Planeside 2

[Fenric]

[Fox Village]

The three dark elves are already being bustled away, and Keiko nods

Ok.. that's a cool sword. You'll have to tell us more about it on the way, Ce.

King Jian smiles

I will not steal his pleasure of retelling. And now... Prince Cao Pi.

The prince looks a little uncomfortable

Yes, your majesty?

Jian looks serious

It is time and beyond for this feud of our tribes to stop. I will immediately call an end to our hunting parties; and for our part, we return the object of your contention.

He holds out a raw silk bag to Cao Pi, something heavy and not quite round inside. Pi's eyes go round and wide.

You... you think this is serious enough that you will simply hand it over?

Keiko arches an eyebrow, uncertain what it is. Ce looks serious.

[Recaiden]

[Fox Village]

Cleo peers curiously at the bag, trying to hear any magic to its contents.

"What is it? If all the problems are actually because you two have been fighting over some foolish thing-"

That would be terrible!

[goto124]

[Lornesse, Before the Castle]

Having made their way through Lornesse, Ezra and KC finally arrive at the castle, essentially a huge fortress made out of seemingly flawless stone. The gate is guarded by a large wooden drawbridge, reinforced with steel braces, and covered with an equally large wrought iron portcullis.

KC, wearing the usual blue silk robes, holds up a poster saying the King of Lornesse 'needs help', and that there'll be 'great rewards'. Strangely enough, it doesn't say what exactly the King needs help with. Peyton waddles alongside KC, peering about its surroundings curiously.

As the couple approach the front, a loud gruff voice from behind the castle gates asks, 'What do you want?'

Questions that will be relevant later on: What is Ezra wearing, and is his shirt open?

[Fenric]

[Fox Village]

Pi looks at Cleo, as defiantly as he dares

It is the royal seal, and they have withheld it from us.

Jian shakes his head

It was entrusted to us, with instructions to keep it until we judged you worthy to receive it. It was never for you to decide, and you've done precious little to convince us of that!

Pi looks at the ground, proud and still not quite ready to yield

But it is my judgement that this situation is important enough to step out in faith: I have given you the seal, it is your turn to do what is right.

Ce grins

Besides, just because you can't hunt me anymore doesn't mean we can't hunt together: we have new prey.

[Recaiden]

[Fox Village]

"Instructions from who? Keiko, are you familiar with this?"

It does sound like the kind of important symbol people could get mad over. Cleo frowns at Ce. That was a bit bloodthirsty to be coming from the little fox-spirit.

"And don't-, well, be worthy of it, okay?"

[Cyber Punk]

Having made their way through Lornesse, Ezra and KC finally arrive at the castle, essentially a huge fortress made out of seemingly flawless stone. The gate is guarded by a large wooden drawbridge, reinforced with steel braces, and covered with an equally large wrought iron portcullis.

KC, wearing the usual blue silk robes, holds up a poster saying the King of Lornesse 'needs help', and that there'll be 'great rewards'. Strangely enough, it doesn't say what exactly the King needs help with. Peyton waddles alongside KC, peering about its surroundings curiously.

As the couple approach the front, a loud gruff voice from behind the castle gates asks, 'What do you want?'

Questions that will be relevant later on: What is Ezra wearing, and is his shirt open?

[Lornesse, Before the Castle]

((I forgot to tell you: Ezra has a Latino heritage, and I got rid of his 'I want to get married' blues.))

Ezra is wearing the usual: a black cowboy hat, a buttoned-up blue dress shirt (the only difference, as he's usually in a light brown shirt), black chinos pants and dark brown leather cowboy shoes.

He points to the poster and doffs his hat to the guard. "The real question is: what does the king want, and how can we help him?"

[Fenric]

[Fox Village]

Keiko squinches up her eyes

Sun Jian... had... something. Oh, wait: He was the keeper of the Imperial Seal! At the beginning of the civil war, Cao Cao tried to get it from him and he wouldn't surrender it because the emperor had left it in his keeping! He was too noble to use it himself...

She tilts her head in confusion

But... you don't have an old Han emperor to worry about. Why do you care?

Jian shakes his head

I don't understand half of what you said. We received magical artifacts from the great gold dragon, and given specific instructions...

