032: My dream may be your nightmare

[Sierra]

<El-Cideon> After a few days to rest and relax and deal with whatever personal business they might have between trips, the group collects in town for lunch at a fancy tavern overlooking the village green (though it wears a blanket of white at this time). "Good afternoon, everyone!" Rosemund beams, acting the sun for everyone while the real one is obscured by clouds.
<Franceska> "What is so good about it?" Franceska grouses, looking tired.
<Julia> "Good afternoon," Julia returns, pleasantly if not quite so brightly as she looks up from the menu.
<Steph> "Every day here is a day we're not in a world that hates us?" suggests Stephanie, with her tail tucked away and horns obscured by a cloth wrap.
<Franceska> "I would not be so sure about that."
<El-Cideon> "Well, we are all still alive," Rosemund counts off, sitting down. "We are all in good health?" she spares a speculative glance for Julia. "And of course, we are all together."
<Steph> "You can still stop being a lawyer. It's not too late!"
<Franceska> "Yes, Stephanie. Please tell me all about the glorious life of a homeless person."
<Julia> "It wasn't that bad," Julia recalls of her days having to pay rent. "But I do like my new tower!"
<Steph> "It's great when you've got floating capital," she muses. "Not so good when you're bankrupt, but grass doesn't feel too bad! Never be homeless in a city, though," she adds, sternly. "If you're having trouble, at least join a circus."
<El-Cideon> "Julia, you have to promise not to forget about all of us when you are out there up to your arms in...experiments," Rosemund guesses. "Will I be needed to fetch you out into the sun from time to time?"
<Franceska> "It is very defensible against angry peasant mobs," Franceska says in approval. She gives Stephanie an uncertain look. "But joking aside, you are at least renting a room somewhere now?"
<Julia> "Er... maybe?" Julia admits. "I do tend to lose track of time. But I'll have to venture out for food at certain points, unless I can come up with a way of making it defensible against sieges..."
<Steph> Stephanie rolls her eyes. "The church lends me a room when I'm here, I'll have you know," she replies.
<Franceska> "Have you no shame? You must be the wealthiest homeless creature to use up their space!"
<Steph> Stephanie snorts. "They're treating me as a guest! It would be shameful to refuse, if anything!"
<El-Cideon> "Will you two pick at one another for the rest of our lives?" Rosemund asks, exasperated. "We are doing good work, and is that not more important than whatever little flaws each of us might have?"
<Julia> "We're not working now, I say let them get it out their systems," Julia says, sagely.
<Steph> "This quest is going to take the rest of our lives-" Stephanie signals the bartender. "Another jug, please."
* Franceska looks horrified. "The rest of my life? Do you have any idea how long I expect to live, Rosemund?!"
<Julia> "I have plans too!" Julia adds, equally distraught.
<El-Cideon> "Is there something else you think that we should be doing, Stephanie?" Rosemund asks, genuinely perplexed. "I am afraid that I do not, Franceska. I am quite happy with what we have accomplished so far, myself! Oh very well, we may take vacations on occasion. But even if it is, ah, a little messy sometimes...better that no one need to live in bondage, yes? I was not wholly certain about some of what we did on Earth to accomplish our goals, but...oh, this is silly. I had a dream last night and I feel more confident we are doing the right thing...even if it does not always work out how we might have planned it."
<Franceska> "And if I tell you that I had a dream where I was killed over and over by giant bees, can we stop?" Franceska asks in a deadpan.
<El-Cideon> "Is this how you often dream?" Rosemund asks, worried.
<Julia> "I had a dream that the stars would one day devour us all," Julia adds, not quite coming across as lightly as she means it. It was a really unsettling dream.
<Franceska> "No, it's usually dirty peasants or elves."
<Steph> "I dreamed about this wacky kid on Burtyn Hill," remarks Stephanie. "It seemed real prophetic, too, but I wish I'd had the dream about bees instead."
<Franceska> "I wouldn't mind a dream about the stars killing everyone. Can we all trade, you think?"
<Julia> "I'd rather trade with Stephanie," Julia says, not fancying death by bees much either.
<Franceska> "Well yes. I figured as much!"
