delight_in_wt | Entries tagged with delight

delight-in.livejournal.com

Outcast picked some of the last ripe berries from the babyberry bush and Lady Inithia started the enchantment for him. Mirhandrax's arm was successfully re-attached but he's still recuperating because that was a lot of punishment he took. We went to visit him today at the Nastrothon Memorial Sanctuary where he's convalescing.

"Now that you've got the berries, we should look into a buyer for that bush," Mirhandrax said, after we exchanged greetings and updates. The healers had given Mirhandrax his own room in part because they needed to group three beds together in order to have something big enough for him to lie on. I was perched at the foot of the bed-conglomeration with my broad purple tail curled around my legs, and Outcast sat on a stool next to it. "We'll still need many more lozens to find Elisia."

Outcast laced his fingers together, looking down at his brown-furred hands. "About that."

"Mm?" I looked inquisitively between them.

"I was thinking. We should give the bush back to the crefians."

Mirhanrax raised his whiskery eyebrows. "The crefians?"

"It was their bush to start with. The thunglaze essentially stole it from them."

"True, but it's not as if they're primes. There's no law or tradition that says we owe it to them. And I assume Summer Sun is expecting a share in the bounty, after all he went through. And you, of course, Delight," Mirhandrax said.

I put my chin against my hands. "I don't know about Summer Sun but I agree with Outcast," I said. He jerked his head up, looking at me. "It belongs to Refia and her people. They should get it back. Or decide what to do with it."

Outcast smiled at me. "Also, I don't know how the bush will fare in the Flats. I'm sure there's a reason why they're virtually unknown in Ketheria. I wouldn't want to sell it to someone only to have it die by the spring."

Mirhandrax wrinkled his muzzle. "Hmm. If that's what you want, well enough." He tried to shrug, and grimaced at the pain in his arm. "You'll need to settle terms with Summer Sun, of course."

"Of course."

Later that day we met Summer Sun at a traveler's shelter outside the city gates to talk about it. He was disappointed at the idea of getting nothing from the adventure so I offered to pay him on my own. He asked if he could get lifetime free featherstyling instead and I agreed. "As long as I'm around in Vheshrame sure do you want me to touch up your featherstyle now?" It was kind of messed up from the fight with the airsharks and the healing had grown his feathers back in their original blues instead of the flames-on-black colors of his current featherstyle.

Summer Sun preened. He stretched out his long graceful neck, folded his eight legs beneath him, and spread his wings for me. "That'd be great, thanks. Actually ... do you mind doing a different design right now?"

"No I don't mind what do you want?"

"I don't know. Something wintery, maybe like blues and whites and sparkling icicles or something? It's more -- well, don't get me wrong, the fire on black looks incredible. But I don't think that 'dark, dangerous, and scary' is really me, you know?"

I nodded and did a pattern on him as if the shafts of his feathers had been rimed in ice with the sun shining through it, the calamus and rachis dark and the barbs glittery and slightly distorted and sky-blue. He was super-happy with it. Outcast stuck around while I worked on the design and we chatted. We're going to take the babyberry bush back to the crefians once Mirhandrax is fully recovered as long as the winter's not too cold for travel.

Afterwards as we were walking back from the city gates, Outcast tried to pay me back for bribing Summer Sun. I waved him off. "Don't be silly the crefians are my friends and besides I like featherstyling. And you need the money for your ... project. Thingie."

Outcast looked away at that, pulling his hat down against the cold fall breeze. The wind tugged at the strands of his short dark ponytail, whipping them around the collar of his cloak. "You're a good prime, Delight."

I hugged my cloak closed. "So are you," I said, awkwardly.

He gave me a funny half-smile. "You don't have to pretend. I know how you feel about me."

"I don't dislike you," I said. Outcast didn't say anything in exactly that way that people who are too polite to say 'you're lying' don't say anything. I jammed my hands in my pockets and repeated, "I don't. All right yes I think your relationship with your mewellicapfriend was disgusting and wrong and that both of you are better off apart -- " he set his mouth in a grim line, short muzzle in profile as he glanced sidelong at me, and I continued " -- BUT that doesn't mean you're a bad PERSON. You're brave and resourceful and smart and loyal and you try to do the right thing and even if I don't always agree with you about what that is well I can respect that you're trying. You're a good person and I like having you around."

I think saying that is the first time I realized it was true. As long as I don't think about the whole icky nonprime-lover thing, Outcast is pretty nice to have around.

We'd stopped walking. Outcast stared at me, blinking, surprised and embarrassed and pleased and overcome all at once. "I ... I didn't think ... that is ... thank you," he finished, lamely.

I looked away and started walking again, embarrassed now too. "It's not that importantl."

"Yes it is," he said, softly enough that I could pretend I hadn't heard. Outcast cleared his throat. "Do you think we should bring some more fruit with us when we visit the crefians? Not that we need to pay them for giving them back their plant, but ... they were so pleased with it, and it seems like a small enough thing."

"Uh-huh I was thinking maybe just a basketful or two."

Outcast nodded. "Why do they like citrus so much, anyway?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. They just do."

delight-in.livejournal.com

Hey I'm alive to write this! So you know it didn't go tooooo badly.

Stealing the bush went EXACTLY the way we planned actually. Which NEVER happens.

Getting the Bush: According to Plan

The weather had turned nasty: dark, cold, windy and drizzling. This was unpleasant but probably good for us overall, because it made visibility even worse. Mirhandrax and Outcast distracted the village guards by doing a deliberately bad job of sneaking into the village from the rimwards side. They were scaling towards that one gilded thunglaze dollhouse. The idea was to make the locals think they were going to steal it. As soon as a lookout spotted them, all of the lookouts rushed over there with weapons in hand, shouting and waking the village. Summer Sun and I were hanging back, waiting: once the alarm went up, Summer Sun swooped in close to the babyberry bush enclosure. I popped into the enclosure, the bush popped onto his back, and then I popped back out, all in less time than it took you to read this sentence. I accidentally knocked the bush off Summer Sun's back when I reappeared, but he caught it in his mid-talons and flew us back out before anyone even noticed us. So that part went great!

As we swooped out, Summer Sun gave a loud screech to signal Outcast and Mirhandrax that we had what we came for and they could retreat now.
The Distraction: Kind of According to Plan

One of the thunglaze had gotten them partially tangled up in a network of vines and they were trading blows with a half-dozen furomi. When they heard the screech, they used the bound Change Places spells I'd given them to teleport out of the vines and started Flying Like a Bird into the wind and rain to escape.

A thunglaze must have given some of the furomi their own version of Fly Like a Bird because they started flying after Outcast and Mirhandrax. But another of the little guys yelled, "Don't let them draw you away from the village! It could be a trap!" and the furomi drew back. One furomi screamed after Mirhandrax and Outcast, "Go on, run, you gods-cursed cowards!"

Mirhandrax spun about in the air, his great axe raised. He charged at the furomi, roaring "What was did you say?" as he swung. The furomi threw up his meng sword in an attempt to block. Mirhandrax shifted his aim lower and chopped through the nonprime's leg.

"Help?" the furomi whimpered. His fellows swarmed in around our Gormorror, hacking and tearing at him. A thunglaze healed the furomi's stump so it stopped bleeding.

Outcast swooped back and with a stroke of his sword swept the thunglaze healer clear off the fungal shelf. The thunglaze yelped and started to cast Fly Like a Bird on himself, but continued to fall as it waited for the spell to take effect. "Mirhandrax, time to go."

Mirhandrax ignored a stab from a furomi that would have killed me to concentrate on his current target, who lay propped one one arm and desperately raising his sword to block. Mirhandrax brought down the axe down hard enough to drive past the blocking sword and slice open the furomi's leather cuirass. Blood welled from the long gash in the nonprime's chest. "No one calls a Gormorror a coward!"

A different furomi clanged his sword off of Mirhandrax's shinguard. Another one stabbed him in the arm. Mirhandrax continued to ignore them, raising his great axe again.

The focus of his attention squeaked. "I didn't mean you! I meant, uh, him!" He motioned vaguely in Outcast's direction. "You're very brave oh gods please don't kill me I don't want to die."

"You dare call my friend a coward?" Mirhandrax shouted.

"He can call me whatever he likes." Outcast fended off a strike from one of the furomi that was probably hoping Outcast was less impervious to pain than Mirhandrax. Some of the furomi villagers who'd been asleep at the start of the ambush were emerging from their homes, armed with clubs and hatchets. "Let's GO, Mirhandrax." The thunglaze healer was flying back up to the ledge now. Vines from another spell formed around Mirhandrax's legs.

Mirhandrax paused. "Well. All right, then." Bleeding alarmingly, Mirhandrax used another bound teleport to escape the vines. As he and Outcast retreated to the rendezvous point to meet with Summer Sun and me, Mirhandrax asked Outcast, "You're really going to let him call you a coward?"

"I have been called much worse things," Outcast said, flying as fast as the spell would allow away from the hostile nonprimes.

This derailed the Gormorror. "... what could be worse than being called a coward?"

Outcast sighed. "Let's just stick with the plan, shall we?" Since they weren't being pursued he wiped his blade and sheathed it so he could bundle up more warmly in his cloak.

Mirhandrax shook his head. "Nothing against the rest of you prime races, but I'll never understand non-Gormorror."

We all met up back at the cleft where Summer Sun and I had collected some dirt to put in canvas that we wrapped around the babyberry bush's roots. Outcast explained their side of events while Mirhandrax bled and shivered involuntarily from the cold and blood loss as we tried to patch him up. Outcast did a little basic healing on him, but he's no healer so it didn't help a whole lot. We figured the best thing we could do was get him back to Vheshrame and real healers as quickly as possible, so we wrapped a blanket around him in addition to his cloak and then all of us flew off.

