OP
Gear47demon
Tentacle God
- Joined
- May 15, 2013
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Re: Rift Touched
So, uh, what’s my explanation for this delay? Well, work would be a reasonable excuse, I mean it has been sort of busy crazy lately, but that’s just a cop out. Spending more time with friends is plausible, and so is dealing with personal disasters… but no, still not quite right. I have been more tired lately as a result, but still I can power through that. Hmm… okay I guess I should come clean, but just saying it wouldn’t really be that fun at all! So instead I’ll pose a question for you all, and I’ll make a game out of it; the first person to guess the answer right and where the answer comes from will have one of their choices (not all of their choices) of their choosing count as two votes instead of one! And if you know the answer to the question then you should definitely know where my time has been spent! Are you ready? Well then, let’s begin!
What is the password answer to this question: Who… are The Patriots?
And here’s a hint to helping you figure it out. You can find the answer on… frequency 140.85!
Good luck!
~
11:10 pm
“Whelp” you say to yourself and Jolanda after removing your pacifier, as Keevee seems lost in his own little world at the moment humming to himself with close eyes “Time to investigate! I’m not going to get anywhere if I constantly run away from my problems, and it won’t get me back home any quicker. Who knows, maybe I can make a portal back home from this spot somehow?”
Doubtful. Jolanda pessimistically adds her input From what I gather from your own knowledge and memories, your culture seems to have difficulty opening gateways between places. I don’t know if it would even be possible without an incredible source of magical energy. Not to mention you would need at least two obelisks similar to the one those mercenaries carried. Three would be preferable. I think I’m becoming homesick.
You feel a twang of sympathy and empathy for Jolanda. I’m sorry you think to the half-elf general as you spot a piece of reddish purple material near the center of the room, approaching it cautiously I promise I’ll try my best to get you back home and back to your body. I know it might not help much, but could you tell me about your home? Like about those obelisks maybe, and why more than two would be best?
Jolanda’s voice becomes… nostalgic almost, definitely reverent and proud as she sighs and says Two obelisks allow for traveling between two points only. Placing a third in between two allows for a third travel point, obviously, but triangulating the obelisks would allow you to travel anywhere within the triangle, but that would also require a scrying glass so you would be able to see where you’re going. The more powerful the obelisk, which generally means larger and immobile, the more people you could have travel and the further distances you would go. My people mastered this craft and I remember traveling all over the land with them. Scenes suddenly enter your mind; scenes of the tethered floating cities amongst a barren background, and then the scene changes and you’re inside the city, walking the streets! There are people everywhere wearing the strangest white, silver, and gold-flecked clothing that looks both comfortable and durable. There are humans, dwarves, elves… and that’s all actually. One thing that sticks out, aside from the lack of diversity, is that despite the multitude of bodies dressed in what you assume is normal clothing, there are far more in armors ranging from those of the paladin’s you saw in the previous vision. Full steel plate for the humans, mythril clad elves, dwarven forged armor and weapons for the dwarves, heavy leather and mythril for scouts and lightweight fighters, elegant staves and flowing robes for the magisters, skimpy armors for Lechs, dark and grimy robes for unsavory looking individuals wearing animal skulls on their heads as helmets that brim with magical energy… most look ready for war, or at the very least for a threat lurking around every corner. The scene flickers out of your mind and you’re now standing on a balcony on the highest point in the city while watching the sun set over a pink horizon, gazing out into the deadly barren lands before you, the soil cracked and dry from being baked under the sun, spying a fuming mountain in the distance that despite the bleakness you can’t help but find breathtakingly jaw-dropping. The next images that invade your mind are of a giant green glowing pillar erected in the center of the city, white luminescent runes and etchings dotting the surface like deep veins in a mine and giving off warmth and power the likes you’ve never seen. There are hundreds of people approaching it in the large, open square, and you look down to see yourself standing on a massive rune that glows brighter with every passing second, and in a flash of light… you find yourself and everyone else standing in a setting completely opposite of what you just experienced. You’re now standing in the square of a new, different city, one with white-gold towers and structures that are polished and rounded to perfection, rounded chapels with leafy, intention cutouts along the stonework that gives it the appearance of one with nature, and despite looking structurally weak you know that these can withstand even the mightiest of nature’s wrath. The streets are paved white with nearly unidentifiable masonry as the bricks, or what you assume to be bricks, are so perfectly fit together that you can barely distinguish each individual piece, and in some places you simply can’t. But what’s more, and completely opposite of what you saw moments before, is that this city is almost one with nature; trees as high as the sky itself are off in the distance and in spots across the cityscape, with many housing staircases that lead to stone and metal domes, braziers of blue lit along the edges and along the streets in the evening light. Your auditory senses are assault with the sound of rushing water, leaves blowing in the wind, and the sound of birds. You finally look around you and see the same people you once saw in the other city now in this one, and you know for a fact you just traveled over a thousand miles in an instant. The scene transitions once more and your breath catches in your chest as you find yourself standing atop a cliff, miles from the city you were standing in and looking down at it. The city is covered in foliage and all around you are great arch trees climbing towards the heavens – the city itself sits atop its own personal winding cliff, seemingly carved from the wood and stone, as if a mason simply chiseled the city from a rough hunk of granite. Off the edges of the city and cliff are huge waterfalls that plummet into the forest below, disappearing into the lower canopy while birds skitter across the top. Behind the city are more cliffs with even more white-gold structures build into the foresty rock, and despite the huge trees all around you can see that the sky is a pinkish blue with barely a cloud visible.
