I messaged Nianju/Peanuts, but no response. :(
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The DM has... mellowed? What does this mean for the world?!
Yeah, there was no way I'd find another DM who'd let me run a crazy cloud-thing, so Niu is fully intact. That said, I'd love for someone to remind me why I named it "cow-llama-cloud"...
His post did the trick. The campaign is one again considered "active" — for the next three months, at least.
He lives!!
Ha — nice find, Rhaym! I'd be up for it as well, if the offer is still open six years later... :P Unfortunately, it looks like hallowsinder hasn't posted since 2015. :(
"Bullies enslave people sometimes." "Yes..." "That they do!" "But not us." "We're no bully!" "Quite right, quite right!" "No bully are we!" The cloud shifts slightly as if in agitation. "Fear, it wants your fear!" "Don't be scared!" "Don't feed it." "Don't let it win." "We'll stop it, don't worry." "Don't worry!" "Won't let it hurt any of you."
Advance notice: I'll be leaving Thursday and won't have internet/PbP access for about two weeks (until the 21st or 22nd).
A chorus of dangerous grumbles is heard from the direction of the cloud. "How dare he speak to us like that!" "How does he dare?!" "Interrogating us like common criminals!" "Shh..." "His kind are rash, he probably means no harm by it." "Rash and rude!" "Yes, but we must deal with them as such." "Oh, fine..." "Very well..." The grumbling dies down, and a few seconds later a single voice speaks up in answer. "We were outside. We felt it calling. It spoke with us, and we told it you aren't our slaves, and not to harm you."
"Could be, could be..." replies the cloud thoughtfully. "Said it eats fear!" "Feeds on fear." "Well, yes." There's a short pause. "Perhaps we should go find it." "Tonight?" "In the morning?" "We mustn't let it hurt you." "No, it mustn't be allowed."
We've just released a bundle of tools for play-by-posts that you all may find useful! (We have!) (Oh yes!) (Such lovely tools!) (They're quite nice!) (They really are...) (Couldn't have said it better!)
*snickers softly*
DM: "Yes yes!" "Don't be scared!" "No, mustn't be scared!" "We'll protect you." "We don't like bullies." "Bullies are mean." "Good progress!" "Couldn't've said it better!" "Don't worry!"
DM: "Haven't you been listening?" "We know exactly what he is!" "That we do!" "He's a bully!" "And we don't stand for those!" "No!" "Hurray!" "♫♪ No bullies, no bullies ♪♫" "Heeheehee!"
Home Front: There's a brief rush of wind as hundreds of sets of lungs take deep breaths all at once... then silence. After a few seconds, a single high-pitched voice begins speaking slowly. The usual choruses of agreement and calls for clarification are still present, but more muted somehow. "We... we are worried for you," it begins. ("Yes, worried!" "Tell them why!" "Tell them, tell them!" "Hurry!" "Shh!!" "We agreed to try their way!")
A different voice speaks up this time, but still with the same measured tone and gait. "There's a horrible creature, a big gas cloud that wants to scare you all!" (The discussion after this announcement is in the language of the fey, and seems to focus around some of the voices demanding that there be clarification.) The pause is a bit longer this time, but finally a new voice starts to speak in the same intentional way. "There is a creature that claims to be like us—" "It isn't, of course." "Shh!!" "— no, but it thinks it's like us. And it called to us, and told us that it feeds on fear... and... we worry for you all." As the final pronouncement is made, it's as if a floodgate has broken and the babble of voices starts up again, this time in jumbled concoctions of Common, fey-tongue, and incomplete sentences. The word "bully" is heard more than once, as are the words "count" and "protect".
Dee Em of Dee Ems:
"Fish!?" "We are not a codfish!" "Or any kind of fish!" "Challenge?!" "A game?"
There's a sound like hundreds of tiny creatures all bristling at once, and then the cloud summarily departs. Ranchers, Ho!: Arriving back at the inn, the blue cloud begins to babble excitedly at Lupi and whoever else is present, never pausing for breath as the various voices all take up the others' thoughts.
Dee Em:
The cloud seems to wibble in response as it backs away farther. "Hey!" "Don't try to ensorcell us!" "Stay back!" "We'll stop you!" "That's right, we will!" "Don't you try to intimidate us!" "Yeah!!" "We'll stop you!" "Hrmph!"
DM: The bluish cloud takes a few "steps" backward. "Hungry!?" "Feed on fear??" "We don't have feathers!" "Elevates you?" "More like lowers you!" "We aren't afraid!" "That's right!" "Yeah!" "♫♪ Not afraid, not afraid ♪♫"
DM: "Free agents!" "Claws?!" "That was you??" "Pets!" "Attached?" "Purity??" "What's a shiner?"
