Inside 70: Surprisingly Pleasant

[Rebonack]

[Looking for a Library]

"Yeah I've had WAAAY worse crashes than that before. No big deal," the woman with pegasus wings replies as she gives them a beat and just sort of... lifts off the ground. She definitely shouldn't be able to hover like that.

Probably magic.

So.

It looks like she's about to take off again.

And Heather is doing a really lousy job of asking where the library is.

Maybe she could ask really quickly before this woman departs again to return to... whatever she was doing?

She can probably see lots of stuff from up there in the sky she probably knows where the library is.


[Book Quest]

"You are making a wise choice," the Librarian says as he leads Jade toward the back of the grimoire repository and into the ritual chamber beyond. "Please remain in your natural form and stand here. The process is quite simple. I will recite a liturgy other over and then you will be branded with the Sign of Koth," he says, drawing a red hot branding iron from a fire at the center of the room. The symbol on it looks like a three pointed crown with a crescent above it, five rays piercing through. It's evocative of a stylized sunrise. "Once that is complete you will swear three Oaths, after which you will be branded with the Seal of Solomon. I must warn you now, this process will be intensely uncomfortable."

But...

At least it means she won't be eating people?

Right?


[Cormorant House]

Oh boy rotting flesh! The best kind.

Magdalene recoils from the mummy's touch as her skin starts to blacken. Unsurprisingly she responds by making a wrenching motion with one hand, a nova of eldritch power cascading into her. Everything caught in the blast will begin rotting at an astounding rate as its vitality is leeched away into the warlock. She raises her shield, ready to defend herself while shoring up her footing. Devouring the essence of everything around her is definitely the best form of defense.

"(Flowering) mummies. You (pretty pansies) had better not be full of those gross flesh-burrowing maggots."

[bc56]

Book Quest

Jade's eyes widen at the flaming brand. "Are there any side effects I should know about?" She stands still, ready for the ritual.

Cormorant House

The mummies begin rotting as well, but Maggie won't get as much life out of them as she might expect. Hooray for preservatives! Bloody blades slash at her from blackened, withered hands, even as the first, unarmed one crumbles to dust and fragments of bone.
A dry, droning voice whispers in Magdalene's ear. "My, my. You are such a hungry little thing. Little locust, do you know whose domain you've trespassed in?" Its words carry the scent of rot, the feeling of sand on your skin, the burning desert heat, the gnawing pains of starvation.

[5a Violista]

[Race to Plum Mountain]

Being a deer-lady isn't really a big deal. There's lots of people who aren't human around so Zophiel doesn't really care.

"Hi," he replies to the breeze. "You the one over this weald?" he asks. Then, introducing himself to make it seem less...whatever, he says, "I'm a paladin, Zophiel."

The problem is that he doesn't really know where he's supposed to look. The trunk? The leaves? Would one of those be inappropriate?


[Creepy Shop]

Still gotta be careful, though. Cops can be pretty crafty. In fact, they might literally be staking out the shop right now.

Venus looks at the dolls. Sure, she gets that impression that they're looking at her...but that's how all dolls are, aren't they? That's why you have to turn all the dolls in the room around before you go to sleep.
...
Not that she's planning on sleeping in this room, of course. It's a shop, not a bedroom.

"Neat," she says. She move a step around the room and stares at another doll. She purposefully ignores the one that fell so that she doesn't get blamed for making it fall over.

"So how do you make them?" she asks. "Like..."
Well. She doesn't really know much about doll-making that much. Presumably you make them just like every other thing, like with a die-cut mold or sand cast, or that one ceramic dipping thing, with...oh, wait. Actually, Venus knows several ways to manufacture things. There's just too many options.


[In the Painting]

Yssa pouts.
"If you're too busy to spend time with me, you can just say so. You don't have to come up with excuses," she says, trying to guilt him into agreeing. Or to just make him say he's busy with whatever-and-such. She really just wants someone who she can convince to take the lead as they go around the house, and also with her as a 'barrier' against Mr. Hot-And-Handsome-Adultery-Co-conspirator. Hanging off of someone and teasing them is fine, but given what she read in the diary she's pretty afraid that if she meets him alone then it might devolve into kissing or hand-holding or something equally lewd.

