[Nexus] GLoG 83

[Earl of Purple]

Lake

There's the faded remnants of a temporary natural rift in space/time beyond which lies a stretch of ocean within sight of an archipelago of small islands. Much closer, the canoe is enchanted with Aquamantic energies to make her faster, more manoeuvrable and harder for sea predators to detect. The ruined mast still has parts of an Aeromancy-conjured wind trapped within its sail. The wood has been treated with an Alchemical solution to prevent it from rotting and to increase its watertight nature. A few of the arrows have Aeromantic spells to make them more accurate laid upon them. The ballista bolts have similar spells- both the one embedded in the canoe and the ones still within their quiver. The chest has been imbued with Aquamancy so that it won't sink. It's also lead-lined and warded by Diviners against magical prying. The Aquamancy on the canoe has a different flavour to it than the Aquamancy upon chest.

Salix can clamber atop the canoe, and it instantly stops tilting so much and steadies itself in the water.

[The Alexandrian]

It takes all of Sophie's tolerance and understanding not to roll her eyes and sigh.

"And it didn't occur to you to ask some of the other members for help first? Your first resort was occult rituals?" She pauses. "Can you simply free those souls?"

Zero looks rather guilt striken. Especially considering that she did this in order to find him.

[Lakeside - Picnic]

"But..."

"But it wasn't a recondite ceremony! Erm... Well...I guess you might think it abstruse. Your path and my own wending one haven't been entangled for the most part. And we have not yet melded so I cannot judge how you would react to the loss of your other. Have you an other? Nevermind. That is off-topic and isn't any of my business."

Mind-melding? But Valaira isn't a Vulcan!

Valaira doesn't want to pry. This is a bad time to pry if ever there was one. And she'd much rather hire someone to shadow Sophie than interrogate Sophie for the scoop on her situation. A little extra leverage over someone is without a doubt more precious than a bag of metal in Valaira's profession.

Information is a weapon. And the juicier the information the more devastating the weapon.

"It is routine protocol among my associates to trade favors and gifts for souls. I'm of an eclectic culture that has assimilated dozens of species and has thrived as hundreds of mortal civilizations rose, fell, and were displayed in glass cases in museums. Our music is alien. Our entertainment is alien. Our commerce and our language are static variables. My society is spiced with vagaries but vital factors of the equation do hold constant. And one of these factors dictated my actions."

"Your people know it as follows. To every reaction there is always an equal and opposite reaction. Quid pro quo. This for that and that for this. I thought it would be an insult to petition for aid in my quest. To take without giving is the mantle of beggars and thieves! And I'm no beggar! I'm an assiduous CEO of the underworld and my employees-"

"I'm nobody important, that is."

Whoops! Valaira was so wrapped up in rhapsody that she admitted a key piece of information that she's withheld from Zero himself! It isn't a secret, though. Clarissa is astoundingly open about her rank.

The real secret is that, like Clarissa, Valaira takes pride in that achievement.

"What is it you desire? Earthly wealth? Power and influence? True happiness? Chemical happiness? These I can provide if the price is right. And I have provided them to choice individuals for aeons. To give nothing is a neon green flashing sign of weakness for it is only the weak that accept charity."

The weak and the humble, or so Valaira would contend. And Valaira is neither weak nor humble. She's not exactly prideful, but she sure isn't humble.

And being weak in Valaira's world is comparable to being dead or a wageslave. One is normally in the company of the other in the underworld.

"So you see, that's the problem. I would be punished were I to tempt members with my contracts so I had to resort to calling up my underworld contacts and bartering with them or risk looking weak. Were my hands not tied?"

"But you needn't lose sleep over the soul exchange! Many scurrilous lines of reasoning have tainted mortal perception of the soul market. Souls of the guilty are the only souls accepted as payment since incident 19. I would say that our legal currency is lucky. They've been awarded a pardon. Instead of burning in a pit or pool of acid, they jingle in a purse and sometimes are emancipated and absorbed"

"I cannot abrogate the contracts I've already signed at this time, but I can make amends. I could fund something for the camp! Or train people to do something useful!"

Bribery or honest atonement? Valaira's ultimate purpose is anyone's guess. She appears more than ready to acquiesce to whatever demands Sophie makes of her. This arrangement could prove quite profitable to GLoG if Sophie negotiates with Valaira.

Valaira would be happy to donate a bundle of money to cover-up the details of her work. The mortals didn't need to know that she had their world slated for corruption originally! Nope!

[Dimonite]

[Lakeshore]

Quinn nods, kneeling next to the elf and frowning. "Do you know what sort of poison affected him?" she asks, before starting with the catchall: Neutralise Poison.

