Inside 61

[Lost_Deep]

Many Sandwich Yes Cafe

The pair nod, but don't pry.

"Well, we're about done here," Sophie says, "Do either of you have anything in mind for today? I don't have anything I need to do."

"I have some stuff I should be doing," Kate says, "Why?"

"I just feel like doing something," Sophie says.

[Cyber Punk]

[Midnight Park]

Welp.

Looks like it is nap time!

Nothing else happens for the time being. The hunting method of the slumber moss is quite passive. Put people to sleep, let the feral shadows come devour their life-energy, and then digest the body as it decays. For the time being, though? The lanterns are keeping the shadows away, so there's no immediate danger.

Sharpe holds his breath (not that he needs to breathe, but force of habit and what not), walks to Axanot's sleeping self and lifts her over his shoulder before flash-stepping back to the spear. He does the same thing for her lantern when it occurs to him how light Axanot is. "What in the world...?" He puts her down and stares at her sleeping face. Why was she so light? It felt like he was barely carrying anything.

He considers doing CPR for a moment, but that wouldn't cause her to wake up. Sharpe looks around, wondering what to do next. Sighting the spear, he picks it up and rubs it, trying to get a feel for it and maybe guess its properties.

[goto124]

Midnight Park

[Axanot won't wake up until Rebonack says she does.]

Huh. Interesting and realistic relationship between the moss and the feral shadows. Sounds like something the player learnt in Biology class.

Well, yeah, True Love's Kiss won't work for two reasons. Firstly, it won't be their first kiss, but their 4th. Also, the midnight park adventure has barely started. That sort of kiss works only towards the end of the story. Maybe after one of them gets weakened by Nightgaunts, and a little life force sucked out by feral shadows.

Nah. Too obvious. At least Axanot doesn't snore.

It should be mentioned how Axanot tends to break physics. First her Victorian Secret Video Game Style Infinite Inventory, then her being featherlight. Something may tell Sharpe her explanation won't actually explain anything beyond 'that's how it works'.

[Terumitsu]

Huntside Imports Delicatessen

"Oh. Yeah, I guess that does make sense. In this case, I've never used it, so I couldn't tell you for sure." he says simply.
And that's the truth! It's not like you could comment on experience with a kind of magic that you've never actually used before. Isaac is a first year student, so when he says he's only worked with two schools of spellcasting and alchemy, then those really are the only schools of magic that he has any expertise of.

Huntside Imports Delicatessen

"In that case, I'd suggest you pick a point on the floor that looks fairly stable for a moment. Some folks say they feel a lurch the first few times." the dwarf said as he tapped his right shoulder with his left hand.. And then his left knee as well as several places on his right arm before pressing firmly on his temple and snapping his fingers. Isaac would then likely feel the spell take hold, that 'lurch' feeling something almost akin to the earth suddenly slowing down a bit under his feet although not exactly in the way that would indicate inertia carrying him off his feet. "Another nifty part of rune magic: Once you get a wide enough vocabulary, you can use the intersections of your own blood vessels as focii for spells in a pinch. Can't do that with the symbol branch!" he said in a boasting tone. He wasn't specifically trying to sell the young mage on his branch of the craft but his enthusiasm for it might as well be doing the task for him.

"Course, to be fair, the symbol branch is ludicrously difficult to counter since you need to create a total antithisis simply because of it's specificity. Ley-rune spells suffer a bit in that department since they can be so flexible in function. It's kinda like the difference between a punch and a bullet. You can always give someone a good smack but they'll be able to see it coming and maybe mount a defense if they're quick or well trained. Bullets need special equipment or 'set up' as this metaphor goes and countering those is a lot harder than just diverting a fist." he said, adjusting his coat a bit and made a motion for Isaac to follow... Assuming the spell did take hold, of course.

[Rebonack]

[Weather Factory]

Pew pew pew pew!

The rounds rip into the mech, tearing up the servos that allow it mobility and sending it toppling over. The machine's arms are scrabbling at the floor, but the polite can't push himself upright any longer.

Welp.

Looks like that's that.

Fortuna frowns down at the pair of raiding, confused space marines.

"I'm honestly not sure what to do with these yahoos. We usually just dump them at the edge of Carousel Court and scrap their equipment."

To the victors go the spoils, apparently.

[Midnight Park]

The spear, as it happens, is a pretty nifty weapon. Upon being stabbed into something the spear-head explodes into shards of obsidian like a tiny frag grenade. Afterward the spear-head reforms. The blade on the thing isn't metal at all, but rather stone, while the haft is made of carved ivory. Not all weapons are made of metal!

