"No, it doesn't, but gods be damned if I'm going back on the promise I made to my parents! I know changing him back won't reverse a single thing he's done, I know it won't bring my friend back, but nobody is going to stop me from trying without killing my. Yes, Chan'trikalliax is dead to you, yes he is possessed, but I refuse to believe you would not go back and stop all of that from happening if you could." He pulls a card from within his robes and flicks it through the barrier. It looks burnt and useless, nothing a Seer should be carrying around. "Before I turned from magic, I tried making a new card, Time, to change things. Needless to say, it didn't work."
"Do you think you're the first one to think of that gambit? Do you think that after raiding all of the other treasure hoards on this world that I only had three wishing rings? The first time I killed the corrupt monk who introduced my son to evil. The demon still found Chan'trikalliax. My children still died, and Aananda'reavekki...she would have been better off dead. The second time I killed the monk and blocked the demon. Chan'trikalliax found evil all on his own. It just took him a little longer to think of killing his siblings. He started with Aananda'reavekki in that timeline. I spent an entire ring trying to save him, and the others too. I spent another one putting everything back the way it was. Some things cannot be changed."
"You will have to explain things to my daughter and her mate yourself. I will not make things easy on you. Know that I will be watching, and be sure you are entirely certain who is controlling whom. She is my last remaining child and I will not hesitate to end any threat to her swiftly and with extreme finality."
"I understand Rylehtin'akksavith, and I would expect nothing less. I thank you for not telling them the first chance you got, or coming in here to rip my head off about this, though it would be understandable. Could you go now? I don't think my next discussion about my brother is going to be as pleasent as this one, and I do need to rest."
Once Ryleh leaves, Ryo recreates the illusion that he is sleeping on the bed. He places the comm Aananda gave him and the datapad Bek'kaar gave him on the table next to the bed, then removes his metal arm and puts it in the illusion. He then grabs a pillow, heads back to his corner, and remakes his wall before he finally lets himself pass out.
Aananda whimpers in her sleep. Her dreams are troubled, but she is so exhausted after the fight with the Silver that she cannot wake up. She overextended her resources badly. Ryleh watches her as she sleeps. She smooths the hair back from her daughter's face, and tries to keep her as calm as possible.
Thanks to a well-timed intervention by Doc Zeppler (who, thanks to Ryleh, knew he was coming), Tam's containment by the ship's security systems is relatively brief. The 'dressing down' by his former teacher over what just happened, on the other hand, goes on for hours....the only thing that really grants him a reprieve is getting dragged off to Medbay to have that pesky life energy drained by the reincarnate magic restored to him.
Afterward, both he and Fivain briefly return to the comet while Aananda and Ryo sleep, and take measures to dispose of the Silver's body. Once that is done and they are back on board the Harbinger, Tam makes an escape from her withering glare to go check on the other two...
Ryleh looks up as Tam approaches. "She will wake soon. You should leave Ryo be for now. It's better if you both speak with him at the same time. I would suggest that you observe what happened in the mirror if you haven't already. I will leave now. There are a few things I wish to do before we leave."
And with that she exits the shuttle.
Ryleh looks up as Tam approaches. "She will wake soon. You should leave Ryo be for now. It's better if you both speak with him at the same time. I would suggest that you observe what happened in the mirror if you haven't already. I will leave now. There are a few things I wish to do before we leave."
And with that she exits the shuttle.
"Why, what's up with...." Tam starts to reply, but Ryleh has already left the shuttle.
"...hmmm. Ooookaaaay."
Tam sits down and fiddles with the mirror, replaying the battle from the point where he 'left'. Highlights include -
His pulped body falling: "Ewww..."
Aananda going 'nova': "Woooowwwww..."
Ryo conjuring what looks like his brother to finish off the Silver:[/i] "Wait...wha....? Okay, that's kinda tacky..."
Aananda tearing the Silver apart afterward: "..." (O.o)
Aananda sits bolt upright, the scream stopping before it really gets started as she sees Tam sitting beside her bed. It comes out more like a squeak.
"Tam. You're here. It was just a dream. Thank the gods." She hugs him tightly.
Aananda sits bolt upright, the scream stopping before it really gets started as she sees Tam sitting beside her bed. It comes out more like a squeak.
"Tam. You're here. It was just a dream. Thank the gods." She hugs him tightly.
"Hey...yeah, I'm here. My cheeks are still a bit sore from my verbal spanking courtesy of Fivain (and a few others), but, I'm still here, baby," as he hugs her back and plants a long kiss on her.
