GLoG 90

[Earl of Purple]

Outside Ironoak Cabin

"Oh, not much really. I found some old cabins in the forest, long abandoned I think. Stone walls, no roofs, only bits of furniture. What's left is pretty sturdy, though. I use them for conjuration practice, since they're outside the block on my spells. Only just, though. I can see them from where the magic is blocked." Natalie smiles and watches Bouncy and Tuskfang play.

[Cyber Punk]

[Salix's Willow]

"I've always b-been g-good at it!" Asher announces quietly. He gets up and stares at the sand Salix he's made, grinning widely. "M-momma s-says I c-can f-form the earth!"

Then Natalie pulls out the Malachite with her. "Wow!" He advances upon her, his eyes on the pretty mineral.

[Evergreen Cabin]

"Debbie h-helps me, b-but she didn't c-come with us!" Asher declares. "L-let's go c-climbing, then!"

Ruth glances at the kids, then back at Reelshka. "I suppose so, as long as they remain in the cabin. Besides, Asher knows how to find me if need be." She smiles. "So, shall we go, then?"

[Morty]

[Outside Ironoak Cabin]

"That's curious. I had no idea where were any cabins out there," Reelshka says. "I wonder who built them. Be careful when you go exploring, will you?"

[Evergreen Cabin]

Reelshka's ears twitch.

"I'm not sure, given that they started to talk about climbing. Tuskfang needs careful watching when he decides to do that."

Tuskfang laughs and crawls over to the nearest couch or armchair. There he starts having his stuffed wolf climb it exaggeratedly.

[Earl of Purple]

Outside Ironoak Cabin

"Of course, Reelshka. They're old, I know that, but... They might not have gotten old where they are now. I've heard odd things about the Nexus and that sort of thing." Meaning they were there because Natalie went out looking to find something interesting, and wouldn't investigate a cave alone.

[Morty]

[Outside Ironoak Cabin]

Reelshka rests her chin on her hand.

"The Nexus does draw things from different times and places. Did they look similar to the cabins here? I suppose it can be hard to tell if there's so little left."

[Earl of Purple]

Outside Ironoak Cabin

"Not really. They were stone, not wood like the ones here. Looks like blocks of rough granite, but I could be wrong." Natalie collects stone, so she recognises the flecks of quartz in it, and know that granite has quartz and guesses on that.

[Morty]

[Outside Ironoak Cabin]

"Curious. I've never heard of them before, so maybe the Nexus did bring them here. I haven't explored the woods much myself, but Pathfinder has, and he's never said anything about them," Reelska says. "I don't think a goblin will ever feel at home in a forest. Brinika is almost as adventurous as you or Jamie, but she still prefers not to go there."

[Earl of Purple]

Outside Ironoak Cabin

"I would probably be much less comfortable in the woods were it not for my shapeshifting. Most of the creatures I can turn into are quite at home in the woodlands." The spider monkey, the chameleon and the chickadee-bird, and to my knowledge otters don't actively avoid woodland when they live along a river.

[Morty]

[Outside Ironoak Cabin]

"That must come in handy," Reelshka says. "I suppose a goblin can never be entirely at home in the woods. There's just something about trees that make us uneasy. Maybe even more than open sky does. Thankfully it seems woblins are free from it," she adds, smiling at Tuskfang.

[Earl of Purple]

Outside Ironoak Cabin

"I didn't know the sky made you uneasy, Miss Reelshka. The monkey is great for travelling through the forest, and the bird is exhilarating to be, and the otter's really fun in the lake, but I'd really like something that wasn't hampered by darkness. The otter is the least bothered by darkness, and has the best night-vision, but when I see a hole I check my torch for batteries before I enter. And only the monkey can carry anything." The monkey is also awkward on the ground, so it's all a matter of knowing what is best for when, and human is best for many things.

[Morty]

[Outside Ironoak Cabin]

"It's not a strong feeling, nowadays," Reelshka says. "But it's always there. We've got used to living underground... I've got it on good authority we haven't always lived there. I hadn't seen the sky until I was... hmm. I might have been Brinika's age when I first did it."

