Serious Plots 9: Srsr and srsr

[Deathkeeper]

Waste Land

Krayger pulls out his oversized (read: normal size for him) revolver and a speed-loader from his bag. Each bullet seems to have a glass head with liquid inside.
"Holy water, iron filings, sand, salt. The works. I don't think I brought anything in your size, though." Unless Reina also brought a very large handgun?
Krayger is somewhat confident that he'll be able to tell if some monster is getting him worked up. He's already fallen for that before, after all.

[Recaiden]

[Shivernight Manor]

The two numbers hold onto Ophelia.
But one comments "We're wasting time here." to Sekhmet.
And the other nods slightly to Geneva. "Impressive work. But she doesn't seem like someone whose problems can be solved quickly."

[Mirror of Art]

"From what I could tell, the other side looks just like me, except with a mirror instead of a face." She rotates it down. "That's why you can see a body at this angle."
The ranger talks a bit about it. "At first, I had to actually be touching it, but now I can be...well...I don't actually have to see it, but it has to be within a distance that I could see, if there was nothing in the way."

She moves it around a bit more, in case it helps. Yeah, there is totally a psychic connection that Ein could notice, if they can notice that sort of thing. "Likewise, at first, I had to actually move it around to make the body on the other side move. Like...so the other side of this mirror matches up with this side, where we are now. And I had to physically move it in a one to one movement. But I guess, over time, I've been able to have that move independent from here." So, with practice or with time, she's gotten better at it; which implies the rules she originally thought aren't concrete. (Such as, only her being able to control it, and so on.)

"It looks like some of those limits are because you weren't familiar with it."
Ein waves a tentacle in a way that points out the connection between the ranger and the mirror. The gesture probably doesn't mean anything to someone with different senses, but that doesn't occur to them.
"Moving the mirror was just a reminder for the other mirror. You could probably stretch out and control it from even further, with practice."
Since it already has a psychic connection to the ranger, maybe it will be easier to be-interacted-with in general?
Ein reaches out their thoughts and tries to connect to the mirror-ranger, as if it were another hiveling, a hound, and wills it to move its head. This is probably completely different to what happens in the real ranger's psychic connection when she moves its mirror-face.

[Bucket of Slime]

But everybody knows that nanobot goo or ghost slimes don't exist.
...
At least, this slimegirl hasn't actually ever considered the possibility that they exist. If she thought about it, she would admit they probably exist. After all, she exists so it would be reasonable to say something else exists too. But she's never given any thought to it before.

The slimegirl doesn't attempt to escape. She's somewhat given up on trying to get out right now and doesn't want to find herself lost somewhere that she doesn't know again. Besides, being in the bucket is very disorienting. She needs quite a few moments of stillness to feel confident in her ability to hold herself together.

Helping people is good, she thinks, but then why would they kidnap her? This whole thing is sketch. Don't kidnap people. Obviously.

She gives a 'yes' for a name. 'No' heat doesn't bother her. 'Yes', temperature-wise mammals are fine. Boiling water...
...
Ugh.
Another hard question.
She makes a gesture that could mean confusion, or difficulty answering. Then, more-or-less. It bothers her. Feeling air bubbles forming inside you as you dehydrate is a very uncomfortable feeling. She's fine with it for a period of time, but has never let all of the water in her boil off.
Wait! Why are they even asking her this, anyway? Are they planning on boiling her or something?
The next question, burning plants, is just as difficult, for the exact same reason. Water in her keeps her at the same boiling temperature even when touching something hotter. That's just how boiling works. She hopes her kidnapper is smart enough to already know this, because she doesn't think she could find a way to explain it without speaking or a demonstration (which she would rather not do, because it's uncomfortable and quickly makes her feel less able to hold herself together.)

Back to an easy question, though! Cold. 'No,' it doesn't bother her. Well, it does, but not more than anyone else, she thinks. As long as she doesn't freeze solid, she's fine with it but getting too cold is a problem because she doesn't naturally produce heat (except from friction) and so she's basically just depending on the fact that water is basically a heat sink and the outside freezes first.

Seeing the walls become more alive makes her feel a little hopeful, because then she realizes it's going to be harder to trap her in these types of nature-themed prisons. All she has to do is dissolve through it! A lot better than being in a bucket or a metal container or glass or whatever. A glass prison would be the worst, actually, she thinks. No way to get out. It's actually been one of her recurring nightmares that she gets trapped in some kind of mad science-like chemical glassware, with a Bunsen burner underneath and water titration things in all the right places to ensure she doesn't ever get solid enough to try to move the glass and make it fall down. At least with metal, she could hope that she could slowly etch it away, as long as she had enough water to make sure she doesn't get filled with metal junk. Speaking of! She'd really like some fresh water right now, because the toxic fumes from earlier are still absorbed into her and are pretty awful.

The slimegirl, with her hand, makes a 'drinking' gesture.
She hopes that's clear enough.
She wants water, please. Not a lot. Just enough to flush out the toxins.

If you asked them, which of course no one did, they would shrug it off, saying that people often need to be kidnapped for the greater good. Besides, what were they doing with their own lives? Fooling around in confusion, mostly. They're better off here.

