GLoG 93: Something something something babies

[Earl of Purple]

Near The Lake

"When I was six, my older brother put me in a clearing and slapped me so I'd cry. When someone came to investigate, he clubbed them and dragged them home. Dad cut them open, alive, on the altar. I watched. After three months, I learnt how to fake tears. My parents died twelve months after that. I helped kill sixteen people, and... I wish I hadn't, Zara. I don't know them, I can't even find their families to apologise, and let them know what happened. If nothing had happened, Dad would have 'let' me hold the knife for my birthday this year. He did for my brother's eleventh. I would've been really happy to, too. You... You're me, if I hadn't been rescued. I'm sorry, Zara. I've got to go." Cheasadh sounds quite sad, and gets up to leave, hoping to find Brinika or Pookie. Someone she can just hug and maybe cry; Pookie sounds better, for this.

[Purple Eagle]

[Near The Lake]

Hmm, that's an experience she's never had! Been slapped to lure victims, that is. She'd have enjoyed the pain anyway, and giggles don't lure people as well as crying does... but in the past, she's had to fake crying in order to lure any victims close by. Good times, for her!

However, she can recognize that it isn't so for Cheasadh. She'll never understand why people like this react with the so-called feeling of regret when they think of such things, but since Cheasadh did it to people who didn't deserve it, it's probably okay. Not people who were bad, or had the potential to hurt her and her old siblings, just random people. In fact, if Cheasadh's parents were still alive, they sound like they'd be the type of target she was sent after. She'd have loved killing them, too. Cutting them open, giving them a karmic death... yum!

Hey, Cheasadh thinks she'd be Zara if she hadn't been rescued? That's not fair! Their circumstances are so completely different! However, she can see how sad it's making Cheasadh, and gets up once the gnomish girl starts to leave. She won't get far, however, because Zara blocks her path and gets on her knees, giving the girl an impromptu hug. She'd 'attempt' to, but Cheasadh is smaller, and Zara's fast, so she'd probably end up succeeding, unless the gnomish girl struggles, then Zara would let her go.

"We're different, Cheasadh. I came to the Nexus at age 10. I've been called bloodthirsty in the 6 years since. I may have remembered just how much I loved killing bad people, but I also learnt a few things since then... I learnt that I can draw, that I can take care of little kids, that I'm a good adventurer." She doesn't mention just why adventuring has gained even more of an appeal for her ever since she recalled her memories, i.e. an opportunity to legally kill things and people. She might not fully understand Cheasadh's guilt, but she recognizes a child that needs to be comforted when she sees one. "You're not that person anymore, Cheasadh." Meaning she's less fun than she anticipated... but there are other ways to have fun. Other mundane ways.

"I'm sorry I remind you of your past, I can't help it... but we can change the subject if you want." She shows the girl her realistic sketch of Natalie. "See, this is Natalie. I can draw you like that, too!"

[Earl of Purple]

Near the Lake

Cheasadh tries shaking her way out of Zara's hug, not willing to let the older girl give her the hug she wants. "My Dad said everyone who wound up on his altar was a bad person. His definition included anyone who wasn't a gnome. What definition of bad people did you use? Do you even know, or did the person who sent you out never bother telling you what criteria they needed to match?"

"The difference is I had to face what I helped someone do, and accept that I played a part in the deaths of people who only deserved it in the mind of an evil cultist who hated everyone taller than he was. You haven't got that far. You haven't done that. You're still accepting the ravings of some old madman who told you the people he had you kill deserved it. Go away, Zara. Leave me alone." Cheasadh will turn the other way and try to walk away again.

[Purple Eagle]

[Near The Lake]

Zara lets Cheasadh go once she makes clear the fact that she doesn't want to be hugged. When the gnomish girl questions her definition of bad, Zara has an answer ready, and fires it off almost immediately after Cheasadh's done speaking.. "Yes, yes I know: criminals. People like your parents, people who hurt other people for no reason. People who take advantage of other people. Or would you prefer we let child traffickers live? Criminal despots? Corrupt politicians? Given a chance to face a so-called justice system that'd merely let them go once they'd been bribed enough? So yes, I knew: they were bad people." She neglects to mention that one journalist she killed before landing here, because to her the killing was justified: he was going to out her 'Father' and stop them from giving bad people their just desserts.

Besides, the journalist was on the payroll of one of said corrupt politicians, which makes it doubly okay.

