:17 AM

A Cold Day

"Come on, keep on talking," he tells Sekhmet after it becomes apparent that rather than answering she just continues to shiver. Even if talking about her man doesn't help, it'll be a good sign for her current condition.

He keeps on flying, obviously.
Can't really do much besides that.

Eventually, they do get there and he asks, "Hey, which one's your cabin?"

bc56

2020-11-27, 01:58 AM

A Cold Day

Sekhmet opens her eyes when Zophiel tells her to talk. "Uh, he's wonderful. We met through work and he saved my life and he doesn't care at all what I look like." Does she seem a little warmer after that? She weakly points out a cabin on the far edge of the camp from the entrance. "There. Uh, Hawthorn."

Earl of Purple

2020-11-27, 04:55 PM

Nyx

Fido yelps as he feels gravity shift underfoot, and he falls into the cathedral. He just manages to catch himself with his arms before his face hit the stone, but it's still painful. He stands up and looks around, a little confused. He'll try to open the door, but if it requires pulling it's going to be really tricky, and if it requires pushing he might open it by standing on it and fall further inside. Or not fall, and stay on the door. Really, who knows? "Hello? Is anyone there?"

A Cold Day

Prumathe does pick up his phone. Or possibly the cabin's landline, if that's the number Anchor rang. "Hello, Prumathe speaking. Who am I talking to?"

Recaiden

2020-11-27, 08:57 PM

It would be Prumathe's own phone.
"Hi there. It's Anchor, calling on behalf of Sekhmet's church. If you're at your cabin stay there, if not get there right away. It's kind of an emergency."
"Sekhmet went to rescue herself from a parallel universe who was trapped in hell and now she's cursed with some sort of ice of despair and you'll have to help talk her out of that." That hits all the important points as fast as possible, she thinks.

5a Violista

2020-11-28, 01:58 AM

[A Cold Day]

Hawthorn...Hawthorn...Hawthorn...

The paladin carries Sekhmet in that direction, trying to see which of those cabins is Hawthorn.
To keep her talking, he asks a follow-up question: "He saved your life, huh? Tell me how that happened."

He nears the correct cabin.

Rebonack

2020-11-28, 11:02 AM

[Nyx]

The door opens inward.

Because of course it does.

Fido goes tumbling into the cathedral before suddenly discovering that down has shifted again. Now it's the inner surface of the hollow churchsphere he finds himself within. He tumbles back through space and lands on the stone floor. Thankfully not very far. Looking around inside the building is incredibly disorienting. Everything has been warped in on itself. If he just keeps his eyes glued to the horizon it isn't so bad. There's just a subtle curve to the floor and pews and candle sticks and stained glass windows. But if he looks up he'll find more floor and pews and candlesticks above him. Along with a deeply disquieting lurching feeling. Here and there that horrid purple light is eating holes through the walls and floor, replacing objects with shattered reflections of themselves. Like someone suspended one of the statues sitting in an alcove inside a mirror and then broke it into a thousand pieces reflecting endlessly.

Weeping rises from the far wall of the church where a huge pipe organ stood behind the alter.

It has been warped into a surreal, disquieting effigy of itself.

There's no reply to Fido's question.

bc56

2020-11-28, 12:24 PM

A Cold Day

"We, uh, had fought my mother. I, uh, overexerted my magic and I was, uh, dying. He used his biomancy to, uh, heal me enough for, uh, surgery." Sekhmet shivers, but she seems a little happier thinking and talking about Prumathe. The ice isn't spreading as quickly.

Earl of Purple

2020-11-28, 03:38 PM

Nyx

Fido yelps as he falls through the door and hits the floor, before standing up and looking around- even up. Wow, that's... really headachey.

He looks around, for something large and club-like he can pick up to make himself feel better. A decent-sized candlestick would be perfect, but just about anything will do, so long as it can be held one-handed. Regardless of if anything is immediately apparent, he'll head over to the altar. He wants to know to whom- or what- this cathedral is dedicated. He hopes they'll help him.

Cold Day

"I am at the cabin. I'll go get the door." Prumathe hangs up and runs to the door, opening it and looking around. If he sees Zophiel, he'll wave the paladin over and prepare the sofa for Sekhmet to be put on. Bed would probably be better, but the sofa's nearest the door.

5a Violista

2020-11-28, 05:22 PM

[A Cold Day]

The phone call probably takes a lot shorter time than it does to fly over here, so Zophiel and Sekhmet probably aren't there quite yet when Prumathe looks out the door.

However, they do get there eventually. Pretty quickly, actually, considering the distance. And, as he's probably worried, it seems likely that Prumathe will be waiting and will quickly notice when a 4-winged paladin approaches carrying a Sekhmet popsicle.
"He sounds pretty great. It's really fortunate you have him," he tells her. Especially fortunate because just talking about him seems to be enough to help her.

He spots the waving Prumathe.
"Is that him? He's already here, waiting for you." The paladin follows him through the door, and deposits Sekhmet on the sofa.
If he knew they were coming, he must've already been told, right? Just as a reminder, then, he tells Prumathe: "You need to convince her that you're real and that she's safe."
He looks around...they might want some privacy, right?
"I'll be waiting just outside, in case anything happens. Shout if you need anything."

Unfortunately, though, he left his swords behind with Anchor so...he won't be able to cut.

After a few moments to make sure everything's fine, he steps outside to wait and heal his wings of overexertion. (He did only recently get them, after all)

bc56

2020-11-28, 11:55 PM

A Cold Day

Sekhmet looks at Prumathe and smiles weakly. "Prumathe." She reaches out towards him with a hand dusted with frost. Once she's situated on the couch, she speaks to him. "I'm so glad I could see you before I go."

She's wearing the bronze armor that Prumathe last saw in Sapphira's palace, where it had been prepared for her. How did she get it? What convinced her to wear something that shows so much of her legs?

Rebonack

2020-11-29, 11:45 AM

[Nyx]

Fido manages to find a decent sized polished bronze candle holder that could really be used to whollop something in a pinch. It hasn't been distorted and shattered yet so that's probably a good thing, right?

Moving toward the altar, he'll find it is a rather astounding work of artistry. The marble altar itself is quite plain, a cloth draped across it and bearing several candles. But what really catches the eye is what's behind it. A monument of stone and wood depicting winged humans overlaid in gold along with visually pleasing vine and leaf motifs. In the center of the monument is a painting of a winged, armored human striking down a devilish looking figure.

Maybe the temple is venerating the warrior figure featured in the painting?

It's hard to say.

That horrid purple light hasn't started devouring this part of the cathedral yet, so it's safe to examine.

Probably.

Near the altar, hiding behind it, Fido will be able to see a person huddled, still softly weeping. They look like a child, a boy, probably no older than ten.

Earl of Purple

2020-11-29, 05:01 PM

Nyx

Fido feels better with a blunt implement in his fist. Sure, it wouldn't have helped against the bugbear, but this doesn't look like a bugbear place. So hopefully any monsters will be small enough to be dealt with by a bronze club to the head.

The place is beautiful, but Fido doesn't really care about that. His master was very rich, and gorgeous murals and exquisite statuary were commonplace. He looks at the altar, and nods his head to it, but... Whatever god or hero was venerated here, he thinks it's out of their reach now. He'll look behind the altar and see the boy, and kneel. "Hey there. I'm Fido, what's your name?" He smiles, trying to be reassuring, but... he's not got a lot of experience with people that don't involve being given orders.

Cold Day

"Sekhmet? Gods, Sekhmet, what happened?" He's curious about her attire, but far more worried, so it doesn't enter his thoughts yet. He turns to Zophiel. "Go to the bedroom through there, bring all the blankets and duvet off the bed. Anything that looks like it's warm, too." He puts his hands on Sekhmet's cheeks, and channels his biomancy to increase his body temperature. It's quite a dangerous thing to do, since it's boosting his metabolism, but if it keeps Sekhmet warm, it's worth it. "You are not dying, you hear me? We just got married, don't die now!" He's panicking, too, at least a little.

5a Violista

2020-11-29, 05:13 PM

A Cold Day

Since Zophiel hadn't quite left yet when told what to do, he nods 'okay' and goes back to that room, to grab as many warm things he can see.

He brings them back shortly afterwards.

Rebonack

2020-11-29, 05:21 PM

[Nyx]

"I'm Peter," the boy says, scooting away from Fido a little bit as he kneels next to him. "Are you real?"

Well.

That's certainly an interesting question, isn't it?

Are you real, Fido?

How can you tell?

There's a rumble outside but not of thunder. It feels more like an earthquake, though nothing really shakes. Like a crack forming in ice. Like nails on a chalkboard. Like fractures in reality. Fissures race through the cathedral, etching lines of that hideous purple light that stings the eyes if one looks at it for too long. Before the cathedral was mostly intact, but now it is growing increasingly alien and inhospitable. The light creeps away from the cracks, spreading like a embers crawling across a piece of parchment. Those disquieting organic shapes, like coral, begin bulging out of the patches of color, neon green throbbing in every pit and crevice.

Peter whimpers.

"I don't like it here."

bc56

2020-11-29, 05:33 PM

A Cold Day

Sekhmet has a bunch of blankets piled on her, then Prumathe begins warming her up with his body heat. She smiles faintly and shakes her head. "I'm not dying. I'm already dead." She looks at Prumathe with tears in her eyes. "I remember dying. The light, so bright, all of me fell apart before it. Then the cold and the darkness, and I couldn't move or breathe and..." She hugs him as hard as she can. She's cold, as cold as death. "I'm going to go back there! I don't want to go! Hold me!"

Earl of Purple

2020-11-29, 06:02 PM

Nyx

That is an odd question. Fido's never questioned his own reality before. Now probably isn't a good time to start. It's planted a seed of doubt, though. Why can't he remember the name his mother gave him? Surely it wasn't Fido. His mother didn't treat him like a dog, did she? He was six, when he left her and went to the Orphanage. They treated him as a commodity, and not even a valuable one; gave him a number, which labelled all 'his' things. Then, at eleven, his master adopted him, dubbed him Fido. That was only eight years ago, so... why can't he remember his name?

"Yes, I'm real. How about you?" With the shudder, Fido looks around and frowns at the sight of the spreading... Whatever it is. "I don't either, Peter. But I don't think it's going to be safe here for much longer. We should get out, I think this building is collapsing." And the last place you want to be is inside a collapsing building.

Cold Day

"No, Sekhmet, no! You are not dead, this is GLoG, you are not dead and that wasn't you. You're my wife and I won't let you die!" He pumps his biomancy to get hotter, and reaches out to hold Sekhmet tight. He'll lean over and kiss her, too. Passionately and fervently, desperate to keep her alive.

5a Violista

2020-11-29, 06:23 PM

[A Cold Day]

The winged paladin waits a few more moments in case there's anything else they need.

It looks like they don't, though. And he doesn't want to get in their way.

So, he goes outside the cabin like he said he would.

bc56

2020-11-29, 09:59 PM

A Cold Day

"I love you," Sekhmet says sadly, "Don't let me go." The kiss seems to shock her partway out of it. "Prumathe!" She reaches up to touch his forehead. "You're burning up! That's, uh, not good!" Her own body suddenly spikes in heat in response.

Felandria

2020-11-30, 03:59 AM

[The Planet Express - Fel and Rosie]

Rosie takes a sip of her drink, being careful not to finish it too quickly. "Well..." She starts, looking up and to the side as she taps her chin, then back at her girlfriend. "My Dad's not from the Nexus, a Tall Human like myself. My mum's from Inside. They fell in love and had me. Dad had to be absent at times for work, but he made it up to me when he was around. I was bigger than my mum by the time I was 5 years old, but my size didn't help me any when I chased a butterfly into the Red Zone. After I awakened my power of Conqueror's Haki, I got to see Dad's world for myself, and trained under warriors. We got even closer, and when he brought me back he chose to retire. Now he's in Inside working as a weaponsmith."

She shrinks and jumps up so she's riding Fel's shoulder. "It's during that period I got the ability to shrink my size. As for my mum, she's an Insider from the Blue Zone with a rich family. They didn't accept my Dad at first, but after seeing how much they love each other, they yielded. No regrets so far... I suppose you got your powers from your Dad? Any ones I don't know of yet?"

Well, not exactly.

The sorcery comes from my mother’s side, and it was only really a few years ago where I found this sword in a dungeon that I could sense belonged to me, and it led me to my father.

That’s when my size became permanent, and I’m still not sure what else will happen down the road, power wise, from my father.

I earned the right to control my size from completing a labyrinth.

Rebonack

2020-11-30, 11:55 AM

[Nyx]

"I think so..." Peter replies uncertainly. At Fido's alarm, he responds with a statement of dread. "Everything falls apart here. Even people."

Well.

That isn't ecnouraging at all, is it?

Then the boy looks up at Fido and the situation becomes even less encouraging. That horrid purple light is eating half of Peter's face, gradually creeping across his skin like a slow burning flame.

"Everyone else already fell apart. You're going to fall apart, too."

It doesn't look like he has any intention of moving. Staying down here will be dangerous since those awful fissures in reality are spreading. Fido really doesn't want to get that consuming light on him. It will, without question, do bad things. He could make it back to the door and climb out of the cathedral. But he should hurry. The fissures haven't reached the door yet and there's no telling whether or not it will still be there when they do. Alternatively he could try smashing one of the large windows and climbing out through there.

One way or the other, he should probably leave. And soon.

Earl of Purple

2020-12-01, 01:06 PM

Cold Day

"Not until you warm up. I'm running a fever till you warm up and aren't hypothermic. Because you aren't dead yet, Sekhmet, and won't be so long as I can breathe." He's got no intention of stopping, and kisses her again. The spike in her heat is felt, but he's going to keep running his metabolism hot until he's sure it's stabilised. And then probably he'll eat something. Half a cow looks good.