Home. And then the vision ends.
You blink and gasp, taking a step backwards, your heels clacking against the rough and ugly stone as you swivel your head from side to side, turning around once, then once again just to get your bearings. That was your home? you ask Jolanda with a sense of wonder It’s breathtakingly beautiful, and the arch trees… reminds me of stories and paintings of Wehndarwil.
Yes, that is my home. Jolanda’s voice is heavy and tired sounding, and if you didn’t know any better you would have guessed she was in the twilight of her years reflecting back on a long life And I miss it terribly. I miss walking the golden streets, getting lost in the forest, breathing in the sweet smell of the gods’ creation while the sun kisses my skin and where I could lose myself in the clear waters of the many rivers, grottos, ponds, and hot springs. A place where I could laugh and sing and cry and live alone and together, whatever struck your fancy. A place where magic was as plentiful as every leaf, insect, animal, and drop of water combined. Forgive me but I don’t wish to speak of it any longer. Jolanda goes completely silent, yet you can still sense her presence… you can actually feel her emotions now from that deep longing, and you feel… sorrow, sadness, and a desire for something to be fulfilled that has been long denied. You hang your head and frown as you approach the gelatinous material on the ground, not wishing to think or speak to allow your mental occupant to her own thoughts and reflections. Instead you kneel down in front of the strange goop a few feet in front of the glass case. “Hey, Keevee” you say aloud, slowly turning your head in the direction of some sort of creaking noise “Any idea what this stuff might b-… what in gods’ names are you doing? Where did you even get that?!” As you turn your head to the right you see Keevee sitting and rocking himself on an elaborately designed pink wooden child’s horse with little golden tassels on the edges of the fabric of the mane. Keevee is giggling to himself as he rocks back and forth, pushing himself forward slightly with every forceful rock – at your inquiry he stops, whips his head up, and says “Where did Keevee get what?” You raise your eyebrows and exhale air from your mouth incredulously, pointing at the toy and saying “That! The thing you’re sitting on! Where the hells did you get a wooden horse from?” Keevee looks down at the wooden horse and utters bewilderedly “Where did Keevee get horsey from?” He continues to stare at the horse in disbelief for a little while, and you in return stare at the imp in utter disbelief… that is until Keevee screams in terror, jumps off the horse, flies six feet in the air, and launches a flurry of fireballs from his right hand and lightning bolts from his left. “Whoa!” you yell in shock as the crazed imp continues to scream in terror while launching a merciless assault upon the terrible wooden toy, completely incinerating it in a matter of seconds. When the display is over Keevee pants with sweat beading down from his face before snapping his head slightly towards you. “What the fuck?!” you yell in shock, shaking your head fast at him – Keevee gulps and quivers while saying “K-Keevee terrified of horsey’s. One time Keevee fell asleep in barn on haystack. Horsey fell asleep on top of Keevee… Keevee no move for hours! Then, when Keevee finally free, horsey mistake Keevee for plum and try to munch Keevee head!” Your mouth and jaw drop, your mind completely unable to process the sheer stupidity of Keevee’s statement before you blurt out “Why didn’t you teleport away?!” Keevee tilts his head to the side and asks you “Keevee can teleport?”
Hahahahahaha! Jolanda’s voice booms in your mind as she suffers from a fit of uncontrollable laughter that resonates in your head and in your ears, and you can sense that she sincerely thinks this is hilarious.
Enjoying yourself?
What? No. she quickly retorts, stifling a few giggles before clearing her throat Maybe we should bring him along… and buy a horse. For traveling purposes of course.
You grin widely and think back Of course. Horses are invaluable tools when traveling the road.
