Random Plots and Places 10: Results may not be between 1 and 10

[Lost_Deep]

The Call

"This is what you're dealing with, Gwen. This is what I am. This is the kind of being that deals in souls. And no matter what you do no, this is the kind of being that you are going to have to deal with. This is what your actions have led to."

"Ponder that for a moment. You are not dealing with people, with creatures of flesh and bone. Beings with 'rational' thought. You are dealing with abominations."

The hair swooshes behind Gwen, trying to sweep her off of her feet, picking her up and raising her up to Iriel's eye level.

[Ionbound]

The Call

Gwen is swooshed off of her feet! She struggles briefly but when she hears Iriel's words, she blinks, swallowing her terror and says, "F-for my brother? To fix him, turn him back into a human? Then I don't care. No price is to great."

[Lost_Deep]

The Call

Iriel looks Gwen in the face. She's imposing, but not hostile. There's even an odd felling that she's not dangerous.

"Not turn back. Turned into a human, so that he is human again, perhaps. But when one is turned into a fae, one is not turned back. Even to return to where you were, you have to move forward."

"Tell me what happened."

[Ionbound]

The Call

Gwen nods and says, on the edge of tears from recounting it, "He just...It...There was a kelpie. It attacked him, stole his name...Turned him into one of them. I couldn't protect him." The tears flow freely now as she continues in a hoarse voice, "I couldn't protect my little brother..."

[Lost_Deep]

The Call

"Batman himself couldn't save your brother. Once a name is gone, it it gone. There is nothing you could have done. I recognize that you want to do something, but the what is where you have been falling behind. You look for power in the promises of beings and the lies of a dreamworld. You'll find no power there, certainly not power to save your brother. You are far more likely to join him, and then subsume the rest of your family, and then your friends. I've seen it happen, from far away. This is how cults start."

"...was that a bit harsh? Perhaps it was. I apologize, but I speak my mind in hopes to make you better understand what you're doing."

[Ionbound]

The Call

Gwen nods, saying wretchedly, "No...I understand. I was just...Desperate. I...I wanted to fix things on my own."

[Lost_Deep]

The Call

"Is calling upon the power of other entities really fixing it yourself? Of course, in this case, only the most powerful of mortal magic could change anything. Your witchery, for certain, would only make things worse. Some things, no one can solve by themselves."

"Keep this all in mind. All of it. Keep it in mind as I say that I'm willing to help you. But you won't have fixed it. My power, my will, my decision. And I'm not going to give this to you. You will have to earn it. I have the best interests in mind for you and your family, and because of that I will make you earn whatever you gain from me. After hearing all this, are you interested?"

[Ionbound]

The Call

Gwen nods and says, "Yes...It-It feels...More right this way. I...I accept your offer."

[Lost_Deep]

The Call

"No, think about it first. You haven't even heard the specifics yet. And hear this: If you refuse, I'm letting you go scott-free. No penalty, no hard feelings. You don't even have to choose today. Think, girl. That's what I'm asking you to do. Stop looking up at beings and nodding to them. I'm not going to tell you that I'm perfect. Even like this, I could be outsmarted by a clever enough mortal."

[Ionbound]

The Call

Gwen swallows but says, "Fine...I get it. What is it, exactly, that you want me to do for you?"

[Lost_Deep]

The Call

"The 'for' would come later. The first first thing that would happen would be that I claim you, properly. This is what you need to expect from offering up your soul. I would make your soul mine, and as thus you would be no longer allowed to barter with it or modify it without my permission. This is non-negotiable. Now, I would not destroy it. I consider the mortal soul... amazing in potential, if often drab." Was that a slight brush of energy that Gwen just felt? Well, it didn't do anything, so it was likely nothing. "However, it would be mine, and therefore any other being who wants it, or wants to alter it, would have to go through me. Similarly, I would make one change to it: I would tear out your gift for witchcraft, replacing it with more manageable, but less instinctual, magical gift. This is also non-negotiable. Have you ever read the original tales of the brothers grimm? That is a small, and mild, example of what happens to those who dabble in witchcraft. I'm tempted to do it anyway, to save you and those around you, but I will not."

[Ionbound]

The Call

Gwen swallows as thoughts of the old stories pop into her head, and she weighs giving Maph her soul with not being able to use witchcraft...Though if Iriel is telling the truth, she'll get something to replace it, and so says, "If I can have another magical talent, then...Yes. That sounds fine. And...Thank you for not killing me."