Nyx

Fido's eyes widen and he steps back at the sight of Peter's face, but he sticks around a bit longer. "I'm leaving this place now. The temple, I mean. If you want to live a bit longer, you should come with me. Maybe find a way out of this whole place, and not just the temple." Or they might not, but Fido's finding hope is keeping him going right now. Even if he isn't really real.

Rebonack

2020-12-01, 01:28 PM

[Nyx]

The fractures continues to spread, cracking across the door to the cathedral as more of that nauseating looking, disquietingly biological stone begins pushing its way out of the horrid light. The door is gone now. Only a mass of rock and pulsing light remains. If Fido wants to get out, he's going to have to smash his way through one of the windows.

"I'm falling apart, too. Everything is falling apart," Peter replies as the the burning light continues to spread across his body. There's a horrible crunching sound as the side of the lad most corrupted by the light begins turning in on itself as flesh takes on a fluted texture, full of ridges and pits and strobbing neon green light. It looks like he's getting crumbled into a sphere.

Just like the cathedral.

It would probably be a good time to get moving, Fido.

And don't touch that horrid light.

Unless, of course, you feel like being a sphere as well.

There isn't much time. The corruption is rapidly spreading.

bc56

2020-12-01, 01:36 PM

Cold Day

"No! You'll hurt yourself! It's not safe!" Sekhmet is tugging at Prumathe's clothes now in an attempt to get him to listen to her. She's heating up herself, some of the outlying bits of ice melting off her. "Prumathe, stop! I don't want my husband to kill himself!"

Earl of Purple

2020-12-01, 06:45 PM

Cold Day

"Don't care. Well, I do. I don't really want to die. But I want to lose you even less than that. I'll cool down if you warm up. That's a promise, Sekhmet." Prumathe keeps going, dangerously so but if it saves Sekhmet, it's worth it.

Nyx

Fido grimaces and runs to the window, glad he's got the candlestick. He'll smash the window and jump through. He hasn't noticed, but on the way the light touched the candlestick, slowly corrupting the bronze bludgeon he's relying on for confidence.

bc56

2020-12-01, 10:24 PM

A Cold Day

"I can't just choose to warm up!" Sekhmet seems to be doing a good job anyway. She's shedding drops of water that were formerly ice enough that she can stand up and hug Prumathe. "Stop! Please stop! Please!" She begs. Her own body is heating up as she holds him. "I don't want to lose you."

Rebonack

2020-12-02, 12:55 PM

[Nyx]

The window is smashed and Fido bails through it. The sensation is very jarring. Previously the window was the 'floor' and Fido falls through it. Now the outer surface of the cathedral-sphere is the 'floor' and Fido is falling back towards it again. Thankfully he had enough forward momentum to flop onto the outer surface of the sphere. Also thankfully the portion he just flopped onto isn't being consumed with horrid light. It still looks like a sensible building. Just a building that has been impossibly warped into a sphere.

There's a gargoyle nearby, water spouting from its mouth and streaming off into the... sky?

DOES this place even have a sky?

Should Fido focus too much attention on looking 'up' he'll probably regret it. There's an impression of something watching him. Something incomprehensibly vast and old terrible. A bottomless gulf of nothing. He probably shouldn't look at it. Looking at the sky instead of focusing on Magdalene is what GOT him into this mess, wasn't it? Keep your eyes on the ground, Fido.

Don't look at it.

Fido has several options here. He could gaze into the abyss and probably lose himself to it. Or he could investigate the cathedral sphere further. That disquieting organic look is still spreading across its surface, even if it's vaguely recognizable as what it was originally. There's a swaying tendril perhaps two meters wide extending from the surface of the cathedral sphere to ANOTHER sphere that doesn't look like it has any of the horrid light currently burning its way across it. The only problem is the tendril of shattered crystal panes is a sheer pillar leading straight up to the other sphere. Maybe Fido could climb it?

What shall he do?

Earl of Purple

2020-12-02, 02:43 PM

Cold Day

"If it keeps you alive, I'm happy. Besides, it's working." Prumathe grins, and holds Sekhmet tight. He does start to cool down, however; he remains very hot, even dangerously so, but he's cooler.

Nyx

Fido takes a moment to catch his balance and recover from the shift in gravity. He stands up and looks around, spotting the gargoyle nearby and walking over to it and checking to ensure it looks and smells right before bending down and having a drink of it. Hopefully it's just rainwater, but... Well, hard to be sure.

Once his thirst is quenched- or not- he looks up the water spout, to see if it goes anywhere. That... captures his attention again, and he can't stop staring, not for a while. Five minutes, maybe. He can't tell, he has no way of telling how long.

bc56

2020-12-02, 04:00 PM

A Cold Day

"It is? It is!" Sekhmet hugs Prumathe even tighter. "I don't have to go anywhere, you saved me!" She looks concerned though. "But, uh, you really do need to cool down."

Earl of Purple

2020-12-02, 04:32 PM

A Cold Day

Prumathe sighs and lowers his metabolism back to a normal level, though he's keeping a close feel on Sekhmet's own body heat. If hers starts to plummet, he'll put his back up until they can figure out a more permanent solution. If that's even possible.

Rebonack

2020-12-02, 04:47 PM

[Nyx]

Fido finds himself staring into the horrid light, and the horrid light staring back at him.

He can't look away. He can't turn his head. He can close his eyes, but he can still see it. It's everywhere, waiting. Waiting at the end of time for everything to go sliding away into that fathomless cold blackness.

There's pain.

But he can't looking away.

Everything falls apart here. Even you.

Seconds. Minutes. Hours. Days. Years. Aeons. What does time matter at the end of all things?

By the time Fido manages to look away his eyes are gone, replaced with absolute blackness. Cracks have spider-webbed away from his sockets, tiny fissures filled with that horrid light. Nyx has taken all of his fears and desires and doubts and hopes and dreams and replaced them all with terrible purpose.

To work toward bringing about the inevitable end.

The time when the Insatiable Night consumes everything.

There is a shining trapezohedron in his hands, dark as night. It feels cold. Cold as the heat-death of the cosmos. But it doesn't harm him. There is a riftgate leading back to the Nexus. Fido must find a place to plant the seed entrusted to him, to let it grow and consume. This he must do. This will be accomplished. It is inevitable.

Earl of Purple

2020-12-02, 05:06 PM

Nyx

Fido 'looks' down at the item in his hand, and smiles. He strides purposefully forward, gripping the trapezohedron, and through the rift back to the Nexus.

bc56

2020-12-02, 05:41 PM

A Cold Day

Sekhmet jumps for joy as Prumathe stops killing himself. She remains warm, with just a touch of chill in her fingertips. "Uh, let's both never do that again. I, uh, won't die as long as you don't." She hugs him again and again. "I'm, uh, so sorry I worried you." Her armor clinks together as she moves.

Earl of Purple

2020-12-02, 06:29 PM

A Cold Day

"Agreed. I'm really hungry now. We should find that other guy, and get something to eat. What happened? He said something, but... I wasn't really concentrating on him. Why did you go back? How do you have this armour? You went to your mother without me?" He doesn't particularly approve of that, even if he can't actually do much about Sapphira.

bc56

2020-12-02, 11:13 PM

A Cold Day

"Oh, uh, this?" Sekhmet straightens out the armor. "I went to her, uh, palace while she was bound. It was an accident, but, uh, I stole all my princess regalia from her." All of the fancy clothes in her closet came from that incident. She looks outside to where Zophiel is. "Uh, Anchor, one of Message's avatars, uh, informed me that there was another me in Hell, so, I, uh, went to get her. But then she, uh, became a part of me." She gives Prumathe a hug. "I'll, uh, go change into something more decent and, uh, comfortable, then we can, uh, make some dinner?"

Earl of Purple

2020-12-03, 04:51 PM

A Cold Day

Prumathe nods in response, though it doesn't make a lot of sense to him yet. "How was she bound? And how do you steal clothing accidentally?" Prumathe watches as Sekhmet walks off, and gets up himself to find Zophiel, let him know Sekhmet's OK.

bc56

2020-12-03, 05:19 PM

A Cold Day

"You remember when we bound her, don't you? It was the time you saved my life. And I didn't accidentally steal the clothes. It was an accident that I opened the portal."

Sekhmet leaves and returns in a simple long grey dress and a winter coat to protect against the chill hanging over her. "What do you want to eat? I could try cooking something or we could go out somewhere.

Earl of Purple

2020-12-03, 06:59 PM

A Cold Day

"Oh! Yes, of course. Didn't realise you had taken the armour, too." Earl was being stupid. "Let's eat out somewhere, celebrate mutually not dying. And, um, rescuing yourself from Hell." That seems a good thing to celebrate with a meal, right? He's still looking for Zophiel, if he's still about.

5a Violista

2020-12-03, 07:48 PM

[A Cold Day]

The paladin Zophiel is just outside.

The fact that he can see that he looks fine and not distraught tells enough, since the only reason he can imagine why he would leave her side is if she is fine or if she needs help.

"So she's doing well, I take it?" he says. "Good."

He turns his head, to look at the rest of GLoG. "If you think I should stick around just in case, I can."
But if not, he should probably leave. He absorbed a lot of demonic despair-energy and he's not entirely sure how he is going to remove the wings or fix his hands anytime soon and so he might have some things to figure out.

bc56

2020-12-04, 12:46 AM

A Cold Day

Sekhmet pulls her coat the rest of the way on and follows Prumathe outside. "It's okay, uh, you can go. We're just going to get a bite to eat."
She's in the mood for something hot and filling, to keep her warm inside.

Earl of Purple

2020-12-04, 01:10 PM

A Cold Day

"Thank you for bringing her to me, she is OK now." He hopes. She's just integrated another personality into her own, and whilst that personality is also hers, there might be oddities. Also, this means Sekhmet remembers Benedict now. He still doesn't have a clue who she is.

"Indian sound good to you?" Prumathe smiles; he could eat a lot of curry. And it's warm, so Sekhmet might like it too.

bc56

2020-12-04, 02:15 PM

A Cold Day

"That sounds lovely." Sekhmet puts her arm around Prumathe (she's warmer that way) and will follow him where he wants to lead. "Bye Zophiel! Thanks for the, uh, help!"

5a Violista

2020-12-04, 03:42 PM

[A Cold Day]

Zophiel waves. "Any time!" he replies.

After a short run to pick up speed, he starts flying again, going back to Message's Temple to retrieve his swords and update Anchor on Sekhmet's well-being.

Murkus

2020-12-08, 06:46 PM

[Gem Dungeon Floor 5]

"Oh? What's so special about that thing?" Fettina asks about the scepter as Rein examines it. She sidles over to the music box and gently turns the crank, seeing if it will play.

Reinholdt

2020-12-09, 04:32 AM

[Gem Dungeon Treasure Haul]

"This?" Rein asks. Nothing as far as he was aware. "Oh, uh, figure out the right command words to say and it'll make you feel like a queen. I meant the hooded cloak you got. Here, I'll trade if you want." Reinholdt offers the scepter of queenliness in exchange for the cloak.

In the meanwhile, he'll check out the books to see if any are magic, or indeed even legible. He suspects they're just first edition books of some story that's long since faded from the pages.

Shadowcaller

2020-12-09, 12:41 PM

[Platinum Star]

Oh my, that almost seems to make Maiel crack a smile. She's teased a genuine smile out of him. "Hmm? And what would they be saying, Tellysandra?"

[Platinum Star]

"That I can't afford to treat my employees with the medium of respect they're worth after attaining such a position. I mean, I don't even think the waiters are low-wage slaves in here. Such minions wouldn't be trusted to be this close to people of our position. Thus you are expected to be well off and that means you have to show it. Otherwise they might think I invited some slave with me which simply wouldn't do. I don't even own slaves." The arch-warlock waves dismissively in the air.

5a Violista

2020-12-12, 01:38 PM

[Gem Dungeon - Treasure Haul]

The music box is a little stuck at first, but after enough effort the crank turns. It starts playing a nice melody, but it has two stuck keys that play the notes slightly off and one broken key that doesn't play its note at all. In spite of this, it's still clearly a lullaby.

The books are in better condition than the ones that were stored in that dark basement. There's none that are inherently magical, and most of them -unlike the ones in that basement - have nothing to do with magic. Most of them here, if you find the right collector, pretty valuable. Or you can just keep them on your bookshelf and act sophisticated for having really old books. There are a few that discuss magic or magic techniques and also some lorebuilding things that probably are related to the type of succubus that Carmen is and so on.

Murkus

2020-12-12, 06:02 PM

[Gem Dungeon Treasure Haul]

"Ooh, shiny!" says Tina, dripping with irony, but she takes the scepter in trade for her cloak anyways. She does like the shiny. She listens to the music box play and decides to take it especially for herself. Her gaze meanders next to the solid gold draconic skeleton. Now that's a funny thing. She remembers something about that much gold being really heavy. How are they gonna get it out of here?

[Platinum Star]

Maiel's demeanor takes a turn for the darker. He looks genuinely displeased, and the creases in his face become like canyons on some desolate moon. "You think without these trinkets, I would look like some slave?" She seems to have struck a nerve without realizing it. "Careful, Tellysandra."

Shadowcaller

2020-12-13, 06:09 AM

Reinholdt

2020-12-14, 12:51 AM

[Gem Dungeon - Treasure Haul]

Reinholdt frowns at Tina being flippant, but she makes the trade so he doesn't comment. Rather, Rein just packs the cloak away. And grabs one of the books in case he needs to read up on succubi for, uh... research.