You giggle and wave Keeve over, continuing where you left off “Alright, psycho, get over here. Can you tell me what this stuff is?” You point at the gelatinous material you’re kneeling in front of, dropping into your aura sight. As the world bleeds away into nothing but magical colors you see that the substance contains fissures of aqua blue and pulses red with fire… weak to water and strong in fire it seems. You smile and wiggle your butt thanks to the posture you’re taking putting pressure on the plug stretched and vibrating inside of you… and then you let out a little “Eep!” as the hot pants stimulate your vagina and butt. You have a moment of rage as anger and murder enter your mind, but thankfully it quickly dissipates and you manage to push those urges away despite a linger fury hiding beneath the surface of your lust. You turn your head to Keevee, though he doesn’t seem to notice while he flies up to you, lands on his feet, and kneels in front of the gelatinous material and starts poking it. The material ripples somewhat familiarly, though the imp finds it more amusing than anything. “Wait a second” you say as you notice the rippling, and it reminds you of something quite familiar indeed. You place your fishnet-clad hand on the gelatinous material and feel it ripple beneath your touch again. It feels warm and gooey soft, yet when you push your hand inside of it and try to grab hold of the substance it simply refuses to be held onto. It’s not alive, but it is the remnant of something that was once alive, something you’ve had extensive experience with before. Keevee giggles and confirms what you were thinking by blurting out “It be slimey slimes!” You nod your head in agreement, picking the substance up and bringing it to your nose, sniffing it and saying “Yeah… definitely slime left overs” You smell the aroma of something both sweet and spicy, and flicking your tongue out at it you get the taste of sweet spiciness, similar to tasting a jam made from peppers. You moan in excitement from the taste, and you relish the feeling of touching the substance which refuses to stick to you, setting it on the ground and looking about the room at the dozens of remnants scattered about. “These slimey’s be from demon-space!” Keevee exclaims – “Demon space?” you ask questioningly of the imp, who jumps up into the air and flies above you “So… slimes from a plane of hell? I didn’t know they existed down there. Neat”.
Slimes… odd creatures. But yes they reside in the hells as well. As I understand it slimes are capable of forming in any environment given the proper magical inclinations and natural substances. If one is from the hells, however, they are prone to being more violent given the dangerous nature of those planes of existence. Question is why are they here? Unless…
You look around the room at the summoning runes as the same thought clicks in your head. Yeah, maybe these runes summon them? What for I wonder? This is starting to get a little weird. You look to the black fur robe hanging from the coat rack, putting the piece of slime down and sashaying over to the article of clothing. Things are just now starting to become weird for you? Jolanda says with a disbelieving snort Being sucked through a portal to gods knows where, having your mind inhabited by another person, creating a harem consisting of succubi, an elf, a human, a vampire, a slime, a dog for crying out loud, and a giant wo- tentacle lord, having powers to bend space and time for moments at a time, and having your body undergo strange alterations both forced and accepted isn’t weird for you? You stand in front of the fur robe with a smirk and think Nah, just another day in paradise though the mention of your lovers and the fact that you’re seemingly far away from home does cause your heart to ache. You brush such feelings and thoughts aside and reach out with both hands for the long fur and surprisingly silky material as your hands run along it. “Cozy looking, and just a bit big for me” you comment, running your hands along the outside from the middle to the top, and then down to the pockets. You stick your hand first into the left pocket, then the right, and frown in disappointment as your search turns up nothing substantial. You blow air out of your mouth with pursed lips, but you “hmm” to yourself and bend over, much to Keevee’s delight as he swoons at your backside… which you shake for him with a smirk of your own and a groan from Jolanda. You grab the bottom of the fabric and press it together, feeling out for any irregularities and rolling the fur against your palms roughly as you make your way up the robe, patting it out. You continue working your way up the cloth inch by in- “Hello? What do we have here?” you say to yourself when you feel a slight crunch! and crinkle about halfway up. You quickly stand up, reach for the top of the rack, and pull the robe off before flipping it upside down and turning it inside out. When the robe is inside out you find that there’s actually a small hand sized slit in the center front of the robe that you didn’t notice before due to facing behind, and even then it’s very well hidden that you doubt you would have noticed it regardless. However, what’s more interesting is that next to the opening are two more pocket slots on either side; the left one is empty, but the right has a small slip of tan paper that is slightly crinkled from when you smushed it. You hold the robe with your right hand and grab the slip with your left before dropping the robe entirely. The paper is… a slip of ordinary paper, probably made from the weave of thread from a plant as it feels thick and sturdy. Despite the crinkles it’s folded in half, and turning it over you see nothing out of the ordinary save for the faint black ink of writing on the inside, and unfolding it reveals a simple message, more like instructions in fact as your eyes glide across the words and you read it aloud. “The Heaven’s Kiss must first be inhaled deeply for the necessary residue to seat in the body for recognition. Huh, Heaven’s Kiss? Residue for recognition? I wonder what it could mean? Ack! Keevee!” You feel your head yank back as Keevee pulls on the back of your ponytail, yanking your head back and causing you to stumble backwards for balance. “If you’re going to be yanking on my hair then we had better be going at it, otherwise cut it out!” you yell in annoyance at the small trickster, though he ignores you and starts chanting “What lady find? What lady find?” and then lets go of your hair, disappears and reappears in a hellfire blaze in front of you, snatches the paper up, examines it, then throws it behind him and adds with childish disappointment “Boring! Keevee no like useless paper!” He then flies down to the robe and dives inside, giggling as he plays inside the fur robe. “You go from adorable to infuriating in less than ten seconds” you grumble to yourself before pondering what it could mean. You look towards the case and your eyes fall on two things: First, the vial with green liquid inside and second, the flower. Unless there’s something else you’re missing that you need from another room then one of those two things might be the Heaven’s Kiss the note is referring to.