[Lakeshore]
"I could tell that it was derived from a fish," Lume says, looking relieved that some of the burden of keeping the sea elf alive has been lifted from him. "However, I am unfamiliar with the type of fish involved. I could project an image, if that would be useful?"

[5a Violista]

At the Entrance of the GLoG Compound

Andy seems quiet calm as he mentions his issue.

"Yes, yes that's what we do. I have to say I'm not very common with possession. I may know someone who should be able to help you with that."

Then he points at the chain and handcuff.

"Do they do their work well or doesn your other self break out easily?"

At the Entrance of the GLoG Compound

Levi the swordsguy shrugs. "I suppose so. I just bought them a couple of hours ago. But I've only met one guy who can break out of handcuffs. They're pretty hard to snap." Which is true. To break handcuffs, you have to apply forces in exactly the right places, which is extraordinarily painful on your wrists as you try it out.

The chains look pretty heavy-duty, as well. Someone would be more likely to break the lock than the chain.

[Zefir]

At the Entrance of the GLoG Compound

Andy may be one of the guy's who are able to break out.

"Ok. I think it's best to care for things soon. Let's see what we can do."

Andy will ask him to follow. He will ttry to find Quinn or Reelshka. Hopefully one of them has some time.

[Morty]

[Lake]

It seems it got here by magic, then. Hm. Probably best to get rid of all this somehow.

"Not precisely. It's turned upside-down right now. And don't go up there, please," Sophie says. "It's dangerous."

[Gullara]

[Lake]

Salix pauses mid climb to look at Sophie. "No it's not, watch." She says cheerfully and climbs the rest of the way up. Once she does so, she stands and grins down at Sophie. "See? Nothing dangerous at all."

[Lost_Deep]

Picnic Table

"You are very smart. Is there anything else you want to learn?" Vasi asks.

"What is there to learn,m?" Keo doesn't really know what the options are. She figures there are a lot of things to learn, but she doesn't know just how many there are.

[Rowan Cabin]

Eric scratches his chin, before moving over to the computer. if Kate lets him, he'll type into it thusly:

> Heloo, my name is Eric. Are you aware of who I am?

yes, he does make a typo, but hits enter before he catches it.

There is a minute of pause, and then lines appear on the screen.
>Do you mean, "Hello"?
>You said you were Kate. How are you Eric now?
>

[happyturtle]

Picnic Table

"You can learn numbers, or painting, or how to sew, or storytelling. There are so many other things too. Anything you see someone else doing is something you might be able to learn. If it's something you want." Vasi says.

[Lost_Deep]

Picnic Table

"I already know about numbers,m. I can count really high,m! I once counted to... nine hundred ninety nine,m. But I don't know what comes after that,m. What comes after nine hundred ninety nine,m?"

I wonder if Keo actually had something to count, or if she was just counting to see how high she could go.

[happyturtle]

Picnic Table

"One thousand. And then one thousand and one, one thousand and two, and so on. What were you counting?" Vasi asks.

[Lost_Deep]

Picnic Table

"Numbers,m. I was going to count leaves, but I didn't know if there was enough numbers, so I counted the numbers,m. And then I got to nine hundred and ninety nine, and I didn't know what came next,m. I didn't know if that was enough to count the leaves, but then I realized that if I did have a number to count all the leaves, what if I counted one more than that,m? And one more than that, and one more than that, and lots and lots of one mores,m."

That's a rather complex thought for a little girl, isn't it?

[OrchestraHc]

Brinika nods eagerly.
"I will! Everyone says I sing pretty. I want to learn to play the drum and mayb the flute too."

"I'm sure you do," Justin says. Change "sure" to "know" if his player remembers correctly and she sang at the wedding. "Do you take lessons?"

[FireFox]

Hadrian is still hanging around outside.

[happyturtle]

Picnic Table

"Numbers,m. I was going to count leaves, but I didn't know if there was enough numbers, so I counted the numbers,m. And then I got to nine hundred and ninety nine, and I didn't know what came next,m. I didn't know if that was enough to count the leaves, but then I realized that if I did have a number to count all the leaves, what if I counted one more than that,m? And one more than that, and one more than that, and lots and lots of one mores,m."

That's a rather complex thought for a little girl, isn't it?

It's the sort of thing I thought about when I was little. "There are always more words for bigger numbers. Have you learned how to write numbers yet?" Vasi asks.

[Morty]

[Lakeside - Picnic]

Sophie rubs her forehead. That's... not good.
"Valaria, please. I need straight answers from you. Can you bring those souls back? As in, is it physically possible for you to do so? If you can, you should do it. Otherwise, I'll do it and come up with a way for you to make amends otherwise. But I see your redemption process will require more work and a different approach."

