Silly Plots 3: With government backing we can make it very silly

[5a Violista]

[Mindscapes]

The collared catmaid is, obviously, still dusting when they come out to behind the tent.

She stops and looks at them. "Oh." They both have a potion. She was hoping they'd only find one and then she wouldn't have to decide which to grab. Death's Kiss or Sweet Night...? Which does he deserve more? The catmaid looks between the two potions, before taking the one from Makuro, Sweet Night.

"Thanks." She drops the duster and, from her maid outfit, pulls out a kitchen knife. She cuts off the bell and tosses the bell at Makuro. "Here. Please please jingle this every few seconds," she begs. "This should only take a minute." She runs off, and...this whole mish-mashed world starts to fade back into the blank door-filled world, leaving Rachel and Makuro alone again. The tent-flap-doorway they went through has faded as well, (as a reminder) leaving:
>one that looks like it should lead to a 6-year old girl's bedroom, a half-burned door that feels warm to the touch, a large and thick wooden door that looks like it's designed to withstand several battering ram hits, one regular one with a glass window on top (with moonlight shining through), a cold glass door that's all fogged up, one that's literally just a curtain, one that looks like the tent flaps of a military tent, and a purple-and-black one that literally exudes feelings of foreboding and danger. And another one that appeared, that is a rickety wooden door that smells like swamp water.
As well as the countless doors around if none of the above are to their liking, or if they want to search out a specific doorway.

BUT!
They aren't back to square one.
Makuro is still wearing the scarf.
Rachel is still holding the violently painful purple poison/potion, Death's Kiss.
And the bell starts glowing. As the light washes over the two, it will fill them both with the knowledge that they've found a MacGuffin dreamstone and, with three they can leave this place (though it's not clear whether that's three total or three each; I'm still open to suggestion) and the knowledge that ringing the bell may do something important if they're through one of the doorways.

So...y'know...
Progress. Some answers.

[Nova_Eclipse]

[An Epic Quest]

Corvus wants to keep his Exalted nature under wraps as long as possible, though that may be difficult once the journey is under way. No need to cause alarm yet, though.

"I'll need the regular ration of water you'd have for a man of my size. If we come across areas where hunting may be useful, I'm well-versed in that area and should be able to help augment food with that."

[UncleWolf]

Sky High

Cessie asking if Jezebel was actually powerless makes the lavender woman visibly pause. She's silent, the figurative wheels in her head turning, and only breaks the silence to tell the waiter "Thank you." when he brings their food to the table. It looks like fish of some sort, light and airy and still piping hot. "Storm Salmon. They fly through the stormfronts and are particularly difficult to catch. Please, enjoy." He adds with a bow before leaving.

"I...don't know if I am devoid of power, I suppose. I'm devoid of the power I'm used to at the very least." Jezebel finally admits when her thoughts conclude themselves. "But how would I find out if I can or cannot do anything special? I don't feel like I have any special powers but then I suppose I wouldn't know it if I did." She adds, touching her food with a fork before deciding to let it cool just a bit longer. "But if I am Warp-Touched, as my people tend to call it, or something more, then that would have properties that I suppose I could test for." She pauses a bit again, judging her words and the weight behind them. "It would mean I'm not what I think I am or feel I am, but perhaps the next few days I'll try things and see. Admittedly I feel like I need something now days to help keep me busy."

[Reinholdt]

[Mindscapes]

"Wai-" Rachel starts, but the catgirl is off again already. She was a rather impatient one, wasn't she?

Things happen quickly in an already surreal scenario making it feel even more surreal. She stares at the bell by Makuro. A... dreamstone? Was she in a coma? Is this what happens to people in comas? Well at least the idea that this is all a dream makes some things logically click in Rachel's head. Though if this were a dream, how'd they read the labels? Hmm. Mysteries.

Oh right. She's still holding the poison potion. Rachel gingerly slips it under her giant black mage hat, slightly afraid of it. "Maybe you should pick this time," Rachel suggests to Makuro.

[Earl of Purple]

Mindscapes

"So, we are dreaming. I hope, at least." She nods when asked to pick a door, and will approach the child's door. "I think this one. It should hopefully not lead to a war zone, at least." Though that's not a guarantee.

