GLoG 91

[Purple Eagle]

[Asher and Tuskfang]

"Well, Pookie is nice and huggy..." Asher says, and while there's still some doubts about Cheasadh... she did apologize after realizing he was a baby and not an older gnome like her. If Reelshka the grown-up says she's mellowed out, then he has to take her word for it. "Okay! And Brinika's a nice and happy person, so it's okay!"

He takes Tuskfang's hand, beaming at his friend. "Can we go and play with them sometime?"

[Rebonack]

[On a Boat]

"So what's it like living out here?" Lucas asks. He'll take over the rowing once Iknika gets tired. Assuming she gets tired at all, that is. "It must be like camping all the time. You guys still get electricity out here, right?"

It seems like they should.

How would someone even LIVE without power?

You wouldn't be able to watch TV or play video games or anything!

It would be terrible.

Thankfully the weather is pretty calm. Given how cold it is right now, a capsizing boat could be a real problem in a hurry. Lucas is pretty sure he could just turn into something that could survive the cold, like a seal, but his friends might be in bad shape.

An adventure with hypothermia would be zero fun.

[Morty]

[Asher and Tuskfang]

Tuskfang's tail wags.

"Yeah. But now they're-"

His answer is cut short by one of the babies waking up. It seems to be the grey-furred boy Reelshka called Balthuk. He stirs and whimpers and Reelshka scurries over to look after him.

[On a Boat]

Iknika has enough sense to hand over the oars once she's tired. She's willing to push herself, but not that much.

"I don't live here," she says. "I live underground, in Underside. Isaac has been there. I just come here to visit my cousin and friends. It is a pretty cool place, though. They do have electricity and it's nothing like the underground or the mountain slope outside."

[Deathkeeper]

[On a Boat]

”Yeah, I’ve seen Iknika’s actual home. It’s pretty neat. It’s weird, being ‘outside’ and not seeing the sky. The camp does seem neat too. Definitely not a bad place to be.” Isaac says conversationally, idly staring up at the clouds.

[Purple Eagle]

[Asher and Tuskfang]

Asher's wings twitch as he perks up, turning to face the sound with a smile. He also scurries over, gasping in adoration at the woken cub. "Hi, Balthuk!" He says, waving at the little one.

"C-Can I carry him?"

[Morty]

[Asher and Tuskfang]

Reelshka smiles.

"I think he's in a good mood, so you can get a closer look and touch him," she says. She'd rather not hand her child over to excitable five or seven year olds yet. She takes Balthuk from his crib and crouches down with him. "See, Balthuk? This is Asher, your big brother's friend."

The little woblin does indeed have a goblin's cat-like eyes. Along with long ears and a short muzzle it gives him a somewhat fox-like look. His nose sniffs intently towards the angel boy.

[Chaotic Bob]

Spoiler: The Memory Woods

Show

[The Good League of Good Woods]

This seems much easier to do after that first time. Either his familiarity moves him along the activation correctly, or the cube is simply more willing to act on a discovered function.
Either way, Magtok's initiative and efforts are rewarded swiftly, the sensation of the cube shifting in his hand and the golden lines crawling out to gently bind him to it.

As before, there is a light pulling sensation leading him onwards through the woods. It doesn't seem to be smart enough to avoid trees, however, so hopefully he opens his eyes or his brother nudges him around them. That would be a rather embarrassing interruption to this whole experience.

Unlike before, it takes awhile for anything else to happen. It simply leads through the woods for some time.
Maybe minutes, maybe hours. (It was in fact, about ten minutes)
If Magtok hasn't gotten bored and quit by then, the visual effects begin.

The tree tops begin to shift, towards some brightly colorful point in autumn, while the somewhat muted noises of squirrels chattering and fighting around them grows.
A somewhat indistinct, fuzzy rabbit darts by.
Somewhere a bird is chirping its love song.

In a place where the trees seem to have grown together more thickly, the crisp noise of rumpling fabric can be heard, far more clearly than anything else. A moment later, Libby walks around a tree with a rather docile looking Rhode-the-cyberraptor at her side.
"Is this unfair of me, Rhode? I'm not sure how they do it, so flippantly following the pull of their hearts without agonizing over every consequence."
She's muttering to herself, but no one but Rhode seems to notice. A hazy pair of squirrels ever run right through her cloak without missing a beat.

"...but you're right. I must. Consequences or no."
There's never any actual response from the raptor, though he does seem to affectionately bump the side of his head against her leg once or twice.

They move onwards, her drifting along like a specter while Rhode carefully trots alongside her, neither making any physical noises beyond her muttering.
The cube tugs Magtok along, if he wasn't already following them anyway.