[Main Cabin]

Brinika did indeed sing at the wedding. Right now, she beams but shakes her head.
"I did take some music lessons, once." Off-screen in the now dead school thread. "But mostly I learn by myself."

[Lost_Deep]

Picnic Table

"You can write numbers?"

This is both utterly unexpected and amazingly interesting!

[happyturtle]

Picnic Table

"Mhm. I'll show you." Vasi climbs down from the picnic table to sit in the dirt, as comfortable there as any child. She takes a stick and writes 1 2 3. "This is one. This one is two. And this is three. You can write all of the numbers."

[Earl of Purple]

Lakeshore

The poison in the Sea Elf's body is neutralised and turned into harmless stuff that can be in his arteries without causing any harm. Hooray! He's still unconscious, though; but his blue skin is getting darker and is no longer such a pallid shade.

Lake

The canoe is now incredibly stable! It won't even wobble, even if Salix jumped up and down. It can be overturned, but it takes conscious effort to do so and is not easy. At least, not while Salix is atop it.

[McBish]

Lakeshore

Yuki looks relived to see that the sea elf's is going to be OK. Seeing the Quinn and the man made of light have this under control she decides to keep exploring the camp. She starts to circle around the lake.

[Morty]

[Lake]

Sophie sighs.
"I know, but it might have been dangerous. It got here out of nowhere, by magic. And there's magic all over it."

[Gullara]

[Lake]

"But it's fine." Salix jumps up and down a few times to emphasize her point. "What do you mean magic all over it? I don't know what magic is."

[Earl of Purple]

Lake- Sophie & Salix

The canoe continues being a canoe. An ornate, enchanted canoe, but still a canoe. It also doesn't move when Salix jumps on it. Though Salix probably should still be careful- there's all those arrows in it, and the ballista bolt's head protruding from the bottom.

Lake- Yuki

Yuki may spot Sophie and Salix, but she may also spot the four barrels that have washed up on the shore, or as close as their size allows- the water is knee-deep where they rest. There's a chest in slightly shallower water, too. Or there's a ripped sack in ankle-deep water with something heavy still inside it- most of its cargo has fallen out in deeper water. And next to the sack is a quiver of ballista bolts.

Plus, there's lots of wooden planks, a broken ballista, and most of a mast, complete with a tattered sail and bits of rigging. Lots of the detritus has fragile darts made of fish bone sticking out of them; most are broken. They're of a completely different style to the arrows in the canoe.

[McBish]

Lake- Yuki

Hey look some sort of chest. She wades out into the water, her wings rising up to keep dry and she tries to pick up the chest to carry it to shore. She is actually quite strong, so unless the chest is unusually heavy she should be fine.

[Earl of Purple]

Lake- Yuki

The chest is heavy- it's heavy enough that it shouldn't be floating. It's made of oak wood and the inside is lined with lead to prevent magical senses penetrating it to see what is inside.

[The Bushranger]

[Lakeshore]

COLOR="DarkRed"]"I could tell that it was derived from a fish,"[/COLOR] Lume says, looking relieved that some of the burden of keeping the sea elf alive has been lifted from him. "However, I am unfamiliar with the type of fish involved. I could project an image, if that would be useful?"

Lakeshore

The poison in the Sea Elf's body is neutralised and turned into harmless stuff that can be in his arteries without causing any harm. Hooray! He's still unconscious, though; but his blue skin is getting darker and is no longer such a pallid shade.

Lake

The canoe is now incredibly stable! It won't even wobble, even if Salix jumped up and down. It can be overturned, but it takes conscious effort to do so and is not easy. At least, not while Salix is atop it.

"It would help, yes," Quinn says, preparing the antitoxin just in case.

Either far too many poisoners are using antimagic poisons these days, she's spent far too much time around Toby, or both...

[McBish]

Lake- Yuki

Yuki half drags half carries the chest ashore where she will try to open it up, though her player has a suspicion it will be locked.

[Earl of Purple]

Lake- Yuki

It is indeed locked. However, there is a secret compartment in the lid of the chest that contains the key. It's rather well hidden, but it could be activated by accident, and the keyhole is rather visible should Yuki try to pick the lock.

[Dimonite]

[Lakeshore]

"It would help, yes," Quinn says, preparing the antitoxin just in case.

Either far too many poisoners are using antimagic poisons these days, she's spent far too much time around Toby, or both...

Lume projects an image of the fish, which (as mentioned earlier) the good doctor may or may not recognize as a stonefish.

[Earl of Purple]

Lakeshore- Sea Elf, Lume & Quinn

It's quite a large stonefish, too.

I don't know much about the antivenin for stonefish, but I do know that some antivenins are, in and of themselves, toxic, and therefore identification as to what did the biting is often incredibly important when it comes to counteracting the poison.