The little blue cloud grows increasingly alarmed at the direction the conversation is moving, but tries not to show it. "Yes, attached to them!" "You mustn't hurt them." "We don't like bullies." "You like fear?!" "Cull them!?!" "What!!" "No, you mustn't." "We wouldn't like that." "No, no we wouldn't."
DM: "Oh" "React??" "They aren't slaves, actually." "Greeted them?" "What did you do?" "They are interesting, aren't they?" "Quite!" "Very interesting!" "What kind of storm?"
DM: "Oh!" "Dear us!" "That sounds terrible!" "Yes, terrible!" "It sounds nice before the coup!" "Is it near here?" "How did you come here?" "Hear, hear!"
DeeEmEx(traordinaire): "We don't know!" "Nope!" "No idea!" "Not the faintest!" "We think the Count sent us here!" "To keep us from defeating him!" "He's a bad man!" "Yes, a big bully!" "We think he sent the others too." "We don't know that, though..." "They claim they don't know who he is!" "What's a Thistle Downs?"
DeeEm: A note of offense accompanies the immediate response, but quickly dissolves into the cloud's customary excitement. "Fled? FLED??!" "What are you implying?" "It's implying that we ran away!" "RAN AWAY?!?" "We would never run away!" "From anything!" "Yeah!" "What's a Thistle Downs anyway?" "We aren't from there!" "Surely you know of the Count!"
Definitely Not Ranching: There's a quiet hum of excitement as the cloud hears its own language. Coming upon the stone circle with its strange inhabitant, a gaggle of voices erupts from the blueish cloud, all speaking the cloud's native tongue. "Who're you?" "A guest! We're a guest!" "Greetings!" "Slaves?" "What's a Verdant Coup?" "That's a good question!" "We think the Count is behind all this!" "Greetings!!" "Hi!" "Happy to meet you!" "Hurray for being a guest!"
Back at the Ranch: "Who's there?!" calls a voice from the cloud, just as it finishes 'helping' Lupi clean up one of the inn's sleeping-rooms. "Yes, who is it?!" comes the inevitable echo. A few bits of fuzz float to the ground as the cloud's attention turns to the voices.
After a few moments of silence, an exasperated voice pipes up in the language of fey, followed by the typical chorus . "Alright!" "We're coming!" "We'll be right back, Lupi!" "Right back we will be!" "That's right!" "Not left back, right back!" "Yep!" "Couldn't've said it better myself!"
"We'll stay too!" "Yes!" "That we will!" "Not that we have anywhere else to go..." "That's true." "An excellent point." "This really must be the Count's doing!" "But why would he bring them here too? They don't even know about him!" "Perhaps he's just messing with our mind!" "Quite likely..."
DM: The cloud hurries back inside and begins looking around intently.
DM: The cloud slowly makes its way outside to investigate.
Trooooouuuuuutyyyyyy!
Things I learned from Nethack, #473: don't eat cockatrices.
Pretty sure she's technically in the USA, too... if I recall correctly her location. ;)
The cloud emits what sounds like a collective exaggerated sigh. "That answers that." "So it does." "Indeed, it answers it." "How do we communicate with them then?" "They can't read us, either." "How unfortunate for them." "Unfortunate!" "Truly unfortunate!" Another voice speaks up a bit hesitantly. It enunciates carefully and pronounces each word slowly as if trying to make sure the language is not the barrier to understanding. "We asked..." (there's a short, whispered conference) "We did not ask your name. We only want to know whether you know what made these marks." There's a short chorus of anticipatory hushing noises as the cloud awaits the answer.
There's a confused murmur of voices, then it dies down and another one speaks up. "Name!" "It has a name, it says." "That's not important!" "Not what we asked!" "No, indeed not." "Maybe it doesn't speak Taldane?" Another pause. "Mae'n siarad pobl-dafod?" "O! Dyna syniad!" "Dyna beth ydyw!" "Ydych chi'n siarad pobl-dafod, yna?" Sylvan: "Does it speak people-tongue?" "Oh! That's an idea!" "That's what that is!" "Do you speak people-tongue, then?"
The cloud moves over the ground silently, stopping just behind the bow-carrying human. "What is he doing?" asks a quiet voice after a moment. "Looks like he's looking!" answers another. "Definitely looking." "But is he seeing??" There's a brief pause. "Psst." "Get his attention." "Hey, person." "What do you see?" "Do you know anything about these marks?"
The cloud continues to assist Lupi in silence, with only a few startled exclamations at the sight of the claw-marks. As the others return, the cloud moves slowly along the ground and stops behind Lupi with a chorus of agreement. DM Only:
Apologies, Trouty. Very busy weekend.
Hrm... I'm trying to think of what Niu would be doing...
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