They don't go far, stopping just a minute or so later to gaze into a small clearing.
The grass here is a bright healthy green that seems unnaturally lively for the season, unmarred by any of the fallen leaves from the season-afflicted trees surrounding it. A small vegetable garden is the sole ornamentation in the clearing, home to tiny rows of beans, bushes of some unusual purple berry, patches of some mixed varieties of root vegetables, and an elderly-looking woman dressed in a thin, colorless tunic and breeches outfit.
Graying hair is tucked behind her ears and the leathery skin of her face is pinched into a look of deep thought, as hands go through the motions of checking through the bean stalks.

Libby watches her for several moments, one hand resting on the top of Rhode's head.
"If only all of them found such potential within themselves. Imagine what they could do."

GLoG Woods



Magtok winces, hesitating momentarily as the cube drags him along. Why does that feel like a slight, a personal attack on everything Magtok has done and been doing since he came back to the Nexus? This conversation happened years ago, and she was clearly talking about something else. Are we really this ashamed of ourselves, of what we've become, that an idle, unrelated remark about potential from several years ago should have such an impact?

We're not wasted potential. We're not. We're rebuilding, we're working as hard as anyone. There's nothing to be so ashamed of. Our empire will rise again, like a tentacled behemoth sleeping beneath the waves. Libby won't be repulsed by what we've become when we finally rescue her, I promise. She may be a little annoyed that we never thought to use all the memories saved in this cube to bring her back to life, that we turned to someone as blatantly abhorrent as Feiadyne for help, but that frustration will pass soon enough. We're going to singlehandedly save the world, restore the MagCave, and get all of our business affairs and ridiculous nonsense back in order. We're going to be the Magtok, the golden boy who restored Magtoks to their rightful place at the top of the heap, the iconic hero other MagClones think of when they ask themselves 'What would Magtok do?' We are not wasted potential.

"Your aura is turning topaz, brother. Anxiety won't help us here. Breathe, and focus on the task at hand," Needs reminds Magtok, floating along behind him, occasionally carving new runes into the trees as they travel through the forest. It's important to know exactly where they are. If they get lost in an infinite magical forest and start roaming around in circles, the runes will show the way. Additionally, if there is a Feia out here, and she means to harm either of them, a few of the markings will prove to be a very valuable defensive measure.

The cube guides Magtok around the edges of the clearing, subtly discouraging him from actually entering it himself.
Needs will see why fairly clearly: it appears to be a magically dead zone, though one born from and ignoring what seems an awful lot like Feia's magic.
Twisting and turning eddies of power, unmaking everything arcane and divine they meet.

Something that existed in the past, too, it seems.
As Libby and Rhode step into the clearing, all of the animal noises, the wind, it abruptly ceases, and the grass beneath her feet starts to whither. A moment later, that stops too.
A nearby rabbit, previously fuzzy and indistinct, seems suddenly clearer before it bounds off and silently disappears into a hole.

That old woman in the vegetable patch pauses in her movements, casting an unconcerned glance over towards the pair. Looking them over for a few seconds, she "hms" and resumes investigating her vegetables.
"You're not my sister."

Libby investigates the air in front of her for a second, reaching out to touch seemingly nothing, before quirking a small smile and calmly walking onwards towards the older woman.
"I am not. Neither are you."
This comment draws an a slightly more considerate pause from the older woman, who finally detaches from her work and slowly rises to her feet. Her next look over is far more intensive, her pupils seeming to narrow out ever so slightly.
"Lady Death. Am I having a stroke? I'd wondered how long I was going to hold out after her last visit."

Pausing a short distance from the patch, Libby shakes her head.
"I am hear to offer you a deal. An extension on your due date, in return for insurance."
The immediate response to this is a snort, the older woman apparently finding this comical.
"Oh please. I've just been biding my time until the clock runs out. My life wasn't supposed to last even this long. Sticking around longer just gives my sister more time to be creative."
"...your sister may be part of the problem. I see-"
"No. Let me die, then leave. Do your job."

Libby doesn't seem to know how to respond to that, right away, until Rhode lightly bumps himself against her leg with a quiet growl.
Some measure of steel finds its way to her with the motion.
"Very well. An alternative deal: your death, for my insurance. You will live until I get what I need."
"That's against your-"
"This is more important than my rules."

Another quiet moment follows, as the two stare at each other. Three, if Rhode's glares count.
This lasts for quite awhile, perhaps an entire minute, before the old woman sighs and gestures off to the side.
"If I'm going to be forced to listen to this, we can at least do it sitting down."

And then the memory is moving again.
Most of their walk onwards is in silence, the cube pulling Magtok along behind them at a leisurely pace.
Directly towards a not-so-abandoned hut in the middle of the woods.