Actually, though...Lilly might be an okay shield, too.
She sighs. "But, okay. I get it. If you call Lilly, I promise I'll stick with her."


[Some Street]

Obsidian shakes her head. "We lost them. Probably couldn't find them again, either," she says, "since all humans basically look the same."

She points off in that direction.
"Was way over that way."
Obsidian looks down at her knees.
"Don't worry. I'm not going to kill him just to show him how dumb it is to kill people you don't like."

[Rebonack]

[Book Quest]

"You will be unable to deceive others by wearing mortal faces. You will be compelled to obey the commands issued by Watchers such as myself. You will be unable to harm sapient mortals unless commanded to do so by your handler," the Librarian explains. "You will be, in essence, a dog on a leash. For your protection as well as the protection of others."

Okay this is sounding way less attractive.

"Now then, please hold still, it is vital that the brand be applied-"

A low rumble.

The library shakes.

"Damnation," the Librarian hisses. "Of all the times. I have an unruly visitor to attend to. The sealing will have to wait. Please remain here."

And then he sets the brand back down in the fire and heads toward the exit. Off he goes!

...is Jade going to remain here?


[Cormorant House]

Magdalene blocks the sword stroke with her targe, responding with a blast of gnashing icy teeth and rot. If the mummy survives the initial eldritch explosion it will be left brittle, slow, and vulnerable to a follow-up attack.

Such as?

The warlock lashing out with a braided whip of tendrils full of hungering magic and frozen teeth to her foes. The tendrils will latch onto any mummies that survive and begin chowing down on them.

Should the immediate danger be past, she'll start heading toward the slab door on the other side of the room, searching for a way in.

"Some (flower) that needs his teeth kicked in," Magdalene replies flippantly as she examines the massive door.


[Race to Plum Mountain]

That's one of the issues with talking to disembodied voices isn't it?

Hard to figure out who or what you're supposed to be talking to.

Oh, um... yes? That's me, the song of several frogs in a nearby pond replies.

Then silence.

Apparently the park isn't really great at conversations.


[Creepy Doll Shop]

Supplying only the creepiest dolls in all of Inside.

"Oh I'm so happy you're curious," the doll maker replies, clapping his hands together. "I have several wooden molds you see. That gives the head its basic shape. Then it's a matter of adding details by hand. I carve the molds myself. It is a labor of love. Some of the heads, though, I make wholly by hand. It's like clay sculpting. Very soothing."

The bodies look like they're made of cloth. The eyes of glass. All hand made.

The fallen doll continues to lay on the floor dejectedly.

[Deathkeeper]

[Looking for a Library]

Wait what she’s leaving already?
”Wait! Do you know where the library is?”
She calls out to the lady. The mecha gauntlet does kind of indicate a smart person.
Or at least lives here.

[bc56]

Book Quest

Woah, woah, woah. Jade wants to be a person again, but this sounds more like it would make her little more than an animal. She is eternally grateful to whatever just caused that disturbance. She wishes she could adequately and safely explain her reasons, but there's no time. She'll send an anonymous letter later. For now, she bolts, taking on her own face, Jade's face, and rushing to escape the library as fast as she can. This was a bust. She didn't get any information, and she's pretty sure that guy was lying about the lack of a cure. It seemed like he just wanted a magic fox as a slave.

Cormorant House

"You can try, little locust." The voice gives a dry chuckle as the mummies are torn asunder. "Can you fight the desert wind? The drifting dunes, the scorching sun? I have swallowed civilizations whole. I will devour you."
The door is a solid slab of stone, without handle or hinges. There's a cylindrical slot, just large enough for a hand, that extends into darkness within the door.

In the Painting

Now, you suddenly want to spend time with me!? After all those excuses, those doe eyes you made at that peasant stablehand?" Arthur raises his hand as if to strike Yssa, but stops himself. "No. I will send Lilly to you." He stalks away angrily.