Particularly in regards to the whole cloning thing should something go wrong. Not whatever you were thinking!

In the meantime, Rein pulls out some leather bags and starts filling them with gold and jewels! Huzzah! He doesn't concerned about how they're getting this stuff out of here, but he also doesn't seem to be trying to take an entire gold skeleton. Which honestly, would look pretty good in the middle of a living room. Also the bags just keep getting filled but they never look stuffed for some reason. Must be bigger on the inside.

5a Violista

2020-12-14, 01:35 AM

[Gem Dungeon - Treasure Haul]

The dragon skeleton is definitely small enough to fit in a basket since it was just a baby dragon, so...it maybe only weighs 50 kilos. Maybe 100, tops, depending on your assumptions about gold-bone density. (The bones actually have a lot of empty space in them just like actual bones, so they're only 50 kg.) Definitely something a decently-strong person could carry so long as they have a strong enough backpack or bag.

Anyway, the treasure doesn't resist going into the bags.
It's just treasure.

Meanwhile, remember that fancy box that was on the ground over there?
It looks pretty enticing...
Maybe you should open it. See what's inside. There's probably not blood inside.

Shadowcaller

2020-12-19, 06:09 AM

[Fidelia's Dream]

Jaahlyn the satyr enters Fidelia's dream as a thief in the night.
In fiction dreams were often depicted as worlds that the dreamer just found themselves in, but the dreams Jaahlyn visited were not quite as coherent. Coming instead in a series of sensations, images and emotions that didn't always follow any logical structure as they could change at a moment's notice.

In this state it would be impossible to communicate with the dreamer so Jaahlyn had to stabilize the dream first and that would require her to find the dreamer's self. The perspective from which she saw the dream at this moment.

Thankfully, unlike the other fey courts, Jaahlyn wouldn't need to experience the dream to locate it. She simply needed to reach out and the next moment Fidelia will find herself dreaming in a much more coherent manner. Her dreamself standing in whatever dream she was caught up in with Jaahlyn standing next to her. But while Jaahlyn was her own self she was using Fidelia's dream to form an image of herself. Thus she will be perceived less like her actual self and more how Fidelia experienced her.

It's unlikely it's that much different than she actually looks like but as memories aren't perfect and Fidelia have only seen the satyr a few times she might come off as less detailed and with a few details off. Of course, Fidelia might not notice this as this image of Jaahlyn is recreated by her own memories.
"I'm here to guide you to Saint Lazarus dream, miss." The satyr declares with a bow, even her voice formed out of Fidelia's memories.

Hopefully Fidelia wasn't dreaming about something awkward.

Murkus

2020-12-23, 07:29 PM

[Platinum Star]

Telly doesn't seem overly concerned as she laughs. "Did you just confuse yourself with the ordinary humdrum we're surrounded with, Mal? Since those are who these rules apply to." She gestures around them. "Look at all these clothes, these ornaments they're wearing, trying so hard to look special, to be special." Then she gestures at him. "Meanwhile, I'm pretty sure you could go nude, flag at full mast, and people could still tell that you're more than them." A beat. "Actually, bad example. But as in really dull unimaginative clothing. You know what I mean." She laughs again.

[Platinum Star]

That gives even Maiel a bit of pause. He looks at her in his usual silent way for a moment... and then erupts in a throaty chuckle. "Woman, you're drunk." He lowers his gaze to Telly again. "I don't know that I can take your flattery seriously. This isn't what you've been 'imagining', now, is it?"

Gem Dungeon - Treasure Haul!

Very luckily for them both, Fettina's pretty strong at the moment. But even she gives a little groan when she picks up the skeleton (presuming it doesn't fall to pieces). "This thing is awesome... but oh my god, I would hurt myself if I weren't like this," she laughs tinnily. She carries it over to Rein, making a point of ignoring the heck out of that other box. "Ready to get out of here? Should I put the, ngh, skeleton in your bags too?"

Reinholdt

2020-12-24, 02:29 AM

Gem Dungeon - Treasure Haul!

Reinholdt looks up at Tina, fairly impressed at her strength. "If you only carried me with as much tender love as you give that golden dragon."

"Yeah, put it right in here." Rein holds the bag open for her to slide her dragon in. "Grab anything else you want and dump em in one of these. We'll go to your place, drop off the loot and split the boring stuff later." After the whole cloning business.

Rein will scoop up the gold and gems and presumably they'll clean the place out of most of the valuables. Leaving behind one untouched fancy box, some books and a small smattering of gold pieces that Rein's too tired to bother with after loading all the rest.

After which they'll... leave!

5a Violista

2020-12-24, 08:10 PM

Gem Dungeon

If only they had stuck around for one more post, then something would have happened with that box.

The small dragon skeleton mysteriously sticks together and does not fall apart.

They can leave unimpeded, after opening the treasure room door. The path back has a minor landslide in blocking the way, but it should be really easy to move enough of the rocks away that they can just waltz past it - or, if they don't like waltzing, a two-step or any other dance of their choice could work, too. Or they could just walk.

After all the excitement of the dungeon and all the other rooms they've been to, the way back is eerily quiet and normal and so on. They did already open one box, so the dungeon doesn't see any particular reason to stop them from leaving.
Well, the air is a bit warmer than when they last came through here, but that's about it.

Murkus

2020-12-26, 02:41 PM

[Gem Dungeon - Treasure Haul]

"Just make sure you don't drop it on your toes when you slide it back out," Tina warns and winks, giving one last look around.

Tina will chitter chatter about who gets what as they make their way back, trusting Rein to guide them if need be, and unless stopped they probably finally escape from here.

Reinholdt

2020-12-29, 01:06 AM

[Tina's Apartment - Treasure Haul]

Rein raises an eyebrow. Who drops things on their feet? Bad Treasure Hunters, that's who.

Tina has a lot of ideas about the treasure. Which is probably good cause Rein mostly just stashes it away and keeps it out of the hands of the poor until it's time to buy a fresh keg of rum. Once they make it back to Tina's place, Rein makes a show of covering Tina's floor in gold and gems and a dragon skeleton.

"Huh. Almost looks as shining as you do."

Murkus

2020-12-29, 04:21 PM

[Tina's Apartment - Treasure Haul]

Tina folds her wings and falls in the pile, rolling over it with a girlish squeal. She's too enamored with the treasure to even trade compliments. "Rein, just look at this! Isn't the shine of gold just the prettiest thing you've ever seen?" She turns over on her belly and lifts one piece to her eye between two fingers. She gets a dreamy look on her face. "If you told me ten or twelve years ago I'd be able to touch this... hold it in my hands... you know I'd probably punch you in the mouth?"

Reinholdt

2020-12-30, 12:44 PM

[Tina's Apartment - Treasure Haul]

Reinholdt laughs. "Well, I can't argue the aesthetic appeal of having all the money." Prettiest thing he's seen? Hmm... pretty close. Top five at least.

"What?" Rein defensively covers his mouth. Oh no wait, she said would have. "I take it you used to be broke and dreamless?" He asks as he lies down on his back next to Tina in the loot pile, head tilted to watch her. "Or did you just enjoy punching people? What's the backstory there?"

Murkus

2020-12-30, 01:10 PM

[Tina's Apartment - Treasure Haul]

She turns a little smirk on him. "Well I never enjoyed punching anybody before I got like this, especially back then when I was just an angry little stick of a girl." The angel furrows her brow in memory. "I was broke, sure. Maybe my dreams got a little dim sometimes. Mostly I was just... mad. Mad at parents, mad at my sisters, mad at everything. Probably why I did so much stupid stuff. When I got low... well, I guess even the idea of ever being rich or famous or happy would have offended me. Like I didn't deserve it."

There's a drop of silence, then, "I don't even know if I'm really happy now. Don't know what I am."

Reinholdt

2020-12-31, 01:08 AM

Arkhosia

2020-12-31, 03:16 PM

Shadowcaller

2021-01-01, 04:15 AM

[Fidelia's Dream]

There is one thing to note then.
Fidelia might not have paid attention to the bauble tied around Jaahlyn's tail before but now it glows with a strange otherworldly light that still feels strangely familiar.
It would be difficult to describe the exact color of it, which is exactly why it could be called otherworldly, as it can shift from one moment to another. But she wouldn't perceive this as it actually changing color as her memory shifts along with it.
One moment she would describe it as always having been a shade of azure while the next it could always have been in all the colors of the rainbow.
But there is a pattern to these colors as they will remind Fidelia of home. Not home as in the physical place she lives but rather home as in the concept of familiarity and safety. A safe harbour in the ever changing dream around her.
Indeed, the colors are in a way Fidelia's own as the bauble could be said to reflect back the light of the observers soul back at them. Thus it would be like seeing a familiar part of itself.
Jaahlyn smiles reassuringly. "Then we shall go at your leisure, lady Fidelia." For a moment the dream shifts and Fidelia will get a image of herself as a lady, perhaps dressed in clothes largely based on the time she meet commander Mithar. But the image itself is only a part of it as she will not look important but feel important. As if there is a whole nation of people that value and her look up to her.

The vision will fade with Jaahlyn's words but that feeling of importance will linger in Jaahlyn's presence as the satyr leads her elsewhere.

Elsewhere being Lazarus dream in which Fidelia might look quite different depending on how Lazarus sees her. But to Fidelia she will look just the same, however Laz might look different to her.
Normally either dreamer wouldn't notice the discrepancy between how one another look in their dream and how they look in the waking world but Jaahlyn's presence will make them more lucid than they would normally be and thus they can apply waking logic to the dreams.

Lazarus dream might just be a series of colors and images, but it might also be something more complex. Whatever it is, Jaahlyn and Fidelia is about to find out as they step inside.

Shadowcaller

2021-01-02, 07:42 PM

[Platinum Star]

"Tsk, a lady is never drunk, Maiel. I'm merely tipsy, merry if you will, and who can fault me for enjoying a party? I'm not some pervert either if that's what you're accusing me of you goof. I'm probably the purest person on this thing." She gestures in the direction of Jezebel and Cessie. "Well, except maybe her but I need to live too damn it. You understand don't you, Maiel? So hard to keep a balance these days when you have so much of everything."

Murkus

2021-01-07, 06:25 PM

[Tina's Apartment - Treasure Haul]

Reinholdt rests his head against the gold, one of the coins starting to work an impression onto the back side of his face. "There's a lot to be mad about out there. It's easy to get lost in I think. Not even convinced it's wrong. Just feels bad."

He rubs his arms as if cold. "I think... I think happiness is something we're supposed to pretend to have to not disturb those who have it. And they tell people who will never get it to just change your attitude and be happy today because they don't understand it and can't actually give it. Or something, I don't know."

Picking up an ruby, he holds it up and turns it from side to side. "Maybe happiness really is just how buzzed you can get and how heavy the kisses become."

[Tina's Apartment - Treasure Haul]

"But I can't feel those any more," Fettina says, on her back now, hands clasped on her stomach as she ponders the blank ceiling. "Can't get buzzed. Can't get heavy. So I'm just... metal girl."

"...But y'know what does still make me happy," she reaches out and tries to hold Rein's hand. "My friends. I still smile and I never feel so warm any time else... as when I'm with my friends. I dunno if I can make you happy, Rein, honey, but I hope when we're together it feels a little like happy..." She rolls her head to look at him. "Even if I can't make you feel good the way I'm best at." She wrinkles her nose in a pert little smile and searches his face with those eyes like desert suns.

[Platinum Star]

"This must be a new breed of lady," Maiel says, face as straight as the side of a cliff. "I understand perfectly. Even I have been known to indulge... beyond my means. At times." There's a slight, slight twinge of what might be amusement in his face.

Reinholdt

2021-01-08, 07:50 PM

[Tina's Apartment - Treasure Haul]

Right! The whole point of this expedition was to forget all that for awhile. Must have worked too well cause Rein just about forgot.

"Ahh... how do I even respond to that?" Reinholdt fidgets, a clear blush rising on his cheeks to match the rosy color of his alien eyes. All the same, he squeezes Tina's hand and holds it in his. He didn't remotely expect such a response from Tina and now struggles to reciprocate in a way that isn't horribly disastrous. Maybe something simple and honest. "It feels... a little like happy," He says before leaning over to kiss her forehead.

Murkus

2021-01-08, 08:49 PM

[Tina's Apartment - Treasure Haul]

Tina's skin is cold, but his kiss makes her shut her eyes and smile.

"We should hang more often then, huh...?" Fettina seems like she could drift off right there. And perhaps she will. It's been a long day.

Shadowcaller

2021-01-12, 05:06 PM

[Platinum Star]

"Hardly! I'm the purest breed of lady. Real classy, really old-school, just in a new chassis and coming with a few upgrades." Tellysandra claims with a huff. "And what's with this crap about 'indulging beyond my means', is there such a thing for people like us?" She once again gestures in the direction of the noble-group. "I mean we're in a different class than all these people. Just look at them. Do they even have enough money to back those titles up? I heard Magtok is poorer than Wenomir at this point and yet he goes around calling himself a lord. The shame. The purple one... well, I heard from a private source that she went and turned herself into a demon. Is that what a noble does after her whole city gets destroyed by them? Not to mention that the other one is ****ing them. Which is really is worse when you think about it."

Murkus

2021-01-12, 05:14 PM

[Platinum Star]

"My means are... very close to unlimited, I suppose, yes. But it is best if I control myself and... do not overindulge when I desire something."

"I don't care for the rest of them. They can call themselves what they wish. I suppose it's a bit disgraceful..." Maiel turns his face from them. "But they hadn't even crossed my mind to consider. Why don't we go somewhere more fitting for our status, then, Tellysandra?"