The slimgirl's captor nods along. "That's a good sign, having a name."

They arrive in the nature-themed prison, which isn't really a prison at all, and is just a nature-themed place.
The walls, ground, ceiling, it's all alive, and alien underground plants sprout from the gooey surface, radiating pale blue light from their not-exactly-leaves.
Off to one side, there's a sort of living castle, and to the other there's a big pool of water that kinda looks like it's surrounded by giant teeth, and all around there are monsters of various shapes, sizes, and descriptions, most of which look very busy carrying things into naturey tunnels, patrolling around, or just flopping this way and that.

One of the monsters is coming this way, holding a large stone bowl. This one looks like the one that aught the slime, except more human. Fewer tentacles, more hands. Fewer mandibles, more lips. Nearly normal feet - although, would a slime know that part? They try a handoff, where the slime is poured out of the bucket and into the bowl.
Hi! Can you 'hear' this? If you just think clearly, I should be able to know your answer. asks the humanlike one, thinking the words right into the slimegirl's...well, she probably doesn't keep her thoughts in her head, if she can be so dissolved like that, does she?

My name is Sophia. You?
With her third hand, Sophia offers the slime a glass jug of water.

[Morty]

[Waste Land]

The party moves through empty fields, which give way from grass and weeds to farmland. Soon, they will see the walls of a town in the distance. The gates have been flung open and there is a lot of noise coming from the inside. Shouts, laughter, gunshots and the unmistakable sounds of both fighting and revelry.

"The creature has flown over this town," Tallhora says, her voice tense. "And it sounds like it hasn't been long. If you go into the town, you might find out which direction it went, but be careful. It has caught its madness."

[Arkhosia]

Throne Room

That had gone about as well as Anika had expected. While she isn't thrown off by the spin those claws of hers and not terribly good at grabbing onto things (unless she digs her claws into them) so she slips and kinda glides off Sapphira as she the succubus queen makes her way towards Wenomir.

It looked like they were going to have to fight mocks instead which was always lame. As if these queen of pain-wannabes could stack up with VIGIL and... all the random people who were wandering into the throne room.

Turns out if you put your evil base in the middle of a city a lot of people were going to come to investigating it.
But if these demons wanted a piece of this bear-ass, they better come and get it.
Anika charges, but not towards the demons this time. She's going straight towards Blanche and will attempt to scoot her up on her back. The demons had been ordered to kill them right? Well, in that case they would have to follow them...

Throne Room

Blanche looks up from her position over Erzsébet's corpse to see the portal opening and freezes, trying to calculate how to handle the situation especially when she realizes they look to be in the same situation as the poor secretary downstairs. Not frozen enough to act if her butchering proves insufficient to keeping the demoness down, however - if the woman starts to move again, she'll draw her pistol and fire a silver round through her skull at point blank range, blowing apart the back of the cranium in a way that should make any attempted resurrections at the very least quite unpleasant.

That said, Anika shouldn't have any trouble scooping the bloody feline up onto her back with a cry of surprise, fumbling for purchase. "Er, okay, lead the way," she offers, not entirely sure on what the druid's plan is but willing to trust that she has one.

[Recaiden]

[Throne Room]

Many things happen at once. Erzsébet's perfect face is bashed in by Prumathe's skull, stunning her, but as he pulls away, she's already starting to regenerate, her bones knitting back together. It keeps her from avoiding the bullets which pierce her back and leave her weakened, nor does she notice Blanche creeping up behind her to finish the job.
Sapphira takes having a bear hanging off her surprisingly well, not even seeming strained. She spins around, probably throwing Anika off and turning to face Wenomir, her blade flicking up to parry the axe with unnatural strength and speed. Simultaneously, Haru enters the scene behind her, and for a brief instant, a genuine emotion flashes across Sapphira's face: worry. It's gone as soon as it began. She raises an arm, and a portal appears, growing larger and larger. Out of it come pouring succubi in all manner of clothing. Their eyes are glassy and uninterested, like the receptionist downstairs. "Kill them all. Except him and him." The two she singles out to be spared are Prumathe and Wenomir. The minions attack wildly, swarming into the room with no regard for tactics. And Sapphira leaps at Wenomir, sword in her left hand and flames in her right, whirling through the air to strike at him. "Pity we came to blows so soon. I wanted to speak with you."

Haru has no compunctions at all about hurting a bunch of brainwashed/possessed/whatever succubi. As she runs in, illusion sweeps over the staircase: there seem to be eight of Haru and zero of Kiun here, and the Harus stream into the room, trying to distract the succubi and stay just out of reach. Sapphira should have little trouble picking out the ninth invisible Haru, but these minions barely seem to be aware of their surroundings. Thus disguised, she'll try to, oh, grab one succubus in each tentacle and throw them back through the portal, before jumping to the same position as one of the illusions just long enough to stab another with her stinger.

