Lir chuckles "The Lady of the Wood is not my girlfriend, especially since I was married after our one night together. As I said before however, my wife is probably long since dead."
Bage turns to Zaidel as they walk and asks, "So, you seem to know a lot about this...universe. Where can I get me a pet dragon? You know; to go with my hydra."
Not satisified with his answer, Zaidel was going to say more to V.K., but Bage pulled the big warrior's attention away for a while.
"Well, Bage.. you don't. If we are talking true dragons, the best hope you have would be making a friend of a young or baby metallic dragon, like a bronze, brass, or silver. Dragons are born with superior attitudes; they will never debase themselves to be someone's 'pet'. Although there have been instances where mega-powerful villains have forced evil dragons into being their minions, but that, of course, is super-rare."
Zaidel continues, "No. Your best bet would be raising one of the 'lesser dragons', like wyverns or drakes. Lesser dragons, though not stupid, are more inclined to be lead or raised by a stronger personality. Incidentally, I've never heard of anyone raising a hydra. You may have a long, hard road of hydra husbandry ahead of you."
Kei chuckles at Zaidel's mention of Hydra husbandry.
Bisojo blew apart another priest with a blast of force, pulverizing his slight frame and hurling his broken corpse off of one of the Temple’s high balconies and into the forest.
To her right Kaz roared in pleasure as he sliced a Fey in half with his falchion. “Priest’s die easy.” He commented with joy.
“Only when they are exhausted.” Kamii replied, stepping over broken masonry and shattered bodies.
In the center of the Temple on the high altar sat the Topaz Key, as yellow and bright as the Sun itself. To Bisojo’s mystic sight it pulsed with pure, strong magic. Kamii took the altar steps three at a time and scooped up the artifact. He grinned.
“Is it what you wanted, master?” Bisojo asked.
“It’s perfect, my dear.” Kamii responded, holding the Key up to the light and looking through it.
Kaz laughed as he crushed the skull of a wounded Fey who was crawling across the floor. As bone splintered beneath his cloven hoof he turned to Kamii. “Only one to go! Soon we will be Gods, won’t we master?!”
Kamii put the Gem inside his robe and gave Kaz a small smile.
“Of course we will.”
"YES!" Kaz exclaimed. "I'm going to be a God, a naughty demon God! The fun will be endless!"
Bisojo melted the skin off of a Sun Fey warrior who charged into the Temple, presumably to aid the fallen priests, and turned to Kamii. “Shall I initiate the invasion of Al'Lamar, master?”
Kamii cocked his head to one side, admiring a painting of the Sun Fey reveling in a moonlight meadow. “The Fey are out of the picture, no one will come to the human's aid. Do it.”
-
From the depths of the broken mountain the fiends swarmed, called by the beacon of Bisojo’s magic, Abyssal swarms of such fiendish variety only hell could contain.
They blackened the sky like a dark storm cloud and blotted out the sun with their numbers as they angled toward distant Al'Lamar, hooting, screeching and roaring, preparing to visit unholy death upon one of the few remaining beacons of civilized power in the region.
With its military weakened by several years of Devlin's deliberate misrule, the city wouldn't stand a chance.
"Wish we'd kept more of them, even if I can't train it or get it trained whats it gonna do? Bite me?"
"Wish we'd kept more of them, even if I can't train it or get it trained whats it gonna do? Bite me?"
Zaidel chuckled, "No. Just Uncle Joseph's unlimited supply of hydra chow with you regeneration powers."
Bage pops his fist on his palm. "Unlimited food supply plus unlimited head regeneration. Training these things will be a piece of cake. Joseph cake."
The Vulture King notes, "Being a minor deity with some power over beasts, I believe I can help with your...project. Reptiles have never been my strong suit though. While I'm sure the hydra wouldn't mind taking a snack out of Joseph whenever it pleases, I think that it is not quite viable in the long run."
Snorting a bit Joseph puts a hand on Bage's shoulder. "Hey, pay me royalties and we can call it that!"
Joseph feigns shock at VK's proposal of a magical solution, speaking in a tone heavily layered with sarcasm. "You'll keep your sorcerers wiles away from our baby's! Their love will be legitimate and pure! Even if it takes a thousand bites!"
Alyssa shrugs.
"Well, you never know. There's been a lot of strange things going around here. I wouldn't be surprised at all if she just walked up here in a few moments. Don't give up hope, ok?" She smiles at him.
Lir squeezes her should in thanks. "It's OK, that part of my life is done. It was over ten thousand years ago. She was long lived, but not like I am."
