Serious Plots 8: Rawr serisaurus!

[Reinholdt]

[Gem Mountain - North]

"No, I don't think so. I do have a spare laser rifle I picked up on my recent trip to the Dyson Sphere if you need it. There was an armory. I borrowed a few." It wasn't like anyone else was using them! But they are larger than a hold out pistol.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Rein says, putting a hand on Tina's shoulder after she starts trying to force the bookcase open with strength. "I mean, sometimes that's the answer when you're dealing with strong creatures like trolls. But you can usually tell by the scrapes being uneven and erratic in that case. Most of the time, you want to look around for the mechanism that'll open it." Trying to force it open could break it! Or just get it open faster. Guess they'll find out the hard way.

"You usually want to look for a hidden lever. A book, usually. But sometimes a nearby sconce or other feature. Sometimes a hidden button on one of the shelves or upon the wall." Rein explains, searching for these things so as to show Tina what he means, but coming up short. He scratches his head, a little puzzled, but does take note of the desk's telltale scratches. "Hey Tina, try pushing the desk to about... here." Rein suggests. "I think there's a connection. Possibly magnets."

[5a Violista]

[Gem Mountain - North]

As Fettina tries to pull the bookcase, it doesn't really move. Sure, there's some slight movement before it feels like it gets caught on some metal block within the wall near the ceiling. This can be determined by the way that, as she pulls, the top of the bookshelf seems to be more stiff and solid than the bottom of the bookshelf, causing it to hang at a slight angle.
It confirms that, yes, the bookcase is moveable but the mechanism is definitely tough enough to survive that. In fact, it could probably even survive a point-blank cannon blast, so long as the cannonball didn't hit in a crucial point. As it is, even with her phenomenal strength, the position she's in just doesn't have the mechanical advantage to overcome its lock. Maybe if she rammed it near the bottom, that might do something? Even if 'breaking it' counts as doing something.

Rein, however, is on the right track.

If she does move the desk there in front of the bookcase...nothing will happen. Doesn't appear to be magnets. And nothing obvious changes on the floor, or with the shelves, or the books, or on any of the other walls' features...

[bc56]

GLoG: Hawthorn Cabin

Sekhmet hasn't left the cabin in three days, even to eat. The lights have been on most of the time, even at night, and some people have reported hearing crying coming from within. The door is locked, and all the windows are shuttered and their curtains closed. Whatever is going on inside is probably not good.

[Morty]

[GLoG: Hawthorn Cabin]

Sekhmet will hear a knock on her door.

"Sekhmet? It's me, Sophie. What's wrong?"

[bc56]

GLoG: Hawthorn Cabin

After a short pause, there's a reply shouted from inside. "Go away! I don't want... I don't want anyone to see me like this." As soon as Sekhmet finishes speaking, she breaks into tears for a brief moment.

[Morty]

[GLoG: Hawthorn Cabin]

"Sekhmet, whatever happened, I am not going to judge you. Judging people isn't my job, helping them is," Sophie replies, reassuring conviction in her voice, even through her door.

[bc56]

GLoG: Hawthorn Cabin

Sekhmet knows Sophie's telling the truth. "Okay. Uh, don't be scared." Sophie can hear the floorboards creak as Sekhmet approaches the door. The bolt on the door is drawn back with a harsh click, and the knob turns. Sekhmet pulls the door open gently, and Sophie will be able to see what's happened. Sekhmet is still recognizable, but she's changed. Her fiendish features are more pronounced and obvious: her horns are longer, and two extra, smaller pairs have sprouted from her temples. Her eyes are now polished black orbs, completely devoid of detail. In one of the most dramatic changes, a large pair of batlike wings grow from her shoulders. At first glance, she seems to be wearing strange, clawed guantlets, then it becomes clear that those are her hands. Similarly, chitinous armor plates can be seen on her back, the end of her tail, and her midriff.

Beyond the changes her body, Sekhmet clearly does not look healthy. There are deep bags under her eyes, and her hair, normally pulled into a neat ponytail, is hanging loose and unkempt around her shoulders. She doesn't even seem to have bothered to dress herself properly; although she has a pair of shorts on, she has a towel wrapped around her body in place of a shirt. "Come in, uh, I guess."

