Hello and welcome reader, to the 29th installment of the Character Development Threads! These shared story exercises help budding writers develop their characters alongside the characters of other budding writers. No sign-up is needed; just jump right in with your characters. It is recommended that you read the thread page and the last couple of pages before starting.
Discussion Thread
—Thread Page —
Trope Page —
Town Map — Wilderness Map
This is a "Main Series" thread and, as such, an element of risk is expected. Rules and participation guidelines may be found on this page.
The thread page groups active characters under the areas in which they are active, enabling you to see who is at a given location in which you might be interested or to find out where to go to encounter characters with whom you wish to interact.
Kindly add your own characters to the thread page, with a link to their initial post, under the area in which they are located and update the page if they change location.
Bear in mind that if your characters are arriving at a location, they are likely to know little more than what they see and hear as they arrive - what the location looks like, what other characters are there (both of which can be read on the thread page) and the last few lines uttered and actions taken as they are arriving (which can be found in the last few posts for that location in the story thread itself), so inserting characters need not be a terrifying or arduous process. In most cases, they don't need to know more than what you yourself can glean from reading just a few posts.
If you need help, have any questions, or want a quick recap (if the page count is daunting), head over to the discussion page, and someone is sure to help you out!
To help guide character interaction, having your character come in with at least one short-term and one long-term goal or motivation is strongly recommended. It is not required, but it does make it easier to drive the plot forward. Feel free to come up with rumors about what treasures, adventure, locations, and dangers may be found in the setting - they need not be true or accurate, just some hook on which to hang an adventure.
The setting is specifically designed to be a vast sandbox into which details can be inserted by participants (for example, you are free to decide that there is a particular temple in the midst of the forest in which something may be found or that there is a particular shop/hotel/restaurant in a section of the town), if you come up with a location that you desire/expect other characters to visit, please add it to the thread page as a sub-location of the relevant area.
Things change as the story progresses. If, for example, a massive battle occurs at a location and the area is now strewn with bodies and buildings are damaged, kindly update the thread page to reflect those changes, in order that other participants have an up-to-date description of the location prior to sending their characters there.
Special thanks to all those who helped in getting the original thread launched or provided ideas and feedback. In alphabetic order, they include:
Blackfire 667, Collen, Corvidae, daird, Darkblood Carnagefang, Eterna Memoria, Gault, Kkutwar, Killer Clowns, ladytanuki, Masterofchaos, nrjxll, Pyxo, Slysheen, Tro Partner, Will De Regio and especially Wolf 1066, whose original post I have shamelessly copied with only minor alterations.
Apologies if I missed anyone - just let me know and I'll update the post.
The dawn of another day rises across the land, heralding fresh morning air, clearer heads, opened doors, and new arrivals.
Between dimensions, and linked to the rest of the multiverse, lies a strange post-apocalyptic environment made up of various regions strewn with the remnants of past glory - ruins, lost technologies and magic. Here and there, nature has found its way back amongst the ruined temples and towns.
In the midst of the blighted landscape, a fresh new town has emerged - a synergy of technology, nature and magic; clean and eco-friendly; a beacon of hope for a brighter future - where travelers can rest, recharge their batteries (both literally and metaphorically) and get whatever they may need - technological, magical or otherwise - to aid them on their adventures.
New arrivals can turn up by diverse means in the transportation area in the north-western part of the town or by whatever other means they deem appropriate. Here they may also find for rent, lease or hire, any transport they desire from riding animals to vehicles.
The wilderness areas have not been fully explored since the mysterious apocalyptic events that ravaged the area some time ago and no one is really sure what's out there - but rumors abound.
All that is known for sure is that both magic and technology have existed here for a long time, so anything is possible...
Current Time: 10:00 AM
Current Weather: Sunny
See the thread page for updates.
Edited by Ryuhza on Feb 22nd 2023 at 1:14:28 AM
[Ainley's Assorted Artifacts (Toni; Sigmund Gunvaldsen)]
"Oh," Sigmund said, nodding to Ainley. "Just looking for something for a good friend. This fractal... model? Is it magical?"
"It depends on how you define magic," Ainley said. "Would you call this magical?" He pulled some kind of garish neon-red, approximately octahedral crystal from one of the shelves, and let go of it in midair. It floated downwards, like an air-filled balloon, with leisurely, seemingly random horizontal fluctuations in its path as it descended.
Sigmund furrowed his brow. He clearly recognized the artifact: precursor technology. From his world. "Where did you..." he studied Ainley's evasive grin, and realized an answer would not be forthcoming. "Never mind. I wouldn't call that 'magical', not for my purposes."
"Then no," Ainley said, "that is not magical. Just Sufficiently Advanced..."
"Sold," Sigmund said. He didn't try to haggle with Ainley either, paying the twenty dollars without hesitation.
Then Sigmund turned to Toni. "So you're from a... post-scarcity society?" he said. "If I'm right about what you say about 'profit motive'. I won't lie, I'm a little jealous. Nice idea, but the tech's just not there where I'm from." And the less said of the atrocities committed by those claiming to oppose capitalism, the better, in Sigmund's opinion. Then, with genuine curiosity: "how'd you guys do it? There's gotta be a certain material baseline for that kind of transition, of course, to say nothing of the societal upheavals..." he trailed off, lest he start rambling, letting Toni finally get a word in.
And that just leaves the Maxel, upcoming.
Edited by KillerClowns on Oct 18th 2022 at 10:13:11 AM
she/her friend to the hooved
Toni, Hub Town, Ainley's Assorted Artifacts > out into the west side of the town square, talking to Sigmund Gunvaldsen.
Witnessing the demonstration of a second artifact not totally dissimilar to the tiny sculpture, itself evidently a piece of technology after all, Toni's ears perk. Advanced even where she comes from—and she has an unmoored singularity for a heart. Sigmund's own reaction to the display (and the fact that Ainley clearly knows more about it than he lets on) doesn't go unnoticed either, and she fully intends to investigate matters later when circumstances are more ideal, to fulfill her own curiosity first and foremost.
She shrugs at Sigmund's line of questioning, turning to push the door open and step out into the square, holding it open more out of a reflexive courtesy than anything. She has half a mind to let it close in his face but opts not to be petty, not until she can discern what he and his associates' plans are for Ultra. "That's one word for it."
Her hands in the pockets of her jacket, she looks about the area for any familiar faces before departing to the south, leisurely following along the edge of the square counter-clockwise. "Tech doesn't hurt, but more important is cooperation, and you can bet that didn't come easily... largely peacefully, but not easily. This was all well before my time, but a lot of people had to be willing to put their heads together before... uhm, yeah, things got bad." she elaborates, observing some caution in how much she tells Sigmund, though for his part the curiosity seems genuine enough.
