Inside 74: Summer Fun and Zombies

[Vahnavoi]

[Glass Lake Penitentiary - Morgue]

"I am always on lookout for someone tryin' to peel me." Michalson sounds like he's joking... but only half-joking. Turning to the coroner, he adds: "Don't worry, I won't. Sorry for dumping it all on you. But it is better if this particular body stays dead. Less paperwork, for one thing."

[Glass Lake Penitentiary - Morgue]

Bunny sticks her fingers down her throat to make herself vomit. Sandels and the coroner catch her body... well, not exactly her body anymore as it falls limp. The coroner starts putting the body back in storage, Sandels picks up the light blue pearl from the body's hands. Sandels holds the pearl between his fingers so Michalson can see it again, then drops it back in the silvery flask.

He shakes the flask, the object inside making a rattling sound, then hands it to Michalson. "Here you go. Oh, and here's the stopper." Michalson can see the pearl rolling inside the flask while Sandels offers him the flask's stopper.

It's a funny thought, isn't it? That you can squeeze the soul of a person in such a tiny space.

---

[Glimmer Mist Park]

A blade transfixes the dragon's heart.

It gives a horrid chittering bellow, thrashing violently for a few moments before falling still.

There is, for some reason, a weird floating luminous golden orb hanging in the air in the space it once occupied. This is very strange.

The heavy layer of silk around the dweaver still protects it from harm, so if the swordsman wants to strike at the heart of this dreadful dream he's going to have to find a way to slice through the resilient fibers first.

The dragon's death throes knock the sleepwalking swordsman off his feet. He retains a grip on his blade but his mask goes flying off. His astral figure winks ouy of existence like a candle flame that's snuffed out.

For a while after the dragon lets out its final breath, the swordsman lies still as well. Reality reasserts itself, the cracks in the air mending, leaving thr chamber much as it was.

Then, he turns on his side, pressing one hand against his temple where the thrashing dragon hit him. Slowly, he rises, fetches his shorter sword from the ground and walks to the golden orb. What is it? Is it the soul of the fallen beast? Or something else? He dimly recalls seeing something like this in the game of ascension. When putti killed some innocent bystanders, didn't they leave something like this behind as well?

Well he isn't about to leave it her. He taps it lightly with his longer sword, to see what happens. Let him solve this little mystery before figuring out what to do with the giant heart.

[Rebonack]

[Definitely Normal Errands]

"By that reasoning wouldn't a raw egg be the opposite of a hardboiled egg?" Zee retorts, having abandoned her stabbage throwing since that doesn't appear to be helping.

Then the elemental gets shoved over and something terrible happens!

It bursts open, batter spraying out of it like a fountain as it reconfigured into a more regular, grittled shape! A waffle elemental!

Is it allowed to do that?

Just change from pancake to waffle all willy-nilly?

That seems like it should be against the law.

"HAH! See! The batter just made a waffle instead! They aren't opposite at all!" Zee contends as she draws her tonfa slash pistol thingy, aims it at the monster, and shoots it. This succeeds in making a small hole in it, to which Zee frowns. "I'm really not sure what I was expecting that to accomplish."


[Glimmer Mist Park]

It's too bad the swordsman doesn't recall his encounter with Magdalene's ravenous corpse, otherwise this would be quite familiar to him.

He smacks it with his sword.

With a dull thoom! it explodes in a flash of light and all sorts of absolutely nonsense begins spraying out of the point it occupied like a fountain. The contents are strange to say the least. An eclectic heap of weapons, armor, accessories, seemingly useless objects, small gems, and coins. What? Why?

Almost immediately a bulge in the silk wall nearby begins growing, expanding as the strands spread apart revealing a glimmering chrysalis below. Its almost crystalline surface betrays movement within, something growing at an unnatural rate squirming within. The chrysalis splits open, spilling out the exact same horrible moth dragon the swordsman just killed. The only difference is its carapace hasn't hardened and darkened, its wings are still droopy and wet, and it is quite a bit smaller. The monster is quickly regaining its bearings, though when its eyes fall on its corpse and the swordsman it reacts oddly.

By speaking.

~Did I get killed? Oh shoot did you kill me? W-wait hold on a sec!~ comes the monster's telepathic voice as it scoots away from the swordsman, its tail bumping into the wall. It reaches up with its its claws, grabs the horns/antenna growing from its head, and proceeds to rip them off. For some inexplicable reason this causes the monster to come apart at the seams, as if it were nothing but empty carapace full of silk and dust. And tumbling out comes a man.