The (approximately) half-demon Kiun will flutter back up a few stairs, and try to reach out to a succubus's mind - there's clearly something wrong with them, right? - and try to undo whatever they're under.
Stop this! You don't need to kill here. There's more for you than being Sapphira's pawns!
Her efforts will be quite clumsy, I expect, since she doesn't know what's happened with them. Maybe the waves of mental pressure and magic will do something.

[Reinholdt]

Spoiler

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Waste Land

Krayger pulls out his oversized (read: normal size for him) revolver and a speed-loader from his bag. Each bullet seems to have a glass head with liquid inside.
"Holy water, iron filings, sand, salt. The works. I don't think I brought anything in your size, though." Unless Reina also brought a very large handgun?
Krayger is somewhat confident that he'll be able to tell if some monster is getting him worked up. He's already fallen for that before, after all.

[Waste Land]

The party moves through empty fields, which give way from grass and weeds to farmland. Soon, they will see the walls of a town in the distance. The gates have been flung open and there is a lot of noise coming from the inside. Shouts, laughter, gunshots and the unmistakable sounds of both fighting and revelry.

"The creature has flown over this town," Tallhora says, her voice tense. "And it sounds like it hasn't been long. If you go into the town, you might find out which direction it went, but be careful. It has caught its madness."

[Waste Land]

"I have my own," Reina says, pulling nothing out. She was mostly asking in case he needed some, but Krayger seems set. She's unfamiliar with what sand is used for though. Must be some creature type she's not very familiar with.

The catgirl stares at the open gates cautiously. "I suppose following the destruction is the only way to track it." Flying creatures are rude like that. "But should we go around anyways? We haven't met up with the Prince yet." She pulls out a pair of binoculars from seemingly nowhere and scans the skies. There is unfortunately, a lot of sky.

[5a Violista]

[Mirror of Art]

The ranger glances in the direction that the tentacle points.
She doesn't see anything there.

"Maybe, that could be it," she says, not really knowing that much about it, but what Ein is saying makes some sense.

When Ein connects and wills it to move. . .the ranger frowns and moves the mirror around, looking for something. The mirror-body on the other side is turning around, trying to see if there was someone over there. (Actually, Ein managed to get the other side to start moving but the ranger continued the movement immediately afterwards.) "Hey. You see anything in it?" she asks Ein, referring to the mirror reflection. "I felt something, but...maybe it was just my imagination. Well, wasn't exactly feeling something, but...I dunno. Felt like it was touching me but not me-me, but the me on the other side of the mirror? Except it's probably my imagination." Haven't been able to feel anything from the other side of the mirror in ever.



[Bucket of Slime]

"Kidnapped for the greater good" would just make the situation even more sketch, if someone ever told her. Which would require her asking, first.

But! Jeez, getting poured is the weirdest sensation. At first, she was mostly solid-like, but as time passed she acted more and more liquid until she couldn't help but get poured. Fantastic! she thinks, sarcastically. (Her thoughts got really jumbled there for a moment.) She finally got solid-enough and now she's back to square one. The newer captor is correct, though: she doesn't keep her thoughts in her head, but instead throughout her whole body. It's mostly concentrated in the red stripe on her, but still happens in the rest of her. And since she was recently disturbed, it takes nearly all her concentration to just think coherently.

And since her whole body is thinking, the response is less than clear. Very muddy and jumbled. 'bucket' 'yes' 'what' 'yes' 'move this way' 'bowl' 'confused' yes' 'yes' 'smooth' 'jiggle' 'where am i' 'yes' 'yeah' 'yeah' 'yes' 'let me go' 'yes' 'I can' 'yes' 'uh-huh' 'yes' 'why' 'yes' 'yes' 'yes' 'yes' 'yes' 'yes' 'what' 'yes' 'yes' 'yes' 'yes' 'yeah' 'yes' 'yes' 'yes' 'yes' 'yes'. It comes in like a wave, being small and incoherent at first until it eventually reaches peak clarity and then muddies off with all sorts of thoughts about movement or sensing what's around or wondering why she's here, just as it was when she first started thinking a response.
It's strange, for sure, but not unmanageable.

The introduction is pretty similar, as well, starting with a wave of 'hi' and 'why am i here' and 'hello' and 'nice to meet you' and 'sophia' and 'water' or 'thanks', followed by a few other jumbled names, until it eventually reaches a peak of 'gabrielle' and 'i'm gabrielle' and 'hi, my name's gabrielle'. It's a slightly more complex question so it doesn't reach the same peak clarity as the 'yes' from earlier, but still pretty clear enough, regardless. And as she's reforming, it doesn't take as long to reach the peak.

The slimegirl Gabrielle eventually reaches enough plasticity that she can start to reform her shape out of it, and reaches towards the water jug. She sticks a pseudopod in it, and starts a fluid transfer. She absorbs some water, but also deposits some of the toxins she absorbed earlier.

