ChildOfAB !50qq4/3dkY 2011/09/01(Thu)22:45 No. 344843 ID: 895fe6
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You are Cerin and by the gods are you bored. Every moment something is not HAPPENING is a waste of your precious lifetime and there's not another party that you know of for at least an hour. You've only got the mildest buzz of intoxication going in you right now, and that's no good either.

You have just gotten out of one of the four magical springs where you were testifying on your friend's behalf at least 10 minutes ago. It didn't go well. Those Circles of Truth always leave you feeling existentially unfulfilled and with a dull buzz in the back of your head.

Oh well, you've got more friends. What you need right now is a rut. There aren't any particularly attractive ladies or even dudes in the immediate vicinity (you'd consider yourself straight but you're not terribly picky) who aren't still mad at you about something-or-other. You start to consider whether to go to the tavern or dance hall or nymph pond or harpy den or friend's house or even the library (you like a challenge), when you spy two figures coming out of the cloud canopy that surrounds and protects this misty paradise in the middle of the desert.

ChildOfAB !50qq4/3dkY 2011/09/01(Thu)22:46 No. 344844 ID: 895fe6
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Well, hello. You recognize the mushroom girl from...was it that flash mob, or the skinny-dipping party at the upper vista? Maybe she's a regular at that dance hall...

Wait, no! It's that girl who's always hanging out with that Avara. Half-myconid, half-dryad, you remember her explaining once. You're pretty sure you haven't hit that yet. A little less in the front than is ideal, but certainly hippy, and you're anything but the discerning gentleman.

She's got a very tall man or a short half-giant walking with her. He certainly looks tough, but you know how it is with these non-fey. If he's interested in the girl, there's not much he can do against your charismatic onslaught. You're confident you can charm him out of any hostile intentions and the company of the girl with relative ease.

What's your approach?

well he is new, perhaps pretend you are a boarder guard.

If you want to get with the ladies, you need to get along with their friends. Be nothing but cool towards him and a gentleman to her, until given a reason not to be. Walk up and greet her happily, ask about her friend and be just as nice.

Well, they ARE walking out of the desert. Walk up like an old friend acquaintance thingy and invite her back to your place, or the nymph's pond for a wash and a nice drink. Gets so dusty, you know? As for the big one... Why make unnecessary enemies when you could just try for a threesome?

Nymphs grotto might be too strong. Also, her name is Ivet.

Ask her if Avara is anywhere around. More is merrier.

Maybe you can start a welcoming party straight away?

"how you doin'?"

ChildOfAB !50qq4/3dkY 2011/09/06(Tue)23:11 No. 346243 ID: 895fe6
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Naturally, you'll try your best to get on this guy's good side. You take a second to scope out their body language; you want a better idea of what you're dealing with here. They're not making any obvious signs of a relationship, but they're walking fairly close and she doesn't seem to be taking him as any sort of threat to her well-being in spite of his imposing stature. He's looking at her an awful lot, though his expression is very hard to read. To your seasoned eye, it almost seems like all of his facial expressions are deliberate.

Ivet! That was her name. You were worried you couldn't remember it. It occurs to you that traveling through the desert would make her more inclined to go take a swim or have a drink. The nymph pond is actually fed by this spring, so it wouldn't be far...but you're not sure if she's one of those people who's put off by the sight of nymphs being nymphs, and there are other pools along the river.

The question of what she was doing in the desert lingers in your head, and you feel vaguely like something isn't adding up, but you push the feeling aside. You wave your arm and flag them down, calling Ivet's name.

"Hi, Cerin," she replies, rather flatly. The ease with which she recalls your name throws you for a moment. Perhaps you talked (or worse!) to her recently, but got too drunk to remember it properly. "What are you doing up here?" she asks, looking back in the direction she was headed as if she's just getting pleasantries out of the way so she can continue her journey. No introduction for her friend, you note.

"oh, the cloaks pulled me in to court today," you begin, trying to give the impression that dealing with law enforcement is no big deal to a man of your bountiful life experience, "Wanted to know what I saw of this big brawl in the plaza the other day." You look over at Ivet's companion and throw him a smile topped with eyebrow waggle. "But damn, pardon me for saying so, I bet the brawl would have been quite a bit shorter if a man of your stature were present." You extend your hand to the hulking man. You can see him puzzling over how to take your observation for a moment, but he ultimately smiles. The deliberateness of the expression again unnerves you, but he envelops your extended hand in his nonetheless. "Name's Cerin," you say, still smiling.

"Viktor," he replies, his voice so deep you can feel the vibrations in your chest. He looks to Ivet, as if for guidance on how to proceed.

"An honor," you say, turning the direction they were going. "So coming in from beyond the canopy? Where are you two headed?"

"Oh, uh..." Ivet begins, looking up at Viktor. They both remain silent for a moment. "We haven't really figured that out yet..."

"Is that so?" you ask curiously, grabbing hold of that hook before she can continue. You begin to take a few steps towards the cliffside lifts. "Well, I was just about to go for a swim. You must be hot after being out in the desert, why don't you join me?" You suppress a smile as you see weakness on Ivet's face, and she takes a couple of steps in your direction. Viktor, however, remains rooted.

"That actually sounds really nice," Ivet says.

"I think..." Viktor begins, looking back and forth between you and Ivet, "...that we have some things to deal with first." He gives you a pointed look.

Now, you think, the nature of their relationship is revealed. Either the Things That Must Be Dealt With are profound and world-shattering secrets, or Viktor has an unrequited crush on Ivet and this was the best he could come up with to get her alone. Somewhere in the back of your mind, you were hoping for a spirited sparring match of seductive capability, even if you were relatively handicapped by this man's headstart. Now, it had become obvious that he was no match at all, and had no subtlety whatsoever. With that knowledge, you were finding it hard not to repress your subtlety as well, remove him as an obstacle, and mount your prize. Feeling the Fey magic in your blood well up inside you, you fix Viktor's glare with your own, your black eyes meeting his steely grey.

ChildOfAB !50qq4/3dkY 2011/09/06(Tue)23:12 No. 346244 ID: 895fe6
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"I Suggest you go for a swim. It will feel nice."

ChildOfAB !50qq4/3dkY 2011/09/06(Tue)23:12 No. 346245 ID: 895fe6
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Your eyes widen slightly as his gaze remains unwavering. You didn't take him for a particularly strong-willed man. Perhaps he's immune to magical compulsions, possibly with a magic item? He takes a couple of steps forward and clenches his fists; you take a defensive step back and try to stealthily ready your hand on the handle of your rapier. He looks to Ivet and gestures toward you. "Can I?" he asks.

"Viktor! No!" Ivet looks around at the people milling around at the spring complex nearby. "We're right by the courthouse! Someone would see." She turns back and locks eyes with you, smiling warmly. "Besides, I think you had the right idea," she says, walking towards you slowly, her hips swaying gently side to side. "I Suggest we all go swimming, too. The nymph pond is right down the hill, it's nice and secluded."

You smile lazily, as you think about how nice that sounds.

ChildOfAB !50qq4/3dkY 2011/09/06(Tue)23:12 No. 346246 ID: 895fe6
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You are now Viktor, and you are slightly less hungry.

well that was a stroke of luck. a meal just walking up to us like that. we should see if we can attract more meals by looking helpless in a bad part of town at some point.

>>346246
Only slightly? Man, how much do we have to eat? We'll have to travel a lot or else take a big chunk out of the population wherever we're staying.

Anyway we're here, we may as well try out this thing called 'swimming'. If nobody's around you could even relax your transformation a little.

Ask Ivet if it's likely you'll be able to get much food here. If not we'll probably have to go back to the ruins for that. Also, what was that about needing to deal with some things?

(Did Viktor just eat Cerin? Nice.)

Ask Ivet who that delicious meal was. He seemed to be a jerk.

(Funny thing is that he was probably right with both guesses at the nature of their relationship.)

take a few huge gulps of water. because while blood IS wet and filling, it is thick. after ivet is done we should find someone who may know a lot about ancient civilizations. they may know what the triangle or circles that you saw in the dream may mean, or the birds or the men. perhaps even offer information about what you are.

>Aloofly ask Ivet where she knows the smooth-talker from.

>>346253

Whoops, *knew

ChildOfAB !50qq4/3dkY 2011/09/07(Wed)00:17 No. 346255 ID: 895fe6
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You stand a little awkwardly in the water under the tree as Ivet spreads out on the bank, one foot dipped in. She's done that weird morphing thing again where she changes what would be her clothes. You wanted to talk to her about where to go from here, what your goals are, and maybe where she fits in them, but right now you can't stop thinking about how you might morph out of what's passing for armor on you and try this swimming thing. A breeze blows through the pond, shaking the reeds and the vines hanging from the gargantuan tree above you, and you can faintly hear the sounds of the nymphs and their amorous activities somewhere on the other side of the wall of reeds.

You look down at the rippling, unfamiliar reflection of your face, and think about the stars last night, and flying with Ivet. You feel uncomfortable, and a little excited, and like you should be saying something, but the breeze in the leaves and the distant giggling are doing all the conversing for you.

Ivet turns her head toward you and you hear her inhale resolutely.

"So uh," she begins, pausing as if mentally reorganizing a long ramble into a coherent sentence, "How do you...feel about me?"

say "i don't really know. i've been in that room so long, i don't remember feeling anything but hunger since... forever. but i enjoy being with you, it is... pleasant."

>>346255
Consider the naked woman in front of you. Does that make you feel any different than if she were wearing clothes? Some sort of attraction perhaps? She's probably asking if you think of her as a potential girlfriend.

But y'know, since she is not someone you want to eat, and has helped you find food... Yeah, we could say she's a friend for sure.

You should sit next to her.

>>346255
...wait a sec.
You can't stop thinking about stripping off your armor and swimming naked in front of this lady instead of talking about business, and you're uncomfortable and excited and feel like you should be saying something?

ARE you attracted to this girl? Examine your feelings carefully.

>>346255
You are confused. You effectively were born less than a day ago with the mind and urges of an adult. Do you even know what you want? Tell her the truth. You can't tell yet. You are excited, but Then 'take off' your armor and swim.

>>346255
>you might morph out of what's passing for armor on you
Do this. Since Ivet did it, it's obviously appropriate here.

>"How do you...feel about me?"
Take a long moment to contemplate this seriously. It's obvious that she's putting some weight on your answer, so it deserves thought.