Anywho, if the snoozing adventurer is carried she should be waking up about the time they reach the grotto.

[Lost_Deep]

Weather Factory

Gilded Caravan will walk over to whoever seems to be in charge of the aggressors, and pull a piece of paper and a pen out of her hair. "Your name, the name of your organization, and your commanding officer, please." If given this information, she'll write it down and hand it to Fortuna.

[Morty]

[Many Sandwich Yes Cafe]

"Well, I just got back from my girlfriend's place. She's working tonight, and someone else is covering the shift in the orphanage, so I have nothing to do before Bella comes to visit Julie's kids in the evening. She asked me to keep an eye on them," Sophie says. She's blissfully unaware of the tangled familial connection between Bella and Kate.

[Lost_Deep]

Many Sandwich Yes Cafe

Kate looks a little surprised at that. Sophie, for her part, raises an eyebrow and asks, "Smart, with gold hair?" She asks, smiling slightly.

Now that she thinks about it, Sophie (the human one) might notice that Bella's face looks a lot like Kate's...

[Morty]

[Many Sandwich Yes Cafe]

"That's the one, yes," says Sophie, looking from Kate to the other Sophie in mild confusion. "A sweet girl. Do you know her?" Kate does seem to look similar, so maybe they're family?

[Lost_Deep]

Many Sandwich Yes Cafe

"Yes," Kate says, she won't deny that, but...

"Are you familiar with Copi?" Sophie asks, "It's a similar situation. Completely different reason, but the end result is similar."

[Morty]

[Many Sandwich Yes Cafe]

"I've met Copi. She's some sort of... well copy of Kate, isn't she?" Sophie says, with a nod. "So Bella is another such copy, only younger?"

[Deathkeeper]

Huntside Imports Delicatessen

Isaac flinches, but doesn't seem too worse for wear other than that. He looks around now that the spell has been cast.
"Uh, that makes sense. What exactly did you just do?" he asks hesitantly.
He's reasonably sure that it was some version of a Haste spell, but it's always best to ask these things when one can. Don't want to get the wrong idea and make bad assumptions when magic is involved. That tends to lead to singed eyebrows and much, much worse.

[Cyber Punk]

[Midnight Park]

The spear, as it happens, is a pretty nifty weapon. Upon being stabbed into something the spear-head explodes into shards of obsidian like a tiny frag grenade. Afterward the spear-head reforms. The blade on the thing isn't metal at all, but rather stone, while the haft is made of carved ivory. Not all weapons are made of metal!

Anywho, if the snoozing adventurer is carried she should be waking up about the time they reach the grotto.

"Mmm... Nice, nice! Axanot would like this. If only there were something for me as well that I could add to my arsenal. Can never have too much stabby things! MHMHMHMHM~!" He clears his throat and looks at Axanot. After a minute or so, he bridal-carries her with both their lamps in his two hands as he starts to make his way to the grotto.

[goto124]

Midnight Park

As the couple approach(es) the grotto, Axanot starts to wake up.

'Zzzzzzzzz... Urghh... What was that?' she mumbles groggily as she rubs her eyes. 'Those things... Was that a Sleep spell? How long did I sleep?'

[Lost_Deep]

Many Sandwich Yes Cafe

"She's more complex than that, a god is involved, but yeah."

"Because nothing can be simple," Kate says with a sigh, "I should met up with Bella. Figure out something to do..."

[Cyber Punk]

Midnight Park

As the couple approach(es) the grotto, Axanot starts to wake up.

'Zzzzzzzzz... Urghh... What was that?' she mumbles groggily as she rubs her eyes. 'Those things... Was that a Sleep spell? How long did I sleep?'

"About 15 minutes, tops." Sharpe replies, putting her down. "That'll learn you not to play with pretty moss in strange forests." He says, booping her nose. "What would have happened if we didn't have these lamps? Plenty of shadows here waiting to devour helpless adventurers. Can you walk?" He'll help steady her if need be.

"C'mon, we're almost at the grotto. Maybe then you can tell me how carrying you felt pleasant. I mean, erm... well, you were literally weightless!"

[goto124]

Midnight Park

A nose boop. Axanot would've found it cute if she weren't so concerned about her sleep.

'15 minutes?!' Axanot exclaims as she jumps to her feet. 'What kind of Sleep effect lasts that long? Hell, I don't think I've met any monster that uses Sleep. Much faster to just kill the person with normal old damage.'

... well, you were literally weightless!"

