Alice and Siobhan work together to gather up the mushrooms. It takes a while, but eventually, they are able to successfully harvest the lot of them.
As they are getting ready to rejoin the group, though, a large plant that had been camouflaged with the surrounding foliage suddenly begins to move!
The plant sports two huge, open leaves lined with sharp teeth! It moves up to Siobhan and snaps at her, but she steps back out of its reach in time!
Jedediah frowns. In his drunken and drug ridden states he had fought before, but the volume was starting to concern him. He hoped he wasn't burning any bridges with this. Still, a monstrous plant is a monstrous plant, and it was time to fill it with bullets.
Not that one though.
Siobhan turns and steps up to the offending plant, swinging twice with her axe.
Alice’s eyes widen in horror as a giant man-eating plant rises up, and it’s probably also a woman-eating plant.
“You’re not a singing dandelion! You’re not dandy at all!”
Her next words are words only a goddess might know—
—and it seems the goddess heard Alice’s little voice loud and clear.
The comet tail spits a spark which curves off course from the monster’s open maw.
Richard feels knowledge course through his mind, how best to defeat this creature. He mutters an incantation and sparks fly from his blade and he charges in, trying his best to attack the plant.
Felitcia was no gardener so she left the task of retrieving the mushrooms to those who knew what they were doing. Besides, if she helped she'd probably ruin her nails and God only knew when she could get her nails done again on this backwater world. She kept listening to the whispers, trying to keep from getting overwhelmed by them again, and felt she was making some progress when the plant thing came out and attacked Siobahn.
"Ugh! What is with this place?!" Felitcia's mind lashed out of her own accord, her disgust lancing out towards the plant creature. Felitcia pulled her fan out and snapped the tines open just in case it got too close.
Unfortunately, Felitcia’s magic has no effect on the mindless plant. Jed hits the plant with a bullet, and Siobhan slices it with her axe.
Richard recognizes the creature as a snapping flytrap, an enormous version of the smaller carnivorous plant on Earth. He lines his sword with flammable oils and sparks it to set it ablaze as he moves in to slice at the creature. He fails to hit, though. Alice does strike it with her flame spell, scorching it badly!
The flytrap attacks with both of its fanged leaves. Richard narrowly dodges, but Siobhan is hit. The leaf snaps shut around her as acid rushes out to burn her. The flytrap tries to completely engulf her but she fends it off for now.
Siobhan starts swinging again!
Richard adjusts his grip on his sword, holding it in two hands for a stronger swing, and swings twice. He misses on both.
“SIOBHAN!! DIE!!”
Alice’s little hands hurl fire like a miniature dragon. (The red kind.)
She assures her Geal sister, “I mean the plant is to die, Siobhan!”
“And you are not!”
Siobhan manages to land one good hit, then Alice lights the plant up! Between her magic and her innate spark, the creature withers and burns, releasing its grasp on Siobhan as it dies!
Siobhan keeps hacking at the burnt corpse of the plant for a few more seconds, just in case it gets any impertinent ideas.
Alice walks over to Siobhan. She looks up at her, then at the burnt plant. She holds up her hand and extends her manicured nails into claws. She hacks off a burnt leaf and says, “Good riddance to bad rubbish.”
She looks up at Siobhan with lips pursed into a pout. “You’re hurt.” Alice wishes her magic could do something about this.
The Gael winces. "...I'll be alright."
Felitcia was sure something should have happened but it had not. She couldn't figure out if she imagined what should have happened or if there was some other reason that nothing occurred. Fortunately it didn't matter as the plant was taken down but not before Siobhan was injured.
Felitcia was glad that Siobhan survived and that she might be disgfigured by the acid burns from teh plant's grasp. She did not, however, comment on it.
Luckily, the acid from the plant’s digestive juices was relatively weak. It won’t leave Siobhan permanently damaged.
With the mushrooms packed away, you continue following the orcs through the forest. The rest of the journey is uneventful, and after three more days, you reach your destination. The Pit of Zedoran is a vast sinkhole within the depths of the woods. Streams of water cascade down its sides, carrying leaves and organic debris. The layers of moss and lichen are covering hanging vines and ancient roots. The forest canopy is thick, allowing little sunlight to reach the moss-covered earth.
At the edge of the central pit is a wooden cage lift. Kraglin ushers you all inside, then manually operates the lift to lower you into the sinkhole. The bottom of the pit is a muck-filled mire largely open to the air above. The trickle and drip of water and mud is constant and the air is dank, heavy with the scent of damp earth and decay.