Shadowcaller

2021-01-14, 05:00 AM

[Platinum Star]

"Like home?" She inquires with a grin. "I suppose it's about time we ditch this party. I'm kinda bored." Though considering it's a moving train, Telly would have to teleport them out.

Though she will take them wherever he suggests of course.

Murkus

2021-01-14, 05:08 AM

[Platinum Star]

"Home, then. And you may wish to go straight to bed," Maiel recommends. "As much as I would like another outcome--you should rest."

Lord Magtok

2021-01-15, 03:00 AM

Boulevard of Broken Dreams

Elsewhere being Lazarus dream in which Fidelia might look quite different depending on how Lazarus sees her. But to Fidelia she will look just the same, however Laz might look different to her.
Normally either dreamer wouldn't notice the discrepancy between how one another look in their dream and how they look in the waking world but Jaahlyn's presence will make them more lucid than they would normally be and thus they can apply waking logic to the dreams.

Lazarus dream might just be a series of colors and images, but it might also be something more complex. Whatever it is, Jaahlyn and Fidelia is about to find out as they step inside.

Fidelia might be a few inches shorter and lose some of her toned muscles in this dream realm, look more like someone who needs protection than someone capable of knife-fighting her way out of danger, but since she herself won't observe any of that, and you'd have to really focus to notice, it's probably not really worth bringing up or describing further.

The dream itself is set in a place Fidelia should recognize easily enough: it's her Jenette's childhood home, where Fidelia met her girlfriend's parents. Unlike the real place, this one is empty, dusty, dark, and morbid. The front door is covered in unnecessary padlocks that aren't actually attached to anything, the sky is a dark, unearthly shade of red, and the whole street looks like nobody's lived here in decades, with the scent of rust and blood and failure hanging upon the air. Everything is wrong here. Something is watching in the dark, waiting, and it's certainly not friendly.

Recaiden

2021-01-15, 07:12 PM

Honeysuckle (and probably Marin is here too) does not appear in Mallside on a transporter platform as would be expected.

Rather, she's on a circular platform a few meters across, which is lit by flickering magical diagrams that quickly fade away to black.
There is intense heat, but it passes quickly.
There is emptiness in every direction.

"Uh..."
Her tails curl in close to her, and she lifts a hand to the edge of her visor.

5a Violista

2021-01-16, 11:54 PM

"No, that was definitely the real -" Marin answers before realizing that this is definitely not Mallside.

She doesn't let go of Honeysuckle's hand. Getting separated in a place like this seems like it could be pretty unfortunate.

"I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore," Marin says, looking around at the empty void.
Before that gets taken literally, she adds, "Or at the mall. Good thing we checked it, before it became an emergency."

When the magical diagrams fade away, Marin freezes in place and holds tightly. She can't see anymore. "And now I can't see anything."

Recaiden

2021-01-18, 11:32 AM

Honeysuckle holds onto Marin's hand a bit tighter.
"Can't feel anything out there either."

Out in the empty dark, there is suddenly something to see. A vast eye, lit by an unseen light and hanging in the darkness, watching the two of them. Then another, then a third, and so on and so forth. Like the emptiness has just woken up and opened its eyes. ((There is a sense in which they are not really there, just illusory shapes. But the feeling of being watched is incredibly high.))
Honeysuckle gives no indication of noticing the disembodied eyes.

"Yeah, but no one knows; they all investigating the noise. 'cept Magtok, and he didn't hear the start."
But honestly, what are the odds that Magtok figures out what happened and responsibly warns the members about the transporter malfunction?

5a Violista

2021-01-18, 10:50 PM

Marin looks back at the eyes.

They feel strange and she shivers, but at first she just assumes Honeysuckle can notice them.
"Magtok's pretty smart. He can definitely figure it out and warn people," Marin says.

Okay, these eyes are starting to be a little creepy.
She glances at Honeysuckle to see if she's feeling that too.
Then back at the other eyes.
And then at Honeysuckle again. Honeysuckle's not really reacting to them.
"...hey," she says.
"You can 'see' those too, right?"

Recaiden

2021-01-20, 12:21 PM

The eyes continue staring at Marin, almost looking through her in disinterest. They blink (or perhaps wink, as it's individual per eyes) from time to time.
And it seems, perhaps the eyes are disappointed in here?

"Hope so. No transporter expert, here."
But Magtok surely is, he's a famous, uh, something, Honeysuckle never really checked the details.

"Just see you 'n this platform we're on." Honeysuckle says.
She holds very still, trying to notice any small thing she might have missed.

Shadowcaller

2021-01-21, 05:16 AM

[Platinum Star]

"Home, then. And you may wish to go straight to bed," Maiel recommends. "As much as I would like another outcome--you should rest."

[Platinum Star]

"Hmph, just know that the servants will be quite concerned if I don't sleep half the day away tomorrow. Me awake before noon? They will think they woke me up." Telly remarks before reaching over to put her hand on Maiel and the next moment the world goes completely black around him as that the best way he can conceive the nothingness that his lack of eyes now perceives.

It might feel like an eternity but just a few minutes later he's standing in Tellysandra's garden. The lady slouching in one of the fantastically sculpted stone benches nearby. "You know, if this VIGIL-thing goes through I might actually be able to get all this back on track again. Pull the city back from the brink, have Sargon's people saved... it will all work out..." She remarks, her voice remarkably clear despite her intoxication.

5a Violista

2021-01-21, 12:20 PM

Murkus

2021-01-21, 01:13 PM

[Platinum Star --> Telly's Garden]

"Hmph, just know that the servants will be quite concerned if I don't sleep half the day away tomorrow. Me awake before noon? They will think they woke me up." Telly remarks before reaching over to put her hand on Maiel and the next moment the world goes completely black around him as that the best way he can conceive the nothingness that his lack of eyes now perceives.

It might feel like an eternity but just a few minutes later he's standing in Tellysandra's garden. The lady slouching in one of the fantastically sculpted stone benches nearby. "You know, if this VIGIL-thing goes through I might actually be able to get all this back on track again. Pull the city back from the brink, have Sargon's people saved... it will all work out..." She remarks, her voice remarkably clear despite her intoxication.

[Platinum Star --> Telly's Garden]

Maiel's eyes twinkle like distant, dying stars in that drifting darkness. He can wait an eternity. It would be no trouble at all.

Maiel kneels down next to her, his face a mask of... concern? He seems genuinely concerned, and skeptical of Telly's condition. "I think you should go to bed. Let me take you." He tries to lift her in a bridal carry across his arms, if the lady lets him, and straightens with a grunt. He'll try to carry her to her bedroom. "Plans go awry with the kiss of day. Sleep preserves us." He looks at her, curly bearded and dark skinned with his hair a little longer than usual, bound behind his head.

Recaiden

2021-01-22, 11:52 AM

Hopefully they aren't stuck here for the rest of the week, because even though the worst effects of the collar went away with the removal of it, there's still the possibility of overdosing on and getting addicted to thinking about Honeysuckle. In such an empty void, there's not much else to think about.

"Yeah, there's definitely some eyes here," the catgirl says. "They, um...look? No, they feel a little weird. After those probably-magic writings faded, they are the only thing here. Not sure if it would be a good idea if you saw them, but they're the only things around."

Who's to say? There's no obvious away back to HALO. But probably they can find a way out before then.
Maybe if they could recreate the magic writings they could use them to leave? If Marin looks closely, there are faint marks left on the stony floor of the platform.
Maybe if they jump down into the empty space they'll fall back where they came from?

"Eyes, huh? Too far for me to get."
It's clear, just from looking at them, that the eyes are disappointed in Honeysuckle too.
"Does this make sense? A real alteration to the teleport, right after suggested it? After really fake, garbled warning?"
"Guess the saboteur was listening in. But only to the entrance hall?"

Arkhosia

2021-01-23, 03:03 PM

Avenue of Unpleasant Dreams

Fidelia looks a bit surprised as the gorgeous gown seems to flicker over her form, but she can't help the swell of pride and confidence that swells in her breast from lingering. This sense of purpose is certainly nice to feel, and almost assuredly a help considering the importance of the endeavor she's entered this strange quasi-dimension for. But it also teaches her something she's quick to note- she needs to be careful with what she says in here. Any turn of phrase might have its own unique way of influence and manifestation in here.

As they step into Jenette's dream, Fidelia pauses to take in the environs. Her eyes widen as she swiftly recognizes the place they're in... or the place they're in a facsimile of, to be more accurate. A dark, ominous, bloody facsimile. This was a dream they'd have to be careful in.

"Hello? Jenette? Are you out here?" Fidelia calls out, drifting towards the house to check for signs of entry. Surely, the dreamscape wouldn't have conjured up such an ambience if Jenette wasn't to witness it first.

5a Violista

2021-01-23, 11:49 PM

Shadowcaller

2021-01-24, 05:04 AM

Avenue of Unpleasant Dreams

As soon as they draw closer to this dream home, or whatever you could call this place, Jaahlyn holds out her tail in front of her. Letting its glow illuminate the path before them as if it had been shrouded in darkness. Indeed, everything beyond that door is likely to be.
The satyr ignores all the padlocks at the front door and attempts to simply try the handle and see if she can open it while Fidelia is looking for other points of entry. "Just don't stray too far from the light, Lady Fidelia. This appears to be a particularly unpleasant dream that I've stabilized."

[Telly's Garden]

Telly doesn't resist, seemingly relatively used to be carried considering how calm she's acting when Maiel lifts her up. She simply glances at him and waves her hand dimissively. "No sleep for the wicked is what I'd say, but now it seems like the wicked will finally get some sleep. Or at least a nap. I do have a meeting tomorrow..." The archwarlock let's out a subdued giggle.

Murkus

2021-01-26, 10:19 PM

Recaiden

2021-01-30, 05:50 PM

Jumping down is probably a horrible idea. What if you just keep on falling forever?

"It seems like this sort of thing would take a while to set up," Marin says. She hasn't had a look at the teleportation tech, but she imagines it's more complex than just 'rerouting on a whim' immediately after it was suggested. "In the first place, they'd have to have this place planned out in advance."

She lets go of Honeysuckle and crouches down (without really moving away) so she can get a better look at the marks on the ground and trace out a couple with her finger.
"Like, planning all this out, selecting this place, and everything else would've taken a lot longer than the time it took us to walk over to and turn on the teleport. Either this was well planned out far in advance, or this just happened without any planning behind it."
Marin tilts her head up. "The teleporter said it was working properly before we went in it, right? Would it be possible to make it give off the wrong destination before we went in?" This is important to figure out because then they can narrow down whether it was really well-planned or if it just happened.

That would be pretty bad. You'd have to hope someone else falls down faster and can come get you.

"Yeah, would a while, but what if sabotaged the other end of it?" Honeysuckle says, imagining her way towards a wrong answer. "Just in-case anyone came through..." That would have been harder to check once the crisis began.

The marks are spiky unfamiliar characters, laid out in a circle. Each lights up for a few seconds as Marin traces over them. It should suddenly occur to her, even if there's no normal way to recognize is, that this is just a transporter destination, and is missing symbols that would send anyone away.

"Think it coulda given off the wrong destination. If you changed the machine underneath, what looked like the right setup could do anything, right?"

5a Violista

2021-01-31, 05:01 PM

Definitely would need someone who can fly and has great aerodynamics.
I don't think that applies to either of the girls here, though.

Marin has a sudden realization! Yeah, that could be possible. It'd make sense, if this thing was expecting people to snatch them out of teleportation.

And then promptly starts to question why she realized this. There was a decent logical leap. Was it actually something to do with these symbols, or is it just her own mind playing tricks on her? She needs to find a way to verify this.

Marin glances up at Honeysuckle.
Coincidentally, there is someone right here who could probably help verify, too! She obviously can't tell Honeysuckle what Marin's thinking, just in case that taints her thought process, and then it would be a pretty poor verification. But if she comes to a similar realization, then it wasn't just her mind.
"Hey, crouch down here and feel out these symbols," she says. "And tell me what you think about them. I had a thought about them, and want to see if you're thinking what I'm thinking."

Recaiden

2021-02-02, 01:41 PM

No, Honeysuckle doesn't have the sort of tail that's aerodynamic and useful for flying.

She thinks Marin's request is strange, but she does as the catgirl asked...
After a moment, Honeysuckle announces "This just half a transporter. Destination only."

The constant glare of the eyes has softened. They are pleased with Marin.

"Is there some way figure out the other half? A puzzle?"

5a Violista

2021-02-02, 04:26 PM

"Yeah, that's what I thought, too. Weird how a touch made me think that." Then again, teleporting is always weird.

The eyes suddenly changing their...mood or whatever? It kind-of creeps her out, that distant unknowable things are judging her based off of arbitrary actions.

"Maybe if we knew the grammar of how this writing stuff worked, then we could figure it out," she says.
...
"Or maybe...since the only things here are this platform and those eyes, there might be something on the bottom side of this platform? But I can't think if any safe way to look there."

Recaiden

2021-02-02, 09:00 PM

Oh, Marin. Distant unknowable things are always judging you for arbitrary actions. It's just that this time the feedback is more immediate.

"Oh, easy. Just hold onto me 'n I reach over the edge to find any marks." Honeysuckle suggests, going ahead to sit down and put a hand on the edge of the platform already.
"Is there pattern in the eyes matches the symbols?"

Not an obvious one, but maybe on some layer of positioning or color...?

5a Violista

2021-02-03, 01:21 PM

This time, though, it feels incredibly different. Probably because she can see them, so they're just unknowable and not invisible.