'What do you mea... oh, lemme show you.' Axanot pulls out several small sacks from her breast pocket. These cloth sacks are colored red and yellow, and labelled with words such as 'potion', 'portals', and '71eq'. 'Bags of Holding. I've got 7 of these. Very useful to sort my inventory. These Bags also have negative weight, which adds up. After taking into account the 600 items I'm carrying now, my overall weight is -2000.'

Adventurers bend physics to carry an entire house's worth of stuff on their travels. That's just how it works.

[Lord Raziere]

Gates To Inside

Zenara walks up to the gates of Inside and asks the most nearby person, whether it be a guard, a traveling merchant or whatever else this question:
"Excuse me, but can you tell me where I am? I am a traveler named Zenara and have just arrived in this city."

[Duck999]

Gates to Inside

A guard approaches Zenara. Don't you know? Everyone knows. This is the great city of Inside.
Venatus approaches behind Zenara and nearly bursts out laughing.
Told you so.

[Lord Raziere]

Gates to Inside

A guard approaches Zenara. Don't you know? Everyone knows. This is the great city of Inside.
Venatus approaches behind Zenara and nearly bursts out laughing.
Told you so.

"Inside where? What is the city inside of?"
Oh no not this again. This is going to be a running gag isn't it?

[Cyber Punk]

Midnight Park

((In Skyrim, I had to increase my weight to 500000 on my first playthrough 'cos of hoarding. On the second, I bought a house for the chests.))

"Ah, Infinite Pouches! That makes sense... throwing you should be a breeze. See these pouches?" He points to his Batman Belt-like pouch belt. "The number of knives, potions and other stuff in this belt could arm the entire Nexus if one person was given a hundred knives. I'd show you, but--" He points in the direction of the grotto. "--adventure awaits. The grotto should be a minute walk. Or we could blade-shift there."

((Blade-shifting is a lot like the Fourth Hokage's Hirashin no Jutsu. Also, Rebo's waiting for us to get to the grotto proper.))

When they're ready, Sharpe will hold up a bowie knife and mutter some words, causing the knife to glow and heat up. He'll toss the knife towards the grotto, grab Axanot and they'll teleport together to the knife at the grotto, lamps in hand.

[Duck999]

"Inside where? What is the city inside of?"
Oh no not this again. This is going to be a running gag isn't it?

Gates to Inside
((Can you have a running gag in an FFRP? Apparently yes.))
Venatus mocks her in a sing song voice.
Inside where? I told you already, the city is named Inside. Isn't that right Mr. Guard?
The guard gives Venatus a strange look, but nods in your agreement.

[Morty]

[Many Sandwich Yes Cafe]

Sophie raises her eyebrow.

"Would it be too prying to ask how she... well, came to be? I remember her mentioning that her father is a god."

[Lost_Deep]

Many Sandwich Yes Cafe

"Her soul is a copy of mine," Kate says, "but from there it gets really complex, I'd prefer not to go over it just now. Her father is Cosiellio, and he's a god of protection and family. A really nice guy, all around."

[DoomITP]

The Lost Monster Slayer

Grant Brandt walks down his favorite street in Inside when he notices Leli just ahead. His glowing blue eyes flash in an almost apprehensive way, not quite sure of her. Something seems rather... Wrong.

[Lady Serpentine]

[The Lost Monster Slayer]

Well, the most obvious thing that seems wrong is that her head's covered in bandages and so is her throat; she looks to be recovering from some kind of nasty attack. Though... The fact that she's not wearing her hood up is pretty odd too; she was never out of it in public when he last met her, and that didn't seem likely to change any time soon. Regardless, she's not noticed him yet, so he has some time to decide on his reaction to her.

[DoomITP]

The Lost Monster Slayer

Grant's eyebrows quirked, taking in Leli's appearance. After a brief moment he moved forward.

Leli, are you alright?

[Lady Serpentine]

[The Lost Slayer Monstrous]

"I..." She frowns, looking at him; she seems pretty puzzled, in a shift from the strangely sad look that settled over her face when she first heard her name. "Sorry. Who are you again? You seem a little familiar, but... I can't place you; are you sure we've met?" Well. That's different too. Lellienth may not have been the closest to him, but she certainly knew him well enough to remember him, even after a while...

[DoomITP]

The Lost Monster Slayer

Grant looks puzzled, that didn't make any sense.

"It's me, Grant Brandt. Don't you remember me, Leli?"

[goto124]

Midnight Park

Axanot gets teleported with Sharpe into the grotto.

Not much to say here.