Makuro assumes the scarf is the dreamstone, though it could be the bottle. She can't see the bottle any more, however.

[5a Violista]

[Mindscapes]

Makuro is correct.
They don't appear in the middle of a war zone, and they are, in fact, in a little girl's bedroom. They came out of what is probably a closet. The light shining in from the window shows that it's daytime, and if they look past the curtains, they'll notice that they are on the ground (and possibly only) floor in a somewhat small house in the middle of the woods.

The room's very pink, with an unorganized stack of children's books on a bookshelf next to the bed. There's some family drawings, only showing one woman and one girl. There's also a couple of crayon drawings of swords. The room is a little messy, with some things out and some clothes out. There's no evidence of anything electrical, however. No plugs, no nightlights, etc, but there are a couple of (obviously unlit; it's still daytime!) candles and candlesticks. There's a mirror on the wall, but it has a blanket half-draped over it, and all the dolls around the room are turned around so they face the walls. The only door out of the room (besides the one they just went through) is shut.

And there's a shouting match going on between a little girl and an adult woman, in the room just next to this one.
Without the context of what started the shouting, there's some insults thrown both ways, the girl is told to get back to her training and to not talk back, some obstinate behavior on behalf of the girl, and threats to send the girl back to her room without supper, along with threats to take away the candlelight if she doesn't make any progress.

...and that's it.
They're alone in the room for now, so if they want to have a look around, or plan out some sort of strategy, or discuss what they think's happening with these dreamstones or whatever, they have time. The argument sounds like it will go on for a few more minutes.

[Reinholdt]

[Mindscapes]

Rachel makes sure to scoop up that bell before following Makuro into the child's bedroom. Just in case. "So... This can't just be our dreams though, right? Does that mean we're like... Magical Dream Girls?" Rachel covers her mouth and squeals quietly into her hands, her tail flicking excitedly back and forth.

Though some of that enthusiasm fades as they enter the little girl's room. There were just enough elements here that made the situation sketchy and depressing. "You know, as magical dream girls, we may be here to solve people's nightmares. That would make sense. Though I admit I'm not sure where to start here." A social worker might be a better magical dream girl, but Rachel will try her best to live up to the name.

Umm... Just maybe after the mother daughter argument is over. Rachel glances at the door nervously, not sure if they were supposed to interrupt or wait.

[Shadowcaller]

An Epic Quest

Their answers does not seem to sooth their guides suspicions as they let out what sound like a displeased hiss, though it might mean anything. Either way, they turn and grab two backpacks hanging from pegs on the wall next to the and hands them over. "Waterskins insside. Fill them. The journey won't be that long." They gesture at an old wooden pump near the entrance. "We will leave in an hour sso be prepared. Quesstions?"

Unless there are any specific questions they will get packing. Though before they leave their still unnamed guide have some more questions. "What magic can you do, fey?" They inquire as they approach them, having changed into tan light robes that seem to be a desert survival outfit. "Can you hide your presence? Make illusions?"

[Thariza's Journey]

Ambrosia and Ikharos exchange glances. "Wherever that is true or not, it would be best if we solved this without spells being cast for a number of reasons. Alvar have a particular hatred for spell casters. Even if we could drive off these the rumor of magic being used would attract far more. Not to mention that-"

But Ambrosia holds up a hand. "Hold on. Thariza, may I suggest something? This tower was no doubt scenery for many great battles in the past. Many warriors likely died here. Perhaps there is something you can do here with your connection to the dead?"

[Sky High]

"Most gracious." Cessie remarks with a nod as she is served her food but hardly pays it any attention as she quickly turns back to Jezebel.

"You said you used to be a god, Jezebel. Whatever you are now must be a step down though it's hardly subtle. Anyone can tell that you're still not completely human. You've definitely inherited traits from what you've consumed. A daemon, was it? You must already know quite a lot about them so why not apply that knowledge to yourself and test which daemon traits that you've inherited, if any." She argues before finally starting to bite into the food.

[Earl of Purple]

Mindscapes

"Did that last one seem like a nightmare to you? It felt more memory to me." Not a pleasant memory, necessarily, but depending on how she was treated as a slave and how she found life as a free woman, not necessarily an unpleasant one, either.