<El-Cideon> "I was on a slave ship," Rosemund says. "And everyone was rowing in time, until I struck down the overseer and everyone was free...but then we did not where to go. But there was a handsome golden angel and I talked with him and decided it was fine if we did not know where to go, at least it was our own choice? And then, ah...and then I woke up." She looks distracted for a moment, then blinks it away. "I must say, it sounds nicer than all of your dreams."
* Franceska grimaces. "I'll still take the stars, thank you very much. It sounds fair that everyone would perish equally."
<Steph> "Clearly, these dreams are important! We should drop everything and try to fight off the stars! With bees!"
<Julia> "And do it as aimlessly as possible, so long as we enlist the kid on Burtyn Hill?"
<El-Cideon> Rosemund shakes her head. "Oh, now you are all just talking nonsense. It felt very important at the time!"
<Steph> "Yeah! You know what that place was all about, right?" remarks Stephanie. "Creel's big army camp. Whole lot of lunatics there. The kid was going on about, uh, 'I want to stop me before I become the older me! Save me, Stephanie!'" She frowns. "It was pretty creepy at the time. Hey, is there a magic way to write down feelings?"
<Julia> "Well, despite having a tall tower, I think I plan on building downwards all the same. I can't appreciate a starlit night as well as I used to," Julia says as to her own dream's importance.
<Franceska> "I never really hated bees, except in so far as they are part of the outdoors. So I appreciate the outdoors even less?" Franceska muses. "I'll need to burn down the forest near my new home."
<Steph> "Why not cut it down and sell the lumber?"
* Franceska tilts her head. "If you do the work for me, I will give you an equal share of the profits."
<El-Cideon> "An equal share? That is positively generous of you, Franceska," Rosemund says encouragingly.
<Franceska> "If you say so," Franceska agrees blandly.
<Steph> "Like there's time. I guess I could get a company to do it," mutters Stephanie, quickly lost in her own world of calculations.
<El-Cideon> Rosemund nods. "Anyway, the point was that I am happy with our work and mean to keep doing more of it. I would, for one, like to stop that experimental station Ron talked about from doing...whatever awful things it is doing?" She manages vaguely, with a nod towards Stephanie. "Ah, but we had other plans first. Auntie Leah has been looking into ways for us to visit Fire without, you know, burning to death."
<Julia> "Has she found anything good yet?"
<El-Cideon> "There are rings which guard against flame," Rosemund answers. "The strongest ones she thinks would keep us safe enough to walk around out in the open there. But, ah, they are very expensive...she is trying to call in favors with old friends or find them used, but she does not expect to get any of them for lower than thirty thousand gold pieces. Of course, she offered to pay for mine." Rosemund frowns in disapproval. "Or, there are spells that should protect us from the plane trying to kill us. She is trying to have them made into scrolls for us. This is much cheaper! But we would have to keep using one every day there."
<Julia> "And I just spent that exact amount of money on my tower!" Julia bemoans cruel fate.
<El-Cideon> Rosemund nods. "I think it will have to be the scrolls, we cannot get a ring for everyone."
<Steph> "A tower you won't even get to live in while we're out questing!"
<Steph> "I've got savings that are pretty close," admits Stephanie. "But not quite close enough, I guess. How much are the scrolls?"
<Julia> "Won't the scrolls burn up, though?" Julia asks.
<Franceska> "I can stop that," Franceska volunteers.
<Steph> "If they don't protect our things as well as us, they're no good to us! Who'd write a scroll like that?"
<El-Cideon> Rosemund blinks. "Ah, that is a very good point, Julia. We will have to cast one of them before we leave." To Stephanie: "She is having them made so that each will last us a day. They are a thousand gold each."
<Steph> "One's good enough for all of us, though?" clarifies Stephanie.
<El-Cideon> "She has also said that the City of Brass is not so lethal a place as the rest of the plane. The rulers keep it cooler for the sake of commerce...so it is best to get safely there before trying our luck out in the wilderness."
<Franceska> "It still feels like a waste," Franceska voices. "Give me a bit of time to look into this more myself."
<El-Cideon> "What are you planning, Franceska?" Rosemund asks.
<Franceska> "I'll experiment with my spells, since it's like this."
<El-Cideon> She nods. "I have yet to try transporting us to another world--it is sort of a notion in my heart that I can do this, you know? So perhaps we should try somewhere safer first. Did we want to bring Brijid to stay with Marcus and Marina? It seems a shame to just leave here where she does not know anyone."