Maybe We Should Have Planned for the Trip Back Some

About two-thirds of an hour later we were attacked by a swarm of airsharks, probably attracted by the blood-scent from Mirhandrax. Like airsharks usually do, the swarm focused on trying to kill the most badly wounded among us. Normally having all the enemies trying to kill Mirhandrax works out pretty well because he's the toughest one of us and it meant that Outcast and Summer Sun could concentrate on offense and I could cast spells uninterrupted.

In this case, however, it did not work out so well because Mirhandrax was already in such bad shape that they were able to bite off one of his arms and kill him.

Mirhandrax's bound Heal the Awful Wound brought him back to life and then his bound Temporary Health healed him completely (well except for the severed arm which was still severed). He roared and started whacking apart airsharks with his one-handed axe (because he couldn't wield his great axe with one arm) while airsharks attempted to kill him a second time. Summer Sun retrieved Mirhandrax's arm from the airshark that bit it off after Outcast killed it and then I managed to spont Fresh Meat to keep it from decaying in the hopes that we could get it re-attached by a healer in Vheshrame. The airsharks did not quite manage to kill Mirhandrax a second time before we took them all down.

But this was still very bad because Temporary Health is like you've probably guessed from the name only temporary and since he was mostly-dead again after its healing, that meant he was going to die again when it wore off. And Temporary Health only works once a day.

The rest of us were not in the best shape either; Summer Sun's black-and-flame featherstyling pattern was spattered with blood and his left flank was torn open and he was missing a bunch of feathers from his left wing. The babyberry bush was a little worse for wear but the airsharks hadn't been trying to destroy it so it was more-or-less intact. We hovered in the shelter of a scrubby Verticals tree while I bandaged Summer Sun as best I could. "I think I've seen enough adventuring," Summer Sun said. "I'm ready to be back at a nice safe nest."

"Yeah I'm kind of remembering why I retired," I said to him.

"How long is that Temporary Health going to last?" Outcast asked Mirhandrax.

"It'll start wearing off in three and two-thirds hours," the Gormorror answered.

"It's going to take us another five or six hours to get to Vheshrame at the rate you two fly." Summer Sun flapped his wings nervously. I wondered if he was thinking about how much better time he could make if he abandoned us and flew back on his own. And really hoping he wouldn't, because he's good at navigating at night in the rain while flying and the rest of us would have trouble telling up from down at this point.

Outcast shook his head. "No help for it. Let's move." As we flew, Outcast said, "When the Temporary Health wears off, the wounds are going to come back in bits; unless we're unlucky, a little damage every few minutes. Delight and I both know Remedy for Corpador." Remedy for Corpador is a very simple healing spell that only works right after a wound is taken, and only on wounds inflicted by Corpador, and it doesn't heal very much unless you're a good healer. But at least it's true healing that can be used more than once per day, and it works on all wounds returning from a temporary healing spell wearing off. "If we both cast Remedy as soon as a wound returns, we can probably keep up with the returning damage. How much cley do you have left, Delight?"

"Six." I said.

"And I've got eight. That's ... probably enough to last until dawn." Cley refreshes for everyone at dawn.

"I'll be fine," Mirhandrax insisted.

"Shut up. We need you to not be stupid and stoic about this, Mirhandrax. When the wounds come back, tell us. You know how short the window of opportunity is on Remedy."

Mirhandrax started to say something about being a big strong Gormorror warrior and unconcerned about a little returning damage. Outcast turned in the air, looking ready to hit him. "I want your word on this, Mirhandrax. Promise that as long as you're physically able to, you'll tell us when you feel the spell wearing off." Mirhandrax started to protest again. "Your word, or so help me I'm going to ask Summer Sun to fly Delight and me back and leave your giant corpse here right now, because that's all you'll be in four hours. A giant corpse that we can not carry."

Mirhandrax scowled. "You have my word."

"Thank you."

So in three and two-thirds hours, Mirhandrax grunted out, "Wound back." We were all flying tired at this point because even with a nap it'd been a really long day and the cold wet dark made it feel like we'd been going forever without getting anywhere. Still Outcast and I had been waiting nervously for this moment for like an hour. We were flying slower now, because both of us were keeping in contact with Mirhandrax so we'd be sure not to be too far away to cast the spell when we needed to. We each got a Remedy into him. For another hour this continued, every handful of minutes. We were mostly keeping up with the returning damage.

Then we got unlucky. Mirhandrax passed out from a returning wound and started to fall from the sky. Outcast, Summer Sun and I all grabbed him as us Orren cast Remedy. Mirhandrax's second bound Heal the Awful Wound revived him a moment later and he re-cast Fly Like a Bird. Shaken but intact, we flew on for a few minutes, until the next returning wound knocked Mirhandrax out again. Our Remedies failed to revive him and while we all three grabbed him again, we were not strong enough to fly with him. I reached for my own Heal the Awful Wound to revive him with it, but Outcast stopped me. "Wait."

"Why we have to get him conscious he can't fly like this?"

"He'll just pass out again with the next wound returning. We don't have enough bound spells to keep doing that to him; we need to preserve them in case he dies. Let's get him over to the Verticals and set him down." We managed to half-glide, half-fall with him over to a cleft in the Verticals and set him down.

Outcast and I panted, staring at the Gormorror's body as he breathed in shallow, uneven gasps, blood bubbling out of his nose and oozing from the stump of his arm. Summer Sun hung back, scanning the skies and the Verticals nervously. A wound reappeared on Mirhandrax's neck; reflexively, we healed him. "Right. New plan," Outcast said. "Summer Sun goes back to Vheshrame and brings a healer to us."

"How?" Summer Sun asked. "They won't let me in the city."

"... right. Take Delight with you."

"And then you and Mirhandrax can both get eaten by the next monster to attack?" Summer Sun looked skeptical.

"No no no no." I felt for the cord of the Little Bird of Many Wings talisman around Mirhandrax's neck and pulled it off, while Outcast and Summer Sun looked on, perplexed. I used it to cast Fly Like a Bird on Mirhandrax again. His body rose from the cleft. "Fly Like a Bird is controlled by the caster not the subject," I said. "We can still fly him back."

Outcast blinked at me a few times. "I'm an idiot. Of course. Thank you, Delight."

I gave him a tired smile. "You're welcome. Let's go home."

As dawn finally came and refreshed our cley, the rain stopped and the sky cleared. We did meet one more group of nonprimes before we got back to the city but that was a handful of ulgrane from Summer Sun's nest. Yay! They flew escort with us the last several miles to the city. I told Summer Sun I'd bring Trust or another healer out to treat him as soon as we got help for Mirhandrax and then we primes swooped through the city gates under Fly Like a Bird power. Because as long as we have the talisman anyway it does beat walking.

We left Mirhandrax and his severed arm at the Healer's Guild with a swarm of healers and assistants attending him. I manged to convince Trust to come out and see to Summer Sun, and he put Healing Sleep spells on all of us.

Then I went home and collapsed for the rest of the day.

I am totally retiring from adventuring again now.

delight-in.livejournal.com

The flight through the Verticals went great! It would've been faster if Mirhandrax had been able to fly on an ulgrane too instead of Flying Like a Bird. Even so we made pretty good time and didn't get into even one fight flying down past the Verticals. I think Mirhandrax was disappointed. Glory Blaze was super-nice and agreed to carry a couple of the crates for us so we didn't even have any trouble getting the fruit down there.

The crefians were SO HAPPY to see me and Intoxicating Sky again! Refia is just as sweet and kind as I remember although she's not the nest matriarch any more because she passed the role to her sister Inifsi and now mostly Refia plays with the children all day. Which sounds better than being matriarch to me and makes me wonder if Refia had to bribe her sister with something to get her to do the matriarch thing.

I remembered Refia's grandchildren from my last visit of course but I didn't recognize Flitlegs and Redspots at all because they were just caterpillars last time and now they're full-grown with big intangible wings like panes of stained glass. I had to spend a ninth of an hour with each admiring them and telling them how pretty they are. Then we played hide 'n seek because they're not that grown-up yet. All the adults who were in the nest the last time I was here still remember us slaying the jack o' hooks for them -- it turns out that was two years ago and not last year. The crefians wanted to know how everyone else was doing which meant I had to break the news that Lastsplash was dead and Haroof was missing and probably dead. Miskael is fine though he just retired from adventuring after Lastsplash died. Still that was sad.

After that, Inifsi insisted on perching us and the whole nest among the gathering branches and having me tell the story about fighting the jack o' hooks again even though it's not a very good story as adventurer stories go. Ostensibly this was for the nestlings who were too young to remember and for the crefian family who's moved to the nest since then. It turns out either I don't remember the adventure that well or the crefians have embellished it a bunch (or most likely both) because they kept interrupting me to add details. After a while I told Engas to go ahead and tell it for me.

Oh and they LOVED the fruit that we brought and I was TOTALLY right that they would be happy to trade us babyberries for it.

Unfortunately they didn't have the babyberry bush any more.

It turns out that a couple of months ago a thunglaze -- a tiny furred bipedal nonprime not much bigger than my hand, with two long slim ears and a short muzzle -- had come to the crefian nest. It was accompanied by two furomi -- nonprimes that look rather like shaggy Gormorror-sized versions of the thunglaze. The thunglaze was called Armenswall and wanted to trade for not just a few handfuls of fresh babyberries but for the whole berry bush. Armenswall offered in return enough orange trees to make a little grove.

"But orange trees don't grow in the Verticals the soil's not deep enough and you don't get enough consistent sunlight," I said as Refia was explaining.

Refia's orange and red wings drooped through the branch she was perched upon, her antennae kinked unhappily. "I know. But these trees were enchanted. Armenswall swore to us that they'd been growing for years in the Verticals. And you know we've more use for orange trees than the babyberries. So we agreed."