Keiko claps at this point

Yuan Shao! Of course! I called it, Cleo: I called it!

and yeah. Foxes are still predators, even if half-civilized. Cute fuzzy predators, but...

[Recaiden]

[Fox Village]

Smaller predators, playing with expectations.

Cleo shakes her head in just as much confusion.

"And I, I think, understood the other half. So you did. Keiko...did you make this place? And how much of a worry will Yuan Shao be to us here? Shouldn't he have acted about these dark elves already?"

[goto124]

[Lornesse, Entering the Castle]

((Thanks!))

The guard, alongside other guards, peers down at Ezra from atop the castle walls, between the merlons.

'You'll have to ask the King himself. Next time, just say you're here to see him - it's hard to see what you're doing down there. Anyway, please keep your weapons sheathed and wait a bit. LOWER THE DRAWBRIDGE!'

The drawbridge starts to lower slowly. This gives Ezra plenty of time for chit-chat.

(Group) Nancy_KC: hey ezra, remember this?
(Group) Nancy_KC: it works here!
(Group) Nancy_KC: dont let the guards know keeping our weapons sheathed wont hamper us at all
(Group) Nancy_KC: still, no point attacking

Finally, with a heavy THUMP, the drawbridge hits the edge of the moat in front of Ezra. As he presumbly starts to cross the murky crocodile-infested moat, the iron portcullis begins to rise. The loud squeaking and rattling of the gates reveals how rusty it really is.

Behind the rising portcullis, there appears to be several guards. The guard in the middle is particularly tall.

[Cyber Punk]

[Lornesse, Entering the Castle]

((Don't thank me. I had my own reasons for making the change.))

Ezra bows and waits for the drawbridge to be lowered.
(Group) E_Reyes: Of course not, love.
(Group) E_Reyes: Besides, as long as there is blood or metal around, I still have weapons.
(Group) E_Reyes: Also, diplomacy is key. Wanton violence causes more problems than it solves.

Ezra walks up to the tall guard, Peyton and KC presumably in tow, and bows. "We come seeking audience with the king. Word is that he has a problem that needs solving."

[goto124]

[Lornesse, Castle Grounds]

(Group) Nancy_KC: nearly forgot how we're from different worlds

Most of the guards hold spears and wear the same outfit: a helmet, breastplate, and a pair of leg plates, all slightly rusty. On each of the guards' breastplates, is a coat of arms with a lion, a chimera, and a large sword separating them. The tall guard looks similar to the other guards, except this guard has shiner armor and a sheathed longsword by the hip.

Indeed, KC and Peyton follow Ezra and bow to the tall guard. KC sweeps an arm across the chest, while Peyton dips its head up and down.

'Sounds about right,' The voice of an experienced warrior rings from the tall guard. 'I am Mirlanda, the King's right-hand woman. We shall escort you to him...'

Her eyes move over to Peyton. 'I'm not sure what that thing is, but I'm afraid animals are not allowed within the castle.'

There is an implied question of 'what is it anyway?', as the other guards look at the penguin with a mix of confusion and curiosity.

[Fenric]

[Fox Village]

Smaller predators, playing with expectations.

Cleo shakes her head in just as much confusion.

"And I, I think, understood the other half. So you did. Keiko...did you make this place? And how much of a worry will Yuan Shao be to us here? Shouldn't he have acted about these dark elves already?"

Keiko tilts her head

I don't think I'm quite up to world-creating stature.

And if this dragon is anything like the character from the book, he's about as effective as a bit of tissue paper: he didn't do anything about the elves because he can't - if he tries, he'll just lose. And talking to him will net you a long rambly dissertation on the glories of the past.

Jian nods

That is an excellent summary of the golden one.

[Recaiden]

[Fox Village]

"You might be though. I don't know anyone who can do all the things you can. And we both have things in common with those who made this world. What if there isn't any probability sphere, and this place is like your book because you read the book? You knew who and what Yuan Shao would be, through no means I can tell. Maybe this is all some odd sort of dream of yours."

Cleo gives a nod.

"Okay, no help and hopefully no one we need to bother. The past doesn't have glories I care to see. Well, okay, it had a few. But not just to hear about."
"Cao Pi! Your people are the next to visit. Lead us on, and remember that we'll have elven spies to catch there as well."