You leave Keevee and continue pondering the note while approaching a rune on the ground near the center of the larger rune. This one is circular with four small hourglass shapes at each of the four corners of the perfect circle and a spider-web-like design in the center. Dropping into your aura sight you can see nothing out of the ordinary, and running your hand along it produces nothing but the slightly cool sensation of stone which is a stark contrast with the coolness of the air tanks to whatever lust is permeating the atmosphere around you. “Not a damn thing” you utter to yourself, spotting another rune closer to the shelf and walking over, kneeling down and running your hands along the sextuplet triangles connected by squiggly lines with no apparent reaction “Wonder if I can chisel them away with my sword, disrupt the magic that binds it?” You don’t try it, but you leave the thought in mind as you stand up and make your way over to the desk, listening to the clacking of your heels along the stone and brushing some stray red and black locks out of your face, inadvertently gliding your knuckle across the ends of your newly “gifted” nose piercing and squinting at the soreness before grimacing. You stand in front of the chair and pull it out slightly before moving around the right side and taking a seat, crossing your left leg over your right as you examine the dark wooden frame and finding nothing out of the ordinary. “And behind door number one” you say to yourself, giving your left earrings a flick across your pointed ear for good luck and then leaning down and opening the left drawer along the center frame. The wood creaks and slides out of place to reveal something that both delights and confuses you. Reaching inside you count and then pull out one of thirty-three gold coins, bringing it up to your face and examining it closely. “Looks like I found the money, honey. I think I have enough at this point to find myself a nice cottage and settle down for a few decades, maybe a century or two if I make it last. Except…” You turn the coin over from front to back, noting the age and wear it has on it, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less valuable if it’s a mostly gold mint… which your roguish eyes can deduce that they are indeed authentic given the scratches, luster, and weight. Yet they don’t bear the mark of Kein or any Eborthian landmarks; instead they have a relief of an older human man’s face wearing a crown with two crossed scepters at either side, and on the opposite face of the coin is a relief of a shield and sword beside one another with writing in common in the center and around the edges that reads “Crown. Country. Honor. Discipline”. You feel like you’ve seen something like this before a long time ago, and you continue to examine every minor detail as you wrack your memory for any-
“I got it!” you yell in excitement, which turns to an even deeper confusion just as quickly “My mom had a few of these coins lying around. She said they were coins from back home that she kept as a reminder… and home for her besides Veilwood was Scoleshire. Oh… Crap on a gods damned stick”. Not a thought enters your mind as the innate realization dawns on you and you stare blankly at the coin.
What? Do you know something? I can’t glean any information from your emotions, Colette. Tell me.
I, uh, I think… and this is just a guess, but given that it’s snowing heavily outside, I saw mountains in the distance, we’re underneath a frozen body of water, and these coins are… well, I think we might have been dropped into Scoleshire. Which is a full country away from Eborthia actually… well considering I lived on the southern end of Eborthia and this spot is a frozen body of water I think we might be on, I mean below, the great frozen lake at Scoleshire’s northern end if my geography isn’t too rusty. That’s, um, let’s see here… well I don’t know the exact distance, but I can say with certainty that somewhere in the, uh, thousandish mile range wouldn’t be too far off. No biggie. I’m totally fine with this. Everything is going to be A-okay. This is fine… everything is just fricking dandy!
You can’t be sure that you traveled an entire country’s length awa-
I can hop into rifts and come out at different places! you argue frantically Time stops when I step inside! You should know this reading my thoughts and life history! I’ve never actually done it, but I know I can do it! Maybe when I touched that obelisk I set something off and it opened a rift… gods if it opened a rift near those mercenaries then they must have been torn apart!
I may have had a hand in that.
…
…
…
Care to run that one by me again?