<Steph> "How long'll that take?" wonders Stephanie.
<Franceska> "It seems like the sensible choice," Franceska admits reluctantly. "My inquiries into her condition provided no fresh insights, and being with someone she knows of might well help."
<Julia> "So long as no deviant elves take advantage of her," Julia nods.
<El-Cideon> "I would like to think that we taught the deviant elves a proper lesson about taking advantage of naive young women," Rosemund says, in between working through a plate of eggs.
<Steph> "Once a deviant, always a deviant. People can't be cured of bad habits with just one beating," replies Stephanie, sadly.
<El-Cideon> "Does it take more beatings?" Rosemund wonders.
* Franceska gestures for a drink.
<El-Cideon> Later in the day, the gang collects Brijid from her room at the temple of Pelor. The church staff does not report the half-elf doing anything more than sitting and staring during her stay. Rosemund occupies an empty meeting hall for the group's use. "I am somewhat feeling my way through this spell," she admits. "Everyone, ah...everyone hold hands?" she suggests.
* Franceska takes Rosemund's hand.
* Steph takes Rosemund's other hand.
* Julia takes Fran's and Brijid's hands.
<El-Cideon> Rosemund strikes a tiny metal tuning fork against a table before reengaging Stephanie's grasp. The ringing fills your ears, and the world around you seems to undulate out of place with it, to be replaced by--
<El-Cideon> roll 5d100 accuracy
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 5d100 accuracy and gets 234."12 [5d100=48, 70, 69, 12, 35]
* El-Cideon changes topic to 'Current planar traits: anti-Fran aura in effect | '
<El-Cideon> --the group as a whole plunging into a lake. You must be near the shore, because you almost immediately strike a bottom of soft mud, but the sudden immersion cannot be anything but alarming.
* Franceska looks indignant, but then just falls back into the water while gripping Rosemund's hand tightly.
* Julia yells and sputters, righting herself and whipping a long mane of very wet black hair as she tosses her head back from the water, striking Franceska across the face.
<El-Cideon> Rosemund stands up--you can just about manage to get your head above the water here once you get your bearings--then immediately concerns herself with hauling Brijid up.
<Franceska> Letting go, Franceska contents herself with floating on the surface.
<Julia> Perhaps selfishly, Julia focuses entirely on wading herself back onto dry ground.
<El-Cideon> You think you can recognize vaguely your surroundings--the mountains across the lake look familiar--but Marina's residence is nowhere in sight. The lakeshore is an easy trudge away for anyone seeking dry land.
<Franceska> "I think you missed," Franceska muses. "Are we going to try again?"
<Steph> Stephanie helps Rosemund out whilst she hauls herself out. "Anyone know how far out we are?" she asks, looking at the mountains.
<El-Cideon> "I--I think I can try a couple more times today, if you like?" Rosemund guesses, leading Brijid by hand out of the water.
<El-Cideon> OOC: anyone have Survival?
<Franceska> OOC: No, I hate nature
<Julia> OOC: no
<Julia> "I don't know, we might end up in deeper water," Julia says dubiously, not being a great swimmer.
<Franceska> "If so, it would be better to find out here than when going to Fire."
<El-Cideon> Stephanie's pretty sure it's the same mountain range, but as to how far along you are from your destination...well, the woods beyond the lakeshore could be any stretch of the woods Marina's house inhabited, really.
<El-Cideon> "Well, it is that or we find someone to ask directions," Rosemund concludes.
* Franceska finally makes her way to shore. "No, it would be an elf. Let's get back and try again."
<Steph> "That'll take, what, a day?" wonders Stephanie. "How many times can you do this, Rosey?"
<El-Cideon> "Ah, well...that is somewhat part of the experiment, Stephanie," Rosemund admits.
<Steph> "I guess. How 'bout accuracy?"
<El-Cideon> "We...we will find out?" Rosemund guesses, offering her hands again if such is the group consensus.
* Franceska holds onto Rosemund once more.
<Julia> Sighing, Julia takes hands once more.
* Steph does likewise.
<El-Cideon> "I am sure it is just a matter of practice!" Rosemund swears before shifting everyone back home--
<El-Cideon> roll 5d100
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 5d100 and gets 293."12 [5d100=86, 8, 65, 37, 97]
<El-Cideon> You miss the water this time, mercifully, but you can smell it in the air--you're near the sea. If Rosemund was aiming for Amaranth, you landed far north of it, near a road running through a grassy plain.