[Earl of Purple]

Shivernight Manor

Bluefoot whimpers at the psychic force of the blast, and if Geneva stops playing with her senses and maybe joins her force of will to Sekhmet's, she'll stand up and take the first bottle from the maid-clad halfling, opening it. A faint golden mist floats out before the halfling grabs at it, somehow making contact. The mist flows into the halfling's skin and disappears, and she whistles to prove it worked and beams. The others crowd round, and experiment slightly- the mist isn't always silver, and somehow recoils from everyone but its owner. Soon, all the halflings are chatting and talking, though staying quite quiet because they are still in danger. They aren't talking to Sekhmet or Geneva yet, too busy introducing themselves to the girls they've known for weeks by now without ever speaking to. Gemmagold is the maid, first to get her voice. Blisswhistle was the girl napping in the dungeon. Silkyfingers is in pyjamas, awoken from her cell. Bunnytickle is the halfling clad in black, carrying a single throwing knife- she's talking about how fun the training Bluefoot gave her for 'spying and stuff' was- and finally Applebiter is the girl who had been holding a skull during the start of the summoning ritual, who was keeping an eye on the cultists. That just leaves Sekhmet's father as being voice-bottled, as they're currently too far away from Bluefoot who has been mobbed and crowded by her erstwhile servants.

Throne Room

Prumathe hears Sapphira say not to kill him, so with Erzebet hopefully dealt with he'll run forward into the morass and start punching and kicking, trying to slow the horde of succubi down. He doesn't know they're possessed, and is expecting them to have the same healing powers as Erzebet, which means he's probably being a bit too forceful with his magically enhanced kicks and punches.

[Shadowcaller]

Orobou Office

Artie nods. She...mostly gets it. It’s still a bit horrifying but she gets it. She has no plans on changing masks and personality any time soon.
”Well, alright. But I can assure you that you don’t have to worry about my conduct. I have no plans to go committing crimes or any such unsavory activities.”
Unless of course their code of conduct is for some reason more esoteric.

Orobou Office

"It's reassuring that you say that. But, nonetheless, would you mind if I asked you to quickly describe your current, ah, mortal situation? As in occupation, rivals, lovers, relative status level within your society, relatives, etcetera... I understand some of these are private topics for you but I believe it's important that we hear you describing your own mortal life. It will give us a better understanding of you as a being." Vex puts down the picture that he drew and tilts his head. "Once you join the court proper it will also give us an idea how to approach your unusual status within our ranks. Personality matters after all and as its shaped by your life we would at least to get some idea of who you are. Not that you have to tell me everything right here and now. To properly describe yourself you probabgly need to do it over the course of several sessions. Or that's our usual approach at least."

[Deathkeeper]

Orobou Office

Artie doesn’t seem bothered by the request at least.
”Well, there isn’t really all that much private to tell you. I live in one of the larger cities here as a student of medicine. I…well considering my new appearance I don’t know if I’ll be able to prove I’m the same person. But ah, that’s not your problem.
I never really made enough of an impression to have any rivals. I think I angered a few demons from time to time? I did help a minor god Chadwick get himself and his church back on its feet again like I mentioned before and they’ve been friends I speak to from time to time. My ah, anxieties have kept me from having any lovers.
I have one older brother and a younger sister along with both my parents and an unmarried aunt and uncle but none of them are in the Nexus so I haven’t been able to talk to them since I came here. They don’t know that I’m alive, let alone…this.”
It’s a bit of a complex situation, that.

[Rebonack]

[Shivernight Manor]

Sure enough, Geneva eases off the sensory dazzle and joins Sekhmet in pressing on Bluefoot's will.

Really, this isn't very fair.

Geneva is used to tangling against creatures with significant levels of mental defense. Pokemon, after all, are hideously resilient creatures. But normal humans?

Or, well, demihumans anyway.

Bluefoot might have some really creepy witch tricks but it's clear that she doesn't have any real experience in the realm of protecting her mind from hostile attacks.

So!

Mind-whammy time.

~I inflicted temporary ego-death on the demon inhabiting you,~ Geneva explains to snake-gal. ~With its sense of self suppressed it'll have a lot of trouble contesting your will. It won't last forever, though. You'll probably be able to feel it starting to regain its subjectivity. When you do let me know and I can suppress it again.~

Crushing its special defense like that is, after all, a volatile condition. Geneva MIGHT be able to do something more permanent but... it really isn't something she's ever tried before. That would take time and experimentation.

Sekhmet, meanwhile, will receive a message.

~Sekhmet. The prophecy. Remember, something about a serpent that will be both a help and a hindrance? Do you think it might be her?~


[Icon Quest]

"So she isn't BAD. She's just dangerous," Snapdragon reasons, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "I guess that's kind of like Buttercup, isn't it? She thinks she's helping but maybe she isn't as helpful as she thinks she is."

Snapdragon is very wise.

"There's something... um... s-something strange happening," Lambslaural observes. "This wood is odd but I can still... kind of feel it. The hallway is getting smaller."

Dandelion looks around, agitated. Still nothing she can beat up. "Smaller like what? Is the roof gunna to try to smash us?"

"No, smaller like... umm... like shorter?"

There comes a low groaning from the hallway like the sound of a house settling. Like the sound of trees creaking in the wind. There's a deeply disquieting sense that the noise actually means something.

I'm here. I see you.

All at once the surroundings SNAP and the hallway rearranges itself. Our heroes are now standing in the well of a spiral staircase. They could head down where the scent of incense grows heavier. Or they could head up where the feeling of wrongness grows steadily more intense.