[Fenric]

[Fox Village]

Keiko looks thoughtful

This all a dream somehow? I guess... though I tend to wake up as soon as I realize I'm dreaming.

She looks around, trying to see if anything would tip her off. For now, the world continues to exist and Pi leads the way

Yes, undoubtedly three concealed dark elves will be waiting to ambush us at home. I ... I will try to restrain my family, but do not be surprised if those elves fare far less well that the previous groups.

[Recaiden]

[Fox Village]

"That's a shame. Dreams where you know you're dreaming are great. And there are other levels of existence between dream and our reality. And worlds that are dreamier and more real."

Cleo shrugs.

"Don't worry too much about it, Pi. The assassins know what they are risking."

And she isn't exactly against getting to kill them. That's for Keiko's sake and the good of the spirits.

[Fenric]

[Travelling]

Keiko nods thoughtfully

I'll have to try to learn how to do that, then. I've never really thought about it before...

then she looks around

Um... how far is it to the Hu town?

Cao Pi shrugs

I could make it in half a day by myself, but it always takes longer as a group.

Ce nods along, agreeing with the estimate. Keiko scowls

Could have mentioned that earlier! We haven't had anything to eat lately, and I don't see how we could get there until after dark! We should have waited at the Huli village and gone in the morning.

Pi shrugs

Then eat... Can you not walk at the same time?

Keiko scowls: walking and eating at the same time is clearly not something this somewhat spoiled princess considers generally acceptable.

[Cyber Punk]

(Group) Nancy_KC: nearly forgot how we're from different worlds

Most of the guards hold spears and wear the same outfit: a helmet, breastplate, and a pair of leg plates, all slightly rusty. On each of the guards' breastplates, is a coat of arms with a lion, a chimera, and a large sword separating them. The tall guard looks similar to the other guards, except this guard has shiner armor and a sheathed longsword by the hip.

Indeed, KC and Peyton follow Ezra and bow to the tall guard. KC sweeps an arm across the chest, while Peyton dips its head up and down.

'Sounds about right,' The voice of an experienced warrior rings from the tall guard. 'I am Mirlanda, the King's right-hand woman. We shall escort you to him...'

Her eyes move over to Peyton. 'I'm not sure what that thing is, but I'm afraid animals are not allowed within the castle.'

There is an implied question of 'what is it anyway?', as the other guards look at the penguin with a mix of confusion and curiosity.

[Lornesse, Castle Grounds]

"Peyton is a penguin. The second(?) I've seen in centuries. It comes with us." Ezra says gently but firmly. "It is more than a penguin, you see, but family."

[goto124]

[Lornesse, Castle Grounds]

(I'd expected Peyton to be left with the guards )

'A what?' Mirlanda raises an eyebrow.

'Oooooh, a penguin! I think I remember someone talking about it! One of the male guards has squatted down to examine Peyton. 'It's a bird that lives far down south. It can't fly, funnily enough, but swims very well. Wow, it really is cute.'

Peyton bobs its head up and down in approval, then turns to the tall guard, gives its flippers a quick flap, and lets out a happy squawk! 🐧

Mirlanda's helmeted head slowly turns from Peyton, to Ezra, and back to Peyton. She doesn't remember the last time she had to deal with people who really love their pets - normally, such things were easily handled by the other guards.

'Alright, I'll let it in, since it looks well-behaved. Follow me, everyone.' She turns around and starts walking towards the castle, shortly followed by four of the guards.

[Lornesse - Castle Lobby]

As KC, Peyton and presumbly Ezra follow Mirlanda into the building, Ezra should find himself walking on a luscious red carpet. The high ceiling is made of simple arches that span the large lobby, and intricate carvings cover the walls. Two long oak benches sit at each side of the room. At the far end of the lobby, is a pair of large and tall oak doors.

'Please have a seat on the benches, while I go talk to the King,' Mirlanda announces. If she is not interrupted, she will head to the oak doors, open it just enough for herself to slip through, and shut the doors behind her. The four guards are still watching the couple and the pet penguin.

She'll be away for a while.

[Recaiden]

[Travelling]

"We'll definitely be missing dinner then. But come now, Pi. A break for food is nothing like waiting overnight."

Contrary to what she just said, Cleo produces a mouthful of dandelion and clover from a pocket and starts eating them. and so maybe she lags slightly behind for a moment.