"And I patently refuse to allow you to have bad dreams regarding me. I'm serious - if I catch you doing that again, I'll....I'll hide your tools. So there," he says with a warm smile that belies his mock sarcasm. ;D
Aananda sits bolt upright, the scream stopping before it really gets started as she sees Tam sitting beside her bed. It comes out more like a squeak.
"Tam. You're here. It was just a dream. Thank the gods." She hugs him tightly.
"Hey...yeah, I'm here. My cheeks are still a bit sore from my verbal spanking courtesy of Fivain (and a few others), but, I'm still here, baby," as he hugs her back and plants a long kiss on her.
"And I patently refuse to allow you to have bad dreams regarding me. I'm serious - if I catch you doing that again, I'll....I'll hide your tools. So there," he says with a warm smile that belies his mock sarcasm. ;D
She laughed. It was a pretty shaky laugh, but she seemed to be relaxing.
"I just kept reliving that horrible battle. After....it's kind of a blur after. I kinda went a little nuts. I remember the Silver falling out of the sky, and then I must have been really confused because I thought I saw Keaton, and I know I was picking little scales out of my teeth for a while. I really don't want to think about how they got there. I really hope that memory never decides to surface in my dreams ever again."
"Yeah - your mom was pretty adamant about me going over what happened in the last part of the fight," he says, holding up the mirror.
"You two were pretty amazing. Not that I want a repeat of that kind of stress-induced power, mind you. And you weren't confused about Keaton - it looks like Ryo has concocted some kind of shadow card magic thingy that looks like him. He used it to lay the Silver low so you could make sure he...didn't get back up again."
"Needless to say, the whole thing was pretty surreal to watch. Another reason why I don't think I want to make a habit of it," he says with a smile.
"No. Definitely not making a habit of that," she said, and kissed him.
She sighed. "Okay, I should probably get up now. I want to finish the modifications to the autocasters before we leave. And I should warn you, I'm absolutely starving. Where's Ryo? Is he still sleeping?"
"No. Definitely not making a habit of that," she said, and kissed him.
She sighed. "Okay, I should probably get up now. I want to finish the modifications to the autocasters before we leave. And I should warn you, I'm absolutely starving. Where's Ryo? Is he still sleeping?"
"Yep - I don't think he's moved an inch since we docked. He must still be wiped out," he replies, pointing at his berth.
"Let's go back to my cabin and get some food in you (and use my workshop, yes). We'll bring some back for Ryo, so he can stay here and get some more rest. Besides, I'd rather you and I have some time to ourselves," as he rubs his nose against hers. (^_^)
"No. Definitely not making a habit of that," she said, and kissed him.
She sighed. "Okay, I should probably get up now. I want to finish the modifications to the autocasters before we leave. And I should warn you, I'm absolutely starving. Where's Ryo? Is he still sleeping?"
"Yep - I don't think he's moved an inch since we docked. He must still be wiped out," he replies, pointing at his berth.
"Let's go back to my cabin and get some food in you (and use my workshop, yes). We'll bring some back for Ryo, so he can stay here and get some more rest. Besides, I'd rather you and I have some time to ourselves," as he rubs his nose against hers. (^_^)
"mmmmm....time to ourselves....I like this plan." ^.^
Over the course of the next few hours Tam and Aananda are able to get the autocasters fully finished, have a meal, and test the limits of Tam's new body. ;) Aananda makes sure to transfer the schematics of the autocasters to a new datapad so that more of them can be made.
"Okay, so which do we do first? Go get Ryo or deliver these," she said holding the datapad and the two spare autocasters, "to Fivain?"
"mmmmm....time to ourselves....I like this plan." ^.^"No. Definitely not making a habit of that," she said, and kissed him.
She sighed. "Okay, I should probably get up now. I want to finish the modifications to the autocasters before we leave. And I should warn you, I'm absolutely starving. Where's Ryo? Is he still sleeping?"
"Yep - I don't think he's moved an inch since we docked. He must still be wiped out," he replies, pointing at his berth.
"Let's go back to my cabin and get some food in you (and use my workshop, yes). We'll bring some back for Ryo, so he can stay here and get some more rest. Besides, I'd rather you and I have some time to ourselves," as he rubs his nose against hers. (^_^)
"I can be quite the dastardly mastermind when the right motivation presents itself," he says innocently as he helps her up and they retreat to his quarters on the Harbinger. "Let's work on making some sweeter dreams."
