Dave pats him on the back when he seems to have trouble with his food before answering his question, tapping on his fingers as he lists off cakes"Cheesecake or rumcake or ice cream cake. I like pretty much any kind but that generic slightly sweetened bread with iceing on it"
"Oh. Any, um, interesting stories? Believe it or not, being captured by a cult is surprisingly mundane, at least for the most part. I never really got a chance to see the world before arriving here.""Well... Ooh, there was that one time I visited a volcano, and that other where I wrestled a bear, or that time where I went up a mountain so high I could look down on the clouds."
Robin tilts her head, raising an eyebrow. "...what's a volcano?"
"Well, there are some lizards that are really good at gripping things, yeah? You could try that. And some types of monkeys are really, really small, so you might be able to make that work. Or even a snake. I mean, that kind of tail can probably do a lot, so if reptiles are easier, you just need to get creative about how you use them, right?" Jeran asked, absently continuing to play with the ferret as he spoke.The ferret has decided to make a small tunnel system under Jeran's linen napkin, burrowing under and poking his head out of one side with a little bark before going to another, thinking Jeran couldn't seem him moving under the napkin in between appearances.
"Yeah, I didn't think about that. Chameleons hold onto stuff pretty well, now that I think about it."
Jeran smiled tolerantly at the ferret's game, and nodded when Kevin mentioned chameleons. "Yeah, exactly. you could really use that to help you."
Whatever he was about to say next was interrupted by the arrival of their food. Jeran's platter was enormous as it was the entire fish as opposed to just a serving. "This looks amazing, thanks," he said to the waitress as she set it down in front of him.
He laughs a bit at assuming he'd be a show off.
"I'm not going to deny it, but we'll see how things go. Maybe we can work something out to really impress folks together, eh?"
He puts his hands on his hips as he's ready for the next lesson.
She ran through a few different dance moves over the next few minutes. Nothing terribly complicated. She wasn't kidding about being stiff though. He'd seen her be perfectly graceful while dancing before. But this type of dancing seemed to trip her up as she couldn't seem to get out of her own way.
She stopped, frustrated and put her hands on her hips. "It doesn't exactly translate well for me, and I don't know exactly why. I can improvise just fine in ballet. It's not that different," she said, frustrated.
after a somewhat long pause Lucas collects himself and responds, his voice charming and smooth, ignoring the newcomer who had either fallen silent or ended up being an illusion or something "Not to worry my dear, I've taken classes on public and private speaking from the tutors my parents hired. I'm told such is uncommon, so it's natural we would each have different skill sets, but if it's something you would like to learn how to do better, I'm sure there are pleanty of opportunities here, maybe you could take a creative writing or public speaking class or get one of the newly disenfranchised former nobility flocking the school to help you""I'm just saying, it's hard not to evesdrop for those of us with enhanced senses""Thank you! I tried explaining that earlier, but I may not have been quite so...er....well, there were a lot more words involved and it may have been a little bit confusing," Lyzzie said with a shrug, embarrassed that she didn't know the right word to say.
"Yeah, that's a great idea," Lyzzie said cheerfully. "I have no trouble talking, well okay the trouble is mostly that I talk too much and don't actually pause for breath as often as I should and I may have some problems with staying on topic because I never had much practice talking to people growing up because we moved around so much and my mom is way super duper overprotective and wouldn't let me talk to strangers cause we were running away from this scary cult I guess, I mean I never actually saw them so I guess I have to take her word for it, and I'm doing it again..." she said, trailing off, blushing a little as she realized that she had started in on the chatterbox routine again. "Gotta remember to pause so other people can get a word in edgewise," she added self-consciously.
Ace sits his considerable bulk (800lbs) on the commander. He shifts his vocal cords around and calls out to Fei. "Got one of the commanders. What should I do with him?"Assuming the rest of the rank and file troops are in full retreat, Fei sends some the nanite swarm harassing them back to the remaining dropped piles of armor, where they quickly assimilate the material and then assemble into an intricate restraint harness around the pinned commander.
"Perhaps it would be best to isolate him and the other leaders we have captured from the rest of the troops," the young monk offers.
Jaiye, demon in tow, makes her way through the battlefield full of now pacified troops towards Fei. "Any idea what exactly is going on here?" she asked, deliberately ignoring the very pissed off and annoyed succubus chained to her arm.
Ace sits on the commander, still in dire wolf form. "Perhaps this one has some answers? Also, are the siblings safe?" He avoids saying names for the time being, just in case.