Marin would rather not dangle someone off the edge with their life in her hands, but it's not like they have a choice.

She moves next to her and puts her legs back and spreads them for balance, and then tries to wrap an arm around Honeysuckle's waist and with her other arm tries to grip at whichever article of clothing feels the strongest. "Nothing immediately obvious," Marin says. "Will look more closely once your life is no longer in my hands."

Recaiden

2021-02-04, 01:03 PM

With Marin holding onto her waist, Honeysuckle stretches out and traces a hand across the bottom of the platform, feeling for any markings.
"Nothing here." she eventually admits, pulling up to be more securely back on the top side.

The eyes are still happy. Not every plan will work; that's okay.

5a Violista

2021-02-04, 05:17 PM

Deathkeeper

2021-02-06, 05:34 PM

Mountain Temple

Artorias blinks as he wakes up, stone under his hooves. His head is fuzzy. Did he go out drinking? No, he hasn't done that in ages, and never enough to make him pass out. He's dressed casually in a sweater, so he wasn't at class or-
Oh. Wait. Now he remembers. He was out shopping, stumbled his way through a particularly disastrous conversation with a classmate, and bumped into Libra again. Then he lamented to her about his dreams and his luckless lovelessness and the slowly encroaching mortality of life after a drink and everything is fuzzy after that. And frankly he's having trouble remembering anything more specific than that. Looking around, he appears to be in some sort of huge stone room, ivy and moss having overtaken it a long time ago.
Hooves clacking against the stones he looks about until he finds a window. Peering out it he-
Oh dear. Oh, dear. He's very, very high up. Tree-choked cliffs and crumbling stone buildings surround him. There's barely any paths to be seen, and rocks and unstable footing abound. The exact kind of conditions someone with horse's ankles does not want to find themselves in.
He wanders back to where he woke up and notices a package on the floor. A small, compact syringe and a stack of masks. The one on top is made of some sort of burnished metal and has some sort of feathery pattern on its surface. The others are under the first, but he can see that they seem to be some sort of pink-colored clay and something that might be iron or steel. He reaches out but spies a note left in a shaky, scrawl.
Apparently he is not to touch the masks without protecting himself with the medicine. And yet he feels the strangest sense of ownership of them. Still, Libra has always put him in...troublesome situations, but never something that's been too overly dangerous. The needle seems clean and sanitary and dosing himself is simple. Though whatever it is, it does rather immediately make him feel off. Like he's put on a wet blanket of some kind.
Then he goes and picks up the masks, oddly finding himself clutching them close to his chest.

Terumitsu

2021-02-06, 11:58 PM

Mountain Temple

Dizziness.

Like that buzz of too much caffeine at once yet still being too tired for it to do more than just make one thick-headed and jittery. It was like all the qualities of a headache but without the actual ache. Heavy lidded eyes and a sour taste in the mouth as eyes behind eyes blinked. A yawn.. And... Confusion? Where were.. Oh, right.

The masks just melted in his hands like warm chocolate, metal and clay smudging in his grasp yet no residue would come of him trying to wipe them off. Soon, it would be as as if they hadn't even been there in the first place. Just empty hands and empty air.

Annoyance now. But not his? Or.. Sort of his? It was coming from inside of him at least... Or maybe it was like just knowing that someone wanted to give him a hard noogie to the point that he could just feel it in his imagination. Annoyance like a hiss through clenched teeth but a sense of growing resignation... And a tiredness born from ennui rather than exertion or extended wakefulness.

For a brief moment, he might feel that having legs was kinda strange, though. Like, why have them and need to worry about how to put one in front of the other and work out how to not trip when it would be nice to just forget that. Walking was just a controlled forwards fall, is all.

The warmth was nice, though. But.. Well, wasn't he always 'warm?'

Weird..

Deathkeeper

2021-02-07, 12:03 AM

Mountain Temple

Oh, no. Magic. Arty can’t exactly tell what’s going on. He feels strange all around. And there’s definitely something with his face. But with no water or glass in sight, there’s not much he can do to check that.
Put one foot in front of the other he does. In this case, slowly stagger his way back out. Maybe he can find some dry wood to start a fire? And some water? He’ll need both to get through the night. Though it looks plenty bright outside. He probably has plenty of time.
”Hello?” he quietly says out loud. Just in case that strange emotion is from some nearby psychic and not just him being far too tired and/or having touched magic objects. There’s a sinking feeling in his gut. Both of them.

Lord Magtok

2021-02-07, 12:14 AM

Avenue of Unpleasant Dreams

Avenue of Unpleasant Dreams

Fidelia looks a bit surprised as the gorgeous gown seems to flicker over her form, but she can't help the swell of pride and confidence that swells in her breast from lingering. This sense of purpose is certainly nice to feel, and almost assuredly a help considering the importance of the endeavor she's entered this strange quasi-dimension for. But it also teaches her something she's quick to note- she needs to be careful with what she says in here. Any turn of phrase might have its own unique way of influence and manifestation in here.

As they step into Jenette's dream, Fidelia pauses to take in the environs. Her eyes widen as she swiftly recognizes the place they're in... or the place they're in a facsimile of, to be more accurate. A dark, ominous, bloody facsimile. This was a dream they'd have to be careful in.

"Hello? Jenette? Are you out here?" Fidelia calls out, drifting towards the house to check for signs of entry. Surely, the dreamscape wouldn't have conjured up such an ambience if Jenette wasn't to witness it first.

Avenue of Unpleasant Dreams

As soon as they draw closer to this dream home, or whatever you could call this place, Jaahlyn holds out her tail in front of her. Letting its glow illuminate the path before them as if it had been shrouded in darkness. Indeed, everything beyond that door is likely to be.
The satyr ignores all the padlocks at the front door and attempts to simply try the handle and see if she can open it while Fidelia is looking for other points of entry. "Just don't stray too far from the light, Lady Fidelia. This appears to be a particularly unpleasant dream that I've stabilized."

"Shhh! Don't let it hear you!" calls out a young girl hiding behind a couch, popping her head out for just a moment, long enough to gesture with a shift of her neck for the two wanderers to take cover behind the furniture before she vanishes once more. If they follow along, they'll find that she's roughly half the height of Jenette, with similarly tiny armor concealing her features, but her zweihander is as large as Saint Lazarus's has ever been, the brutish sword towering over the small child.

"It ate Mommy and Daddy. It'll eat you too, if you're not careful. I think I saw it go into the basement earlier, but the lights are out, and it's very quiet when it's hunting, so it could be anywhere," Smol Jenette warns the dream duo, pointing towards a spooky wooden door barely hanging on its hinges, marking the path to a spiral staircase into a shadowy abyss. Smol Jen's armor shifts into a pale green nightgown a moment later, soaked in fresh, sticky blood and viscera clinging to her body. She doesn't seem to notice or care though, her eyes darting wildly around the room, too fixated on finding this murderous creature to fret over her own appearance.

...wait, hold on, weren't Fidelia and Jaahlyn trying to open the door just a second ago? How are they already in the living room without so much as a single step forward? How stable is this dream, exactly, if geographic spaces just vanish in an instant like that?

Terumitsu

2021-02-07, 12:50 AM

Mountain Temple

Water? It was right over there, right? It was a place where water felt like it should be, at least, so it should be there. And if it wasn't then clearly something was hideously wrong with the world or someone somewhere was being extremely lazy. Probably the latter more than the former.

There wasn't much of a hello back. More of an acknowledgement in that way of being in the same room but not necessarily interested in making friends. Kinda like sharing an elevator with someone but, well, the elevator ride was going to the ten-millionth floor. There was a bit of a 'wait and see' sense to things considering the mutual captivity in a strange sense but it was also like having to cram into a too-small car-seat that already had an occupant. Not 'cramped' but certainly 'cloistered and uncomfortable.' Why couldn't Arty just get out of the car anyway? Sure it was his car but, like, he left the keys right there and already had the deed of ownership signed so this was just a formality at this point, right?

Still, more heat would be nice. Dry wood would have to be his own task though. Dendra was someone else's jurisdiction. As were organs. Two guts? Why not just one long one? Warm-things were weird. Tasty though. Ostensibly, of course.

Sun being out still though.. He didn't need to be that active at least. Maybe take some time to at least enjoy a good sunbeam? At least cats knew the value of those. Certainly one of the smarter of the warm-sorts, them.

Deathkeeper

2021-02-07, 01:01 AM

Mountain Temple

Oh, dear. This is definitely something strange. He can’t see or hear anyone nearby. So the presence must be perhaps of this place, or of those masks. Was this related to what he spoke to Libra about? He wishes he could remember what happened yesterday.
Arty turns a corner. Indeed, there is water!
But it’s a murky green pond. Not terribly useful for his needs. His stomach rumbles, though he doesn’t feel hungry. And oh...for some reason the sunlight shining down on him and his bare lower half does feel particularly nice today. Odd, as it doesn’t feel particularly cold. But he stands there for a bit, taking it in.
That said, he was quite sure his car was in his name, thank you.
And no one likes a back-seat driver.

Terumitsu

2021-02-07, 01:36 AM

Mountain Temple

First he wants water and now he's too good for water. Arty could feel the eye-roll so tangibly he might do it himself. See if he gets any help again when he asks for it.

And Navigator, thank you very much. It's not like he can look at the map and the road at the same time. Accidents happen that way. But if he insisted, he could at least just drive to the right place and stop taking detours.

Sunbeams were not detours, by the way.

Also, how old was Arty, anyway? Like, was he going to last for only ten summers? Twenty? Horses live for around thirty and he certainly was of maturity, right? Pretty sure on that at least considering... Oh what's that thought? 'Hate to see them go but love to watch them leave' was it? Yeah, probably an adult of some kind if those kinds of ideas were in here. Also if he wanted to lock things up, he could at least invest in something stronger. Then again, locks really mostly only kept out those who obeyed the implication of, well, 'keep out.' Anyone with the right tools or just a good hammer could just bypass them.

Speaking of.. What else was in here, anyway? Anything 'Fun'? No? ....The disappointment was palpable but not necessarily judgemental. Silver lining there, at least. Anyway, maybe there were other useful things in here. ...The hell were these 'meme' things? Oh hey that's a cute kitten there...

Deathkeeper

2021-02-07, 01:45 AM

Mountain Temple

Arty does find his eyes rolling, which is more than a little concerning.
And yet more than anything else he finds his frustrations mounting with this sentient feeling of his.
He would love to know what the destination of its is if it has one in mind.
Also, he’s twenty-two, and liable to live to at least sixty. And he does plenty of fun things! Even if he doesn’t get out as much as he’d like. It’s hard meeting people when you stumble and fumble over every word any time you see a pretty girl. He’s working on it! He’ll know what to say some day.
He looks out to the cliffs below. He’s really not sure how it is that he’s going to get down. Most of the paths are too old and choked by plant life to navigate. And he has no supplies. But could he just stay in these ruins a while? Just as unlikely to be a viable option long-term even if they are shelter.

Terumitsu

2021-02-08, 01:01 PM

Mountain Temple - Arty's Brain!

Only sixty? That's like.. Nothing. It's a long blink at best.

And the destination is.. Well, the ultimate destination is beyond him. And not even in a condescending way. Just that in the cosmic scheme of things, his part in it all would be scant. Not necessarily unimportant but.. Well, you don't exactly thank every thread in your shirt for doing their job but you can definitely tell when you get a run and just one starts to unravel. That was a best-fit analogy at least.

Speaking of threads, he could stand to wear something more presentable, right? Maybe a little flair.. You know, make yourself approachable or at least interesting, Arty!

Anyway, you need.. Biological things to not die sooner than you will already. Look, you handle the getting warm part, the water will sort itself out, okay?

Getting down would be.. How did you get up here in the first place anyway? Like, really. You can't fly and your backside looks like the heavier half... Would that mean you've got a 'pear' shape to your body then? Never mind, the fashion can come later.

Deathkeeper

2021-02-08, 01:13 PM

Shadowcaller

2021-02-08, 02:27 PM

Recaiden

2021-02-09, 02:12 PM

Having the eyes be angry again would be a little relieving, actually, because then at least Marin would think she knows what makes them angry or happy. Since they are still happy, it just makes them more unknowable since the they just disproved the catgirl's thoughts about their motives.

Marin pulls, trying to get Honeysucke back up on decent ground.

"Okay. So..."

She looks around.

. . .

Maybe she can find patterns or things in the eyes, as was suggested? Marin had been trying to avoid looking directly at them because it was weirding her out and they might retaliate, but they don't really have much of a choice at this point.
She looks at the eyes.

"Eventually, other two get back, realize we're gone." So if nothing else maybe someone will come help them.

When she looks directly at them, the eyes are looking at Marin.
Of course they always have been looking at her.

Seeing them directly gives a very strong feeling that the eyes, they understand Marin. That everything about her, all her characteristics, hopes, fears, regrets...they are seen. Surely, the eyes know everything she has ever done wrong, and why.
And at the same time she sees the eyes; they're right there. Well, a little far off, but plainly visible. And being visible, how could she not understand them as well? The eyes, for all their different sizes and colors, all belong to one being who is ever so far away. The unseen creature behind the eyes is reminiscent of a few things. It is like a fox. It is like a vast and intricate machine with thousands of gears spinning in perfect order. And it is like ice. It does not deign to communicate. It is simply obvious when you really look. He could show Marin how to make the symbols that correspond to the other half of the transporter ring, if only the catgirl lets him in. He is very far from the Nexus, you see. It is only a confluence of rare factors around Honeysuckle that let the eyes reach into the Nexus at all. But if someone else reached out...
There is a plan for you, Marin. It's right there in the patterns.