Several hours later (enough for Ryo to have actually gotten some decent sleep), they'll head back and bring some more grub for him to munch on ^.^
Over the course of the next couple of hours Tam and Aananda are able to get the autocasters fully finished, have a meal, and test the limits of Tam's new body. ;) Aananda makes sure to transfer the schematics of the autocasters to a new datapad so that more of them can be made.
"Okay, so which do we do first? Go get Ryo or deliver these," she said holding the datapad and the two spare autocasters, "to Fivain?"
"Ryo probably needs some grub. Let's wheel some food his way, then we can take the autocasters to Fivain."
"Ryo probably needs some grub. Let's wheel some food his way, then we can take the autocasters to Fivain."Over the course of the next few hours Tam and Aananda are able to get the autocasters fully finished, have a meal, and test the limits of Tam's new body. ;) Aananda makes sure to transfer the schematics of the autocasters to a new datapad so that more of them can be made.
"Okay, so which do we do first? Go get Ryo or deliver these," she said holding the datapad and the two spare autocasters, "to Fivain?"
"Okay," she said, agreeably, in a very cheerful mood.
They headed back to the shuttle to check on Ryo.
Tam and Aananda wheel in a small cart of food and park it by Ryo's berth. Tam then gives him a good shake.
"Rise and shine, sleepyhead!" he yells with annoying good cheer. ;)
This is your last chance to pick up any space-borne food poisoning before we head back, so eat up! We've gotta drop off some autocasters with Fivain and find Ryleh, then we should be ready to go."
"Ummmmm....Tam? Why is Ryo covered in mites? And why is there such a big concentration of mites over there in the corner? " she asked, concerned.
"Ummmmm....Tam? Why is Ryo covered in mites? And why is there such a big concentration of mites over there in the corner? " she asked, concerned.
"Crap - maybe Zeppler already fed him something," he replies (with some concern) as he invokes a detect magic cantrip.
"Huh...that looks like a dome over in the corner. Ryo? Man, wake up! Are you sleep-casting or something!?"
Tam grabs Ryo's cybernetic arm to shake him, and is a bit shocked when the whole thing comes free and he is holding it aloft.
"GAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!" :D
"I don't understand. Why would he take his arm off? Why would he make an illusion of himself like the one he made when we were trying to follow him after he....said....he was.....going to deal with......Keaton...."
"He lied to us????!"
"I don't understand. Why would he take his arm off? Why would he make an illusion of himself like the one he made when we were trying to follow him after he....said....he was.....going to deal with......Keaton...."
"He lied to us????!"
"Wait...what? Lied to us about what?" he asks, trying to find a convenient place to put the arm down. ^.^
"I don't understand. Why would he take his arm off? Why would he make an illusion of himself like the one he made when we were trying to follow him after he....said....he was.....going to deal with......Keaton...."
"He lied to us????!"
"Wait...what? Lied to us about what?" he asks, trying to find a convenient place to put the arm down. ^.^
"Ryo makes illusions like this when he's trying to avoid being found. There has to be a reason he didn't want to be found. He put his arm on the illusion. That's overkill by a long shot. That means he didn't want to be found by us. The last time he did an illusion like this he was going to deal with Keaton. But Keaton came out of Ryo's shadow. I thought it was some kind of illusion....but why would he expect us to be angry over an illusion? He'd know better. I...I don't think it was an illusion. And I would very much like an explanation. Especially if I'm wrong."
She sat down on the bed and put her head in her hands.
A groan comes from the "dome" in the corner.
"Come on, what does a Seer have to do to get some shut eye around here?"
Ryo lowers the wall partially so they can see his head, very sleepy eyes looking at them.
"Oh, sorry about the arm. I didn't want to be disturbed, so I took it off to add some realism to the Illusion. I'm to tired to use Doppelganger right now. Leaving fire bombs on the Silver and using Shadow like I did..." He hskaes his head. "Too much all at once."
Sneaking up to the side of the cabbin he notices a small clothes-line behind it, looking around to make sure no one was watching, he darts out to grab some clothes, his current pants already falling down on his now smaller body.
Vines whip out of flower beds as Kar begins to grab the clothes, trying to wrap around his limbs and entangle him.
A groan comes from the "dome" in the corner.
"Come on, what does a Seer have to do to get some shut eye around here?"
Ryo lowers the wall partially so they can see his head, very sleepy eyes looking at them.
