Home 24: A house in this market?

[Earl of Purple]

Scaleback's Apartment

Off go the dwarfs!

The princess looks at the bed, at its sheer size, and blushes. It's hard to tell, with her dark skin. "I... Assumed this was a bed for a noble, possibly shared with their favoured wives." Back home, her bed's as large as this, or possibly bigger. "I would appreciate a tea. I'm not familiar with any Earls of Grey, though." She's calmed down a lot, now. Or seems to have, reassured by the normality going on around her. Even if it isn't quite the normality she's used to, by the simple fact of not being a palace on the Rim of the Basket of Paradise, built around a link of the adamantine chain suspending the world from the branches of the Great Oak, with a window overlooking the Depths of Forever- in other words, the drop between the worlds suspended by the branches and the worlds supported by the roots. "Ham? As in, pig? I would gladly partake of the delicacy." She's surprised and flattered; pigs aren't native to the Basket, so the meat is pretty expensive.

Geneva might be able to get the sphere to work if she could replace the way it's powered, so it doesn't need the dark energies cast by the Great Oak's immense shadow. Doing so with some kind of similar energy would probably be easier, if Geneva happens to know where to find some shadow-magic. Or even, potentially, light-magic; shadows cannot exist without light, after all.

[Rebonack]

[Scaleback's Appartment]

Geneva is pondering.

Darkness magic... not emotional darkness, though. Something more like the legendary Pony of Shadows. Elemental shadow. In spite of how impossible shadow as a physical thing is.

She knew there were some people who used shadow magic as a form of transportation, but it wasn't a subject she was familiar with but maybe with a bit of searching she could find a viable alternative to-

Oh.

Wait.

Was someone talking to her?

"Oh! Um. Sure? That sounds great," she calls back.

[Murkus]

[Sagittarius Towers]

Rein's face wavers between a frown and a forced smile. "Well that certainly makes you a better person than I. A lot of people would kill to skip those seven steps." Rein nods at the drink Fettina was making for him.

"Look, when it comes to curses like this one, there's always the option C. Which is to... well... just accept it as a major, unexpected life change. It's not that different from a surprise pregnancy, a blindsided layoff, or a crippling car accident. It sucks, it's not fair, and it never should have been forced on you. At same time, you can cut your losses, live with it, adapt, and move on. It's certainly not unheard of. I remember when Dena used to just be a drow. She's changed dramatically, but she's made it work for her." Reinholdt says, using an example near to home. "I know I'd love to hear you play piano more and if you're getting back into it, maybe there's some good to be had of it all? Maybe you don't need the adventures, the murders, the sketchy deals with irony genies. Maybe just being Tina is enough."

Oh right. The purpose of his visit. "Ah, well, uh, I just, um, hadn't heard from you in a while and wanted to check up." Part of it. The rest of it is a poorly disguised booty call Tina can probably sniff out easily. To be fair, Rein didn't come here thinking he would need to disguise it in the first place!

[Sagittarius Towers]

"...You're right. I hadn't thought of that. I guess Dena never really changed back. She never found out how... but..." Fettina looks down. "Maybe now that I know about that pool you mentioned, I'd better let her know about it too. She should know, no matter what I decide to do."

"I used to think playing the piano would be my life, but... I've sort of just been coasting along this last year or so. I don't know. Maybe I will just... stay this way a while."

She gives him a skeptical look as he adds that last bit. "You're lucky you're cute. And that you already gave me so much good advice. But you know, if that's what you're after, I probably have a gal or two in my little black book who'd love to meet the great adventurer-cat..."

[Deathkeeper]

[Scaleback’s Apartment]

”Ah, well, ye just fed me nigh an hour ago, so I probably shouldn’t.” Domhnall tells Scaleback. But really his huge body needs plenty of food and can put plenty away if he wants, especially with his active lifestyle.

[Reinholdt]

[Sagittarius Towers]

So Dena's transformation wasn't willing either. Good to know.