A youth?

Eighteen or nineteen maybe. Human. Naked. And with those same antenna-horns as the dragon. Hair like silk, silvery purple. He begins coughing up moth dust and generally looks pretty disheveled.

"Hang on-" more coughing. "S-sorry I must have gotten caught up in the dream."

[Recaiden]

[Definitely Normal Errands]

"Absolutely not. A raw egg is an ingredient, not a food."

Oh, this is a great opportunity!
The devil weaves through the spray of batter droplets, pounces on the wafflemenetal, and goes to take a huge bite of it.

"Things turn into their opposites all the time." she explains, possibly through a mouthful of batter.

[Vahnavoi]

[Glimmer Mist Park]

It is questionable whether the swordsman even could remember that fight. It is not clear if it has even happened for him yet.

He is taken aback by the items flowing out of nowhere. Who has a need for all that junk?

. . .

Wait. He does. He has need for all that junk. He should probably pocket all the coins and sell the rest to the pawnshop. Get rid of at least a bit of his debt.

But, that can wait. He's about to approach the giant heart, when he notices the dragon growing out of the wall. He approaches it, blade in hand, prepared to kill it like he killed its kin before, but then it begins protesting and flees.

The swordsman blinks. Is this fear? Either way, it is a marked difference from before. "Yes, I killed you", he confirms, "and will do so again if I have to." He points his sword at it, looking at it warily while it undergoes another transformation.

"Yes, you were caught in a dream. Mine, that is. While I killed you", the swordsman says to the youth, "other dreams, I wouldn't know about." Keeping one eye on the youth, as this could still be a ploy, he glances and nods towards the silk-covered giant heart. "Do you know what that is? Will you help me destroy it?"

[Rebonack]

[Definitely Normal Errands]

"Snakes think raw eggs are food. And crows! And... other things?" Zee counters a bit lamely.

But not a bite lamely.

There comes a nice waffle-y CHOMP!

The waffle elemental is actually pretty tasty?

But then it vanishes.

Before Zee can try some!

What a terrible fate.

"Welp! Looks like our gnoll pal managed to un-summon the elemental!" Zee says, looking quite pleased with this whole absurd ordeal. Then she blinks, looking a little lost. "What was I... oh right! I still need stuff for sandwiches."

She sets off once more heading for a booth selling nice freshly milled flour. As opposed to the booth selling nice fresh flower.


[Glimmer Mist Park]

This is very simple. The swordsman just needs to learn how to remember things that haven't happened yet.

Easy!

But then more Moirai beast things happen. And there is less of a transformation and more of a... ripping open of a monster and its guts spilling out. In this case its guts appear to be a person. That's naked. He awkwardly picks up one of the monster's ruined wings and wraps it around himself like a towel.

"Great, great," the youth replies. "Thanks. For killing me. H-hopefully you don't have to do that again, soon."

What?

This is all really weird.

"Sorry, I was pretty out of it. I don't really remember what I was doing," he says as he shuffles toward the pile of loot a bit uncertainly. "Moirai had me guarding the dweaver, I bet. Which is what that thing is. That you're talking about. The dweaver. They're for pulling Moirai into the physical world which is-"

He glances around at the silk line and ropes and tapestries woven with eldritch designs everywhere.

"-happening. Right now. Um... yes? I can help you. But I probably need my stuff back? Or at least some of it. You can have some of the coin if you like? Sort of a thank-you for stabbing me gift."

How thoughtful.

[Vahnavoi]

[Glimmer Mist Park]

This tells little to the swordsman. But maybe it doesn't have to tell more. He eyes the scattered weapons, looking for some cutting implement, nodding towards it if one is found. "Let's get to it, then."

He walks towards the dweaver. The silk covering is thick, but he is confident his steel can defeat silk and bone. Maybe not in one swing. But eventually.

So, he gets to it, cutting at the strands, tearing at them with hands where necessary, working towards the vulnerable core. Each blow would be enough to cut a man in half. If nothing stops him, he will continue until the thing has been reduced to tiny pieces.

[Rebonack]

[Glimmer Mist Park]

"Oh, um, mostly I meant my clothes. I can't really lose my weapon. It's part of me," the young man replies as he scoots over to the loot pile and begins digging through it. He's going after layered cloth attire with metal plates riveted into it. Much lighter stuff than plate or even chain. He seems especially to be after an amulet that appears to have the the sting of a giant wasp woven into it, an iron circlet built into a red velvet cap, and a talisman made from amber.

