That sounds about right. The Princess Eiboria sends you her jewels, which she apparently promised to you.
The woman hands over the box to Arielle.
Inside it dozens of stars have been set in a pair of bracelets and a necklace, and a few 'unset' stars are lying loose in it too.
Oh, my name's Sorsha, and I'm a Countess, but I'm not really terribly important.
"Oh," Arielle says happily, hugging each star to her and humming to it before putting it in her bag. "Thank you for bringing these to me, Countess Sorsha."
To Jack Hammer:
Oh she was worried she might not be able to hand them over personally, so insisted that they be personally delivered by me.
"Still, an honorable thing. Especially with things as turbulent as they are."
She makes a face.
Tell me about it.
There's at least one dragon desperately trying to get out of the Realms of Dream right now, anxious to come after the Giggler.
Plus there are the usual comings and goings and politics between the various rulers.
And the borders are... oh, hmm... well in response to an apparent threat, as is occasional with the Realms of Dream, things have got rather difficult for physical or magical travel in and out.
To JH "I'm not sure if she can hear me or not. Ask her if she knows anything about Daelemos."
She makes a face.
Tell me about it.
There's at least one dragon desperately trying to get out of the Realms of Dream right now, anxious to come after the Giggler.
Plus there are the usual comings and goings and politics between the various rulers.
And the borders are... oh, hmm... well in response to an apparent threat, as is occasional with the Realms of Dream, things have got rather difficult for physical or magical travel in and out.
We've even had a fly over by one particulary nasty dragon recently, possibly named Daelemos. We're trying to get some info on that one, as he seems to be in possession of other stars like the ones you delivered. His name sure seems to make people nervous. Especially nervous."
We've even had a fly over by one particulary nasty dragon recently, possibly named Daelemos. We're trying to get some info on that one, as he seems to be in possession of other stars like the ones you delivered. His name sure seems to make people nervous. Especially nervous."She makes a face.
Tell me about it.
There's at least one dragon desperately trying to get out of the Realms of Dream right now, anxious to come after the Giggler.
Plus there are the usual comings and goings and politics between the various rulers.
And the borders are... oh, hmm... well in response to an apparent threat, as is occasional with the Realms of Dream, things have got rather difficult for physical or magical travel in and out.
Oh Daelemos wouldn't fly over somewhere without letting you know it was him, and possibly burning the place to the ground, and, huh, look, suddenly exceedingly defensive, if you have some sort of bone to pick with him, then just leave me out of it. I can't help it. I didn't have any say in it. And practically everyone who comes from a race which doesn't reproduce by some sort of weird cloning or parthenogenesis has a mother and father.
"Oh, is Daelemos your father?" Arielle asks, innocently. "Do you know how to get him to give us back the shinies? I need them so my mommy can have her body back."
I don't think you can make him do anything. I've never even seen him - only heard about him - and that he's almost as powerful, arrogant, and willful as a dragon can get, although for all that he fears or at least respects something in the branches of the Wildwood at the heart of the Realms of Dream.
I don't know; how do you get someone like that to do something? Very carefully? And respectfully? Why's he collecting the things anyway? Does he want to bring her back, too, or to make his own personal slave goddess?
I don't think you can make him do anything. I've never even seen him - only heard about him - and that he's almost as powerful, arrogant, and willful as a dragon can get, although for all that he fears or at least respects something in the branches of the Wildwood at the heart of the Realms of Dream.
I don't know; how do you get someone like that to do something? Very carefully? And respectfully? Why's he collecting the things anyway? Does he want to bring her back, too, or to make his own personal slave goddess?
We seek to bargain for the return of the stars, but we're not sure how or what to offer."
We seek to bargain for the return of the stars, but we're not sure how or what to offer."
Why does he want them? You have to offer something which, in that context, to him is even better than them - and which he can't take from you or anyone else by force either. If he wants them because they're the prettiest and rarest gems he's ever come across, you need something even prettier and rarer. If he's collecting them to create some sort of arcane experiment, you need to offer him the chance to create an arcane experiment even weirder and more wonderful.
And if he's after at least one of them because he's an obsessive completionist, and needs one 'to finish off' his collection of 'one of every kind of gem that ever was or will be', then frankly you're screwed. You will never pry the most perfect one available from his claws.Luckily for you I've never heard that collecting things for their own sake was ever a big point with him.
We seek to bargain for the return of the stars, but we're not sure how or what to offer."Why does he want them? You have to offer something which, in that context, to him is even better than them - and which he can't take from you or anyone else by force either. If he wants them because they're the prettiest and rarest gems he's ever come across, you need something even prettier and rarer. If he's collecting them to create some sort of arcane experiment, you need to offer him the chance to create an arcane experiment even weirder and more wonderful.