You were battered and beaten. You were on the verge of unconsciousness. Your will was weak enough for me to assert myself and I know that those obelisks are very delicate pieces of magical equipment. They must be finely tuned and balanced, and the slightest injection of magical energy could throw that balance off. The result should have been an explosion. Not enough to kill, but enough to do harm and more importantly to delay. I honestly had no idea that it would rip open the fabric of reality and send us here.
Alrighty, it looks like B1/2/3/4/5/6 are the winners! Which is all of them! Colette will investigate everything first before using anything unless otherwise specified. If there are things of interest that add more details and information then using things will be queued for the future.
What is the password answer to this question: Who… are The Patriots?
And here’s a hint to helping you figure it out. You can find the answer on… frequency 140.85!
Good luck!
~
11:10 pm
“Whelp” you say to yourself and Jolanda after removing your pacifier, as Keevee seems lost in his own little world at the moment humming to himself with close eyes “Time to investigate! I’m not going to get anywhere if I constantly run away from my problems, and it won’t get me back home any quicker. Who knows, maybe I can make a portal back home from this spot somehow?”
Doubtful. Jolanda pessimistically adds her input From what I gather from your own knowledge and memories, your culture seems to have difficulty opening gateways between places. I don’t know if it would even be possible without an incredible source of magical energy. Not to mention you would need at least two obelisks similar to the one those mercenaries carried. Three would be preferable. I think I’m becoming homesick.
You feel a twang of sympathy and empathy for Jolanda. I’m sorry you think to the half-elf general as you spot a piece of reddish purple material near the center of the room, approaching it cautiously I promise I’ll try my best to get you back home and back to your body. I know it might not help much, but could you tell me about your home? Like about those obelisks maybe, and why more than two would be best?
Jolanda’s voice becomes… nostalgic almost, definitely reverent and proud as she sighs and says Two obelisks allow for traveling between two points only. Placing a third in between two allows for a third travel point, obviously, but triangulating the obelisks would allow you to travel anywhere within the triangle, but that would also require a scrying glass so you would be able to see where you’re going. The more powerful the obelisk, which generally means larger and immobile, the more people you could have travel and the further distances you would go. My people mastered this craft and I remember traveling all over the land with them. Scenes suddenly enter your mind; scenes of the tethered floating cities amongst a barren background, and then the scene changes and you’re inside the city, walking the streets! There are people everywhere wearing the strangest white, silver, and gold-flecked clothing that looks both comfortable and durable. There are humans, dwarves, elves… and that’s all actually. One thing that sticks out, aside from the lack of diversity, is that despite the multitude of bodies dressed in what you assume is normal clothing, there are far more in armors ranging from those of the paladin’s you saw in the previous vision. Full steel plate for the humans, mythril clad elves, dwarven forged armor and weapons for the dwarves, heavy leather and mythril for scouts and lightweight fighters, elegant staves and flowing robes for the magisters, skimpy armors for Lechs, dark and grimy robes for unsavory looking individuals wearing animal skulls on their heads as helmets that brim with magical energy… most look ready for war, or at the very least for a threat lurking around every corner. The scene flickers out of your mind and you’re now standing on a balcony on the highest point in the city while watching the sun set over a pink horizon, gazing out into the deadly barren lands before you, the soil cracked and dry from being baked under the sun, spying a fuming mountain in the distance that despite the bleakness you can’t help but find breathtakingly jaw-dropping. The next images that invade your mind are of a giant green glowing pillar erected in the center of the city, white luminescent runes and etchings dotting the surface like deep veins in a mine and giving off warmth and power the likes you’ve never seen. There are hundreds of people approaching it in the large, open square, and you look down to see yourself standing on a massive rune that glows brighter with every passing second, and in a flash of light… you find yourself and everyone else standing in a setting completely opposite of what you just experienced. You’re now standing in the square of a new, different city, one with white-gold towers and structures that are polished and rounded to perfection, rounded chapels with leafy, intention cutouts along the stonework that gives it the appearance of one with nature, and despite looking structurally weak you know that these can withstand even the mightiest of nature’s wrath. The streets are paved white with nearly unidentifiable masonry as the bricks, or what you assume to be bricks, are so perfectly fit together that you can barely distinguish each individual piece, and in some places you simply can’t. But what’s more, and completely opposite of what you saw moments before, is that this city is almost one with nature; trees as high as the sky itself are off in the distance and in spots across the cityscape, with many housing staircases that lead to stone and metal domes, braziers of blue lit along the edges and along the streets in the evening light. Your auditory senses are assault with the sound of rushing water, leaves blowing in the wind, and the sound of birds. You finally look around you and see the same people you once saw in the other city now in this one, and you know for a fact you just traveled over a thousand miles in an instant. The scene transitions once more and your breath catches in your chest as you find yourself standing atop a cliff, miles from the city you were standing in and looking down at it. The city is covered in foliage and all around you are great arch trees climbing towards the heavens – the city itself sits atop its own personal winding cliff, seemingly carved from the wood and stone, as if a mason simply chiseled the city from a rough hunk of granite. Off the edges of the city and cliff are huge waterfalls that plummet into the forest below, disappearing into the lower canopy while birds skitter across the top. Behind the city are more cliffs with even more white-gold structures build into the foresty rock, and despite the huge trees all around you can see that the sky is a pinkish blue with barely a cloud visible.