Reinholdt clears his throat, a gentle blush glowing upon his cheeks. "I'm sure I don't know what you mean," Rein protests meekly. "We should just watch a movie or something. Although, hmmmm... Now that you mention it,"

Is he warming up to the idea? "Maybe you know someone who can help me with a problem of my own. Or a friend of mine's rather. I know this drider who is suffering from a genetic defect. Uhh... Long story short, her brain will suffer from massive degeneration unless she ummm... breeds. I promised to ask around for anyone who might be willing to step into that role. Would you happen to know anyone in your little black book that may be interested?"

[Halae]

[Scaleback's Apartment]

Several slices of ham are put into the frying pan, and soon the entire apartment will be filled with the heady scent of cooking meat, "I'll make some for you so you can eat it later, then."

As the meat is cooking, Emily quietly brings out a serving tray with her kettle, a set of teacups, a small bowl of sugar cubes, as well as a box of, as promised, Earl Grey tea. Emily expects Domhnall and Jystereiel to pour themselves their own tea, "Dunk the little bags the tea leaves are in into the hot water. It's very simple," And then she moves back into the kitchen to keep working at the meal she's cooking, "I'm afraid you're in a different world, princess, not the one you're familiar with. We're in a nexus between realities. The best way to describe it is imagining a city that exists on the borders of three different kingdoms. It gets people from all three kingdoms in it for one reason or another, and culture from all of them at once. That's what we're dealing with in this place, but it's worlds, instead of kingdoms."

[Shadowcaller]

[An Imperative Ritual]

"No no, I really don't want to wait any longer." Valerie steels herself. "I'm ready. Really."

[An Imperative Ritual]

Astrana nods. "Good call. You remember how to start, right? Sit down inside the outer circle we prepared and lit the sticks I prepared. Then just breath in the incense for about ten minutes before approaching the inner circle and calling out the angel by name. You might need to chant its name a few times before it actually responds. Now, it's important that you don't enter the inner circle or leave outer circle, they're both there to protect you from spirits." She pauses. "And I don't think I need to repeat anything else, right? You're ready for this."

[Earl of Purple]

Scaleback's Apartment

Jystereiel will pour her own, no problem, and seems to get the hang of using a teabag too. "I had realised I was in a different world the moment I didn't recognise my surroundings, and Sir Domhnall here mentioned dwarfs. They are common mercenaries in the Branch Realms, but have not settled them. Dwarfs live amongst the roots." They like being able to mine without having to worry too much about falling off the planet because they've mined through the world's bottom. In the worlds amongst the roots, they tend to hit wood before they risk falling.

"This world is a connecting point? Like the Great Oak, with worlds hanging from its branches, dug into its trunk, nestled amongst its boughs and supported by its roots?" She's familiar with concept, just a slightly different version.

[Gullara]

[An Imperative Ritual]

"No, I don't think so." Valerie goes over the routine in her head one more time, and then goes through what she's supposed to say to this being. Yeah, she's sure she has it all straight. "I guess just wish me luck."

[Murkus]

[Sagittarius Towers]

So Dena's transformation wasn't willing either. Good to know.

Reinholdt clears his throat, a gentle blush glowing upon his cheeks. "I'm sure I don't know what you mean," Rein protests meekly. "We should just watch a movie or something. Although, hmmmm... Now that you mention it,"

Is he warming up to the idea? "Maybe you know someone who can help me with a problem of my own. Or a friend of mine's rather. I know this drider who is suffering from a genetic defect. Uhh... Long story short, her brain will suffer from massive degeneration unless she ummm... breeds. I promised to ask around for anyone who might be willing to step into that role. Would you happen to know anyone in your little black book that may be interested?"

[Sagittarius Towers]

"That... that can't be a real thing. Right? You're messing with me," Fettina stares at him agoggle for a second and then erupts in laughter. "...I-I mean. I know some freaks, for sure. Not like, freaks in a bad way. I'm a freak. But that's a little far even for me..." Fettina mostly understands what a drider is. Hanging around monsters too much will do that. "I can check around. Sure."