[bc56]

Throne Room

Sapphira follows Wenomir, her blade blurring through the air to block his attacks, while flicking out in a few attempts to skewer him through the arms and legs. "I know you met my daughter. I smell her essence on you, if faintly. Tell me about her." She doesn't seem interested in his attempts to avoid conversation.
After Blanche mutilates her, Erszébet stays down, just in time for the possessed people to begin swarming the Vigilantes. A group chase after the fleeing cat and bear, with little heed for where they're going. Prumathe beats on some of the others, but they don't resist, under orders not to harm him. The last group faces off against the Hivelings, tearing into illusions viciously in an attempt to find the real ones.
Kiun can feel something different though. These creatures, people possessed by proto-succubus fiends, are vulnerable to her power. She receives, however, a vicious lash back from the foul spirit of the one she touched. "Kill them all, for the Mistress!" but it is weaker than her, its strength flagging under her onslaught. It has no more skill at psychic manipulation than she does.

Shivernight Manor
The silent madman gently pushes through the crowd of halflings to receive his voice back. He's much larger than them, so it shouldn't be too much trouble for him. Once he absorbs the mist of his own voice, he breathes deeply and runs to hug Sekhmet again. "Little lioness, how you've grown!" She confusedly accepts the hug. She doesn't know who this man is. So in the meantime she communicates to Geneva. Uh, she might be? I don't know. That prophecy was confusing.
Ophelia sighs aloud. Thank you. You are aware you're working with a dangerously powerful fiend of corruption? We need to get away as soon as we can. Don't tell her anything! She rises and tries to move towards the exit, only to find herself flailing wildly and toppling over. She glares at her snake tail after she catches herself. "Why won't thiss thing work?"

[Deathkeeper]

Icon Quest

Hector and Heather blink in what would normally be an amusingly identical way. But really they're not sure what to make of it at all.
"You know...the thing we're looking for is probably up." Heather suggests.
"Yeah, it's never going to be the easy route..." Hector agrees.

[bc56]

Iconquest

Jade jumps when the space reshapes itself. Then, at Heather's suggestion, she shrugs. "I don't think it matters. This place seems to change around us, I think it will be down whatever path we take. Or not down it, if it decides to keep it away from us." Is that ascribing too much agency to the dungeon? Maybe. But it did just say "I see you."

[Rebonack]

[Iconquest]

"Umm... it feels way worse up above. And the Icon is p-pretty much the opposite of the Dreamheart, right?" Lambslaural reasons. "I think we should go up b-but maybe that's a dumb idea..."

"Nah, we should go down. Dungeons have always got the best loot at the bottom. Just how dungeons work," Dandelion counters, crossing her arms and looking certain.

"HMMMMM!" Snap hums as she looks up, then down. "I dunno! It could be either, really. Maybe 'up' is closer to heaven. Or maybe 'down' is more protected. Too bad we don't have any books on the subject."

A giggle.

"Hee, we probably should have researched this a bit more before we jumped in. Oh well! Live and learn, right gals?"
"Right."
"I g-guess..."

It sounds like our heroes haven't really decided which way to go.

What's it going to be?

[Morty]

[Throne Room]

Is Sapphira trying to goad him, or is she actually probing for information? No matter which, it's in no one's interest for him to give any.

"I might have. I meet many people. Whoever your daughter is, she doesn't really stand out to my memory."

As he says that, he swings his axe in a sudden downward motion, trying to forcefully knock Sapphira's sword downwards and into the ground. He then tries to use the time bought in this way to somersault backwards in an abrupt burst of motion, landing among the nearest cluster of possessed people and cutting a blazing trace of steel along their necks. Of course, where a normal blade would decapitate or maim them, the Answer will pass through them, sapping their strength and leaving them weak. If a blow would be normally lethal, it will knock them out.

[Waste Land]

"The prince is coming," Tallhora assures Reina. "He needs to perform certain rites first. Slaying the beast is something he must do as the heir to this land and our ways demand it be treated with respect."

The sky is overcast and grey. The clouds seem to darken in the same direction as the town, which does seem to indicate that the lightning bird has flown that way. There seem to be no storms or lightning on the horizon, however.

[Shadowcaller]

[Throne Room]

The bear grins madly as she charges up the stairs, aiming to get back to the roof again. If the door for some reason doesn't open she will attempt simply charge through it.

Blanche might not like that but there's far worse ahead. Anika will look behind her for a moment to make sure they're still being followed before she runs straight towards the edge and jumps out over it.

Let's see if the demons decides to follow them now.

Orobou Office

"Hm..." Vex considers what she's just said for a moment. "A lot of things to touch on there, but I think the most important thing there is your loss of your form. Your form and your identity are closely connected after all. So what are your feelings regarding that? Are you pleased with how you look now or are there aspects you like to change? I do know gender is an especially important aspect."