"Of course, the thunglaze was a lying little cheat," Inifsi added. "The magic wore off on the orange trees three days later, and all of them died. Leaving us with nothing for our bargain."

"Oh that's AWFUL," I said. "Do you know where they're from did you already demand your babyberry bush back or at least get new trees?"

Refia bobbed her insectoid head glumly. "They make their home a score of miles from here. We sent a group to complain, but they only laughed at our naïveté in accepting the deal in the first place. We've not the power to confront them with force over it, not in their own lands."

Outcast grimaced, exchanging a look with Mirahndrax. "It's only six days to winter now. There's no way we can go elsewhere for knowledgefruit at this point."

Mirhandrax nodded his great shaggy head. "We will have to get it from this thunglaze, then."

So I guess it's going to be an Adventure after all.

delight-in.livejournal.com

We set out for the crefian nest today! I know it's been over a week since I mentioned it but Outcast had to make sure all the other arrangements were settled and that Lady Inithia would be able to use the babyberries as soon as we got back with them. Since there'd be no point in getting FRESH babyberries if she was waiting on other stuff or didn't want to start until Outcast had the rest of the money or whatever. Fortunately she's willing to let him pay for one week's work at a time. Which is good because second fall is nearly over and babyberries only ripen in fall and second fall so it'd be almost a YEAR before we'd have another chance to get them if she wasn't willing to start now. As it is, it's awfully close to winter. But I'm sure it'll be fine!

The plan is to fly into the Verticals. It turns out that the flying talisman we used on our last adventure, The Little Bird of Many Wings, wasn't one that Purrzhon owned; he'd borrowed it from the Adventurer's Guild. (The Guild has all kinds of nice equipment that members can borrow if they pay the appropriate level of dues, in accordance with a very complicated algorithm that takes into account your standing in the guild, your reliability, the cost of the item, and how long you want to borrow it.) Purrzhon had returned The Little Bird at the guild in Ulmarn and it found its way back to the Vheshrame guildhouse where it belonged. Mirhandrax is going to borrow it so we can fly down.

Actually, Mirhandrax is borrowing it so he can fly down. Outcast and I are going to be riding on ulgrane! I sent a leaf to Intoxicating Sky a few days ago that we were going to visit Resia's family -- she's the crefian matriarch who hosted me last time -- because Intoxicating Sky is friends with them too. Intoxicating Sky sent back that he'd be happy to come with us and visit them too and Summer Sun and Glory Blaze also wanted to go. Then Summer Sun and Intoxicating Sky agreed to carry Outcast and me in return for feather-styling. No one is willing to carry Mirhandrax because he's HUGE.

It'll be nice to have The Little Bird of Many Wings with us anyway as a backup though.

Naefar and Outcast helped me pick up and pack the crates of trade goods this morning. Naefar and I were going through the market selecting lemons while Outcast hauled the cart. "So this is for the host gift?" Outcast asked

"Noooo this is what we'll trade them." I felt some of the lemons while Naefar sniffed at them.

Outcast looked back at the cart he was pulling. "... what else are you getting?"

"Mmm. Papedas if they're any good."

"So ... we're asking them for an extremely rare, hard to find, and valuable magical reagent. And in return we're offering two crates of oranges, one of kinnows, and some number of lemons and papedas."

"Yup!"

"... are you sure this will be sufficient?"

"Oh yes they love citrus! And none of this grows in the Verticals and they don't get much trade," I said. Naefar finished filling the bag with good lemons and I paid the merchant.

Outcast looked dubiously at the cartful of fruit. "It seems dishonest, somehow."

"Why this is delicious fruit and babyberries really aren't that good?" I made a face as I remembered the taste. I lead the way to the farmer stand that usually has the best papedas.

Outcast chuckled. "I don't think taste is the important part."

"It is to them. Last time they didn't charge us anything at all for the berries."

"Nothing?" Naefar asked.

"Well we had killed the jack o' hooks that was bothering them already."

"I guess we'll see if a cartful of fruit is worth as much as a dead monster," Outcast said.

"It will be!"

We packed up all the fruit in nice crates with straw for padding and then discovered there's not enough room in Mirhandrax's pack for them all. Oops. Now we're waiting on the road outside the Vheshrame North Gate to meet the ulgrane and maybe we can bribe Glory Blaze into carrying some crates for us. Wish us luck!

delight-in.livejournal.com

[This is for

terrana's tarot story prompt. Since Terrana likes Delight, I decided to make it a

delight_in_wt story. Delight is long-winded, so this will take several entries. Cross-posted to

rowyn.]

Guess what? I'm going on another adventure! No, not because I need money. I'm still rich from the last adventure! This one is kind of a favor to Mirhandrax. Well, I guess technically to Outcast but I'm not really doing it for him. I should probably start more at the beginning.

Archonandi, Mirhandrax, Outcast and I met up yestereve at the pub in the Vheshrame Adventurer's Guild. (Mirhandrax has managed not to start any brawls in this one so he's still welcome here. Unlike Ulmarn.) We were seated on the second floor's interior balcony, overlooking the main floor where patrons sat on benches before long tables. The balcony seating is big comfy arm chairs and tray tables and I like it lots better. Mirhandrax, being the biggest bear of a Gormorror EVER, had to sit on a bench anyway because chairs big enough to seat two normal primes aren't large enough for him.

Being a smith for months and months and not adventuring has changed Arcsy. His arms and chest muscles are bigger than ever, but his grey-furred body doesn't have quite the same lithe agility he used to. There's something in his eyes too: an ease and affection behind the raccoon mask of black fur, instead of the constant state of wary, alert preparation.

And you know, Outcast looks SO DIFFERENT from the scrawny scraggly brown otter-man we rescued from bandits back in Chirreb. His fur is a glossy mahogany now, paling to soft beige on the underside and he's let his headfur grow out long enough to pull back in a ponytail. He's filled out -- not plump but muscular; his shoulders look twice as broad as they were. I don't think I'd recognize him if I hadn't been seeing him every couple weeks since we met. It's weird to realize that this must be how he's supposed to look and that the way he was when I first saw him was the result of months of imprisonment and abuse. Sometimes I wonder what it was like and mostly I'm glad I don't know. I know he brought it on himself in a way but I still feel sorry for him because NO ONE deserves that.

We'd gotten together just to be sociable since Archonandi's retired from adventuring and I'm rich. There's no reason Mirhandrax shouldn't be rich too, except that he probably gives all his money away because he's that sort of prime. Also he's determined to help Outcast.

Their current plan to find Outcast's really-should-stay-lost-if-you-ask-me-but-no-one-does mewellicapfriend was to have an enchanter make a Tempador-based tracking enchantment. Then they could go to the spot where we'd thrown her off the world-branch (well she was with the other bandits how were we to know she was being blackmailed?) and the enchantment would see into the past to find which way the elements had taken her, and they'd follow the trail from there. Of course they'd be months behind her, but they were hoping this would get them close enough to track her by more immediate means. Outcast had found an enchanter willing to create the enchantment for a payment of more money than he or even I have. Outcast, Mirhandrax and Archonandi were discussing ways either to raise the funds or get the cost down.

"Adventuring is the best way we've got of raising this kind of sum, and we did have a good run for the last couple of tasks." Mirhandrax drummed the claws of one giant paw against his tray table. "But the market of high-paying adventuring work has dried up recently."

Archonandi took a swallow of ale. "I don't hear as much as I used to, but I'll let you know if anything comes my way."

"Lady Inithia gave me the list of reagents she'd need for the enchanment." Outcast laid a short scroll on a tray table and pushed it where the others could reach. "Some of these are irritating to gather but not particularly difficult. Third-minute milkweed blossoms, for example, I can get myself with patience."

I made a face at the idea. Third-minute milkweed blooms for 9 seconds at random intervals between three and nineteen days apart. It is super annoying to harvest and hardly anyone cultivates it because of that. Well, it wasn't me going to do it.

"The most expensive item on the list is fresh knowledgefruit, though." Outcast tapped a blunt claw against the final line.

Mirhandrax wrinkled one side of his broad muzzle. "No wonder. I didn't think that grew anywhere in Ketheria."

"Not in the Flats, no. Lady Inithia has a source in Borenexia. That's six branches down and four thousand miles away. And since it has to be fresh, not preserved ... "

"At that distance, it'd be easier to get Lady Inithia to it than it to her," Mirhandrax said.

Outcast smiled wryly. "True. Unfortunately, she doesn't like to travel and her laboratory isn't mobile. And even setting aside the cost of an express courier, the prices from Borenexia aren't cheap."

"I think there might be knowledgefruit trees closer than that," Archonandi said. "I've heard rumors of it growing in the Underneaths of Dentheia. With the secret of its exact location guarded by an azgrath."

Outcast grimaced. "I don't mind taking risks, but going into the Underneaths to face an azgrath might be more trouble than this one is worth."

"That depends on how old it is. A young azgrath ... " Mirhandrax started.

"That rumor's over a decade old," Archonandi said.

"Never mind, then. To be honest, I'd rather not kill an azgrath for the sole crime of having a thing that I want, anyway." Outcast exhaled. "I did some research and there are closer known knowledgefruit trees, but not from anyone who will sell the fruit. A nyacanth raider in the Verticals of Mrasteia is said to have one."

"A raider? How many monsters does it lead?" Mirhandrax asked.

"Fifteen or twenty, by most accounts."

Archonandi whistled. "That's a bit much for two adventurers, unless they're all scawn."

Mirhandrax grinned. "Sounds like a worthy challenge to me."