[Cantie's Visit]

Fettina invites Cantata over for a brief visit. Apparently she has something she needs to discuss... something serious! And when she arrives, Fettina is waiting on her couch. "Cantie, baby," she says, just looking up, "I need to hire you for a job."

[Arkhosia]

Cantie's Visit

It was... strange, setting foot in Tina's apartment on a professional level. Most of the groups and individuals who had hired her in the past were strangers, acquaintances at best. She wasn't used to feeling that looming conflict of interest that came with a personal attachment to her client - least of all someone she was sweet on. The resulting sense of unease wasn't something she could hide too well as she entered, a light jacket and a holstered pistol thrown on over one of her more casual dresses.

Cantata slides her hands into the pockets of her jacket as she raises an eyebrow, her expression a look of worry and concern trying to ask what's troubling her.

[Reinholdt]

[Sagittarius Towers]

Reinholdt holds up his hands in a shrugged defeat. "I would have trouble believing it myself, but I saw the spaceship she crashed in on. And if there's anything I've learned about spaceships, it's that they love their genetic disasters." Oh man. Reinholdt's been out adventuring again, for sure! He's supposed to have stopped that. It's like a siren call to him. One he'll keep falling back to until it finally kills him.

He shakes his head. "Yeah, I kinda knew it was... an esoteric request even by Nexus standards. Still, there's a life at stake, so I gotta try. Just let me know if you find anyone."

[Shadowcaller]

[An Imperative Ritual]

Astrana holds out her hands and gives Val a quick hug and kiss, even her tail wrapping itself around the vampire's butt. "All the luck, beautiful. I love you." She probably let's the kiss linger a bit too long before she breaks it off and with a wave walk backwards out of the ritual room. "I'll be right outside, okay? If anything goes wrong, just use the code-word or yell." The code-word being "blood-red".

[Gullara]

[An Imperative Ritual]

Valerie nods. "Love you, too." When Astrana steps out of the room, Valerie takes a steadying breath. Okay, time to do this.

She seats herself inside the larger circle, but a healthy distance from the inner circle. She lights each of the incense sticks Astrana prepared and they soon start to produce smoke. She sits there for the full ten minutes, gradually growing more relaxed. She's not sure if it's the incense or what, but she welcomes it. Once she's sure long enough has passed, she speaks.

"Kalka'il."

[Rebonack]

[Scaleback's Apartment]

Geneva is still pretty focused on her equipment over in Scaleback's closet, but her nerd sense begins tingling something fierce when the elf begins talking about her own home universe.

Multiverse?

One of those.

She would need more information to form a coherent picture.

"The concept is similar but the spacetime topography is different," Geneva calls out from the other room. "The cosmology is different, too. But given the Nexus' inexplicable ability to make all cosmologies simultaneously true I wouldn't be shocked if some people experienced the worlds that touch the Nexus as part of a big tree."

Wow, that would be a kick, wouldn't it?

A universe where planets are literally attached to a giant tree? There were several cosmologies like that, Geneva recalled. But typically they were animal bearers, not plants. Sea turtle, whale, elephants. Usually something that could be big.

"Based on the positioning data that I have, the Nexus would be best described as an eleven-dimensional gyroid," Geneva says, then quickly adds. "The geometric configuration. Not the little fire-hydrant thing from Animal Crossing."

[Deathkeeper]

[Scaleback’s Apartment]

Wow, listen to all those words.
Domhnall even knew some of them!
”Ain’t a gyroid one of thos’ spinny things the humans like makin’ when they wanna look fancy for readin’ Stars and stuff?”

[Halae]

[Scaleback's Apartment]

"You're thinking of an orrery, or a telescope. A gyroid is something that mathmeticians use to prove how smart they are," Emily says, "Your Highness, do you know who might have wanted you kidnapped? While many people would want someone of your stature, the number of people with the resources to pull it off must be very low indeed, assuming you weren't out on your own for some reason."