Makuro tilts her head and listens to the argument, trying to figure out what they're arguing about. Then, since she can't remember dreaming about anything she couldn't see, she'll look around to see if there's another girl hiding in this room somewhere. The argument might just be a sideshow, and the real dreamer is in this room with them.

[5a Violista]

[Mindscapes]

The door doesn't give any clue about whether or not the Magical Dream Girls should interrupt or wait.

Likewise, the bed, curtains, dresser, mirror, and so on do not give Makuro any clue about the presence of another girl. That would be weird, right? If this is the second girl's room, why would she hide in her own room? If this room belongs to the first girl, it would be strange if someone else was hiding in her room. Imagine being a 6-year old girl and walking into your room and then all of a sudden there's someone else in there with you.

But!
Makuro is half-correct!
Well...some part correct? There is another girl, actually. But not in the room.
The woman's pregnant, with a girl. Not that you can tell, because she's in another room.

As the argument goes on, it becomes obvious what the argument is about - at least, what it's superficially about. The girl, simply put, doesn't want to do what the woman wants her to. She doesn't want to study. She doesn't want to train. She doesn't want to 'become [her] successor'. She just wants to go outside and play. She wants to learn how to use swords and fight monsters. She wants to go down to the village.
There are, however, a couple of recurring undercurrents. The girl seems to be scared of a lot of things - the dark, mirrors, being alone... The woman seems to have very high ambitions that involve her daughter. And there's a theme that the woman is keeping a lot of secrets from the girl - who her father is, why she can't go to the village, ...and a bunch of stuff that doesn't make any sense.

And so the little girl shouts that she's going to her room. Still yelling, she opens up the door, and walks backwards into the room and then slams the door.
During that moment when the door is open, Rachel and Makuro can see the mother, who is not watching.

The 6-year old - black hair, dark skin, and missing her two front teeth - turns around and sees the two very strange-looking people. A cat? And somebody who looks weird? She gasps and backs up to the door, before saying, "Are-are you two here about them?"

There's a huge emphasis on the word 'them', as if it should be obvious who she's talking about.

[Reinholdt]

[Mindscapes]

"Oh it was absolutely a nightmare. Slavery just is," Rachel declares quite insistently. "Maybe a memory too, but they doesn't have to be exclusive."

Oh no, the door! Rachel wasn't ready for this despite it having clearly been an inevitability. Umm... Umm...
"N-no. We're not here about them. We're here, for... you. As your fairy godmothers." Yeah, that's it! Magical Dream Girls need a cover. Or wait, do they? This is a very awkward start.

[Earl of Purple]

Mindscapes

If Makuro were capable of turning invisible, she would right now. But she isn't, so she can't. Plan one foiled, she's left to founder and panic a little, though it doesn't show. "Yes, fairy godmothers. We are your fairy godmothers." She hopes the mother can't hear them; there's no way a mother in this situation could make things easier.

It doesn't help that Makuro can't remember anything about fairy godmothers.

[5a Violista]

[Mindscapes]

"You - you're fairies." It sounds like the girl doesn't believe them. "Why would - "

Then, the girl sees the half-covered mirror out of the corner of her eye.
Then she looks back at them.
There's no way these two could have known this but in this particular mindscape, fairies aren't necessarily a good thing - regardless of their status as godmothers.

The 6-year old backs up and hits the door. Unfortunately, the doorknob is too high up for her to reach without turning her back on these two alleged godmothers, so she has no choice but to try to reason with them. "So why do you want me? I didn't do anything to you yet."

[Morty]

[Thariza's Journey]

Thariza blinks, looking surprised. She didn't think of that. Hmm.

"There might be. It's worth a try. Though it will also look obviously magical and set those maniacs off. But I'll see what I can do."

[Nova_Eclipse]

An Epic Quest

Corvus takes both waterskins and fills them, and takes a drink from the pump once he's finished. Best to get some water in now before they leave, it might stretch their rations just that bit much further. Willa may need more supplies than he does, after all, and it seems their guide has some more questions for her. He listens, but doesn't add anything just yet. He's not about to reveal his nature here unless he really needs to.