And if he's after at least one of them because he's an obsessive completionist, and needs one 'to finish off' his collection of 'one of every kind of gem that ever was or will be', then frankly you're screwed. You will never pry the most perfect one available from his claws.
Luckily for you I've never heard that collecting things for their own sake was ever a big point with him.
Good points all, but it sounds like a face-to-face is the only way to get those answers. Then come out of the meeting alive, so we can track down whatever it is that he wants more. If such a thing exists. If not it'll be a short meeting. Unless he's a slow eater.
Boy, I really need a Dark & Stormy right now.
After Devlyn receives the letter from Jay, and the other visitors start showing up, he quietly retreats to the base of a tree on the outskirts of the clearing to read it, listening to the conversations as they go on. As the depth of their dilemma sinks in, he takes a deep breath and decides to try another course of action.
Not realizing he had subconsciously hidden himself in she shadows of the tree, Devlyn steps out and says quietly to Lynora:
"Is there any way you and I can talk without being overheard by anyone else?"
After Devlyn receives the letter from Jay, and the other visitors start showing up, he quietly retreats to the base of a tree on the outskirts of the clearing to read it, listening to the conversations as they go on. As the depth of their dilemma sinks in, he takes a deep breath and decides to try another course of action.
Not realizing he had subconsciously hidden himself in she shadows of the tree, Devlyn steps out and says quietly to Lynora:
"Is there any way you and I can talk without being overheard by anyone else?"
"Of course, just step into that thicket over there. That's far enough away where the others won't hear you, and I can speak to you there."
"Of course, just step into that thicket over there. That's far enough away where the others won't hear you, and I can speak to you there."After Devlyn receives the letter from Jay, and the other visitors start showing up, he quietly retreats to the base of a tree on the outskirts of the clearing to read it, listening to the conversations as they go on. As the depth of their dilemma sinks in, he takes a deep breath and decides to try another course of action.
Not realizing he had subconsciously hidden himself in she shadows of the tree, Devlyn steps out and says quietly to Lynora:
"Is there any way you and I can talk without being overheard by anyone else?"
"Of course, just step into that thicket over there. That's far enough away where the others won't hear you, and I can speak to you there."
Devlyn goes over to the thicket LJ mentioned, then activates his amulet of true sight to make sure no magical eavesdropping occurs, and focuses his own senses to cover the more mundane types.
"LJ, I'm starting to feel that we're going about this all wrong, and that this dragon is trying to lead us astray from the real goal - which is your full 'ascension' into the divine being you have become. He's got no intention of giving these things back to you. In fact, I think he's going to use them to keep you imprisoned between states of being. A 'shackled deity, bound between worlds' would be the ultimate prize for his hoard"
"You're a goddess who still is thinking like a mortal, and that's what Daelemos is banking on. As long as you continue to do that, we're playing right into his claws. He fully expects you to keep doing that, and to have to come to him to retrieve what you think you need to become whole again."
Devlyn starts pacing as best he can within the bounds of the thicket.
"I don't think we'll be able to reason with him, to cater to his ego, or confront him and take back the stars. If half of what we've heard is true, then he's just too old and too canny to fall for any of that. Which means we have to change the rules of this little game - and you're the only one who can do that."
"You are a goddess aligned with the Light now, and that means you can wield the powers of creation. You've proven you can do that once already - just look at Arielle. You created a body for her soul out of, essentially, nothing other than yourself. If you can do that, then you can make another body for yourself out of the stars you already have. You just have to believe that you can do it, and not subscribe to the mortal idea of a puzzle needing all of its pieces to be complete."
"And if that mindset is still too hard to shake, then let's come at it from another angle. Just as a healer can use magic to regrow lost limbs and heal damage, you can try to do the same thing here. Use your power to 'heal' the damage and regrow the stars you need. Call on the elements that make up the Green to help grow them and bind them to you."
He pauses for a moment to let her take that in.
"The stars aren't pieces of my body in the way that you think they are. My mortal body is gone. The stars are pieces of my...essence for lack of a better term. That which makes me not only myself, but capable of wielding the power of a goddess. In order to reclaim my power I have to bring all those pieces together."
There is a long pause.
"But you are right about my thinking too much like a mortal. I...think I might have a solution, but I would rather not speak it aloud. Just in case."
"...Alright. As long as you got something good out of it," he says with a smile.
He walks out of the thicket and hands Jay's note to Jack Hammer, then goes and sits down just inside the treeline.
Privately to JH, "My love, I am...going to be working on something for awhile. I will not be aware of what's happening in the Grove while I do. I don't know if this will work, but Devlyn reminded me that I have been thinking too much like a mortal. And he was right. Let's see if a less mortal solution will work."
LJ's consciousness sinks deep within Yggdrasil. She matches the Song of the World Ash as she has so many times before. And then she begins a new Song.