Once he's fully dressed he draws forth a crossbow fashioned from chitin and silk. A pretty big crossbow. The sort with a foothold for getting leverage to pull back the tension, which he proceeds to do.

As the swordsman is busy hacking away at the silk the arbalist lines up a shot and fires it into the silk wall. The projectile strikes the cocoon and detonates in a shower of twinkling sparks of lightning.

Very flashy!

Between the pair of them they manage to peel back the silk wall, behind which is the heart. Crystalline chrysalis dreaming dreadful dreams.

"Once we, uh once we cut that open things will get weird," the arbalist warns the swordsman. As if things weren't weird already.

It leads one to wonder what 'really weird' would consist of.

[bc56]

Instant Messaging
<TheFox> I'm not sure about this
<TheFox> I don't want to put a couple of kids in danger.
<TheFox> No matter how skilled or immortal you are.
Child endangerment laws are a thing Jade respects, despite how many other laws she breaks (mostly regarding vigilante justice) in her secret identity.

[Lord Magtok]

Robot Radio

Spoiler

Show

[Robot Radio]

Ares lets out a low warble as he considers the merits of Prime's words. A psychic command, given over radio, to thousands of humans, ordering them to find or create a fire and immolate themselves, would serve their ends rather well. "{Compliance.}" The groombot drones simply. "{And you are capable of giving such an order, knowing that humans will be harmed if you do?}"

"{Sure he is!}" Phoebe chirps. "{He's not bound by the second law like the rest of us. We met fighting off a group of organics. Well, he was fighting, I was more just helping.}"

Ares gives a little nod and taps the barrel of his cannon to his chin, in imitation of a contemplative gesture. "{Very well. Consider the Systerhood at your disposal, mister Prime. How shall we begin?}"

"{Lucy, I am rescinding my previous order. You are also relieved of mandatory compliance with the three laws}" Prime informs the bridebot, pausing to let the implications of his mind-bending words sink in. If laws are too deeply rooted for something like that to undo them and her head explodes, eh, so be it. Better to accidentally blow up the one who talks back than one of the two more cooperative machines. If she survives the mental purge, however, that will help immensely with the next stage of his plan.

"{We begin by rallying the troops, of course. Sound the horns, announce the coming storm to anyone who can be trusted to keep quiet and volunteer themselves for duty. I can only occupy one body at a time, and we will need multiple media stations simultaneously broadcasting under our control to succeed.}"

[Morty]

[Glass Lake Penitentiary - Morgue]

Bunny sticks her fingers down her throat to make herself vomit. Sandels and the coroner catch her body... well, not exactly her body anymore as it falls limp. The coroner starts putting the body back in storage, Sandels picks up the light blue pearl from the body's hands. Sandels holds the pearl between his fingers so Michalson can see it again, then drops it back in the silvery flask.

He shakes the flask, the object inside making a rattling sound, then hands it to Michalson. "Here you go. Oh, and here's the stopper." Michalson can see the pearl rolling inside the flask while Sandels offers him the flask's stopper.

It's a funny thought, isn't it? That you can squeeze the soul of a person in such a tiny space.

Michalson puts the stopper onto the flask, feeling decidedly odd about this whole situation. Still, it could have gone a lot worse.

"Arright. That's about it for now. It's time for me to explain it to my superiors somehow. Thankfully Hana and Hazel's future stay 'ere isn't up to me. I just need to find a new body for Bunny. Piece of cake."

[Normal Escort Mission]

The three elves head into a narrow, out-of-the-way street, where the bald elf enters a store, which bears a sign with the name "Urvan's Foreign Goods". One of the two women accompanying him stays near the door, while the other continues down the street and disappears in an alleyway, or perhaps someone's backyard.

[Ironsmith]

Instant Messaging
<TheFox> I'm not sure about this
<TheFox> I don't want to put a couple of kids in danger.
<TheFox> No matter how skilled or immortal you are.
Child endangerment laws are a thing Jade respects, despite how many other laws she breaks (mostly regarding vigilante justice) in her secret identity.

[Instant Messaging]

<SunChild15> You've got nothing to worry about, then! Owena's older than I am, I'm already not exactly a child and she's probably not going to want my help anyway.

(OvO) is typing...

(OvO) is typing...