He grins at her then, "Ya know, if this is a dream, or rather *your* dream, then you should be able to conjurer up my wife, no?" He teases playfully.
A mischievous smirk crosses Zaidel's face, as he walks slightly faster to catch up with Alyssa.
"Alright, Alyssa. Let's say this is all a dream you are having. If this is so, what does the appearance of the many-headed hydra, a stark phallic creature, mean? Or that you arrived in this dream the only female surrounded by virile men?"
|
Alyssa stares icily at Zaidel. "Don't think that because I don't have a sword that means that I can't put you on the ground, Joseph." she says.
She waits for Zaidel's reaction, then laughs. "Oh God, I'm getting old, aren't I? My mother must've been right, my biological clock is ticking. Soon, I'm going to be sitting around a fire, petting my cats and crocheting. Help me." She shakes her head ruefully.
She quickly recovers, and yells sternly at the two walking with her. "Doesn't mean either of you are getting lucky, though!"
The elf laughs at Alyssa's outburst, then decides to torment her a bit more. "Since this is apparently a dream, wouldn't one of us getting lucky not mean anything? After all this whole world is fake, even us, according to you."
The elf laughs at Alyssa's outburst, then decides to torment her a bit more. "Since this is apparently a dream, wouldn't one of us getting lucky not mean anything? After all this whole world is fake, even us, according to you."
Zaidel grins, seeing a 'partner-in-crime' in poking holes in Alyssa's arguement, continues.
"Dream sex doesn't lead to pregnancy or disease. There are no repercussions or detriments. Just raw, animalistic sex with perfect physical specimens. Come now, let the wild woman within free!"| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
V.K. sidles over and says calmly, ”Please, friends, Alyssa should be able to produce a demigod with whatever bird deity she wishes.” As soon as be finishes speaking, his poker face cracks and he begins to laugh, ”I fear animalistic could take on entirely different connotation given the nature of yours truly.”
Joseph hangs back, shaking his head and grinning. "Haha! Man, Alyssa I would have sent'em spinning by now. Gotta stand up for yourself man! Though I must say, my relationship seems to put a stopper in the "Surrounded by virile men" bit." He finishes with a wink to Ashley and a chuckle.
|
|
Alyssa groans. "This isn't a dream, this is a nightmare!" she cries.
"Look, dreams are supposed to reflect our inner desires, right? Well, I'm not throwing myself wildly at a man in the real world, and I'm not doing it in my dreams, either. If I do so now, it means something might happen later. So, no."
She begins to increase her pace, trying to move ahead of the trio. As she leaves, she quickly turns and winks at the three playfully. "Though there's no telling what may happen in a more private place...." she answers, before walking off.
"Alright, so if this is your dream, what are your inner desires that have led you to create a world full of strangers, ogres, fae, demons, and who knows what else? Why have you dreamed up Big Hunky Warrior, Captain Can't Die, Talking Bird Man, myself, et el? Are we supposed to be different facets of your inner thoughts or personalities?" Lir continues to probe, trying to see if he can get Alyssa to admit this might not be her dream after all.
”Please, friends, Alyssa should be able to produce a demigod with whatever bird deity she wishes.” As soon as be finishes speaking, his poker face cracks and he begins to laugh, ”I fear animalistic could take on entirely different connotation given the nature of yours truly.”
The big warrior bursts out laughing. "Great one, V.K.! God of Birds and Jokes"!!!
She begins to increase her pace, trying to move ahead of the trio. As she leaves, she quickly turns and winks at the three playfully. "Though there's no telling what may happen in a more private place...." she answers, before walking off.
Zaidel playfully gives Alyssa a little wave as she leaves the three in her dust.
Hmmm. Keep that info for later.
"So it is true what people say about Americans" mumbles Kei to himself.
The Vulture King raises his eyebrows at Kei, ”America,” he says slowly, as if having some difficulty pronouncing it, ”What is that? A mighty tribe? I must say the concept even of a city is strange to me.”
|
|
"Alright, so if this is your dream, what are your inner desires that have led you to create a world full of strangers, ogres, fae, demons, and who knows what else? Why have you dreamed up Big Hunky Warrior, Captain Can't Die, Talking Bird Man, myself, et el? Are we supposed to be different facets of your inner thoughts or personalities?" Lir continues to probe, trying to see if he can get Alyssa to admit this might not be her dream after all.
Alyssa calls "Goodbye, John," in a friendly way, and continues her increased pace till she's out of earshot.
Lir chuckles, then disappears and reappears about twenty feet in front of Alyssa. "Hello Alyssa."