On the subject of other worlds, she looks back over her shoulder. "So, what can you tell me about this place? Looks like a nexus point to me—that's where dimensional planes aaalmost intersect and things slip through. Habitable too... they're not, usually. Not as nice as this."
"'cuz the last one I stumbled into looked like an endless, empty office building." she then muses, somewhat under her breath. "Couldn't make a doorway out, had to find a weak point and slip out the 'normal' way. Felt like I was being followed the whole time. Fun."
Edited by Chortleous on Oct 19th 2022 at 2:27:31 PM
[West Town Square (Toni; Sigmund Gunvaldsen)]
Sigmund followed at a polite distance from Toni — he knew his immense size made people uncomfortable, something he was cautious of when not exploiting it — and considered her words. A lot of people had to be willing to put their heads together before... uhm, yeah, things got bad. Sigmund wondered how bad. History was full of societies and organizations destroying themselves by prioritizing their grudges over impending disaster. He let the topic drop, and decided to tell Toni what he knew. Perhaps it would help her suspicion? Or maybe not. He had a hunch that by not being a mustache-twirling rapacious John Galt wannabe, he was disappointing her. He knew on some level he was probably the bad guy of someone's story, so to speak, but who wasn't? He certainly didn't see himself that way.
Of course, one option would be to put Toni in touch with Alice, who could surely answer her questions. But Alice was...
[Meeting Room in Gunvaldsen Tower, Minneapolis, some time ago]
"This is simple enough," Alice said. The small, wild-eyed woman paced in front of an empty whiteboard. Back and forth. Back and forth. "I'd like to tell you I got it down to a science, but fuck fake quantification with a rusty trench shovel." She made a reflexive gesture, with her arms, suggestive of that aforementioned shovel being forcefully shoved somewhere quite uncomfortable. "Special circle of hell for that. I ain't gonna pretend I got numbers I ain't got. It's a..." she waved her hands vaguely, "play-it-by-ear deal. Okay, okay, you can get a decent estimate from the topography of the O'Malley membrane, along with..." she looked over her small audience, the shrugged. "Eh, you're paying me to think of this shit so you ain't gotta. We point the Diadem doohickey at a potential hole in the very fabric of our oh-so-fragile reality. Miracles coded by Pavel and yours truly happen in an air gapped server room. Ding, out comes a number that'll tell us how much armor you otter stick on drone numero uno. Or if you should just turn the machine off and forget you saw anythin', but spoilers. Like I was sayin', though, if you do decide to tear asunder the veil of creation unto incomprehensible geometries and all that lovely fun stuff to see if you can't come back with something that'll help push Q3 numbers up by zero-point-zero-zero-one-percent, you still gotta send the bot and see what happens before saying, 'hey, number says alpha, where's my beach towel'?"
"Which brings," Alice said, "to, well, Alpha. Pack for a vay-cay-shun." Here she mimed drinking from a pina colada. "We've never seen a drop of blood spilled in an Alpha, 'cept maybe formal sparring events. Probability is given a time-out in favor of ensuring sophonts don't so much as stub they toes. Usually ain't much to steal, plunder, loot, and otherwise do fun things with, but fuck it. With the Narnia effect doin' the thing, if you want a break, step on through. No. Seriously, take advantage. Some of you motherfuckers work way too hard."
"Gonna skip Beta for a sec, straight to Gamma. I picked up the Diadem in a Gamma, but do not ask me for details. Not unless you want a dose of existential horror. Good thing I was already batshit crazy to begin with!" Alice laughed, her wild stare intensifying. "Ah, good shit, good shit. Anyways, you go to a Gamma, you cover your ass in LPM Supercluster with extra BLIP, and bring the scariest gun you comfortable with," she pumped an imaginary shotgun, "a 10mm sidearm, AMON grenades, flash grenades, frag grenades, fresh-sharpened combat knife, a partridge in a pear tree, and some extra goddamn mags. Don't get me wrong, you might not need it all, but Gamma will smoke your ass if you ain't careful, and you might still find yourself facing a mofo packin' a gun whose muzzle velocity is measured in fractions of C. Life ain't fair, and on the cosmic scale," she hunched down and glanced about conspiratorially, dropping her voice to a stage whisper, "we are very small, very clever little rats who gotta steal any cheese we can get. But oh, oh what cheese..."
Then Alice suddenly straightened and continued, in her normal voice. "Between those, we got us Beta. Hybrid. Alpha and Gamma regions. They're the main headache for me and Pavel's aforementioned magic, 'cause they might show as anywhere on the scale from Gamma to Alpha. Anyways, the trick there is to figure out where the Alpha is, set up shop there, and hire mercs to do shit for ya. I ain't gonna tell you suits how to do the suit things. Come home with cool doodads and let us nerds do nerd things to 'em."
"Last stop: the need-to-know for Delta's short. If scans estimate a zero-point-zero-zero-zero-zero-zero-one percent chance of door being Delta? Then the risk is orders of magnitude too high. And that door. Stays. Closed. The details ain't important, but... Tesseract 'false vacuum decay' if you want the best case scenario. For worst case scenario, try Harlan Ellison's I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream."
[West Town Square (Toni; Sigmund Gunvaldsen)]
...erratic. "I can tell you," Sigmund says, "this is what my expert calls a 'Class Beta Heinlein Space. Heinlein Space being her term for.. .what you described. 'Nexus'." He cleared his throat, not wanting to bore Toni with exposition. Just the basics, he'd let her steer the conversation with questions she considered relevant. "That means it's divided between very safe areas, like this town, and potentially dangerous areas. My own world lacks magic and has fairly primitive technology, but access to a number of unique resources, so we usually hire mercenaries with superior magical or technological capabilities in exchange for goods that might not be readily available on their own world." Then he tapped his chin, recognizing something that had to do with a theory Alice had proposed in one of her stranger moments. Well, strange even for Alice. "Say, this office building? I won't pry, it doesn't sound like a memory you want to relive, but just one question you can answer or ignore: did it have yellow walls and smell of moist carpet?"
Edited by KillerClowns on Oct 19th 2022 at 10:09:02 AM
[Hub Town, Hotel, Lobby, a quiet corner, (Henry, Bonnie, Ultra, Qeyari)]
Letting the young man get to it, Qeyari delicately approached Ultra. Might as well ask; Dead Gods were (mostly) dreadfully honest creatures. She gave Ultra a the typical greeting of her culture, tapping her right knuckles to her sternum, and said, "I apologize for interrupting, but I have a question. If it does not make any sense to you, you may safely conclude the answer is 'no'. Are you a Dead God, or an associate or agent thereof?"
Don't really have more for now. Might as well just get this out of the way.
she/her friend to the hooved
Ultra, Hub Town, Hotel, Lobby, a quiet corner near the reception area, talking to Henry, Bonnie, and Qeyari.