"While we can ... do we need to?"

[Fenric]

[Travelling]

Pi shrugs and comes to a stop. Ce settles down and starts fishing in his pack: he didn't really see the need to stop, but wasn't going to waste the opportunity.

Keiko flops on a nearby log and extracts a tablecloth from her pouch, clearly demonstrating that the thing is in reality a bag of holding. The baffled Hu and Huli then both gape in astonishment as she casts a fairly solidly enhanced Create Food and Drink spell, which even summons up a reasonable set of tableware. Fish, chicken, rice, potatoes, rolls, thinly sliced beef, delicately steamed vegatables, and fruit tarts are all abruptly there where none had been before. Bottles of perfectly chilled light wine rest in ice-buckets with glasses already poured for everyone, and refreshing ice-water on the side.

O... k... I can cast a mean creation spell, but that's... yeah, I've got to be dreaming. And apparently I'm really hungry, too.

But the world continues to exist

[Recaiden]

[Travelling]

"That reminds me; I need another golden fiddle."

Cleo takes a seat at the table and takes a long drink from the water glass. Hiking all around these mountains is thirsty work. She waves the poor confused fox and tiger to sit down as well, and starts dishing out food onto their individual plates. And, only mostly being outdone, manifests a large wooden bowl filled with a flowery salad.

"More than you were expecting, isn't it? A delicious dream, if that's what it is."

[Fenric]

[Travelling]

Keiko nods distractedly, only partly listening.

What's a golden fiddle? And yeah: I would need to cast the at least spell six times, and some of this would need permission from Tammy - that spell won't make wine as a general rule.

Pi is amazed

Princess... I had no idea you could do such a thing at all.

Ce nods

Truly amazing, my lady: I pledge my service to you forever.

Keiko snaps her head around and looks at him, blinking a few times then answering carefully - as if trying to remember what she said "last time"

Thank you, Sun Ce, I am grateful.

Not to be outdone, Pi chimes back in

As do I, lady Princess: my claws and fangs are ever yours to call on.

Keiko looks at Cleo, and purposely changes languages to defeat the Nexus auto-translate

<draconic> Ok, my dear beloved fiancée dream-expert... these two yahoos are my "high priest" and "chief paladin" respectively: two guys from my cult that I told you about and the most promising of the lot. And yeah, I gave them the book. So, this dream is one of theirs... maybe both - and I dumped us into it with a botched cross-dimensional teleport. What do we do now? 'Cause I'm about ready to freak out...

[Recaiden]

[Travelling]

"It's a musical instrument, good for, well, nevermind."

If the wine is unusual, best to sample it while it's here. Even if you're Cleo and don't really like drinking wine and can't keep the distaste for it off your face. Perhaps especially then, it's important to smile and compliment the creator of the meal.

"<draconic>So much you think of them, the most promising ones. Well, first, we don't worry too much about saving this place. You try to teleport us out of it? I think the best we could manage though would be to swap to the dream of someone in your father's palace. Which might not actually help, us, you see. If we can figure out whose dream it is, we should be able to wake them and follow them back. But it's likely we would remain trapped in someone's mind until we figure out just how to do that."
"The safe thing to do is find the Gates of Deeper Slumber and enter the Dreamlands, where we can get much more stable passage back to our own worlds exactly the same way we got here. We will know the way because it will be out of place, and they, being fully asleep, will not know it.</draconic>"

With a smile, Cleo lifts up a mostly full glass as in a toast.

"To Keiko."

[Fenric]

[Travelling]

Ce and Pi give a hearty "Hear, hear!", and Keiko grins and folds down her ears in mild embarrassment

Thank you, dear Cleo. And thank you Ce and Pi. Clearly it is a sign of our friendship and the grand future there is in store for all of us: the Hu and Huli together with the Wood Elves will vanquish the dread forces of darkness and make a bright future for everyone!

Again, cheers of "Hear, hear!" and much mirth all around. Sun Ce is practically... er no: he is crying by the end. Keiko pats him gently

Don't worry, Sun Ce: You already beat the story, and Dai Qiao is waiting for you. Be brave, and ask for her hand: there's a lot of life yet to live and celibacy isn't for you.

Pi rolls his eyes at the dramatics, but Ce looks up in surprise and gratitude. Keiko smiles and nods

Eat up! We've a lot yet to do!