Emily will bring three plates of food out of the kitchen, each bearing a couple slices of ham, toast, and eggs. One for Geneva, one for Domhnall, and one for the princess. She'll also get water for anybody that asks, "I'd be willing to help get you back to your rightful place, should Geneva be able to re-open the bridge to your world."

[Earl of Purple]

Scaleback's Apartment

Well, I've mentioned several times now, but the entire network of worlds connected to the Great Oak are pulling away from the Nexus, as a defensive measure instituted by the tree to prevent a cataclysmic collision. Because when a tree the size of the average solar system collides with another multiverse, the results are usually apocalyptic.

"It is... Tricky to say. My mother's court is quite a complex place. It could be the Grand Vizier trying to force war with the Lake Kingdom, which Mother opposes. Or it could have been one of my mother's consorts, trying to get me out of the way for one of my half-sisters. Or it could have been the Lake Kingdom to try and prevent war. Or some other faction seeking to frame another and discredit them for their own gain. Or the Screamers of the Final Sunset, who try to kidnap a royal whenever they scrape up the funds because they think drinking my blood would extend their lives. My mother's consorts can possibly be removed, I think. Most of them with the influence to organise Shade Dwarfs wouldn't stop at a kidnapping, and the ones that would couldn't afford a Shade Dwarf team." So it could really be pretty much anyone. "I was in my bedchamber, preparing for a ceremonial execution. I was alone, but surrounded by guards, servants, and my half-sisters and mother's consorts sleep nearby. Ah, thank you." She smiles and takes the ham, toast and eggs, unaware of any shock, horror or confusion her most recent statement may have caused.

[Murkus]

[Cantie's Visit]

"Cantie! Honey! Lighten up! You should know me well enough by now I'm not gonna have you, like, commit corporate espionage or shoot somebody," Fettina says... and grins. "At least not yet. No, no, babe. This is simple. I need you to steal something back for me from a certain woman. Her name's Lydia, and she's got... er... something very near and dear to me."

[Sagittarius Towers - Day]

"I mean, hell, I'll do my best." A beat. "...Do you wanna watch a movie or something? After I make some calls, maybe."

[Arkhosia]

[Cantie's Visit]

A wave of relief sweeps through Cantata's expression, and she adds a little comedic exaggeration by wiping her brow before giving Fettina a grin. Phew, I was worried you'd gone and gotten yourself into some big trouble! Sensing the embarrassment in her voice causes a shift into a very clear interest, a playful little glint in her eyes as she prompts Tina to elaborate.

[Murkus]

[Cantie's Visit]

"It is. It's the most terrible kind of trouble. An emergency," Fettina gives such a convincing pout it really seems as though she's about to cry. "This woman named Lydia has one of my favorite pieces of lingerie and won't give it back."

[Rebonack]

[Scaleback's Apartment]

A few seconds of silence pass after that rather long explanation.

Followed by a shrill, "A ceremonial what!?"

You can almost hear Geneva's head feathers poofing up in shock.

[Recaiden]

True, though Oliver's comment was more meant to convey that he's willing to learn their side of the story.

Oliver nods, this making sense to him. This guy seems so nice, how could this group be as bad as that detective said? "I suppose anything that requires finesse or stealth could be right up my alley."

"On the other hand, the definition of person isn't what everyone might think it to be."
"There's a place we need under observation. There might be a sixth side coming into play here."
"There's a lost treasure we could use to have dug up."
"And there's research, hat always takes finesse."

The guy stands besides the doorway out of the darkness.
"We just want things to be normal again. Sometimes that takes unusual measures."

[Reinholdt]

[Sagittarius Towers - Day]

"I mean, hell, I'll do my best." A beat. "...Do you wanna watch a movie or something? After I make some calls, maybe."

[Sagittarius Towers - Day]

"Thanks. In exchange, I promise to drink all your alcohol for you so you don't have to look at it anymore." How very kind of Reinholdt to bite that bullet for her.