Even if we don't determine anything regarding physical attraction or decide we're not interested in her that way, at the very least I think we can honestly say that we would rather be in her company than not.

we know we enjoy her company. in exactly what way we don't know. we don't have anyone to compare with, and we are not even sure if we have a sex drive or not.

Did she just mind-control the guy into a spot where he could get eaten more easily? That's pretty cold-blooded. I guess he tried it first, but still...

I guess we don't have much room to judge, considering we eat people. Actually, I guess that makes her pretty perfect for us.

Don't say anything. Just kiss her.

A surprisingly loaded question. Well no matter what tell Ivet that she is quite beautiful, with a raw aspect. She is interesting and lively so if you were to be locked up in a room for another eternity it wouldn't be so bad if she was there with you, oh wait that's not quite a good thing, but I guess it's a compliment.

Is she using her foot to soak up water?

Try to swim using your super flexible body. Like suck water into your body and press it out at high speed so you move through the water like a torpedo. It might be good to get used to maneuvering in water in case you need to hunt at sea or something. Mermaids would probably be a good addition to your diet. Also hold your nose and expand your cheeks like you're exhaling as you make water shoot out your 'ears'. That'll make Ivet laugh.

>>346255
Meeting her was one of the best things that ever happened to you; she's a great traveling companion any your lifeline to a strange and confusing world.
More importantly? You smiled when she fell asleep in your arms, you've protected her when she was threatened, you went out of your way to bring her home knowing it would cost you a chance at the uncounted meals in the dungeon, you can't keep your eyes off her, and you drink in her presence like a man stumbling upon a desert oasis.

There is a proper response here.
Move over to her, put your arms around her, and hold her close to put your bodies in contact.
"It has been so long I do not know how to tell what I feel, but I do know I have great interest in you and am drawn to stay by your side. Being with you is better than eating."

>>346515
Smooth move! I like it.

>>346515

Alright, I'm going to be straight with you here. If a guy said that to me, I would try really hard not to laugh in his face. And Ivet seems like the kind of girl who would do just that.

I would skirt her question. You don't know how she feels about you, so you don't want to put your heart on your sleeve just yet. Give her some inconclusive answer about how you're not quite sure.

>>347427

yeah.

>>347427

Seven has delusions of poetry.

>>346255

"You are my first friend in this new life. Doesn't that say it all?"

Seriously. No painfully clumsy, nauseatingly sappy, diabeetus-causingly saccharine PICKUP LINES that only faintly resemble something a person would actually say. Stop trying to rush this.

>>347448
This is the sanest thing to say.

ChildOfAB !50qq4/3dkY 2011/09/11(Sun)12:07 No. 347621 ID: 895fe6
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You feel from the way she presents the question to you that its answer is important to her, but you aren't sure how. You consider your feelings carefully and answer honestly, perhaps playing it a bit safe.

"I can't say that I know how I feel about you, Ivet. I enjoy being with you, but I don't fully understand what that means, yet."

ChildOfAB !50qq4/3dkY 2011/09/11(Sun)12:08 No. 347622 ID: 895fe6
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After a moment, she lets out a quiet "hmm," and looks away. You wish you were better at reading expressions, as it seems very important to you to know how your response affected her, even though you've only known her for about a day and a half. She stares up into the rustling leaves above for a minute. You feel like you want some sort of measurable response out of her, and the silence is dragging long, so you elaborate. "You are my first friend in this new life. Doesn't that say it all?" She smiles, chuckles slightly, and sits up.

"Let's go swimming," she says, and dives into the water. Her head pops up near you in the water and she grins. "Gotta say, you look kinda silly wearing a fur cloak and metal armor in the water. You should change out of that stuff. I mean, um, nudity really isn't a big deal, at least if you're not in an official building. I mean I guess you could wear some shorts or something, but that would be silly unless... I mean, do you know what a naked dude looks like?"

"I think so," you reply, and shapeshift appropriately. "How do I look?"

She smiles and swims off into deeper water. "Kinda hard to tell when you're half in the water!" she says. "C'mon."

ChildOfAB !50qq4/3dkY 2011/09/11(Sun)12:08 No. 347623 ID: 895fe6
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The two of you swim through the reeds and dive into deeper water. You're finding it slightly difficult to stay afloat; you're still a good bit denser like this than in your natural form, but you find a way to make it work by discreetly pulling water into your body and firing jets of it out of your hands and feet. She circles you under the water and comes back to the surface out in the main area. There are a few nymphs and other assorted creatures in the distance, but no one nearby.

She smiles. "Looks good to me."

You pull more water into your body and fire a stream of it out of each ear, much to Ivet's amusement. "How about now?" you ask.

"Hahaha!" Ivet laughs. The two of you chuckle and swim out further into the pond, and you see a few nymphs glance over in your direction. Ivet looks at you and smiles, a little sadly. "So, what happens now? Are you going to leave me here and go back to those caves? Or, you could stick around for a little bit?" Her face brightens. "You've still got all those old gold pieces to do something with, you know, or...you don't have to decide now, I kinda want to head back to my place real quick. We could hang out, go to a party or something."

"What party?" you ask, confused.

"There's always a party," she answers. She waves to one of the nearby nymphs and shouts, "Hey, where's the party?"

"Under the birch by the east spring! Half an hour" she replies, then points at you. "Y'better bring him!" She smiles and waves to you.

Ivet chuckles. "See, there you go. So, um, what do you want to do?"

>>347623
Stay with Ivet.
She wants you to stay with her, and even though you can't even tell what your emotions are you know you feel like being with her and care how she feels about you.

I don't see any downside in staying with her either; here's your entire list of goals unrelated to her:
1: Don't die.
2: Eat tasty things.

Staying with her doesn't conflict with any of these, and with no reason to leave and ample reasons to stay I'd say it's an open and shut case. Tell her you would be happy to stay with her.

As far as the party goes? One of the reasons you went with Ivet in the first place is to learn about the world and the people in it, so you might as well go. Just observe people to see how they interact, and follow Ivet's lead on how to behave.

>>347628
Good points, all.

Really, the only problem is going to be finding things to eat. Ask her about that. ...also you should note that you need to find more... special things to eat, so that you can clear your head further. That's pretty important, so we can't stay here forever... but there's nothing keeping us from coming back.

>>347623
We go back to the caves if for some reason the surface is too dangerous to stay on or we are unable to feed ourselves adequately here. Unless one of those comes to pass, we might as well stay with Ivet and do what she wants. Her place sounds fine, it could be interesting to see what sort of things we might purchase with these gold discs, and if she wants to go to a party that would be fine.

It's not like we're in any kind of rush here. We were in a catatonic state for years; what are a few days, weeks, or months spent idling while we slowly learn more about the world and ourselves, and perhaps grow stronger? As long as we can get plenty of food on the way, of course.

>>347636
This, and have sex with Ivet.

>>347623
Explain to her that without her you would simply be a monster. You have exactly two emotions unrelated to her: Hunger and fear. You'll follow her wherever she wants to go.

no more explaining. is just repeating things.

anyway, after the party we should ask about who would be the oldest person here. who may of been around where you were out of the room last.

>>347662

yeah. seriously.

Stay and learn more about this world. First of all we should get to know the locals with Ivet's help, find out who is who, etc.

Also, they are bound to discuss Avara and Ivet's failed mission at some point, as well as the Talpids' new religion. That may be a good opportunity to find out more about the Elder Gods, if the Fey know anything about them.

>>347661
Or maybe we should NOT tell Ivet what a monster we could be.

How about you find somewhere to pawn off the majority of those coins and gems? You may be better off selling the ancient coins to collectors rather than just cashing them in for their sheer metal value. Find and hire a middleman who deals in antiques and collectable goods and he can spend some time getting good deals for you.

>>347831
>That may be a good opportunity to find out more about the Elder Gods, if the Fey know anything about them.
That'd make a good cover story: You're a scholar studying the Elder Gods.

>>347930
If we were a scholar, we would know something about it. Lets just say we were interested in it be some carvings we saw in our travels.

>>347928
Pretty sure she knows, mang.

ChildOfAB !50qq4/3dkY 2011/09/12(Mon)21:21 No. 348079 ID: 895fe6
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You smile as best as your unnatural form is able (you've been having trouble controlling your unfamiliar facial features) and respond, "A party sounds like it would be interesting. I'd like to learn more about how civilization works. Or about a lot of things, really."

She grins enthusiastically. "Awesome! I should say I've heard that outsiders are kinda surprised by Fey parties and to let them know what to expect but I guess you've never been to a party at all so you're not really expecting anything, but then I don't want to scare you so I guess I should let you know that it's going to be kind of crazy. I wonder if you can drink? I guess you weigh a lot so it would take a lot of alcohol to do anything, but then again you've got a crazy digestive system so maybe it wouldn't do anything at all. We should find out, for science."

"Speaking of eating things, what am I going to do about that while I'm here?"

"Probably the same thing we just did. I mean, I have a bunch of friends here, but I also know a lot of people who are huge jerks, so I guess ask me first so you don't eat anybody I like. Oh, and I guess we can do the whole livestock thing too, once we get your money thing sorted out." She grins slightly. "There's definitely a couple people I know that you need some 'private time' with, though. I mean, you're not my personal people-disposer, but, y'know, since you're gonna be eating people anyway, might as well make the best of it." Something about the way she says that excites you and you grin widely. She takes notice and chuckles. "You like that idea, huh? Hmm..."

"So what about these coins and rubies? Who are we going to sell them to? Is anyone here old enough to know what makes them valuable?"

"Haha, they don't have to be old enough to remember. I'm really not sure who's a collector, but I know there's a museum and library down in the plaza in the middle there, so that might be a good place to start." She looks up and taps her chin thoughtfully. "Though now that you mention it, Mother Oasis herself is pretty old. She's a Genasi, sort of a half-elemental thing, and she doesn't really age or anything. I think the other half is a Lamia. But then, I guess you can't really be half-elemental by parentage, since elementals aren't really living things, so she probably became that way later, which I guess means she was all-Lamia at some point." She blinks and shakes her head. "Sorry. What was I... Oh yeah. Coins. Gems. Museum. Yep."

You chuckle at her rambling and continue, "Where is the plaza? Actually, where is everything? I don't know my way around here."

"Tell you what, we need to walk back to my place anyway, and there's some pretty good views of everything on the way. I'll show you where it all is while we walk."