Home. And then the vision ends.
You blink and gasp, taking a step backwards, your heels clacking against the rough and ugly stone as you swivel your head from side to side, turning around once, then once again just to get your bearings. That was your home? you ask Jolanda with a sense of wonder It’s breathtakingly beautiful, and the arch trees… reminds me of stories and paintings of Wehndarwil.
Yes, that is my home. Jolanda’s voice is heavy and tired sounding, and if you didn’t know any better you would have guessed she was in the twilight of her years reflecting back on a long life And I miss it terribly. I miss walking the golden streets, getting lost in the forest, breathing in the sweet smell of the gods’ creation while the sun kisses my skin and where I could lose myself in the clear waters of the many rivers, grottos, ponds, and hot springs. A place where I could laugh and sing and cry and live alone and together, whatever struck your fancy. A place where magic was as plentiful as every leaf, insect, animal, and drop of water combined. Forgive me but I don’t wish to speak of it any longer. Jolanda goes completely silent, yet you can still sense her presence… you can actually feel her emotions now from that deep longing, and you feel… sorrow, sadness, and a desire for something to be fulfilled that has been long denied. You hang your head and frown as you approach the gelatinous material on the ground, not wishing to think or speak to allow your mental occupant to her own thoughts and reflections. Instead you kneel down in front of the strange goop a few feet in front of the glass case. “Hey, Keevee” you say aloud, slowly turning your head in the direction of some sort of creaking noise “Any idea what this stuff might b-… what in gods’ names are you doing? Where did you even get that?!” As you turn your head to the right you see Keevee sitting and rocking himself on an elaborately designed pink wooden child’s horse with little golden tassels on the edges of the fabric of the mane. Keevee is giggling to himself as he rocks back and forth, pushing himself forward slightly with every forceful rock – at your inquiry he stops, whips his head up, and says “Where did Keevee get what?” You raise your eyebrows and exhale air from your mouth incredulously, pointing at the toy and saying “That! The thing you’re sitting on! Where the hells did you get a wooden horse from?” Keevee looks down at the wooden horse and utters bewilderedly “Where did Keevee get horsey from?” He continues to stare at the horse in disbelief for a little while, and you in return stare at the imp in utter disbelief… that is until Keevee screams in terror, jumps off the horse, flies six feet in the air, and launches a flurry of fireballs from his right hand and lightning bolts from his left. “Whoa!” you yell in shock as the crazed imp continues to scream in terror while launching a merciless assault upon the terrible wooden toy, completely incinerating it in a matter of seconds. When the display is over Keevee pants with sweat beading down from his face before snapping his head slightly towards you. “What the fuck?!” you yell in shock, shaking your head fast at him – Keevee gulps and quivers while saying “K-Keevee terrified of horsey’s. One time Keevee fell asleep in barn on haystack. Horsey fell asleep on top of Keevee… Keevee no move for hours! Then, when Keevee finally free, horsey mistake Keevee for plum and try to munch Keevee head!” Your mouth and jaw drop, your mind completely unable to process the sheer stupidity of Keevee’s statement before you blurt out “Why didn’t you teleport away?!” Keevee tilts his head to the side and asks you “Keevee can teleport?”
Hahahahahaha! Jolanda’s voice booms in your mind as she suffers from a fit of uncontrollable laughter that resonates in your head and in your ears, and you can sense that she sincerely thinks this is hilarious.
Enjoying yourself?
What? No. she quickly retorts, stifling a few giggles before clearing her throat Maybe we should bring him along… and buy a horse. For traveling purposes of course.
You grin widely and think back Of course. Horses are invaluable tools when traveling the road.