Ultra's brow remains furrowed as Bonnie explains things, shedding frustratingly little light on the matter at hand and only driving home how far out of her depth she is... and then the passing mention of 'buffalo' catches her off-guard for a moment, tilting an ear back. They are quite tall and physically imposing for hoof-folk, but that has vanishingly little to do with temperament. Bonnie does come from another place entirely, after all, so could this be something of a linguistic barrier showing its head? For that matter, how does everyone understand everyone else? Some cosmic coincidence? Translation tech...?
No matter. Stick to the mystery.
"Mmhm. Sad lump in the stairwell, not much physical or mental aggression going on when we spoke." she nods, folding one arm under her chest and raising the other hand to her chin in thought. "How well do you know him? Have you spoken to him about this either?" she ventures before suddenly recalling something she'd overheard Bonnie say a few minutes prior that had evidently slipped her mind in the commotion—something that doesn't remotely help unravel things as a look of clear confusion crosses her features. "...and am I correct in hearing you say there were two of him? Same condition?"
No sooner than she finishes this line of inquiry, though, does the one in the uniform who'd shot her that odd suspicious glare make their way over and make an unfamiliar gesture. A greeting, she gathers, possibly formal and thus presumably nonaggressive. Okay, lay it on me. This can't get any stranger.
The uniformed one then asks if she's a 'dead god'.
...
Her steely and unbothered façade fails her. "N-no?"
Toni, Hub Town, west side of the town square, talking to Sigmund Gunvaldsen.
One ear tilted back to listen, Toni nods along as she takes in Sigmund's explanation, as if to say 'hey, you got it mostly right'. She deigns to offer any corrections or argue semantics, though, and certainly not to someone who increasingly comes off like a supervillain of some description. She'd met her share of those, and the seemingly appropriated luchador getup alongside talk of mercenaries doesn't particularly help this assessment.
She takes another glance back, tinged with clear distaste for the memory as he inquires about her prior mishap. "How'd you guess? If I never smell wet carpet again, it'll be too soon."
"Of course," the okapi decides to elaborate, looking around at the stores and their patrons strolling to and fro, peering into shop windows. "found out a while later that the Earth of an adjacent plane was trying to use it as infinite storage and living space, having discovered a primitive version of... well, what I do. It only weakened the boundary further, didn't end well." She shakes her head, content to leave that particular subject be, but hoping with some admittedly misguided sincerity that Sigmund and his people take it as a warning first and foremost.
"Anyway, I'm curious about these 'unique resources' of yours. Wouldn't happen to have anything to do with that floating crystal back in that thrift shop, would it?" she ventures in a somewhat lower tone of voice, quirking an eyebrow as she looks back again. "Or the one you've got there?"
Edited by Chortleous on Oct 20th 2022 at 5:57:17 AM
[West Town Square (Toni; Sigmund Gunvaldsen)]
"There are similar stories on our world," Sigmund said, "from people without any known intentional dimensional travel capabilities." Then he added, as an afterthought, "I do appreciate the warning, but the stories I've heard are reason enough for my people to avoid having anything to do with that kind of place."
Sigmund examined the fractal and said, "I've never seen anything quite like this, but that crystal was definitely a Portal Builder artifact from my own universe. They had a certain obsession with color..." he stopped, then shook his head. "Never mind, you can ask if you care..." he stopped dead in his tracks then, noticing something on their meandering walk.
A camel with Qorisayane military markings. Not so much speaking to Toni as thinking aloud, he said, "what are they doing here?"
[Outside the Hotel (A camel)]
The camel dimly noted the very tall, very pale man staring at him and the two-legged hunting-prey beside him. They were far away, but the very tall man was very tall. It was judging them, of course. That was what Qorisayane camels did. It was simply their nature.
It settled upon indifference for now. They were distant and strange. The tall man was just a tall man, though one who dimly resembled the rude man. So pale, and such strange sand-colored hair.
The hunting-prey was an odder question. It walked upon two legs, carrying itself as a human. It clad itself as a human. And it showed little fear of the humans. Did it think itself a human? Could its two legs carry it across the great sands for hours and days on end? Could it run down hunting-prey until the hunting-prey collapsed in exhaustion, and with atlatl-spear, pierce the hunting-prey? Paint its blood upon the sand, and roast its flesh upon a spit?
To run, to throw, to kill and feast upon fire-touched flesh. That was what humans did. It was simply their nature. All camels knew this. It was camel wisdom.
Edited by KillerClowns on Oct 21st 2022 at 9:34:13 AM
< Hub Town - Hotel, Elevator (Nearing Lobby) >
Joseph stiffened up at Connie's suggestion, immediately recalling the prolonged aftermath of the first time he'd tried using the stones to return to his human self. He wasn't about to go through that again— certainly not in the middle of somewhere so public; it had been bad enough out in the woods. Fortunately, Maria seemed wary of the idea, and he had his own excuse.
"I can't right now. I don't have- erm..." he twiddled his fingers, drumming them against his laundry bag and glancing away, "...clothes that would cover everything."
Connie lifted an eyebrow, looking his well-clothed body up and down, trying to understand what he meant. She glanced around the rest of the elevator, taking notice of David as he met her gaze. He gave a subtle nod downward, flicking his tail.
Ah.
"So why not just use the moonstones to make clothes, too?" she asked, looking again at Maria. "Or do I have the wrong idea about those stones? 'Cause they sure seem like a pretty straightforward solution to any small problem. Or more complicated problems, like a person's sickness," she presented herself as if she were a prize on a game show, then gestured at Maria and Joseph, "or a person's body."
Joseph shook his head, "but it didn't stick."
"Well, maybe the phrasing was wrong."
David cocked his head, chiming in, "I thought that they worked by the inner desire of the one holding the stone."
"Well, maybe the inner desire was wrong. Maybe some wires got crossed, and you set a Cinderella style deadline where the effect got undone at the stroke of whenever." Joseph did not look particularly convinced by the possibility, but Connie pressed on. "I'm just spitballing here. All I'm saying is, there are plenty of reasons to try again. Unless the moonstones are radioactive or something." She added the last part very quietly.
Again, Joseph's hands kneaded uneasily against his bag. "I rather not. Unless I'm sure it will stick."
She rolled her eyes, "Well I hope you can find a moonstone statistician around here, or that guarantee is going to be pretty hard to come by. I don't get it. Why is everyone here so afraid of getting back on the horse with these things? Nasur," she suddenly pointed at the Narati, "you're familiar with magic stuff, right? Doesn't it make sense that it might take a couple of tries to get the result you want, especially for a couple of newbies?"
"Connie," David interjected, "the answer to Joseph's predicament may well be outside the moonstone's reach. They may treat the symptom without ever being able to touch the root cause. There's always a cost involved in maintaining such treatment, and irregular involuntarily shifting between one body and another can..." he hesitated, noticing Joseph in the corner of his eye, watching with quiet interest. "...well, it can severely burden a person's psyche."
