Home 24: A house in this market?

[Shadowcaller]

[An Imperative Ritual]

Astrana steps away as Valerie undresses, letting her study her new self. It was all new to her as well of course. Though it was a bit too overwhelming at the moment. She didn't really know what to think even though she had tried to prepare mentally for this.

[Gullara]

[An Imperative Ritual]

Valerie's face splits in a grin and she turns to Astrana. "So what do you think?" She asks with mirth in her voice. Part of her can still hardly believe it.

[CosmicHobbit]

He rolls one of his eyes.
"Really? In what would have been the middle of your heist?"

And then points down the hall.
"Second left and down the stairs."

Oliver frowns. "Well I didn't know a bottle of water before this to stay hydrated would come back so soon." He hurries off in the direction the man pointed, doing a convincing impression of somebody barely holding it.

[Recaiden]

"Don't take too long." is all he has to say to that.

Empty hallways at odd angles loom as Oliver goes past them, but the second one on the left does split into a staircase and a walkway. Best hold onto the handrail or you might fall.
This passageway seems to be in better condition than a lot of the place. Cleared of plants and wreckage, all the lights are on. And at the bottom of the stairs it changes to a slightly-angled more-waterproof bathroom floor.
There's just the one unisex bathroom, several stalls, cloth towels by the sinks. There's no one here except half a dozen inanimate(?) puppets. There are no windows but there is a removable wall panel that probably leads somewhere else.

[Shadowcaller]

[An Imperative Ritual]

"Good, perfect..." Astrana smiles back. "Though, that will still take time to get used to. You having the same equipment as me and all that." She pauses. "So what are we telling the girls? They will notice the difference no doubt." She gestures at her own throat. "Your voice especially."

[Gullara]

[An Imperative Ritual]

"I tried to prepare them as best as I could. I think it's the wings that'll catch them off guard the most, honestly." Them and everyone else. "We'll see tomorrow when we pick them up from the babysitter. Right now I think I want to go to bed." She smiles, though her exhaustion shows right through.

[Shadowcaller]

[An Imperative Ritual]

Astrana nods as she tries to take Valerie's hands. "Yes, sleep long and well. You deserve it after all that. I will look after you, love." She tries to assure her girlfriend.

[Gullara]

[An Imperative Ritual]

Valerie smiles gratefully and leans in to give Astrana a peck on the lips. "Don't let me sleep in too long, though. I think tomorrow's going to be a big day." And with that, she'll let Astrana escort her off to bed for some much needed rest.

[CosmicHobbit]

"Don't take too long." is all he has to say to that.

Empty hallways at odd angles loom as Oliver goes past them, but the second one on the left does split into a staircase and a walkway. Best hold onto the handrail or you might fall.
This passageway seems to be in better condition than a lot of the place. Cleared of plants and wreckage, all the lights are on. And at the bottom of the stairs it changes to a slightly-angled more-waterproof bathroom floor.
There's just the one unisex bathroom, several stalls, cloth towels by the sinks. There's no one here except half a dozen inanimate(?) puppets. There are no windows but there is a removable wall panel that probably leads somewhere else.

Oliver eyes the puppets warily, but removes the wall panel silently, unless it's particularly hard to do so quietly. While he does this he has one hand on his knife, in case they start coming to life or something similar.

[Recaiden]

As he starts unscrewing the panel leading to the crawlspace, the eyes of all the puppets follow him.
But none of them move from where they lie.

So if Oliver just leaves them there where they watch him, the panel comes off and leads to a narrow space that once provided access to wiring, piping, insulation, and so on. Left towards the bridge (more or less), or right towards the part of the HQ that's buried in the ground. Careful to duck under dangling severed wires, and not to fall through a hatch to a lower level.

[Deathkeeper]

[Jace’s Place]

One Jacen Vallarm returns to his little home, notably absent one familiar and hanging a fancy gold-feathered cloak on the hook along with his normal blue one.
”Khannie? Hello? I’m home...” he calls, hesitantly.
Please oh please, O absent gods, let nothing have happened. She was just doing homework when he left...

[Rebonack]

[Jace’s Place]

Several lines of thought flash through Khannie's mind at once.

Will daddy be mad at her?

Should she hide?

It wasn't her fault, right? The dog-god had told her too, right? And after she saw Miss Veronica on TV she had felt...

Weird.

She didn't feel weird now, though. She thought maybe evolving had cured it?

Was daddy going to be mad that she evolved? She isn't sure. He'll be really mad that she got into the safe, though.

And that the big gross goblin thing had broken her pendant(s).

But that wasn't her fault.

Eventually, after much mental deliberation, she settles on-

"The dog is talking now, it isn't my fault!" she yells down from her room.

Her voice sounds a little different since she's bigger. Hopefully daddy won't notice.

