Silly Plots 2: Electric Boogaloo

[Recaiden]

"I try. Now, I came here to help. But if you have something for me, I'm sure it would be a treasure." Message suggests. Of course she would look good in a snow dress. She'll have you know that she always looks good.

[Deathkeeper]

Snowy Glade

Winry smiles and waves her hands, causing a shimmering dress of frost and ice crystals to materialize around Message, draping gently over her tiger-self.
"There you are, don't you look fancy? And if you still want to help me, you could always send someone my way if they need help having children or are cold-sensitive. Or maybe a little altar on the mainland that isn't on a tiny island in the middle of nowhere." she says to Message.

[Recaiden]

She twists and stretches, admiring the coat of crystals. Kind of sparkly, but manages to be opaque enough...hmm.

Message is about to say something non-committal and then not actually help. But.
"Cold-sensitive? I think I do know some people you could help."

[Deathkeeper]

Snowy Glade

Winry looks quite excited.
"Oh, really? Please, introduce me. I admit I don't know if I can just bless them all like I did you. Might have to go old-school if it's a big group. But I'd love to help." she says happily.

[Recaiden]

"They're refugees from a really warm world, so they've gotta stay bundled up tight around here. I'll send them over your way, alright?"
Message smiles, and turns to go.

[Deathkeeper]

Snowy Glade

"Oh, alright. I'll give you a flag to wave so they don't get raided or something." she says. She does wish her home was in a less troublesome place sometime.

[Rebonack]

Below Elephant Rock

As the handles are squeezed, the statue slowly slides forward and dumps the contents of the urn upon them, cascading neatly over the diving bell, and flowing into the channels, leading the water into the pool. In under two minutes, the entire pool is filled and continues on to the door. The moment the water touches the door, it rings faintly and opens just a bit.

A small black box slides out of a hidden compartment. The two earn the contents: a pair of gold bracelets, labeled "Chosen's Fortitude" in the liner of the box, and a long tooth about a foot in length labelled "Baby Tusk of St. Bhana."
They also earn a soaking for clever cheating, as a big blast of water will spout from the urn the moment Lucas reverts to normal, after which it falls silent immediately.

And thus, as Lucas returns to human shape he cheers, "Hah! That was p-pretty easy, right? I hope they aren't mad since that might have been-"

And then he goes BLURBGBGBG! as he's blasted off his feet by the powerful jet of water.

Great.

Now he's soaked.

And looking rather cross.

On to the next challenge?

[Deathkeeper]

Below Elephant Rock

Isaac laughs, not bothered by the water because his bracelets prevented him from being knocked down completely!
"Haha, come on, Lucas. We'll be done in no time." he says, trotting over to the door while Lucas can pick up his loot.

[Rebonack]

[Below Elephant Rock]

Lucas grabs the tooth, not really sure what if anything it might be for.

Maybe he could tie the rope on the tooth to the end of his Stick?

Nah.

That would be dumb.

It's named, though. And sometimes named things have histories. Maybe he'll check the Internet once he's got cell reception again.

Barring that! He could check out the library at school.

Sometimes you don't want really sensitive information on the Web.

"Okay, Isaac! Let's finish up this quest and get home. I'm going to want to change my clothes before I get all prune-y."

Getting prune-y is the worst.

[Deathkeeper]

Below Elephant Rock

Isaac and Lucas creak open the iron door to reveal a simple stone altar. On it, a plaque.

Here lies our final test
to see what you hide in brain and breast
Lay down your hands, let thoughts unwind,
your third trial, the one of mind

Isaac smiles at Lucas, and sets his hand on the altar, seemingly passing out on the spot.
Will Lucas choose to take the trial himself? Or will he wait until Isaac awakes on his own?

[Rebonack]

[Below Elephant Rock]

Are you kidding?

Lucas is just here to help, not to pass trials.

How is he supposed to help in some kind of mental test? Mindscapes are weird! And not something fae really deal in. At least not his sort of fae.

No, Lucas is going to stand guard.

Y'know.

Just in case this is some kind of trap.

Having two people out cold just doesn't seem tactically sound.

[Deathkeeper]

Below Elephant Rock

After about ten minutes, there's a rumbling as a stone slab on the opposite of the room opens a final passage. Isaac stands up, smiling. He's a little bit different. Eyes and ears round again. Perhaps a bit more presence to him, if he's not physically bigger. But still Isaac.
"Well, that is that. Should we see what we won?" he asks Lucas.