You giggle and wave Keeve over, continuing where you left off “Alright, psycho, get over here. Can you tell me what this stuff is?” You point at the gelatinous material you’re kneeling in front of, dropping into your aura sight. As the world bleeds away into nothing but magical colors you see that the substance contains fissures of aqua blue and pulses red with fire… weak to water and strong in fire it seems. You smile and wiggle your butt thanks to the posture you’re taking putting pressure on the plug stretched and vibrating inside of you… and then you let out a little “Eep!” as the hot pants stimulate your vagina and butt. You have a moment of rage as anger and murder enter your mind, but thankfully it quickly dissipates and you manage to push those urges away despite a linger fury hiding beneath the surface of your lust. You turn your head to Keevee, though he doesn’t seem to notice while he flies up to you, lands on his feet, and kneels in front of the gelatinous material and starts poking it. The material ripples somewhat familiarly, though the imp finds it more amusing than anything. “Wait a second” you say as you notice the rippling, and it reminds you of something quite familiar indeed. You place your fishnet-clad hand on the gelatinous material and feel it ripple beneath your touch again. It feels warm and gooey soft, yet when you push your hand inside of it and try to grab hold of the substance it simply refuses to be held onto. It’s not alive, but it is the remnant of something that was once alive, something you’ve had extensive experience with before. Keevee giggles and confirms what you were thinking by blurting out “It be slimey slimes!” You nod your head in agreement, picking the substance up and bringing it to your nose, sniffing it and saying “Yeah… definitely slime left overs” You smell the aroma of something both sweet and spicy, and flicking your tongue out at it you get the taste of sweet spiciness, similar to tasting a jam made from peppers. You moan in excitement from the taste, and you relish the feeling of touching the substance which refuses to stick to you, setting it on the ground and looking about the room at the dozens of remnants scattered about. “These slimey’s be from demon-space!” Keevee exclaims – “Demon space?” you ask questioningly of the imp, who jumps up into the air and flies above you “So… slimes from a plane of hell? I didn’t know they existed down there. Neat”.
Slimes… odd creatures. But yes they reside in the hells as well. As I understand it slimes are capable of forming in any environment given the proper magical inclinations and natural substances. If one is from the hells, however, they are prone to being more violent given the dangerous nature of those planes of existence. Question is why are they here? Unless…
You look around the room at the summoning runes as the same thought clicks in your head. Yeah, maybe these runes summon them? What for I wonder? This is starting to get a little weird. You look to the black fur robe hanging from the coat rack, putting the piece of slime down and sashaying over to the article of clothing. Things are just now starting to become weird for you? Jolanda says with a disbelieving snort Being sucked through a portal to gods knows where, having your mind inhabited by another person, creating a harem consisting of succubi, an elf, a human, a vampire, a slime, a dog for crying out loud, and a giant wo- tentacle lord, having powers to bend space and time for moments at a time, and having your body undergo strange alterations both forced and accepted isn’t weird for you? You stand in front of the fur robe with a smirk and think Nah, just another day in paradise though the mention of your lovers and the fact that you’re seemingly far away from home does cause your heart to ache. You brush such feelings and thoughts aside and reach out with both hands for the long fur and surprisingly silky material as your hands run along it. “Cozy looking, and just a bit big for me” you comment, running your hands along the outside from the middle to the top, and then down to the pockets. You stick your hand first into the left pocket, then the right, and frown in disappointment as your search turns up nothing substantial. You blow air out of your mouth with pursed lips, but you “hmm” to yourself and bend over, much to Keevee’s delight as he swoons at your backside… which you shake for him with a smirk of your own and a groan from Jolanda. You grab the bottom of the fabric and press it together, feeling out for any irregularities and rolling the fur against your palms roughly as you make your way up the robe, patting it out. You continue working your way up the cloth inch by in- “Hello? What do we have here?” you say to yourself when you feel a slight crunch! and crinkle about halfway up. You quickly stand up, reach for the top of the rack, and pull the robe off before flipping it upside down and turning it inside out. When the robe is inside out you find that there’s actually a small hand sized slit in the center front of the robe that you didn’t notice before due to facing behind, and even then it’s very well hidden that you doubt you would have noticed it regardless. However, what’s more interesting is that next to the opening are two more pocket slots on either side; the left one is empty, but the right has a small slip of tan paper that is slightly crinkled from when you smushed it. You hold the robe with your right hand and grab the slip with your left before dropping the robe entirely. The paper is… a slip of ordinary paper, probably made from the weave of thread from a plant as it feels thick and sturdy. Despite the crinkles it’s folded in half, and turning it over you see nothing out of the ordinary save for the faint black ink of writing on the inside, and unfolding it reveals a simple message, more like instructions in fact as your eyes glide across the words and you read it aloud. “The Heaven’s Kiss must first be inhaled deeply for the necessary residue to seat in the body for recognition. Huh, Heaven’s Kiss? Residue for recognition? I wonder what it could mean? Ack! Keevee!” You feel your head yank back as Keevee pulls on the back of your ponytail, yanking your head back and causing you to stumble backwards for balance. “If you’re going to be yanking on my hair then we had better be going at it, otherwise cut it out!” you yell in annoyance at the small trickster, though he ignores you and starts chanting “What lady find? What lady find?” and then lets go of your hair, disappears and reappears in a hellfire blaze in front of you, snatches the paper up, examines it, then throws it behind him and adds with childish disappointment “Boring! Keevee no like useless paper!” He then flies down to the robe and dives inside, giggling as he plays inside the fur robe. “You go from adorable to infuriating in less than ten seconds” you grumble to yourself before pondering what it could mean. You look towards the case and your eyes fall on two things: First, the vial with green liquid inside and second, the flower. Unless there’s something else you’re missing that you need from another room then one of those two things might be the Heaven’s Kiss the note is referring to.