[Deathkeeper]

[Jace’s Place]

Jace isn’t quite sure how to process that, especially when Commissar bolts down the stairs and proclaims ”I love you!” and practically tackled him (that last part is pretty normal though).
Well. Something happened. Pokémon don’t usually talk, so that can’t be because of this virus going around. Jace slowly goes up to Khannie’s room and knocks on the door.
”Khannie? Are you all right? What happened?” he asks gently. He doesn’t barge in yet.

[Rebonack]

[Jace’s Place]

Khannie had taken a nap.

Then she had started working on her homework again.

It all felt so... strange.

Something BIG had happened. Should she be acting differently? She doesn't FEEL like she should be acting differently.

"I saw Miss Veronica on TV," Khannie replies after a few moments of silence. "Is she okay?"

That doesn't really answer her dad's question, though.

Maybe she isn't ready to answer it yet.

IS she all right?

[Deathkeeper]

[Jace’s Place]

Jace sighs and leans against the door-frame.
”Zebes and Veronica are sick and are spending some time in the giant flying magical palace Veronica summoned. I don’t entirely understand how that happened right now. But something has been going around that has made people a little sick in the head. Have you been feeling alright?” Jace says slowly through the door. The fact that they’re having this conversation is good. Pokémon stereotypes would likely not be good. But then, it didn’t really do all that much to Veronica, in the end.

[Rebonack]

[Jace’s Place]

Pokemon stereotypes might not be good, but acting stereotypical for a heroic (human!) mystery dungeon worked out okay.

Thankfully she didn't finish the story and have something sad happen.

"Giant flying palaces are cool," Khannie replies, her tone a bit non-committal. She isn't sure how one goes about summoning a flying palace. It sounds complicated.

A few more awkward moments of silence pass.

"Umm... after I saw Miss Veronica on TV I felt... really weird. Like... I HAD to go on an adventure and rescue people? Like the heroes always do in the stories," she explains. "So I rescued some people. And I fought a big ogre? And it beat me up pretty bad but I won. And... umm... and then I evolved a little bit?"

Just a little bit, Jace.

Nothing to get worked up over.

"After I evolved all of a sudden I realized how weird I was acting."

[Deathkeeper]

[Jace’s Place]

Jace’s voice catches in his throat, but he manages to hold it together. So she was infected but...cured herself? Through the power of...Pokémon puberty? Commissar seems fine at least. The talking is probably unrelated.
”So you’re feeling better now?” He stops, his forehead against the door.
”I’m going to come in now, sweetie. Is that okay?”

[Rebonack]

[Jace’s Place]

"I'm still kind of sore where the ogre hit me, but I'm okay I think," Khannie confirms. "I haven't felt like going on adventures in dungeons or talking in weird little boxes."

Which is encouraging!

Much better than hiding in tall grass and pouncing on people, probably.

"And... uh... I got into the safe. But I did that when I was feeling weird so it doesn't count."

That's a very important distinction.

Jace will find Khannie sitting on the stool at her desk.

Not human, currently.

And not a kangaskhan joey, either.

She has that bigger, lankier, somewhat awkward middle stage pokemon look to her. Her ears are much longer, pointier, more akin to the spines on a haunter. And her natural armor plates all have a purple, spirally motif to them. Overall, her build is quite a bit more human than one might otherwise expect.

Jace is given an awkward wave.

"I finished my math homework?"

[Deathkeeper]

[Jace’s Place]

Jace opens the door and smiles at her.
Then he goes over and wraps her up in a big hug. He has the best repto-mammal daughter and she should never think that he doesn’t believe so.
”Good for you, sweetie. Now I know you know what I’m going to say about breaking into The Cabinet and going off on dangerous adventures without me so just pretend I said them to you, okay? I’m glad you’re okay. For now I want you to stay inside and keep the windows closed until this whole sickness blows over. I might bring you to Veronica’s while she’s away; Heather is all alone right now and I don’t know if she’s sick too. Is that okay?”

[Rebonack]

[Jace's Place]

Khannie accepts the hug.

And then starts crying.

She isn't totally sure why she's crying. Maybe all of the mixed up emotions of this crazy situation finally got to her. Everything is weird and different and there's something wrong with people and she's kind of scared. Will she go crazy again? She doesn't want to go crazy again. What if it's something worse?

That's probably why daddy wants her to stay inside.

"If Heather is sick does that mean I might catch it again?" she asks, a tremor in her voice.

Then, almost as an aside-

"That dumb ogre broke the magic rock Grandpa Koi gave me. So... um... I was looking on the internet about how to cast Alter Self. I think that one might be too hard for me still."

She needs to beat up WAY more goblins before she can cast that.

[CosmicHobbit]

As he starts unscrewing the panel leading to the crawlspace, the eyes of all the puppets follow him.
But none of them move from where they lie.