Jaiye, demon in tow, makes her way through the battlefield full of now pacified troops towards Fei. "Any idea what exactly is going on here?" she asked, deliberately ignoring the very pissed off and annoyed succubus chained to her arm.
Fei bows approvingly to Jaiye and her evident success in restraining the succubus as she approaches.
"We...are not yet sure if this attack is connected to your prisoner," the young monk replies. "I do know that many of the guardsman were complicit in it, and abandoned their posts as soon as the drow appeared."
"While it seems quite plausible for a demon to orchestrate a coup, these events may just be a series of unfortunate coincidences. Admittedly, though, I do not know the full reason why the succubus is here in the first place, so my observations could be dangerously misinformed..."
|
"I doubt that a "scary cult" could harm you here, even were it not for this place's reputation, anyone with eyes that can see can tell that this place has an astoundingly large variety of mutants and magical powerhouses" he taps the side of his head and his eyes flash yellow as he says "eyes that can see" before he continues, saying "have you signed up for classes yet? If not then I'd strongly recommend meditation and asking if there's a public speaking class"
Maya has been mostly quiet, for a while. She's still here, but seems to have not really been listening.
Robin tilts her head, raising an eyebrow. "...what's a volcano?""Oh. Any, um, interesting stories? Believe it or not, being captured by a cult is surprisingly mundane, at least for the most part. I never really got a chance to see the world before arriving here.""Well... Ooh, there was that one time I visited a volcano, and that other where I wrestled a bear, or that time where I went up a mountain so high I could look down on the clouds."
"it's a mountain, but full of rock so hot it's melted."
Jaiye, demon in tow, makes her way through the battlefield full of now pacified troops towards Fei. "Any idea what exactly is going on here?" she asked, deliberately ignoring the very pissed off and annoyed succubus chained to her arm.Fei bows approvingly to Jaiye and her evident success in restraining the succubus as she approaches.
"We...are not yet sure if this attack is connected to your prisoner," the young monk replies. "I do know that many of the guardsman were complicit in it, and abandoned their posts as soon as the drow appeared."
"While it seems quite plausible for a demon to orchestrate a coup, these events may just be a series of unfortunate coincidences. Admittedly, though, I do not know the full reason why the succubus is here in the first place, so my observations could be dangerously misinformed..."
"Oh, puh-lease," the demon said, rolling her eyes. "If I have to be subjected to these indignities, at least don't also insult my intelligence and planning skills while you're at it. Ow!" she cried out, glaring at Jaiye for the backhand she'd just been dealt. "You are so going to pay for that later," she growled.
Jaiye rolled her eyes. "Yeah, so I don't trust her at all, but the demon has a point. This is not her style. It's not convoluted enough. And relying on drow for help? What was she going to do, blackmail them with threats about revealing their good deeds if they didn't cooperate? She already had a scheme in motion, and I am quite certain she was surprised by our trap, or she wouldn't still be stuck in it."
Motioning with a paw to the commander under him, Ace asks "Anybody got some manacles for this guy? Maybe he has some answers for us?"
Robin's eyes widen. "Wow. That sounds... terrifying, to be quite frank."
"Oh, puh-lease," the demon said, rolling her eyes. "If I have to be subjected to these indignities, at least don't also insult my intelligence and planning skills while you're at it. Ow!" she cried out, glaring at Jaiye for the backhand she'd just been dealt. "You are so going to pay for that later," she growled.
Jaiye rolled her eyes. "Yeah, so I don't trust her at all, but the demon has a point. This is not her style. It's not convoluted enough. And relying on drow for help? What was she going to do, blackmail them with threats about revealing their good deeds if they didn't cooperate? She already had a scheme in motion, and I am quite certain she was surprised by our trap, or she wouldn't still be stuck in it."
Other than his eyes tracking slowly between the succubus and Jaiye as the lycan strikes her captive, Fei does not make any other move during that interchange to show his concern over this behavior.
"As I said...I did not consider it likely," he replies in his usual, measured tone.
Motioning with a paw to the commander under him, Ace asks "Anybody got some manacles for this guy? Maybe he has some answers for us?"
Ace sits his considerable bulk (800lbs) on the commander. He shifts his vocal cords around and calls out to Fei. "Got one of the commanders. What should I do with him?"Assuming the rest of the rank and file troops are in full retreat, Fei sends some the nanite swarm harassing them back to the remaining dropped piles of armor, where they quickly assimilate the material and then assemble into an intricate restraint harness around the pinned commander.
The young monk then gestures to Casilkasheyith's prisoner.