Numerous tunnels lead away from the central pit, and it isn’t long before an enormous dragon slinks its way out from one of them. Scales the color of emeralds armor the ferocious-looking creature. A single sharp horn protrudes from the end of its toothy snout.
Kraglin quickly drops to his knees and prostrates himself in the mud. ”Almighty Zedoran! I bring with me a rare find—people from another world!”
The dragon turns its withering gaze on you, and its sheer presence makes you weak in your knees. ”Another world? Explain yourselves. And be quick about it. I am not known for my patience,” the dragon growls.
When Felitcia saw the dragon she really wished she had been drinking. This was just unreal! "Holy s~~%," Felitcia said in a strangled voice, "Either this is the best animatronic creation ever or he really is a dragon."
Felitcia stepped forward and said, "Great and powerful Zedoran," it didn't hurt to butter a creature this big up a bit she thought so she added, "and might I say you are the most handsome dragon I've ever met," she cooed before resuming, "These kind people," she gestured towards the orcs, "found us when we were traveling through the woods We all appeared in a circle of standing stones together, most of us died before we showed up here, and we had nothing but the clothes on our backs. We aren't sure how we got here or why but they have led us to you."
Felitcia continued in her oratorical voice, "We hope that, in your great wisdom, you may be able to provide us guidance in what has happened to us and why we are here." Taking a deep breath, one which incidentally made her assets more prominent, she added, "and I for one would be very grateful."
Zedoran snorts disdainfully as Felitcia thrusts her chest out. The blast of acrid air buffets her hair and causes her eyes to water. "Please. Keep your mammalian protuberances to yourself," he growls.
(Kraglin, on the other hand, seems quite intrigued by Felitcia's 'protuberances.)
"Your circumstances are intriguing. You arrived through the standing stones near Cystalhurst. To my recollection, the stones opened a gateway once before, more than a decade ago. The druids jealously guard their secrets, though, and I was not able to learn about what came through the portal. But now that you are here, you will make interesting subjects of study."
The dragon turns its head to Siobhan and Alice. "You have brought me something, have you? I smell the mushrooms you carry. Present your tribute."
Felitcia was becoming more and more aware that this dragon was very much real and very well may eat her if they made it mad. She could feel the rumbling of it's mind and knew, without a doubt, that there was something real about it anyway and she was not taking chances. The smell of it's acrid breath made her very aware that maximum politeness was required.
Felitcia felt aggravation at the dragon's words but decided it must be a dragon thing. She noticed how the display affected Kraglin but chose to ignore him unless he became a problem. Upon hearing Zedoran's demand Felitcia turned to Alice and Siobhan and gestured impatiently, "Come, come, quickly now! Bring the Great Dragon his tribute."
Siobhan tentatively walks forward to hand off the mushrooms she harvested.
Richard’s eyes widen. He had expected a dragon in concept but in actuality…it was more than anything he could’ve expected.
He stays quiet. Felitcia seemed to have this in hand.
Zedoran peers closely at the fungus. ”Yes. Very nice specimens. MYCELOIDSl”
At his shout, several strange creatures emerge from a side corridor. Each resembles a bipedal mushroom with vaguely humanoid features and spotted caps. They gather up the harvested fungus and swiftly carry it away.
”You have done well, Warchief Kraglin. Return to your tribe. Your reward will be forthcoming,” the dragon says. Kraglin thumps his fist to his chest before using the wooden cage to ascend out of the pit. Soon, you five are alone with the mighty Zedoran.
”Now, then. Tell me of the world from which you came. In exchange, I will tell you of this one.”
Jed was starting to get a little suspicious after another three days. Shouldn't he have sobered up by now? Things were strange but not changing much at all, which was pretty out of the ordinary for being this drugged up.
But then the dragon seals it. It's presence and personality were too distinct, too powerful, to be just a hallucination. Jed looks down at his shriveled green fingers and it really sets in.
This is all real.
Jedediah starts screaming and running around. "No! No no nonono! This ain't real, this ain't happening!"
Alice just watches Jedediah freak out. She is calm.
“You’re big,” she semi-explains. “I was fortunate to have had time to adjust to being towered over. I’m glad you liked the mushrooms. I thought Siobhan and I picked the best the forest had to offer.”