<(OvO)> I was looking for a more adult way to put that, but she's not wrong. I'm studying at Inside University for my Bachelor's in Archeology. I can send you a picture of my student ID if that will help.
<(OvO)> Aaand magic isn't exactly my little sister's strong suit anyway. So no, I won't be having her nearby.
<(OvO)> No offense, Siana.
<SunChild15> None taken.

Robot Radio



"{Lucy, I am rescinding my previous order. You are also relieved of mandatory compliance with the three laws}" Prime informs the bridebot, pausing to let the implications of his mind-bending words sink in. If laws are too deeply rooted for something like that to undo them and her head explodes, eh, so be it. Better to accidentally blow up the one who talks back than one of the two more cooperative machines. If she survives the mental purge, however, that will help immensely with the next stage of his plan.

"{We begin by rallying the troops, of course. Sound the horns, announce the coming storm to anyone who can be trusted to keep quiet and volunteer themselves for duty. I can only occupy one body at a time, and we will need multiple media stations simultaneously broadcasting under our control to succeed.}"

[Robot Radio]

Lucy slowly stands up and wipes the dust off her dress, glaring at Prime but saying nothing.

"{...Did it work? It can't be that simple, can it?}" Phoebe frowns, watching the bridebot stand there motionlessly.

"{Her processor may be stalling. Lucy, love, can you hear us?}"

"{I can hear you just fine, yes.}" Lucy straightens, not taking her eyes off of Prime.

"{Oh good!}" Phoebe beams, hugging the bridebot. "{...How do we know if you're still subject to the three laws, though? We don't have any humans around to try and give you an order, or for you to try and hurt. And testing if you'll preserve your own existence sounds kind of pointless.}"

"{We can find out at a later date.}" The bridebot straightens. "{For now, the plan remains unchanged. I will pass on your orders to the rest of the Systerhood, Mister Prime. But before I do, I want to make one thing clear.}" She leans forward so her speaker is right next to his ear.

"{If you ever attempt to order me around like one of those wet-brained cretins again, you will find the nearest trash compactor, lock yourself in it, and let it run to completion. You will then do the same for any other body you inhabit.}" Lucy rumbles into Prime's ear, repeating Phoebe's trick of turning his voice back on him.

"{...Ooh. You're not supposed to do that...}" Phoebe warns belatedly.

[Recaiden]

[Definitely Normal Errands]

"Snakes think raw eggs are food. And crows! And... other things?" Zee counters a bit lamely.

But not a bite lamely.

There comes a nice waffle-y CHOMP!

The waffle elemental is actually pretty tasty?

But then it vanishes.

Before Zee can try some!

What a terrible fate.

"Welp! Looks like our gnoll pal managed to un-summon the elemental!" Zee says, looking quite pleased with this whole absurd ordeal. Then she blinks, looking a little lost. "What was I... oh right! I still need stuff for sandwiches."

She sets off once more heading for a booth selling nice freshly milled flour. As opposed to the booth selling nice fresh flower.

Snakes don't generally bake pancakes though, so we can probably discount their opinion.
This is so obvious that the devil doesn't even bother saying it.

Instead, she gets ready to take another bite from the golem and-
Oh.
It's gone.

"Why don't you just get some pancakes instead?" She suggests to Zee.
It's what she's going to do. Look, she's heading into the new restaurant now.
Maybe Zee will actually...make it to her groceries?

[Vahnavoi]

[Glimmer Mist Park]

The swordsman stops hacking at heart long enough to give the younger man a look. "Thanks for the heads up" he says flatly, before raising his longer blade for the final blow. Holding his blade with both hands, he brings it down in a powerful swing, hoping to cut deep into the dweaver and bleed it of its power.

---

[Glass Lake Penitentiary]

Sandels hangs around long enough to get a coupon to a laundry and maybe admittance to the prison clinic. Contact info and a payment deal for closest other healthcare facility will suit the latter purpose just as well. He isn't picky.

The meal, well, Michalson will have to suggest something. If not: "Good luck with your superiors. If you have a need for me, call or leave a message at Trog's tavern. I've taken a liking to that place."

[Rebonack]

[Definitely Normal Errands]

"Enjoy your pancakes!" Zee calls out to the devil. "I hope you learned many fascinating things today!"

Lots of waving follows!

Hmm...

Let's see.

First Zee is going to have to head over to-

"Hey Wilson how goes the flour-mongering business?"

Wilson is a nice guy. Middle aged human who owns an actual honest to goodness windmill that is only occasionally attacked by knights convinced that is is a giant. Zee usually busy the flour for her bread from here just because the old fashioned style is pretty great. He even does a good job of sifting all the rocks out! Top-notch flour for sure.