"Really, this is all just like the matrix. Woken in a world and being told we were imprisoned by thinking we were in another world called 'Earth'. We can even bend the rules here, apparently," Bage points out.
"Really, this is all just like the matrix. Woken in a world and being told we were imprisoned by thinking we were in another world called 'Earth'. We can even bend the rules here, apparently," Bage points out.
Turning to hear Bage, Zaidel began to walk backward to reply.
"There is no spoon."
"Really, this is all just like the matrix. Woken in a world and being told we were imprisoned by thinking we were in another world called 'Earth'. We can even bend the rules here, apparently," Bage points out.
"Well, Neo and his friends could only bend the rules within 'Earth' not in the real world, by hacking the program." Tavi informs the Saiyan. "Well, disregarding those dumb sequels. I would say this is closer to four thousand plus year old Hindu Mythology where a super powered god or gods dream that they were mundane humans in a mundane world, only to awaken to the real world of magic and power when they die in the dream."
When several heads in the party turn to regard Tavi she shrugs. "In the Court of the Lady I had access to more than one link to the past."
"I'm just taking things as they come at this point. My particular situation has taken out all the stress from this ordeal. Life is like a big'ol vidya game at this point... I miss video games already... Can we invent video games?" He looks around with a bit of a sad face.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
When several heads in the party turn to regard Tavi she shrugs. "In the Court of the Lady I had access to more than one link to the past."
Zaidel turns back around, raging internally.
She can't possible not know all the Zelda puns she's throwing!The big warrior looks down at his hands, imagining strangling a very small fairy neck.
|
|
Lir chuckles, then disappears and reappears about twenty feet in front of Alyssa. Dimension Door "Hello Alyssa."
"Hello, John," she says, with the barest hint of exasperation in her voice, as she continues walking (towards him, at this point). "Can't leave a girl alone now, can you? Well, tell me. Have you come to continue our discussion from earlier?" She offers up a small smile.
Joseph hangs back, shaking his head and grinning. "Haha! Man, Alyssa I would have sent'em spinning by now. Gotta stand up for yourself man! Though I must say, my relationship seems to put a stopper in the "Surrounded by virile men" bit." He finishes with a wink to Ashley and a chuckle.
"The Joseph I remember was quite virile." Ashley replies. "Though you seem a bit older and slower in general these days..." She says, looking him up and down.
"Do you still have the endless energy of an immortal?" She inquires with a sly smile.
"Well, you're heading in the same direction I am. I'm just trying to keep up with you. After all, you had said you were going to come to the library with me, before all the dream nonsense began."
Joseph hangs back, shaking his head and grinning. "Haha! Man, Alyssa I would have sent'em spinning by now. Gotta stand up for yourself man! Though I must say, my relationship seems to put a stopper in the "Surrounded by virile men" bit." He finishes with a wink to Ashley and a chuckle."The Joseph I remember was quite virile." Ashley replies. "Though you seem a bit older and slower in general these days..." She says, looking him up and down.
"Do you still have the endless energy of an immortal?" She inquires with a sly smile.
"Regarding Joseph..." Roderick says as he approaches Ashley then starts a whispered conversation:
"Do you believe that is truly your dead lover returned, or do you think this is a ploy by the Wicked Man?" Roderick inquires in a low voice.
"I know returning dead loved ones with mysterious explanations of where they have been is a favored way the Wicked Man plants his sleeper agents, but I feel like this is really Joseph...He just feels...right." Ashley replies.
"How many have believed such things before, only to be torn apart when the Wicked Man activates his assassins? Joseph wouldn't have any idea of what he really is until he was cutting your head off...in fact this whole group could be his agents, and they would have no idea..." Roderick continued.
Ashley was silent for a long moment. "No...no, that can't be what is happening, it just wouldn't be...right. I it's him Roderick...I feel it."
"Do you know? ...Or do you hope and wish? The Wicked Man often kills his enemies with their own love, you know that."
Ashley looks over at Joseph with an intense look of love on her face, as well as a tear forming in the corner of her eye.
Zaidel minds his business (this time) and keep on walking, falling back to talk with Bage.
Bage is slightly surprised to find that he can hear their conversation easily just by trying to tune in. Wicked one? Sounds dangerous. Maybe we can find information on him as well in town.
He turns his attention to Kei's question. "Well, I took a short class in high school on electronics. The real problem would be manufacturing the parts for them. Not to mention reconstructing the binary code, etc. So I basically know enough to know that it is highly unlikely to ever happen. Unless you were to just wish for it with your ring or something. I wonder what the limits are for this thing. A manual for raising hydras, an actual pet dragon, a video game system."