ChildOfAB !50qq4/3dkY 2011/09/12(Mon)21:21 No. 348080 ID: 895fe6
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After going back to the shore, morphing back into your clothing (something that's not armor, this time), and picking up Ivet's staff, the two of you start up a path that winds up the side of an adjacent cliff face. When you get a little higher, it meets up with a larger path with many different types of creatures walking along. You see satyrs and dryads, clusters of pixies conversing animatedly with each other, short humanoids with pointed ears and golden hair, several varieties of animated plants, harpies flying overhead, and other assorted beings. The majority of them seem to be Fey, but you spot a handful of humans, a cluster of kobolds, a woman with a spider's abdomen and legs, and what looks like a blue, beardless dwarf.

Besides some of the lumbering tree-folk, you are at least a head above most of them. You also have a much sturdier build; the average being around here seems to be lean and quick, and you're heavier-built even than the other (rare) humans that you see.

The two of you take a branching path that leads to one of the many tunnels proceeding into the side of the cliffs, and Ivet stands at the edge of the hole and directs your eye out over the landscape. "Okay," she begins, pointing to a large circular stone structure in the very center, "That's the plaza. You can see the four springs around the edge. They've got stable portals to the Elemental Plane of Water in them that cause continuous rivers that flow down into the plaza. The buildings the springs come from have lifts down to a little network of tunnels that meet up at the plaza as well.

"Some of that water is used to fuel that giant column," she points to the undulating, swirling blue pillar rising from the top of the plaza, "which goes straight through Mother Oasis's palace and then branches out and turns into the cloud canopy." She points out several rows of squarish structures on the opposite side of the crater. "Those are the official living spaces. People with money live there, and it's pretty much the only property citizens can 'own'. The rest of us live out here, or underground, or wherever, technically on public property. It means the cloaks can scoop people up out here pretty much indiscriminately if they have a reason to, but they usually don't unless something gets destroyed or something."

She points to a couple of the humongous rectangular buildings in the cliffside. "Those are mostly where the businesses and guilds and churches are. The ones that aren't pretty or rich enough to be in the plaza, but are still legal enough to get a business license, anyway. Lunaras has a big church here, over in that cliff. Everything else is scattered around. People have built buildings by hand, or dug them into The Underground, or put them on or in trees. Like me! Which brings us to the next leg of the journey."

She leads you away from the tunnel onto a humongous root attached to an even more humongous tree. You can see that someone has attached a few planks to the wood for more even footing, and the plank path leads up the side of the tree to more plank structures in the branches. Ivet, however, steps off to the side into a shadowy area between the trunk and the cliff. The two of you walk along a narrow ledge in the trunk and stop at a small indentation. She puts her hand on the trunk and smiles at you a little sheepishly. "So, this is me," she says.

ChildOfAB !50qq4/3dkY 2011/09/12(Mon)21:22 No. 348081 ID: 895fe6
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Glowing green lines snake out underneath the bark from where Ivet's hand touches the wood, and a hole opens in the side of the tree, and Ivet begins to explain. "My former friend Jen is a wizard, she set this door up for me. Pretty cool, huh?"

The hole grows larger until it can easily accomodate Ivet, and reveals a small dwelling inside. "Very nice," you reply.

"Sorry, it's kind of a mess in here. I uh... I kinda left in a hurry. Come in, make yourself at home. There's an ironwood enchantment on all the furniture, and that's elven cloth, so everything should support you...I think.

ChildOfAB !50qq4/3dkY 2011/09/12(Mon)21:22 No. 348082 ID: 895fe6
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You duck and hunch as you step inside. "Sorry, I really don't have a lot of people your size over. Or people in general, really." She gestures back out the hole. "Out there is for dealing with other people. In here is sort of...me-space. Well, me, and at one point a guy you probably don't want to hear about and... uh, well, Avara. I guess the uh...the 'formerly' applies there too, in a different way." She chuckles a little nervously.

You consider asking her whether she's told anyone about the apparent failure of her friend's diplomatic mission, but you're not sure doing so would be nice. Before you can think of anything to say, she shakes her head quickly and speaks up again. "So ANYWAY, I am going to go see if I can dig up my Lens of Identify for this staff, and maybe put on some actual clothes for the party, so, uh, hang on out here for a minute." She steps through a curtain covering a doorway and smiles out at you. "I feel like I've been talking a lot but not saying anything." She closes the curtain, but you can still hear her talking through it as she rummages around. "So, is there anything you want to know or talk about or anything? What's it like being a totally awesome giant shapeshifting dude? Haha."

>>348082
It involves being hungry, eating people, and talking to Ivet. Not much really. Also, THIS is dirty?

Turn into what you think a (giant) male version of her would look like when she isn't looking.

>>348082
Explain the sense of pride you get sometimes, being able to move around so quickly and with such strength.

Ask her what she does for money. Does she have a job?

ask her about possible repercussion for eating people. you understand that part of the reason creatures form groups is to avoid being eaten. also point out that if the livestock prove viable you might not need to eat sentient creatures.

well your memory doesn't tell you much. a hint that you may not of always been this way.

Also, consider the plane of water. If you expanded enough you should be buoyant. Do you feel the need to breath?

"It is pretty awesome. Every time I eat enough food or eat things like that thing that was kinda like me, I get new abilities. Oh, I forgot to tell you, I can spit acid now. I haven't even tried it out yet."

>>348082
First, shift into the same form only small enough so you don't have to hunch over.
Second, tell her it means something to you that she'd welcome you into her private place.
Third, give her a hug when she returns, since physical contact is comforting to people and she's very nervous.

>>348082
Also, you really should mention that you have no memory. You woke up about an hour before you found her.

>>348161
Initiating intimate contact like that might make her even more nervous.

Tell her you feel quite free.

>>348161
Fourth: Tell her you don't remember much of anything past when you woke up, and you're still trying to sort out what your emotions and feelings mean.
Fifth: Tell her you're not sure what you are, and ask if it would bother her if you're actually be some sort of eldrich horror and not just a giant squid-man. Explain you were sealed in that room for a very long time and you don't know why.
Sixth: Ask how illegal it was for Cerin to try to control your mind. If there's trouble over him dying you'd like to be able to give a reason people would accept, since you don't want to cause Ivet problems in her home city.
Seventh: Find out what the social norms are for physical contact between friends and strangers, and how you should behave at the party.

I vote for giving her the shortest, most stoic answer possible instead of long speeches.

>>348082
Good, but then we've never been anything else to compare. It is reassuring to know that we are easily more powerful than anything else that we have encountered, so far as we know. But aside from that, it feels normal. We're hungry a lot and can't help but feel that we're incomplete and need to grow.

But telling her all that would probably be excessive. She's more than happy to chatter, and is fairly informative; I'm content with the ratio of our talking to be weighted heavily in her favor.

>>348161
>>348182
I support items one and seven of these, and only one and seven. Some of the others would be fine if they weren't artfully worded to be terrible.

>>348082
>What's it like being a totally awesome giant shapeshifting dude? Haha."
New and old. You've never been like this before, but you feel you've never been anything else.

This government sounds kinda sinister. I can't help but think there's some sort of encounter with mother oasis in the future. I wonder how genasi taste.

She mentioned a church. I am assuming these are churches to the "new" gods. Ask her about those.

Did you see anything that looked appealing to change into? Humans are often targets at Fey parties since they are unfamiliar with Fey customs, and you may not want to be subject to that kind of attention... and maybe you'll be more attractive to Ivet that way.

"It's... however I want it to be." Then try to give your most honest looking grin.

Also, ask more about her abilities. What kind of spells does she know?

"You're actually more of a shapeshifter than me. I just stretch a bit and change colors to suit the moment. I'm always the same on the inside if you know what I mean, well except for all these gems and coins I'm holding..."

Relax your shape while you're in a private space for once. Might be good to offload the majority of the valuables as well. Does Ivet think you'll be able to get a place like this for yourself as well? Might be good to have somewhere you could call home.

What is there outside the desert and this oasis? How far is it to the ocean? What does this oasis deal in? It seems like a weird melting pot with little discernible purpose apart from some trade.

Did you decide not to ask about Avara, or did she just start talking before you could? Hell, after establishing that you're effectively a day old, I think you could ask her about that with no expectations of tact on her part. We could also probably get away with asking her about her previous boyfriend.

ChildOfAB !50qq4/3dkY 2011/09/17(Sat)04:42 No. 349722 ID: 895fe6
File 131625977493.png - (406.93KB , 720x720 , 20.png )

"It's hard to pin down," you reply, "I don't remember much from before about an hour before we met. This may sound strange, but I don't really even know what I am."

"I remember you telling me that much last night. I meant more like, I dunno, what's it like to be you? How do you feel about yourself?"

You think back over the short period you can recall. "I feel strong, and free. Sometimes, I feel proud of my strength, how I can move and act so quickly and surely. But I can't say that I fully understand myself yet. I've changed so much in so little time. There are even things I know I can do now that I haven't tried yet. I still feel that there are new ways for me to grow and learn about myself, and I don't know that I can truly say what it means to be me until I do that."

You hear the rummaging pause, and Ivet replies through the curtain. "I think I used to be like that. I didn't want to act until I had the full picture. I spent so long just studying the magic of nature, drawn in on myself. Hard to stay that way in this city, though. Gotta learn to be impulsive sometimes too. More fun that way, at least."

"what kind of magic can you do?"

"Oh man. The amount of different things I could theoretically do is pretty huge, but I can only keep so much of it in my head on any given day. I specialize in growing plants, mostly. There's a book up there on my shelf that lists all the things I should be able to do, but it's a pretty long and dry read. There's also the suggestion thing. Most Fey can do that."

"Is that illegal?"

"Um, I'm not sure. I am pretty sure it's only illegal if you make someone do something illegal with it."

Feeling uncomfortably hunched, you shrink your size down and dump all the coins and gems into your arms. "Can I leave these coins and things here?"

"Sure. You are pretty much the only one who knows where this is. Except Jen, I guess."

"Could I get my own place like this?"

"You could, for sure. I could even hollow one out for you. It would take me a little while though, and it wouldn't have the door. And I'm not asking Jen for a favor anytime soon. Most people just put up a curtain at the front or something. She went kinda overboard here, threw on a bunch of anti-scrying stuff in here too. I think she was just using it for testing for her place."

"Is this shape I'm in going to be okay for this party? I was studying some of the other Fey when we were walking, and I think I can make the form of one."

"Aw, I like that shape. I think you should stay this way. Plus, if you were a Fey, people would expect you to understand how things work."

"How do things work? What should I know about social things before we go to this party?"