She stands there staring at Cheasadh as she goes on her rant. When Cheasadh's done, Zara just smiles widely at the gnomish girl. She's so cute that way, looking all little and angry and thinking she knows how the world works, at her young age! "WROOOONG!" She bellows all of a sudden! "The difference is that the people I killed really deserved it, while the people your parents killed were only guilty of the crime of being non-gnomish! See, there's a difference! An unrepentant child-trafficking oligarch vs an innocent human farmer: one of them deserves to die, and it's not the farmer." The more she thinks about it, the more she realizes that she wouldn't have liked to live Cheasadh's childhood after all! Killing innocent people who didn't deserve it was so not her modus operandi!

Of course, to Cheasadh's "Go away", she simply answers "No!"

Then she stops smiling as much, her eyes frowning. "One thing though, Cheasadh... please don't call my 'Father' an old madman, hmm? I don't like it. Maybe you don't agree with our methods, but not everyone is willing to come to GLoG and be redeemed. Some people just have to die to make the world a better place. Miss Sophie agrees, I think. She didn't complain too much when I told her at least..." She taps her chin in thought. "Hmm... but then I promised I wouldn't kill anyone without reason! If anyone tries to kill you or any of the GLoG kids, then that's reason enough to me!"

[Murkus]

[Sapling Cabin]

Lucy's eyes get wide after a carefully considered minute. "I got it! It's on the slide!" Makes perfect sense! Also, slide! "I'll go down first and check! Come on!" She starts off in that direction without a moment to lose, arms flung out to either side like she's going to flap them and take off over the lake.

[Earl of Purple]

Near the Lake

Cheasadh turns to leave, not willing to listen to Zara's rebuttal. Her eyes are full of tears as she goes, and all she can think is that Some villains don't know they need redemption. I hope Zara realises this, before her words bite her.

She's really upset, and likely won't talk to Zara again if she can help it. Maybe keep track of her, see if she changes her mind.

[Purple Eagle]

[Near The Lake]

Zara watches Cheasadh leave. Why do people always try to get her to change her mind? Why won't they just live and let live?

She ponders similar questions before shrugging and skipping away in the other direction.

[Gullara]

Hawthorn Cabin

"I, uh, think you'd want chamomile." Sekhmet passes over a teabag. Meanwhile, Russel eats a biscuit. It's slathered with sweet icing and is probably fairly tasty, as packaged snacks often are. Sekhmet smiles at the children. "You two, uh, come to the, uh, day care here?"

[Hawthorn Cabin]

Lucy takes the teabag and plunks it into the water. Then she puts her chin in her hands and stares at the far too hot water. She knows she's gotta wait for this part. Russell doesn't have to wait, though. He munches on his biscuit happily, carelessly getting his fingers sticky. Why would he worry about a thing like that.

As usual, it's Lucy that replies to Sekhmet. "Uh huh. Mommy brings us here. She helps run the daycare."

[Sapling Cabin]

Tuskfang shows the map more closely to the two girls. It shows an area on the northern shore of the lake, near the giant slide. There's also a clue written on it:

Down is fast and up is slow, where they meet you'll find step two.

"So that's where we need to start looking," he says.

[Sapling Cabin]

Lucy's eyes get wide after a carefully considered minute. "I got it! It's on the slide!" Makes perfect sense! Also, slide! "I'll go down first and check! Come on!" She starts off in that direction without a moment to lose, arms flung out to either side like she's going to flap them and take off over the lake.

[Sapling Cabin]

"Good idea, Lucy!" Jillian picks up her skirt in her hands and runs after Lucy, though she can't manage quite Lucy's pace in her long dress. "Come on, Tuskfang." She encourages.

[bc56]

Hawthorn Cabin

Sekhmet sees Lucy waiting for her tea to cool and waves a hand at it. Immediately, some of the heat leaves the water, making it much more drinkable. "Oh, so you're here often? What do you think of GLoG?" She takes a sip of her own tea even though it's still steaming hot. "I like it. It's, uh, very safe here, and everyone is, uh, so helpful."

[Morty]

[Sapling Cabin ==> Giant Slide]

Tuskfang follows, surprised by Lucy's energy. He's probably not quite as fast as she is.

"Wow, you got it fast!" he remarks. "Brinika and Cheasadh are really smart and good at coming up with riddles."

[UncleWolf]

Spoiler

Show

Ironoak Cabin

"Goblins have pretty big ears." Anika observes/agrees as she takes a closer look at the kids. Some of them looked more like wolf ears but they were still big so it wasn't like it got any less accurate.