As for the world…
“We were all swept away in different moments spanning two thousand years. Sadly, Siobhan was whisked away from a war, and the horrid fate of a soldier felled by cruel foes. I had not thought to ask my American friends if Buckingham Palace, the last place on Earth I’d been to, is no more in the third millennium. Their empire is built from a rebellion against the kingdom that I’d grown up in.
“If you want to know about my world, it is run by stupid men who have others fight their battles, which are over plots of land they consider themselves too important to ever set foot upon. Soldiers die, women and children die, then the rulers die and what they’ve won is temporary.”
A week ago, Alice would have talked about tea parties. That’s because she had not yet known Siobhan, who would have been tortured to death by a petty, remorseless man bearing Rome’s standard.
The Celt looks upon the massive green-scaled dragon with a wary eye, but when Alice begins speaking she finds herself calming down a bit.
Jedediah's panic strikes a chord within Siobhan, much the same way Felitcia's shock and Alice's sorrow did. Not surprising. They all had families to go back to... homes, lives, all that.
"...aside from that, it's not as magical as this place." She finally speaks. "Mushrooms don't walk, dead men stay dead, and dragons are only symbols."
Felitcia considered the dragon's question as Jedediah ran around freaking out. The shrill tone quickly began to annoy her and she looked at the goblin and moved to stand in front of him as she said, " Jedediah, knock it off. I am pretty sure we don't want to irritate our host."
Felitcia turned her gaze to the dragon and said, " Jedediah was human," she looked at the green man doubtfully for a moment before adding, "I guess? There weren't any smart people except for humans. Dolphins and some apes are supposed to be really smart but not as smart."
Felitcia gestured vaguely to indicate the world as a whole, not the forest specifically as she added, "The world isn't as primitive as this one. There are paved roads everywhere, cars and trains and planes too.. It's all lit up at night in the towns and cities all the time with electric lights, We flew to the moon fifty years ago....hmmm..."
Felitcia's voice trailed off a moment as she thought of what else there was to talk about and decided there was nothing else except for her favorite place. "Then there is Hollywood," she said with a dreamy sounding tone, "It is the city where stars are born, where movies and television are filmed. It's where I have a career in the movies and make lots of money..." Felitcia's voice trailed off and then she added a bit morosely, "or made lots of money."
"I was a teacher. I was human, too. Not an orc like I am now. I had a wife and two boys. Helen, Micah, Roger."
Richard shoots a glance at Felitcia, saying quietly, "Wait, America's been to the moon?"
He shakes his head, looking back up the Zedoran, "I taught in a city called Berkeley. I knew about the myths and legends of Earth. Now, in this world where those legends seem real...it is astounding."
Felitcia nodded to Richard at his question and said, "Yep, a few times. We've sent robotic rovers to Mars too, I think anyway. There was talk of some multi-billionair or another building a colony on Mars." Rolling her eyes Felitcia said, "I'll believe it if I see it."
Colonists on Mars. They’d likely rebel after the King of Earth overtaxed them.
But Alice must admit, she’s intrigued. “There was talk of that book that had caught on just a few years ago, translated from French. It was about traveling to the moon in ninety-odd hours.
“I wonder how long the actual travel time was. How delightful to know that what was science fiction in my time is history in yours, Felitcia!”
In the interest of making sure Zedoran is not ignored, Alice turns to him.
“Forgive my cynicism about war. Meeting a warrior of old opened my eyes to what history books had glossed over, but there is beauty in our world, progress, tradition… but I could never throw fire from my hands when I was big like Felitcia.” She ponders a bit. “Height-wise, I mean. I’ve always been small in terms of mammalian protuberances.”
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The implications of humans landing on the moon cause Siobhan's head to spin.
...that cannot be true. Humans intruding into the heavens? Sounds like a feat worthy of the Tuatha... and Felitcia speaks of it so flippantly!
" Jedediah, knock it off. I am pretty sure we don't want to irritate our host."
"Knock it off?! I'm a little green monster, a big ass green lizard is talking to me, and apparently landin' on the moon is a thing of the past!" Jedediah pauses, then slowly pulls forward the hide around his legs. Looking down his eyes are filled with horror. He starts scrambling at the walls, as if to climb out.
Jedediah's screaming and scrabbling quickly gets on Zedoran's nerves. "Sit down and shut up!" he growls, his words laced with a powerful compulsion.