<draconic> Unless I'm totally insane, the doorway will be in the palace in Luoyang.

She turns to the food, thoughtful and somewhat subdued: until just now, she had thought of and treated her followers as little more than a big joke.

[Cyber Punk]

As KC, Peyton and presumbly Ezra follow Mirlanda into the building, Ezra should find himself walking on a luscious red carpet. The high ceiling is made of simple arches that span the large lobby, and intricate carvings cover the walls. Two long oak benches sit at each side of the room. At the far end of the lobby, is a pair of large and tall oak doors.

'Please have a seat on the benches, while I go talk to the King,' Mirlanda announces. If she is not interrupted, she will head to the oak doors, open it just enough for herself to slip through, and shut the doors behind her. The four guards are still watching the couple and the pet penguin.

She'll be away for a while.

[Lornesse - Castle Lobby]

Ezra sits and turns to KC, smiling. "All's well, so far, oh my, yes! I do think they let Peyton in a bit more easily than I imagined, though." He reaches over to take her hands in his, then pecks her on the cheek.

((Wait, if KC is missing her ears, how can she hear quiet sounds?))

[goto124]

[Lornesse - Castle Lobby]

((Ah, I see your argument was that KC's hearing should be impaired by the lack of earlobes, I can always fall back on 'KC is from a computer game where realism and verisimilitude are thrown out of the window'

How is my pacing so far? I added a bit more in my post, since I saw how little you seem to put in your posts. Or did I do too much and left you with nothing to do?))

'I don't think she really had anything against Peyton,' KC chuckles. 'Only wanted to keep the insides of the castle clean and free of animal antics.'

When Ezra shows his affection towards KC, one guard (who has a small scar on her face) turns to grin widely at the penguin-loving guard.

'Come on, why must you win all the bets?' the latter playfully whines as he reaches for a leather pouch hooked to his belt, pulls out a small cloth sack, and passes it to the scar-faced guard.

'Because I'm observant. Just one look at them and I could tell they're an item,' the scar-faced guard replies with equal playfulness. She opens the sack, counts the coins inside it, then pushes it into her own pouch with satisfaction.

The large wooden doors creak loudly on their rusty hinges as they open again, to let Mirlanda walk back into the lobby. 'You may come and visit the King now, just follow me. Guards, stay where you are.'

As Ezra walks to the next room, he might notice that the carpet is wearing thin in a few places, and cracks are starting to appear in the otherwise flawless walls and carvings.

[Cyber Punk]

[Lornesse - Castle Lobby]

((Pacing is good. I have a lot on my plate these days, so detailed posts from me will not be frequent.))

"I know, love." Ezra joins her in chuckling. He grins as he hears the exchange between the two guards. "She's very astute." He adds, nodding.

Then it's to

[Lornesse - Throne Room]

Ezra briefly wonders just how old this castle is, and why it hasn't been renovated. Surely, a palace fit for a king should be well maintained? The rusted armor of some of the other guards also comes to mind, and he makes a mental note of these things.

[Recaiden]

[Dining]

Cleo is on the eye-rolling side of the dramatics. Not that the speech or the advice were bad. Just that they came what would normally be a little bit early.

"Let's enjoy this while we're here. We do still have a lot of work ahead of us."

Like eating this feast!

"<draconic> Which one is that, dear? I'm afraid it's you all's book, not mine. It sounds like a correct place."

[Fenric]

[Dining]

Eating, yay!

Keiko is quiet for a little bit while she takes Cleo's advice: she is quite hungry, after all. When the edge has been taken off and she's feeling more relaxed, she chuckles

<draconic> Meh: not my book. It's the capital of Cao Wei, and has to be where we're headed in this microscopic version of China turned all inside out and compressed into a province that wasn't involved in the story. I should have guessed it was a dream.

Yeah... maybe the tiniest bit bitter that her trip ended up side-tracked.

<draconic> I'm sure the dream-folks will think it grand, but I'm bracing for disappointment.

[Recaiden]

[Traveling]

Impossible dream-food!

<draconic>"The one village of the tigers, I see. Aww, don't feel bad. Stranger things that this being real have happened."

Cleo waves at the land they're traveling through. So, at nothing in particular.

"Are we not seeing this place, and more?"