[Rebonack]

[Below Elephant Rock]

It's a change for the better, as far as Lucas is concerned. There's a pretty heavy level of distaste in the Dreamlands for what they consider false faeries.

Which... includes pretty much anything that might be considered fae that isn't from the Dreamlands.

That's probably racist, but the Dreamlands have never pretended to be a nice place.

"Y-yeah! This is the last leg, right?" Lucas asks. "That wasn't hard, was it? I mean, not that I think you're dumb or anything. But was it dangerous?"

He just wants to make sure his friend is alright, you see.

Weird mind stuff is always weird.

There's no more insidious way to alter someone than messing with their mind.

[Deathkeeper]

Below Elephant Rock

Isaac winces. "It was one of those...dreamy sort of challenges. I...chose you and everything else that's happened since I lost my powers over simply undoing it and going back to how things were. So...that was it." he says very slowly.

At the end of the passage is an odd stone dome with a door that says "For the Chosen."
"Guess that's me. Wait for me?" he asks, smiling again.

[Rebonack]

[Below Elephant Rock]

Undo everything.

Including meeting him.

Lucas gives a small smile. "I'm g-glad my friendship is more important to you than... umm... this brand of weirdness. I guess? You were kind of weird before, too. No offense."

Everyone is weird in the Nexus.

Except the people who aren't.

But they're boring.

"Good luck! Go f-face your destiny!"

[Deathkeeper]

Below Elephant Rock

Isaac smiles and waves. He opens the door, revealing a white rope curtain and disappearing outside.

He's in there for quite a while. After a few minutes, a translucent being appears before Lucas, in every inch the stereotypical old bald monk wearing a simple robe covering half of him, carrying a much more solid wooden box.
"Hello there, young man. I must thank you for helping our Chosen reach his destiny." he calls amiably.

[Rebonack]

[Below Elephant Rock]

Lucas fidgets.

Why?

Because ghosts are weird.

One would think given the fact that Lucas is a fetch of a human child who was stolen by a hag, a fetch that was re-stuffed with hedleykow wool in place of straw, he would have no particular issue with something as mundane as a dead human spirit. But truth be told? Ghosts really don't have a place is his cosmology. Or at least not a place in the cosmology he's use to. Dead humans are just... dead. There isn't a great deal of fanfare to it, really. As he understands it, the Old Ones have some means of bringing people back-

-sort of.

But it's always fraught with disaster and the Old Ones are gross anyway.

Ghosts are just these... spooky unnatural things.

They make him feel uneasy.

Not as uneasy as the thought of having to confront his twin should the boy ever return somehow, but still pretty uneasy.

"I... I g-guess?" he replies lamely, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. "I mean, you're welcome?" he tries again in an attempt to be a little more polite. "Isaac is my friend, I mean. I j-just want him to be happy. Since I haven't really had a friend before..."

[Deathkeeper]

Below Elephant Rock

The Grandmaster frowns then shakes his head as if chastising himself.
"oh, dear. I thought this would be a reassuring form to take. Well I can try something else if you'd prefer. Still, don't worry. You've been a very good friend." Says the Grandmaster, not really sure how to act around the young man.

[Rebonack]

[Below Elephant Rock]

Ghosts are weird.

So are... maybe not ghosts.

Who happen to look like ghosts at the moment.

Why would anyone want to look like a ghost?

Lucas sure has no idea.

"Wel, umm, thank you f-for saying so," Lucas replies, being about as awkward as usual. Maybe even more awkward than he typically is.

He fidgets around, wondering when they'll be done so they can leave.

[Deathkeeper]

Below Elephant Rock

"Well, still, I don't think appearing how I did in life would make things any better, so here, this is for you." says the ghost, really having expected to not be killing the levity of this whole thing, and hands the lacquered box to Lucas.

[Rebonack]

[Below Elephant Rock]

Lucas mumbles an awkward apology as he accepts the box.

BOX GET!

What could be inside? Treasures of unfathomable power?

He opens the box and finds-!

[Deathkeeper]

Below Elephant Rock

Within the box are two long, red ribbons on a velvet pillow.
"These were entrusted to us long ago. No, they weren't made by your enemies, little fairy. Tied around the neck, tail, or some other part of the spine, they should mask your presence from a fey creature even if you were to enter its own realm. Well, they are meant to work mostly against the more...putrid of fey. Beings like your master, powerful and tidier, might still notice. As I understand, there's one in particular you have an obligation to enter. I must apologize that I do not have a third to make the trip easy."
While Lucas was looking down at the box the Grandmaster dropped the pretense since it was only making Lucas equally nervous and appears as he did just before his death, as a noticeably fat elephant-person in similar garb and large hoop earrings. He's very, very big but he tries to smile for the fetch.
"Isaac has done well. He should be out soon."