Ivet walks out from behind the curtain and into the room with the bed at the back. "Well, there's not really any social boundaries you need to worry about, you seem to have the basics down. I guess you should know that lying would be tough around most of the people, and getting lied to is easy. But then, you seem pretty honest and you think before acting, so you'll probably be fine."

You dump the coins and gems on the couch and take a seat at her chair where you can see Ivet better. "What do you do for money?"

You see her step in front of a mirror, after shifting out of her mushroom clothing and putting on some sort of form-hugging black cloth hip-guard. "Not a whole lot. I developed a cool glowing sprout thing, gives off some decent light and doesn't need much maintenance. There's some of them in here along the top of the wall. Sometimes I get paid for that, or I get the occasional tip from tourists or something. I don't even remember the last time I needed any, though. The thing about this city is, you've either got so much money that you don't have to worry about it, or you've got so little that you also don't have to worry about it. You make appearances, get to know everyone, help them out when you can, and they'll do the same for you."

She pulls a shirt on over her head and glances at you looking at her. "Stare harder, why don't you?" She says, with a half-smile. She steps back and you hear her digging through a drawer as you look away embarrassedly.

ChildOfAB !50qq4/3dkY 2011/09/17(Sat)04:43 No. 349723 ID: 895fe6
File 131625980914.png - (253.48KB , 720x720 , 21.png )

She steps back around the corner and sees you purposefully looking away. "Oh, heh, I was just kidding. You can stare if you want, you get at least that much."

ChildOfAB !50qq4/3dkY 2011/09/17(Sat)04:43 No. 349724 ID: 895fe6
File 131625983250.png - (484.82KB , 720x720 , 22.png )

You try and figure out what she means by that as she plants her hand on the door-corner, opening it again. The two of you walk along the staircases and walkways of the city, as you approach another mammoth tree. Looking out over the buildings and seeing the bustle of the distant people in the plaza, something occurs to you. "Hey, why is this city here? There's not a lot around here."

"Trade, mostly. This is one of the few places who can trade with the desert races out here, while also being civilized enough to be connected to the teleport hub. At least, that's why Mother Oasis made it originally. This whole desert used to be an ocean, one so big you couldn't see the other side. All these mesas used to be jungle islands where the fey lived. There was also this other sort of plane, like a copy of the planet that overlapped this one at a few places, and the fey came from that one. I think, a long time ago, something happened that made the ocean dry out and made that plane sort of collapse on itself. Mother Oasis made this place for trade and the Fey who came out around these islands sort of flocked here. They say she used to be more accommodating to our interests, but now she cares more about the traders and visitors and religious pilgrims than us."

"Religious pilgrims?"

"Sure. We've got a bunch of churches out here. Most churches have a central huge church in one city and a few small ones all over. Most of the fey worshipped Utia and this was sort of her unofficial central church, but then Mother Oasis agreed to relocate Lunaras's main church here. A lot of the more religious fey considered it kind of a slap in the face." She shrugs.

"I don't know who those gods are," you reply.

"Oh, sorry. Lunaras is a death god, symbol's the moon, worshipped by a lot of the desert races. Utia is for spring and fertility. There's Harak, order and justice and smiting everything always. Koriad who has something to do with mountains and beards, uh, I was never totally clear. Jijhib is all about introspection and discipline and stuff and is definitely the most fun to say... there's a whole bunch of them and religion was never my strong suit."

You mull this information over as you approach the giant tree. It looms overhead, and as you approach you can see that the trunk is held up by several giant roots. You see figures filtering in and out of the cavernous space between the bottom of the trunk and the ground. As you approach closer, you can see several trees forming a natural pathway in between two of the roots. A monumental cloth tarp is strung up between the trunk and two nearby trees, deepening the shadow cast underneath. You can feel the ground shake rhythmically in time with a deep bass beat coming from within.

ChildOfAB !50qq4/3dkY 2011/09/17(Sat)04:44 No. 349728 ID: 895fe6
File 131625989519.png - (308.77KB , 720x720 , 25.png )

You pass one of the many bars on the way in, and the bartender waves to your companion enthusiastically. "Hey there, Ivet" he calls. She waves back and smiles.

"Teak! Good to see you." She starts off towards the cart and the man's eyebrow raises as you follow her.

"Ooh, who's this?"

"Teak, Viktor. Viktor, Teak. Teak makes the best ale around. He also knows everyone." She grins sarcastically. "Those two things are in no way related."

"A pleasure," you reply.

"She didn't mention I'm single," he says, winking at you. Ivet smiles bemusedly at you as you try to figure out which facial configuration would best convey polite denial. Teak starts to chuckle. "I'm just kidding honey. I couldn't possibly compete with this one here," gesturing to Ivet.

Ivet looks back and forth from Teak to you and starts to turn even redder than usual. "Oh, uh, we're not uh..."

Teak puts his hand on his face. "Oooh, did I...? I'm sorry, my bad." He leans in towards you and whispers very loudly, "I spoke too soon." Ivet continues to darken and shrinks a little in her seat, but keeps smiling. "Let me try again," Teak continues. He turns around and pours two mugs full of a yellowish-brown liquid. "Viktor, what brings you to the domain?"

"Escorting Ivet through the desert," you reply, remembering what she said about lying.

"He doesn't remember," Ivet elaborates. "Woke up in one of those ruins out there with no memory."

"No kidding?" He asks, fixing you with a piercing stare.

"No kidding," you reply, matter-of-factly.

Teak nods sagely. "I buy it," he says, almost sounding surprised. He turns back around and sets a mug each in front of you and Ivet. You notice that Ivet's mug is much smaller. "Well then, you deserve a drink. So you've got no memory at all?"

"I think I have some fragments, but I'm not sure they're mine."

"Interesting! I might know some people who could help you out. If you're interested, of course. I understand if you're not, no questions asked. Talk to me later, though. I'm pretty sure Ivet wants to teach you how to dance right now, after you finish your drink." Ivet smiles and doesn't look up.

What do you do?

>>349728
Shrug
"The lost memories are not who I am now, and I'm not sure I want to remember how I got there."
Finish your drink, then turn to Ivet.
"I would love for you to teach me how to dance."

dancing always comes first, but do keep his offer in mind.

yes, dancing sounds fun, and we also get to see how alcohol reacts to your system.

>>349728
Dance with Ivet, of course.

"Thanks for the offer. At the moment I'm quite content actually. I have no regrets and everything is a fresh experience. To put it succintly I lack nothing and I have everything to gain."

Try the drink, see if it's to your taste. Also see if you can get a shotglass of something really strong to see how you react to spirits. Also were there some people smoking a pipe way back there? Maybe you could try to get in on that, see if it has any effect on your strange physiology.

Is there anywhere with people singing? You could probably do some awesome tricks with your voice by altering the shape of your throat and mouth subtly.

Otherwise have a look around and see what people are doing. Don't be afraid to butt in and ask "Hey what's going on here?". Let Ivet sit on your shoulder if it gets crowdy.

>>349728
We are definitely interested in more memories... but ask him if they will see the memories that they help you recover. We really do not want people finding out what we are so soon.

Update in the questdis.
>>>/questdis/352867

>>349728
Smile down at Ivet. Put your hands around her hips and say "I've thought about your question from earlier. Would you like to dance?"

This guy seems to know Ivet pretty well, and isn't really a threat. If we do come back later, we could ask him about her, even if we don't want our memory back.

Drink the drink, trying to match the rate at which we finish ours to the rate at which Ivet finishes hers. When we are done, we can try dancing, which hopefully we will be good at- we are fairly deft and have good senses, so we should be able to act with grace and rhythm.

Ultimately our objective here is to learn more about the culture and social stuff here, so our actions should be in support of that. Ask questions about anything that occurs to us. Make sure that we don't do anything that a human like we're imitating couldn't do, at least not in view of everyone else.

ChildOfAB !gU/aXms1x6 2012/03/03(Sat)20:44 No. 390165 ID: d09277
File 133083626965.png - (1.16MB , 720x3000 , 27.png )

"Hey. Heyou."

ChildOfAB 2012/03/03(Sat)20:45 No. 390166 ID: d09277
File 133083631980.png - (955.55KB , 720x3000 , 28.png )

There is a bird person talking to you.
"Hey. You watch out for that Ivet girl."
You turn around to face her. "What?"
"Those half-dryad girls, man. shedussent want a man, she wants a tree!"
Teak speaks up while continuing to wipe down the mugs. "Jen, baby, you've had enough."
Jen continues on heedlessly, "Shesall mixed up, see. Dryads only got one tree, and dryad..." she jabs you in the sternum with one finger, "..dryad trees only have one dryad. Issa problem."
"Jen~" Teak calls. She whirls around to face him.
"what! Is true, it happens. She don't even share with her best friends"
"Be that as it may, we don't need to bother our friend here with this."
Jen is quiet for a second, as if replaying the conversation in her head. She suddenly looks shocked and spins to lean on the bar. "Wait, didju say you're cuttin' me off?"
You suddenly decide that you don't want to listen to this anymore, and spin around to find Ivet. You are surprised to bump up against someone well within your personal space. He topples backwards, and you recognize him as someone you were talking to earlier. Next to him is a satyr you don't recognize, who talks to him while looking at you. "This is the guy?"
"Yeah this is tha guy!" your acquaintance exclaims excitedly.
"Well, buddy, I'm pretty sure he caught you. Plus, I don't think he's got any pockets." The satyr looks at you pointedly, mimes drinking, and points to the tree fellow. "Sorry, big guy, don't mind us. My friend here is just failing the thieves' guild initiation again."
"No, no! I don't wanna pick pockets, I wanna be an enforcer, look."
"Uh, I don't think this is exactly the venue for-" the satyr begins, but before he can react, the tree man takes a swing at you and hits you squarely in the chest. You feel a little sting, but completely fail to budge. The satyr clears his throat and takes a few steps backwards, instantly disappearing into a passing crowd.
You're not sure if it's the drink in you or just pent-up, hunger-based frustration, but you decide to make an example of this guy.

It turns out you can throw him pretty high.

ChildOfAB 2012/03/03(Sat)20:45 No. 390167 ID: d09277
File 133083633404.png - (337.96KB , 720x1240 , 29.png )

You hear Ivet's familiar voice call to you from the crowd. "Viktor, there you are! Are...are you okay?"
"I'm fine," you reply, and smile at her.
"You, uh... You've got a dagger stuck in your chest."
You pause and pluck it out. "Oops. I didn't notice."

What do you do now?