"They're not scawn. I wouldn't want to plan an all-out assault on them," Outcast said, "but a distraction and a snatch-and-grab might be feasible. I'd need more information first, to know what their defenses are like."

All this planning talk was WAY too much like work if you ask me, so I interrupted to say, "What's knowledgefruit anyway?"

"Wrinkly yellow-brown berries." Archonandi held thumb and forefinger a half inch apart. "Some say they look like curled-up infant Orren. If you eat a bunch of them, they'll give extra power to the next Kennoc spell you cast, and -- some say, though I personally doubt this -- improve its accuracy."

"Ohhh babyberries!" I said. "There's a crefian nest in the Verticals below Vheshrame that grows those why don't you just trade with them?" Everyone stared at me. "What?"

"Crefian nest ... ?" Outcast said.

"Yes I met them when I was still an adventurer like a year ago maybe? They're nice they look like gigantic butterflies with intangible wings if you've never met one and they traded us some babyberries so we could boost a tracking spell we needed."

"... yes. That does sound much easier. Thank you."

Then Mirhandrax asked if I'd show them how to get there and I figured I'd just come with them because I'd like to see the crefians again anyway. I don't know if this will really be an Adventure but it's in the Verticals! So probably.

delight-in.livejournal.com

After hot hot hot Surprise it's hard to get used to Second Fall! It's been cooler than usual for Consimbs in Vheshrame. I've hardly been swimming AT ALL if you can imagine that. Like only ONCE this whole last week! I have to take long hot baths just to keep from drying out and blowing away. (To all my extradimensional friends: no not really).

Instead I've been going out on escapades with friends. (Escapades are like adventures but without the dangerous-getting-mutilated-by-monsters part). Some of the escapades have been not very escapade-y, like the one where we went hunting all over Vheshrame for a place that served milk o'quits and never even found one. Studies-Too-Much ended up buying snails and making his own, but now he's not sure he got the right type of snails. Another couple were watching performances -- a puppet show and the Orchestra of Occlusion -- and the puppet show shouldn't count as any kind of escapade if you ask me.

Oh but the orchestra does, because they were sold out and none of us had tickets and Archonandi had PROMISED his fiancée Fressis they'd go. So we HAD to get at least the two of them in.

Archonandi, Fressis, Studies-Too-Much, Paraffa, me, and Outcast that were supposed to go. Don't ask me why Outcast was there. Oh nevermind I'll explain anyway: see, Mirhandrax and Outcast have kept on adventuring together because they're trying to raise lozens for an expedition to find Outcast's lost mewellicapfriend. For reasons I don't begin to understand Outcast refuses to give up on the relationship despite it being GROSS and WRONG and bad for everyone including Elisia. And instead of trying to talk him out of it like any sensible prime, Mirhandrax is helping him. So they're still best buddies. Archonandi is also friends with Mirhandrax and so when Mirhandrax is in town Arcsy invites him to stuff. And since Outcast is Mirhandrax's friend and Arcsy doesn't want to be rude he always invites Outcast too.Then Mirhandrax doesn't want to come anyway because he doesn't go to puppet shows or musical performances or anything that anyprime might consider fun unless you count pit fighting which I DON'T. But of course OUTCAST is happy to come and so we're stuck with him.

I bet you wish I'd stuck with 'Don't ask'.

Fressis had to work until just before the performance started, so the four of us went on ahead to get tickets.

Except, like I said, the show was sold out. Paraffa said, "We go to different show, maybe?"

"No, I swore to Fressis we'd see the Orchestra of Occlusion!" Archonandi protested. "She's been wanting to see them since Lage. I've already had to back out three times for one reason or another. I can't disappoint her again."

"Perhaps we can buy tickets at a markup from someone who already has them?" Outcast suggested. "For the two of you, at least."

But it turned out that the Orchestra of Occlusion has a really strict policy against reselling -- they put the names of the ticket holders on the tickets at purchase, and if they find out you resold they'll never let you buy again. Which isn't exactly a foolproof prevention tactic, but it was good enough that we couldn't find any resellers.

"There are always empty seats at this sort of thing," Studies-Too-Much said. "They're bound to have some people who don't show up. We just need to find a way to get them to sell us those seats."

Outcast crinkled his muzzle in thought. "Well ... I have one idea."

While he explained, I surreptitiously cast The Raven's Beak because this sounded like it had a good chance of being an Adventure.

delight-in.livejournal.com

I just realized that I got so wrapped up telling you last time about the Inquisitorial Inquisition of Inquisitors that I didn't even tell you: I gave Dad-Dad and Dadsy your present!

About halfway through the evening, I signalled Waterfall and the musicians. Waterfall had hired them and so they knew their cue. Waterfall and I got up on top of the center table, and I yelled, "HOY EVERYBODY! I've got a little SURPRISE here!"

Then I dodged all the things primes pelted in my direction, as they shouted back in ragged chorus, "NO! NO SURPRISES!"

"I know!" I yelled back. Do you know I've gotten better at dodging with the last series of adventures? I could tell. "And I'm Delight-in-No-More-Surprises now so it's extra surprising coming from me!"

Everybody laughed and grinned and threw more stuff at me. "NO! This is a NO SURPRISE party!" They were better at getting it in unison.

"I know! But there's always at least one surprise at every No Surprise party, so it's not REALLY a surprise, right?" I yelled.

Waterfall jerked a thumb at me. "She's got a point, y'know."

Everybody looked to their tables and conversational partners and exchanged feigned grumblings and mumblings, until they finally turned back to me. When everyone was looking at me, I motioned my hand downwards once, twice and then a third time.

On cue, they shouted, "FINE. WHAT SURPRISE?"

"I'm so glad you asked! This is from BOOMSTARTER SEVENDRUMS, for DAD-DAD and QUICKSPLASH!" I used Dadsy's real name since most of the people there weren't his kids. (Dad-Dad goes by Dad-Dad to everyone.) Then I hopped down and Waterfall hopped up, and the performers struck up the instrumentals for the love song you wrote. And Waterfall sang it! I don't know if she's as good a singer as Song-for-Always technically but she was perfect for "No Truer Love". Everybody laughed at the funny bits and sniffled at the sad bits and Dad-Dad and Dadsy held hands for the whole song. I think Dadsy cried through the whole thing.

The crowd made Waterfall sing it a second time ostensibly so that Dadsy could listen to the parts he cried through the first time, although he pretty much cried through the second time too.

He wasn't ACTUALLY sad in case you offworld nonprimes have any funny ideas. Dadsy's very sentimental. He loved the song lots, maybe even better than Dad-Dad.

Everybody else liked it too! I had at least two-thirds fewer Inquistorial Inquisitions afterwards, and a bunch of 'that was a great surprise' instead.

Probably I should have done it earlier in the evening.

You should definitely have Don't Go in It's a Tarp! perform it, Boomsy!

delight-in.livejournal.com

Hiiii Boomsy-kaboomsy-make-me-a-loomsy! I'm really glad your hearing went well and not just because it means I'll get the lozens I lent you back! Well lent Pinsitter after she lent you you know what I mean.

Any road 50 lozens is a nice windfall for you! What are you going to do with it?

We had the annual No Surprise Party five days ago and I just realized I completely forgot to tell you about it. It was wonderful! Everyone was there! All my local sisters and brothers (except Void-Dancer, unfortunately) and uncles and aunts and nieces and nephews and cousins and friends of all of the above plus lots of ones that weren't local like Dadsy's parents and Dad-Dad's grandparents on his father's side. The best part was seeing all the people from out of Vheshrame who'd come just for the No Surprise party. That's why it was so late this year: Dadsy wanted to give everyone more time to travel into the city after Surprise was over.

It was also the worst part in a way, because the first thing EVERYONE wanted to catch up on was relationship status. Who's gotten married, divorced, had kids, adopted kids, gave up kids for adoption, added spouses to their family, etc., etc. And I wanted to know all that stuff too! But then eventually everyone's looking at me and asking who I'm dating.

The Conversation, Version One

Vingi (my brother Branspash's mother-in-law): "And who's your sweetie now, Joy-of-Sunout?"
ME: "I'm Delight-in-No-More Surprises now, and I don't have one."
Vingi: "Right, of course not! Who are they, then?"
ME: "I don't have any,"
Vingi: "I'm so sorry! I hope the break up wasn't bad."
ME: "... what break up?"
Vingi: "With your sweeties."
ME: "I didn't break up with anyone."
Vingi: "So you're still seeing them, then?"
ME: "No, I've never had a sweetie."
Vingi: "Reeeeeally? Do you know my friend Splashall? She's single too."
ME: "... can we talk about something else now?"
Vingi: "Sure! Perhaps you'd like to meet Ripple? He's also single, and such a cutie! Just about your age ...."
ME: "That's nice oh look my drink I need to go get another one."
Vingi: "... but your glass is full."
ME: "Just the time to get a new backup drink byeeee!"

The Conversation, Version Two

Bubbles (my sister Waterfall's brother-in-law): "So who are you seeing lately, Dee?"
ME: "I just came back from a nice trip visiting Boomstarter and I saw Void-Dancer a couple of days ago and I'm thinking about going to see Mirhandrax and Trust because I haven't seen much of them since we got back from our last adventure."
Bubbles : "No, no, I meant 'who are you dating'?"
ME: "I'm not."
Bubbles: "Really? A pretty, outgoing, friendly Orren like you? Whyever not?"
ME: "I don't know?"
Bubbles : "Surely someone must be interested! Is there a special someone you have your eye on?"
ME: "No?"
Bubbles: "Oh, come on! You know everyone, Dee. There must be somebody ... are you worried because you don't think you'll fit in with their existing family?"
ME: "No."
Bubbles: "Then why? Don't tell me you've found someone you're actually shy around?"
ME: "No I haven't found anyone. I'm not looking for a relationship."
Bubbles: "Oh, had a rough time with your last one, did you?"
ME: "No."
Bubbles: "Just petered out, did it?"
Me: "No, it didn't exist."
Bubbles: "What, you had a crush and never even approached them?"
ME: "... can we talk about something else now?"
Bubbles: (talks about something else for one minutes and thirteen seconds before): "So who was this crush on? You shouldn't let yourself get discouraged too easily, Delight?"
Me: "... kind of like you and this topic?"
Bubbles: "Exactly!"