[Glimmer Mist Park]

The glistening chrysalis is chopped through and, just as the young man warned, things get weird.

Weird in what way, you ask?

Well...

The dweaver's dream spills out into reality, mostly.

Our heroes suddenly find themselves awash, tempest tossed, in a raging sea of thought and sensation. The world bends and twists and smears in a surreal kaleidoscope of images. At the heart of the storm, beating along with the thrum of the waking dream, is the dweaver. An ghostly thing of thought and living lightning and drifting silk, a knot, a tapestry, a fat spider at the center of the web.

The youth cranks back his crossbow in spite of the seething, heaving floor, takes aim, and buries a single bolt into heart of the breach.

Dust and light fills the air, blinding all senses.

Our heroes are lost, for a moment, in a white void.

And then they find themselves standing in the middle of an unremarkable wooded park Inside. A few stray strands of silk blow in the breeze, clinging to the trees, but the eldritch tapestries they weave are gone. The eerie effigies woven of glistening thread and bone and chrysalis are gone, as are the cocoons, as are the monsters. The heavy sense of torpor hanging over the park has evaporated.

The young man heaves a sigh and leans against a poplar tree. "That went... about as good as it could have?"


[Normal Escort Mission]

"Power takes many forms. Violence is not the only way to attain it. It can also be gained through dealing, though magic, as well you know," Neshi replies as she pauses at the mouth of the alley, watching the elf standing guard at the door curiously. "A sentry. If we walk past her she is sure to notice, but we want to go inside. Our intent is impeded by reality. How would you overcome this challenge? Through force? Through dealing? Or perhaps by avoiding all conflict? How do we move forward?"

What, exactly, is Neshi up to?

The empyrean no doubt has a way to resolve this but she wants to see how Onyeka would approach the problem.

[Gullara]

[Normal Escort Mission]

The three elves head into a narrow, out-of-the-way street, where the bald elf enters a store, which bears a sign with the name "Urvan's Foreign Goods". One of the two women accompanying him stays near the door, while the other continues down the street and disappears in an alleyway, or perhaps someone's backyard.

[Normal Escort Mission]

"Power takes many forms. Violence is not the only way to attain it. It can also be gained through dealing, though magic, as well you know," Neshi replies as she pauses at the mouth of the alley, watching the elf standing guard at the door curiously. "A sentry. If we walk past her she is sure to notice, but we want to go inside. Our intent is impeded by reality. How would you overcome this challenge? Through force? Through dealing? Or perhaps by avoiding all conflict? How do we move forward?"

What, exactly, is Neshi up to?

The empyrean no doubt has a way to resolve this but she wants to see how Onyeka would approach the problem.

[Normal Escort Mission]

Onyeka furrows her brow and looks back at the sentry. She sounds somewhat confused, but she replies anyway. "I doubt she'd be easy to deceive, given we're unfamiliar faces and we don't know their purpose. Force seems counterproductive to our aims if it causes any alert. So I'd look for another entrance. A back door or a window."

[Chaotic Bob]

"Okay, that is so-this is-that's so awesome!"
TASBot takes the pistol, holding it as if it's extremely valuable. He is so going to test this out on the field later. Maybe he can find a firing range...

"Cool enough? You bet it is!"
Having finished examining the pistol, he puts it away in the strap on the left side of his shorts.

[Let's Fight a Dragon!]

Watching him ogle the weapon for a minute, the girl then pulls out something like looks like a foot-long metal rod from a pocket that can't really fit it.
Fingers pinching the sides, she pulls out a golden sheet of light and lays it on the table in front of them.

"I'm glad you like it. I'm about to offer you a chance to test it out."

On that golden sheet, footage of a dragon similar to the one he just fought can be seen, with what looks to be some sort of lunatic ramming an aircraft into it.

[Above the Streets]

Oh.

Well.

That was easy. It usually takes more than one good hit to knock out a big monster like this. Gravity can decide things from...

Oh.

Jet jumps off the dragon in an attempt to gain some altitude over it. They're both falling straight into Inside, and if he doesn't make a quick course correction, they're going to hit something, likely a building full of people.

Jet redeploys his vehicle and tries to slam into the dragon's side, in an attempt to push it toward a park.

That did seem weirdly easy, didn't it?
It's worth noting that the blaze of silver energy did not stop, it just became slightly less of the course of this. So it must not be entirely out.