>>390167
Sweep her off her feet and carry her out of here
"When people start leaving their weapons lying around it's time to stop drinking. When they leave them inside you it's time to call it a night. Your place, Ivet?"

>>390167
Act like it's perfectly natural. Maybe it shows that you aren't entirely human, but you ain't gotta explain shit about it.

Fuck yes this is back.

Enjoy being a badass. Also, try to set up a threesome. All the ladies there must love you.

well we should probably try and fake bleeding. make it look like something dark is staining our shirt around the stab wound. also we may want to quietly excuse ourselves. fairly certain humans can't shrug off being stabbed.

>>390167
I think we should act like it's nothing. Ask Ivet if people get stabbed at parties a lot. Also, that guy with the guitar stopped the guy you punched with one arm. Very impressive. Also, he's staring at you. Ask Ivet who he is.

>>390167
Start bleeding, or at least imitate bleeding, and go talk to the bard. Bard seems cool.

Fake bleeding at this point would make it look like we are hiding to hide something. (Still, we should probably wait until we are outside before closing the wound, and especially before repairing our 'shirt'.)

humans bleed dark red by the way, just so you know what color to fake bleeding in.

>>390167
Laugh. "No wonder I didn't notice. Look at this puny thing. Ivet, would you care for a knife?" She gets a free knife.

Heal up our skin, but not the gash in our "shirt". Remember that shirts do not heal naturally. We will need to maintain the cut in our false clothes until we are out of public view. Do not bleed if we can avoid it- there are plenty of magical reasons for us to not have an injury after that kind of puny strike.

Follow Ivet's cue on how to handle this aside from that- she's got a good sense of what the social conventions are around here for this sort of thing so she can take the lead.

>>390182
This is good. Its clever. It gives the impression that either the guy missed you completely; you have magical defences; you're not completely human (or not human at all) or you're that big a badass.

Since you can't get away from the attention, muddy the waters with a lot of romours.

>>390195
i agree.

>>390195
Yep.

Also, sure, hang out with the bard.

>>390182
this all the way

"Huh. Pretty crappy murder attempt, he missed all the vital organs.
"Say, I don't know what people usually do about incompetent attempted murder around here. Is it okay if I go strangle him quick and make some dice from his fingerbones?"

Don't lie. vet said it's not very effective against fey. Be evasive and if someone really presses just say you can talk about it at a later date.

This might be a good cue to go to a different part of the party.

that little dude is badass. go to that little dude.

I just re-read this, and I saw that Ivet had a wizard friend named Jen, who she's not friends with anymore, and the harpy's name was Jen. If it's the same Jen, it looks like she stole one of Ivet's prior boyfriends or something, if I'm making the right kind of sense of her drunken rambling.

>>390171
I think that would be a bad idea. It sounds like Ivet has a whole monogamy thing that causes her problems here.

Maybe Viktor should bring up Jen? Just give her a heads-up that she's trying to sabotage her relationships, or whatever that was.

>>390377
yeah makes sense to me. and we have no reason to even want more then one lady. we don't even know how to handle one properly yet.

>>390239
Be mildly concerned that the bard just stopped your projectile-dryad with his palm. Since lying your way through not bleeding profusely isn't a bright idea, make like a person leaving and leave.

Suggestion 2012/03/04(Sun)23:56 No. 390457 ID: d09277
File 133093420739.png - (271.79KB , 720x779 , 30.png )

You laugh in a way that you hope seems good-natured. "No wonder I didn't notice. Look at this puny thing. Ivet, would you care for a knife?"
"Haha, what? Oh, uh, yeah, sure. And here, let me heal you," she responds, tucking the knife in her skirt. She chants something and a white glow pours from her hands into your chest. You close up the gap in your chest in a flesh tone; you hadn't actually modeled anything underneath your shirt before this point.
"Do people get stabbed a lot at these parties?" you ask.
"No! I mean, sometimes a fight starts or something, but that's definitely not normal. Did he say anything?"
"He was talking to someone else about trying to get into the thieves' guild, I think."
Ivet frowns. "The thieves' guild? They rough people up every once in a while but they don't usually stab anyone. Do you want to go find the guy, and see if he'll tell you what that was all about?"
"Maybe, but do you know anything about the guy who caught him?" you ask, pointing into the crowd.
She turns to look in the direction you're pointing, but the crowd has filled in the gaps, and he is no longer visible. "Which one? I didn't see him."
You peer through the throngs of people, but can't pick him out. "He was blonde, curly hair, had some kind of instrument on his back. He was staring at me."
She laughs. "I'll bet he was. You DID just punch a guy at him."
"No, this was...different. He stopped the guy flying through the air with one hand, and didn't move. I haven't seen an expression like that before, he just stared at me. He looked..." the word to characterize his expression seems to elude you. "C'mon," you say, taking her along as you start pushing your way through the crowd.
Some of the people who saw the fight stare at you and hurriedly get out of your way. The throng parts, and you see the tree-man who stabbed you. He limps backward, cowers, and makes some sort of high-pitched sound. The staring man is nowhere in sight.
The stabber starts gibbering. "Oh no no, oh no that was a bad idea why did I do that don't kill me I don't.."He gasps for breath and swallows. "I don't know why I did that you gotta believe me."
You look down at Ivet, who shrugs. "Some kind of magical compulsion? But that just makes more questions," she says. You feel frustration growing in you, and you stare off absent-mindedly towards the stage. You can feel your empty stomach churning on itself. The party had been fun, but you're starting to feel a little out-of-place.
"Oh! Oh, that's it!" he says, nodding enthusiastically. "I was talking to a guy before, about the thieves guild. I was telling him, well, what a good fighter I was, and how they were gonna let me in soon, and...well, I mean, they might!"
"Ivet," You say, your voice seeming a bit deeper than usual, "I'm getting hungry." Her eyes widen a bit. The tree-man keeps talking.
"And this guy says, he tells me if I can take out a big guy like you, the thieves' guild would know how good I am. But, I mean, that's not right, but it seemed right then, and so he musta cast some kinda spell on me! And then I saw him again, he was right here, and..." You see a familiar face mount the steps onto the music stage. The tree man points to him. "And there he is!"

ChildOfAB 2012/03/04(Sun)23:57 No. 390458 ID: d09277
File 133093423829.png - (313.38KB , 720x900 , 31.png )

"Ivet?" you ask.
"That's the guy you were looking for, isn't it?" she responds. You nod.
The man saunters onstage, eyes wide, and starts strumming his lute. "And now, on to the main event," he says, his voice amplified somehow.
"I AM the main event, babe. Who the hell are you?" asks the singer.
"I'm just a rising star, sweet thing. The dancer, romancer, party enhancer; how's that for an answer?" He continues to strum, his voice keeping time with the rhythm.
"Cheesy, to be honest."
Steel-toed footsteps tap out a cadence as the man sways his way in front of her. He touches her face in mock tenderness. "I'll win you over. How about a duet?" he asks, answered by a handful of whoops from the crowd.
She sighs. "Fine, what did you have in mind?"
He grins takes a couple of healthy steps back, and snaps his fingers. The earth beneath cracks and shifts, as does the platform, as a massive creature made of stone erupts from the ground. The singer's heels fly out from under her and she spills on the sea of groping hands below to shrieks and laughter. "I didn't mean with you," he replies. The jubilant crowing of the crowd finally dies down, and the man speaks up again. "Excuse me a minute while I tune my earth elemental," he says, and begins strumming the lowest string. The elemental answers with a deep, low grumble that shakes the ground, and the crowd starts to laugh again. "Close enough!" he says, his crazy, wide-eyed stare seeming to amplify his wild grin. He starts to strum again, and continues. "I've only got one song for you tonight, and that song only has one word, but I promise you it will trigger the craziest party you have ever experienced" You are certain, then, that he turns to stare directly at you, and you feel your gut twist. "It's an all-you-can-eat buffet of entertainment."
Your eyes widen, as he starts to play his lute. Like a flash of lightning, it hits you. You know what you could see in his stare before. Hunger. "Ivet, he's like me!" You call out, and start to push your way towards the stage. You don't get very far, though, before he says the one word of his song.

ChildOfAB 2012/03/04(Sun)23:57 No. 390459 ID: d09277
File 133093425892.png - (109.97KB , 720x900 , 32.png )

"Insanity."

ChildOfAB 2012/03/04(Sun)23:58 No. 390462 ID: d09277
File 133093431073.png - (311.11KB , 720x900 , 35.png )

"You know, I could hear your voice up here from miles away. Well? Last meal. Dig in."

Oh, Shit did Ivet hit with that? If she did, knock her out gently and put her somewhere safe. Then, get ready to tear this guy apart.

>>390462
Grab Ivet and put her some place safe.
Since I doubt we have time to take her home, you might have to store her in a protective pouch in you. Make sure there's air flow.
... And grab Jen, too; she's got a lot of useful skills.

Casually walk up, then try to kill this guy with a single strike. Or at least lop part of him off and eat it. This behavior is unacceptable.

protect Ivet. ask who... what he is. get ready to fight. wait. I mean flee.

well this is going to be difficult, he seems to be like us but much farther along. ok tactical analysis

the thing he's doing with his arm suggest he's a very good shapshifter and he's either hiding allot of mass in his small form, or his "arm" is his main body with the elf shaped bit sticking off as a decoy.

he has enough magic to either summon or charm an earth elemental. I think its a more likely that the elemental is charmed rather than summoned. if his ability in non mind magic was as strong as the mental effects we've seen him do he would probably have opened with a few attack spells rather than driving the crowd mad.

he also seems to taking steps to make it harder for us to get to him,(the earth elemental and the crowd) its possible he's a distance fighter and is not as strong in melee combat, or he just believes in getting ever possible advantage.

he also has a flair for the dramatic, if we give him a good enough opening line we might be able to get him monologue, possibly giving us an opening to get at him.

First priority is not letting Ivet get hurt, then trying to save as many people as you tear this maniac apart. Killing him quickly will probably do this the best but keeping him from eating is also important.

full horror mode. everyone is too nuts to worry about your appearance.

i see no teeth, he may not be able to make blades. use blades against him. aim for the shoulder, cut that arm part off of him.

We should take out his elemental first if it is accessible; we don't want it surprising us when we are fighting BadBard. He looks to big to eat straight out, so we should try to cut off tentacles and consume them so he doesn't reattach them.

Oh, right, we also have acid spit. We should spit at BadBard's humanoid/tentacle intersection just to see what he does about it.

>>390503
oh yes, acid would be interesting.

Open up with acid, then break his earth elemental and use its body as a force multiplier.