She then turns back to Pathfinder and Sophie. "Spirits seems to be connected to moon wells, in fact, I helped to create a moon well once. It involved asking all the spirits in the area for permission first, which also involved doing a bunch of tasks for them. So the spirits of the area might actually already be appeased."

Ironoak Cabin

Domhnall nods. This sounds pretty serious.
"If I can help, I will gladly do so. I only got a little magic and a sword, but I can help."
He's very insistent about that.

[Ironoak Cabin]

"I don't know as much about spirits as Pathfinder, but I can help negotiating with them if it's necessary. I have a way of doing that," Sophie says.

The twins' ears are fuzzy, but long and thin at the end. Thus they look more like fox ears or bat ears than wolf ears, really. It contrasts with their older brother, who has more wolfish ears. Tuskfang also pipes up now:

"Our dad's a Wolfen and our mom's a goblin, so that makes us woblins. There's no one else like us!"

Ironoak Cabin

"You're absolutely right. You are three of a kind." Pathfinder says with a slight wag to his tail as he reaches out to fluff their ears again. "As for the moonwell, if the spirits are appeased, good. But that doesn't mean they'll be capable of becoming protectors of the area. Either way, once we're finished, if it is close, then please, lead the way and I'll commune with them to the best of my ability. However, I would ask for your protection as I do so. If the demons catch wind of what we're attempting to do, they may try to intervene. I'm already one step into the spirit ealm, I would rather avoid being entirely within it for longer than necessary."

[Shadowcaller]

Ironoak Cabin

Anika crosses her arms over her chest. "Yeah, I kinda noticed as I sure haven't got any help from those lazy-ass spirits." She looks next to pathfinder again where she believes the little bird spirit is. "Er, again, no offense."

[Deathkeeper]

Ironoak Cabin

”Oh, no problem, then. I’ll go get my sword!”
Domhnall sticks some food in his mouth and goes trotting back to his cabin to dig through his things without waiting to see if Pathfinder meant after the meal or after the preparations.

[Recaiden]

"I think I know just the person. And I haven't gotten to do anything like this in a good while now."
Anchor breaks into a wider smile.
"Now, this place you think she is, what is it like?"

[bc56]

Grounds

"Uh, at best it's a, uh, chain of lightless icy chasms deep beneath the, uh, ground. At worst, uh, temperate and, uh, maybe a little hot, but, uh, defended by a, uh, being of terrible power." Namely Sekhmet's mother. That is the encounter she's so afraid might happen here.

[Gullara]

Hawthorn Cabin

Sekhmet sees Lucy waiting for her tea to cool and waves a hand at it. Immediately, some of the heat leaves the water, making it much more drinkable. "Oh, so you're here often? What do you think of GLoG?" She takes a sip of her own tea even though it's still steaming hot. "I like it. It's, uh, very safe here, and everyone is, uh, so helpful."

[Hawthorn Cabin]

Lucy notices the temperature is more reasonable and pulls her cup toward her. She takes a sip and immediately wrinkles her nose. She reaches for the sugar next and puts a heaping scoop in. "It's lots of fun." She replies with an eager nod. She looks at her brother. "Right, Russell?" The boy nods enthusiastically. "We got lots of friends here." Lucy adds after.

[bc56]

Hawthorn Cabin

Sekhmet smiles. She too needed a lot of sugar with her tea when she was younger. "That's very good," she says wistfully. She didn't have much of a childhood. She wishes she could've. "What do you do for fun?"

[Recaiden]

"A literal underworld." Hot at the center, deeper layers, then.
"I mean, we don't want to go unprepared, so anything you know about it..."

[bc56]

Grounds

"It's, uh, Hell. Literally." Sekhmet replies. "There, uh, will be fiends which may try to, uh, stop us. At, a h, worst, she will be a prisoner or even an, uh, ally of one of the Archfiends. If, uh, that happens, it would be better to run than to, uh, try to save her."

[Morty]

[Ironoak Cabin]

"I'll have to go by my office before we leave too," Sophie says. "There's something I'll need in case of trouble."

Tuskfang, meanwhile, is looking strangely sullen. This looks like spirit stuff that his dad does and which interests him greatly. But it also looks like it'll be dangerous, so they probably won't let him come.

[Recaiden]

"It's, uh, Hell. Literally." Sekhmet replies. "There, uh, will be fiends which may try to, uh, stop us. At, a h, worst, she will be a prisoner or even an, uh, ally of one of the Archfiends. If, uh, that happens, it would be better to run than to, uh, try to save her."