[UncleWolf]

Sky High

Jezebel reaches up to rub at the base of one of her small horns, seemingly not entirely pleased by the prospect of being a daemon or partially one. "There are tests I can run and will. Admittedly I guess I've already figured that I wasn't just exhibiting signs of mutation as those from my world are wont to do when faced against corruption, but no matter the results I will live with it." She decides, taking a bite of food to help get her mind off of it for a moment. "How has Vigil been holding up? Did that body swap thing get sorted out afterward? I admit, I've been curious about how that's turned out."

[Deathkeeper]

[An Epic Quest]

Willa hands Corvus her skin while he's filling his. No sense in making her bend down while he's already there.
"I've never tried asking a spirit to help me create a full illusion. I could easily get one to hide my tracks. Or to suck away heat to keep the sun from baking us. I could probably have something to convince someone I'm an ordinary horse. Or I could ask one to change my appearance for the day. That I've done before. But honestly, making me look more normal would only necessitate bringing a horse for myself. And I don't remember in the slightest how to ride one." she explains. She had summoned the spirit to change her body with Astrana's help. She's not sure if she could do it again entirely by herself, in this other realm.

[Reinholdt]

[Mindscapes]

"What? We don't want you, silly. We want to make you happy. To make your dreams come true!" Rachel strikes a pose and gives the girl a smile, trying to put her more at ease.

"That's just what fairy godmothers do after all! You said you wanted to go outside right? I don't see any reason why we can't." Follow your dreams to fields of green! "Especially now that you have us here to whisk you to wherever you want to go." Just gotta repeat that transition that happened last time. Somehow.

Otherwise they might have to distract the mom and make a break for it.

[Earl of Purple]

Mindscapes

Once again, Makuro's left kind of nodding and going along with things, because she's not familiar with fairy godmothers and doesn't know what they'd do. "Yes, make you happy." She reaches up, presses her hands against the ceiling, and lifts her feet, suspending herself by her flat hands to the ceiling to try and prove her pedigree as a fairy godmother.

She's tall, and her hands are naturally sticky.

[5a Violista]

[Mindscapes]

As Rachel strikes her pose, the glowing bell she had grabbed jiggles and jingles a little.
Once the jingling is over, it's suddenly an hour or two later. Observant people may notice this because the sunlight through the window suddenly started casting shadows at a slightly different angle. Judging by the shadows, it's...probably one o'clock or maybe two, now.
The girl doesn't seem to have noticed, but the woman who was in the house is (judging by sound, if anybody's paying attention to that) no longer in the room just outside.

As Makuro sticks herself to the ceiling, she'll discover that the ceiling is actually pretty strong. Very solid. It can definitely hold her weight as she pretends to be a fairy godmother.

HOWEVER!
The girl obviously finds this very suspicious. Two people who only look sort-of human enter her room, claim to be fairies, first say they're here for her and then want to whisk her away, promising to make her happy?
That is, like, every single bad story she's heard about the danger of fairies summarized into one.
Again, suspicious.
If she ever found herself in this situation, what was she supposed to do, again? The 6-year-old tries to rack her brain but the only advice she can remember at the moment is "don't make them mad". "O...kay, let's go. But!" Oh! There was one more thing she remembers! "set reasonable limits to anything they offer". "I have to be back before the sun goes away."

[Shadowcaller]

[An Epic Quest]

Their guide nods, seemingly pleased for once. "Good, ssubtle. Never use obvious magic in this region. Gets too much attention. Just be prepared to use it. If people approch when we're in the wasteland, mask yourself. No good meetings out there." They gesture beyond the wall of the town.

Then an idea seem to occur to them. "Even better, could you disguisse yourself before we leave? Best to make the city guards think you never left in the first place. If you look like a human, the rest of us just need disguises and no one will be able to tell its uss." Quite paranoid, this one.

Sky High

Cessie opens her mouth to ask about 'corruption' and 'mutation' and what they exactly meant. But the sudden subject change Jezebel seemed to propose suggested that there perhaps were more pleasant matters to discuss at a dinner like this. "We're hanging on. Still not sure what the demons have been up to ever since the Riverside invasion but something tells me that there is more than one group of them out there. I have intel that there is a army ravaging settlements in seaside and it seems like they actually have a base in the northern regions of the area." She pauses as the next part would be important.