"Yes please. Anything that's lighter than the last fifteen minutes have been." Reinholdt taps his chin. "But that's so... basic. We're not basic people are we? How would you feel about going spelunking instead? I can promise I have no idea what we'll find and there's abandoned loot I couldn't carry back from last time I was there." Reinholdt suggests, suddenly holding out his hand towards her and offering her the maddening danger that comes with adventure.

[Arkhosia]

[Cantie's Visit]

Oh, that adorable little pout is quite convincing, but it's certainly not convincing enough to avoid the emergency from earning a broad, mischievous grin. Or perhaps Cantata is just that merciless and apathetic towards her dear close friend/sweetheart's feelings!

She makes a tsking sound as she steps closer and slips into the couch next to her. Oh my dear Tina, she types, briefly reaching to caress her cheek with a touch as heartfelt as can be despite that telltale mirthful glimmer. Did no one tell you rule number one, never lend your nicest attire?

[Deathkeeper]

[Scaleback’s Apartment]

Domhnall scowls in distaste.
”Ugh, yer from one of those places. Sound as bad as some of the humans.”
Awful places, where they make a ceremony of killin’ folks.

[Halae]

[Scaleback's Apartment]

"Now, let's not be too hasty," Emily says, in spite of the protestations of Geneva and Domhnall, "I'm sure there's a good, practical reason why they'd be killing someone. Right?"

Emily sounds skeptical herself, but she's opening the floor so that the princess can explain herself and her people. It's not their culture after all; it's entirely possibly they just don't have all the information.

[Earl of Purple]

Scaleback's Apartment

"Hopefully I'd be killing nobody. I'd be decapitating a mannequin of straw and old clothes, representing the princess that attempted to poison the whole court when my great great grandmother sat the throne. It's more ceremony than execution." She frowns, a little upset at how nobody noticed the 'ceremonial' part and just thought she was putting on pretty clothes so she could chop someone's head off. "My mother's really tightened security around the event since one of my sisters was hidden in the mannequin ten years ago, and I've only ever decapitated straw women."

[Shadowcaller]

[An Imperative Ritual]

Valerie nods. "Love you, too." When Astrana steps out of the room, Valerie takes a steadying breath. Okay, time to do this.

She seats herself inside the larger circle, but a healthy distance from the inner circle. She lights each of the incense sticks Astrana prepared and they soon start to produce smoke. She sits there for the full ten minutes, gradually growing more relaxed. She's not sure if it's the incense or what, but she welcomes it. Once she's sure long enough has passed, she speaks.

"Kalka'il."

[An Imperative Ritual]

It's wrong to say that something appears when Valerie calls out that phrase. It's more that what she imagined when she spoke the word suddenly existed, as if born out of her own imagination and leaping out into that circle. Astrana had of course described the angel to her. A dangerous white-winged woman with other avian traits, but she had never actually shown Val a picture of one.

The novice warlock had likely seen pictures of other angels however and what she ultimately see before her within the circle is a combination of Astrana's description and her own conception of what a dangerous angel would look like.

But her imagination only goes so far as creating the angels appearance as it speaks with a will very much its own. "Blessing upon you, seeker. Have you called upon me to repent? I can see that you are not of the faith, yet have no fear. There is no limit to who we can carry underneath our wings." She speaks in just the kind of voice Valerie imagined an dangerous angel would have.

[CosmicHobbit]

"On the other hand, the definition of person isn't what everyone might think it to be."
"There's a place we need under observation. There might be a sixth side coming into play here."
"There's a lost treasure we could use to have dug up."
"And there's research, that always takes finesse."

The guy stands besides the doorway out of the darkness.
"We just want things to be normal again. Sometimes that takes unusual measures."

Oliver raises an eyebrow. "Normal? What do you mean normal?" Oliver hides his uncomfortableness. The notion of normalness could have many negative effects in the Nexus.