Devie's mouth drops at the sacrificing slaves part. While she's not much of a shiny knight, the potential wrongs in that one sentence is astronomical.
That doesn't stop her from shifting her chair closer to provide a steel shoulder for Triel to stabilize herself on.
There's a period of awkward silence as Triel leans on Devie's shoulder.
"...I'm not proud of it. But the alternative was failure, and worse."
She turns to Ahyoka, offering her the cup. "Your turn. What's the most scandalous thing you've done?"
Maybe she'll say something more outrageous than mine.
Vindir's only response is a long, drawn-out burst of mocking laughter in her head.
Sorshen silently accepts Triel's answer with a nod. There is a look of regret on her face when she sees the pain in the drow's eyes, but she turns and awaits Ahyoka's answer.
"Hmmm...scandalous... well there was the time I won a bid for a valuable artifact by spending a night with the other highest bidder's wife and two daughters, who then convinced him that he needed to spend his coin elsewhere." Ahyoka says with a giggle, as she takes a drink, her eyes going wide at the strength of the liquor within.
"Uhm...WOW." She says, moving to stab the goblet into the table and doing a sloppy job of it.
"Wait, so I go again right?"
"...it seems so." Triel chuckles before refilling the cup with booze.
"What's your favourite colour?"
"Is it purple?" Devie asked quickly with interest.
Hope was proud of herself for doing so well in catching the pig. The game didn't make much sense, and she almost tried to crush the pig with gravity, but she fortunately retained enough control to not hurt the creature. It had actually been a little fun and had left a slight smile on her face, something that was very rare to see.
When it came to the drinking game Hope said nothing about joining or not and just assumed someone would include her as she watched as the others played this strange drinking game. She didn't really get why anyone would want to because the stuff smelled awful. She was also a little disappointed that no one asked her questions or included her even if she wasn't sure she wanted to play or not. For the time being she simply sat there and wondered what would happen next.
"I'm not sure there's a name for it." she replies with a wistful expression. "My absolute favorite color would be one I've only seen in a sunset seen from atop the Storval Rise." she says with a smile.
Taking a deep breath, she takes another swig from the goblet before slamming it, point down on the table.
Even in her tipsy state, Triel tries to determine the sincerity of Ahyoka's preferred colour.
Seeing Triel's expression she smiles. "Oh, I'm telling you the absolute truth! Nature has some of the best colors."
Devie thinks back, to sunsets she has seen. Kind of a redish, purplish, yellowish mix with blue all around it. So she looks a bit confused still. But her looking confused is normal enough.
Triel blinks before nodding. "Right. That means you're the new judge. Who's next to be questioned?"
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"Ah, yes." Ahyoka says looking at her companions. Though they hadn't interacted much, the sorceress thought she culd see a bit of disappointment at not being included on the quiet girl's face. "Hope!"
Hope's eyes widened in surprise that someone included her but she couldn't say she was displeased by any means. She filled the cup and ante'd her coin then watched Ahyoka and waited for the question.
"What is your absolute favorite thing in all the world?" Ahyoka asks after a bit of consideration.
Hope filled the cup with alcohol and downed it as Ahyoka asked her question. Hope took a deep drink from the cup, "My dolly," she exclaimed in child-like delight.
Ahyoka blinks before looking at Hope blankly, not sure whether she was joking or completely serious.
Triel looks at Hope and nods. "That sounds about right."
...wow. She's good at holding her liquor.
Devie nods "It is cute."
Hope nodded and said, "It is the truth." With that she stabbed the cup into the table.
Hope gave Devie a curious look when it dawned on her what the oracle had said about Dollie and asked, "Hpw'd you know Dollie was cute?"
"So that makes Hope the new judge." Triel chuckles. "Who's next to be interrogated, eh?"
...you're hoping it's you again.
...
...
...nnnnnooooooo?...
Triel. Come on.
'TrIeL COme ON!' That's what you sound like right now.
The drow's eyes flash blue for a moment, and her hand comes up to pinch the bridge of her nose. She lets out an oddly-masculine sigh.
Hope got a feeling that Triel really wanted to be next again so she looked to Triel and tried to figure out what to ask. After a moment she asked, "What did you want to do for a job when you were a kid?
Triel opens her mouth to respond, but finds that there’s nothing there. The question, so innocently posed, has left her at a loss.