[Morty]

[GLoG: Hawthorn Cabin]

Sophie looks Sekhmet over closely. Well, something has clearly happened. But first things first.

"I think you could use a shower and a change of clothes," she says, without a hint of fear in her voice.

[bc56]

GLoG: Hawthorn Cabin

Sekhmet is rather taken aback by Sophie's reaction. "Uh, uh, I guess so." She expected a comment about her appearance. But Sophie is right. "Do you mind if I do that now?" Without really waiting for an answer, Sekhmet shuffles off towards the cabin's bathroom. She opens the door, but looks back at Sophie for confirmation before entering. Sophie might glimpse through the open door that the bathroom mirror has been smashed.

[Morty]

[GLoG: Hawthorn Cabin]

Sophie steps into the cabin after Sekhmet. Instead of simply waiting there for the tiefling (Or is she something else now? Sophie really isn't sure, but Trick's sort of tiefling, at least, doesn't naturally transform), she takes a look at the place. She's expecting to see a mess, but it might give her a good idea about just how bad it's been for Sekhmet.

[bc56]

GLoG: Hawthorn Cabin

With Sekhmet in the shower, Sophie can look around. The place is a mess, as she might have expected. Couch cushions, books, and articles of clothing are strewn about the room. Furthermore, there are signs of damage to the building itself, usually in the form of gashes and punctures in the woodwork. Sophie may have noticed the claws on Sekhmet's hands and feet; most of the marks look like that might be their cause, although maybe not intentionally. If Sophie looks in Sekhmet's bedroom, she'll see a similar situation, and in addition the bedsheets are slashed and the vanity mirror is shattered. Sekhmet apparently didn't bother to clean up the shards.
After a few minutes, the sound of water from the shower ceases, and shortly after, Sekhmet pokes her head out of the bathroom door. She's significantly cleaner now. "I, uh, hope you don't mind if I wear the towel. None of my shirts fit anymore." She emerges, dressed in a clean pair of shorts and wrapped in a clean towel.

[Morty]

[GLoG: Hawthorn Cabin]

"I can see that. It's fine," Sophie says. "I don't know how many clothes we have for people with wings, but there's bound to be something. It might just be a bit too big for you."

[bc56]

GLoG: Hawthorn Cabin

"Oh, uh, thanks." Sekhmet seats herself on the damaged sofa, keeping the sharp end of her tail away from the cushions. "Sorry about the mess."

[Morty]

[GLoG: Hawthorn Cabin]

"It's okay. We'll clean it up later," Sophie says, as if it really didn't matter much. "Do you want me to bring you some clothes, or would you rather tell me what happened?"

[bc56]

GLoG: Hawthorn Cabin

Sekhmet begins to speak, everything coming out in a rush. "It started when I met them in the tavern. They told me they could help me learn more about my magic, but then they took me deep underground to this horrible place and everything was alive and they turned me into this and told me that it's what I was made to be and I can still feel them, they're inside my head and I can't get them out and everything I touch gets torn apart, and I can't sleep because the dreams come back and they're all around me and I'm hideous and I'm a monster and they're celebrating, like it's all better, but it's not better and I can't stop screaming!" As she speaks, Sekhmet gets more and more tearful, falling over onto the couch and weeping as she finishes her tale.

[Morty]

[GLoG: Hawthorn Cabin]

Sophie only sighs quietly, which belies her growing anger at whoever it is Sekhmet met. Some people willing to manipulate a vulnerable and insecure young woman. Despicable. She restrains her outrage with a silent effort of will and focuses on trying to help Sekhmet. Going along with some people she met in a tavern and who promised her things wasn't very smart, but this isn't what she needs to hear right now. The first priority seems to be the dreams; Sekhmet will only get worse if she can't sleep.

"Who are 'they'?" she asks.

[bc56]

GLoG: Hawthorn Cabin

"I, uh, don't know," Sekhmet holds out one clawed, chitinous hand, tapping it with the other. "They look like this, a bit, and they live underneath Inside. They have some sort of a queen, I think?" She really doesn't know much. "I wanted to run away, but there was something that stopped me. I'm sorry."