"However, we're lacking in the know-how to really gather a lot of information from regions like that. Places like seaside, parts of Inside and Skyside are filled with rougher elements and criminals that not only deal with demons but are exprtimenting with dangerous technologies that could prove disasterous for the entire nexus. That's where all these apocalypses usually start after all, regions that are largerly unchecked by any kind of officals that can contact us." The sorceress gestures towards Jezebel. "Which is where you come in. I hate to have to ask this of you but there isn't anyone else out there that can do what you do, Jezebel. I'm extending you an invitation to join VIGIL, along with anyone else that is associated to you and willing."

[Thariza's Journey]

"Yes, it doesn't matter what kind of magic it is. As long as they see it for what it is, we're going to have a problem on our hands." Ikharos shakes his horned head.

"Unless you missed the army outside, we already have an problem on our hands, Ikharos." Ambrosia points out, her tone becoming razorsharp for a moment. She turns to Thariza. "What he says is true. But he's talking about a long-term problem and if we can't deal with the relevant short-term problem banging on our gate that won't actually matter if we all end up as heads on spikes. So yes, if there is any other solution out of this problem I'd go for it but right now we're running out of options."

"Okay, okay..." The hooved man nods. "I get it. But if your truly align with the dead you should know that the old empire this tower belonged to and the alvar had a feud. It's a part of why they hate magic so much. The old city states around these parts were all controlled by powerful warlocks who broke free from the-"

"The point, Ikharos. She doesn't need a history lesson when we're also running out of time."

He sigh. "Okay, fine. What I mean is that the vegeful spirits of the dead would be an angle you could take. Make it out not to be our magic but the ancient spirit of their foes out for vengence. I know that they don't settle in ruins like this out of fear that they're haunted. Sure doesn't keep them from looting them however."

[Morty]

[Thariza's Journey]

"Well hey, spirits of someone's enemies out for their blood is something we Charr know very well." Thariza shrugs theatrically, her tail sweeping. "I might be able to work with that. Just don't blame me if- never mind, that's a reference you don't get. I might as well start trying to attune to the spirits of the dead right here, if that's fine with you."

[Nova_Eclipse]

[An Epic Quest]

Corvus moves up next to Willa and speaks quietly in to her.

"There is also that thing I can do if needed, but I know you don't really like it..." He shifts a bit nervously, eyeing the other people on the street. "But only if you're willing."

[Reinholdt]

[Mindscapes]

Yikes! This bell was dangerous. But also useful if that mom's gone. Still, Rachel will try to wrap it up and put in a pocket so it doesn't jingle inadvertently. Which as anyone who has tried to carry a bell can tell you is pretty much impossible.

Plus as Rachel is looking around at the sudden change, she notes Makuro sticking to the ceiling and makes a surprised face, cringing back in an over-exaggerated manner. Gotta make it over the top, since it's supposed to slightly amuse the young child. Though Rachel is actually surprised too. "What are you doing?! Uhh- that's not the way to outside! Did you skip fairy godmother orientation again?" Rachel says, doing as much improv as she can.

Fortunately the child agrees anyways. "Of course. You'll be back here safe and sound before it gets dark. Come on, we gotta sneak out. What's your name?" Rachel asks, as she heads for the door. So long as the six year old gets out of the way, she'll open it, but crouch low and make as if they were sneaking in how she imagines six year olds imagine spy movies. It's kind of the opposite of sneaky.

[UncleWolf]

Sky High

Well, that was certainly an unexpected proposition. Jezebel had expected the subject to be broached eventually, but certainly not during their date night. She pauses as she prepares to take another bite of her fish, but instead she puts her fork down, wipes her mouth with a napkin and sets her food aside for a moment in order to lean forward and think. She doesn't really stare at Cessie while she thinks, instead looking past her as she thinks it over with her chin resting on her steepled fingers. "The irony in the parallels between what you are asking me to do and what I did in service to The Inquisition is not lost on me. And a bit amusing." She admits without a smile, finally focusing her gaze on the mage. "I do have the infrastructure already in place to establish a network of informants and spies relatively easily, but you're asking me to give up a lot of my autonomy. Who would command me? After all, there is no way I could be given a role of leadership so soon considering that I would be entirely new to your organization. Putting me into a leadership role right off would cause a lot of ill will. Nor could you be the one I would be placed under. To be honest, there'd be plenty of conflict of interest if that was the case. But more than that, what else would I be doing there?"

