GLoG 91

[Deathkeeper]

[Outside Guest Cabin]

Koshal gives Iknika a look. He knows not to get into My Dad Can Beat Up Your Dad arguments. Especially because in the literal sense, Koshal usually wins those but people argue anyway.
"Well, we can ask around for getting you guys lessons. Right, Iknika?"

[One Night]

"Thank you, dear. It still looks like that, mostly. They've gotten a bit tacky with these new fashions but it's still how I remember it. You can call me Mira, even if our Chosen likes calling me Grandmother. He said you're a shapeshifter who wishes to add the strength of our people to your portfolio." she says, pouring her a cup of tea daintily with her trunk.

[Morty]

[Outside Guest Cabin]

"Sure! One or both of them would be down for it," Iknika says, trying not to show her disappointment in Koshal's lack of enthusiasm for a teacher showdown. She looks to Jamie instead. "Can you show us how you grow vines from the ground? Does it work like when Brinika moves rocks around?"

[Earl of Purple]

Outside Guest Cabin

"I can't really do vines. I can summon plants, I guess, but... only if they aren't anchored, and not too large." If they're anchored they count as the world, and therefore too large. But mobile plants are things she can teleport around. "Means I'm mostly limited to dodging, since I have no vines to entangle them, nor anything to stab with." She does want to get a dagger, though.

One Night

"Fashion is usually tacky. That's why things fall out of fashion, people realise they're tacky." There are some exceptions, but not many. "I would, yes. One of my ancestors wasn't who they said they were. I can't take shapes on my own, only remember and use the ones I am given." The other half of the gift is useless on its own, but Natalie doesn't have it.

[Deathkeeper]

[One Night]

Mira nods.
"All right. Drink your tea, darling. Technically what I'll be doing is taboo; possessing mortals and twisting their shapes is something reserved for the most malevolent of spirits. Or for truly foul mortals. But you've asked me to, and I'll be ensuring that you're asleep and numb to the whole thing. I'll probably be done in an hour. I suppose you'll probably end up looking like how I did when I was your age."
I wasn't able to find any information on if female loxodons have tusks as they might not follow the rules of actual elephants, so that'll probably come down to Earl's preference.
"What do you need my strength for, dear?"

[Zefir]

"Well, you did get in what seemed like a serious fight. Maybe not compared to what you're used to.

No problem with the Summoner dressing himself. Finding out that he got double-amnesia was a bit of a downer. She waits outside the infirmary door.
"Adventure? Certainly. VIGIL, the ones who supposedly watch out for the end of the world, they're in a war with some demons. The main city near here, City of Inside -you can get there by train- it's under new management. The Hunting Grounds are always full of the dangerous sort of adventure - my sister's there most times, though I haven't been recently...There's a couple of mercenary groups that seem to always be recruiting. And there's religious strife, so you could try the temples. Or the taverns."
Anchor goes on to explain to Karl how to reach each of the main threads locations.

[Infirmary => Camp Grounds]

"Train?" Karl asks.
"I guess there is enougth adventure. Thought I don't want to go for those Vigil guys. Sounds boring to wait for something to attack. What is your sister like and what can you tell me about the hunting grounds? do you know any spellcaster able to teach summoning spells. I kind of need something special like my fire summon."

[Earl of Purple]

One Night

Natalie sips her tea whilst she talks. "Thank you. There's... several reasons, really. My homeland's in chaos; a revolution has overthrown the monarchy and execute every noble they can find. I'm a baron's granddaughter; ordinarily, I'd have no chance at the title. It'd go to my mother's older brother, or his sons if he was dead. The current baron is my older brother. I don't expect them to find me in Nexus, but... I'd like to go home, someday. Some of my friends have set up an adventurer's club, and they've invited me to join. It sounds like it'd be quite fun, but probably dangerous. And also I'm studying to become a Conjurer. I'm... Pretty good, I think, but not a master yet. A stronger form would help my confidence in summoning stronger creatures. All the forms I have so far are good, lots of fun, but they're more shaped towards running away. I have a monkey, a robin, a chameleon and an otter." She knows how to summon a tiger, but hasn't yet, because she can't fight off a tiger if it went wrong. She also has a sloth-girl hybrid shape, but that's awkward and useless, too human to hang from trees but too sloth to walk on the ground.

If it were just one reason, Natalie wouldn't be quite so eager. As it is, a strong form would help her in several different ways.

[The Bushranger]

[Outside Guest Cabin]

"Well, I can show it. I'm not sure if it's something that can be learned or something that I just can do because of who I am, though," Jamie says, before taking a deep breath, and calling on her abilities..

Her eyes glow light green, and her hands pick up the glow after a moment, as she leans forwards to press them to the ground.

A moment later, vines begin springing forth around her hands! They look rather like blackberry vines, except they're noticably thornless.

[Recaiden]

"Train?" Karl asks.
"I guess there is enougth adventure. Thought I don't want to go for those Vigil guys. Sounds boring to wait for something to attack. What is your sister like and what can you tell me about the hunting grounds? do you know any spellcaster able to teach summoning spells. I kind of need something special like my fire summon."