Once the goblin is finally silent, the dragon listens to your words.
"If you want to know about my world, it is run by stupid men who have others fight their battles, which are over plots of land they consider themselves too important to ever set foot upon. Soldiers die, women and children die, then the rulers die and what they’ve won is temporary."
"That does not sound too dissimilar to this world," Zedoran comments.
The dragon seems particularly intrigued by Felitcia's fanciful stories of interstellar travel and the magic of the movies. "I have heard rumblings of advanced technology that could duplicate such marvels in a distant nation called Numeria, but I have not seen such for myself."
Once you have finished your stories, the dragon nods. "The magic that brought you here allowed you to travel through both time and space. Such power is the purview of the gods, I would imagine. I can only guess as to the reason that you have been brought here, but I can at least tell you about the place you have found yourselves.
"Golarion is a world with vast oceans and varied climates, much like your own world of Earth. Its history spans millenia. I shall not bore you with the ancient past. Know, though, that you are in a forest called the Fangwood. The surrounding nation was once known as Lastwall, but a few years ago, an ancient unliving menace called the Whispering Tyrant broke free from his prison. His hordes swept across the land, and within a season, Lastwall was no more. It is now the Gravelands.
"The orcs that serve me were the descendants of the living armies the Tyrant used in his first bid for conquest, thousands of years ago. Our isolation here in the woods keep us safe, but the same cannot be said of the humans, elves, and other peoples who live in the nations bordering the Gravelands.
"The Whispering Tyrant is the greatest threat Golarion has faced. In the past, he was defeated by the god of prophecy, Aroden, and his mightiest champions. But Aroden is dead, killed over a century ago in some unknown catastrophe. Prophecy died with him. We now live in the Age of Lost Omens, where nothing is preordained, and anything can happen.
"This is a dangerous world. If you wish to survive here, then you will need to become dangerous, too."
Jedediah swiftly sits down and shuts up as commanded, trembling.
Alice thinks a bit when the dragon speaks of gods.
“I saw dragons in my visions. And I saw fairies. And I saw others who seemed human in a way, but infinitely more powerful than dragons, more magical than fairies.
“Are these the gods of this Golarion?”
"There are many gods of Golarion, some more powerful than others. Some appear human or humanoid, reflecting the forms of their chief worshippers. Some take other forms. But all are possessed of unknowable power."
“One stood out to me,” Alice says of a goddess, or at least she supposes it’s a goddess. In human form. “She was very beautiful, and… colorful.” Alice’s skin glows red, then orange, and yellow and so forth. Once she gets to violet, she stays that color. “Like a rainbow. I’m not sure how to explain it, since I only got a glimpse, and there was so much at once.
“But she stuck out, and I’d like to know her name.” Alice isn’t sure what to do with the name. She’d always gone to church and adored Christmas, but different worlds have different churches, different holidays.
They don’t even speak the King’s English here. It is their king’s language I speak.
”That sounds like Shelyn. The humans call her ‘the Eternal Rose,’ and she is the goddess of art, beauty, and music. Frivolous things,” Zedoran snorts.
Alice smiles. “Delightful!
“Oh, yes, I was taking in your every word. Be dangerous. What could be more dangerous to a whispering tyrant than people who refuse to relinquish their joy?”
She realizes what an opening Zedoran has.
“Lots of things, you might rightly reply. Point is, fire is my weapon. I believe passion fuels the fire in me. Perhaps by knowing this Shelyn, the magic in me will grow stronger.”
Felitcia considered what Alice was talking about and then decided to ask, "I felt a connection to three when I had my vision, one, I think, is this Shelyn person, I've never seen anyone so beautiful. The other two were darker, hungrier, not evil really but...one seemed similar but darker, the other was darker and lustful."
Once the dragon had answered her, or not, Felitcia said, "We seem to have gotten powers or something, I don't know about the others but I've been hearing these voices since before that, whispers or something, they're driving me nuts. Then the vision happened and they got really loud and I passed out." She rolled her eyes and said, "It seems all I get to do is hear things, I kind shafted I guess."
"Hmm. I am not an expert on the human gods," Zedoran grumbles to Felitcia. "Perhaps you will learn more about those other divinities in time."
When the actress talks about hearing voices in her head, the dragon bobs his head. "Interesting. I believe you may have unlocked some innate psychic potential. It is a rare gift, but a powerful one. Here." He looks at Jedediah, and the gunslinger feels the compulsion to sit still and shut up fade away, leaving him free to act normally again.