[Deathkeeper]

[An Epic Quest]

”It’s gross and I don’t think you even have any girl forms!” she whispers to Corvus. Bad enough that she might end up having to drink something made of dragon blood if they succeed.
”I can try to disguise myself but as I said before, I have no idea how to ride a horse. And without my legs I cannot work any magic.”

[Gnrlshrimp]

[YLEF - Grudge Match?]

Ooh, this is a difficult decision. Very difficult. Yes, Suzie's plan has been to get to the boss as quickly as possible and dethrone him in one swift strike (actual number of strikes to be determined once she figures out how tough he is), but there's something rather demeaning about taking the service entrance. How can she justify something so degra-

The krakengirl's head swivels and her eyes narrow, focusing on Marina.

She coughs loudly. "Minion M. I'm sure you agree that a service entrance is entirely unsuitable for a leader of my calibre to take, wouldn't you agree?" She pauses exactly not long enough to give Marina a chance to reply. "But your maidly duties are well suited to taking such routes, so I shall permit you to escort me, in the interest of expediancy, and I trust that you shall make sure the path is cleared of any unsuitable substances that might befoul my footwear." In other words, don't let her step in anything gross. There is a risk that this ends up taking them longer than the trap-laden hallway. "Minion A, you shall follow behind me and ensure everything is rearranged appropriately, and on the way you can tell us about this Grudge thing."

*****

[A New World]

Ithuriel is momentarily surprised by the manhandling of Connor, left staring blankly at the two of them for just a moment.

But Connor's words are more distracting, still. "I- hmm. Beauty, perhaps it is worth knowing exactly what sort of "hero" you've recruited to your cause. And, Connor, I'm sorry. You're wrong. Well, at least partially, I think. Perhaps you're simply too good of a person to produce anything innately evil, but I can assure you there are normal humans perfectly capable of producing the same sickness as even the most powerful demons. I was not born an angel. Celestial creatures - innately celestial creatures are like a work of art, crafted by some divine entity with a purpose in mind. Not me.

I was just a mortal once. Not- not normal, I guess. Were-rhinos are very rare creatures pretty much everywhere it seems. I'm pretty sure I thought I was just a rhino at first, until I was rescued, taken in by a kind, noble family, raised, taught manners, etiquette, how to act as nobility. And then on the day I reached adulthood, they showed their true colours, they fed, draining my blood, killing me and turning me into one of them. And that's how I know that a human can have exactly the same kind of malevolence. Becoming a vampire does not spawn darkness where darkness did not exist to begin with - they had to possess that same sort of evil to become what they were. And despite their grooming me, I did not. I broke free, I ran, I tried to fight them, to overthrow their grip on the land, in vain.

But I've seen a lot beyond that. I suffered. As if being a vampire was not bad enough, for a while I was twisted into some kind of insane demonic creature. And when the demonic transformation faded, I went mad, and I died again for it. And then I was "redeemed" and brought back as an angel. I don't know if I deserve it. But whatever you think an angel is or does or knows, that's not me. To summarise for you, Beauty, I've seen some ****, I'm an angel with a day-job as a cop, and I hit things really really hard. Also I can turn into a rhino."

She talks as she follows the two of them along, not really paying attention to where they're going. "Please, show me your world. And if you have questions for me, ask away and I shall answer. Best we both be well informed."

[Shadowcaller]

[An Epic Quest]

I should note that they're still inside the stable which itself is in a relatively remote part of town. There aren't actually any people around who might hear them.

Their guide shrugs. "Just lead my horse. Easy. When we are far away enough, you undo the spell and make it again if we meet someone. In the wasteland we will be able to spot approching strangers from miles away."

[Thariza's Journey]

Ikharos waves his hand. "Knock yourself out, then I can finish up what I've started here." He gestures at the drawn circle behind them.

"Good, then we're getting somewhere. Will you require aid, Thariza? I feel I need to make myself useful somehow and it's either helping Lord Ikharos here or helping you out. I feel what you're going to be doing will feel a lot more relevant to our current predicament though."