"Oh, sorry about the arm. I didn't want to be disturbed, so I took it off to add some realism to the Illusion. I'm to tired to use Doppelganger right now. Leaving fire bombs on the Silver and using Shadow like I did..." He shakes his head. "Too much all at once."
"Who were you worried about being disturbed by that you needed that much realism?"
She stood up. "You know what? Just forget it. You don't really trust anyone. I get it. I'm going for a walk now before I say something I'm gonna regret."
She walked over to the door and stopped.
"At first I thought I was confusing my dreams with my memories, but I wasn't, was I? Shadows don't usually complain about being summoned."
Kar is entierly surprised by the vines, not expecting any defences for a simple cottage. The vines lash out and wrap around his arms and legs, trapping him.
Kar is entierly surprised by the vines, not expecting any defences for a simple cottage. The vines lash out and wrap around his arms and legs, trapping him.
Once the vines are holding him steady and upright(along with his pants), the door of the cabin opens, and a young female halfling walks out. Her skin is a deep, earthy brown that marks the amount of time she spends outside, and her green-blonde hair appears sun-bleached.
"So... it seems I've caught someone." She looks over her shoulder to shout back through the door. "Hey Ormarr, your snakes full or something? They usually react before my vines when the wards are activated!"
"Anyway, what brings you 'shopping' in my garden?" She asks good-naturedly.
Kar struggles reflexively against the vines as the Halfling appears and speaks her mind, "Just seeing the sights ma'am, If you'll let me go I'll be on my way." He says, the vines chaffing his bare chest.
"Normally Aananda, I'd say I have little idea what my Cards can do and are capable of. Getting injured in the same place as Doppelganger was an example. I've only been part of the endangered Cardcaster species for maybe.. a month and a half now?"
"But that isn't the answer you're wanting, is it? I put the arm in the illusion for the same reason the autocaster and datapad are on the table there. If things... got out of hand, I was going to leave before we started fighting, and I'm not talking verbal fighting either. I didn't want either of you thinking I used you to get things I couldn't normally."
"Do you remeber the fight we had at the mansion, when Keaton looked like a little kid again and I started protecting him?"
Kar struggles reflexively against the vines as the Halfling appears and speaks her mind, "Just seeing the sights ma'am, If you'll let me go I'll be on my way." He says, the vines chaffing his bare chest.
"I'm afraid I can't let you do that. You see I was taught better." She eyes Kar critically, then walks back into the house. A few minutes later, she walks out with a small pile of folded clothes. She whispers to the vines, and they retreat back to their beds, thoughone stays wrapped around him long enough for him to hold his pants up. "Here, these should fit you better than those baggy things. You can change in the house, then join us for lunch if you want too. Normally, my teacher would be doing this, but he's away right now."
"Just watch where you step! With Teach' gone, we relax and let our friends do the same."
Kar watches the halfling as she tosses him clothes. "Thank you." He says, "I'm normally not this... Bare." He says, putting on the shirt. As she enters the house, he quickly looks to make sure no one is watching and switches out his pants for the ones she gave him, ones that actually fit his body.
Walking inside he marvels at the large ammount of plants and snakes, wondering why the halfling may be so obsessed.
"Thank you for the invitation." He says, "My name is Kar whitefall, Im an adventurer by trade, though I prefer travelling around." He says, following her through the veritable maze of foliage and fangs.
"I'm Adsila, gardener extraordinaire. Ormarr(you'll probably meet him later, I think he's either sunning or swimming) is our resident snake charmer, in case you were wondering about our little indoors jungle. What would you like to eat? We've got various meats, fruits, and vegetables I can get ready in a few minutes, or more if you don't mind waiting."
"Normally Aananda, I'd say I have little idea what my Cards can do and are capable of. Getting injured in the same place as Doppelganger was an example. I've only been part of the endangered Cardcaster species for maybe.. a month and a half now?"
"But that isn't the answer you're wanting, is it? I put the arm in the illusion for the same reason the autocaster and datapad are on the table there. If things... got out of hand, I was going to leave before we started fighting, and I'm not talking verbal fighting either. I didn't want either of you thinking I used you to get things I couldn't normally."
"Do you remeber the fight we had at the mansion, when Keaton looked like a little kid again and I started protecting him?"
"I'm not going to fight you, you idiot!" she said, whirling back, tears starting to form in her eyes.
"And yeah, I remember. Your eyes suddenly went all misty, totally covered in mites. And then I blacked out because my mom interfered. Whatever you're going to say, Ryo, it better be the whole truth. I don't like being lied to. My brother did that a lot. You're supposed to be better than that."