Connie was quiet then, idly thumbing her discolored nail and studying David, knowing full well that he spoke from experience.
< Hub Town - Hotel, Lobby (A Quiet Corner Near Reception) >
Henry listened attentively to Bonnie's explanation, though his intensity dwindled as she revealed more details that didn't quite line up with Joseph's condition.
"Yeah, I'd be hard pressed to call Joseph any sort of monstrous. I was shocked when I first saw him, but those were some extreme and frankly unfortunate circumstances, with everything coming together to look worse than it actually turned out to be. Once things were straightened out, it was obvious that he was just Joseph in a different shape. He hasn't so much as changed his diet." He rubbed his eyes for what felt like the hundredth time since he'd awoken, still unable to shake whatever was weighing them down. "Therianthropy sounds more promising— I mean, I've actually heard of legends describing something similar. But legends don't provide much basis for practical understanding, and if it isn't thoroughly researched," he shrugged, shaking his head, "then it doesn't really get us any closer to cracking this thing, does it?"
Ultra brought up the rumors of a second Joseph, the mere mention of which threatened to induce a headache. "So we've heard," he said, shifting from rubbing his eyes to covering them entirely, "though I don't think either of us have actually seen him. But he must have the same condition; some of his friends mistook our Joseph for him." He uncovered his eyes, realizing only then that the strange line of inquiry he'd assumed was happening only nearby was someone speaking to Ultra. Giving them space, he moved closer to Bonnie, suggesting, "y'know, maybe we ought to try and meet the other Joseph. I mean, it's a hell of a coincidence, them both being here on top of everything else. At the very least, maybe he's got more insight about his condition."
Edited by Ryuhza on Oct 25th 2022 at 4:46:47 AM
this place needs me here
[Hub Town, Hotel, Lobby, a quiet corner, (Henry, Bonnie, Ultra, Qeyari)]
Qeyari gave a calm, slight nod. "I see," she said. "Thank you. That is an immense relief." Then, hoping to at least somewhat ease the stranger's confusion, she said, "perhaps I should clarify: 'Dead God' is an old and inaccurate, but well-established, term for a certain kind of... bio-mechanical hybrid entity native to my world. You have a similar enough appearance that I felt it important to ask." With an odd little apologetic nod, she added, "a Dead God's presence would... make things complicated."
Then, backing off slightly, she said, to the group in general, "if I may ask, while I am here: where am I? Me and Shadow — the camel waiting outside — were dropped here quite unexpectedly by some Dead God technology."
Edited by KillerClowns on Oct 26th 2022 at 5:01:25 AM
[Elevator]
Maria frowned regretfully. "I'm sorry, Connie, dear, but...I have to side with David on this. If this can be easily undone even with moonstones power, then trying again is too risky. Joseph is our friend, and I'm not going to treat him like a science experiment."
Well, technically, this Joseph didn't know shit about her or anyone else, and to be fair, the Joseph everyone else knew didn't really meet her until last night. Still, he was a human being, and she wasn't going to make him a guinea pig. He deserved so much better than that.
"Henry is here, right?" she said, turning to Joseph. "Do you mind if I ask him some questions once we hit the lobby? I need the full picture of what happened that reversed this."
Edited by Masterofchaos on Oct 27th 2022 at 12:09:33 PM
Hotel Dining Room (Samelin, Rosafa, Devad, Maria, Nick, Amandus, et. al.)
"I would prefer to restrain this person if possible," Devad said, "I am not in the business of killing unless it's absolutely necessary."
"Plus, disposing of bodies is always a pain in the ass," Samelin added.
By now, it should be clear to all except the most dense of us that sheep are secretly conspiring to kill us all and steal our pants.
she/her friend to the hooved
Lancer, the forest near Jobe's farm, a few hundred feet ahead of Ethani's party's current heading
Heralded only by a small, brief glint of magenta to those who happen to be looking upward, an object falls from an undeterminable point in the sky and crashes down to the forest floor with a cacophony of snapping branches and a heavy, muffled thud that sends a rain of dirt and rocks flying, prompting a flock of birds to scatter out of the brush and fly squawking into the wind.
Those who venture forward to investigate would find the expected crater of earth and broken foliage, but laying on its back in the center is a sprawled humanoid form.. Apparently uninjured, what can be seen of the form beneath its disheveled magenta cape appears lithe and muscular at an approximate height of 5'6, clad in a purple full-body formfitting suit with golden accoutrements and inlaid patterns that give the entire outfit a strongly technological lean. The figure's face betrays its nonhuman nature, resembling that of an anthropomorphic stoat or weasel with fur gleaming white, while the suit's tightly-fitted cowl bears a bright pink gemstone set into the forehead. After a long few minutes, the figure's amber eyes slowly open, adjusting to the light with a few hard blinks before scanning the vicinity.
W...what...? Where...
Lancer feels rather like she just got hit by a truck—or more accurately, fell from someplace very high, something she hasn't felt since she was young and stupid, taking dumb risks with her then-underdeveloped powers and injuring herself. But that was then, so what happened now? She'd gone for a flight high above the Earth, and then... had she blacked out? How could that have happened? She'd become quite adept at creating and maintaining a bubble of breathable air around herself during spaceflight, so much so that it could persist even when she broke concentration or lost consciousness, not to mention buffer against atmospheric reentry. It couldn't have been that.
Equally concerning is the greenery and life surrounding her, specifically the effect that it no longer seems to have. Being planetside is supposed to feel far, far worse than this, with the pure unfiltered psionic noise of billions upon billions of nervous systems eating at her like the humming buzz of infinite fluorescent lights amplified by an order of magnitude... but it's not there. She can still feel countless organisms buzzing to and fro, vertebrates and invertebrates alike (with the unmistakable signature of sapients some distance away), and it still gives her a nagging headache, but they number far fewer now. It's almost as if her abilities themselves have somehow been dulled, because there's no shortage of life around.
That would explain how she fell, but something still feels firmly off about this place. Nevertheless, she slowly hauls herself up into a sitting position and looks herself over for injuries or damage to her suit... and with a pained grimace promptly finds one.
On her right side, beneath her ribcage, is a small tear in the fabric of the suit and the synthetic muscle beneath, and protruding from it a splinter of wood the size of her thumb with the faintest trickle of blood. The suit is, of course, largely bullet and stab resistant... but that had been under laboratory conditions, as well as the assumption that her powers would handle most threats, because they had until just now. Just her luck that she hit a tree wrong from orbital height, and it hit a seam to boot. It might not have even gone through otherwise.
She can barely remember the last time she's been injured in any meaningful way, and nearly faints again at the sight of her own blood. She shuts her eyes tightly and debates removing it, momentarily thankful that the bleeding isn't severe and that the splinter doesn't seem to have gone too deep. Of all things... keep it together, Adrienne.