[Earl of Purple]

Outside Ironoak Cabin

"I think I've heard of goblins in forests, but my home world's goblinoid population tended to be shy and elusive, so I don't know much about their society, and only that small part of their history that impact human cultures." So only that part of it after they were driven by dwarves and dragons from their original homes, and then as migrating humans encountered their new homelands.

[Morty]

[Outside Ironoak Cabin]

"There's a lot of goblins on the different worlds," Reelshka says. "When I visited Pathfinder's tribe, there were goblins there who were larger than us and lived alongside Wolfen. Our people have lived underground for as long as anyone can remember. It seems there used to be a single race that migrated into different places. Those who hid underground become goblins."

[Earl of Purple]

Outside Ironoak Cabin

"The goblins in the forest I think came from underground, but got driven out. I can't remember how, though." Dragons moving down and dwarves moving up, with the goblins in the middle. Some integrated into the dwarven kingdoms, some began worshipping the dragons, but most fled.

[Morty]

[Outside Ironoak Cabin]

"That sounds awful. I like living here, but I came here by my own choice. And it took me a while to adapt. I did live in a cellar for most of my stay," Reelshka says. "You've been to Underside, haven't you? So you know what goblin colonies look like."

[Cyber Punk]

Reelshka's ears twitch.

"I'm not sure, given that they started to talk about climbing. Tuskfang needs careful watching when he decides to do that."

Tuskfang laughs and crawls over to the nearest couch or armchair. There he starts having his stuffed wolf climb it exaggeratedly.

[Evergreen Cabin]

Ruth blinks once as she watches the kids. "And Asher shouldn't be flying indoors, which he might do if Tuskfang were to make a slip, God forbid, or if he wanted to get into high places. Were he older and more in control of his abilities, all would be well." Because wood is part of the earth, cabins are made of wood, and there are certain types of 'soft wood'.

Asher runs after his new friend and takes an unoccupied spot on the same couch. He begins to have it climb the chair as well, then pauses. "Tuskfang, how does Flutter climb with wings?"

[Earl of Purple]

Outside Ironoak Cabin

"Yes, I did. It was dark, and a bit cramped. Possibly because everything was scaled for individuals shorter than I." It was a long time ago. "It took me a while to get used to everything down there, as I recall, and I wouldn't have liked to live there." Much like Reelshka needing to get adapted to the surface, only without the ability to see very far. And there would have been less space for her to fly around.

[Morty]

[Evergreen Cabin]

"Um." This is not a question Tuskfang has considered. "I think he flies up."

"Oh? How would Asher's powers help with that?" Reelshka asks.

[Outside Ironoak Cabin]

Reelshka smiles.

"And when I came to the surface, it was too bright and too spacious. I didn't mind living underground, but the culture of my home colony was too chafing. Here I'm free of it."

[Cyber Punk]

[Evergreen Cabin]

"O-kay! WOOOSH!" Asher momentarily loses his grip on the plush owl, and then he gets an idea. "Look, Tuskfang! F-flutter is f-fuh-falling!" He squeaks, flying the owl downwards really slowly. "C-ch-catch me, F-fuzzy!"

"Ah, well you probably have not seen it yet, but as I form light, so does Asher form the earth. We nephilim have aspects of the world at large we tend to from our plane of existence on high, and our particular tribe tends to nature, be it physical, esoteric or otherwise. Wood comes from the earth, and at a higher skill level, my son could easily make the wood softer were any of them to fall. Or create a sand bed, perhaps." Ruth explains.

[Morty]

[Evergreen Cabin]

Tuskfang gasps and scurries over to put the stuffed wolf under the owl.

"I suppose it makes sense," Reelshka says. "Until then, they need to be watched the old-fashioned way. Besides, would he be able to... unsoften the wood afterwards?"

[Earl of Purple]

Outside Ironoak Cabin

"Dad didn't like the society he was part of; he always said Britain's upper classes was too elitist. But he stayed, because of the students in his university, which is what introduced him to the upper classes he didn't like. Still, he found Mum that way, and I know he loved her." Natalie's Britain is a lot different to ours; no English Civil War, for one, and the power of the aristocracy hadn't been reduced as much as it had been in my Britain. Now that's all over, as most nobles are dead or fled. It was because of Natalie's father's university that he was awarded a knighthood, which made him applicable to marry the third daughter of a Baron, though only Natalie's grandfather cared about that.