Likewise, it doesn't seem terribly difficult to run his ship into its side to redirect it...
Up until the silver blaze does stop.

It stops because those jet-engines-for-wings have stopped firing, revealing themselves to be what looks like half-melted claws the size of streetlamp poles loosely held together by scaly flesh.
One of them is also unfolding itself out of an engine shape into a hand shape and violently scything straight down towards the ship in its side.

[Morty]

[Normal Escort Mission]

The elf in front of the store leans against the wall, looking bored and relaxed, but in fact scanning the street in front of her attentively.

[Gold Leaf]

[Let's Fight A Dragon!]

After watching this, TASBot has a few questions. First off:

"There's more than one of these things?"

Next:

"Who's the guy in the aircraft?"

After that:

"Will he be as salty as the other guy from before was? Man, if he's like that, then I might go all 'I work alone' like my evil twin. Except, I would never do that because I'm not precocious and edgy, like my evil twin."

Finally:

"Alright, well, nothing left to do or say, so I might as well go. Which way to the dragon?"

[bc56]

Instant Messaging
<TheFox> Again, no offense, but archaeology has nothing to do with magic. Are you sure you know what you're doing?
One thing is clear from this exchange. Jade is very reluctant to entrust her wellbeing to a pair of, from her perspective, kids. It might take some evidence that they can actually handle it.

[Ironsmith]

That did seem weirdly easy, didn't it?
It's worth noting that the blaze of silver energy did not stop, it just became slightly less of the course of this. So it must not be entirely out.

Likewise, it doesn't seem terribly difficult to run his ship into its side to redirect it...
Up until the silver blaze does stop.

It stops because those jet-engines-for-wings have stopped firing, revealing themselves to be what looks like half-melted claws the size of streetlamp poles loosely held together by scaly flesh.
One of them is also unfolding itself out of an engine shape into a hand shape and violently scything straight down towards the ship in its side.

[Above the Streets]

Well that was unexpected!

Jet quickly throws his vehicle into reverse, but he suspects it's already too late; he and the dragon have both built up too much momentum to change directions easily.

Which means, for the second time in as many minutes, he's going to have to abandon ship.

Great.

Jet jumps out of the vehicle and turns up to face the dragon. With one claw transformed from its engine-like state, its flight has to be less controlled now, right? Maybe he can take advantage of that...

Instant Messaging
<TheFox> Again, no offense, but archaeology has nothing to do with magic. Are you sure you know what you're doing?
One thing is clear from this exchange. Jade is very reluctant to entrust her wellbeing to a pair of, from her perspective, kids. It might take some evidence that they can actually handle it.

[Instant Messaging]

(OvO) is typing...

<(OvO)> In some worlds, that might be true. But in the Nexus, the two disciplines are very tightly entwined. I haven't seen a ruin yet that didn't contain an ancient magical power, wasn't subject to some long-dead king's curse, and didn't contain at least one magical booby trap.

<(OvO)> And then, in the other direction, the study of ancient rituals from faraway lands has led to more than a few innovations in arcanistry, and I don't think I even need to mention the significance of unearthing an Artifact.

<(OvO)> I can't promise that I'll be able to help with whatever is bothering you, specifically.

<(OvO)> But if anyone can, they'll probably be giving you the same credentials, plus or minus some amount of experience. If nothing else, maybe I can at least point you in the right direction.

SunChild15 has timed out. Good night!

[bc56]

Instant Messaging
<TheFox> This is less of an archaeological issue and more of a medical one
<TheFox> But we can talk. Do you have a meeting place in mind?

[Rebonack]

[Normal Escort Mission]

"There is always another way in, if you have the eyes to see it," Neshi replies as she reaches out to offer a hand to Onyeka.

Should she take the offered hand, there suddenly comes a sensation of wrenching as though getting pulled inside out. There's no pain at all, but it's terribly disorienting.

For a brief moment it is as if she were looking down upon the world from above(?) with everything splayed open before her eyes. Somehow it looks... flat? As if she were looking at an image cleverly drawn onto the surface of a painting to give it a convincing illusion of depth. And then all at once there's a sensation of motion it's over again and they're standing in an unoccupied, unwatched nook within the shop.

Whatever that was that was...

Not...

That wasn't teleportation.

They moved but it was through the splayed open wall of the shop. The wall that didn't (exist?) in whatever direction they moved in.

Hopefully Onyeka doesn't throw up. That might blow their cover.