"A train is a vehicle, for uh, going really fast along specific trails." Anchor explains, hoping that's a good way to put it for someone without a reference.

"The Hunting Grounds are a place for, well, hunting and sport and fighting, without all of the danger. Worthy hunters return from death and grow stronger when they take down really impressive quarry. Of course some people abuse it...while they can. My sister, she, uh, she's a weak telepath, and a musician and she ... uh ... summons monsters and fights pirates and so on." Anchor has a sudden sad sense that this has all happened before.

"What do you need a special summon for?"
"I'm sure there's lots of people who can summon one thing or another: The sorceress on the cliffs over Inside, the Stormguard, other people at this camp. But I'm not sure if any of them teach. The last I knew was The Black-Coated Man, but he's been gone for a while. Your best bet might be one of the Temples."

[Zefir]

[Camp Grounds]

"Well, guess I have to check out one by one." Karl says. "Can't harm to do so. And at worst I already tried it. And I just remembered i got a forth summoning, well I can summon a lot more but those four are bound to me.""

[Recaiden]

"I don't think you remembered a fourth summoning before. What is it?" Anchor asks of him, hoping for a demonstration.

[Deathkeeper]

[One Night]

Natalie indeed has to be careful. What if she accidentally tries to summon some cute frogs and gets buried under a pile of super confusing rules and ends up with a bunch of other monsters she didn't end up trying to summon?
"If you wish I could commission a small weapon for you. Our town craftsmen get terribly bored, living in such a quiet place with no business. We could tour the armory, find something to replicate for you. We need to kill some time for your real body to change anyway, unless you'd rather sleep."

[Outside Guest Cabin]

"Don't worry Natalie, getting stuff to stab with is easy." Probably a little too easy where he lives. But it is a wilderness town.

Koshal stares intently at the plants. Plant magic isn't terribly common even where he is. It's not something Message has ever demonstrated, though he's sure she can do it.

[Morty]

[Outside Guest Cabin]

"Brinika said you were a magical princess. I wasn't sure what it means, or if it's remotely accurate," Iknika says, peering at the vines. "That is cool, though. And don't worry, Natalie. We'll figure something out. Koshal and I are there to keep bad guys off you."

[Zefir]

"I don't think you remembered a fourth summoning before. What is it?" Anchor asks of him, hoping for a demonstration.

"It's an Ice elemental creature. Shiva is her name. She is kind of the opposite to Ifrit. At least in terms of Element and Fighting Style." he says. "I guess I have to train them sometimes. She is on a llower plane related to Ifrit."

[Earl of Purple]

One Night

I stick to cards I'm aware of and possibly even own when it comes to Natalie's cards. And, whilst I did go back to Yu-Gi-Oh! for a while before I got into Magic: the Gathering, I never really understood how XYZ or Synchro monsters worked. And now there's Pendulums, to make things really confusing. When Natalie summons, I look for stuff on a Yu-Gi-Oh! card database and select one without any difficult card effects. Mostly Normal-type monsters.

"You'd do that? Really? Thank you." Natalie doesn't have much idea of what weapon she'd like, though she would prefer some form of knife, something she can carry without having to worry about, or possibly even stash somewhere and teleport it into her hand when she needs it.

Outside Guest Cabin

Natalie is fascinated by the brambles, especially the fact they're thornless. She'll look for berries, too, but it's spring and they shouldn't be there. But then, this particular plant is not natural. "Will it stick around? Or does it die quickly." She turns to Koshal then. "I've been thinking about getting a dagger or knife from Erin's, but I've never actually made it that far to have a look and pick one out." She doesn't even know what kind of weapon she wants, besides 'small and concealable'.

[Recaiden]

"It's an Ice elemental creature. Shiva is her name. She is kind of the opposite to Ifrit. At least in terms of Element and Fighting Style." he says. "I guess I have to train them sometimes. She is on a llower plane related to Ifrit."

"That's right! Never stop practicing, training!" Anchor agrees.
"I'm glad it worked, and you got your memory back, but...I mean, you lost some memories too."
"..."
"If you're leaving the League, how about I come along for a while?"

[Zefir]

"Sure," Karl says. "I don't know why not. Do you know the way to the hunting grounds or would you reccomand me to go somewhere else first? Like i have to sign in that I'm here?"

[Recaiden]

"You signed in when you came here, silly." Or someone signed in for him. It's just that he then forgot.
"I'll go note that you got your memory back, and then meet you at the front gate."
Anchor points out which way the gate is, since Karl won't be familiar with the camp.

And then, a little while later, they're off to the Hunting Grounds!

[Ashen Lilies]

Arlem sighs.
"Poor student, apprentice, you can see how someone might get those confused."
"Now, I don't suppose you know what became of this wayward wizard after you helped her out?"

[Geneviève's Cabin]

"I didn't keep track, says Geneviève, telling her first outright lie so far. "Once our business together was concluded, she didn't seem to want to maintain any further partnership." She says.