>>390462
Symbol of insanity is permanent. Grab Ivet and run. If you can, grab one of the bugs and eat that, if not just stuff the craziest looking person in your mouth. Grab Teak and Jen if they're convenient too.

Also ask Ivet if she can cast anything to confuse the situation, like a storm of wild plant growth.

>>390516
Changing my suggestion. Grab Ivet, Teak, and Jen, and stuff them inside safe pouches (Remember they need fresh air!). We can fix this, but we can't take more people than we can carry.
Also rescue anybody who resisted the symbol. You don't need to carry them, just help them escape this place.

After that? Might as well eat a few of these guys on your way out.


If Ivet, Jen, and/or Teak happens to be sane then ask them who you should try to save.

>>390516
We don't know if he is using a version that does. He could be using something like Xykon's version.
Besides, this guy has explicitly declared his intention of eating us, so being distracted by eating humanoids would be foolish.

We should probably shout not to look upwards though.

>>390520
Symbol of Insanity is raw AoE.

Also? Viktor is getting hungry, and he's going to need his strength to RUN VERY FAST away from here.

need to find that leader lady. she is supposed to be super powerful right?

>>390526
oh yeah!
>It means the cloaks can scoop people up out here pretty much indiscriminately if they have a reason to, but they usually don't unless something gets destroyed or something.
This probably counts as "or something".

>>390528
YES!

>>390528
Yes, but first we need to make sure Ivet, Jen, and Teak will survive this. We can take them to the leader, but we need to grab them before we run.

>>390532

should be easy enough with Vik's stretch-ass limbs.

ChildOfAB 2012/03/08(Thu)23:31 No. 391374 ID: d09277
File 133127827073.png - (178.10KB , 720x721 , 36.png )

You feel Ivet tense up against your arm and freeze in shock as you realize what might have just happened.
"...Ivet?" you ask, trepidation apparent even in your guttural voice, a rushing sound welling up in your ears. "Are you okay?"

ChildOfAB 2012/03/08(Thu)23:31 No. 391376 ID: d09277
File 133127830246.png - (348.43KB , 720x900 , 37.png )

Ivet throws her hands up in the air. "I'm okay, but this isn't!"
The rushing sounds stop, and you become acutely aware of the sounds of screaming all around you. "But, how?" you ask.
"I dunno, most mental stuff doesn't seem to work on me," Ivet replies. "What's the plan here? Can you beat this guy?" She starts to draw out an arcane symbol in the air and mutters a few words under her breath.
You quickly survey the ruins of the stage, where the wide-eyed man is shifting, staring at you and shoveling screaming masses of the remains of the front row into his many maws. Just looking at him, you feel a strong urge well up within you to tear him to pieces and devour them. You don't know if it would work, in fact, you're almost certain it wouldn't, but the desire to try almost seems greater than your desire to keep living. It's the same feeling you felt when fighting the Ash Crow. One thing stops you. You see the screaming masses of fey all around, tearing each other apart, in great droves between here and the exit.
If you failed, Ivet would be in danger.
"No," you reply, quietly. "I don't think I can."
Ivet finishes her spell. Thousands of points of light spring into being around the decreasingly-recognizable beast's head, and then are all replaced by bats. They launch themselves at him in a frenzy of tiny fangs, leaving scratches that he closes quickly.

ChildOfAB 2012/03/08(Thu)23:32 No. 391377 ID: d09277
File 133127833076.png - (419.94KB , 720x1022 , 38.png )

The beast makes a few feeble swipes to drive the bats off. His eyes sink into great black pits in his head, and he twists his now-serpentine neck towards the two of you. When he speaks, his voice comes out in the same singsong way as before, now terribly mismatched with his twisted body. "Oh, what's this? Don't tell me," he turns to address Ivet directly, "Is he your special someone? How tragic for you, ha ha!" His head bobs from side to side on his impossible neck as he laughs, throngs of screeching bats swarming around him. He turns back to you with an exaggerated swaying motion. "Does she even know what you are, not crushed into that man shape? Why don't we show her?"
He swings his left arm towards towards Ivet, his fingers instantly stretching out into long, whiplike tentacles.

ChildOfAB 2012/03/08(Thu)23:32 No. 391378 ID: d09277
File 133127837981.png - (252.25KB , 720x900 , 39.png )

You let several tentacles spring out from what used to be your hand and you snatch Ivet out of harm's way, deflecting his tentacles with your claws. Your rebuttal comes not in words, but in a stream of acid fired into his arm.

ChildOfAB 2012/03/08(Thu)23:33 No. 391379 ID: d09277
File 133127841081.png - (339.51KB , 720x638 , 40.png )

Several of his eyes widen in surprise as tries to jerk out of the way too late, seeming to become more soaked from his clumsy motion.
You can see him hide his wincing as the acid tears through his flesh. He tries to regrow it even as it eats away at him, the borders of the wound dancing across his arm. "Clever," he says, his lips peeling away from rows of jagged teeth into a horrible grimace. "Where'd you learn that one?"

ChildOfAB 2012/03/08(Thu)23:34 No. 391380 ID: d09277
File 133127844432.png - (249.01KB , 720x646 , 41.png )

Knowing that this isn't a fight you can win, you spin and take off towards the exit with Ivet. Not caring if anyone sees you here, you relax your form and stretch your legs. Seeing Jen and Teak fighting by Teak's booth, you adjust your course to be close enough to snatch them up as you pass by.
However, before you get very far, the earth elemental rises out of the ground as if it were water, slamming its fist down right in front of you.

ChildOfAB 2012/03/08(Thu)23:34 No. 391381 ID: d09277
File 133127847245.png - (285.28KB , 720x900 , 42.png )

Several large somethings appear in the air around you, and the atmosphere seems to hum with hidden energy.

What do you do now?

have as many limbs as you can. grab on and get over it. ask ivet if she has anything that can alter rocks somehow. use it on the ground where the elemental intersects, should do SOMETHING.

>>391381
It's the cavalry! Tell Ivet to let them know you're on their side and that the bigger threat is back at the stage.

We fight the earth elemental. Use acid on that symbol- perhaps destroying the symbol will neutralize the elemental.

>>391381
You know what acid is good for? Dissolving rocks. Eating them, if you will. If we can consume it that may give us a defensive edge. Keeping ourselves and our fey friends safe at the same time is the trick.

We need to do it fast, drop anything we don't need, leave the two crazied fey bound with some of your body. Open up yourself as wide as you can and constrict the elemental while digesting him with as much acid as you can.

ChildOfAB 2012/03/09(Fri)00:33 No. 391405 ID: d09277
File 133128202527.png - (200.76KB , 720x900 , 43.png )

You make the connection that these are the cloaks she was talking about earlier. "Ivet, can you tell them that I'm on their side, and the bigger threat is back there? I need to deal with this earth elemental."

"You can't really tell them anything! They just swoop down and start taking people away, or blocking things off with magic walls." You easily sidestep another blow by the elemental as she continues. "They're like a last resort, when Oasis can't keep out of something. They don't judge what's happening, they let the court mages do that...If you're gonna get caught by one, you should probably look less scary before they take you, otherwise we should evade them."

Right, shapeshift back to our humanlike form and commence fisticuffs with the elemental.

>>391405
They let the court mages decide what's what? So what she's saying is that the people they take are safe?
Set Ivet down and tell her to get the attention of a cloak.

After that you can ooze past the elemental to get to Jen and Teak so you can set them close to a cloak and hope for the best.
After that, see about eating a few of this guy's minions and keeping people people from him.

No seven, it means they take back whomever they grab to be judged court style. This guy is likely going to get caught himself and if that's the case, we better look good and have a good reason for our actions.

okay, just keep it distracted and evade the cloaks until they grab enough people. ask ivet to magic up anything that can ether hurt the thing or make you better at hurting it.

I doubt they'd have an easy time restraining you. after all, if they aren't alive, you shouldn't have any problems consuming them.

try your acid trick on the elemental. bash them where the acid softens their body.

ask Ivet if she can help you with the elemental or with dispelling Hungerbard's majjikks.

>>391445
he still needs to eat organic materials. he can't digest metals and stuff.

We should try the golem's symbol first, but if that does not work out we should grab an arm and try to rip it off, possibly by morph-pushing against its torso.

All the suggestions of fighting back or trying to explain anything are foolish. THE LAW HAS ARRIVED, WE KILLED AND ATE THAT GUY HERE IN TOWN.

Our first priority is to flee with our accomplice and avoid being investigated. If the law can't handle this then we need to marshal resources and help to do anything anyway.

Okay, clarifying what I want to do:

Kill/distract the elemental to keep it from killing civvies, while trying to avoid catching the attention of the cloaks or getting caught by them. I advise fighting while taking on a less 'monstrous' form.

>>391809
2nd. For less monstrous form, I recommend treant. They are bigger than people, makes sense that one would be there, and it doesn't seem like a stretch from tentacles to branches.

Ask Ivet if the Cloak's MO is to just grab everyone even vaguely nearby, or only grab combatants (of both sides) involved.

By the looks of things the Cloaks cannot be argued with and cannot be reasoned with.

But the court mages can.

I don't think you can outrun teleporting thingies with forcefields and you're one of the top three threatening looking things here. The Cloaks will target you once they've gotten the crazed partygoers out of the way.

So be a hero and get as many people out of the way of the elemental and ??? as you can.

>If you're gonna get caught by one, you should probably look less scary before they take you, otherwise we should evade them.
Let's do both. Look non-threatening, but avoid the fuzz as much as possible while also avoiding enemies. I'm not sure if the elemental is still here or if it was arrested, but if it's still in the way try circling around it.

ChildOfAB 2012/03/12(Mon)23:05 No. 392342 ID: 885ee8
File 133161873505.png - (561.01KB , 720x1489 , 44.png )

You're not sure why, but you think it would be best to keep the immediate area safe, at least as far as Ivet's friends are concerned. You stow Ivet on your back-tentacles and quickly work out the best course of action.
"Ivet, can I give you to the cloaks while I keep up the fight?" you ask quickly.
"No! I mean, uhm, I'd rather you didn't? I'd rather go to jail with you, where you can bust me out, or not go at all. I was the last one seen with Avara, and.. well you know, these guys aren't really on our side. I'm scared of what might happen."
You try to think of a form that would be better at fighting than a human and not look out-of-place here, when you recall the giant walking trees you saw on your way in. You quickly fling several tentacles out haphazardly and cover them with a barky texture and leaves, finally releasing all your mass and growing to your full size. You still seem to be a bit smaller than the tree-people you remember, but it will have to do, plus it gives Ivet a place to hang on in your "branches".
You consider launching another jet of acid at the elemental, but you don't feel like you have it in you yet; you need a moment to recharge.