[Rebonack]

[Looking for a Library]

The winged woman glances down as she drifts a bit higher into the sky.

"Yeah it's like six blocks that way," she say, pointing in a direction. "Can't miss it. Later!"

Then she snaps her wings, causing a low rumble as she rockets out of sight into the sky, leaving an emerald and copper contrail behind her.

It's kind of sparkly.

Well!

Heather has got directions now! That's certainly an improvement.


[Book Quest!]

A bust?

Noooo.

Jade learned several important things about how her powers work! And the fact that there are some relatively powerful people who don't want her to be a free fox roaming around doing fox things. She also stopped some objectively bad people AND got some snacks out of it. Two brigands and several ghosts! What's not to love? Except the whole murder part but hey you can't make an omelette without eating a few people.

Sneaking out of the library, Jade will find a... thing... being assaulted by several people, including the Librarian. The monster is probably a good thirty feet tall and appears to be made out of slabs of black glass, stone, bronze, and way the heck too many arms. It... doesn't seem like all of it is actually here. Parts of it keep sliding in and out of existence. Just looking at it is disorienting. The empyrean raises two hands into the air and claps them together as if praying, a beam of scintillating power lancing down from the limbs and tracing a molten line across the ground. One of the Watchers raises a broom and the mean scatters on the air around her as if it had struck an impenetrable wall.

Might be best to let the professionals handle this thing?


[Cormorant House]

That is definitely a keyhole of some kind.

Or!

You stick your arm inside and it eats your arm.

"Yeah, sure," Magdalene replies as she starts looking around for something that looks like it might slot into the slab. Chances are the key is in a different room. That's usually how this stuff works. "Just gotta find whatevers binding you here and break it until you (flower) off."

Magdalene knows how these summoning things go. Whenever an Old God starts manifesting you find whatever they're manifesting around and smash it. That's how it worked with Chthon and his avatar. That's how it worked with Sylvanas' avatar. That's how it worked with Aether's avatar. That's how it worked with Hyperion's avatar. That's how it'll work with this idiot's avatar, too. She just has to navigate her way through the dungeon, find the boss, and kill him a whole bunch.

If nothing key-like is found in her search Magdalene is going to poke the hole.

Not with her hand, of course.

She isn't an idiot.

She pulls from her backpack a glaive! The haft looks like it was carved from pure obsidian, its cutting edge shimmering with drifting stars. Unnatural cold throbs around the blade, causing moisture in the air to turn to fog. A swing from this night-bound weapon chills to the soul and brings about the dissolution of matter. Heat death given form. The cold, bleak fate of the universe itself.

The thing is an absolute piece of junk.

Magdalene has no idea how to use a polearm; she hasn't got any skills or training with them at all. And to make matters worse its damage types are all wrong. Cold and void? Bah! That's Nyx stuff. She doesn't need that garbage. Vitality and decay damage all the way for her; that's how Sylvanas rolls. If it isn't literally eating someone alive she's not interested. The only reason she hung onto the thing she had picked up in the freezing dark of Nyx was because it looked like she might be able to sell it.

She flips the polearm around to poke at the key-hole with the butt.

[Deathkeeper]

Locating a Library

That’s one thing Heather likes about Inside.
That was really weird and yet no one is staring. Sure some people stared at her but all things considered not as many as you might think. Maybe not even as many as back home.
With a shrug, Heather goes prancing away in the indicated direction.

[bc56]

Book Quest

Jade's not going to interfere. She doesn't care what happens to these people or to the monster they're fighting. She just continues out the door to freedom.

Cormorant House

There doesn't seem to be a key here, although many of the terrible idols would fit into the slot, as would some of the bleeding weapons.
"You seem so sure of yourself. But little locust, your borrowed power will not help you here. Your every move merely brings me closer to full wakefulness."
The polearm rattles about in the hole, but nothing happens. It's clear, however, that the hole is quite deep indeed, plenty deep enough to fit one's entire arm within.