"That is one of the commanders of the drow units that attacked. I have his fellow commanders restrained with the other troops over there. I am sure that one of them will be able to give us their purpose for being here...and who they are allied with in Laeren."
Robin's eyes widen. "Wow. That sounds... terrifying, to be quite frank."
"It could be." she nods. "add that to the fact they can explode anytime, and you've got a place people certianly are less likely to want to live around."
"I doubt that a "scary cult" could harm you here, even were it not for this place's reputation, anyone with eyes that can see can tell that this place has an astoundingly large variety of mutants and magical powerhouses" he taps the side of his head and his eyes flash yellow as he says "eyes that can see" before he continues, saying "have you signed up for classes yet? If not then I'd strongly recommend meditation and asking if there's a public speaking class"
"Uh, yeah, super safe here," she says, uncomfortably, her voice rising to a squeak as she looks anywhere but at him and tries not to think too hard about having been murdered and resurrected yesterday. "I've been here since the start of the semester. It's a little hard to keep up sometimes, but that's what it's like when you're one of the youngest in classes and you don't have much formal schooling," she said cheerfully, quickly steering the subject elsewhere.
"Oh, puh-lease," the demon said, rolling her eyes. "If I have to be subjected to these indignities, at least don't also insult my intelligence and planning skills while you're at it. Ow!" she cried out, glaring at Jaiye for the backhand she'd just been dealt. "You are so going to pay for that later," she growled.
Jaiye rolled her eyes. "Yeah, so I don't trust her at all, but the demon has a point. This is not her style. It's not convoluted enough. And relying on drow for help? What was she going to do, blackmail them with threats about revealing their good deeds if they didn't cooperate? She already had a scheme in motion, and I am quite certain she was surprised by our trap, or she wouldn't still be stuck in it."
Other than his eyes tracking slowly between the succubus and Jaiye as the lycan strikes her captive, Fei does not make any other move during that interchange to show his concern over this behavior.
"As I said...I did not consider it likely," he replies in his usual, measured tone.
Motioning with a paw to the commander under him, Ace asks "Anybody got some manacles for this guy? Maybe he has some answers for us?"** spoiler omitted **
The young monk then gestures to Casilkasheyith's prisoner.
"That is one of the commanders of the drow units that attacked. I have his fellow commanders restrained with the...
Jaiye nodded. "Okay. I'm going to let you guys take care of that, then. I think you have enough volunteers to beat them up if need be without me. I'm gonna take this troublemaker," she said, raising her manacled wrist slightly, "and see if I can find where Ehos got evacuated to. The sooner that she releases her hold on him, the sooner I can release her and hopefully never see her again," she added with a meaningful glare at the demon, who simply shrugged as if she was unbothered, but couldn't totally hide her annoyance.
Robin's eyes widen. "Wow. That sounds... terrifying, to be quite frank.""It could be." she nods. "add that to the fact they can explode anytime, and you've got a place people certianly are less likely to want to live around."
"Explode?!" Robin shakes her head. "I certainly am glad that I never lived near one of those things."
Jaiye nodded. "Okay. I'm going to let you guys take care of that, then. I think you have enough volunteers to beat them up if need be without me. I'm gonna take this troublemaker," she said, raising her manacled wrist slightly, "and see if I can find where Ehos got evacuated to. The sooner that she releases her hold on him, the sooner I can release her and hopefully never see her again," she added with a meaningful glare at the demon, who simply shrugged as if she was unbothered, but couldn't totally hide her annoyance.
"As you wish" Fei replies, with a nod.
"Are Tyrrin and Ghalen still here? Will they be accompanying you?"
Jaiye nodded. "Okay. I'm going to let you guys take care of that, then. I think you have enough volunteers to beat them up if need be without me. I'm gonna take this troublemaker," she said, raising her manacled wrist slightly, "and see if I can find where Ehos got evacuated to. The sooner that she releases her hold on him, the sooner I can release her and hopefully never see her again," she added with a meaningful glare at the demon, who simply shrugged as if she was unbothered, but couldn't totally hide her annoyance."As you wish" Fei replies, with a nod.
"Are Tyrrin and Ghalen still here? Will they be accompanying you?"
"I think that they were evacuated too. Ghalen went with Tyrrin so she should be safe. But it was all pretty chaotic."
Tybalt has been keeping up with his warlock caloric intake needs for long enough not to have issues eating at this pace, so he's good, if sometimes getting a little ahead of himself in speaking before swallowing.
"I think I might know about something you'll like."
He bites his lower lip a bit as he looks over his notes.
As the platter arrives, the little bump under the napkin sinks as the ferret vanishes like a stage magician's trick.