The Conversation, Version Three

Eelflutter (Dadsy's mom): "How's things with you and Glorious Blue these days, Delight?"
ME: "She's Glorious Cool now and fine we got a new place last year with a front room although it's a bit more expensive."
Eelflutter : "Ah, getting some space to expand your family?"
ME: "... No? We're just roommates. We're not in a relationship."
Eelflutter : "You're not? Really?"
ME: "Really."
Eelflutter : "What's the matter? Her family wouldn't approve?"
ME: "... umm we're not romantically attracted to each other at all?"
Eelflutter : "Why not?"
ME: "I don't know? Just not."
Eelflutter : "Are you sure?"
ME: "I think so?"
Eelflutter : "Maybe you should give it a try."
ME: "Thanks! I don't think I will though."

The Conversation, Version Four

Behind-the-Falls (cousin on Dad-Dad's side): "So I hear you're telling everyone you're single, Dee?"
ME: "Yep! I am."
Behind-the-Falls: (in an undertone) "You know, in modern Vheshrame, especially given your family history, I really don't think you have anything to be ashamed of."
ME: "Me neither!"
Behind-the-Falls: "I'm glad you feel that way! Personally, I think Boomstarter's a splendid fellow."
ME: "Me too he's like my best friend I made an enchanted scroll so we could write to each other all the time! I just came back from visiting him in Daukhrame and we had LOTS of fun."
Behind-the-Falls: "How lovely! You two make such a cute couple."
ME: "... couple?"
Behind-the-Falls: "You see, don't you think it would save time if you just told everyone you and Boomstarter are involved? Keep them from fixing you up with stray friends?"
ME: "... it would? Except that Boomsy and I aren't dating and I try not to lie to my friends and relations?"
Behind-the-Falls: "Oh, come on, Dee. It's a little obvious, don't you think?"
ME: "No? I'm not traff and Boomsy's not traff and also he's practically my BROTHER EWW."
Behind-the-Falls: "Your parents would understand, is all I'm saying."
ME: "I don't think I understand."
Behind-the-Falls: "You just have to accept who you are."
ME: "... I don't mind traff people at all and I'm sure if I were traff and seeing someone I would tell everybody because I am just not that good with secrets. But I am not so I'm not so I can't."
Behind-the-Falls: (sigh of long-suffering)

The Conversation, Version Five

Rankscraffle (family friend): "Hey baby! Heard ya broke up ... with Boomstarter."
ME: "Noooo I was never dating Boomstarter at all."
Rankscraffle: "Ohhhh. But ya do like Khtsoyis, don't ya?"
ME: "Sure doesn't everyone -- wait. You're talking about sex, aren't you."
Rankscraffle: (waggles tentacles suggestively) "'Course, moll-doll. Everyone likes the ol' rope-a-dope under the earth 'n dirt, eh?"
ME: "I don't know what that meant but I'm going to have to go with 'no'."
Rankscraffle: "Aww, c'mon, Dee. All that time ya spent with yer shoggy-coz didn't whet the ol' curiosity? Mebbe wet the kina-finer too?"
ME: "Still going with 'no'."
Rankscraffle: "Awww, don't tell me some Orren-boy scared ya cis?"
ME: "Nooooo I'm just not traff."
Rankscraffle: "How'd'ya know? You ever tried a little spent-pent with a foggy-bog?"
ME: "... no?"
Rankscraffle: (waggles tentacle tips again.) "Tellin' ya, 'til ya've tried seven ya don't know Heaven."
ME: "Can we talk about something else now?"
Rankscraffle: "Sure. How was Daukhrame, anyway? See Whackasmack while ya were there?"
ME: (talks about Daukhrame and other stuff for a while.)

The Conversation, Version Six

Youngwave (Dadsy's grandfather): "So who have you been romancing since I last saw you three years ago?"
ME: "Oh, no one."
Youngwave: "You can tell us!"
ME: "I know! I just did."
Youngwave: "Ohhh you're dating an Orren named No One?"
ME: "Noooo. I'm not dating anyone."
Bubbles: "Whew, that's a relief. I dated her last year and ... trust me, you want to steer clear."
ME: "What?"
Bubbles: "No, Anyone. What's very nice -- do you know him?"
Youngwave: "So how's things going with No One?"
Bubbles: "If you're not satisfied with No One, you should think about asking What out."
ME: "Oops I seem to have accidentally triggered my bound Hiding in Nowhere." (disappears to a pocket universe for several minutes)

*

All right I didn't actually spend the whole party drifting from one group to the next and getting interrogated about my lack-of-love-life. It didn't even really seem like I did at the time. There was an AWFUL LOT of this sort of thing, though.

delight-in.livejournal.com

Since Void-Dancer won't be at the No Surprise party, I decided to go see him today. I checked at his house but the only one home was his maid so I told her to tell him I'd called and that I'd stop by another day. If I waited for Void-Dancer to call me back every time he wasn't home I'd NEVER see him again. He's not very good at social stuff like that.

I went to the Temple of Reflections in the Void next and as usual stopped in the entranceway to spend some time staring at the windows to other places and worlds. I was especially looking for worlds with a lot of Durudor so I could spot

gavinfox's and

vik_thor's world maybe. I found one that might have been it! The window showed what looked kind of like a city intersection but instead of buildings made of wood they were made of MIRRORS. And not LITTLE buildings either! They were all jammed next to one another with no space in between, and they stretched so high that the window didn't show their tops. I counted at least eight levels of mirrors on one and each mirror was half again as tall as the people swingng around. The mirrors weren't perfectly reflective so it wasn't a blinding hall-of-Illusidor effect. On the streets were metal carriages that rolled along by magic without anything pulling them. And the people looked like they were made of Durudor too! They had eight legs ending in hand-feet and many of them moved around by swinging on thick ropes that spun out from their abdomens. It looked like a lot of fun swinging around among the tall buildings! So is that like your world Gavsy?

Visiting "Here" reminded me that I STILL haven't gotten a present for Kvarse ARGH and I have no idea what to get her. I haven't seen any interesting animals on my journeys! I might have to go on an Adventure just to find something. I looked in the mirrors for cute animals she might like and saw some pretty ones with heads like a taptet but slender and delicate four-legged bodies with no arms. They had short brown fur and white spots on their flanks. They were in a section of a forest where everything was in shades of brown or grey or green. All the grass and moss and leaves were green and all the wood and earth was brown or grey. Do you know a place like that, Boomsy? One of them would make a good gift if I had any idea where to actually find them.

Or I could just donate a bunch of lozens to the Nastrothon Memorial Sanctuary. Kvarse'd like that.

I was still looking at windows in the entrance hall when Mask of Infinity came out. He was escorting an unhappy-looking Sleeth. "The Temple appreciates your donation," Mask was saying. "I know it can be unsettling, but the ceremony went quite well. "Here" looks with favor upon your endeavor. That's just ... one of the ways he shows it."

The Sleeth lashed her tail. "Knowing this and being pleased by it are not being the same thing. I get what I come for. I go now." She slunk off.

I waited until she was out the door and then waved. "Hiiiii Mask-max!"

Mask of Inifinty sighed as he watched the patron depart and then turned to me with a smile. "Hello, Delight. Good to see you again, it's been quite a while."

"Soooorry I've been out of town mostly! I was gone all Chirreb on a stupid adventure and then most of Oix visiting Boomer-rooners but I'm back now. How have you been?"

"Busy. We're a bit short-handed at present. I don't suppose you've ever considered a calling with the Lord of Space?" Mask of Infinity grinned and winked at me to show he wasn't very serious.

"I did remember I worked at the Temple for um three weeks in 4378?"

"So you did. Whyever did we let you go? Your parents talk you out of it?"

"Noooo they usually wait a couple of months before trying to talk any of us out of things because we'll probably stop on our own," I said. "Velabble fired me because I forgot to show up for three ceremonies in a row where I was supposed to be assisting. She said 'I don't care how fond of you 'Here' is, if you're not present you're no use to us!'" I shrugged helplessly.

"Ah. I suppose she had a point. Not interested in giving it another go, then?" Mask walked with me back in to the main sanctuary.

"Noooo I'm rich and retired now are you reeeeeeally this desperate? Why don't you just hire Nightbloom back?"

Mask of Infinity's smile faded, and he just shook his head. "I'm afraid that's not an option."

"Why not could she really have done something worse than not showing up three times in a row with no notice?" I asked, as we knelt together towards the altar.

He shook his head again as we rose. "I can't discuss that, Delight. And it's been seven years for you. I'm sure you've matured since then."

Now I really wanted to know how Nightbloom managed to get fired, but I let the topic go as we walked the straight line crooked to the altar. "Not really I got fired in Lage for kinda the same thing."

Mask of Infinity tried to stifle a smile and failed. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's all right being rich is better. Is Void-Dancer around I was looking for him?"

"Alas, he's scheduled for an off-site rite all day today."

"Awww all right I'll just say hi to "Here" and all the angels while I'm here." I gave the Temple a donation since I'm rich and paid my respects and one of the angels impaled me a little in greeting which was unexpected. But that's why I have Remedy for Locador and it was nothing serious.