[Rebonack]

[Library Located]

Heather will find the Inside University campus without a great deal of difficulty!

The campus is teeming with students ranging from the mundane to the fantastical, as one might expect from Inside. There's even a small herd of fellow gaiads kneeling in the lawn having a study group, wildflowers sprouting around them for having the audacity to sit in one place for too long. And not JUST a group of gaiads, either! There are also two humans, a gnome, and what appears to be some sort of lizard person? That's encouraging. The people who were caught in the Buttercupocolypse appear to be reintegrating.

Finding the library isn't terribly difficult.

No one makes comments on Heather's lower body on the campus. As far as anyone would guess she's just another student who made the mistake of chatting with a Buttercup before the warnings went out.

The library itself is a pretty pleasant, modern looking building with ample windows to let in lots of natural light. There's even an atrium in the middle of the building with a garden growing in it!

How many libraries have pretty gardens with benches where students can relax and read in a nice, natural setting?

This one sure does.


[Book Quest]

Run away!

Probably a good plan. Whatever that thing is, it looks like it's serious business.

So that begs the question, Jade. What's next?


[Cormorant House]

Magdalene is DEFINITELY not going to stuff her arm into the hole. That's how you lose arms. Magdalene is pretty fond of her arms, as it happens. If any of the idols have cylindrical bases that look like they might SLOT into the hole she'll try that. If that still fails the polearm will go back into her pack and she'll head for the entrance.

"Uh huh," she replies to the voice dismissively.

She doesn't seem particularly swayed by the taunting.

She's got places to go and demons to punch.

So! Place first.

She launches several of those toothed tendrils into the ceiling, where they CHOMP! onto whatever surface they strike. Then? She's going to yank herself several feet upward and swing across the gap! Having a built-in grappling hook is pretty handy. Assuming she doesn't get masticated by the pit devil she'll open the door on the far side of the entry hall.

[Deathkeeper]

[University Library]

Hmm. Heather ought to ask a librarian if out-of-towners are allowed to take books out. Definitely worthy of finding out. Heather goes to look for someone who looks like they know what they're doing.
Regardless of what answer she gets, she's just happy to get to wander around the halls. Smelling that old-book smell and sitting in the corners with something good.
But not sitting for too long. Heather has noticed that she has to get up every once and a while or she'll start having heather flowers growing through the floorboards.

[bc56]

Book Quest

Jade heads directly to Plum Mountain Park, taking on her fox shape as soon as she arrives. It's good to be somewhere safe for a change. She goes on a little stroll through the weald before seeking Lambslaural out.

Cormorant House

None of the idols fit quite the way Maggie wants, so she can try grappling over the pit instead. She lands on the other side without provoking the creature's ire, and can open the door to find...
Some sort of lounge. Except it's been converted into a ritual chamber. A robed man holding a bronze chain is hunched over a table of entrails... Suspiciously human entrails. He seems to be equally reading and eating them. He doesn't seem quite human. Maybe it's the hungry look in his eyes when he sees Magdalene, as if he's found his next meal. Maybe it's the fact that his teeth are sharp, pointed, perfect for tearing apart meat.

[Rebonack]

[Library Found!]

"You need to have a library card to check out books," the librarian, who appears to be some sort of floating jellyfish like creature, says. Her voice sounds like a wheezing set of bagpipes. "I can get you signed up for one if you like?"

The jellyfish librarian is assuming that Heather isn't student. If she were then she could just use her student ID card to check out books.

"If you're worried about decorating the floor with flowers feel free to use the atrium," the librarian adds. "Many of our newly gaiad students have found it quite relaxing."

Wonder if anyone rooted in there? The atrium is of pretty reasonable size. But it's got a pretty firm limit on growth.

What's it going to be, Heather?

What sort of books are you after? Are you going to get a card?