"Focus your mind on the goblin's," Zedoran says. "His will is weak. You may be able to influence it if you concentrate."
Felitcia considered the dragon's suggestion and smiled down at the passive Jedediah as she focused on the image of the man running around squaking like a chicken and said, "Jedediah, would you run around and squawk like a chicken forme?"
Jedediah quickly jumps up. "BAAWWWKKK!" Holding his arms like wings he starts running around. "BAWWWK BAWK BAWK!"
Felitcia was shocked that it actually worked and she could feel that this was not just him trying to humor her. She had actually felt his mind succumb to her request. This could be very useful in contract negotiations. She laughed at Jedediah's antics and finally said, "You can stop now Jedediah."
Felitcia turned back to the dragon and said, "So this is not the first...spell? I have cast, the last time it didn't do anything though. Some walking plant tried to eat Siobhan and I could swear I tried to hurt it's mind. Why didn't that work? I mean if it can move it has to have a mind of some kind to affect right?"
Jedediah stops moving. He slowly straightens up, and pats some dust off his hides. "Ah, good, thank you." He takes a deep breath.
He screeches as his panic continues.
As Jedediah began freaking out again Felitcia had had enough and snapped loudly, "Jedediah, sit down and shut up or I swear I will let any woman you start hitting on know just how much of a coward you are." Her eyes narrowed dangerously as she added, "I'll make sure the story of how you ran around screaming like a little girl when you met a dragon and then how I made you run around like a chicken causing to start screaming like a little girl yet again spreads so much that you will never get laid again." One of her eyebrows arched dangerously as if daring him to test her as she asked, " got me?"
Jedediah froze. His head conflicted with his heart. But he surly sat down and crossed his arms. "Fine. But you also agree to not get in the way in any other way either." He mumbles.
Zedoran watches the exchange between Felicia and Jedediah with amusement. Once the goblin has settled down again, he turns back to the young woman. "You are correct in your previous assessment. Your powers rely on influencing sentient minds. A creature like that plant or one of the Tyrant's mindless zombies do not possess an intellect for you to manipulate. It seems you are innately aware of how to use your fledgling powers, at least. More will unlock as you gain experience and power. My knowledge of the occult is not extensive, however, so it will be a journey of self-discovery for you.
"At any rate, you will remain here in my lair for the time being. I will equip you with enough gear to ensure that you will be prepared for survival in this world. Go, now. I must mull over your situation and look for insights. MYCELOIDS!"
At the dragon's roar, the strange mushroom people come running out again. This time, they gesture for you to follow them. They lead you into a room stocked with all manner of weapons, armor, and mundane equipment. Wordlessly, they direct you to choose several items, but they stop you if you try to take too much. Somehow, they seem to have an understanding of each item's worth, as if their draconic master has given each of you a budget that he will not allow you to surpass.
Once you are outfitted, the myceloids show you to a series of semi-private chambers featuring soft beds, bathtubs, privies, and basic furniture. The cushions and sheets are only slightly moldy from the humid air.
Felitcia found the little green man far too amusing at that point and smiled slightly as she said, "Thank you, and I will keep it to myself unless you give me a reason not to."
When Zedoran mentioned not knowing much about her type of magic Felitcia was a little disappointed but there wasn't much she could do to change that. That the great creature was willing to give them the basic gear to survive and offer them hospitality caught her completely off guard. As the servants came to usher them away Felitcia gave a graceful curtsy, one worthy of a princess, to him and said, "My thanks Great Zedoran for all that you are doing for us."
With that she followed the fungal creatures and Felitcia looked over the equipment when they were shown what was available. In the end Felitcia chose what she could only guess was the standard adventurer's kit, a small crossbow with some bolts, and a dress that looked not unlike that worn in the Hunchback of Notredame movie she watched once as a kid by Esmeralda. It suited her sense of style better than teh bikin she been given before, though she kept that too, just in case. In the end she felt quite content with what she had taken and was ready to get led to her room.
When she was shown into her room Felitcia was stunned. It wasn't the Hilton but this was actually not bad, and it had a bath! She thanks the fungal creature and, once it was gone, closed the door and quickly stripped down so she could get in the tub and used her new soap to scrub as clean as she could.
Siobhan takes a selection of gear and promptly makes use of the offered bathtub to get herself cleaned up.