A not-so-abandoned hut in the middle of the woods, that Needs will clearly see is occupied by three separate separate magical auras.
One is clearly that of Feia, though it seems...heavily muted.
Another one seems similar to hers, but nonetheless unique.
The last seems rather mundane, though wavering traces of Libby are crawling around its edges, like oil stains on water.

[Purple Eagle]

[Asher and Tuskfang]

Asher beams at the little kid, waving enthustiastically at the tiny woblin. "C-Can he speak w-wolfen?" He asks Reelshka, then attempts to speak to the kid in wolf howls instead with his animal speech talent. "<Hi, Balthuk! I'm Asher, and you're the cutest!>"

The boy boops the little woblin on the nose, then pecks it, giggling as he does so.

[Morty]

[Asher and Tuskfang]

Balthuk's nose is bopped and he grabs at it clumsily. He doesn't show any sign of understanding what Asher said.

"He can't speak anything yet. He's just a baby," Reelshka explains.

"I think he likes you, though," Tuksfang says.

[Purple Eagle]

[Asher and Tuskfang]

Asher nods in understanding that babies can't speak, and giggles when Tuskfang makes that revelation. "Yaaaay! I l-like him t-too!" He responds, stretching his hand forward so that Balthuk can explore his appendage in that way that babies do.

"Tuskfang! I have a pet bear, he's outside!" Asher suddenly remembers the new thing he was to reveal.

[Morty]

[Asher and Tuskfang]

Tuskfang's eyes go as wide as saucers. If it weren't for his mom and baby brother, he'd probably start shouting in excitement.

"A bear? A real bear? I gotta see him!"

[Elsewhere]

Sophie is looking for another volunteer to help her secure a dangerous laboratory after she kills its owner. She's being rather upfront about the last part.

[Lord Magtok]

The Memory Woods

Needs Food Badly reaches a hand out towards his brother's shoulder, to espouse the virtues of stealth, caution, and meticulous skullduggery. He hesitates just long enough for Magtok to wander out of his reach, however. We can't know if the cube has more to tell him, and just a single touch might be enough to pull him from his trance. Better to float along behind him, our third eye open and watchful for any and all Feiadyne tricks or traps that might ensnare our brother or ourselves.


...


Actually...maybe we should say something. To the Feiadyne, I mean. It wouldn't do for her to rashly assume the two cyborgs are here to assassinate her, and retaliate accordingly. Of course, nothing is certain; the cube may proclaim that we came here for that exact purpose, but if that's the case, then it's even more important that she suspect nothing. More flies are caught with honeyed words than a dagger soaked in vinegar, after all.

"And the angel said unto them, 'Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people,'" Needs calls out towards the hut, before a hand goes to his mouth in surprise. It's been too long since his last pill; the quotations are starting to creep back into his tongue.

"Needs, what are you shouting about? Is that scripture again?" Magtok asks, confused. Oh, so his trance wasn't nearly so deep as the sorceror imagined. I suppose when half your mind is composed of sophisticated nanocircuitry, magic's blinders aren't quite so overpowering. The cube still has its tendrils in him too, so I suppose Needs got all worried over nothing.

[Purple Eagle]

[Asher and Tuskfang]

Tuskfang's eyes go as wide as saucers. If it weren't for his mom and baby brother, he'd probably start shouting in excitement.

"A bear? A real bear? I gotta see him!"

[Elsewhere]

Sophie is looking for another volunteer to help her secure a dangerous laboratory after she kills its owner. She's being rather upfront about the last part.

[Asher and Tuskfang]

"Let's go!" Asher replies, taking his excited friend's hand and leading him outside, of course after looking to Reelshka and getting a nod of approval. "He's friendly!" He adds, just in case she needs convincing.

Once they get outside, a young brown bear, young enough to not have reached full size but old enough to be ridden by the 5-year looking winged boy and one more young person, crawls towards Asher, grunting happily as he licks his bondfriend's face. "Scout, this is Tuskfang, my friend!" He says, gesturing to the woblin. In response, the bear turns to Tuskfang and starts sniffing him.

[Morty]

[Asher and Tuskfang]

Tuskfang doesn't need to be told twice, but Reelshka is still rather concerned about her son meeting face to face with a bear.

"Wait a moment, buys."

She puts Balthuk back in his crib, hoping he won't start crying while she's gone, and steps outside before the boys do. Once it turns out the bear is indeed friendly, she'll allow Tuskfang to come out. The little woblin seems absolutely mesmerized by the bear, reaching over to touch his nose.

[Chaotic Bob]

[The Memory Woods]

The cube doesn't stop.
If Magtok is not making any particular move towards disengaging from the memory effect, it'll keep pulling him to follow along as the old woman, Libby, and Rhode walk up to the house.