Another worrying matter is that her comms had gone silent, with all frequencies dead and a ping receiving no response. Had that part of her suit been damaged by the impact too? One thing at a time.
Toni, Hub Town, west side of the town square, talking to Sigmund Gunvaldsen.
Toni finds herself thinking for a moment that she'd misjudged Sigmund's broader intentions, his evident acknowledgement of her warning giving her maybe more hope than is wise. Yeah, we'll see.
She curiously twitches an ear at his mention of 'portal builders', though. Is that how his people figured out interdimensional travel? She'd run into many people and organizations who discovered that realm of science one way or another, be it from their own ingenuity or, occasionally, the lost secrets of some ancient civilization... though the latter case often begged the question of how those secrets got lost in the first place.
Before the okapi can ponder that curiousity much further, Sigmund's attention—and her own in turn—is drawn across the square and toward what she assumes to be the local hotel, specifically a pack camel parked out front. A closer inspection by way of optical zoom shows an unfamiliar emblem painted on its side, and if she had to guess she'd say the whole thing looks vaguely... military? Oh, hey, that's worrying.
"Who's 'they'?" she ventures, quietly and with an abundance of caution in her tone, looking away and pretending to take in the scenery so as not to draw attention gawking directly at it, hands remaining in her pockets. "And if this is something Ultra should be made aware of..."
Edited by Chortleous on Apr 25th 2024 at 2:37:41 PM
[The forest near Jobe's farm, a few hundred feet ahead of Ethani's party's current heading (Lancer; God of Suffocation)]
Something terrible was coming. A thing of pain, flame and suffocation. The fear of death given form, raging against the very light of life itself. It had been ancient when the first spark of existence in the very multiverse had dared to defy it by crawling out from the primordial ocean over which it ruled, and one day, inevitably, all of creation would drown in that very same ocean. Lancer should not have known its name, yet she did. A fragment of Ixikulik, God of Suffocation, the Eyes and Teeth, Drowner of the Damned, Lord of Entropy and Decay, and numerous other epithets. A thing not worshiped, but feared by all who drew breath....
And then all at once, it jerked like a dog at the end of its leash, and was pulled back. Only a fraction of a second had passed between its first appearance and its sudden, anticlimactic stop. As it was reeled back in by one of the sapients she'd sensed, the enchantment was dispelled. This thing was no god at all. It ruled nothing. It was just a dumb, snarling beast, barking out a chorus of stolen nightmares and pilfered epithets. A parasite that someone had beaten into a begrudging symbiote. A pathetic, spiteful weaver of grandiose illusions. A dangerous being, to be sure, as much as any rabid animal, but if Lancer's psionic skills were even adequete, it was just another potential foe. It was likely she had faced worse.
[The forest near Jobe's Farm (Maelys, Mist; Aseyu, Ethani; Jobe)]
There was a flare of magic, heading forth, originating from Ethani. Then she made a gesture, as though pulling the leash of a disobedient animal, and it ceased. "Someone's up ahead," Ethani said. "A powerful psychic, but one who cannot fully control their abilities. They lack a filter, which is why my source of powers took an interest. They are... confused, I think, and in some pain." With a meaningful glance at Aseyu, who looked about to speak, Ethani added, "I shall keep my minion under control."
Aseyu nodded and said, "we should help. I wouldn't want the plantpigs to get them. Especially if these pigs anything like back home." While Aseyu knew Earth pigs were fairly middling on the food chain, Qorisayane pigs were apex predators... and given their size, plantpigs might well be the same. "Ethani, lead the way. Maelys and Mist, any disagreement?" She waited, at least, for an answer, as Ethani began to pick a path towards the blazing psionic beacon.
Ethani's psychic signature would be distinct, to say the least. Her mind was wreathed in the power of the parasite, manifesting (in her case) as a halo of black fire around her mind. Through this halo, it was difficult to read her precise thoughts; everything was blurred, indistinct. Her general emotional state could be made out, but a psychic attempting to know her next move or read distinct thoughts would be immediately assaulted by the thing. Why fire, though? The dark flame was clearly a formless thing in its natural state. Consciously or not, Ethani had chosen this form, not the weapon she wielded.
Aseyu was a simpler matter. She had all the psychic signature of a brick wall. There was nothing there. Not even a detectable empty space. She blended seamlessly into the air around her.
Edited by KillerClowns on Nov 10th 2022 at 7:43:45 AM
[West Town Square (Toni; Sigmund Gunvaldsen)]
"They," Sigmund said, as he walked nowhere in particular, arms folded behind his back, "are the Imperial Army of the Qorisayane Empire. A fellow human polity on the planet the vast majority of the Portal Builders' eponymous portals lead to. They're bellicose and imperialistic, with a legal system that still metes out torture and dismemberment and a secret police made up of psychic mages whose power comes from something they call the 'God of Suffocation'." His shudder suggested a personal, and very unpleasant, history with the "god".
He continued, "the last war they were in, they flayed the enemy leader alive to make an example to any other potential enemies, and that was only a few decades ago. Oh, and did I mention they're sitting on the largest cache of Portal Builder technology known? They're currently in a stage of early industrialization, but they are rapidly advancing." Despite himself, Sigmund sounded a little impressed here. "And between the wealth of natural and Portal Builder resources at their disposal, their aggressive foreign policy, and their contempt for the rights of sapient beings, they could easily become a serious threat to both their world... and ours." He finally turned to Toni and said, "so can you see why I find their presence here... concerning?"
There was a hint of doubt in Sigmund's voice. The uncertainty of a man who knew, on some level, he was lying to his conscience. Though maybe "lying" wasn't quite the right word. Everything he'd said was true, but it wasn't the whole truth.
Edited by KillerClowns on Nov 10th 2022 at 4:08:15 AM
she/her friend to the hooved
Lancer, the forest near Jobe's farm, an impact crater a few hundred feet ahead of Ethani's party's current heading.
No sooner than Lancer steels herself for an impromptu medical procedure and reaches down to her suit's utility belt for supplies does she sense something else.
Something bluntly and unmistakably malevolent. Something whose name she'd never heard but knows regardless.
Concepts and feelings and sights and sounds enter her mind without her letting them in... and the stoat responds by shutting them out with a practiced ease. Being the Earth's strongest defender, she'd dealt with things arcane, malevolent, and unspeakably ancient, things shut away long ago that clawed their way back to the world of the light, and this thing is little different. She sees straight through its bluster but is disturbed all the same given her own compromised state—can she fight it off if it chooses to attack? Is it alone?
By reflex and through the pain of her injury, she reaches out across her immediate surroundings with her telekinetic power and takes hold of a multitude of heavy rocks and large wooden shards, levitating them from the forest floor and bringing them to tightly orbit around herself as if by gravitational pull, sharp points outward to greet any physical threat that may manifest. That much, at least, is still near-effortless.