[Lost_Deep]

The Call

"Killing you would only have caused more trouble. Now, you don't have to choose now. Every night, you will dream of trilobites on the beach. If you accept, lie down and let them cover you. To deny, permanently, kill a dozen of them. If you do not want to choose yet, leave the beach. Simple, I think."

Uh... sure. Right.

[Ionbound]

The Call

Gwen nods and says, "Alright. I'll think about it before I go to bed."

[Lost_Deep]

The Call

"If something else lays claim to your soul, I'll assume you have turned me down. I'll see to it you're safe on the way home, and well-rested."

The way back home should be clear, Gwen should find it oddly hard to get lost, and when she wakes up in the morning it will be like she had a good night's sleep.

[Ionbound]

The Call

Gwen nods and heads home, waking up the next morning wondering if it was all a dream. At least she's well-rested!

[Deathkeeper]

Spiricca

A large, fenced-off park in the city of Inside, Spiricca can best be described as simple, but very green. There's not all that many fancy flower arrangements strewn about the place, though there are some, and not that many trees. Most of the place is merely wide, wide lawns like the plains of some grassland. Except, you know, mowed every few days by professional landscapers. It's kind of low-key since it's honestly a pretty boring place, but if you just want to find a quiet spot to read or sit in the sun (it's a little bit warmer here than the time of year would indicate...) it's a rather nice spot. Right now, there are only a smattering of people there, including a few human kids fiddling with some sort of tech, one minotaur, shirtless as if in defiance of the near-winter, and a warmly-dressed dwarf inspecting a bag of minerals he seems to have collected.

The name, the owners would tell you, on a plaque by the gate, is Elven, meaning something of simple beauty. It's complete hogwash, but it makes for a nice plaque.

[Ionbound]

Spiricca

Gwen is sitting on a bench, alone, wrapped up in her own little world as she's reads a scroll, going over notes on Prestidigitation, and her instructions to change the color of the paper.

She lifts it up to the sun and says, "Alright, so...Newid ger fy mron!" This incantation should cause the paper to change colors from normal parchment to a deep shade of violet. Of course, magic being magic, anything could go wrong...

[Lost_Deep]

Spiricca

That? That's sparsely a parlor trick. If Gwen does it right, I have no doubt that it works.

However, a bit into her practice, a brightly-colored bird will land on the ground nearby, peering at her.

[Ionbound]

Spiricca

Gwen smiles as the paper changes from brown, to violet, to dark green, getting a feel for the cantrip. When she sees the bird, though, she frowns and says, "Oh, what now. Another talking animal, come to lecture me on the dangers of magic? Can it. I've had enough of that for a lifetime."

[Lost_Deep]

Spiricca

The bird tweets at her, and tilts its head. Its colors seem to naturally shift and run... that's not something that happens to a mundane bird.

[Ionbound]

Spiricca

Gwen frowns and says, "Oh no, did I do that to you? I'm sorry lil' fella! Let me see if I can get you fixed." She looks at the paper and smiles, as she says, "And it so happens my assignment is to dispel this anyways. So...Yn dod i ben!"

If the bird's color-changing was caused by her spell, the incantation should stop it.

[Lost_Deep]

Spiricca

The incantation does NOT stop it. Quite the contrary, Gwen feel the magic flow into the bird and stay there.

The bird chirps again and hops forward. It's about the size of a good-sized parrot.

[Ionbound]

Spiricca

Gwen smiles a little and says, "Well...That's...Interesting. I don't suppose there's anything else interesting about you?"

[Lost_Deep]

Spiricca

The bird chirps and hops forward. It looks Gwen in the eye. It chirps at her again.

[Ionbound]

Spiricca

Gwen shrugs and says, "Fine, be that way," resolving to ignore the rather annoying bird.

[Lost_Deep]

Spiricca

The bird chirps insistently, and tries to jump onto Gwen's foot. It's... not afraid at all, it seems.

[Ionbound]

Spiricca

Gwen sighs and shouts, "What do you want!?" And then it hits her and she says, "Let me guess. More magic, right? Fine. If it makes you leave me alone." And then, she pours a decent amount of unrestrained, but directed, magical energy into the bird.

[Lost_Deep]

Spiricca

The magic goes straight in. The bird tweets, and then tries to jump up onto Gwen's lap.

It does not seem to understand the "and then you leave me alone" part.

[Ionbound]

Spiricca

Gwen frowns and says, "Shoo! That's all I have!" making flailing gestures with her arms and legs to try and drive the damn thing off.