[Plum Mountain Park]

Strolling through the fields and forests of the weald definitely beats freezing mountain tops full of brigands and cultists. The sun is out in force today, quite possibly one of the last warm days of autumn before the cold and the dark take over for a while. It's... pleasant. Serene. Birds serenade each other in the distance and every now and again Jade will hear the sound of reedy pipes drifting through the trees. Nothing attacks her, nothing leaps out at her, nothing tries to enslave her, just a peaceful walk through the forest. The redwood forest surrounding Lambslaural's old home is an especially nice stretch of park; everything there is lush and green no matter what time of the year it is. Like an eternal springtime.

As she trots along the trail nearing the chasm Jade will be met by a faun coming the other way. The goat-legged woman immediately smiles. "Oh, what a cute little fox! I haven't tried out a fox yet."

It looks like she's going to prance right up to Jade and pet her maybe?


[Cormorant House]

Wow.

That's pretty tasty looking.

"Two choices. Tell me how to wreck the god setting up shop here or I (flowering) wreck you instead," Magdalene demands.

Normally she's used to anything hostile attacking her on sight so maybe this is one of those cultists who has dialog options? One way or the other she holds her targe at the ready to block any incoming attacks.

[Deathkeeper]

Library Found

Heather nods. "Oh yeah, that sounds great!"
Wait she doesn't have any money or information on her. Is that going to be a problem? She can't take it with her, either. Maybe she can just hide the card in her dogwood tree when she's not in Inside.
"Do I need anything to get a card?" Presumably paperwork follows.

[Gnrlshrimp]

Buttercup, you're Under Arrest!

Nick watches Ithuriel carefully.
"Now, there's two things. One is that regardless of who gets credit for it, we have three days before Buttercup starts becoming a threat again. So you have until then to do anything, because when the time's up she's getting some other solution like the others. If we're lucky this Watcher with Melvin will pull through on this half-cure thing." He shakes his head.
"The other thing is that you're not making any negotiations on the city's behalf without clearing your terms with us first this time. Namely, I'm trying to figure out what leverage you think you have. Because as it stands, the only leverage I can think of is threatening the safety of the Buttercups, which I am not doing if we can actually restore them in any way. That isn't a lot to pressure a goddess if she doesn't care about them, even if we lie and say we're willing to exterminate them."

[Buttercup, you're Under Arrest!]

"Honestly, I'm hoping it won't take me that long to figure out one way or the other if there's any merit to this, sir. And considering she, uh, flowered her cell in one day, I reckon it's worth doing the half-cure as soon as I'm sure I'm done." Like everything else about the Buttercups, it seemed harmless enough on the surface but she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something sinister about that too. ""And that's sort of the point. I don't think we can make any negotiations with just any old Buttercup, it has to be their queen. So all I'm going to do is offer an olive branch, say that we'd be willing to negotiate - see if we can come to any terms if we can talk directly to her. But I won't offer anything, I won't demand anything, it's just a case of seeing if there's any way we can contact her directly. And if she says yes, obviously I'd report back to you and I assume you'd hand over the actual negotiation to someone professionally trained in it."

[bc56]

Plum Mountain Park

"Hi!" Jade says. "I like being a fox. You can pet me if you want." She walks up to the faun to make it easier.

Cormorant House

The cultist looks at Magdalene and then spins his chain in a circle. Sand swirls around him, and suddenly a sandstorm has kicked up in the room, biting abrasive winds cutting into skin and bone like so many grinding teeth.

[5a Violista]

[In the Painting]

June flinches in anticipation of being hit.

Well

um

On the bright side,
that's basically confirmation that 'crime of passion' is on the table, right? Also, it's clear that Mr. Husband-man doesn't particularly care about her being seen in this state of dress in front of Mr. Stablehand but is okay with blaming her anyway. No wonder this marriage fell apart.
She sighs.
Well, she'll just wait here for Lilly.

She looks down at the wrong ring, and spins it around her finger a couple times while waiting.


[Race to Plum Mountain]

Parks are normally bad at conversations, though, so that's not really a surprise.