<Franceska> "I am beginning to think this was a terrible plan."
<Julia> "We're never going home again, are we?" Julia asks in a small voice.
<El-Cideon> "I can do this!" Rosemund promises. "I just have to keep trying! Yes, I should--I should just try again! Let us go!"
<Steph> "I guess this is why they invented portals," laments Stephanie.
<El-Cideon> "But just think, next time we are lost on a terrible world, I can bring us back home so we might be lost somewhere familiar!"
<Steph> "We're going to appear someplace really awkward, I just know it!"
<Julia> "Well, once more then?" Julia asks, resigning herself to it.
<Franceska> "Yes, we might as well."
<El-Cideon> "There is only one way to find out, Stephanie!" Rosemund promises, shifting the group once more--
<El-Cideon> roll 5d100
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 5d100 and gets 243."12 [5d100=37, 40, 86, 14, 66]
<El-Cideon> --and now you are in the woods. There are many trees around you. But at least you're not drowning?
<Steph> "This is much better!" proclaims Stephanie, keeping an eye out for the elves that might lurk around every corner.
<Julia> "I think we should go home. And use the portals. And never use this spell again. Except in a second when we go home and then have to walk a long way," Julia says, labouring over her words in anticipation of a great chore.
<Franceska> "Can we?"
<El-Cideon> "I am very, very sorry!" Rosemund gushes, with an apologetic bow. "I--if you would like to try again, please give me one more chance!"
<Julia> Oh, who can refuse that face! "Alright..." she grumbles.
<El-Cideon> "Thank you very much!" Rosemund says. "I am sure this time I will not let you down. Let us go home--" She rings the tuning fork presumably attuned to home, concentrates...and nothing happens.
<El-Cideon> "Um."
<Julia> "Problem?"
<El-Cideon> "I am sure that I will not let you down...tomorrow!" Rosemund does her best to salvage the situation as always.
<Franceska> "Are we giving up on today, then?"
<Julia> "Lets make a fire so we can dry our clothes, then?" Julia suggests wearily.
<Franceska> "We need some space as well, for the hut."
<El-Cideon> "O-okay," Rosemund manages, scrounging up fallen branches to use as kindling.
<Julia> Julia gets some longer and more sturdy looking branches to make a frame that'll let her drape her sodden clothes over next to the soon to be made fire.
<El-Cideon> These woods are quiet, and not even the sight of an unaccustomed fire flickering in the midst of the forest calls anyone's attention down on you as you rest. You sleep early and wake just as early. The fire has wound down but most of the dampness has been scoured from your clothes by now at least. "Alright," Rosemund resolves the next morning. "So I could move us three times yesterday. Today I could...bring us home, try one more trip to Arborea, and then take us home again if that does not succeed?"
<Franceska> "We could try to see where we end up, at least," Franceska muses.
<Steph> "Maybe we'll end up someplace fun!"
<Franceska> "I suppose you never know."
<Julia> "And if not we'll have all day to walk back to Solata," Julia says.
<El-Cideon> "I am prepared to settle for anyplace recognizable," Rosemund says. "Is everyone ready?" she offers once everyone is dressed and gathered in a circle again.
* Julia nods, holding hands once more.
<El-Cideon> roll 5d100
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 5d100 and gets 301."12 [5d100=77, 83, 29, 16, 96]
<El-Cideon> You are standing amongst foothills, rugged and wild, with high mountains to your east blocking the morning light, looking down over fields of brush and scrubwood. "One of these days," Rosemund promises, taking you back to Arborea. "One of these days!"
<El-Cideon> roll 5d100
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 5d100 and gets 322."12 [5d100=98, 20, 65, 96, 43]
<El-Cideon> Redwood forest, soft carpet of needles, no trace of Marina's house as an exasperated Rosemund tries one last time to shift you back home
<El-Cideon> roll 5d100
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 5d100 and gets 257."12 [5d100=91, 58, 60, 6, 42]
<El-Cideon> You are outside the high walls of a bustling city. Even at this early hour people stream in and out of the gates. You recognize the white parapets as those of the capital.
<Franceska> "We might as well visit?"
<El-Cideon> "At the very least we could get breakfast? Rosemund allows.