Sky High

"Wenomir." Cessie says simply. "You might not be the best of friends, but in this case I think that's a good thing. He does not share the same biases as I do and I know that as two adults you will manage. You yourself won't have a commanding position over any VIGIL member of course, you will start out as a 'informant'. I was considering to eventually put you in chare of our newer members if you prove yourself however but that's for the future. Right now I do realize that I'm asking a lot but during the invasion when I fought alongside your people I realized that we need one another. You have a better organization but you're lacking in brute power and the demons and other threats are still out there and I don't think we will be able to fight them as well seperated as we can together. VIGIL joined with HALO once and it didn't quite work out but this time I think we're in a much better spot of uniting. We just have to work out a few kinks. First of all, you would have to tell your people if you agree."

[Morty]

[Thariza's Journey]

"Uh, maybe?" Thariza scratches the back of her broad neck. "I know maybe a half of what I'm doing. If you can do anything to help coax out the spirits of the dead, I'd appreciate it."

[UncleWolf]

Let Me Show You The Woooooooorld

"I'm not hearing any objections to my plan, or my chambermaid, yet from you." Beauty points out, patting Connor's behind quite firmly and audibly right in front of Ithuriel while she carries the enchanter upon her shoulder. "Perhaps the orientation of your souls are not as extreme as mine, but that does not mean they do not have the same weight to them. As for you, Angel..." She turns as she starts walking up her tower steps, finding traversing backwards to be no issue when climbing the stairs as if she had done it countless times. "First, do you still require blood to sustain yourself? We do not have vampiric entities here, but even those stories are not lost upon us as we listen through the walls of reality. And second, perhaps your life has shown you many twists and turns, but even I cannot imagine you might find yourself comfortable with what you are about to see. It is far too...different than your home's nature." She warns before turning back around and heading up.

The top of the tower opens abruptly to the sky, and while there is a path along a wall leading to a second tower that is almost certainly Beauty's personal one, Connor and Ithuriel will almost certainly be distracted by the worldscape around them. It seemed to be "night" currently, or at least the early evening, and while there are thick clouds rolling through the deep indigo sky, they do little to hide the horrors further beyond. A kaleidoscope of colors in distant space seems to have replaced all the stars, as if this place were in the dead center of a brightly colored gas cloud, but far closer floats a gigantic dimly glowing silver eye. It is inhuman with a cross shaped pupil and great tendrils of ragged grey flesh are attached to the sides. The strips of flesh were almost certainly as large as the world itself as they go all the way to the horizons and beyond. Dozens of other eyes, each with their own distinct colors and pupils, float past both closer and further than the Great One, but they are all much smaller.

For now, Beauty stays silent to let the pair soak it in, but she seems happy to be looking up at the night sky.

Sky High

"You would place me under Wenomir? Is there anyone e...no, I suppose there wouldn't be anyone else." Jezebel says, not entirely too thrilled at the prospect of being under Wenomir's command. They might have buried the hatchet, but that doesn't mean the thought is an enjoyable one. She sighs, reaching up to rub her face a bit out of a small measure of frustration she can't keep hidden. "By the Warp, if it were anyone else asking, Cessie, I would be saying no. My people will do as I ask them, even if I believe they've earned their rest to live a more normal life by now. There's still a more than a few that are restless and would look forward to this sort of work, but they'll need to be compensated for it. The problem is that I'm not entirely sure how. Neither I nor they can really take a paycheck from Vigil since I'm already helping to bankroll the organization. I guess I'll pay them directly out of my own finances instead." She reasons, working through the logic by talking through it. She leans back a bit in her seat, looking a little above Cessie and past her as she thinks.

"I know my organization lacks the brute force that Vigil can bring to the table, but it was never meant to fight invasions in the first place. Much less invasions that cut us off from a major source of our power and flexibility." Jezebel sounds a fair bit frustrated as she admits it, not liking that she has to speak the truth about the strengths and weaknesses of her own people. "But...what you're asking...you're asking that we not only spy for Vigil, but to have me place the lives of my people in Vigil's hands. If it were just me, that would be a much easier choice. But my people would need to do what others in Vigil ask them to and while they might not object, it is my duty to make sure that they are as safe as possible."