[Deathkeeper]

Orobou Office

Artie looks a little bashful.
"Well, I admit the whole thing was rather stressful. I got the Masks and a little bit later I was turning into a snake without really knowing why. I'm happy with all of it. The changes all felt like they were my decision at least, and I'm definitely fine being a lady. Um, I might have gone a little overboard in some respects." She looks down at some of her glittering golden 'eyes' down her sides. Vez might know that her predecessor certainly did have a flair for glamour in regards to their chosen forms, if he knew them. "-but the deed is done. I can't change much even if I wasn't satisfied, right?"

[Recaiden]

[Mirror of Art]

The ranger glances in the direction that the tentacle points.
She doesn't see anything there.

"Maybe, that could be it," she says, not really knowing that much about it, but what Ein is saying makes some sense.

When Ein connects and wills it to move. . .the ranger frowns and moves the mirror around, looking for something. The mirror-body on the other side is turning around, trying to see if there was someone over there. (Actually, Ein managed to get the other side to start moving but the ranger continued the movement immediately afterwards.) "Hey. You see anything in it?" she asks Ein, referring to the mirror reflection. "I felt something, but...maybe it was just my imagination. Well, wasn't exactly feeling something, but...I dunno. Felt like it was touching me but not me-me, but the me on the other side of the mirror? Except it's probably my imagination." Haven't been able to feel anything from the other side of the mirror in ever.

Hmm. Was that a coincidence? Did they accidentally send an idea to the ranger, who followed through? Or is the connection more two-way than had been imagined.
"I think it might have been me. I saw something, but I need to look more."
"Hold still?"
They try to get the mirror thing to turn again, and then turn back the opposite way. But they watch the ranger more than the mirror, as it's happening.

[Bucket of Slime]

"Kidnapped for the greater good" would just make the situation even more sketch, if someone ever told her. Which would require her asking, first.

But! Jeez, getting poured is the weirdest sensation. At first, she was mostly solid-like, but as time passed she acted more and more liquid until she couldn't help but get poured. Fantastic! she thinks, sarcastically. (Her thoughts got really jumbled there for a moment.) She finally got solid-enough and now she's back to square one. The newer captor is correct, though: she doesn't keep her thoughts in her head, but instead throughout her whole body. It's mostly concentrated in the red stripe on her, but still happens in the rest of her. And since she was recently disturbed, it takes nearly all her concentration to just think coherently.

And since her whole body is thinking, the response is less than clear. Very muddy and jumbled. 'bucket' 'yes' 'what' 'yes' 'move this way' 'bowl' 'confused' yes' 'yes' 'smooth' 'jiggle' 'where am i' 'yes' 'yeah' 'yeah' 'yes' 'let me go' 'yes' 'I can' 'yes' 'uh-huh' 'yes' 'why' 'yes' 'yes' 'yes' 'yes' 'yes' 'yes' 'what' 'yes' 'yes' 'yes' 'yes' 'yeah' 'yes' 'yes' 'yes' 'yes' 'yes'. It comes in like a wave, being small and incoherent at first until it eventually reaches peak clarity and then muddies off with all sorts of thoughts about movement or sensing what's around or wondering why she's here, just as it was when she first started thinking a response.
It's strange, for sure, but not unmanageable.

The introduction is pretty similar, as well, starting with a wave of 'hi' and 'why am i here' and 'hello' and 'nice to meet you' and 'sophia' and 'water' or 'thanks', followed by a few other jumbled names, until it eventually reaches a peak of 'gabrielle' and 'i'm gabrielle' and 'hi, my name's gabrielle'. It's a slightly more complex question so it doesn't reach the same peak clarity as the 'yes' from earlier, but still pretty clear enough, regardless. And as she's reforming, it doesn't take as long to reach the peak.

The slimegirl Gabrielle eventually reaches enough plasticity that she can start to reform her shape out of it, and reaches towards the water jug. She sticks a pseudopod in it, and starts a fluid transfer. She absorbs some water, but also deposits some of the toxins she absorbed earlier.

What's sketch, they might tell the slimegirl, is letting people make decisions that are obviously wrong. Not just grey areas and differences of priorities, but totally pointless things!
But they wouldn't really believe that. Actually they just don't care about anyone's preference not to be kidnapped.

Sophia watches dizzily as the slimegirl is poured, trying to make sense of the mushy repetitive thoughts. It's almost too much to understand at all. She moves a bit closer, as the slime might have wanted? Or that might have just been intention.
Hi, hi. I'm glad you can hear me. This place is called The Eurus Underground, or just Eurus.

Gabrielle is a good name. Nice to meet you too. You're here to help us protect life and fight demons, I suppose. But first we just want to know about slimegirls like you. Can you tell me about yourself?

[Reinholdt]

[Waste Land]

"The prince is coming," Tallhora assures Reina. "He needs to perform certain rites first. Slaying the beast is something he must do as the heir to this land and our ways demand it be treated with respect."

The sky is overcast and grey. The clouds seem to darken in the same direction as the town, which does seem to indicate that the lightning bird has flown that way. There seem to be no storms or lightning on the horizon, however.

[Waste Land]

Reina stares at Tallhora for a moment before looking away. She's a merc now. It was none of her business. Still, staring at this town gone mad, respect for the hunt seems the least important thing to her. This is why she hated traditions. They weren't flexible enough for different situations.