5a Violista

2021-02-09, 10:29 PM

"Maybe," Marin says. She's not entirely sure, though. Magtok was right there. The situation is probably a lot more complicated than it seems, since he didn't appear. There's probably something stopping him from helping, and - although she doesn't know the other two who left the room first - she assumes if Magtok couldn't do it then it would be pretty hard for them to do it.

Trusting these unknowable eyes is probably a bad idea.
No, it's definitely a bad decision. Probably comparably as bad as being stuck here for ages, hoping someone is able to figure out what went wrong and get them back.
But...
Marin looks over at Honeysuckle.
Definitely worth making a bad decision.
And she looks back at the eyes. Not entirely sure how to let them in, but she tries her best. If it'll get them back safely then it'll be worth it.

Recaiden

2021-02-10, 02:04 PM

Honeysuckle is slightly leaning out over the edge of the platform, facing out into the dark, trying to notice some clue.

Looking back at the eyes- They are pleased. Things are going well -Marin sees a catgirl and a foxgirl on a platform in a vast void.
Around Marin appear more of those symbols that had formed the sparking transport receiver on the platform, a swirling eleven-part design. For a moment the air feels feverishly warm. They fade quickly, leaving no trace.
And then the eyes are are gone. The space beyond the platform is dark, and empty as well.

A glance at the platform shows where the marks should be made to complete the transportation diagram. Just carve them into the platform with a nail, and everyone will leave this place.

5a Violista

2021-02-11, 12:00 AM

Terumitsu

2021-02-12, 07:29 AM

Mountain Temple

Arty is definitely not pear-shaped. He has a very good runner's build and he knows what the voice means but still!
And he just woke up here. And he's dressed warm because it's cold out. Or at least it was where he was last he remembers. It's a lot more temperate here despite being high up.
But he doesn't know the first thing about fashion. Lots of centaurs just eschew shirts but if he did that he'd look like one of those arrogant men who think they can get dates just by flexing a little. He's not that shallow.

Still, survival first. Arty takes a while to wander around and finds some paths, though it will be difficult to navigate them with his delicate equine legs. He'll likely want to scout them out before he commits to trying to take one down. After a while he manages to find some dead wood and a piece of flint. He only has a tiny knife on him, but it'll do for now. Within the hour he has what he needs for a decent little fire for the night and can set it up in one of the ruined buildings with a convenient hole in the ceiling for the smoke to get out through. Luckily it doesn't look like it'll rain anytime soon.
Arty feels...better? He almost feels like he's had a huge meal, and yet not at all like that. He feels...fuller. Maybe it's just that the drug is wearing off? He's not sure about any of this. And he'd probably like to know more about the voice in his head. He's had far too many people talk to him this way over the years.

Mountain Temple

Yeeesss. Now, those two stones over- Left. More left. There. Yes. They should make a good spark to get the thing going unless you've got stuff in your pockets to bypass pretending to be a neander-.. Well, wait. What would the neolithic version of a centaur be called, anyway? Dinohippus? Merychippus? ...Troys? That last one might land a bit flat. The lack of hunger, though, could well be just an affect of adrenaline. Or maybe the drug just had a lot of leptin-equivelent in it. Maybe that's tipping the hand too much? Well, he did ask nicely enough, in his own way. That bit was only one faucet of the gem, however. A fun one, though. Chemistry was so very interesting. Especially between people. Arty might feel a leering grin in a mouth behind his mouth at that.

Still, while he did ask, he didn't ask.. Quite right. Indefinites and undefineds are so boringly easy to exploit. Why not something more.. [The feeling of compressed stone underhoof; the striking of foot against it clattering with obstinate solidarity that it would stand unmarred, unweathered, and unchanged for ten-thousand years after his passing. An obelisk immobile]? It wasn't a memory, per-say but it might feel like one? A day-dream that broke the rules. Hopefully he could at least understand the more esoteric talk, else it would take absolute ages before anything could be explained.

Deathkeeper

2021-02-12, 07:51 AM

Mountain Temple

Arty sets the stuff down. He realizes how much he’s sweating. Looking up, the sun is actually getting higher, so it must be morning, not afternoon. That would explain why it’s only getting hotter and hotter. Arty frowns and strips off his sweater, laying it over his lower back. He’s only wearing a thin sleeveless undershirt under it. Something he would never usually wear in front of a lady! But he isn’t really in front of a lady now he is? Merely listening to a voice in his head that seems feminine despite the wordlessness.
So. She broke the rules, huh? She can claim that she is unchanging for the eons and yet here she is, mumbling into the brain of this particular centaur. What use is he to her anyway?
He doubts he’ll get any straight answer out of her, so he lets himself get distracted by the fruit tree outside the window. The fruits are small and half green which is why he only noticed it now when the buzzing of insects drew his attention. He can’t climb things, but a good kick might loosen things up...

Shadowcaller

2021-02-17, 11:43 AM

[Telly's Garden --> Telly's Bedroom]

"A meeting with whom?" Maiel asks as he carries her. When it's softened this way, his deep timbre is really quite pleasant to the ear. He nudges through her door with his shoulder and carries her through. She'll soon find herself lying on her bed.

[Telly's Bedroom Chamber]

"Mmm? Oh, just some... executives. Can't recall their names at this very moment. It's nothing you need to be concerned about though, just a tiny fraction of my grand plan!" Telly giggles and kicks her feet in the air as he carries her up the grandstaircase which leads into the large chamber which is where she sleeps. Even the bed is huge, fitting far more than just her. "I will save Skyside you know? Save it from itself."

Arkhosia

2021-02-17, 05:01 PM

Avenue of Unpleasant Dreams

"Shhh! Don't let it hear you!" calls out a young girl hiding behind a couch, popping her head out for just a moment, long enough to gesture with a shift of her neck for the two wanderers to take cover behind the furniture before she vanishes once more. If they follow along, they'll find that she's roughly half the height of Jenette, with similarly tiny armor concealing her features, but her zweihander is as large as Saint Lazarus's has ever been, the brutish sword towering over the small child.

"It ate Mommy and Daddy. It'll eat you too, if you're not careful. I think I saw it go into the basement earlier, but the lights are out, and it's very quiet when it's hunting, so it could be anywhere," Smol Jenette warns the dream duo, pointing towards a spooky wooden door barely hanging on its hinges, marking the path to a spiral staircase into a shadowy abyss. Smol Jen's armor shifts into a pale green nightgown a moment later, soaked in fresh, sticky blood and viscera clinging to her body. She doesn't seem to notice or care though, her eyes darting wildly around the room, too fixated on finding this murderous creature to fret over her own appearance.

...wait, hold on, weren't Fidelia and Jaahlyn trying to open the door just a second ago? How are they already in the living room without so much as a single step forward? How stable is this dream, exactly, if geographic spaces just vanish in an instant like that?

Avenue of Unpleasant Dreams

Jaahlyn nods and crotches down behind the couch, gesturing for Fidelia to do the same thing as she hides the glowing bauble by pressing her tail against the couch. She seems to take all of this in stride, perhaps not even noticing the discrepancies within the dream. Fidelia certainly will however and she might also need to be the one that breaks whatever narrative this bad dream have.
Avenue of Unpleasant Dreams

Fidelia doesn't quite take the sudden shift as well as her companion, staggering a little as she looks around the room. She stares at the young girl with a brief flash of confused recognition before nodding, crouching down with Jaahlyn. "Should- should I be worried about which one's Jenette and which one's just the dream?" she whispers to her guide, moving towards the knife that she presumes is on her hip. Though it might not be thanks to the status of the dream.

Recaiden

2021-02-19, 12:12 PM

Oh! Yes! That's great!
Just like touching the symbols earlier, Marin suddenly knows what'll work next.

She looks down at the platform again.
"Hey. Y'know how touching the symbols on the ground made us realize what they did? I suddenly know the rest of the symbols that'll bring us back."

"..."
"There is, of course, one problem:" she says. "I don't think my fingernails are strong enough to scratch them out, and the only other thing I have is a sonic screwdriver." It's in her bra, where it usually is.
And sonic screwdrivers are used to screw in things, not scratch out things.

"Great work!" What would she do without Marin here?
"Can make the symbols, if'n show me." Honeysuckle offers, inching closer to the catgirl.

"So if has instructions for getting back, that you discovered, probably only supposed to delay us - till whatever's going at the base over?" Or what if there's no HALO to get back to? :smalleek:

5a Violista

2021-02-19, 07:31 PM

[Someplace Right]

Without Marin here, Honeysuckle would probably just take a look at all the eyes that were around and catch them all on fire.

The catgirl says 'yeah,' she can show her. "If everyone tried to evacuate at once, then it would get pretty dangerous here on this platform," Marin says. "We were fine because there were only the two of us, but, remember, the intercom said for everyone to evacuate." Maybe they didn't expect that most the people would go investigate. Or that two of the people would double-check the teleporters.

So, she describes the symbols and where they go, pointing in case that helps - but she presumes it doesn't help very much - "So this one, like this, it goes there, in front of you. About...yeah, that far." And the harder-to-describe symbols, she traces them out, on Honeysuckle's arm if she has to.

[A Certain Place]

There's a certain place they should go, several streets away, into an empty building past a ruined fountain, and through a secret passage - she shows the wolf the way.

A brand-new creature pads along a pathway, going this way and then into an empty building and so on.
The creature is a plant, shaped like a wolf. There's thorns in its mouth, its body is made of twisting branches and leaves. And the creature very much feels like it runs on fairy magic. It's not entirely sure why it's going this way, just that it wants to go this way and it was told the directions to go here.

It's also currently receiving a message through the plants that it passes, instructing it how to differentiate between its own thoughts and someone else's, by coding its thoughts and including markers and tags saying how the thoughts originated.

It enters the secret passageway.

Meanwhile,
a third plant-wolf, accompanied by a woman, is tailing the same pathway. Someone hijacked one of her toys! And she's curious about where this is going.

The woman is a succubus-dryad, with wings and a spade tail, and eyes the color of redcurrants (which match the redcurrant bush flowers/berries in her blonde hair. She also has fox ears, but those seem completely unrelated to her aesthetic.
...
She also has more tails, but they're not there when looked at.

Recaiden

2021-02-19, 10:45 PM

[Someplace Right]

Catching everything around you on fire is almost never helpful.
"Doesn't make sense then, does it?" Fake explosions, fake messages leading into fake traps...
Honeysuckle follows along with Marin's instructions, trying to catch what she's pointing at, feeling the shapes drawn on her arm, and then using the controls on her visor to burn the marks into the platform. It's slow, but it's working. "Got it."

[A Certain Place - The County of Art]

The certain building used to be a museum. But almost all the exhibits are gone ,and the ones that aren't are broken. Lots of graffiti, no window panes left intact. A faint warm breeze runs through the halls no matter the weather outside.
Past the entrance to the secret passage, there stop being plants nearby. There are things kind of like plants, but they're not quite the same, and they don't use the same messages.
There's just the passageway leading down, under the city, towards the red zones, and faint blue luminescence from patches of, well, it's not quite moss, nor quite skin, nor quite any other normal living thing.

Along the pathway, watching from the corner of the room, there's someone else, well hidden. Normally they can't be seen or heard (or scented, tasted, or felt), but one might notice that the air flows around them, or detect them with heat-vision or some esoteric sense that only succubus-dyrads have. Then you might be aware of an alien-bug-person, holding a notepad and pencil in their hands as they watch patiently.

5a Violista

2021-02-20, 10:20 PM

[Someplace Right]

During brief pauses, Marin looks back over it all, to make sure it was all good. Having it wrong would be pretty awful, probably. Gotta double-check your work, after all.

"So, why, then?" she asks. Between talking and double-checking and everything, she keeps on giving instructions on what comes next. "Seems too elaborate to just be a prank or a drill."

"Okay, so the next one looks like..."

[The County of Art]

The plant-wolf who went alone, once there are no longer any plants around, loses contact with the network, so it's just...alone. It keeps on trying to communicate, but it's pretty futile. It keeps on going.

Sadly, the succubus-dryad-??? is very much not accustomed to the limits of everything she can do, so even with the capability to detect the alien-bug-person, the succubus-dryad-foxears doesn't even consider using them. When she stops receiving signals from the lonely plant-wolf, she considers sending the one with her ahead, and make it plant things, but...figures it's too much effort, and there's little point in doing it anyway.

Rather than doing anything interesting that would warrant writing about, she just keeps on going.

Lord Magtok

2021-02-20, 11:04 PM

Avenue of Unpleasant Dreams

Jaahlyn nods and crotches down behind the couch, gesturing for Fidelia to do the same thing as she hides the glowing bauble by pressing her tail against the couch. She seems to take all of this in stride, perhaps not even noticing the discrepancies within the dream. Fidelia certainly will however and she might also need to be the one that breaks whatever narrative this bad dream have.

Avenue of Unpleasant Dreams

Fidelia doesn't quite take the sudden shift as well as her companion, staggering a little as she looks around the room. She stares at the young girl with a brief flash of confused recognition before nodding, crouching down with Jaahlyn. "Should- should I be worried about which one's Jenette and which one's just the dream?" she whispers to her guide, moving towards the knife that she presumes is on her hip. Though it might not be thanks to the status of the dream.

The knife is still there, as is anything Fidelia may have taken with her the last time she was in Jenette's childhood home. Oh, and speaking of childhood, the little Lazarus runs out from behind the couch, brandishing her zweihander confidently as she darts out to the center of the room.

"Come on out now, you disgusting animal! I know you're out there, listening to everything we say!" the girl calls out into the darkness, answered only by the distant rattling of chains. "Your friends went to a lot of trouble to come here and watch me kill you, so crawl out of that filthy basement and don't keep them waiting!"