Remembering that this is fairies, he considers how much he should actually talk about. Probably just stick to the most relevant.
"So I heard-" he glances at the officer "-that you're taking care of the worst actors of this area, which is great." Pause. "From another source, I've heard that as this weald grows, it will pull in the surrounding areas until it starts devouring space." Not nearly as bad as the presence of murderous fairies, in his opinion, but "some people would obviously consider that a problem." But here's the important part: "I've heard of multiple ways to stop that from happening, so I'd recommend you look into that before other people feel they have no choice but to take it into their own hands." If, after all, a barmaid knows that the easiest way to solve this involves violence then it stands to reason that other people would come to the same conclusion.


[Creepy Doll Shop]

"Yeah, clay sculpting is really fun," Venus says. She looks at another one, looking at its cloth bodies. They look like they take a lot of work. One time, she's made one except it was literally clay for the head and the body was cloth, but shaped to make a hand-puppet. "I've made one like that before, too. Its face was really ugly and wrinkly but it fit the aesthetic I was going for."

Finally, since she was moving in the direction of the fallen doll, Venus figures she needs to bring it up now. She looks in that direction, at the fallen one. "Is that one supposed to be on the floor?" she asks. "Looks a little out-of-place to me."

[Morty]

[Intersection Main Office]

Michalson is silent for a moment before speaking. Having MERC help the Intersection here might not be a good look. But... if done right...

"There is a delicate matter that might benefit from MERC's expertise," he says. "A possible gathering of fey outside the city borders. As such, technically outside our jurisdiction, but threatening to spill over to us nonetheless. MERC helping with that could help avert a big rorty mess."

[bc56]

In the Painting

A few minutes later, Lilly arrives. "Arthur said you wanted me?" She seems nervous. "He was in a mood. Are you alright?"

[Arkhosia]

[Kraken Open a Book]

Suzie's eyes are adapted for seeing through the inky blackness of the darkest depths of the ocean (as well as her own ink), if that matters. She may be less encumbered by the library denying her light than her poor fishmaid.

Or maybe not.

Either way, she's stubbornly walking onwards.

Suzie also does not know what a seafood chef is. "Noisy room." She mutters, as she strolls on, otherwise unconcerned by the door. Which is probably unwise.

Marina shows a similar level of unfamiliarity with the noises going on in the other room, but is a bit more wary than her mistress. She'll glance through the doorway to check if there seemed like any figures within might be worth worrying about, such as if they might acquire a pursuer or something.

[5a Violista]

In the painting

"Yes, I'm fine," June replies.

She visibly sighs.
"I wanted to go for a stroll with him, outside, to get some fresh air."

She walks towards the entrance again, then pauses. "You'll come with me, won't you?" June thinks it might be alright to tell Lilly that she actually has no memory anything here, but...still isn't sure that there wasn't some body-swapping sinister plot going on and the maid might be in on it. Besides, she'd just sound crazy if she said that and they already think she's mentally unwell or something.

...

Maybe if she could come up with a way to word it, or something.

[bc56]

In the Painting

"Sure, I can come with you. Do you want to get something warmer on first?" Lilly makes a good suggestion. It is a bit chilly out. "I can wait for you, if you want. Or I can help."

[Chaotic Bob]

[Some Street]

Obsidian shakes her head. "We lost them. Probably couldn't find them again, either," she says, "since all humans basically look the same."

She points off in that direction.
"Was way over that way."
Obsidian looks down at her knees.
"Don't worry. I'm not going to kill him just to show him how dumb it is to kill people you don't like."

On one paw, it is nice to know revenge-murder isn't on the young necromancer's(?) to-do list. On the other, it did still come to her mind pretty quick.
Probably not healthy.

Yurioc is making a mental note here to investigate the situation a little more on his own. It's possible someone else has dealt with it already, but confirming it won't hurt anything.

The more immediate concern is still the fragile heart before him, anyway.
I wasn't worried about that, just wanted to make sure you weren't still in danger. Do you have any family here?
He very nearly asked "friends?", but that would perhaps have been a poor idea.

[Rebonack]

[Plum Mountain Park]

The faun gives a little "Eep!" of surprise when Jade speaks up, then starts laughing. "Oh wow sorry I didn't know you were occupied already!"