Kevin's eyes go a little wide at the size of the platter.
"Woah. I know what I'm getting next time..."
Jasper watches her slow build of frustration as he learns more modern dance moves.
"Hey, it's not so bad. I think maybe you might be having trouble with it because you're thinking too much about it as a whole different thing. Dance styles don't just happen, they kind of build and shift from one to another over time. So let's start with ballet and kinda loosen up from there."
After Jaiye leaves, Ace shifts back to his normal form. "Fei, should we take our prisoners elsewhere for questioning? Or is here fine?"
"I think that they were evacuated too. Ghalen went with Tyrrin so she should be safe. But it was all pretty chaotic."
Fei lowers his head in thought briefly.
"If you wish one of us to go with you, we will do so. Otherwise, the nanites I added to your outfit will let you communicate with me - just touch the lapel pin to do so," as some of said nanites form a floral 'button' on her dress near the neckline that matches the floral barette in her hair.
Ace shifts back to his normal form. "Fei, should we take our prisoners elsewhere for questioning? Or is here fine?"
The young monk turns back to Casilkasheyith.
"I think it will take too much time to relocate now. Let us do the questioning here, and I will make sure we have no further... interruptions."
When they were near the city, but not quite inside its protection, Tyrrin and Ghalen were attacked by a group of guards wearing leaf pins and wearing masks, which made sense as soon as they threw down a smoke bomb.
Tyrrin is doubled over coughing and cannot seem to get a proper breath.
Ghalen turns to face the mob with a grin, which becomes a grimace as he begins to cough as well.
"I think that they were evacuated too. Ghalen went with Tyrrin so she should be safe. But it was all pretty chaotic."Fei lowers his head in thought briefly.
"If you wish one of us to go with you, we will do so. Otherwise, the nanites I added to your outfit will let you communicate with me - just touch the lapel pin to do so," as some of said nanites form a floral 'button' on her dress near the neckline that matches the floral barette in her hair.
Ace shifts back to his normal form. "Fei, should we take our prisoners elsewhere for questioning? Or is here fine?"The young monk turns back to Casilkasheyith.
"I think it will take too much time to relocate now. Let us do the questioning here, and I will make sure we have no further... interruptions."
Jaiye nods and rushes off, demon in tow, heading towards the city to look for Ehos.
The drow are looking at Fei and Ace resentfully, but as they are currently unable to move they can't actually do anything about it.
As the platter arrives, the little bump under the napkin sinks as the ferret vanishes like a stage magician's trick.
Kevin's eyes go a little wide at the size of the platter.
"Woah. I know what I'm getting next time..."
Jeran chuckled. "Yeah, the curse of the shapeshifter, really high metabolism," he said with a wink. "I told you the salmon was good. Here, do you want to try a bite?" he asked, pulling off a chunk of fish and holding it out. Table manners were clearly not his strong suit.
Jasper watches her slow build of frustration as he learns more modern dance moves.
"Hey, it's not so bad. I think maybe you might be having trouble with it because you're thinking too much about it as a whole different thing. Dance styles don't just happen, they kind of build and shift from one to another over time. So let's start with ballet and kinda loosen up from there."
She shook her head. "No, it's fine. Don't worry about it. I have all semester to work on that, remember? Madame Talya insisted." She grinned. "I can make a fool of myself at one party, and it won't be the end of the world."
Ace nods. "Right then. This isn't going to be fun, for you at least. But I will have my answers, one way or another." With that, he casts a spell that lays bear the commander's mind, as Ace seeks the knowledge of what happened and why.
"I can definitely sympathize there."
He accepts the bite, popping it into his mouth, followed by a pleased nod.
"That coupled with the fact that I kind of sort of evaporate just a bit means I have to eat pretty much constantly. Good news is that I'll never get fat though. Not that I'm exactly thin like this. Calories don't matter so much as general mass does now, so I can eat whatever and it works out. Been able to try lots of new stuff too. Thankfully it didn't take too long to work out only ingesting stuff with my mouth. Accidentally absorbed a couple of my shirts before I gave up on cloth- I've probably said way to much, sorry."
He awkwardly looks away, saved by his own platter of grilled fish and thick cut fries arriving with polite thanks from him to the waitress.
He gives that wide smile, adopting one of his doubly nonchalant poses, giving a slight nod.
"True, true. It's all about having fun, right? We're both due for a bit of it, I think. Stuck for a couple of ages and only brought back out to save the universe, we've earned a chance to goof off for a bit."