I went home afterwards and figured I'd try again tomorrow. But then Void-Dancer surprised me by returning my call that evening.

delight-in.livejournal.com

It was so good to visit you again Boomser-loomers! I'm really glad now that I came to Daukhrame even if it wasn't quite as emergently an emergency as I thought. It was sweet of your foreman and Clobberbob to let you take the rest of Surprise off so we could visit properly. I know Surprise is a strange time for a vacation but the timing worked out well what with me being rich and the docks being light on work. Maybe if I'm rich next Surprise we can do it again! If I'm REALLY rich next Surprise we can go on an airship like Lady Luck! The only thing that'd be more fun then flying on a super-ritzy airship would be flying on one with my friends.

Everything's fine in Vheshrame! Glorious Cool found my cache here with no problems and paid my share of the rent just like I asked. Although I am starting to wonder what I keep a room for here anyway since I've only spent about one week out of the last two months actually in Vheshrame. And most of that week was spent in the swimming hole. I'm sure I'll be glad of a home when winter comes though.

And I have missed Dad-Dad and Dadsy and I've barely seen any of my siblings nevermind my nieces and nephews. I went to visit Dad-Dad and Dadsy as soon as I got back yesterday. They're having our traditional No Surprise party on the ninth this year so I haven't missed it yay! I'll get to see everyone there except Void-Dancer.

Dad-Dad and Dadsy say hello and they miss you too, Boomsy! I didn't show them your present yet. I'm going to get Splooshie and Banderswish to help me with that. I really shouldn't surprise them with it at the No Surprise party but I reeeeally want to. What do you think? Would it be all right?

Anyway I hope that your court date goes well but if it doesn't DON'T WORRY. You don't have to pay me back! I'd only have spent the money on ice dancing lessons or something. But do write and tell me how it goes!

Posted via LiveJournal app for Android.

delight-in.livejournal.com

This is really a very nice airship and I kind of wish I could just enjoy it instead of having poor Boomsy to worry about and getting mad at Songers for being a Khtsoyis-hating beast. GRRRRR. I can't believe she's spouting all those stupid obnoxious LIES about Khtsoyis being bad primes and ARGH I just want to tear my fur out whenever I think about it!

So I'm not looking at that awful entry full of her LIES any more and I'm not going to think about HER any more either. I'll write about this airship instead.

Most people don't want to travel during Surprise and so the one airship I could find is posh. And BIG. It's as cool and comfortable as the ice dancing show, twenty-seven hours a day! That's why this ship doesn't mind flying in Surprise I'm sure. But it's not just that they spent a bunch of lozens cooling it -- they've got all kinds of neat stuff. Singers (although not mean horrible ones like a certain Orren I'm trying NOT to think about!) and dancers and puppet shows and a LOT of different games for people to lose money at gambling. A LOT. And there's the river deck! The river deck is amazing, it's much warmer than the rest of the ship so that even Herethroy will enjoy swimming there. But not as hot as hot Surprise it's more like a nice summer day. The river has rapids and slow pockets and a tidal pool and water bubbles like I hear the lake in Treverre has only not so big. A lot of primes leave their kids on the river deck and go lose money gambling while airship attendants watch the kids play. The airship is like its own little world like the Strayaway only with more entertainment and not AS huge. Although still huge.

Tickets were REALLY EXPENSIVE and I actually got a discount because the room I'm in was canceled by the prime who was supposed to have it. Even my ROOM is posh. It's got its own water elemental just for cleaning you! You can lie down on the bed or wherever and it'll wash you off and not get a drop of water on anything else and even you will be dry afterwards. And the bed! It's big enough for five or six primes (or two Mirhandraxes) and has silk sheets and velvet bedding and there's a steward who doesn't seem to do anything except wait down the hall for me to ask him to do something. Every time I see him, he asks if I want anything. "Anything at all, m'lady? It would be my honor to serve." As if I were nobility! I keep thinking someone is about to throw me off the ship for impersonation except I TOLD him I'm not a lady and he just smiled at me. "Of course not, m'lady. Perhaps m'lady would like another glass of chilled honey kathia?"

Since I'm proooobably never going to be rich enough to do this again I've been trying to enjoy it anyway. It's not like I can do anything from here for Boomsy except get mad (how can you even THINK of letting him go to auction ARGH and now I know why SONGERS thought it was a good idea because she's an evil Khtsoyis hater OF COURSE she doesn't care if he's SOLD into practically SLAVERY). Since I was trying not to brood, I spent a few (well, several) hours yesterday on the riverdeck, and went to one of the plays, and went to a dance. I met a nice Orren named Marapash to dance with but she wanted to go to the gaming tables after an hour or so and I'm NOT doing THAT! I know what happens to gamblers you lose all your money and then you go into debt and then INDENTURED! I'm here to rescue Boomsery from indenture not get auctioned myself! So I went back to my room and the nice steward brought me an iced lakeberry drink.

I'd brought the scroll with me part of the day so I could check it in case there was any urgent news but I left it in my room when I went the dance. Song posted her last HORRIBLE update while I was dancing so it didn't ruin my WHOLE day. Just my evening. I wasted a lot of time writing to her even though she was saying horrible nasty LIES about Khtsoyis until I was so upset that I gave up on the whole thing and went back to the river deck for a few hours to relax. After that it was late late late so I slept.

I think Song had asked some questions that I'd meant to answer but I can't remember what and I'm still too upset to check. It's not like I'm expecting any help from HER now anyway.

Fortunately I am rich enough to pay Boomsy's fine without ANYONE else's help. Even after paying for the tickets to Daukhrame on this ship. I guess I could've paid a courier instead of going myself? I actually didn't think of that until I'd bought tickets already. I did think of trying to figure out that bank-to-bank transfer thing that Sythyry's accountant used to steal all zir money except that 'used to steal all zir money' isn't really a glowing endorsement of the system. MAYBE I wouldn't lose all my money to dishonest bankers and/or accountants and MAYBE gambling doesn't always end up with you indentured but who wants to take that chance?

The airship makes port today at three hours past noon. I guess I'll go swim for another hour or two until then. Once I'm in Daukhrame I'll have to figure out where Boomsy's being held so I can pay his fine. I hope the guards keep good records for that sort of thing. They ought to.

I'll be glad when this is over.

delight-in.livejournal.com

Scarletbloom Speaks

So I walked all the way back to Flowering Beauty again today and stopped for frozen honey tea once and frozen chub beetles once because YAY HOT SURPRISE. And then slooshed my way the last block because by then I'd melted into a puddle.

But Scarletbloom had hired some student to do a cooling spell on the shop so it was almost worth it just for that. Maybe I should hire a student to follow me around and keep me cool. Or just buy a pattern spell for it. It can't be toooo complex. But the month is almost half-over and it'll be ages before I need it again so I don't know.

ANYWAY Scarletbloom was in but she was busy with manager or owner things so I couldn't talk to her right away. But she got to me in a third of an hour which is pretty good for manager/owner stuff.

"Delight! It's so good to finally meet you!" Scarletbloom shook my hand enthusiastically. We've met before but my fur was gold and white then and I was going by Joy-of-Corpador or something so I didn't really expect a Herethroy to remember. "So what name are you going by now?"

"Delight-in-Surprise."

"... really?"

"Well, it's better than cold Surprise."

"... ask me about that the next time we have cold Surprise, all right? So, what brings you to my shop, Delight-in-Surprise? Blushvine tells me you're not looking for work, alas."

"... did you REALLY want to hire me?"

Scarletbloom smiled at me, her antenna splaying cheerfully. "Of course!" She turned to go in back, beckoning to me to follow her. "You've got to understand, Dee, not all of us are like Absweth, obsessed over the inconsequential things and losing sight of what truly matters."

I stepped into the back room after her. It was a big room mostly full of furstyling supplies: brushes, combs, clippers, soaps, conditioning oils, scented oils, herbs for mixing into soaps and oils. Scarletbloom had a sort of office space carved out of one corner of it, with a drafting table next to a filing cabinet, and a couple of chairs. "Ummm ... so what truly matters?"

Scarletbloom picked up a chair and turned it around to sit facing me, with her legs straddling its back. "Furstyling isn't just a service we perform, Dee." She folded her true arms over the top of the chair's back, gesturing with her midarms.

"It's not?"

She laughed. "Not at all! That's what primes like Absweth and Chenthery want you to think, that styling fur is like washing clothes or cutting cloth. That any idiot with a pair of clippers or enough Creoc Corpador to cast the Well-Groomed Prime could do it. But that's simply not true. Furstyling is an art."

This conversation was sounding familiar. "It is?"

"Yes! It's not about hacking a customer's fur to a uniform height, as if they were an unkempt hedge, or dying them to whatever the 'in' color this season is. It's about creating a style that belongs to the customer. That suits their species, build, features, personality. I saw that work you did on Nightbloom's carapace, Delight, with the clouds of blue flowers on a midnight field. Magnificent! Bold without being overstated. Now, if I asked you to paint the same design on me, would you?"

"... I don't have a carapace-painter's license."

She waved a midhand negligently. "Say you were doing it as a favor to me, just like you did Nightbloom."

"I wouldn't do it as a FAVOR!" I burst out, and continued as she blinked at me, "it wouldn't suit you at all! And Nightbloom wouldn't want someone else copying her."

She clapped her true hands on my shoulders. "Exactly! You understand!"

I screwed up my face at her. "I do?"

"Yes! You want to do what's best for your customer, right?"

"... yes? When I had customers which I don't anymore because I'm retired," I added, in case this conversation was somehow going back to me working again.

"You don't want to style your next Cani just like the last one, just because that style came out well on him."

"Nooooo that'd be boring."

Scarletbloom giggled again. "See, and this is exactly why the guild needs you as a master."

"... what?" I tried to figure out how that followed logically from this conversation or, in fact, from anything ever.