That second part is truth, at least.

[Recaiden]

Does Genevieve remain un-scannable now that she's emerged from the dimensional weirdness of her house? Arlem remains on the lookout for lies, feelings, thinking loudly, etc.
"That's too bad. Would you have any particular ability to look her up again?" she asks, tail swishing behind her.
This has been informative, but it's looking like they'll have a lot more searching to do.

[The Bushranger]

[Outside Guest Cabin]

"Well, yeah, I am," Jamie acknolwledges her Magical Princesshood, "but this is kinda also Druid stuff, so it's complex." Natalie will note that the vines are, in fact, rapidly blooming, and small berries start to form a moment later! "It...depends. Like this, they'll start withering as soon as I take my magic away. But I can make them last if I want to."

[Deathkeeper]

[Outside Guest Cabin]

"Yeah, keeping bad guys off you is what we do." Koshal says, grinning and flexing an arm. He looks at the druid's powers with interest, though he doesn't have the background to really analyze the display.

[One Night]

After spending a week looking at videos to see how the game progressed in my absence, I can safely say that I don't understand those things either.
"Well, come on then, dear." says the loxodon, bending down and offering an arm to Natalie if she'd rather take a ride through the temple than walk.

[Morty]

[Outside Guest Cabin]

Iknika's ears twitch and then dip downwards.

"Maybe I should believe things Brinika says more often," she admits. "Is the stuff with a transformation sequence real too? Do you change shape like Natalie?"

[Earl of Purple]

Outside Guest Cabin

"Not like me. Different, but... Similar. Ish." Natalie's not sure where Jamie's transformation ability comes from, but it's not the same as hers. Natalie's is magic genetics.

She will pluck a blackberry from the thornless brambles and try it, to see how it compares with normal blackberries.

One Night

At least when Magic introduces a new concept to the game, it's intuitive enough to figure out what it does. And most of the rules are on the cards.

Natalie takes the elder loxodon's arm, though she's happy to walk. Walking's healthy, and the priestess seems too venerable to ride like a common pony.

[Deathkeeper]

[One Night]

The loxodon leads Natalie to a small little room (for her size at least) containing a number of cases and racks. On them are bows, crossbows, knives, shotels, khopeshes, bo-staves, butterfly knives, and other things. Many are loxodon size, but others aren't. The reverence to which they have been meticulously kept makes it seem more like a reliquary than an armory.
"What are you interested in, dear? Most of these are too big for you, but it wouldn't be too difficult to miniaturize them. Maybe a little dart-thrower, or a crossbow? If you don't have training you shouldn't take up something that's likely to get yourself injured. I trust that you will be responsible and practice heavily before you go out into the field." she tells Natalie in a motherly tone.

[Earl of Purple]

One Night

"I have a wrist-strapping slingshot for distance, and I can summon stuff as well. Birds and faeries to intercept anything hostile. But what I'd like is something to help if I get surprised, or if it gets past my helpers." Natalie's most interested in the knives, the balisongs and daggers, though the shotels and khopeshes attract her attention briefly, she doesn't want to carry around a great big sword. A knife, though... She can put it in her pocket and teleport it to her hand without anyone noticing, and she likes the look of the butterfly knives.

The slingshot was a birthday present from Lilly Applehill, and it's not something Natalie uses much. I remember she has it, though. Along with the jetpack she got a couple of Thanksmases ago, so she could fly around with her friends and talk to them at the same time. Birds can't do that.

[Morty]

[Daycare]

Reelshka has been hard at work since Sakura's visit. The cabins closest to the Sapling Cabin were reworked into a more thorough daycare centre. Sapling Cabin is still there for the youngest children to play and sleep in, but facilities for older ones have been added. There's both individual and communal sleeping areas, living rooms and dining rooms. Reelshka also brought in a collection of books, comics and video games to keep the kids and teens occupied. The nearby play area was also expanded to accommodate a larger number of children in all ages. The areas around and between the cabins are as open for exploration as they always were.

[Reinholdt]

[Daycare]

The first official visit? comes in the form of a middle aged man in a labcoat and a trailing shadow about the size of a young child between the age of six to nine. The man with heavy, thick spectacles looks around, while the slithering dark void hiding under a black cloak behind him looks like it doesn't much like the sun. Early morning is the worst, but here they are all the same.

Spoiler

Show

No blood on the labcoat today.

[Morty]

[Daycare]

Reelshka doesn't seem to be here today, but Sophie is taking a turn at looking after the daycare. She waves at the two.

"Here to find someone to keep an eye on your child, sir?"

[Reinholdt]

[Daycare]

The man notes Sophie catching their attention and steps over with a very slight acknowledging nod. "Yes. You take. Watch for day. Yes? How much?" The man asks in broken common, wondering what it costs.

[Morty]

[Daycare]

Sophie has a feeling something is off here. But she's not sure if it's not just a knee-jerk reaction, so let's wait for a bit... she simply shakes her head.

"We don't charge for it. We're a charity, and we take care of all children who need it here."