<Julia> "I am very hungry," Julia agrees, not having packed for a journey yesterday.
<Steph> "Ooh! Have you guys been here before?" wonders Stephanie, starting towards the gates.
<Franceska> "No." Franceska frowns. "I traveled more to horrible planes than I ever did back home."
<Julia> "A few times when I was younger," Julia nods. "I never got to really explore it, though."
<Franceska> "Maybe your aunt could buy you a ring of teleportation?" Franceska asks Rosemund. "It sounds like it would be useful, and there is no possible way for it to go wrong."
<El-Cideon> "I do not remember it very well," Rosemund says, walking towards the gate. "Auntie Leah tells me we lived here while Amaranth was occupied, however."
* Franceska adjusts her hat and follows along at a sedate pace.
<El-Cideon> "There are spells for that, are there not?" Rosemund asks, looking to the group's mage to see if she might be able to assist with that at some point.
<Julia> "I'm not that kind of mage," Julia apologises.
<Franceska> "My school of magic normally teaches them," Franceska admits, "but as they involved going to foreign places I was sure to hate, I just never bothered with them. And it would be too late to start now."
<Steph> "Which means it's down to the magic of gold? But that sort of stuff is stupidly expensive," remarks Stephanie.
<Franceska> "It cannot be much more expensive than a thirty thousand gold ring."
<El-Cideon> Amaranth is by no means a small town, but the royal seat positively dwarfs your provincial capital. Guards are on watch at the gates but don't find any reason to stop and question your little group. Once you're inside, the buildings rear up around you on all sides the way only the choicest Amaranth residences do; everything is on a grander scale, packed vertically to exploit every bit of open space. "Maybe we could find someone to teleport us home?" Rosemund speculates.
<Franceska> "Better yet, we could pick up a few scrolls," Franceska suggests. "If it's like that, I can give it a try. Over to Marina's house as well."
<El-Cideon> Vendors cry from stalls lining the walk if anyone wants a quick snack; alternately, you soon come to a fountained plaza ringed with common houses for anyone looking to sit down to a meal. "We could visit a magic shop after we eat, then?"
<Steph> "I don't wanna sit down, let's eat while we walk!" replies Stephanie, heading off to buy food from the street vendors.
* Julia gets the fattest most filling thing that's available. So hungry...
* Franceska gives Stephanie a dirty look, before deciding to just go along with it.
<El-Cideon> Plenty of fried meats are on display for anyone looking to fill her belly as greedily as possible. Actually, that and fresh bread are most commonly what's available. Fruits and vegetables are in rather shorter supply in the midst of winter. Rosemund wolfs down a breadroll and then finds a guard to ask for directions.
<El-Cideon> Belatedly wiping crumbs off her face with the back of her hand, Rosemund returns to report: "There's a whole neighborhood of wizards here!" she says, awed at the copious services available in the big city. "We should be able to take our pick. He said to look for Silver Street..." Rosemund takes off through the unknown avenues, eyes wide, occasionally bumping bystanders without noticing it.
* Julia carries a bucket filled with fried chicken... parts. It may be messy, but she's too hungry to care, devouring a chicken leg gracelessly.
<Steph> Stephanie grimaces. "A wizard is fine, but wizards are..." she mutters.
<Franceska> "If they try anything untowards, we'll treat them as we treat elves!" Franceska swears.
<El-Cideon> Rosemund winds her way through the city, finding her goal after several bad turns and successive requests for direction. Silver Street is more sparsely populated, and its few inhabitants walk with purpose and an obvious wish not to be disturbed from their personal business. The houses here are all tall, stone, and eminently respectable, most bearing a small plaque declaring them to be the place of business of some resident mage. Rosemund takes one seemingly at random: "M. Windham." Shelves inside are lined with books and scrolls, and the very air smells of parchment. A pleasant young man in a silver tunic mans a desk at the back of the shop, scribbling quietly.
<Julia> It's like this bucket has no bottom! Julia is still busy munching away, even after her hunger is sated. Waste not want not!
<Franceska> As Rosemund isn't stepping up, Franceska does it for her! "Hello," she says crisply, approaching the scribbling man.
<El-Cideon> He looks up, blinks. "Ah, good morning!" he says politely. "And what can Merritt Windham and associates do you for you on this fine winter's day?"