"It's not just your technical skill -- which is good but occassionally sloppy, from what I've seen -- or that you've got a furstyling pattern spell of unusual flexibility, versatility, and more complexity than most furstylists can even cast. No, it's your passion, your dedication to achieving the best possible look, and sense of design that make you a stand out. You see the whole figure, you compose your creations so that each element of the furstyle compliments your customer's form, identity, and everyday surroundings."

"I do?" I am really pretty sure I don't do any of this stuff. I just try to make people look good.

Scarletbloom just ignored me this time. "And you're not afraid to take risks! You're exactly what this guild needs to shake up the beancounters like Absweth and Chenthery. With furstylists like you we can show guilds like the smiths and the tailors that furstyling is a serious art form, deserving of as much respect as any other. If you'd rather open your own shop, well, I can't blame you for wanting artistic control over your vision. But I can promise you, Flowering Beauty would never step on your toes or deride your talent the way some other shops I could name might. I respect you as a fellow artist, Dee, and I look forward to welcoming you to the rank of master."

I think my brain kind of locked up here. I don't remember what I said next. I think I gibbered for a bit and then ran away, maybe.

But at least I found out why I was invited to stand as master.

Obviously, some passionate, dedicated, designing bonstable has been impersonating me and everyone thinks I'm her.

Well, if they want to make her a master, then she can stand the trial. I'm going to spend the rest of Surprise hiding at the bottom of a pool

delight-in.livejournal.com

Still More Questions

Flowering Beauty was easy to spot: it had a fresh-cast sign of a lilrose bud that would open enough to reveal eight-ninths of an impeccably groomed Cani boy, before folding modestly back up around him. Scarletbloom wasn't in the front room but Blushvine was there with a customer. Her hands were busy styling the tail of a Rassimel, but she waved her antenna merrily to me when she spotted me. "Dee! I'll be free in a third of an hour if you want to wait."

So I waited until Blushvine was done with her customer. She gave me a big four-armed hug (Herethroy give the best hugs apart from Khtsoyis).

"How've you been, Dee? I haven't seen you in months! Did you get your license reinstated?"

"I spent alllllll Chirreb on an endless neverending adventure which FINALLY ended in Surprise but now I have lots of money and don't need to work so it was worth it."

"Aww, so you're not here to ask for a job?"

"Nooooo I don't want a job I already turned down Abssers. Did you know that the guild invited me to stand for master?"

Blushvine's truehands flew to her mouth. "Seven and twelve! Oh Dee, did they truly? How exciting! Are you going to start your own shop?"

"Noooooooo I don't even know that I'm going to stand the test."

Blushvine's mandibles clicked in amazement. "But -- after they invited you? How could you not?"

"By not making an appointment and doing it? Why does everyone keep asking me that?"

"But, Dee, it's such a great honor! You must want to be a master!"

I wrinkled my nose at her. "Not really? It seems like a lot of work and politics and trouble the way Sythyrs talks about it and zie should know zie's THREE masters."

She clicked at me a few more times, speechless, then giggled. "It sure would show Chenthery if you were master, though. After the way she treated you!"

"I guess it would show Abbsers too but I'm not sure why I'd want to and I'm not sure why the guild is doing this just after suspending me and it all seems kinda ... weird. Doesn't it? Do you know what's going on?"

Blushvine shrugged with all four arms. "Not really. I did hear some of Absweth's customers were upset that you weren't working there. Even a noble! Maybe that's why she wanted to hire you back?"

"Ohhhhh which noble?"

She curled her antenna in thought. "Lady ... Vina de la Grasse, I think."

"VINSY? But she HATES me! She was my last customer!"

"She was? But I heard she loved your work. It was just what she asked for. Didn't you get fired for not doing what the customer wanted?"

"Yesssssssss are we talking about the same Lady Vina who told you this?"

"Scarletbloom?"

"Is she here?"

"No, she's talking to a supplier. She'll be in tomorrow, though."

So I have to go back tomorrow blaaaaah investigating is ANNOYING. No one's ever around when you want them. I'm going back to swimming it's too hot for this.

delight-in.livejournal.com

Not Standing for This

As I was leaving the guild hall, the clerk called after me. "Wait! I almost forgot -- you should schedule a time to stand the test." He started leafing through a book of days.

"I should?"

"Of course! I can schedule that for you. Would the morning of the 13th work, or would you rather the afternoon on the 16th?"

"No?"

"Hmmmm ... noon on the 21st?"

"No? I don't really want to schedule it."

The Cani clerk dropped his jaw, staring at me.

I waved. "I can always stand it later right? Bye!" He was still gaping when I stepped at the door. I guess people don't usually put off invitations like that? But I'm not sure I want to be master in a guild that tried to kick me out just last month. Er, two months ago. Stupid Chirreb.

Lush, Luxurious and Lovely Again

Since I still didn't understand what was going on and there still weren't tickets to the ice dance available, I went to LLL for MORE INVESTIGATING.

Blushvine wasn't there and two other girls I didn't really know were busy with customers. I asked the brindle Cani boy taking appointments if Scarletbloom was in. "No, she's no longer with Lush, Luxurious and Lovely. Mistress Chenthery is here now if you need to talk to a manager."

"Noooooo that's all right I really need to talk to Scarletbloom. Where does she work now?"

The boy tucked his grey-and black tail between his legs. "It's not my place to say, miss."

"I just want to talk to her I'm not going to ask her for money or anything."

The Cani boy made a sort of piteous whine and shook his head.

"Ummmm ... right. Is Blushvine going to be here later?"

"Blushvine no longer works here either."

"Really where'd she -- " I started to ask, and the Cani boy cringed. ".... nevermind thanks bye!"

The Perfect Carapace Again

I went down the street to the Perfect Carapace. The pretty Herethroy man was putting the finishing touches on a filigree inlay for a middle-aged co-lover. The design was lovely and distinguished and matched her carapace well so I admired it for a bit and made both of them happy-embarrased. "I didn't know you did inlays here no wonder you have your own guild," I told the stylist after she left.

"It's not wholly different from painting, but it's got its own challenges," he said. "Oh! You're that Orren that was in a couple of months ago. Have you changed your mind about apprenticing?"

"Noooooo not yet. Actually I just came to see if you knew what happened to Scarletbloom and Blushvine? They used to work up the street and their old shop is being really weird about them being gone."

He laughed merrily. "That Chenthery! She's terrified about them getting any of 'her' business. Scarletbloom and Chenthery had a falling out, and Scarletbloom started a new shop. 'Flowering Beauty'. I do believe some of LLL's employees went to work for her, too, so that's probably where Blushvine works now too. It's just three blocks rollward of here, on the left."

"Ohhhh thanks! Do you know what they had a falling-out over?"

"Not exactly, sweetie, but I do believe Chenthery didn't have enough respect for furstyling as an artform. You know what I mean?"

"... no not really?"

He giggled. "Oh, I think you do, shimmerfur. I've seen your work!"

"Um all right? I'm Delight-in-Surprise by the way."

"Chicory." He held out one of his truehands and we shook. "Nice to meet you!"

So now I'm headed rollward to look for the new shop but I don't think this investigation thing is working -- I'm not getting any less confused!

delight-in.livejournal.com

I'm starting to see the appeal of time magic that makes time pass faster instead of slower because I really wouldn't mind skipping all of this month. Not that I'm not still Delight-in-Surprise but I think I'll be Even-More-Delight-in-Second-Fall.

The ice-dance performance had already started AND was sold out so I gave up and went investigating like the gods and Glory-worry and all my extra-dimensional friends obviously want me to.

I started at the furstyling guild. The clerk on duty didn't want to help me but I bribed him with a cup of frozen honey-hosh mash. That's not much of a bribe but I think it's only TOO HOT that was making him useless.

After a few bites, he said, "Mmmm-mmmm let me get your file." He came back with it a ninth of an hour later and I held out my hands for it. He held it to his chest. "I'm not supposed to let you see it."

"... will you if I get you another frozen mash?"

"... No, I'm really not allowed to. Sorry. I can tell you why they sent you the testing invitation, though." The clerk stopped hugging the file so he could leaf through it, although he still held it so I couldn't see.

"Oh all right why did they?"

"It says your work was recommended by a member of cabinet. Two masters investigated and deemed you worthy of testing."

"A member of cabinet who?"

"Lady Kroove."

"... but I don't even know her I'm pretty sure I've never done furstyling for her why would she recommend me?"

"Maybe she liked a style you did for someone else?"

"... is this the way you normally get an invitation to test?"

"No."

"Oh."

He added hastily, "I don't know that there is a usual way. Only a couple of people get invited to test each year, if that."

"... this is not really making me feel like my invitation is a perfectly normal thing that I shouldn't be at all surprised about."

"You should be surprised! And honored! It's the highest compliment the guild can pay. Other than the part where they make you an actual master, that is."

"So who were the masters who investigated and said I qualified for the test?" I asked.

He consulted the folder. "Master Angelic-Falls and Mistress Scarletbloom."

I don't know Angelic-Falls but I've met Scarletbloom. She's co-proprietor of Lush, Luxurious, and Lovely.

... I guess I should have gone there when she was on shift?

delight-in.livejournal.com

Initial Investigation

When I got home I dug through the pile of papers and messages (mostly Glorious Blue's bills and certification paperwork for her job) to find the ones for me. There were several leaves from my aunt and cousins (although none from Boomsy which would make me sad except I've already heard from him a bunch of times in Chirreb -- yay Scroll of Infinite Worlds!) and a couple leaves from friends. And yes, not just one but TWOmessages from the Furstylist's Guild. One was an envelope with a notice reinstating my license:

After due Consideration of the Claims registered against Defendant, the Orren known as Delight-in-Leather on the Twenty-Second day of Lage in the Year Forty-Three Hundred Eighty Five Since Creation, originally named Little Squirmy Girl (hereafter Defendant), the Vheshrame Guild of Furstylists does find said Claims baseless and without Merit. Accordingly, the Vheshrame Guild of Furstylists does remove the Suspension placed upon the License granted to Defendant. Defendent is free to resume furstylying Duties at her Discretion. No further Investigation is required or requested.