So if Oliver just leaves them there where they watch him, the panel comes off and leads to a narrow space that once provided access to wiring, piping, insulation, and so on. Left towards the bridge (more or less), or right towards the part of the HQ that's buried in the ground. Careful to duck under dangling severed wires, and not to fall through a hatch to a lower level.

The moment Oliver realizes the puppets are watching him he turns around and runs toward them, trying to cut through all of their strings with his knife. Hopefully they act like CCTV cameras and aren't constantly having a wizard look through their eyes or something.

[Deathkeeper]

[Jace’s Place]

”Heather was fine when I met her two hours ago. If you had it and lost it you might be immune. That’s how a lot of sicknesses work. And the report says they can’t spread it to you if you can’t see them anyway.” Jace smiles, running a hand over her head-ridge.
”Khannie, you never needed that rock. You are my perfect daughter, no matter what you look like now or later. Even if you keep changing and you inherit my dragon wings or my giant ghost tongue or my incredible Kangaskhan hips.”
Somehow through spending some time as a motherly repto-mammal Jace’s biggest takeaway was that being wide is very strange to him. His jokes seem to be worse than usual today.
”I never figured out how to cast that spell myself, but if you really want to learn we can work at it together some day.”

[Rebonack]

[Jace’s Place]

"I hope so, I don't wanna start thinking weird again. What if I wanted to start hiding in grass and jumping out at people?" Khannie replies with mock horror.

She's pretty sure that wouldn't happen.

Pretty sure.

She has to laugh about it.

Because the alternative to laughing about it is being terrified.

"I guess changing when you're growing up is just part of being a pokemon. Unless you're a shuckle, I guess."

Or one of those other weird single-stage pokemon. What's up with them, anyway?

"Learning some new spells would be super-cool. How come you never learned that one, daddy? It sounds really neat!"

[Deathkeeper]

[Jace’s Place]

”It’s a part of being anyone, Khannie. It’s just more obvious for people like you.
As for the spell, my magic is...rather tailored to me. Most of what I’m good at is enchanting things to make them better, or elemental things. Transfiguration has just never been my forte.”
He gives her a knowing look.
”And yes I understand the incredible irony of that sentence.”

[Reinholdt]

[King's Summer Cabin]

On the dawn of the third day, Ilpholin arrives. She could have come sooner, but chose not to. Part of it was surely a power play, keeping the other party waiting. Or perhaps she was simply conserving her strength, preparing herself with sleep, silver, and protein. Either of these things are what she'd say. The truth is more simple. The Phyrexian nymph needed the time to build up her nerves.

This was the start of a child. Something Ilpholin had purposefully been avoiding for a very long time. She had no idea how to raise one. Her parents certainly weren't there for her and Nadas. Sending that responsibility to Matron Danube was out of the question as well. The Matron may have done well by her, but Ilpholin would still never subject her child to the discrimination she suffered. Forget raising it, how is she even supposed to survive the latter parts of pregnancy and still be able to fight?

And that was all worries for the future. Right now, staring at the wooden door, there was a small, unavoidable regret. Ilpholin had always imagined that if the day came in which she wanted children, it would be with someone she cared deeply about and would fight at her side. This was anything but. Nothing had turned out as she imagined it. That much was evident just from looking at her. Though she did use to dream of being a queen one day. This would probably be as close as she got to that juvenile fantasy.

Which may be why Ilpholin chose to embark on this as herself instead of the various forms she's been experimenting with. Her smooth skin is pale and unearthly. An elegant, if sensual, purple dress clings to her form, fashioned to appear as spider silk despite being made of old skin. Artificial purple hair made of thin metal flows along her head. The sclera of her eyes are completely black, making her emerald pupils stand out even more.

With one more deep breath Ilpholin steels the last of her nerves, all uncertainty washing away under the weight of purpose and intent as she steps inside the cabin.

[Morty]

[King's Summer Cabin]

The surroundings of the cabin might not do much for Ilpholin's nerves. They're normal enough - but very quiet. It doesn't sound like there's anyone around, or has been for a while. No people, no animals. Even though this place isn't far from Riverside and not so deep in the woods. The cabin itself is a small building made of logs, with a slanted roof. Might have belonged to some hunters or foresters once.

Once she steps inside, she'll find herself inside a space that shouldn't quite fit the outside of the cabin. It does look like the interior of a log cabin, but the ceiling is high and the walls seem to be too far spread out. The floor is covered with animal skins, furs and straw cushions. Weapons line the walls - spears, bows, axes, knives. There are also paintings of alien, distant landscapes, which you certainly wouldn't expect to see in a simple hut like this. The light coming through the small windows is dimmed, but the interior seems bright enough to see nonetheless. A faint smoke or fog fills the air.