"Don't worry. I mean, fiends have never stopped me from doing anything. And we won't confront an archfiend." Sekhmet surely isn't ready for that. It's good that she recognizes as much.
"I will need to make some preparations. I mean, you don't head to hell at the drop of a hat. Meet at Message's temple in <a time a couple days out>?"

[bc56]

Grounds

"If we, uh, don't confront her, there's, uh, a chance she might confront us." Sekhmet says, "I'll, uh, be there." And she will. But she needs to prepare first, of course.

[Gullara]

Hawthorn Cabin

Sekhmet smiles. She too needed a lot of sugar with her tea when she was younger. "That's very good," she says wistfully. She didn't have much of a childhood. She wishes she could've. "What do you do for fun?"

[Hawthorn Cabin]

"Um, we were exploring today. We never came over to this side of the camp before. Russell wanted to see if there was any good climbing trees." Lucy explains. The boy nods along. "Glog is really big. There's lots of places to play."

[bc56]

Hawthorn Cabin

"And, uh, you decided to, uh, 'explore' my cabin?" Sekhmet asks in a fake mocking tone. She doesn't really mind, but she will have to be more thorough about locking up in the future. Next time the kids might get in real trouble. Or it might not be kids breaking in.

[Murkus]

[Giant Slide]

Lucy is the very fastest. She tries to pace her rapid scurrying so the other two can keep up though. "It's a good thing you have somebody as brainy as me and Jillian along then." She starts to scramble up the slide and will go scooting down it at the first opportunity... though if there's a clue on it, she might miss it the first go-round. She is too distracted by GIANT SLIDE.

[UncleWolf]

Ironoak Cabin

Tuskfang's disappointment is noted by his father, who reaches out to set a hand upon his shoulder. "Not much longer, I promise." He swears, giving the shoulder a squeeze. "Then I'll teach you more about it." He'll settle in and wait for Reelshka to arrive before filling her in. If she doesn't object, especially after nibbling some ears, he'll grab his belt of pouches, a pair of tomahawks, his flint dagger, and a cloak. The Wolfen is ready to depart whenever they're all ready and squared away.

[Gullara]

[Hawthorn Cabin]

"Um..." Lucy picks up her tea and sips it rather than confront that question immediately. "Uh huh. We wanted to see if it was spooky in here."

[Sapling Cabin ==> Giant Slide]

Tuskfang follows, surprised by Lucy's energy. He's probably not quite as fast as she is.

"Wow, you got it fast!" he remarks. "Brinika and Cheasadh are really smart and good at coming up with riddles."

[Giant Slide]

Lucy is the very fastest. She tries to pace her rapid scurrying so the other two can keep up though. "It's a good thing you have somebody as brainy as me and Jillian along then." She starts to scramble up the slide and will go scooting down it at the first opportunity... though if there's a clue on it, she might miss it the first go-round. She is too distracted by GIANT SLIDE.

[Giant Slide]

Jillian runs around the other side of the slide and climbs up. She has her eye out for clues, but she mostly wants to take a trip down the slide once first.

[bc56]

Hawthorn Cabin

"Was it?" Sekhmet sips her tea. She's very curious what the children think now that they actually have met her, and aren't working off rumor. Of course, their meeting with Ellie first probably didn't help things, but the alien beastie is currently lurking beneath the table and snarfing up crumbs of biscuit that Russel drops with a long tongue.

[Morty]

[Giant Slide]

As it turns out, Lucy and Jillian's instinct to go down the giant slide first is correct, because while they're heading down, they might notice an arrow created out of rocks and pebbles on nearby sand, pointing towards the centre of the camp. Whether either of the two girls notice it quickly is another question. The arrow is difficult to notice from ground level (at least kid-sized ground level).

[Ironoak Cabin]

This seems to mollify Tuskfang somewhat, enough that he leaves with his mother after lunch. Reelshka isn't happy about any of it, but protecting this well is something they need to do, so there's nothing else to it. Sophie goes to her office and returns promptly with... a shotgun. Not just any shotgun; its barrel is made out of some kind of golden metal and ends in a stylized eagle's beak. The stock is fashioned out of dark red wood and covered in runes and patterns filled with the same golden metal.

[bc56]

Arriving

A large party arrives at GLoG's gates. Sekhmet, Prumathe, and Samantha are at the head of a party of fourtysome escaped slaves and a prisoner. They've had a bit of a misadventure recently. Now they need to figure out what to do. And housing and proper clothing need to be secured for all these slaves, and something needs to be done about the slaver whose body Sekhmet is puppetting using her psychic powers. She looks to Prumathe. "We're home. We've saved everyone. Uh, what now?"