Then she'll bend down and give Jade's ears a nice rub.

"Normally I can tell when an animal has got a faun in her already you must be really sneaky."

Ah.

This is a case of mistaken identity.

Usually when you meet a talking animal that's because a faun or satyr is inhabiting them.

A kumiho, by contrast, is quite a bit more rare.


[Cormorant House]

See this is what Magdalene gets for not just murdering every single remotely cultist looking person on sight.

She hisses in pain as the sand begins gnawing at her, her own magic lashing out in retribution. A numbing explosion of frost and decay detonates near the cultist, threatening to freeze flesh and cause rapid onset frostbite necrosis. The vile curse, should it take hold, will slow limbs and rot resilience against the warlock's follow up spells. Speaking of?

Then Magdalene actually [i]shoots back[/]i.

Screaming across the room like an alpine blizzard comes a blast of vitality leeching eldritch magic toward the cultist, a seething, hungering cloud roughly eight feet across full of icy teeth and decay. Being struck by the eldritch blast will begin rapidly gnawing away anything unfortunate enough to be caught in it while rotting their defenses, making them more susceptible to Magdalene's malignant magic.

The warlock isn't very happy about being sand blasted, clearly.


[Library Found]

"Yes, of course, I'll just need you to fill out this paperwork," the librarian jellyfish replies.

Oh boy there it is!

Exciting paperwork to fill out.


[Race to Plum Mountain]

Oh... um... I know... about the weald getting bigger, I mean, a chorus of crickets replies. My sisters and I are trying to, um... decide w-what we should do about it.

There, see?

The spirit(s)? of the park already know what's going on and are trying to do something about it maybe.


[Creepy Doll Shop]

"Ah! A fellow doll maker! How delightful," the old man replies with a heartfelt smile. "I'm so glad you decided to visit. I don't meet many others who make bisque dolls anymore."

He gives a dejected sigh.

"It's a dying art. People want-" his face contorts into a scowl. "Plastic dolls now. Dreadful things."

At the mention of the fallen doll the dollmaker shrugs. "Sometimes I wonder if they're trying to get themselves broken. It's why I have such soft carpet, you see."

Sounds like it isn't supposed to be on the floor.


[Kraken Open a Book]

Persistence, it would seem, is all our aquatic heroes really needed. Before long they step out of the long dark hallways and back onto the street! It looks like Suzie has successfully acquired several books with the help of no one else! She is very wise and clever. Well now what?

[bc56]

Plum Mountain Park

Jade laughs. "Yeah, you could say I'm sneaky." She doesn't feel the need to say what she actually is. She accepts the pats happily. "I'm looking for a plum tree. You seen any?"

Cormorant House

The cultist grunts in pain.
And while Magdalene can't see, the chain wraps around her neck and begins to tighten. Then, the cultist, skin blackened and withered, but still standing, throws a knife, a poisoned blade that would prove quite problematic if the substance coating it got into the bloodstream.

[Rebonack]

[Plum Mountain Park]

"Oh, I saw one just past that big rock," the faun replies, pointing at a nearby granite boulder. "I think I'm going to see if I can't find an unoccupied fox, being a fox is probably fun!"

And then she goes frolicking off.

Man fauns are sort of weird.

Anywho!

She was telling the truth.

None too far way is a nice wild plum tree just sitting there and being covered in plums. Very tasty looking.


[Cormorant House]

The THUNK! on Magdalene's shield informs her that something unpleasant probably just tried to do unpleasant things to her. She's already sort of hunkered down behind the shield to avoid the worst of the sand storm so this really does change things too much. Problem here is that she can't really see her target at all. What if the guy moved? She can tell from the vitality she's leeching that she definitely hit something with her flesh devouring attack, but what if the guy moved?

Well!

Easy way to deal with that right?

She just needs to use an attack that doesn't require her to see anything!