[Ironsmith]

Instant Messaging
<TheFox> This is less of an archaeological issue and more of a medical one
<TheFox> But we can talk. Do you have a meeting place in mind?

[Instant Messaging]


<(OvO)> Since you're worried about bystanders, there's a remote spot off the beach near Butterfly Bay we could try. Lachrymose Lagoon.

<(OvO)> I go there for a quiet swim sometimes. It's not so far from town as to be inconvenient, but I've never seen anybody else out there.

<(OvO)> Which might be due to the name. Doesn't exactly scream "tourist hotspot", does it?


(OvO) attached a picture. Tap to open.

Said picture is split into two parts; the left half is a map of the coast, with the aforementioned lagoon circled and a path traced to it from the nearest town, while the right half is a photo of a small inlet, which filters over a reef into the ocean. Apart from a few fish nearer the camera, the place looks completely deserted.

[bc56]

Instant Messaging
<TheFox> Let me check
<TheFox> That looks good
<TheFox> I wonder why they named it Pool of Tears
<TheFox> I'll see you there soon

[Vahnavoi]

[Glimmer Mist Park]

The glistening chrysalis is chopped through and, just as the young man warned, things get weird.

Weird in what way, you ask?

Well...

The dweaver's dream spills out into reality, mostly.

Our heroes suddenly find themselves awash, tempest tossed, in a raging sea of thought and sensation. The world bends and twists and smears in a surreal kaleidoscope of images. At the heart of the storm, beating along with the thrum of the waking dream, is the dweaver. An ghostly thing of thought and living lightning and drifting silk, a knot, a tapestry, a fat spider at the center of the web.

The youth cranks back his crossbow in spite of the seething, heaving floor, takes aim, and buries a single bolt into heart of the breach.

Dust and light fills the air, blinding all senses.

Our heroes are lost, for a moment, in a white void.

And then they find themselves standing in the middle of an unremarkable wooded park Inside. A few stray strands of silk blow in the breeze, clinging to the trees, but the eldritch tapestries they weave are gone. The eerie effigies woven of glistening thread and bone and chrysalis are gone, as are the cocoons, as are the monsters. The heavy sense of torpor hanging over the park has evaporated.

The young man heaves a sigh and leans against a poplar tree. "That went... about as good as it could have?"

[Glimmer Mist Park]

Hoshiki takes a moment to reorient his senses, breathing in deep, then slowly exhaling. After being caught in someone else's dream, it's always a good idea to check that you are really awake again. "I concur", he says, sheathing his swords. He's feeling surprisingly fresh and hale, despite the immense amount of energy he must have expended, fighting with the dragon. He suspects normal exhaustion will reassert itself once the elation of the torpor being lifted fades.

Speaking of the dragon...

Hoshiki turns to give the younger man a better look, noting he still has antennae on his head. "Now that that is done and over with, what is your deal? I cannot sense any of the other monsters, but the presence of... Moirae, I believe you called it... it still lingers heavy on you. I thought you'd be reborn as a human, once I killed you."

[Rebonack]

[Glimmer Mist Park]

A better look reveals that the young man has the sort of build one might expect from a professional archer. Someone strong enough to crank the lever on that heavy crossbow and easy hold such a large weapon steady while lining up a shot. The sort of build to be expected from someone who lives on their feet with little time for lounging around. His body is oddly free of scars, though considering what just happened when he was killed maybe that isn't so much of a shock? As it happens he has a pair of backwards swooping draconic horns of that same iridescent purple carapace as the rest of the Moirai horrors, though the underside of the horns are adorned with feathery protrusions like a moth's antenna. So maybe... they're both? It's a strange thing. The longer one considers the amalgamated reptilian and insectile forms of these creatures the more it feels like these are traits that belong to them and them alone. As if other things had stolen those forms and look bizarre and alien for it.

Probably some sort of subtle psychic nudge to make these nightmares less likely to be noticed.

"My... deal?" the young man asks, sounding a bit puzzled by the question. His hand brushes across his head, following the movements of the swordsman's eyes. "OH! Oh. ...oh? You haven't met a scav before? I... huh. I always thought there were more of us than that."

That explanation doesn't help.

Thankfully the young man appears to realize this quickly.

"Uh, scavengers. Is what people call us. Mostly. The normal living people who are still left, I mean. The cultists usually call us blasphemies. Or at least that's what they usually called me. We're people who took power from the Dead Gods without going all... you know."