Recaiden

2021-02-21, 01:08 AM

[Someplace Right]

Good thinking, Marin. If the symbols are incorrect, not only will it not get them out of here, it might do something completely wrong.
But it seems like her instructions are working.
"Maybe didn't go to plan. If everyone tries evacuate, comes here, base is empty except Magtok, yeah? Who'd want that?"

[The County of Art]

The plant-wolf keeps going. It encounters little different except the tunnel widening and more of the alien not-plants appearing as it continues.

The hidden bug person scurries ahead.

Elsewhere in the building, not on the path the wolf took, one might hear distant, heavy footfalls, floorboards creaking, and something slithering.

In following the lead plant-wolf, the dryad will come to a door that leads down into a maintenance stairwell.
But the door has been closed behind the plant-wolf, and there's a note stuck to it.

Hi!
Did you make these plant-rovers?
We like them.
(Talk, we can hear you)
:smallsmile:

5a Violista

2021-02-21, 02:18 AM

[The County of Art]

The lone plant-wolf can't remember why, exactly, it wanted to come here. Something about joining a family, it thinks.
And,
since it feels alone, it starts to think that maybe it should think for itself.
Should it keep on trying to communicate? Yes? There are definitely other things around here. It can tell that much. It just doesn't know how to communicate with them yet. So, obviously, it needs to keep on trying, because eventually it will learn. Just by itself, though, it's hard to learn. So maybe it should stop outputting so many scents and hormones and toxins and everything, and instead 'listen' to its surroundings.

And it keeps on walking, of course.

The dryad Redcurrant stops and looks at the door.
She frowns. This was definitely the direction.
She pulls off the note, and looks at it.

She turns back around and leans against the door, and the plant-wolf with her walks away a little - looking for a place with more light, to be more comfortable.
"Hi?" she responds. "Yes, I created them." She looks around, looking for the person that she's talking to. Her singular tail runs against the door. "They're just my first attempt at it. Hoping to test them and see how they can be improved."

[Someplace Right]

Definitely don't want anything to go wrong.
They might all be stuck here if it goes wrong.

"Oh!"

Marin has a realization.

"Oh! Oh! Oh!"
"You're right!" Why didn't Marin think of this?

"There was a fake Magtok, right?" she says. "And then the real one showed up. Everything was set up to make everyone evacuate, disappear for a short while, and then come back." And it all makes perfect sense now! "What if this fake Magtok was going to use the confusion to swap places with the real one? Since everyone just saw him, they wouldn't question it. And then, just like that, this fake has taken the place of the most influential man in the Nexus. People would eventually notice, but that'd give enough time to do something."

It's really the only explanation for why all these things happened at once.

Shadowcaller

2021-02-21, 05:12 AM

Avenue of Unpleasant Dreams

Fidelia doesn't quite take the sudden shift as well as her companion, staggering a little as she looks around the room. She stares at the young girl with a brief flash of confused recognition before nodding, crouching down with Jaahlyn. "Should- should I be worried about which one's Jenette and which one's just the dream?" she whispers to her guide, moving towards the knife that she presumes is on her hip. Though it might not be thanks to the status of the dream.

The knife is still there, as is anything Fidelia may have taken with her the last time she was in Jenette's childhood home. Oh, and speaking of childhood, the little Lazarus runs out from behind the couch, brandishing her zweihander confidently as she darts out to the center of the room.

"Come on out now, you disgusting animal! I know you're out there, listening to everything we say!" the girl calls out into the darkness, answered only by the distant rattling of chains. "Your friends went to a lot of trouble to come here and watch me kill you, so crawl out of that filthy basement and don't keep them waiting!"

Avenue of Unpleasant Dreams

"Everything is a dream here, lady Fidelia." Jaahlyn replies with a nod. "So treat everything the same, unless it feels different." Well, that was vague.
No time for further explanations though as mini-Laz rushes forward and Jaahlyn motions for Fidelia to follow. "You should be at her side."

Recaiden

2021-02-22, 12:21 PM

[Someplace Right]

"Need to warn the real Magtok when back - if it's not too late."
But Honeysuckle doesn't rush with the symbols. If she messes one up they probably have to start all over.

"You can tell real from fake, right?"
Since they're the only ones who know the plot for sure, and they're stuck here for the moment, Marin's Magtok-expertise could be the only thing to foil the fake's plans!

[The County of Art]

The plant-wolf with Redcurrant can find some light back the way they came, by a window. Just mind a few bits of glass on the ground.

There's no one here. At least, no one who can be found just by looking around for them.

The bug-person, the stalker-class hive alien Ein, scampers about, keeping out of Redcurrant's way while scrawling out a response and hiding another paper just out of the dyrad's view, where it can be found a moment later.

We wanted to catch them and improve them too!
Let's work together.
Then we'll both have improved plant-rovers.

When the wolf stops outputting so much, the ground beneath its paws(?) seems to get steadier, helping it to walk.
There are plenty of strange pheromones that the living things here use to communicate, and other things too. Wavering electric field messages, and the occasional thought being shared directly. Just as a human and a plant-wolf think and communicate differently, so too are the strange glowing fronds and living ground different from a plant wolf. Never moving, never thinking, there's still a sense where they're considering: is the plant-wolf dying? Sneaking? Or does it belong here?

Murkus

2021-02-22, 04:49 PM

[Telly's Bedroom Chamber]

"Mmm? Oh, just some... executives. Can't recall their names at this very moment. It's nothing you need to be concerned about though, just a tiny fraction of my grand plan!" Telly giggles and kicks her feet in the air as he carries her up the grandstaircase which leads into the large chamber which is where she sleeps. Even the bed is huge, fitting far more than just her. "I will save Skyside you know? Save it from itself."

[Telly's Chamber!]

"I believe you," Maiel says, and honestly, but he doesn't really care if Skyside is 'saved' one way or the other. Not quite tenderly, he adds, "Rest, now."

The old miner slowly lowers Tellysandra to her bed and, after one last look around, turns to go unless she says anything more to him directly.

5a Violista

2021-02-23, 01:15 AM

[Someplace Right]

Rushing and starting all over would take longer than just getting it right the first time. So, in order to get back as fast as possible, they can't go too fast.

"Yup, I can," the catgirl claims. "And even if not, I could always just ask to verify things like where we first met or who was the person we both hooked up with, or something like that." Of course, she doesn't give the answer to those, in case whoever set up this whole teleport trap thing has a bug here, because it could be used to foil those questions.

[The County of Art]

The plant-wolf that's left above doesn't mind the glass. It just lies down in the sun.

The plant-wolf that went down is rather curious. Yeah, it can definitely tell that there's some communication. But it can't understand any of it! They're hardly anything it can recognize as speech. It presumes that if it goes far enough, it'll eventually get some clue about what's being said and how to understand them and use them to send and receive signals back.

The lady with fox ears, Redcurrant, finds the note.

She reads it.
Working with others to improve creations is not something new to her. In fact, stealing and improving the creations of others is something she's used to, too.
Her tails swish behind her.
"I'm interested," she says. "What do you need? What are your ideas?"

Recaiden

2021-02-26, 12:44 AM

[Someplace Right]

"So, first thing get out, find Magtok, check if real." Honeysuckle confirms, glad to have a plan of some sort.
Whoever set the teleport trap up, they shouldn't interfere

[The County of Art]

A few moments later, there's another note.

We need a few of them to look at. And to know how you made them!
Well, they only communicate through plants.
And they're vulnerable to people pretending to be them, because they don't know themselves.
And maybe they could have more legs?!

The plant walking down the secret passage, it starts to get some thoughts projected towards it, making it feel welcome here, nothing to worry about. And it gets the idea of a particular planty scent, something to respond with.

The plant in the sun just gets to relax in the sun.

Rebonack

2021-02-28, 09:30 PM

[ICONQUEST]

So.

Jade's got the map. The one Zee gave her. With that, she should be able to find her way to the site Zee had described where she had been feeding. The place that has since become a shrine full of uncanny, otherworldly things. Because Zee is weird. That's just what happens when you get mixed up with all this Eternal Game nonsense. Weird things happen.

Plan is simple.

Meet at the City gate. Quick meet and greet. Head off toward the Shrine site. Crawl through the dungeon. Collect the Icon. Get someone cured.

Easy, right?

Right.

Jade will find the three Plum Sisters waiting.

Dandelion looks impatient, her arms crossed over her chest and one of her hooves tapping. Snapdragon is busy carrying on an animated conversation with a merchant at the gate selling colorful glass beads. Lambslaural is keeping an eye out for Jade and begins waving as soon as she spots her friend. All three of the siblings are dressed for adventure! Getting bronze armor fitted for their cervine lower bodies was a bit tricky but they managed to figure it out!

Hopefully Heather and Hector will show up pretty soon, too, then it'll be time to go!

bc56

2021-02-28, 09:58 PM

Iconquest

Jade shows up pretty early. She's in her armor, except her helmet, letting her red hair hang free. Lambslaural should recognize the more streamlined, skintight armor that is her new metamorphic design. "Hey! You ready?" She waves and runs up to Lambslaural.

Deathkeeper

2021-02-28, 10:30 PM

Iconquest

The other twins are pretty punctual despite the long trip here. Hector looks like he always does, since he’s just an illusion over a fox anyway. Heather is dressed in a cozy-looking gambeson with some leather pads across her chest and shoulder. More notably she seems to be carrying an absurdly thick longbow.
”Hi guys! What’s up?” Heather calls cheerily as the pair walk/bound over.

5a Violista

2021-03-01, 01:09 AM

[Someplace Right]

"Yeah. That's what we'll do," the catgirl says.

She moves on to the next symbol. And the next. And so on.

[The County of Art]

"I've only made four so far," Redcurrant says. It's a little annoying speaking to someone you can't see, she thinks. "But, yes, I could make more. Not a lot at a time."

She thinks about the suggestions. "I feel those are limitations they have to learn to overcome on their own," she says. "It's their job to learn how to communicate better, either by discovering it themselves or finding someone else to learn from. And if they want to know themselves, it's their own job."
Redcurrant is a very hands-off creator. If they learn and adapt, great. If they die because they had a fatal flaw, that's how the world works.

And, of course, 'more legs'. She takes a deep breath before answering. "The problem with 'more legs' is that, as plants, each of their legs grow at different rates depending on how much shade it gets, and their joints don't give enough range of motion to allow six different-length legs. With only four, they can adjust but with six, two would get in the way." She considers it more. "If they had six limbs, where two of them were specialized to be something other than legs, then it could work out." However, as before, she won't change them herself. "But things that solely depend on their creator to survive and adapt hardly deserve to exist." This does not contradict her idea that love brings the strong and weak together to strengthen the weak, because she says so.

The wandering plantwolf receives the thoughts, and, more importantly, the plant scents. Definitely more familiar. Its receptors recognize their shape.

It creates more of a similar scent, to see if that causes some sort of feedback loop or that it can modulate that scent.

Rebonack

2021-03-01, 12:00 PM

[Iconquest]

Lambslaural is doing her best not to hunch in on herself.

Good posture, remember?

It helps quite a bit!

"Oh, um, hello Jade! I'm glad you made it! N-not that I was doubting that you were coming or anything," Lambslaural replies a bit hesitantly, as she oft does. "I'm ready! We did some, um, practice adventuring to make sure we're all still ready. It... um... it went okay."

It went great but LL is too modest.

"How's it hanging, little dude?" Dandelion calls out to Hector. Aside from her hoplite style armor she's also carrying a long spear with a heavy, lead head. Weird. "Ready to kick some butt?"

"Geared up and ready to go!" Snap says, bouncing over to the others now with addition of several strings of colorful glass beads around her neck because why not? "Everyone ready? Which way are we heading?"

All eyes turn toward Jade. She's got the map after all.

Recaiden

2021-03-01, 12:21 PM

[Someplace Right]

It should be obvious to Marin when the last symbol is done, as they all light up, and rings of projected symbols will the air around the platform.
In just a moment, the two should be returned to HALO, right where they left.

[The County of Art]

The invisible writer is offended by this hands-off attitude. The next note practically flies into the dryad's face.

You made them.
If they can't survive, you didn't make them good enough.

There's a second note, less hastily scrawled.

If they learned to regulate how much shade they were in.
That would help all their legs be coordinated to each other.
And let them have more.
But you are correct. They don't need to be Legs for walking on.
Could be climbing vines, or flytrap mouths, or whips or - do they like the waters?

The plant scent comes again, but faintly, just as a confirmation.
It's followed up with thoughts, questions, wonderings about what the plant-wolf wills and intends to do.

bc56

2021-03-01, 12:23 PM

Iconquest

"Right." Jade taps her wrist and pulls up a holographic map of the destination. Where's the original crayon placemat map, you ask? Jade used it to figure out where to get this much more accurate satellite map of the area. "Neon geysers're here, so we go north of there to here, and there should be a pass through the mountains and into the valley here. From there, the terrain's going to get a lot more hazardous, and I don't know where our actual destination is, but we need to reach one of the shrines in the valley. Without being certain, I think likely locations might be here, here, and here, and there are purportedly dozens scattered throughout, so it shouldn't be too hard to find one. Questions?"

Deathkeeper

2021-03-01, 12:32 PM

[Iconquest]

Hector waves cheerily. Heather grins and picks him up, depositing him onto her back. It looks as silly with his illusory self as it always does. Properly mounted the pair can approach their friends much more quickly!
"Uh yeah, all set. We've been practicing, you know?" It's sort of weird that Hector isn't really geared up. But he's a pokemon. Armor is basically redundant.
"It's really too bad that we can't grab more than one. But it sounds like it's out of our league to do more than one raid at a time." muses Heather at Jade's explanation.