"Two can move more swiftly and discreetly than five. You'd better meet us on the other side." Reina will head inside at a guarded pace, her eyes darting back and forth.

[Deathkeeper]

Waste Land

So this noble is going to make them do all the work and then show up right at the end to take the glory? Sounds about right. Krayger's not going to sweat it. He's here for the money so he can buy Koshal a birthday present, not for monster-slaying bragging rights.
"I'll do my best to be discreet. I've practice but well..." He's seven feet tall plus horns there's only so much he can do on that front.

[5a Violista]

[Bucket of Slime]

But what if Sophia gets kidnapped? Would she like that?

The slimegirl listens. Protect life? Fight demons? Why? How? And so on.

She doesn't know what to say about herself. There's stray thoughts about herself here and there, but nothing concrete enough to actually pick out, other than a little bit of confusion - why would her kidnappers want to know about her? If they didn't already know about her, why would they kidnap her? - and 'okay' sure, she can 'talk' about herself, probably, if there's anything in particular she wants to know. Probably best to cooperate with kidnappers, she decides.

When she does actually have a focused answer, her thoughts seem to be clearer now since she's more solid-like.


[Mirror of Art]

The ranger nods; she'll hold still.

She winces. Not an 'in pain' kind of wince, but something different, like a 'this is unusual' kind of wince.
The image in the mirror, meanwhile, moves as if the source on the other side rotated one way then the other. Seems like Ein did do something!

"..." the ranger says.
Then, she explains: "Feels like someone pulled my head...sort-of. Not exactly that, but that's what it felt like."

[Recaiden]

[Bucket of Slime]

Sophia has been kidnapped once, actually. Just like Gabrielle was, actually (well, except for the bucket).
She was pretty upset at first, but now she agrees that it was for the best.

Where are you from? Have you been in the Nexus long?
How did you spend your time? I used to be a lawyer, myself.
Do you know any other slimegirls?
What would happen if you were split up into two bowls?

[Mirror of Art]

"I can move the mirror-person. But it seems to move you too, because....because I don't know why." Maybe it has to do with what the fox-mask creature said ,that the mirror world changes to match the original world. Or maybe it's because of the ranger's psychic connection.
"Tell me what you feel now?"
Ein wills the mirror-ranger to reach up and touch its own mirror-face. This question, the narration has already answered it, but the ranger never told that answer to Ein.

[Morty]

[Waste Land]

As they head inside the town, the two might feel a strange sense of detachment from their surroundings. It's as if they didn't walk into a normal town, even one gripped by a supernatural disaster. What they see before them and around them seems more like a series of tableaus, scenes playing out according to a script.

The first scene, visible to them the moment they pass through the gate, is one of a duel. A group of humans and elves are gathered in a small square ahead of the gate. A male elf and a female human are circling each other, holding curved, slim swords. The spectators cheer and goad them on, but the battle hasn't been joined yet. The elves seem to favor long, flowing garments and elaborate headwear while humans dress simply but sharply, in fine cloth studded with bright metal.

Further away, among low, squat buildings, they will see an all-out brawl happening. This altercation involves mostly humans, it seems, with only a few elves to be found amongst the fighters. Unlike the duelists and their spectators, these people seem less wealthy and styled, with humans clad in heavy leathers and woolen cloth (but still plenty of metal) while the elves wear close fitting, light and asymmetrically-cut clothes.

The third scene they can see is a half-elf (or so it would seem) in ragged clothing, standing on a box and ranting wildly to a crowd of onlookers, likewise both elven and human. They can't hear what he's saying from this distance, but it seems to be driving his audience into... just about every emotional state. It's hard to say what they might do next.

More such scenes seem to be happening elsewhere. Above, the storm-clouds churn ominously.

[Reinholdt]

[Waste Land]

"You live in the Nexus. You'll be fine. It's more about poise and confidence anyways," Reina assures Krayger. And it'll still be easier than all five of them.

She glances up at the sky once more. "You know, I hadn't considered it before, but what if the bird is still up there, obscured by the clouds?" Certainly an option. Best way to find out would be to get a half-decent answer from someone.

No one looked particularly promising. But the duelists at least seem cognizant enough to follow some sort of rule system. Reina will head towards the duel and its spectators, sticking to the crowd and asking someone in the back, "What's going on?"

[Deathkeeper]

Waste Land

"We're going to need a way to lure it down either way." rumbles the minotaur, though he himself isn't so keen to go approaching the crowds. Who knows if these people are mistrusting of outsiders in the state that they're in? But his teammate is going, so he goes. He's very good at standing next to people and looking imposing while they do footwork. It's one of his many callings.

[5a Violista]

[Bucket of Slime]

It sounds like if Gabrielle turned the tables and kidnapped Sophia, she would actually be pretty alright with it. It would be, of course, for the best.

Where is she from? There's a whole host of answers: Ibirapitanga, Eris, Wafir, South Nastagia, Pihyaamua. There's also the sense that, although these are different names, it's just one place in the same way that saying you're from Inside doesn't conflict with saying you're from the Nexus.