”I… don’t know. My whole childhood was spent preparing for a life of politicking and subterfuge… no one ever asked me what I wanted to do.”
"But... she's asking now?" Devie asks, whether it is because she is confused by Triel's answer or really hoping to hear what she would have been if she could have been, is unknown. Even to Devie.
Triel thinks.
"...I think I'd have liked being an artist's model." She chuckles. "My stint in Ayavah's studio was quite nice--I enjoyed being able to be myself openly."
"I'm fit, I'm charming, and I like to think I look pretty damned good naked." She shoots Devie and Ahyoka a knowing smirk.
She then takes a stiff drink...
"...oh wow..." And starts reeling from the strong liquor before stabbing the table.
"Right. I'm out."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Ahyoka grins at Triels's comment about looking good naked. From what she'd seen of the drow's sleek form so far, she definitely believed it.
"Y'know, I really should see if Ayavah's still around--I don't remember ever finishing that sculpture of me..." Triel starts, leaning on the table for support.
"Hells, maybe she could make a sculpture of us together." She lets out a drunken chuckle, her eyes going between Devie and Ahyoka.
Devie's cheeks flare up at the thought, but instead of saying no like before, she nods. Hesitant and slow, but she still nods.
The game of lying cup continues for a few more rounds until Sorshen eventually calls it before anybody can get too drunk. The runelord nods and then claps in delight. "Well, now! That was a rousing game, was it not? Here, each of you please take one of these. It will help you sober up." She offers each of you a potion of lesser restoration.
"I want to thank you again for indulging me tonight. Unfortunately, the other runelords are not nearly as magnanimous as I, and Zutha is not the only one who stirs. Runelords Xanderghul and Alaznist are also active, and in time, you will need to face them. I promise I will help in those confrontations, but you must be cautious not to move against these powerful foes too soon. Of Runelord Belimarius, at least, you have little to fear--she remains trapped in her timeless realm of Crystilan. In time, though, you may need to confront her as well."
The bells toll 11:00 PM, and the festival is still going strong as the statue of Queen Ileosa is inspected and prepared for its burning at midnight. With the big event only an hour away, Sorshen decides to spend some time resting and relaxing after the previous 5 hours of shenanigans. "I believe I will take a break for the time being. Devie, you should join me that we may speak further about the topics that trouble you. The rest of you are welcome to come too, if you desire."
Sorshen walks to a nearby five-story stone tower that has a partially secluded walkway overlooking the plaza. The runelord's scarf sparkles with light, and she levitates up to the tower's rooftop, alighting on the edge and then sitting down with her feet dangling off the side.
Triel takes the offered potion and chugs it. Almost immediately her senses clear.
"Oof... not sure I'd want to play that game again. It's got a way of making time fly by." The drow says, blinking several times.
Devie responded with a quick "Yes mam" at the offer of joining her to talk. She starts to walk away quickly, a clamor of steel, when Triel groans out her statement "But you did good." she says a little confused. There were questions, drinking and answers she never knew about from all of them. She never got asked anything, which was good, cause she might not have known the answer.
Then she smiles, and heads after the runelord. At the tower she looks up at wonder, eyes wide, as the lady floats up. For a moment she thinks How Am I??? then she remembers she has magic and does the same thing.
The armored woman rises all the way up, but fails anything similar to 'alighting', more of Thudding, with some stonework raining down to those below.
But she made it.
Triel watches as Devie levitates up to join Sorshen on the tower.
She then turns to Ahyoka and offers her hand. "May I escort you upward, madame?" She asks with a flirtatious gleam in her sunset eye.
Sorshen smiles pleasantly as Devie makes floats up to the top of the tower, clumsy though it may be. "So, I am sure you have many more questions for me. Go ahead and ask."
"Y'know, I really should see if Ayavah's still around--I don't remember ever finishing that sculpture of me..." Triel starts, leaning on the table for support.
"Hells, maybe she could make a sculpture of us together." She lets out a drunken chuckle, her eyes going between Devie and Ahyoka.
"Now THAT I would definitely enjoy!" Ahyoka says with an eacer smile.
As Thriel offers her hand, she takes it with a grin. "I'd be delighted!" she says stepping to stand beside the spirit speaker.
Triel squeezes Ahyoka's hand with her own before looking skyward. With an arcane incantation on her lips, she starts walking upward--and taking Ahyoka with her.