ChildOfAB 2012/03/12(Mon)23:06 No. 392343 ID: 885ee8
File 133161876017.png - (382.63KB , 720x900 , 45.png )

The terrible creature from the stage has reared up onto four legs and begins lumbering towards you, a giant mouth splitting its massive body in two as it speaks in a horrible voice. "What are you doing? Do you not hear the call? How is it even possible for you to resist?" Its gigantic tongue spills out of its mouth as it continues to charge, "Know the truth! Your hunger and rage are unquenchable, as mine! One voice must sing the song of the Deep!" His voice rises in intensity, yelling out to you as chaos unfolds around you both, "Throw yourself at me, in futility, and be devoured!"

ChildOfAB 2012/03/12(Mon)23:06 No. 392344 ID: 885ee8
File 133161878385.png - (239.28KB , 720x606 , 46.png )

The wave of cloaks overtakes you and the elemental. With a gesture from their trailing cloth strands, a massive, shimmering barrier of energy forms between you and the former singer, and he stops just short of you. You remind yourself why you're doing this, and with singleminded drive you tear into the elemental's arm. A deep, booming sound issues from its central body as you take its arm and pull, dragging its massive form out of the ground by a foot.

ChildOfAB 2012/03/12(Mon)23:06 No. 392345 ID: 885ee8
File 133161881022.png - (391.44KB , 720x900 , 47.png )

A massive hissing sound steams out of the singer like a sigh. "I thought I would only need a moment with you here. I see that I have misjudged."
You wrench the elemental's arm free from its body just as you feel the touch of one of the cloaks' tendrils. A cloak reaches for both you and the elemental, and you have nowhere to run. You spin around just in time to see several talpids widening a hole through the earth under the singer's feet as he lowers himself down. You hear Ivet's voice behind you. "Uh, Viktor, it's not-"
The world around you disappears.

ChildOfAB 2012/03/12(Mon)23:08 No. 392348 ID: 885ee8
File 133161891681.png - (308.45KB , 720x900 , 48.png )

"We've got a runner!"
"Earth elemental! Need an arcane, red, center-G!"
"Let go of me, pigs!"
"Ah, uh, excuse me, sir?" Some small, feathery meat speaks to you, clutching a moon medallion and shaking slightly. You feel something is wrong, and you barely hear it. "Or, uh, ma'am, maybe? You're a plant, right? You weren't uh, affected?"
You drop the elemental's arm with a heavy thud. The talking meat is secondary in your mind. The screaming around you, the sounds of spells going off, the dull hum of the translucent barrier over your wall, the cool stone beneath your feet, all fade into the background.
You want just a little bit more weight on your back. Ivet is gone.

What do you do?

>>392348
Say that you're fine, and Ivet was fine as well. She is the "runner", I expect, so just state that you are going to get her now, and walk through whatever protection they've got here to retrieve Ivet.

turn to the bird thing slowly, and calmly state "my mind is as it was before the spell. but my companion who was riding upon my branches is missing. her name is ivet. place us in the same cell and i will be a model captive. do not, and we will have... problems"

Don't assume Ivet is the runner, or even that she's been captured. But finding her is your most imminent priority. Ask the bird thing where she is, perhaps it knows. If not you will be leaving to find her.

>>392348
Calm down
"I was not inflicted with madness.
Where is my companion? I was protecting a Myconid woman in my branches. Her name is Ivet.
If it not an undue burden, would you allow us to wait in the same cell?"

>>392348
"I'm sane. Send me back, I can help."

>>392348
This particular bit of meat can provide us with information and do our will, if prompted appropriately. "I was not afflicted by madness, no. Nor was my Myconad companion. Can I be sent back to her or she to me, if you would? Our separation is highly unsettling and may cause harm if it continues."

Remember to change our voice to be more rumbly and treelike- imitate others of our current apparent race, if we heard any of them talk. It's important to keep up our disguise.

>>392355
Do not threaten them, even like this. That will not end well.

>>392389
>send me back
We don't really want to go back there, though. That guy is tougher than us. We need to eat more big stuff until we can beat him, first. We could try eating the people around here, but that seems likely to have negative repercussions.

>>392388
this. At least inquire as to where she is and if she is safe if they don't let you two stay together.

Well it doesn't look like many others are going for using force, but if we did, I think we'd want to smack that amulet out of the meatbag's hands.

search for Ivet. she is the only thing dear to you.

I don't think it would be in character to be too talky. Say you are fine and ask where the girl is.

ChildOfAB 2012/03/13(Tue)15:21 No. 392497 ID: 885ee8
File 133167731517.png - (351.87KB , 720x900 , 49.png )

You calm your mind as best you are able and turn to face the fidgeting avian. "I am unafflicted by madness, correct," you say, making your voice sound like creaking branches. "I am missing my companion, a red, mushroom-like girl named Ivet." You shuffle your thick trunk-legs around to square yourself towards the bird-creature, making sure to make your mass apparent by your heavy footfalls, and lower your gaze slightly, your blank eyes peering straight into your warden's. "It would be best...for everyone...if we could be reunited." You flex your massive tree-claws with a creaking sound, for added emphasis. "Please."
The vulture creature swallows loudly. Its gaze drops down to the severed arm of the elemental at your feet, then to the rampaging, one-armed elemental being contained in the hallway. "Ah, I'll see what I can do, aheh, can I get your name, so we can be sure we find the right person for you?"
"Viktor," you respond, flatly.
"Yes, right away, Viktor," it squawks, and shuffles away quickly.

ChildOfAB 2012/03/13(Tue)15:22 No. 392498 ID: 885ee8
File 133167733462.png - (446.73KB , 720x1200 , 50.png )

You sit back against the back wall of the cell and wait. Quite a long time passes, and the hustle happening outside the cell slowly abates. You see the cells opposite you become occupied by thrashing, gibbering fey. They are promptly attended to by a diverse group of creatures all decked in brown, blue, and gold, escorted out of view, and then the cells are filled again. Most of them have remained empty for several minutes and you start to grow restless, as three figures move to the front of your cell and face you.
"Viktor, is it?" asks a stern-looking snakelike creature. You nod in the affirmative, and the snake smiles curtly. "We've located your friend Ivet, and we'd like to get you both together and ask you some questions. Just procedure and all, since you both endured the... event at the birch without succumbing to madness. Help us fill in some of the details in our report, you see."
Something makes you uneasy about this, but you respond "Sure," in your deep, creaking voice. The snake nods to someone out of view to the right of the cell. The translucent barrier drops, and the two creatures flanking the snake visibly tense up. The snake however, remains calm and reaches out to touch you clinically on the arm.
Your cell disappears and is replaced by a stone room with a small metal door, with the snake and her two bodyguards still present. At first, you see Ivet standing before you, in the same form she had before she got dressed for the party, but you look closer and something snaps. You see through the image, to something dark and wispy underneath. You are careful not to let your face change at the revelation.
"Viktor!" says the Ivet-shaped thing. "I'm glad to see you!"

What do you do?

i think this is a test to make sure you are really friends.
"it is good to see you too." look at the snake "you said you had questions for us?"

"Are you testing my senses, my patience, or my temper? I can see this is a counterfeit. Please explain your deception and purpose in holding me."

>>392498
Reach out, embrace the thing and put it on your "branches". Ask why she has changed her clothes.

Be kind,say you are glad to see her safe and place a branch on her shoulder.

>>392500
>>392501
Let's see what their game is before calling them out on it.

>>392498
Play along. I want to know what they're fishing for.

I am somewhat against hiding that we know about the illusion, as there is a good chance they are better at recognizing lies than we are at making them, and they may actually expect our mind effect resistance (not being hit by the insanity) to extend to seeing through their illusion.

We should respond: "I would be glad to see you if you were actually here." (To the snake-person:) "Shouldn't you already know my resistance to mind tricks from how I survived that creature's spell?"

punch a hole through the wall to demonstrate your unhappiness with their insultingly pathetic attempts at being underhanded.

>>392524
We shouldn't act hostile about it, just somewhat disappointed. These sorts tend to scare easily and cause considerable inconvenience to those they fear.

Act like you are fine at first then pause and say she doesn't smell/feel right. As a pretend plant monster with a "fungal infection" you should be able to tell she isn't real even if you couldn't see through the illusion.

crap, ivet is probably still down there at the party. these guys don't have her, or they'd know what she looks like now. they know of her enough to recreate her past appearance, which is weird and worth investigating. these guys are bound for our stomach eventually, we might as well play along and see if we can get any information out of them before they take the plunge.

>>392498
Sigh, then turn to the snake
"That is not what she is wearing, and that is not how she behaves."
Snort derisively
"Mages. Always thinking others are fools and magic is infallible.
Honesty would serve you better. Are you unwilling to reunite us, or have you simply not recovered her?
I am not unreasonable, but your insults try my patience."

>>392508

I like this. I don't think you should let this thing touch you, unless you're planning on taking it hostage.

>>392576
I would much rather pick it up as though it were a friend before objecting, actually- we are exceedingly strong and they seem to have someone imitating Ivet; unless it's a total illusion or a disposable summon we gain leverage over them by having it in a grip which would allow us to crush it at a moment's notice, even if we choose not to use that leverage.

>>392580
Item acquired: Grenade, without pin or clip. The snake and guards vanish, you die.

This could be a magical projection of the actual Ivet. Treat it as such, saying it is good to see her too. Then ask what questions they have so you can meet Ivet in person.

Just tell them that you know it is an illusion. We are not unreasonable, if they don't know where she is just tell us.

>>392567
changed my vote to this. lets not let on that we can see though illusions.

I vote against unnecessarily trying to anger the people who are judging us.

We need to quickly show we are good people who have no reason to be kept here. Stay courteous, and save threats until threats are needed.