<Franceska> "We would like to look into means of transportation," Franceska tells him. "From fast travel to teleportation. What might be available?"
<El-Cideon> "Ah, well, would you be looking to transport yourselves, if there's one in your group capable of it, or do you need someone to cast the spell for you? I'll have to go fetch the master for the latter, but we've got the spell scribed here somewhere..." He steps out from behind the desk, rifles through the shelves. "Ah, here we are! This is the basic Teleport spell, you understand, and it does carry with it a tiny chance of misdirection," he adds with the air of a disclaimer. "Please note this is inherent in the formulation of the spell and in no ways the fault of Merritt Windham and associates."
* Franceska gives him a long look, before inclining her head. "Yes, that is understood. Do you have just the one scroll?"
<El-Cideon> "It's a commonly requested service for a person of means in a hurry," he says, assuming Franceska to be such from her bearing. "We've four on hand. If you require a larger order, you'll have to allow time for production."
<Franceska> "Four is enough." She nods in satisfaction at Rosemund.
<El-Cideon> "Of course," he says, bundling them up. "Your total is forty-five hundred gold," he adds. He looks over your group, looking slightly pained. "Ma'am, I must note that the Merritt Windham and associates Teleport scroll is calibrated to carry up to four persons to the target location. I do note that there are five of you. Please take this into account for your travel plans."
<Julia> "I can probably cast from it as well," Julia volunteers, licking the grease off her fingers.
<El-Cideon> "Of course," he says, looking relieved to have not disappointed a customer.
<Julia> "Lets just find a place to stay and tomorrow Rosemund can try her spell again?" Julia says, handing over some money.
<El-Cideon> "A pleasure doing business with you, ma'am," the clerk says. "Remember Merritt Windham and associates whenever you are next in the market for magical paraphernalia!"
<El-Cideon> The capital is rife with boarding houses of all levels of quality; finding lodging should not be difficult, assuming the group has no other business here.
<El-Cideon> roll 5d100 how badly off-target is Rosey this time?
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 5d100 how badly off-target is Rosey this time? and gets 185."12 [5d100=48, 24, 14, 50, 49]
<El-Cideon> After Rosey tries plane shifting again the next morning, you are in a redwood forest hardly distinguishable from your last attempt at Arborea. But it is plainly Arborea, easily recognized just by the sheer sense of discomfort Fran feels for being here.
* Julia takes out her teleport scroll. "So, who's coming with me and who's going with Franceska?"
<El-Cideon> "Maybe you should take Stephanie," she suggests, possibly suspecting only Fran will arrive at the destination if it's up to her to take the tiefling.
<Julia> "Alright, it might take a little while so just bear with me," Julia says, putting one hand on Stephanie and holding up the scroll with the other.
<El-Cideon> Rosemund leads Brijid over to Fran and links hands.
<Steph> "Hey, uh, yeah. Take your time! No need to rush this spell that can trap us underground, right?"
<Julia> roll 1d20+14 casting as wizard, DC 29
* Hatbot --> "Julia rolls 1d20+14 casting as wizard, DC 29 and gets 32."12 [1d20=18]
<Julia> roll 1d100 miss chance
* Hatbot --> "Julia rolls 1d100 miss chance and gets 44."12 [1d100=44]
<Franceska> "Alright, so you are with me," Franceska tells Rosemund, grabbing hold of her shoulder and trying her best to use the scroll.
<Franceska> roll 1d20+17 UMD
* Hatbot --> "Franceska rolls 1d20+17 UMD and gets 30."12 [1d20=13]
<Franceska> roll 1d100
* Hatbot --> "Franceska rolls 1d100 and gets 66."12 [1d100=66]
<El-Cideon> After days of frustration, finally the group finds its way to Marina's residence! Much to Franceska's inevitable relief, there is no elven olympiad in progress about the lawn. The forest echoes only with birdsong. There is also more sunlight here than there was before; Marina's bathing pool has been expanded into a proper lake.
<Julia> "Hello? Marina?" Julia calls in case she's lounging about in the garden.
<Franceska> "Marina?" Franceska calls out after Julia, emboldened by the lack of elves.
<El-Cideon> There's a squawk, and a familiar red bird lands on a sapling before you. Canterbury peers at you quizzically.
<Julia> "Hello Canterbury. Is Marina about?" Julia asks the unloved avian.