"Explode?!" Robin shakes her head. "I certainly am glad that I never lived near one of those things."Robin's eyes widen. "Wow. That sounds... terrifying, to be quite frank.""It could be." she nods. "add that to the fact they can explode anytime, and you've got a place people certianly are less likely to want to live around."
"ah, yes, i suppose it might be nerve wracking.
After the poison wears off, Ghalen looks to pursue one of the other guards as they head off. Over the radio:
"Fei...ambushed...fake guards took Tyrrin via teleport, pursuing remaining agents now."
The drow blame the surface elves for ...well, pretty much every bad thing ever. They make very convenient scapegoats. Everybody wants somebody to blame. Hey, look! Let's blame those guys! They're different than us! So this was in their minds a revenge mission. Also an inside job. Somebody on the surface elf side made a pact with them. They weren't planning on honoring their side.
Their contact gave an obvious false name, and they don’t know what he looked like. All those guys look the same to them. But they know he had a penchant for ostentatious dress.
"I may have an idea about who that is."
While not the most qualified judge of elven fashion on Agartha, Fei makes an educated guess about whom the commander might be referring to. He quickly tracks the location of the nanites still on the Chancellor to ascertain the haughty elf's location...
After the poison wears off, Ghalen looks to pursue one of the other guards as they head off. Over the radio:
"Fei...ambushed...fake guards took Tyrrin via teleport, pursuing remaining agents now."
Fei's face darkens upon receiving Ghalen's transmission. While his neural lace finishes locating the Chancellor, he focuses his Champion abilities to locate Tyrrin's courage 'signature'.
"I am trying to locate her now, Ghalen...do you need assistance?" he replies, noting the raspy change in his partner's voice.
Making an easy educated guess as to the her Fei is speaking of, Ace offers "Need my help? Either with locating and dealing with the Ostentatious one, or finding 'her'? I know a spell that can probably track her down, assuming Ghalen hasn't left where she was taken from."
"I...am fine, the gas' effects are wearing off. I will hold here until you give me a heading. Over."
Ghalen takes a minute to calm himself as the dragon blood in him boils with enough anger to get him visibly shaking. The desire to burn everythign down around him to get to her...THE AUDACITY...he takes a few deep breaths...and awaits word from Fei or Ace.
She hadn't got very far before she found something concerning. About halfway between the pavilion and the city she found a guard with a knife in his back and Ehos's data pad on the ground beside him, screen cracked.
She swore, and whipped around so fast that the weight of the demon she was dragging around nearly pulled her over. She stumbled and then picked up the semi-broken data pad.
"Guys? I've got a problem here," she says, using the communication app and hoping the others pick it up. "A dead guard and Ehos's data pad in less than pristine condition. He wouldn't have left this behind if he had a choice. I can try tracking him by scent, but I'm dragging around a little extra weight right now. I can't shift, so that's going to hamper my efforts. I'll let you know what I find."
Lyzzie smiled encouragingly at Dixulri. "Of course you can sit down here," she said cheerfully. "I mean it's not like anyone is going to drive you away. We're all just trying to make new friends here. Well, except maybe Maya. She probably want to know where the office is so she can properly register. We keep getting sidetracked from that for some reason."
maya has been kinda spacing out.
She hadn't got very far before she found something concerning. About halfway between the pavilion and the city she found a guard with a knife in his back and Ehos's data pad on the ground beside him, screen cracked.
She swore, and whipped around so fast that the weight of the demon she was dragging around nearly pulled her over. She stumbled and then picked up the semi-broken data pad.
"Guys? I've got a problem here," she says, using the communication app and hoping the others pick it up. "A dead guard and Ehos's data pad in less than pristine condition. He wouldn't have left this behind if he had a choice. I can try tracking him by scent, but I'm dragging around a little extra weight right now. I can't shift, so that's going to hamper my efforts. I'll let you know what I find."
As Fei replies to Jaiye, he opens the encrypted comm channel so Ghalen can also speak with them.
"Ghalen and Tyrrin were just ambushed as well. Tyrrin was taken with teleportation magic by the turncoat guardsmen. And the Laerenites may have adopted some form of jamming technology - there is something at the city's border that is blocking my nanites from communicating with me while I was trying to track the Chancellor's location. I suspect his hand in this matter now."
"I am trying to find Tyrrin in a....different manner now. Hold your position for a moment and I will try to locate Ehos as well."
The Champion of Courage broadens his 'search' to now include Ehos' unique courage signature, as well as those of the Chancellor and the High Seer. While Tyrrin will still be the easiest for him to locate, he realizes now that he needs to cast a wider net to find his friends before something worse happens...