ChildOfAB 2012/03/13(Tue)20:59 No. 392604 ID: 885ee8
File 133169755844.png - (417.16KB , 720x900 , 51.png )

You step forward and snatch up the Ivet-simulacrum, creaking the joints in your many claws as you encase it in your hand. A groaning sigh escapes your mouth as you hold it aloft. "This is a waste of my time. This thing does not dress or behave like she does. I asked for my companion, a courtesy." You take a step forward and fix your blank stare at the snake-warden. "Instead of granting me my request, or telling me that would not be possible, you try to trick me with magic. An insult. Honesty would have served you better. Now, I am nothing if not..." you bend your neck to the side, making a popping sound, "...reasonable. Please explain your reason for holding me and your deception, so we can get this over with."
The snake's two bodyguards look back and forth between her and you, their hands on their weapons. The snake merely sighs. "Right, my apologies. You see, we have certain protocols to adhere to, and we assumed you would be less cooperative. We were hoping to use the illusion to glean some knowledge about where Ivet is located, and we assumed by this 'Singer's' attack that her part in the diplomatic mission had failed. We would like to know why. She was apparently present during the Event at the Birch, but it seems we missed her." The snake nods, and the thing in your claws dissipates in a puff of black smoke.
"She was on my shoulders!" You reply, narrowing your eyes. You straighten your giant form out, your horns brushing the ceiling. "Are you telling me she's still down there?"
"No, I'm sorry, she is not, nor did she arrive with you. Sentinel constructs' apprehension methods rely on touch, so it is possible they were touching you and not her. The area is currently clear. If you have any potential information about her current whereabouts, I would be more than willing to make sure you are reunited. When she is safely apprehended, of course."

What do you do?

>>392604
She might have gone back to the dungeon. But that's an outside possibility only.

Nod at this information. Give them all the info you can about the attack. Note that you grabbed some of the elemental he summoned - could they trace that? If they let you onto the surface, even supervised, you could look for her yourself.

ask what they want with ivet. its possible that ivet is overacting and doesn't have anything to worry about, or not. we need more information about how they operate.

>>392607
they have the whole elemental in a cell.
the only places we know ivet could of gone to would be back to her home or to follow down the hole. if she is not at home then the hole is the only thing you can think off.

>>392604
Diplomatic mission? It seems that they have some idea as to what you and the singer are, and that Ivet's purpose in those caves was first contact. That aside, they're not keen on letting you go without Ivet. Threats aren't going to serve much purpose.

Ask them how long you should expect to be detained. See if you can expedite that process by giving them information about what you witnessed. Keep it simple. You don't know much about Dryad mannerisms so its dangerous to keep this charade running without a chance to escape.

Guys, guys, are we really about to rat out our only friend to the cops? Seriously? Either say you don't know or start eating everything and break the fuck out, instead of telling them about Ivet's secret and magically protected house whose location she trusted you and practically only you with.

>>392612
And yes, I have serious qualms with giving up Ivet's secrets to a group of people she specifically said she would rather not meet. But since Viktor's already established a relationship with Ivet, raging about and eating people isn't a good way to help her either. See what they really want. Tell them about the singer's attack and that's it. If that isn't "good enough" then I can't think of an alternative beyond breaking out or showing them your true form. They seem to have some idea as to what you are, just not that you're what they're looking for. Maybe you can get some answers.

Inform them you do not know where she is, and you never established a meeting point. If they ask how you know her, let them know how you met when you rescued her. Ask if there is anything they need to know that might let them decide whether to release you or not. Provide information about the incident such as who summoned the elemental and made everyone crazy. You tried to fight the culprit, but he was stronger than yourself, when you fled, the elemental had gone outside as well, you fought it to defend yourself and try to keep the surrounding people safe.

Don't infer things, don't fabricate them, just make it simple.

>>392604
"I do not know where she is, but if she is scared she will be hiding. She is skilled and perceptive. If she does not trust you, you will not find her.
This place of yours is devoid of nature; alien to her. It frightens her, so you who call this place home frighten her.
She feels safe with me. If I look for her she will find me. Should you try to deceive her like this," gesture with the illusion "she will most assuredly notice and ignore further attempts.

I will not betray her, but if you release me then I will find her and bring her to a neutral place. You may meet with her there, and together we will cooperate with your investigation. At no point will you threaten her or attempt to capture her. This allows me to aid you without betraying her.

These terms are not negotiable. If you reject them I shall leave, and when I reunite with her we would not be cooperating with your investigation.

Before you answer, know that I am quite confidant that this place and its people can not hold me. This offer and my cooperation in general are because I know the importance of your work and respect what you are doing."

(For those who don't remember, Ivet told us that she and her friend were on a diplomatic mission to the talpids, but found out too late that the talpids (who were previously on friendly terms with Oasis) had become murderous cultists of the old gods. The talpids killed her friends and were trying to kill her when we met her.)

If she's safe she probably went home. We shouldn't tell them that, because we don't yet know if they have her best interests at heart and her home is supposed to be kind of secret anyway.
However I see no reason not to tell them what the new deal is with the Talpids, and also to mention that some were present at the site of that incident, if they didn't already know.

>>392627
Except she wouldn't have gone home if they knew where she lived, which they likely do. Besides that, we are honestly stating that we do not know where she is. They did not, after all, ask us if we knew where she would likely be.

Detecting lies is a thing, but it doesn't catch when people are simply answering the question as it was asked.

I think we should tell them what Ivet told us about the diplomatic mission. How it failed.

We might want to avoid mentioning being in that cave system if we do tell about the talpids though. If we talk about it we should just say that she told us some about the mission, rather than relating the circumstances.

Don't threaten them, or at least don't do so directly. The local dictator apparently has lasted thousands of years in a world in which things like us apparently have been wandering around; hypothesis formed from the fact that we left our dungeon not that long ago and already have run into something else like us at the very first public gathering we attended. I'd say it's at least even odds she knows more about what we are than we do and probably has killed things like us as well.
If she cares, she also has a good excuse to execute us from when we ate that guy upon first arriving in town.
Further: We really don't want these folks knocking on Ivet's door. If they ever go inside they'll confiscate our pimproll and probably charge us with theft, conspiracy or whatever else for our long and ambitious career as a bandit and murderer. Hoards like that tend to be stockpiles from wealthy merchants, nomad clans and the treasuries of large institutions. Possession of that much cash will guarantee us judged guilty with no possibility of reprieve, mercy or parole. Our best hope there is that the local pork is so corrupt that they palm all of it for their own use and never tells the ruler. The worse possibility is that they only confiscate some of it and tell the ruler, and we observe far too personally how they kill things like us.

"I couldn't say, she was my local guide here whom I met by rescuing her in a cave system. If you're interested in that story I could share it, but I doubt it would help you much with the ...thing that caused that mess."

>>392604
Maintain our guise as a tree man, as if they haven't determined our true nature yet it would be very bad to reveal it.

Do not mention Ivet's home.

Do not say anything to reveal that we are not a native of this area, or that we are aware of what happened on Ivet's mission, or that we were underground with her at all. Those are not pieces of information that we want anyone else to get.

Do not overtly threaten them, or imply that we think ourselves powerful enough that we can effectively match them force with force. It may or may not be true and will only make them inclined to arrange stronger measures for dealing with us anyway.

>>392660
there is a flaw in your hypothesis, judging from what we have observed while fighting others of our kind there is likely a limited number of them, and they are driven to find and consume each other. it is also possible that the thing we saw at the concert was the prophet who converted the talpids, the fact that he was able to do so and that it had not been done earlier probably means that our kind has only recently started moving in the open.

I don't think Ivet managed to get home. It's more likely that she was snatched up by the Bard while he escaped.

Remember that the Bard wants to eat Viktor and seemed to notice that he is close to Ivet. It wouldn't surprise me if he captured her to use as a lure for Viktor.

My suggestion is that we simply describe what we saw at the party. There's no need to give the Fae police details about Ivet's home, how Viktor met her or what she told him about her mission.

"My information will come after yours, tell me of this diplomatic mission Ivet was on."

that stuff is for Ivet to clarify. all we care to know is that the talpids worship these things.

ChildOfAB 2012/03/14(Wed)14:01 No. 392751 ID: 885ee8
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It takes considerable force of will to suppress your growing temper and focus on a solution. "I will provide you with whatever information you may find useful, but I do not know Ivet's current whereabouts."
The snake pulls a clipboard from behind her back and begins scribbling something lengthy on it. "Expected, I suppose. Do you know any places she might be hiding?"
"We didn't arrange a meeting place," you reply.
"That does not answer my question, Viktor."
You try your best to keep your face blank. "She could be anywhere. I thought these questions were going to be about the attack?"
"Are you lying, or are you just completely useless to me?" she asks, giving you an askance look over the top of the clipboard.
Your voice starts to take on a more rumbling tone. "I am being honest and reasonable. Ivet told me about the failed diplomatic mission, how these... talpids killed your diplomat. Their leader is a serious threat to your people."
"To be perfectly frank, Viktor, their leader is a threat to your people, not ours. The strength of Mother's honor guard, and Mother herself, has never faltered, and will not falter. Mother has conquered the harshest environment in the world and turned it into this lush paradise, with the rule of law and the greatest collection of mages in the world at her back. The Fey have their hedonism and hedge-magic. The citizens of this city, the TRUE citizens, are in no danger. If you squatters would only see that and crawl out of your gutters and into the true society, you would already know that. Instead you wallow in the dirt, just waiting for your population to be devoured by predators. And oh, look, that's exactly what's happening." You are momentarily taken aback, as she continues. "As for you, if you were a creature that would be affected by a Zone of Truth spell, or if your kind were less resistant to pain, I might have some use for you. As it stands, there is no reason for you to be here." She turns and nods to the beetle beside her, and speaks in another language. "leave a body to raise, just in case."
The scarab's spell hits you on the arm and you feel a swath of your flesh char, but it fails to stop your forward momentum. There is a simultaneous crack and a thud, and your arms are coated in the vital fluids of the two bodyguards.
You bring your face right up to the snake's. "The time for me to continue being reasonable has ended."

ChildOfAB 2012/03/14(Wed)14:01 No. 392753 ID: 885ee8
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End of Chapter 2

>>392753
They stated their intent to kill you. It is perfectly reasonable to kill them.
Oh, and eat up! No sense letting meat go to waste!

We should eat the ones who attack, but should not take the time to pursue those who flee. The cloaks will be here soon, and their abilities definitely work on us.

indeed, don't stop moving or bother to chase the runners. just get out of here.

He's probably going to start a new thread for the new chapter. May as well save your posts, and just discuss if anything.

>>392761
This. Move quickly, eat when you can. Once you break line of sight with assailants, try to hide. You'll need to figure out where to go next.

I am not sure eating in plain view is such a good idea. Right now, you still look like an ent and they probably think you still are one. Revealing the ruse might create new problems.

Perhaps devouring everybody when you can be certain there are no witnesses would be wise?