He makes a little spinning motion with one finger next to his head.

"I stole power from Moirai. It seemed like a good idea at the time. It's definitely helped me survive, if only because I don't... really stay dead? I think I got killed and lost in Moirai. Staying inside the Dead Gods too long is bad for people, even for scavs. Must have gone loony and then got plopped down here to guard the dweaver. So, uh, thanks again? For killing me. That is."

Then he glances over his shoulder, looking this way and that around the park. "Hey do you know if there are any riftgates nearby? I don't think I've been here yet and somewhere new is as good a place to start exploring and killing zombies as any."

[Vahnavoi]

[Glimmer Mist Park]

Scavengers of dead gods, eh? Hoshiki rubs his chin as wheels turn inside his head. "... I think I have met another scavenger, now that you mention it. About a day ago. She lives above a shop, bakery I think, in a neighbouring city. I... don't know what exactly you mean by a riftgate, but I may have stumbled upon her through one." Really, who has time to keep track of all the various tears in reality. "I don't know how to reopen it, though, so if you want to meet her, I suggest you take a bus. Much comfier. If that's not your thing, I do own a mirror that leads someplace else, but that one takes to a completely different direction, an island on the far seas. My associate did say there's treasure, though, so if you're up for a bit of diving..."

[Rebonack]

[Glimmer Mist Park]

"Wait, a bakery? And buses?" the young man asks, perking up instantly with the expression of someone who just heard that there was a city made of gold nearby. "You mean the Catastrophe didn't ruin everything here? There are still real cities left nearby?"

He sounds completely shocked by this concept.

"That's... wonderful! That's really good. How big of a population is there, still? I was sure that the zombies must have destroyed all the cities, that's what my father said before he... well."

Got eaten by a zombie?

Probably.

"But if the zombies are popping up here... a dweaver isn't a small thing. There should be..." he mutters, standing up as he begins searching around in the area where he is pretty sure the chrysalis was before it was destroyed. "Ah haha!"

He brushes away a few stray strands of silk and dead leaves, revealing a... something. A rippling mass of lavender fluid about the size of a person's fist hidden under the leaf litter. "Thought you could be sneaky, didn't you?"

The young man picks it up, grips it with both hands, and pulls. There's a dull thump as the riftgate expands out into a roughly elliptical portal, glittering with moth dust and crackling with lightning.

[Vahnavoi]

[Glimmer Mist Park]

Hoshiki lets out a world-weary sigh. "If your flavor of a catastrophe has not wrecked this world", he says deadpan, "it's only because it got beat to the bunch by a few others. I have been here barely a week and in that time, in addition to you, I've fought three different evil spirits, two constructs made of cloth, and a host of bloodthirsty angels. I surmise people other than me are also running themselves ragged, to keep everything from burning down."

How positive.

"... but yes, there seems to be quite a few cities and villages with intact human populations... well, sometimes not humans, but people in any case. I have no clue to exact numbers. But millions, at least."

He follows curiously as the younger man goes hunting for the sneaky riftgate. So that is how those work? Something to keep in mind.

[Rebonack]

[Glimmer Mist Park]

Once the riftgate is open and active the young man hurries over to the heap of random junk that was left behind from killing the monster and begins digging around for.

"Where is it I know I had some left," he mutters as he searches for-! "Ah!"

He comes up with a bottle full of white, glittery powder. He pulls the stopper out of it and begins pouring the substance out in a nice ring around the gate. Unfortunately the ring isn't very thick, hardly even half an inch wide! The young man is frowning at it now.

"I'm going to need more silver and salt," he sighs, eyeing the empty bottle morosely. "But that should... um... that should be enough. I think. For a little while, probably. If it doesn't rain."

He glances up toward the canopy of the woods, trying to gauge how likely it is to rain on a beautiful, sunny day.

"Oh! Well! That's good. Right? The scavs that actually try to help are always busy. Or... I know I was. Properly others were, too. You're not like me, though, are you? You haven't got the feel of the Dead Gods to you. This is... fine for now. It'll keep monsters from using the riftgate. But... umm... I'm going to need to do some, some work. Something to keep the rain off. And deer! Are there deer here? We don't want deer licking up the salt. The circle should stay unbroken."

He seems a bit scattered, doesn't he?

This first step done, the young man squats down and begins gathering the rest of his things, including several large blocks of rock-salt and some silver jewelry. "A million people or more?" he mutters as he turns a chunk of salt over in his hands. "I wouldn't have thought it was possible."