In the Nexus long? Clear 'no' with some uncertainty as to the actual amount if time.
Spending time? The answer is really unfocused and muddled, it's hard to pick out a single thing.
Know other slimegirls? 'no' again.
Split into two bowls? 'Don't know' with a half-dozen different hypotheses on what might happen, as well as reluctance to actually try it.

Many of the thoughts are pretty close to accurate, since she has had her head/other parts cut off/splattered: what actually would happen is that both divided parts would continue acting the same as if they were both her, but over time one of them will just...slow down its thinking until it eventually stops thinking. It would still be living and still capable of thought, and it would still respond to stimulus and act bubbly and friendly and helpful, but that's because its biology leads it to act that way to better hunt prey. It wouldn't have its own thoughts, though, until either the other half connects back up to it or it finds some other source of independent thought.

Obviously, she would also be half as large until she has time to feed and regrow.


[Mirror of Art]

"Interesting," the ranger says, before realizing what this means: "Oh! You're pretty amazing. You managed to figure it out really quickly. Like you're a natural at this sort of thing."

She explains what she feels:
That it feels like someone is pulling up on her arm. Not exactly that, but it's the best description she can give of it. Meanwhile, the mirror-ranger's hand moves up and touches the mirror-face. "It's weird, though, because I've never felt sensations from that side of the mirror before. This is a first." The actual ranger's hand doesn't move, though.

She considers things, and then yawns.
"Hey. If...if I leave the mirror with you tomorrow, then I won't have to worry about it while I'm taking care of business tomorrow. And since you're such a natural at it, doing in minutes what took me months, maybe with a whole day with it you can figure out something that would have taken me years."

It just seems logical, right? Since the mirror is inherently a psychic connection, someone who already is good at psychic communication stuff would learn a lot more than someone who is experiencing it for the first time.

[Morty]

[Waste Land]

The woman Reina speaks to turns out to be an elven woman in a rather elaborate, expensive-looking dress. She looks different from Tallhora - her skin is slightly tan, rather than almost white, and her eyes are bright green. Her hair isn't visible under a pointed orange and gold headdress, with bronze bangles hanging from it. Her dress is white, orange and gold, with several layers.

"Outlanders. Have you come to witness the duel? Lord Arravir and the... 'lady' Erika will finally settle their long-standing feud!"

Her eyes have a curious, vacant expression. They're filled with glee at the violence that is about to happen, but they're also oddly unfocused. It's as if the didn't quite perceive the this situation in a lucid way.

[Recaiden]

[Shivernight Manor]

The numbers watch Sekhmet's father warily. He knows something about her, and they have no idea what. It makes the situation more complicated, more of a risk.
Upon seeing Ophelia flop around, the two higher-numbered ones step up-
"Allow us to help."
-and try to pick up the snake lady to carry her towards the exit.
There's a bit of magic, flowing from the base of their neck and down their arms, that makes even very heavy objects (such as half a giant snake) easy to lift.

[Throne Room]

Once your hand goes through an illusion, it's easy for you to see through it, but that doesn't help anyone else see through it, so if the succubi don't work together it might still confuse them for a good while. Still, there are a lot of Sapphira's troops, they'll manage it in time.
Haru finds a moment in the middle of, say, wrapping their tentacles around a succubus and using the poor creature to bludgeon another succubus, to send a telepathic message. Prumathe! If they're not going to hurt you, go after Sapphira! Try to keep her in place! This distraction means some devilish claws tear into her side, but who cares? It'll heal soon enough, and besides, this isn't even her real body. Back to the fight!

Kiun staggers when the succubus strikes back, but mentally just increases the pressure.
Sapphira cares nothing for you. You have no reason to follow her, and you [Iwon't.[/I]
She can tell that something is being accomplished, and keeps pushing at the proto-fiend.

[Bucket of Slime]

It would be hard for Sophia to argue with that.

It seems like the slimegirl is from a fairly well-specified place! Sophia has never heard of any of it, but that's hardly a surprise.
Sorry, I didn't understand all of that. Something about 'independent thought'?"

Are there things you want? Like, any big goals in your life? Or fears, maybe?"

[Mirror of Art]

"I was made to do this sort of thing." Ein agrees. They're really nothing special though, not like a couple of their siblings. "You did well figuring out this far."

That confirms the hypothesis obviously enough that Ein believes it.

They nod deliberately, trying not to seem too glad of it, when the ranger suggests that the mirror be left in their hands.
"Yes, I will study it for us. If you feel anything strange, that will be why."

But for right now, the ranger clearly wants to sleep. That's what that means, right?
Ein sets the mirror down and takes a step back.

[Reinholdt]

[Waste Land]

"A lure, huh? Hmm..." What does a mythical madness thunder bird want or eat? Reina fails to come up with an immediate answer, but will keep thinking on it. Then again, they did have guns. They didn't need it that low.

So the duel was pretty much exactly what it looked like. Outlanders was never a good thing to be. But it didn't seem to be a deterrent yet. "A little bit. Not quite. We're wondering if you've seen a large bird recently."