[Morty]

[Outside Ironoak Cabin]

Reelshka's eyes twitch. It can't be easy for Natalie to talk about her father.

"The people back home didn't appreciate that I wanted to educate myself and do something other than caring for my home cave," Reelshka says. "I thought about moving down south, where they don't have such strong opinions about it. But I don't think I'd be able to stand the cold. So here I am."

[Cyber Punk]

Tuskfang gasps and scurries over to put the stuffed wolf under the owl.

"I suppose it makes sense," Reelshka says. "Until then, they need to be watched the old-fashioned way. Besides, would he be able to... unsoften the wood afterwards?"

[Evergreen Cabin]

"Yay!" Asher squeaks as Tuskfang succeeds in saving Flutter. Effecting a falsetto, he gets Flutter to 'speak'. "T-thanks Fuzzy!" Then the wooshing begins again as this time Flutter flies alongside Fuzzy.

"I agree, good Reelshka. And yes, he will be able to, with the proper training. We wouldn't want to irreparably damage the cabin. If he does something by mistake he is unable to revert at will, I shall be of aid, rest assured." Ruth says, chuckling. She points to the sand sculptures on the table that Asher's been working on. "He's very good at arts and crafts, where sand is concerned."

[Morty]

[Evergreen Cabin]

Fuzzy "runs" alongside the owl, howling. The howl is actually from Tuskfang, but it sounds remarkably wolf-like. Must be his Wolfen half.

"That's good to hear. I didn't design those cabins, but I did repair and reinforce most of them after coming here. So I have a bit of a personal stake in them," Reelshka says, smiling.

[Cyber Punk]

[Evergreen Cabin]

"I l-like your h-howl!" Asher pauses to say. "Here, l-look!" And then he starts making owl sounds. Now, while he doesn't sound like an owl, any owls in the area would be able to understand him, as he (and Ruth) can speak to animals.

"I understand completely, Reelshka." Ruth responds. "Is there a garden I could tend to around here, in my free time, or animals I could tend to around the campgrounds? And with that in mind, how many of the occupants/members are nature-based?"

[Morty]

[Evergreen Cabin]

Tuskfang's ears twitch.

"Whassat?"

He's never actually heard an owl.

"We have small gardens here. A few people cultivate their own. You could help them or start your own. We have a few goats in the stables... mostly for milk. And that would depend how you define "nature-based". I don't think we've had anyone with such powers in a while, apart from Tobias and his daughter."

[Cyber Punk]

[Evergreen Cabin]

"It's an owl! L-like F-flutter!" Asher announces, smiling brightly, then makes the sound again. "H-haven't y-you heard an owl?"

Ruth nods in understanding. "I see. I could do a little bit of both. My son would be glad to help, assuming he doesn't accidentally turn a fruit to stone. I could even start by helping you with yours, if you have any."

[Morty]

[Evergreen Cabin]

Tuskfang shakes his head.

"I never heard an owl. That's cool. Can you do other animals?"

"I don't. I've lived on the surface a while, but telling plants and vegetables apart is still difficult. I know Jaime, Tobias' daughter, has a garden. I think Sophie has one, too."

[Cyber Punk]

[Evergreen Cabin]

Asher nods a big nod once, then does a squirrel this time. Sound-wise, it's very close to the real thing. Then he does a wolf. It's not as good as Tuskfang, him being the real thing, but if the woblin understands wolf, he'll hear 'HI!'. Then he does a sheep, giggling halfway through.

Ruth blinks. "I do not understand. Where were you leaving before..." Then it dawns on her and she brightens. "You lived underground? Tell me about it." She turns more fully, facing Reelshka as she prepares to listen, and it's clear that she hasn't spent a lot of time, if any, underground.

[Morty]

[Evergreen Cabin]

Tuskfang giggles when Asher makes animal noises. "What was that?" he asks after the angel makes a sheep noise. He's seen goats, but not sheep.

"Well, I was born underground," Reelshka explains. "I didn't see the surface until I was... a bit younger than Brinika is now. I grew up in tunnels and caves under a mountain. That's where goblins usually live."