The presence promptly retreating provides little comfort, though, especially as those beings come closer and their worryingly inscrutable leader's evident connection to it becomes clearer. Rather than let her guard down, she directs that multitude of sharp points to face in one direction—theirs—as she herself wincingly rises to her feet, her asymmetrical-cut cape naturally falling over her left shoulder as she assumes a defensive posture that puts this most resistant part of her suit to the front.
If on the off-chance they mean her no harm, they'll have some explaining to do.
Toni, Hub Town, west side of the town square, talking to Sigmund Gunvaldsen.
Frowning, the okapi astutely picks up on that hint of doubt and gauges how much of Sigmund's account to take at face value, but hashing out the particulars can wait until Ultra isn't in danger, as this place suddenly doesn't feel quite as safe as it did when she first arrived... and she can't help but notice that her last concern had gone unaddressed. The fact that the klipspringer can, as far as Toni could tell, handle herself in a scrap brings her some peace of mind and perhaps buys some time should things take a turn, but all things considered she'd really rather it not come to that.
Toni follows closely along, keeping her voice low and doing her best to remain at least somewhat inconspicuous, bearing in mind the now-distinct possibility of a hostile faction at work. "Mmhm, I know the type. How many do you think are here, on this plane? How well-established?" she nods to indicate the lone pack camel, its rider having presumably gone inside. "What do you want to bet our friend here just stopped by to ask for directions?"
Edited by Chortleous on Nov 11th 2022 at 11:26:27 AM
This is my good side.
Hub Town Hotel: Elevator
Nasur perked up when he was asked a questione by Connie. "If you put it like that, you're right." He replied. "You need practice to properly cast a successful spell, like with pretty much anything you try." Although artifacts, like the moonstone, usually do the job for you."
The discussion that had taken place, and David's later comment, brought something else to Nasur's mind. "Of course," He added. "There might be more factors that remain unaccounted."
The narati took a step away from the wall, talking both to himself and to the public. The idea had come suddenly, and he was trying to properly explain it. "The moonstones seem to work effectively when it comes to reverting him to his original form. But the effect is only temporary. It could be that either the moonstone's power is not enough to keep whatever curse has polymorphed Joseph at bay, or that said curse is actively pushing back."
The narati turned to Maria. "When you used it to change your appearance, did you need to use it a second time? Or its effect was permanent?" He paused for a moment to properly elaborate his current thoughts. "Changing Joseph to his original form is certainly possible, but we might need something more potent to make it stick, or to remove whatever changed him in the first place. If it is still active."
< Hub Town - Hotel, Elevator → Lobby (Near Elevators) >
Connie perked up as Nasur answered her question in the affirmative, even glancing at the other three and gesturing at the Narati. See? Her confidence was quickly punctured by his addendum.
"Well maybe it's like a tech gadget, like a calculator, or one of those universal remote controls with all the buttons all over the place. You know, it does a lot for you, but it still takes some finesse and know-how to get it to do exactly what you want. Practice, in other words. Or reading the instructions, or-"
"Instructions?" David interjected, his whiskery brows raised.
"Or, failing having any, trial and error."
Maria objected to the idea of treating Joseph as a science experiment, claiming that trying again was too risky. Connie shook her head, retorting, "Risky? Risky how? If he's already been both a lizard guy and a regular human guy with no serious problems, then what's the danger?"
David knit and unknit his short fingers, arching his knuckles tensely as she spoke. When she was finished, he answered in as calm a voice as he'd ever had, "Connie, the danger is that you're not practicing with a remote control or a calculator, changing channels or computing numbers, you're practicing with a direct line to an ageless beast entwined with the fabric of reality and a human soul."
Connie was silent for a long moment, staring worriedly at David, unsure if she quite comprehended the fullness of what he meant, though the message was clear enough. "Well, okay, but-"
"Even if you manage to avoid accidental misuse of the moonstone, even if you were able to keep it between the two results you imagined, there is still strain, Connie. Strain I couldn't describe to you if I wanted to. Leave it be."
Connie put up her hands as if to drop the topic. "Leaving it be. Look, I wasn't going to push it, I was just playing moonstone's advocate. Just keep your options open is all I'm saying."
Nasur proposed removing the original curse, suggesting that it might be pushing back against the moonstone's remedy.
David smiled sadly, "You may have the right idea, but it is, in my experience, far easier said than done."
Joseph hadn't said a word in a while, hugging onto his laundry bag as if it was the only thing keeping him afloat. He'd dissociated himself near entirely from the conversation at hand, reminded of his involvement only by his name and a select few phrases: 'lizard' this and 'polymorph' that. And 'Henry'. Henry. Henry is here. Right. Henry is here, right? Henry is-
"Oh- what?" He snapped to attention, finding himself face to face with Maria. "Hemry, here...? Uh, yeah. Somewhere. I think. He wasn' in our room. But yeah, I'm not the boss of him. You can ask him whatever, if you find him."
He paused, satisfied with his answer until he gave her question a second thought. The elevator slowed to a stop, and the doors opened with a ding, revealing a somewhat crowded lobby. After a moment's hesitation, Joseph added, "Only, he might not remember very well. Something... I think something happened to him, too."
this place needs me here
[Elevator-Lobby (Near Elevator)]
First, Maria turned to Nasur. "For me, it was permanent, thank God. Usually that's the case, unless you have powers that you need to be holding your moonstones for, like my plant powers. That's why I'm shocked that Joseph turned back. I mean, unless he subconsciously asked to be turned back, but I doubt that. I need to speak to Henry so I can know what happened so we can figure something out. Like I said, I'm not going to put my friend at risk here."
Then, when Joseph mentioned something happening to Henry back at camp, her eye widened. "Something...what? What the hell happened while we were gone? Okay, I really gotta investigate this. This is extremely concerning."
Of course, that'd be if Henry was willing to talk. From what she seen of him, that man was paranoid as hell, and hated whenever she or her friends asked question, acting like he was being interrogated. She could only hope she can get him to understand that it was not ever going to be the case.
[Dining Room (not near elevator lol)]
Maya shrugged. "Goody two-shoes."
"Maya!" Amy said, shooting a quick glare.
"I'm just kidding, Ames, don't worry. If we can get him far, far, far away from us, that'll be great. We just gotta hope they have a jail that keep him away from gaurds he could mind control."
Nick shuddered. It's one thing to deal with authorities, but the possibility of mind controlled authorities? That's even worse. But he trusted their new friends—or more accurately, acquaintances. Now the question was where the hell to start their search...
"We'll leave once Maria comes down." Jackson said, "You guys had your breakfast, right?"
Everyone nodded.