<El-Cideon> Canterbury takes wing and shoots through a window on the second floor. There is a startled, feminine yelp from inside before he reemerges and disappears off into the woods. A moment later, Marina emerges from the front door and takes a confused look around the grounds. Hair out of order, slightly flushed, mildly irritated--she brightens up on recognizing her visitors, however. "Oh, hello!" She sweeps forwards to give everyone a friendly hug.
<Julia> "Hello Marina," Julia returns the hug in the spirit of friendliness. "Is Marcus about? We've found one of his friends."
<El-Cideon> "Oh, he's probably loitering in the gardens around the back," she says. "It's not mountain climbing but, well, it does keep him busy. Come along then, tell me how you've been!" She circles round the house and passes the new lake, which is ringed with reeds and very picturesque.
<Steph> "We've recently shed ourselves of a great burden," muses Stephanie.
<El-Cideon> "Mm. Mine still torments me daily," she muses.
<Franceska> "We also freed a great deal of people, mostly by killing very unpleasant people," Franceska says happily.
<Julia> "What burdens are we talking about?" Julia asks, mystified. "Is this about how we were so heavy on Earth?"
<El-Cideon> "If one must kill, there could scarce be a better reason," Marina allows. You find Marcus kneeling in the dirt along a row of vegetables, exhuming carrots. He looks up at the intrusion, eyes widening in surprise. He stands up, hastens over to you. "This can't be right," he says. "Brijid? She looks the part, but there's no life to her..."
<Franceska> "That is the fault of an illithid working for a gem dragon on Earth. Try talking to her about something in your past?"
<Julia> "She sometimes reacts to things, so she's not completely out of it," Julia says hopefully.
<Steph> "We don't know what to do with her," admits Stephanie. "Neither did the priests."
<El-Cideon> "Brijid? Do you remember me?" He takes her hand in his remaining own, squeezes it gently. Her eyes relinquish their gaze on some far-off nothing, flit over to examine him for a long moment. She steps back, contemplates with great effort. Eventually: "Marcus," she states simply.
<El-Cideon> He smiles. "That's a start?" he guesses.
<Franceska> "Yes. Right now, it is also the only idea we have left to try."
<El-Cideon> "Maybe--maybe if we had a harp," he suggests. "Does anyone have an instrument handy? If not, well..." He takes Brijid's hand again. "Do you remember our friends, Brijid? Can you tell me their names?" Frustrating silence.
<El-Cideon> "I don't know...this might take some time. Is there anything you need from her urgently?"
<Julia> Julia honestly has no idea. They were asking about Polaris or something? This was just a good deed... Her expression matches her ignorant state of mind.
<Franceska> "Do we?" Franceska blinks. "We probably do, but Rosemund has long since forgotten her original goal so it should be alright."
<El-Cideon> "I have not!" Rosemund protests. "Our goals have simply expanded. Marcus, you said she and her brother and your elf companion were the last ones to see Galina, did you not? Could you, I do not know, see if she remembers what they did?"
* Franceska rolls her eyes, and then approaches Marina. "Since we came to visit again, I brought a few fabrics along with me? They got a bit soaked when we fell in a lake, but I dried them out afterwards so it should be alright."
<El-Cideon> He frowns. "I don't know..." He turns to the stricken half-elf. "Brijid, do you remember where you went after you dropped me off here?" he coaxes. "You and your brother and Phibous, you went off looking for a wizard to fix the castle. The castle was broken and it couldn't move anymore, and we couldn't leave it there because of the children? You were going to find someone to fix it?" There's another long silence and at last Brijid claws her way out of the void again: "Wilfred. Brotherhood."
<El-Cideon> He nods and gives her an encouraging pat on the shoulder, smiles. "That's good, that's a start. You'll be better once we get an instrument in your hands again, I'm sure. There's got to be a lute or something around here..." For your sake, before leading Brijid away to relax inside, he explains: "The Sagacious Brotherhood, I think she means. They're this gang of knowitalls hang out in Azure, on the plane of Air. Really a brotherhood, don't admit women. Say they're a distraction or something." He shrugs.
<Julia> Given the makeup of this group, that could be a problem.
<El-Cideon> "I'm sure they'll do," Marina responds quietly to Franceska, giving her a gentle hug, not wanting to interrupt the reunion.
<El-Cideon> ~