[Morty]

[GLoG: Hawthorn Cabin]

Sophie listens quietly and patiently, without judgement, just like she usually does.

"They probably influenced your mind. It's not your fault. Such powers are insidious," she says reassuringly. "They might be still using this power to reach out to you and infect your dreams. We'll try to find some way to help you."

[bc56]

GLoG: Hawthorn Cabin

"Thank you." Sekhmet sighs in relief, and as she relaxes, just a little, her tail falls to the floor and its tip cuts into the floorboards. She yanks it out, and continues, "But it won't help me with all of... this. I'm a monster, Sophie." She gestures at her mutated body for emphasis, starting to cry again.

[Morty]

[GLoG: Hawthorn Cabin]

"I have met monsters," Sophie says in a calm and firm tone. "In my homeworld and here. I don't think I'm talking to one right now. But then one's appearance has never decided whether they're a monster, to me."

[bc56]

GLoG: Hawthorn Cabin

Sekhmet looks doubtful. "It's more than that." She points to the corner of the room, where a silver necklace is lying on the ground. "That's mine. But when I touched it, it burned my hand." She sobs heavily. "Devils are harmed by silver. I think I've turned into one."

[Morty]

[GLoG: Hawthorn Cabin]

"That doesn't make you a monster," Sophie argues, firmly and perhaps stubbornly. But it is difficult to ignore her when she does that. Her voice assume a certain "teacher" harmonics of someone laying out simple things. "Perhaps what those... people did brought out your heritage and made you more like a devil. But it's not your fault or your choice, so you're not a monster. And we'll work through it one way or another."

[bc56]

GLoG: Hawthorn Cabin

Sekhmet replies, "I, uh, I suppose so." Something about Sophie's voice is reassuring to Sekhmet. "I'll have so much to explain. I've changed so much.'

[Murkus]

[Gem Mountain]

"Maybe later, for the rifle," Fettina decides. She gives Rein her best 'naive student' look as he explains about the shelf, and will push the desk into the spot he suggests - which it seems like it has occupied many a time. She looks at the top and sides of the desk, curious, before checking the only place they haven't looked yet: the ceiling. Maybe there's something with a light up there? "It might be more fun to just watch me smash it, you know," Fettina suggests, even while enamoured with looking.

[Morty]

[GLoG: Hawthorn Cabin]

"That much is clear," Sophie agrees. "What's done is done, so we just need to figure it out, one thing at a time. Protecting your mind from their meddling and getting you used to your new hands seem like obvious first steps."

[bc56]

GLoG: Hawthorn Cabin

Sekhmet nods. "I, uh, think so." She holds out an armored, clawed hand. "I, uh, could demonstrate." She has a much more concrete idea of what would be involved here than with trying to shield her mind.

[Morty]

[GLoG: Hawthorn Cabin]

Sophie nods.

"Show me, then. Let's see how your hands work now."

[bc56]

GLoG: Hawthorn Cabin

Sekhmet reaches over to an end table next to the couch, where a pen and an unmarked book are sitting. She starts to close her hand around the pen, but it slides off the hard armor of her fingers, clattering back to the table. She tries again, and once again cannot keep ahold of the object. "I'd, uh, use something larger and softer, but I'm afraid I'd destroy it. These claws are really, uh, sharp."

[Morty]

[GLoG: Hawthorn Cabin]

Sophie thinks about it, but not for very long. There's really not a whole lot she can do here, is there? She's not a physical therapist or... whoever else could help with suddenly having claws.

"Yes, I can see it being very inconvenient, to put it mildly. Sadly, claws aren't my area of expertise. But I can ask around to see if someone else knows more."

[bc56]

GLoG: Hawthorn Cabin

"Uh, okay. Thanks." Sekhmet looks somewhat disappointed that Sophie can't help with her problem right away, but she also doesn't know that there are different kinds of therapists. It wasn't a well developed science where she came from. "And, the, uh, dreams?"