"Good, good. Now, all we gotta do is wait. I know you guys are anxious to stop him, but remember, we're a team, and we do this together."
Edited by Masterofchaos on Nov 15th 2022 at 6:34:41 AM
Hotel ~ Lobby (Bonnie, Lulu; Plethora of People)
Bonnie shook her head, "I don't know him very well; I only met him yesterday. He and Henry were wandering the woods around here. Carol and I brought them back here to the hotel," she said.
At this point, Lulu, the academical-inclined succubus, came over from across the lobby. "Dead gods?" she asked, eyebrow raised as she rifled through her hefty tome. Upon clarification from Qeyari, she made a quiet "Oh~" of understanding, flipping the other way through the book's pages.
She arrived at a page titled "Angel", depicting a full-color image of what looked to be an ornate mannequin comprised of an ivory-white body with bronze limbs that tapered to slender points. It bore a single pair of wings made of bronze feathers from which a pair of eyes peered forth, with the uncanny ability to stare at you from any direction, despite being a still image.
An accompanying image showed a cross-section of the entity, revealing that the central body, while distinctly blue, was clearly organic, with lines of bronze woven into the internal organs.
"Something like this?" Lulu asked, turning the tome around to present to Qeyari.
Bonnie raised an eyebrow at the picture, "Ugh, that gives me more creeps than the prime elves that hang out around the cathedral..."
"Cathedral?" asked Lulu.
"Aye, the church of Rhiannon—"
Lulu gave a dour nod of her head, "Ah."
Edited by WillDeRegio on Nov 20th 2022 at 9:06:27 AM
This is my good side.
Hub Town Hotel: Elevator/Lobby
Nasur went silent again after hearing Maria's explanation. "Interesting." He mused to himself. "Circumstances in both cases seem to be different, still. I wonder what that means."
A moment later, he shook his head in defeat. "I might have some idea of what is going on. But ultimately, they are just that; ideas." He said to the group. "No way to know how accurate they might be. I was never an expert in this type of things; and even then, healers usually had some proper equipment to work with which I also lack right now."
Nasur scratched his head. "I could try and see if any of the stores nearby have said equipment. It could let us know the proper nature of what is afflicting Joseph, and hopefully do something about it."
"Of course, it wouldn't be easy." The narati turned to David, acknowledging his point. "But it could be worth the try."
As he said this, the elevator finally reached the ground floor, and opened its doors to the lobby. Nasur turned to the doors. "But before that," He added. "Let's have something to eat and do some catching up toour friends in here." He took a step into the lobby, looking around. The group they had left behind was nowhere to be seen. "Was it this crowded before? Where is the dining room?"
[Toni; Sigmund Gunvaldsen (Hub Town, west side of the town square)]
"It's hard to say," Sigmund said, considering the situation more carefully now. The surprise had worn off, and he was slightly relaxing as he put this new knowledge in his mental framework. "I don't want to assume too much from what little we've seen, but... the markings indicate a general. You'd expect at least a serious bodyguard detail for a woman of that rank." He glanced down at Toni and clarified, "the Qorisayane are matriarchal. I don't know if they have any male generals. Very few at most."
Then, back to looking towards the hotel, he continued. "We already had word of two members of the Qorisayane military in the area, both members of the secret police I mentioned earlier." The Moon Hawks, as they called themselves. Though, Sigmund briefly recalled, Alice had chewed him out for call them "secret police". Apparently they were more accurately called a "special operations force", due to various technicalities of the sort that he paid Alice to worry about. "One is either dead or recuperating from injuries in the Empire, and," Sigmund tilted his head towards the bounty board, "we've got a bounty on information on the other." There was also that civilian, but she seemed to be an independent agent and not worth mentioning.
"Now, this general..." Sigmund said, reflecting. "She might just be here to receive a report from that agent. On some kind of embassy mission. Or maybe... like most authoritarian regimes, the Qorisayane Empire is a mess of infighting and politicking by generals, oligarchs, bureaucrats, old nobility, you get the picture. She might just be pursuing some private scheme for influence in the Empire." He nodded, more relieved by his deductions, and turned again to Toni. "Keep an eye out for indigo uniforms, but for now... she's only as dangerous as any other middle-aged baseline human with military training and maybe a gun."
Edited by KillerClowns on Nov 22nd 2022 at 6:46:48 AM
< Hub Town - Hotel, Lobby (Near Elevators) >
Something Maria said struck a chord in Joseph's mind, reminding him of the night before, just as his transformation was reasserting itself. Cutting through the wall of physical sensations, a strange sense of guilt had overtaken him, like a faint memory returning with overbearing clarity. It returned again, though not as strong, still sharp as an arrow. A question, an accusation. Did I do this?
He couldn't say where the notion came from, only that it was persistent. He pondered this quietly as the others around him debated what should be done about his mysterious condition. Even as they were standing right there, using his name, he felt that they weren't talking about him, but somebody else. Someone far away and important. The other Joseph, maybe, but not him. Not him.
David's sad smile slowly collapsed into a frown, weighed down by all that he was unable to express. To Nasur, he sighed, "Do what you will. But it is Joseph's body. He has the final say."
With that, he followed the Narati out of the elevator and into the busy lobby. Peering between the crowds of people (most of whom towered over him) he mused, "More folk must be waking up, going out or coming in. It's to be expected. Ah," he pointed to a far side of the lobby, where rows of tables discrete and interconnected marked the dining area, with one table in particular filled with familiar faces. "There they are."
He made a few steps in their direction, then froze, halted by his own thoughts of the night before, of his misguided and unseemly outburst. It was likely the last mark he'd left in their minds, and likely the first thing they'd think of upon seeing him again. His tail ceased its gentle sway, dragging against the ground as he stopped and stepped aside, letting the others go by. He reached for the box of smokes he'd left tucked away in his dressing gown, clutching at empty air and the side of his shirt. His focus became dull, and he quickly resembled the David they had encountered that morning, alone at his table, dogged by the shade of some unseen cloud, cast only over his spot.
Connie peeked out from the elevator, whispering, "Is Amy there? Oop- yep, I see her. Quick, Maria, before she notices. Walk right in front of me, I'm gonna surprise her."
As Joseph waited for his turn to file out of the elevator, a new point of confusion slipped into his head. He stepped out last, raising his voice just enough to be heard against the ambient murmurs humming throughout the lobby, "Hey, um, the other Joseph, the one you all know, he's like me isn't he?" He gestured at his long salamandrine face. "I mean, he'd have to be, else the mix-up wouldn't have..." he shook his head, "hasn't he tried using those stones to return to normal?"
this place needs me here
she/her friend to the hooved
Ultra, Hub Town, Hotel, Lobby, a quiet corner near the reception area, talking to Henry, Bonnie, and Qeyari.