[Rebonack]

[Below Elephant Rock]

"Mask my..." Lucas mutters, trailing off as he considers the implications. They help with sneaking. Now, a hedleykow is already pretty good at sneaking, considering their ability to blend in. But if these things could really make him more or less invisible? He might actually be able to find out what became of his counter-part. He knows the real Lucas is still alive. The mark on their shared dream glade makes that obvious enough. But...

Given the chance...

Would he try to rescue the boy?

Lucas was only a baby when he was stolen away by the hag. He probably wouldn't have any memory of his old life. Or his parents. The real Lucas... probably wouldn't try to take over his life. Probably. A life he hasn't ever really known.

But a confrontation between a changeling and their fetch is almost always...

Unpleasant.

For both parties.

But no one deserves to be a hag's slave.

"Thank you mister elephant," Lucas finally settles on as he closes the box. "I'll put them to good use."

[Deathkeeper]

Below Elephant Rock

The Grandmaster nods, and presently the stone door slides open, and Isaac walks through the fluffy white rope-curtain.
He seems pretty normal.
"Well, that happened. Oh, did you get a thing, Lucas? Cool, they magic?" Isaac asks, before Lucas can even ask what happened inside the big stone chamber.

[Rebonack]

[Below Elephant Rock]

Seems pretty normal?

Or IS pretty normal?

One can never be too sure around here.

Lucas gives a little nod. "They can hide someone from the Shea. They'll be really useful."

Useful for useful things.

Like saving the world.

You like saving the world, right Isaac?

[Deathkeeper]

Below Elephant Rock

"That's super cool. Thanks for the lesson and everything, Grandmaster. Uh, we can go now, right?" Isaac asks.
"Of course. Though if you wish you can stop by town, have some soup and a song before you depart. You are our ninth Chosen, officially. The people would love for you to make an appearance." The Grandmaster points to a door that was there the whole time. Isaac turns to look at it and as he does, the loxodon points for Lucas at Isaac's rear. Namely, a little white loop caught in his waistband. A piece of the rope curtain, perhaps? The grandmaster makes a pulling motion with his hand, trunk covering his smile.

[Recaiden]

A little north, I think, and inland.

Blood has been spilled on the ground here. Painting the rocks red and sinking into the dirt. But it hasn't simply dried up and died. The earth here is alive. It's only been waiting for the rain.

And now it's come, clouds hiding away the heartless sunlight, water droplets briefly holding their place on the surface before sinking away. One by one, little creatures claw their way out of the dirt. They aren't dragons, not remotely. But they're...something.

[Rebonack]

[Below Elephant Rock]

Lucas frowns slightly. Soup and song sounds nice. Though he's not super into social situations. It had taken a pretty big confidence boost from Maph just to be able to walk up to Isaac and start talking to him. Maybe that's just what he needs to do. Have a little more confidence in himself! Besides, the attention will be on Isaac, right? Not him. That's not so bad.

And then?

Pointing!

At a rope!

Or...

Something?

Lucas reaches out to pull on the whatever it is, "Hey Isaac, you have something caught in your pants."

[Deathkeeper]

Below Elephant Rock

"Oh, uh, thanks I-eep." Isaac practically squeaks as Lucas tugs on the "rope," revealing what could only be a thin white tail with a tuft of Isaac's unmistakable blond hair. He turns and gives Lucas a slowly widening nervous smile.
"Well, uh, fancy that." he says, conscious of all the times he's rubbed Lucas' woolly head, tugged on his tail, and done other things to make fun of his friend's silly appearance in an effort to get him to laugh.

Lucas has caught an Isaac by the tail! He hasn't really hollered, but will Lucas still let him go?
The grandmaster laughs silently, waving Lucas on.

[Rebonack]

[Below Elephant Rock]

Oh.

Well.

It was a tail, apparently.

Isaac just can't seem to catch any breaks with weird things doing weird things to him.

Lucas stifles a laugh, reducing it to a snorty choking sound as he does his best not to smile too widely. He quickly releases Isaac's tail, reaches around behind himself, and gives a little tug at the base of his own spine. Quick as a whip, that long white cow-like tail covered in curly white wool and ending in stylistic whirls of fluff at the end lashes out behind him.

The grin grows a few sizes.

"We match now! Isn't that fun?"