You leave Keevee and continue pondering the note while approaching a rune on the ground near the center of the larger rune. This one is circular with four small hourglass shapes at each of the four corners of the perfect circle and a spider-web-like design in the center. Dropping into your aura sight you can see nothing out of the ordinary, and running your hand along it produces nothing but the slightly cool sensation of stone which is a stark contrast with the coolness of the air tanks to whatever lust is permeating the atmosphere around you. “Not a damn thing” you utter to yourself, spotting another rune closer to the shelf and walking over, kneeling down and running your hands along the sextuplet triangles connected by squiggly lines with no apparent reaction “Wonder if I can chisel them away with my sword, disrupt the magic that binds it?” You don’t try it, but you leave the thought in mind as you stand up and make your way over to the desk, listening to the clacking of your heels along the stone and brushing some stray red and black locks out of your face, inadvertently gliding your knuckle across the ends of your newly “gifted” nose piercing and squinting at the soreness before grimacing. You stand in front of the chair and pull it out slightly before moving around the right side and taking a seat, crossing your left leg over your right as you examine the dark wooden frame and finding nothing out of the ordinary. “And behind door number one” you say to yourself, giving your left earrings a flick across your pointed ear for good luck and then leaning down and opening the left drawer along the center frame. The wood creaks and slides out of place to reveal something that both delights and confuses you. Reaching inside you count and then pull out one of thirty-three gold coins, bringing it up to your face and examining it closely. “Looks like I found the money, honey. I think I have enough at this point to find myself a nice cottage and settle down for a few decades, maybe a century or two if I make it last. Except…” You turn the coin over from front to back, noting the age and wear it has on it, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less valuable if it’s a mostly gold mint… which your roguish eyes can deduce that they are indeed authentic given the scratches, luster, and weight. Yet they don’t bear the mark of Kein or any Eborthian landmarks; instead they have a relief of an older human man’s face wearing a crown with two crossed scepters at either side, and on the opposite face of the coin is a relief of a shield and sword beside one another with writing in common in the center and around the edges that reads “Crown. Country. Honor. Discipline”. You feel like you’ve seen something like this before a long time ago, and you continue to examine every minor detail as you wrack your memory for any-
“I got it!” you yell in excitement, which turns to an even deeper confusion just as quickly “My mom had a few of these coins lying around. She said they were coins from back home that she kept as a reminder… and home for her besides Veilwood was Scoleshire. Oh… Crap on a gods damned stick”. Not a thought enters your mind as the innate realization dawns on you and you stare blankly at the coin.
What? Do you know something? I can’t glean any information from your emotions, Colette. Tell me.
I, uh, I think… and this is just a guess, but given that it’s snowing heavily outside, I saw mountains in the distance, we’re underneath a frozen body of water, and these coins are… well, I think we might have been dropped into Scoleshire. Which is a full country away from Eborthia actually… well considering I lived on the southern end of Eborthia and this spot is a frozen body of water I think we might be on, I mean below, the great frozen lake at Scoleshire’s northern end if my geography isn’t too rusty. That’s, um, let’s see here… well I don’t know the exact distance, but I can say with certainty that somewhere in the, uh, thousandish mile range wouldn’t be too far off. No biggie. I’m totally fine with this. Everything is going to be A-okay. This is fine… everything is just fricking dandy!
You can’t be sure that you traveled an entire country’s length awa-
I can hop into rifts and come out at different places! you argue frantically Time stops when I step inside! You should know this reading my thoughts and life history! I’ve never actually done it, but I know I can do it! Maybe when I touched that obelisk I set something off and it opened a rift… gods if it opened a rift near those mercenaries then they must have been torn apart!
I may have had a hand in that.
…
…
…
Care to run that one by me again?
You were battered and beaten. You were on the verge of unconsciousness. Your will was weak enough for me to assert myself and I know that those obelisks are very delicate pieces of magical equipment. They must be finely tuned and balanced, and the slightest injection of magical energy could throw that balance off. The result should have been an explosion. Not enough to kill, but enough to do harm and more importantly to delay. I honestly had no idea that it would rip open the fabric of reality and send us here.