"In we get then, let's get this over with."
The woman makes a vague gesture at the door as she lets herself in, the other two following behind.
Magtok can't actually see past this point however, because...the actual hut is still there and very much closed.

Which brings us back to reality, in whatever tentative version of it the Magtoks are ever in.
While there is no outward reaction to Needs calling out like he did, the auras and movements of magic are probably a response on their own.

There is no reaction whatsoever from the Feia aura. Unconcerned.
The similar to Feia's aura immediately tightens up into something that pretty well signifies a spell of some sort being gathered together. Cautious, annoyed.
But that third, Libby-tinged aura is much more immediately hostile...to that second aura. Not magically, but it rapidly moves over to occupy a similar space as the other, which releases that magic in a hurry.

But no one is responding to Needs with words or invitations.

[Rebonack]

[On a Boat]

"Oh, sorry," Lucas replies a little sheepishly. "Make assumptions, sound like a dork. I've never been to underside before."

It's true, he hasn't.

He's spent pretty much the whole of his life in Inside. With, of course, regular outings into the Dreamlands.

But that's just because he's weird.

[In Search of a Fortress]

And lo, Khannie is dropped off to play with her friends. She's dressed warmly, of course, with her favorite hoodie. And a nice little backpack, of course. Full of dreadfully important things.

"Bye Zebes!" she calls out to the dragonite that delivered her to Glog. "I'll see you tomorrow after the sleepover!"

Oh no.

A sleepover.

Who knows what sorts of dreadful things these children will get up to.

[Lord Magtok]

The Memory Woods

"Come in peace, but bring a sword," Needs whispers, which is probably as close to speaking coherently as he gets when he's like this. He tries to scout ahead of his brother, his body thinning to about the width and thickness of a winter scarf caught in a strong breeze as he flutters erratically towards the hut. Needs figures that if one of them has to get shot in the chest before they can see who's here and what the situation is, it ought to be him, the hardier, more magical of the duo. Magtok can still run off with the cube if we've bitten off more than we can chew today.

"Bleh," Magtok answers to the sorceror who's already hurried off ahead of him, rolling his eye even as he attempts to remove his left hand from the cube, to pat the firearm tucked inside his robe. Good, it's still right here. We've got nothing to worry about, so long as this doesn't escalate into a stage three confrontation just yet. Anything less than that and we'll do fine, probably. Still, if Needs is that anxious about whatever's ahead, I guess we should pick up the pace a little. Anyone in that hut already knows we're here and has had more than enough time to plot something devilish in response.

[Purple Eagle]

[Asher and Tuskfang]

Admittedly, the bear is Asher's newly-gifted bond/spirit animal, aging with him. This isn't just some bear Asher befriended, even though that's within his abilities.

The bear nuzzles into the nose-boop, bending his head so that Tuskfang's patting his head. "He l-likes you! And, you c-can ride him, t-too! Let's ride, S-Scout!" The boy declares, flying up until he's comfortably on the young bear's back and stretching his hand for the little woblin to take.

[Elsewhere]

Sophie is looking for another volunteer to help her secure a dangerous laboratory after she kills its owner. She's being rather upfront about the last part.

[Elsewhere]

The Evergreen cabin is empty at the moment, for the second occupant has shown her face! Ruth takes a walk, leaving her son to play with Tuskfang. She waves to her son and his little woblin friend as they ride Scout, and makes her way over to Sophie, learning about the woman's request from a few of the NPC staff of GLoG, as well as where to find her.

"Greetings and a happy new year to you, Sophie." Ruth starts once she can find the woman. Like always, her hair is green, flowing down to just below her breasts. She's wearing the same blue material Asher's wearing, but as a full-body robe, her air of gracefulness ever present. "I heard about your predicament and am here to offer my help. My son's with Tuskfang, as usual."

[Morty]

[Asher and Tuskfang]

Tuskfang bounces in place, but retains enough presence of mind to turn and ask his mother.

"Moooom! Can I ride Asher's bear?"

Reelshka shakes her head as she chuckles.

"You just keep on dragging Tuskfang to ride the weirdest things. First clouds, now bears. But if he's a tame bear, fine."

Tuskfang doesn't wait any longer before scrambling onto the bear's back with Asher's help.

[Elsewhere]

"Oh, hello, Ruth." Sophie doesn't know the woman very well, but she does recognize her. "I appreciate it. There's going to be a lot of work cleaning up that laboratory. I just hope my plan works well and I can kill the owner quickly." She pauses. "I know how this sounds, but believe me when I say I tried to reason with him."

[Gullara]

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