Stretched out on the skins, furs and cushions are six men, each different but perhaps familiar to her. One is a large, four-armed monster with a wolf's head and four arms, packed with muscle and sporting thick hair on his brown-skinned torso and arms. He exudes an air of strength and forcefulness. The other is a pale, slender vampire with neck-length black hair and bright red eyes. An alluring and mysterious man, but one that has an undercurrent of threat if Ilpholin forgets herself or pushes too far. Then there's a dragon - or someone like one. Towering over the others with his bulk, bright red scales, wings and a draconian head, he's nonetheless humanoid in shape. A powerful creature, but an easily controlled one... maybe too easily. A little away from the dragon is the bard. Dashing, with a mane of red hair and a gleam in his eye, a reminder of happier days and more carefree relationships. Off to the right is the
villain. An unassuming man with a broad grin, bald head and an appearance that belies his history and his power - a memory of Ilpholin's old life and priorities. Finally there's the hunter. Slim, wiry and cunning, with a pair of impressive ram's horns on his head and a long, bushy beard. He could be the most faithful distillation of what the King would be if he were a mortal capable of having children... or maybe he reminds Ilpholin of someone else.

All the men are entirely nude and their eyes fix on Ilpholin the moment she enters and the door closes behind her. They appear to have done nothing but wait for her before that. Their eyes gleam with barely-contained desire in the gloom, but they don't move yet. The bard is the first to speak.

"Come to us, Ilpholin, so that we can worship you and serve you like you deserve."

"Bless us with your beauty," the monster growls.

[Reinholdt]

[King's Summer Cabin]

So quiet. Almost the antithesis of nature. Ironic for a fey lord and unsettling for a nymph. What left of that Ilpholin can feel.

More unsettling perhaps, is walking inside and seeing six familiar faces. It gives the exalted consort great pause. Had the King in Rags been deeper in her mind than she thought, given unexpected power simply by wearing his bracelet? It's not impossible since he's been in her dreams as well. More likely, these were different aspects of the KiR as he claimed and are inherently reflective. They mirror something her conscious mind knows and understands. Perhaps far too well.

Ilpholin bites her lower lip. Maybe it's for the best. Her experience with most of them would serve her well in fulfilling their desires. And when it was all over, it'd all feel like a fever dream. Or so she can pretend.

The bard and the monster give her a choice and remind Ilpholin she's still standing around. She smiles softly to the bard but turns away from him, walking towards the monster with a heavy, seductive sway in her hips. As she does so her dress comes undone of its own accord, sliding off her with every step until it's left discarded on the floor like a shed skin as Ilpholin stands before the monster displaying all her nude beauty. Slowly she'll turn in a full circle to allow all six aspects to view her at every angle.

[Morty]

[King's Summer Cabin]

The aspects' lust boils even hotter when Ilpholin disrobes... and there's really nothing that happens from here on out that doesn't need a thick curtain over it. Which will last for a day and a night, like the King said, and with passion and intensity to match its length.

The curtain will rise on the dawn of the second day, with the aspects stepping away from her. They look longingly at her as they bow in silence. They've become paler, more grey and almost translucent now, taking on a dream-like quality along with the rest of the cabin. And now, they vanish. As they do, the cabin also changes. The fog or smoke disappear and the dimensions become what you'd expect of the place. The otherworldly paintings disappear from the walls and the weapons become regular, old axes and knives, rather than the varied instruments they were before. The light coming through the small windows is the normal shine of breaking dawn.

Ilpholin will be exactly where she was when the curtain rose. The fur, skins and cushions are in the same arrangement as the long curtain left them in. Her dress is likewise where it fell hours before. It all feels like looking at a room you've previously seen in a dream, its proportions now natural and real. Outside, she can hear the crying of birds and the sounds of other animals going about their business. The place is still secluded, but it's normal seclusion now, not enforced by fey. Did someone come across this place and was turned away by the King? Was the cabin simply invisible and the sounds from it inaudible? It's difficult to say.

Inside, Ilpholin will know that something monumental has happened. As the King's presence departs from the cabin, she'll feel that a part of it remains in her. In due time, she'll find that she's pregnant.

[Recaiden]

The moment Oliver realizes the puppets are watching him he turns around and runs toward them, trying to cut through all of their strings with his knife. Hopefully they act like CCTV cameras and aren't constantly having a wizard look through their eyes or something.

Oliver goes on a puppet-hacking spree, and they make no movement or resistance as he slices through their springs. They just slacken and stop watching him.
After all, they're just puppets. The puppeteer can get new ones, no problem.
Let's just hope no one 'checks the screens' any time soon to see that they've gone dark.

[CosmicHobbit]

Oliver wastes no time in prying the panel open once the puppets are all cut down. Taking the puppets with him, he enters the space and tries to close the panel behind him. Maybe he can get the puppets looked at to see if they're magical once he's out of here.