Ultra takes in Qeyari's explanation of yet more things woefully alien and unfamiliar, filing this information away just as she has everything else thus far. "It's no worry," she reassures them more out of reflexive politeness than anything, rapidly finding herself pining for the cold rainy streets of the megacity again—at least there, things were simple: Don't get shot. "I can imagine that would complicate things, yes."
As the human turns their attention away from Ultra in particular and addresses the group at large with a question that she herself can't hope to adequately answer, Ultra's mind circles back around to Joseph and the revelation that there are apparently two of him about. How this could possibly tie into the situation at hand is yet another conundrum, but her gut tells her it's important nevertheless... almost like there's a single piece of the puzzle missing, and slotting it into its proper place would recontextualize everything else.
Maybe that's just wishful thinking on her part, something that a coldly analytical mind like hers doesn't often find itself doing, but it can't just be that. She thinks for a moment and considers proposing a hypothetical before her sensitive ears pick up on the 'ding' and opening doors of the elevator over the din of the breakfast crowd. Curiosity and a gut feeling lead her to lean over and peek across the room at... Joseph, the same one she'd run into on the stairwell, exiting into the lobby alongside more humans and an odd furred one. Friends of his, she assumes.
"There's the one I met." she remarks quietly to Henry and Bonnie before looking back over at the kid and motioning him over. Experience tells her that talking about things at full volume for everyone to hear isn't such a good idea—and she'd already come to the conclusion that getting at least one Joseph's input on things would be valuable, for whatever he's willing to tell them. Now's as good a time as any.
Toni, Hub Town, west side of the town square, talking to Sigmund Gunvaldsen.
Toni nods along, this abundance of new information putting her marginally more at ease, though she of all people knows better than to underestimate 'baseline' humans despite her own superhuman abilities... as should he, for that matter. "Indigo uniforms, infighting, might be armed, noted."
Her thoughts turn back to Ultra's location, having determined she isn't getting it from Sigmund so easily... and that it might not be entirely wise to ask any random person. Her ears turn backward in mild exasperation, but after mulling things over for a moment, an idea occurs to her.
Without further delay, the okapi ducks around the corner of a nearby storefront and in a gesture taking barely more than a second, points a finger down to the ground in front of her and swipes it upward, a gleaming white vertical line appearing suspended in the air in its wake. Then, she flicks her finger to the left, expanding that line horizontally into a rectangle before the light fades, revealing a neatly-cut hole in space leading directly to an out-of-the-way area near the bulletin board, trees obscuring the doorway—and her prompt passage through it—from passersby. It then vanishes immediately afterward in much the same fashion it appeared, without leaving a trace.
Circling around to the front of the board, Toni looks over any flyers posted, including the one that she assumes Sigmund was referring to... but another one catches her eye, specifically an advertisement for a nearby wrestling ring, and she lets out an amused snort in spite of herself. "Monster of Minneapolis, witness the strength and agility of the Strongest Man in the Midwest..." she reads aloud to herself. "All takers, huh?"
Another thought occurs to her. A plan, and perhaps not the wisest one she's ever come up with, but one benefit of true artificial intelligence is the ability to think outside of the box, after all. "Is the prize negotiable, you think?" she calls out to the 'Monster', indicating the notice.
Edited by Chortleous on Nov 23rd 2022 at 3:05:21 AM
[Elevators-Lobby]
To Connie, Maria gave a sly smile. "Oh-ho-ho, I like that. Sure thing, dear." She giggled and stepped in front of Connie, making sure her frame wasn't too noticeable. Oh yeah, Amy for sure was going to love this.
Then, she turned to Joseph. "Oh, he did use the moonstones, but it wasn't to make him human. It was to help our good friend behind me get all better. Right now, he's resting off the side effects, so we're getting someone from my group to watch over him for a while." She flipped her hair. "Now, there are two men you won't recognize, but they know you. The Richmans. They took care of you—well, other you, that is—a while back, and they kind of adopted you. They call you their son, after all. I'll explain the whole situation so they don't get all heartbroken. They really love you, after all."
She could see her friends talking to another group—probably trying to get more help on their hunt of Mael. It was then that Adam noticed them (but didn't see Connie), and gave a friendly wave. Nick noticed too, then smiled.
"Oh! You're back!" he called, "Great! Joseph, you're up already? Damn, you handled those moonstones like a champ."
< Hub Town - Hotel, Lobby (a quiet corner near reception) >
"A half-decent hotel in the land of Oz," Henry said to the stranger—the first stranger, for now another had been drawn over by talk of 'dead gods'. "At least that's my best guess." It wasn't, but he figured it was better than leaving them without an answer. "Between you, myself, and Ultra here, I'm not sure how many people have actually come here on purpose."
Bonnie either had no opinion on his idea to seek out the other Joseph or hadn't heard him. She seemed taken in by the large tome produced by the new stranger who, upon a second glance, he noticed had vaguely devilish features, down to the horns and pointed tail. Probably nothing to be concerned about. Probably.
"Eerie," he murmured, eying the page the devilish stranger had turned to. To the first stranger, he asked, "So what does a Dead God do? If you don't mind my asking." It was a long shot, but what wasn't? Anyway, if one's presence made things 'complicated' it seemed worth having at least a passing familiarity. If there was no connection to his and Joseph's predicament, he could just go talk to the other Joseph's friends until they were ready to head out.
As he awaited an answer, Ultra quietly pointed out the Joseph she'd met earlier. He glanced over his shoulder, following what he figured was her gaze over to the elevators, where there was indeed a black and white salamander boy stepping out into the lobby, albeit amid a crowd of somewhat unfamiliar figures. He shook his head, "That's not our Joseph— ours wasn't wearing a jacket. See, his got lost in the hotel's laundry system, along with most of our clothes, hence my own lack of upper attire. It's not just a fashion statement." Studying the Joseph further, his brow knitted, "Sure does look a lot like his jacket though. I wonder if they've got the same clothes. He did head out to track down the missing laundry, but- oh. Wait." he cut himself off, slowly closing his eyes and slapping a hand across his face. "No, that's totally ours."
this place needs me here
Hub Town Hotel: Elevator
With the whole group now inside the elevator, they soon made their way down. After an appropiate introduction to the 'other Joseph', Nasur stood near a corner close to the doors, trying to keep an air of dignified composure. The rags and skeletal body probably didn't help.
The Narati listened silently to the discussion, about Joseph's condition. Although he didn't make any comment, his mind drifted off to old memories of his youth, of the stories he had heard or read about. Not to mention the rumors that spread throughout the streets...
Nasur's gaze briefly met David's own. Perhaps Nasur was mistaken, but the furried man looked to be actively listening to Connie and Maria's ongoing discussion about Joseph, and if the moonstones could turn him back to his previous form. Nasur decided to just give him aa brief nod, and go back to his own thoughts. Whatever David was thinking, perhaps later would be a better time to talk about it.