Magdalene turns her palm upward, clutches her fingers, and makes a rising motion, causing a rot lash totem to grow out of the floor! As usual the thing is an awful twisted mess of vines with an antlered animal skull at the top, pink eldritch light beating inside its sockets like a heart. It begins launching streamers of flesh rotting eldritch power at the cultist while Magdalene hunkers down a bit more behind her shield. That's the nice thing about quite a bit of her magic. She just needs to drop her totems and flesh eating clouds and they do the work while she defends herself.

[bc56]

Plum Mountain Park

Jade finds the plum tree and scratches at it. "Lambslaural, I have a question for you. Are you there?"

Cormorant House

"No. This is MY house." The totem withers crumbles into sand almost as soon as it's created. The creature here doesn't like people making minions in or from its turf.
Another knife thunks against the shield, then another. Then the chain crashes into it again, but this time is aimed to pull the shield away to open Maggie for a fourth knife throw. The cultist doesn't seem at all hindered by the sandstorm.

[Rebonack]

[Plum Mountain Park]

Silence for a few moments.

Then a soft voice in the wind and the leaves.

I'm here, Jade. Um... what's your question?


[Cormorant House]

Okay that's just rude.

If this thing is going to kill her totems and soon as she creates them Magdalene is going to have to lean a bit more heavily on her other spells. That's fine, of course. She can still handle this.

When the chain yanks at her shield she rolls with it, stepping into the attack to keep her shield in place before releasing a leech nova as she attempts to violently rip the vitality away from anything and everything in the room. As with most of her spells, this will cause flesh to blacken, freeze, and decay at an alarming rate. She might not be able to see this guy very well but by now she should be able to smell him pretty easily.

Oh.

Hmm.

There's a knife in her leg.

Magdalene decides to pull that out and discard it.

"As soon as I find you I'm going to eat your (flowering) head," the warlock yells over the sandstorm.

[bc56]

Plum Mountain Park

"Do you know what Watchers are? I had an unfortunate run-in with one at the library." This will either serve as a warning for Lambslaural, or it will be informative for Jade.

Cormorant House

The poison that was on the blade has now infiltrated Magdalene's blood. The vitality she's managed to leech off the cultist should help protect her for now, but the toxin weakens nerve impulses, causing shaky limbs, loss of physical strength, sensation in extremities, and hand-eye coordination, and eventually paralysis and death. Not a pretty fate, but prettier than what's befallen the cultist, whose rotten body has just slapped lifelessly to the ground. The sandstorm slowly fades.

[Terumitsu]

[Sam and Lucy's Room]

What might be odd is that despite Sam saying he has a roommate, most of the stuff appears to be his. The pig-themed apron, the vast array of kitchen supplies. The high-tech computer (also pig-themed). The small, messy pile of women's clothing isn't his. The little stack of romance novels might go either way. The little gold plate on the wall could also go either way.
"Because I don't know three hundred n' sixty-five recipes! Gotta repeat eventually. Pretty sure if anyone lives with me and ain't some kinda shifter they might start gettin' shaped like me eventually if they're not careful." Sam chuckles. He likes cooking. A lot.
Well there's certainly some kind of meat and eggs going on back there. Hard to tell what without getting up and looking.

"Isn't that when you start improvising? You don't always have to go 'by the book' every time. I mean, they say food is an art and art is something you gotta put some soul into, right? Isn't that where they get the term 'soul food' anyway?" Alva asked. She was aware of the term but.. Well, not of what it actually referred to. Still, it might manage to pass as a joke, at least. Speaking of things that were unknown to her, the computer was certainly an... Oddity? Technology of that caliber was basically just some kind of weird magic to her and the only way she could tell the difference between computers and televisions is that computers usually had a board with buttons that had squiggles and letters all over them. The com-pig-utar would get at least a bit of curiosity before noticing the stack of romance novels and immediately she began picking through them for any titles she recognized... OR didn't recognize. Probably the trashier ones, if there were any, might be ones she might recall better for.. No particular reason. "Still, I suppose I'm safe if that's the benchmark of your cooking being 'dangerous' then. I think.." she said. Being able to take the shape of a fox totally counted, right?