Privately to JH, "My love, I am...going to be working on something for awhile. I will not be aware of what's happening in the Grove while I do. I don't know if this will work, but Devlyn reminded me that I have been thinking too much like a mortal. And he was right. Let's see if a less mortal solution will work."
"Be careful, honey. We'll be here for you."
"Arielle and her new toy are trying to see who knows the most songs. It's a tie so far, but I'm betting on the bird. There's intelligence behind those crystals."
"...Alright. As long as you got something good out of it," he says with a smile.
He walks out of the thicket and hands Jay's note to Jack Hammer, then goes and sits down just inside the treeline.
JH ponders the note. If it were only this easy. This dragon is much more complex than its kindred. Still, there is merit in the points. How to put it together...look for commonalities...
Was there anything else? If not, I'll be off.
Was there anything else? If not, I'll be off.
"Any suggestions on where the dragon may be found?"
Almost anywhere. But it's guaranteed that if you try to break into one of his active lairs to steal something, that that's where he'll be.
He has a number of lairs on this world, from what I've heard.
Almost anywhere. But it's guaranteed that if you try to break into one of his active lairs to steal something, that that's where he'll be.
He has a number of lairs on this world, from what I've heard.
Breaking in...hardly a good start to dialogue...there has to be a better way.
Breaking in...hardly a good start to dialogue...there has to be a better way.Almost anywhere. But it's guaranteed that if you try to break into one of his active lairs to steal something, that that's where he'll be.
He has a number of lairs on this world, from what I've heard.
"I can find him for you if you want, Daddy. As long as he has the stars with him."
"I can find him for you if you want, Daddy. As long as he has the stars with him."Breaking in...hardly a good start to dialogue...there has to be a better way.Almost anywhere. But it's guaranteed that if you try to break into one of his active lairs to steal something, that that's where he'll be.
He has a number of lairs on this world, from what I've heard.
Torn btwn the need and keeping Arielle safe, JH doesn't know how to respond.
Seeing JH's face and realizing something bad may be about to happen,
"Hey Arielle, have you ever climbed a tree before? I know an easy one not far away that is pretty fun."
Through his faint druidic connection to the Green, Kiba realizes he should hurry back and find Lk. He starts running...
I can't think of many dragons likely to be that size. I'm out of here, in case it decides to come back.
Sorsha hurriedly departs.
Animals of the forest gather the fallen stars from their craters in the leaf mold and bring them to Ygdrassil, piling them at the Root in a shiny pile
Star Song, it seems your final pieces have arrived ..
Through his faint druidic connection to the Green, Kiba realizes he should hurry back and find Lk. He starts running...
When Kiba arrives and sees that nothing terrible has happened, relief surges through him. Noticing the pile of star-like gems, he decides to wait in the shadows and see what is about to happen...
Arielle puts all the pieces from her bag together with the pieces at the base of Yggdrasil. Power flows from her into the pile of stars, and they begin to glow. Ariells steps back to stand beside JH as the stars assemble into the shape of a swirling galaxy.
Arielle puts all the pieces from her bag together with the pieces at the base of Yggdrasil. Power flows from her into the pile of stars, and they begin to glow. Ariells steps back to stand beside JH as the stars assemble into the shape of a swirling galaxy.
JH places his hand upon her shoulder as he watches and waits.
The galaxy shrinks closer and closer together, coalescing into a ball of light. The light gradually takes on the shape of a winged woman, slowly becoming the familiar form of Lynora-Jill.
She kneels down and opens her arms as Arielle runs to her with an excited cry of "Mommy!" She hugs her daughter tight and looks up at JH. Her smile is radiant, but there are tears running down her cheeks at the same time.
Devlyn, a satisfied smile on his face, looks around and does a quick head count. Sniffing the air, he notes Kiba's presence as well.
"Alright guys, time to vacate the Grove for a little while. This family needs some well-earned time to itself, and I intend to make sure that they get it. Let's get to the omniportal."
He starts shepherding the others out of here, giving a wink to the newly-united family of...Jill-Hammer? ;P
Lk goes through the omniportal with Devlyn, and Kiba follows in the shape of a small gray bird.
The galaxy shrinks closer and closer together, coalescing into a ball of light. The light gradually takes on the shape of a winged woman, slowly becoming the familiar form of Lynora-Jill.
She kneels down and opens her arms as Arielle runs to her with an excited cry of "Mommy!" She hugs her daughter tight and looks up at JH. Her smile is radiant, but there are tears running down her cheeks at the same time.
JH stands for a long time, taking in the scene, and allowing Lyn and Arielle time to get a number of hugs and kisses in. After a while he kneels down beside them hugging them both fiercely. Until he hears Arielle gasp a bit. Then he lessens his grip, without letting it go.
Lk goes through the omniportal with Devlyn, and Kiba follows in the shape of a small gray bird.