She alights on the stone tower a respectable distance away from Devie and Sorshen--she's nothing if not considerate of her dear Devie's privacy.
Devie looks down to the street below. "I'm... an accident. Me, and me, and this." A gauntleted finger taps her head twice, to talk about Evie and Devin, then once on her chest to talk about her body. "Why bring me to them then, since I wasn't supposed to happen?"
"While your unique apotheosis was unintended, I would hardly call you an 'accident,' my dear," Sorshen says sympathetically. "But in your current state, you are possessed of the potential for great power. And the world is in need of powerful individuals if we are to foil the nefarious schemes of the other Runelords. You are exactly where you are supposed to be."
Devie almost laughed at the thought of great power from the likes of her, at least two parts of her, but even then really only one part that truly is scoff-able at in that regard. But all those fractions just made her head hurt.
"Okay" the 'exactly where you are supposed to be' made her feel better. Her eyes follow the two other women as they float up to join them on the roof. "Um, when we get done, with ne- bad runelords, do you need your body back?"
Hope was glad that she got a chance to play the game, even if she found it a bit awkward, and was kind of sad it was over. When Sorshen said she needed to speak with Devie and that they were welcome to join, or not, Hope saw how everyone else followed the pair and tried to decide what she wanted to do. She carefully stowed away the potion she had been given, she wasn't particularly drunk and felt no need to waste something so valuable, and thought for a moment about flying after them.
After thinking for a minute Hope decided she would rather wander the festival some more. Going alone probably wasn't the smart thing to do but she was doing it anyway after all no one accused her of being particularly smart.
Sorshen shakes her head. "I've already got a body, lucky for me! And I have several other spare clones, should the unthinkable happen. That body is yours now to do with what you wish. Keep it, if you like. If you truly find yourself uncomfortable in it, though, there is powerful magic I may be able to bring to bear later on to help you change into a body you might find more suitable."
Devie sighed in relief. A new body? She raised her gauntleted hand and stared at it, flaying her fingers out and looking some more. Deven had been tall and strong, though kind of lumpy. And Evie had been small and round but with a dimple in her cheeks. But Devie...
"No. The me that is me has only been this, so I'd like to stay. Thank you." she smiled at the runelord that both looked like her So much and also not at all.
She had asked questions, and kind of got lost in knowing if she had any others, so she said "What now?"
Sorshen returns Devie's smile. She opens her mouth to say something, when suddenly, time simply stops. It's similar to when the Steward of Stethelos appeared aboard Tyalee's Whim--crowds of people are frozen in mid-step, fires become completely motionless, house drakes in flight hover still in the air. Even Sorshen herself is frozen in place.
The air is still and silent, like the world is holding its breath in anticipation...
"...oh no..." Triel growls before summoning Vindir's ethereal shield and imbuing herself with stolen life.
"Oh, what is... Where is... Hope!!!" she screams above the timeless crowds, drawing her massive sword and letting her panic swell her physical need to hunt for her friend.
Hope felt the change as time stopped, the unnaturalness of it. This wasn't like the being she was given to, the Hungering Hole that let nothing, not even time, go free. She quickly unleashed her hold on her powers letting the force of the Void manifest around her and then she blasted off from the ground towards where she last saw the others.
Hope flies back to rejoin the group, and not a moment too soon! Scant seconds after she arrives at the tower, a strange creature appears out of nothingness just feet away from you. This creature appears to be a tall, thin humanoid with a face and crown of blue fire. Clad in blue robes, it raises a frozen sword as it prepares to attack!
Triel's eyes flash blue--and then the rest of the party starts to glow blue as well. Their limbs move with greater alacrity!
As the world freezes around them, Ahyoka’s expression matches the alarm in Triel’s voice as she quickly casts a pair of protective spells, her image flickering, before splitting off to generate identical duplicates. With another swift word and a gesture, her feet lift off the ground as the gift of flight embraces her.
Turning to face the eerie creature of blue flame and temporal power, the sorceress smiles as she feels magic flowing into her, speeding her movement and perception at Triel's behest. the mystical arrow tattooed along her forearm begins to glow and pulse as she raises her hand, pointing at the strange creature and sending an arrow of pure, concentrated acid flying toward it.
Mage armor, Fly, Mirror image (Ahyoka is 1 on 1d6), Haste. Current AC 18