Bage snaps his fingers as something occurs to him. Raising his voice so Alyssa can hear him so far ahead of them, Bage almost shouts, "Maybe you can wish for proof that this is a dream or not with your ring?"
The sorcerer is easily able to overhear the whispered conversation between Roderick and Ashley, which means his sharp ears actually cause him to wince slightly when Bage practically shouts. "Ya know, that's not a terribly bad idea Alys. But, I'm not sure if you would be willing to accept even that proof."
"The Joseph I remember was quite virile." Ashley replies. "Though you seem a bit older and slower in general these days..." She says, looking him up and down.
"Do you still have the endless energy of an immortal?" She inquires with a sly smile.
Joseph looks up and away from Ashley as she jeers him. "Well... From my current memory I've never even been in a fight until today. I do seem to never grow physically tired though, maybe we can do some practice later, start getting me back into fighting shape!" He punches the air a few times, then chuckles again.
When Roderick pulls her aside he simply allows them to speak, without trying to pry. Simply yawning and keeps on walking.
Still, the second outstretched hand given to him was considered for a few moments before shaken. Briefly. “Understandable. Still, considering their utility, I’m making no promises.”
It seemed that the group had decided that travel was the best option, heading to the nearby city and hopefully the library there to help find some answers. It wasn’t the worst idea in the world, and quite frankly he couldn’t be bothered to see if any old contacts of his could be of aid at the moment. So instead, he decided to just tag along with them, see what the might turn up. Honestly, it had actually been a while since he had just taken a back seat and just gone for the ride.
Kinda refreshing that the others weren’t freaking out about his reputation. Even if he was rather sure that the fey-lord-guy was the only one that actually knew his reputation at the moment... oh well. Of course, when they began discussing the fact that not all of them had given away the Hydra eggs away to the Lady of the Woods and were actually looking forward to raising them, he decided to put forward his own thoughts. “Personally Hydras aren’t all that difficult to raise. Size and heads aside, their just an animal. Raising a child on the other hand... now that’s a challenge.” Which, was a bit ironic for him to say, considering they soon started bantering about sex and virility and the like... through he decided not to add anything else himself. He... didn’t like talking about certain material if he wasn’t asked.
|
|
Alyssa ponders for a moment. "Well," she starts, "if on one hand, I wished for proof, and it is a dream, there wouldn't be an way for my brain to conjure up anything tangible. There effectively wouldn't be any proof. on the other hand, if this is my subconscious desires here, I might be able to trick myself into thinking that something is proof, when it is not. Like how our memories can be subjective, or the blind spots in your eyes- the brain is really good at tricking us into thinking things that aren't real are. You'd have to phrase it in some way as to get tangible proof while detaching yourself from what makes you, you."
Her face scrunches up in deep concentration. Finally, she states "I may have an idea, but I'm open to suggestions before I do anything."
"Sure, what have you got in mind?" Liriiestil asks, impressed by how Alyssa's mind works.
V.K. says to Alyssa, ”Would seeing something that your brain cannot comprehend be evidenc enough? Granted, I am not saying that I can accomplish that, just mere curiosity.”
|
|
Alyssa's brain continues reeling.
"One of the professors at my university argued that it is impossible to define only internalized feelings. Essentially, in order to define something, there must be an inherent is and is not. In order to do that, there must be consensus, an external frame of reference, for us to define it, and there can be no external frame for purely inner feelings. We can apply this easily to our situation- in order to know something is a dream, we must have dreamed before. Point A."
"Now, Point B. There is a distinct difference between dreams, and reality. We can usually tell the difference- textures, details, the little things. Well, both of our situations offer two starkly contrasted definitions of reality. Would you not agree?"
"Thus, all we must do to discover which is a dream is to determine which of the realities presented is the dream, and which is reality. In order to do that, we must assume that I am either asleep now, or was asleep earlier."
She pauses. "There is only one option for that, correct?"
She does not hesitate this time. She pauses, then states quickly "I wish that I am awake."
The ring fails to initialize, in the same way it is impossible to resurrect someone who is already alive it is impossible to awaken someone who is already awake.
|
|
Alyssa waits.... and waits.... and waits for something to happen. Finally, she breathes "This does not prove that this is reality. Merely that, if this is a dream, I am not strong enough to wake myself."
She whispers under her breath, much more meekly "Though it does seem to make it much less likely,".
She seems visibly shaken, and paces about, as if trying to distract herself.