Arkhosia

2021-03-01, 02:20 PM

Avenue of Unpleasant Dreams

The knife is still there, as is anything Fidelia may have taken with her the last time she was in Jenette's childhood home. Oh, and speaking of childhood, the little Lazarus runs out from behind the couch, brandishing her zweihander confidently as she darts out to the center of the room.

"Come on out now, you disgusting animal! I know you're out there, listening to everything we say!" the girl calls out into the darkness, answered only by the distant rattling of chains. "Your friends went to a lot of trouble to come here and watch me kill you, so crawl out of that filthy basement and don't keep them waiting!"

Avenue of Unpleasant Dreams

"Everything is a dream here, lady Fidelia." Jaahlyn replies with a nod. "So treat everything the same, unless it feels different." Well, that was vague.
No time for further explanations though as mini-Laz rushes forward and Jaahlyn motions for Fidelia to follow. "You should be at her side."

Fidelia follows Jaahlyn's guidance without comment or protest, moving to back Bab!Jenette up and make sure she doesn't get surprised from behind. Her knife isn't drawn quite yet - she wouldn't want her intentions to be mistaken - but she's ready to do so at a moment's notice. "Careful, you'll make mistakes if you get yourself riled up," she cautions, staring into the darkness around the room with a steely gaze.

Rebonack

2021-03-02, 11:33 AM

[ICONQUEST]

Oh no Jade is using INTERNET THINGS to get more relevant and specific information!

More people need to do that, really. Too bad that most of the extremely esoteric information is all locked away in spooky libraries rather than existing in searchable databases.

"Neon geysers? That sounds pretty wild. Hope you've got a camera built into that suit, Jade because we should get some pictures of this stuff," Snapdragon says as she sets off through the gate.

"Umm... I guess we could try to collect more than one? We don't know how difficult getting to them will be, though. We might be too tired," Lambslaural says. They wouldn't want Hector to run out of PP of course. Unless of course Heather had the foresight to bring some elixirs with her.

And so our heroes set off!

Ten minutes of walking and the City has all but faded from behind them, smoothly transitioning to the rolling hills surrounding Mount Improbable. It is, of course, a huge mountain floating upside down in the sky, bound to the earth by chains of incomprehensible size. Given the way that the laws of probability are out of wack on its slopes most people tend to steer clear since they don't want to suffer extremely improbable fates like suddenly being a sofa.

"Okay, so, plan time. I think the idea was that we would be getting the first Icon?" Snapdragon says, cantering backwards to face the others. "We'll Voltron up and... touch it? Or whatever it is we have to do. POOF! Fae stuff gone. Who wants to be round two if we DO manage to get more than one of these things?"

bc56

2021-03-02, 11:58 AM

Iconquest

Jade looks at Heather pointedly. This is pretty important. "I think, no offense, it should be me. Having one less predatory fae out there will be good, and I want to stop fighting those urges as soon as I can." She may look like a human, but she is decidedly not. She'd like to get back to being human though. "We don't know how dangerous the terrain will be or how well defended the shrines are, so we should only expect to get one on this trip."

Deathkeeper

2021-03-02, 12:04 PM

[Iconquest]

Heather shrugs.
"Don't look at me. Of this friend bubble, I'm the only one mostly getting along with everything." This is possibly because Heather got two-thirds of a Mask while the Sister split theirs three-ways. Many of the former Buttercups that were fully changed and hit with Beatrice's name indicator have been quite content with themselves.
Heather still isn't sure exactly how her mind and Mask are getting along. Forever is a very long time. But it also gives her a long time to think about it.

Rebonack

2021-03-02, 12:51 PM

[ICONQUEST]

"Oh right, the whole eating people thing," Snap mutters. "Are you sure you don't want to take the first one, Jade?"

Dandelion, meanwhile, affixes Hector with her typical intense look. "You settling in with everything, little dude? Bet we could get you to evolve if we beat up enough monsters."

Now there's a point!

How would Hector feel about having a giant poofy top-knot instead of a tail?

On the one hand, HANDS!

On the other, silly hair.

Give a little get a little.

As our heroes are passing near the improbable mountain a large shadow appears from above, rapidly growing smaller.

bc56

2021-03-02, 01:10 PM

Iconquest

"No, you're actually more likely to hurt more people with your park thing. I can hold it off by eating corpses, at least." Jade looks up at the shadow, but since it seems to be moving away, doesn't pay it any mind. She looks over at Hector and Heather again. Full disclosure, I'm a kumiho. So..." A fox tail and ears pop out of Jade to demonstrate. "What's your thing?"

Deathkeeper

2021-03-02, 01:19 PM

Iconquest

Heather looks a bit confused. Not at the kumiho thing, of being asked what her deal is. She feels like that's pretty obvious.
"Um. Pretty much everyone else with the deerbutt. Only my woods are only one house's worth of land." At least she thinks it's about an acre. It's kind of hard to measure."
"Pokemon." Hector says simply without elaborating. He doesn't like letting his illusion down. "Um. I dunno, Dandy. I feel like the two of us have done enough changing but..." but he misses having fingers. Or, maybe not since he's technically never had them. You get the idea.

bc56

2021-03-02, 05:31 PM

Inside: Xuracorp Tower (and everywhere else)
The owners of the skyscraper aren't important. They do some commodities trading or something. No, what's important is the fiery hellish fortress that has appeared on top of it, weeping molten rock into the streets. The elegant black stone structure looms menacingly over its surroundings.
Minutes after the castle appears, black gems the size of people rain out from it, embedding themselves across the city. From each, a voice comes, declaring, "Citizens of Inside! I have come to recover what is mine! I speak of my daughter, the fiendling who calls herself Sekhmet Brignole. Until she is returned to me, my armies shall overrun your city! But the one who brings her to me shall be richly rewarded!' Each crystal flashes with an image, the fiendling Sekhmet, shown from several angles. Then, as one, the crystals pulse with energy. The ground cracks around them, and from those cracks rise noxious gas and lesser devils of all sorts, monstrous creatures bent on destruction. "You have as long as your city is still standing to return my daughter to me!"

Inside: Market Street
Panic overtakes the market. Scrawny malformed devils are clambering out of rifts in the ground. Civilians are collapsing from toxic fumes and being set upon by the monsters. A fire has broken out, spreading from shop to shop in a violent inferno. "Help me please!" Someone shouts from the upper floor of a burning building. More screams can be heard from a pile of rubble nearby, where a hulking brutish fiend easily 20 feet tall is tearing down buildings for the sheer fun of it.

Inside: Skyways
Batlike devils fly between the towers of the Skyways. Glass windows are smashed open, and the monstrous creatures force their way within. A succubus laughs as she lures an unfortunate nobleman into her embrace, only to turn and throw him from the edge of the building, then to fly off in search of a new victim. A group of terrified bystanders crossing one of the sky bridges are pinned down by impish creatures who keep swooping at them and harassing them, tearing at their hair and clothes.

Inside: Hodgepodge Street
Great clouds of foul gas roil through the street. Shadows drift through them, those of distressed civilians and those of marauding fiends. A woman, her legs mangled and bloody, tries to crawl out of the smog only to be grabbed by a clawed arm from the murk, which drags her back with a feeble yelp. Something in the gloom is whispering dark secrets to those who will listen, and at least one bystander seems to have become enraptured by its alluring voice, unaware of the poison fog they inhale with every breath.

Inside: Pontius' Custom Constructs
Sekhmet's hammer rings out as it strikes the bronze plate she's shaping again and again. It's a pretty normal day at work. But suddenly there's a loud crash from nearby, and then a very loud voice starts speaking. "Citizens of Inside! I have come to recover what is mine! I speak of my daughter, the fiendling who calls herself Sekhmet Brignole. Until she is returned to me, my armies shall overrun your city! But the one who brings her to me shall be richly rewarded!' Sekhmet freezes, her blood running cold. She knows that voice. She looks at the other people working in fright and desperation. "You have as long as your city is still standing to return my daughter to me!"

Skyside: Shivernight Manor
The time of the ritual has arrived. A pair of cultists entered the manor not long ago through the secret entrance. They're here to aid in the ritual. One is busy painting a binding circle in whichever room Bluefoot wants to perform the rite in, while the other is practicing her chants.
Those in the house with supernatural awareness have been on edge all day. Ananias especially has been screaming and slamming himself against the walls of his prison. Ophelia too has been tense. The snake-woman actually strained against her restraints while she was being fed this morning. Something big is about to happen, that much is clear.

Outside: Sapphira's former prison
The black crystal that Sapphira left here months ago finally acts. With a pulse of energy, the ground cracks around it. With a second, it rockets free into the air. With a third, a nimbus of infernal power crackles to life around it, black lightning cleaving through the air. It turns in midair, slowly, as if taking aim, then begins to fly in a very purposeful direction... Towards Ell Hive nearby. Fortunately, it will take some time for it to reach, but it's constantly picking up speed as it travels. It will arrive soon if no one stops it.

Earl of Purple

2021-03-02, 06:23 PM

Inside: Pontius' Custom Constructs

Pontius comes storming down from his overseeing platform as the voice booms out, his animated armchair moving quickly on its spidery legs. "Barricade all the doors! Get those statues animated, at least temporarily! Grab weapons and prepare to be attacked by anything! I will not give up any of my apprentices if all the demons in Hell were to offer my legs back, let alone if they try to take one by force! Stonemasons, reinforce the walls and especially the ceiling! Smiths, upstairs windows- see if these things burn. Carpenters, potters, everyone else- build more! Get as many ready as possible, I don't care how they look! Sturdy and strong beats any aesthetic requirements right now! Sekhmet, what can you tell us of your mother, what can we do to stop her?"

The apprentices do as bid, dropping tools and rushing to barricade the doors- often simply by having a partly carved statue drag itself in front of one and then ordering it to keep the door closed. There's twelve golems already ready to defend the warehouse, at least ready enough to animate and put to work. Five wooden, three stone, an armour golem, and three clay golems walking out of the kiln. The masons get to work, stone creeping up the walls as they shape the building's fabric to make sure it remains sturdy and a muscular orc wearing a leather apron rushes up a ladder to one of the windows and starts blasting fire at the nearest devils. If that doesn't work, she'll call out that fire doesn't work and ask for another ideas- which is rapidly provided when a crossbow is thrown up to her.

Skyside: Shivernight Manor

Bluefoot has designated a large ballroom as the ritual chamber, as it's wide open space is not yet fit for its intended purpose- the once-fine wooden floor has warped and rotted in places, and the ceiling is currently only waterproof by the addition of several tarpaulins stretched across the roof above. After his screaming disturbed Applebiter, Ananais had his voice temporarily placed in a bottle. Bluefoot will return it later.

She's had Sylvester dragged up to the ritual chamber, the first time her one time captor has seen the rest of the house, and is arranging the black candles herself. Each candle's wick is made from someone's hair, plucked from her head and one each from her handmaids. The iron dagger that has never been in sunlight remains in its box, currently tucked in the back of Bluefoot's trousers. Azurelle's skull is held by Applebiter, who doesn't particularly like handling the grisly thing.

Rebonack

2021-03-03, 12:49 AM

[Icon Quest]

Lambslaural dances to the side with an "EEP!" as an anvil smashes into the earth nearby, no doubt the source of the aforementioned shadow.

Several MORE shadows begin appear.

"Um... I think m-maybe we should hurry and not be so close to this mountain?" she suggests, picking up the pace a bit.

Random objects falling from the sky?

Sounds pretty improbable.

Dandelion seems mostly unconcerned about the random falling objects. Just means she has to pick where she walks. "Evolution is a pretty important pokemon thing, little dude. Unless you're doing an Ash's Pikachu thing. Which would be lame."

Obvious Dandelion doesn't have a particularly high view of Ash.

[Skyway]

Geneva was here for pretty unremarkable (for her) reasons. Namely, investigating a series of bridges that have been popping up of late in these districts of the City disgorging what she had INITIALLY thought were just people in brightly colored environmental suits. Turns out those weren't actually suits and they're just odd? Odd but harmless, at least to everyone else. They seem to be content waddling around and repairing things and occasionally killing each other? It's all quite strange. Regardless, the bridges were predictable enough that Geneva has been able to get some useful data from them.

And then the devils started attacking.

Two things happen at once.

First?

A call to VIGIL headquarters informing them of the threat.

Second?

A flurry of pink pixels as Geneva shifts over into mew-mode. The hippogriff is by no means helpless, but when it comes to leveraging violence on something pokemon are pretty hard to beat.

Third?

A phone call to none other than-!

Sekhmet's phone rings. Should she pick it up she'll hear a familiar voice. "Sekhmet where are you right now are you safe?"

[Market Street]

Heeeeeeey! You know who lives here in a little apartment building above a ye olde flower shoppe?

Why, it's none other than Ser Pepper! She had been busy selling some fresh produce to one of the veggie merchants when...

Well.

All hell broke loose.

"FIENDS!" the gaiad thunders, stomping one of her back hooves in challenge. "You DARE despoil this place while DEFENDERS OF JUSTICE still draw breath? HAVE AT YOU!"

Then she clenches one hand, causing a javelin of living wood and eldritch magic to grow from her forearm as a swirling cloud of silvery dust springs from her satchel and plates the head of the weapon. With surprising strength for such a slight looking little creature the gaiad HURLS the javelin at the nearest devil! The weapon on its own is potent enough, but its edge is reinforced with an alloy of silver and mithril. Definitely not healthy for your average devil.

Meanwhile, a cloud of silver mist bursts from Pepper's apartment and begins racing toward her several blocks away.