With a fancy seal at the bottom and the signature of the secretary of the guild.

The OTHER was even more mysterious. It came in a fancy little scroll case, and the scroll inside read:
To the Furstylist Journeyman Orren Known as "Delight-in-Leather":

It having come to the Attention of the Guild of Furstylists that, in the course of ordinary Work, you have exhibited certain Skills at Furstyling of unusual and exceptional Quality, the Guild of Furstylists does extend this Invitation to Test for Furstylist, Master Class. If you wish to stand the Test, please contact the Secretary of the Guild at the Main Guild Hall to set a Time and a Place.

With another fancy seal and signature at the bottom.

So I've thought about this a long time and all I can say is

.... What?

I still have no idea what's going on.

delight-in.livejournal.com

Surprise Is for Swimming

It's good to be back home or at least in Vheshrame. I haven't spent a whole lot of time at home-home except when Glory's there and using cley to ice the place to a pleasant temperature. Mostly I've been at the public pond or out in the river when the pond is just too crowded. Which is why I haven't been writing much because even though I think the Scroll of Infinite Worlds is waterproof I haven't wanted to put that to a rigorous test.

Also it's very very safe inside Vheshrame's city walls! I'm sure Boomsy isn't fretting that, say, I've been impersonated by a mentavore bonstable who keeps my corpse preserved in a dungeon so she can check her likeness for accuracy (yesterday's nightmare.) Also, if I were impersonating me then I'd write more often because not writing would be kind of suspicious, don't you think?

I've spent lots of time talking to ALL my friends because even the people who were all "we're too busy to do anything but say how busy we are" in Lage are now busy swimming with all the Orren. Archonandi is STILL spending half-days at the forge (the FORGE. With a FIRE in it! Can you imagine?) but he does come swim when he's free. He says he's still very happy about giving up adventuring and becoming a smith. He told me he's getting married next Thory which I think is what he's actually happy about. Studies-Too-Hard finished the spraddle he was working on when I left, but he's got another really BIG one to finish before the term is out. (I can't believe the university holds classes during Surprise. Studsy says that most of the classrooms and the library are cooled by magic, though. So it's one of the better places to be this time of year, in that respect.)

But yesterday I saw one person I hadn't expected to see: Absweth! You remember her, she's the one who ran the shop I used to work at. You won't believe what happened!

Absweth, Redux

I was floating on my back in the water, under the redfeather trees. The treefeathers are all bleached to pale pink and wilting now, but they're still dense enough to provide a nice shade for part of the pond. Studsy and Tripriver were drifting nearby, chattering about practical versus theoretical philosophy. Since the shade is the coolest part of the pool, lots of other waterform Orren were packed into it, almost close enough to touch. I heard a shriek of, "Delight!" I tilted up and raised my head above the waterline to see if it was someone calling me specifically or just someone happy to get into cool water.

Abbsers shrieked again when I met her gaze. "It is you! You're back in town! It's SO good to see you again, Delight!"

"It is?" I made a puzzled face at her.

"Yes! Did you have a nice vacation? When are you coming back to work?" Absweth kicked off her sandals and waded into the shallows as she called across the pond to me.

"... back to what work?"

She laughed with a kind of brittle gaeity and walked deeper into the water. "To your booth at the shop, of course! You know we've all missed you."

"... Absers, you fired me."

The Rassimel woman waved one black-furred paw at me. "Don't be silly! Why would I do that?"

"You had a list of like twenty reasons? I wrote some of them down if you want me to check?"

Absweth laughed again, pushing her way through disgruntled Orren bathers to reach my side. She stood up to her shoulders in water beside me, her skirt floating out to either side of her. "You must have misunderstood me, Dee. When will you be back at work? Tomorrow?"

I stared at her head, looking for the Mentador spell that had to be on her. "You had my furstyling license revoked."

She shook her black-masked head, pointing one hand back at herself. "No! No, that was just ... a little accident. It's all cleared up now! Didn't you get the Guild's message?"

"No?" I hadn't actually checked the pile on the counter where Glorious Blue puts all our correspondence since I got back, though.

"You didn't? I'll have words with someone about that! But you don't need to -- " She stopped, perplexed, as I pushed one finger lightly against the damp fur of her shoulder. " ... why did you just poke me?"

"Because you're not under a Mentador spell so you must be an illusion? You're an awfully realistic illusion. Here, hold this." I handed her a twig.

Absweth gave me a confused look as she held the twig. "Don't be silly, Delight, of course I'm not an illusion."

"Then why are you pretending to like me and acting like you didn't swear that if I ever darkened your door again you'd flay me alive and style my hide for a shop mannequin?"

She dropped the twig and grabbed my arm. "Look, maybe some mistakes were made and accidents happened and the point is that's all behind us now! You can have your old booth back! I'll even double your cut. Won't that be great?"

"No?"

"Splendid! So I'll expect ... what did you say?"

"No?"

"... Is that 'no-yes' or 'no-no'?"

"It's no. I don't want to come back to the shop," I told her.

Absweth's expression turned horror-struck. "But ... but ... what else can you do?"

"Adventure? Actually I'm rich now because I just was adventuring so now I'm going to swim and watch puppet shows and basically be a riverbum Orren except without the 'broke and homeless' part."

"But you have to come back."

"No I don't I'm not indentured to anyone so I can do whatever I like." (See this is EXACTLY why I've never ever been in debt.)

She grabbed my arm and started pulling me to the shore. "Don't be ridiculous! I'm not saying I'm your master. I'm going to PAY you!"

Studies-Too-Hard yelped as she shoved him out of the way. He dove under her feet to trip her, and she sprawled face-first into the pond. I wriggled out of her grip as she struggled to surface. When she came back up, sputtering, the tip of a steel blade was six inches from her nose. She froze, her eyes traveling up the blade to the Rassimel hand that held it.

"I believe she said 'no'," Archonandi said.

Absweth got her legs under her and straightened with her hands in the air. She threw me a wild, pleading look. "Delight! PLEASE come back! I'm begging you!"

I kinda felt sorry for her then, but not sorry enough to go back to work. Especially during hot Surprise. I just shook my head at her. She drooped and dripped soggily away from the swimming hole.

"What was all that about?" Archonandi asked as he resheathed his sword.

"I have NO IDEA." I lifted my paws from the water, pads out. "But I'm gonna find out!"

delight-in.livejournal.com

This Morning's Nightmare

Chain Lightning woke me up and asked me, "Shouldn't you be heading back for Vheshrame?"

I stared around wildly. I was in the bandit queen's suite in their hideout. "Oh no! I'm still HERE? I need to get home! I'm going to be LATE WITH THE RENT!" I jumped out of bed and something stabbed me in the side. I looked down and one of my ribs was poking through.

"I told you not to talk!" Trust yelled at me. "I'm not going to keep healing you when you're just going to break yourself again!"

"But I have to get HOME!" I shoved the rib back inside and hobbled to the door. Mirhandrax, Nightbloom, Trust, Purrzhon, Void-Dancer, Tripriver, Studies-Too-Much and his Rassy friend were all waiting for me. They blew on terch-flutes and threw confetti into the air. "SURPRISE!" Tripriver wheeled a giant present to me with "WELCOME HOME DELIGHTED-TO-BE-DEVOURED" on its ribbon.

"But that's not my name ..." I said.

"That's all right." Kijji jumped out of the package and towered over me, a twenty-foot eight-legged fox with wings burning like two sheets of flame at his back. "These aren't your friends."

Everybody laughed and turned into silver birds or goat-people. The birds fluttered dizzyingly around my head while the goat-bipeds danced about me.

"AHHHHH everyone IS bonstables!" I shrieked in terror and tried to run away but Kijji caught my head in his mouth. "NOOO I don't want to be EATEN!"

Kijji giggled. "Oh I'm not going to eat you!" He wrapped his burning wings around me. "Yet! I'm going to cook you first!"

I writhed and choked on thick smoke as the flames got hotter and hotter until my fur sloughed off my body. Underneath, I was a bonstable.

"I didn't know she was one of us," Void-Dancer remarked.

"Anyone mind if I eat her anyway?" Kijji asked. They all shook their heads and shrugged. Kijji went back to cooking me to death. I woke up just as he finished.

Not Really a Surprise by Now

I threw off the light blanket and gasped for air. It was so steamy in the cloudnest that it felt like breathing water. Flokin burned like a bonfire in his sunlamp overhead. I peered around through the hazy air. A couple of ulgrane were preening their feathers. Mirhandrax was stripped down to a loincloth and brushing masses of shed fur from his chest. "Ugh Mirhandrax why didn't you wake me earlier it's afternoon ALREADY?"

"Sun lit a third of an hour ago." Mirhandrax brushed the fur on one arm. His undercoat came off in clumps.

"... really?" I looked up. Flokin seemed to shine even brighter.

He nodded.

I flopped against the too-hot bedroll. "That explains why I'm still tired."

But I couldn't sleep in the stifling heat and neither could anyone else. After everyone was roused (albeit groggy and ill-tempered) the ulgrane flew us down to the river. We all splashed around to cool off, even the ulgrane. It took some wheedling to get the ulgrane to fly us the rest of the way home and I had to promise to touch up their feathers again when we arrived because the heat-molt was making some of them look ragged already. But they did agree!

Home At Last

So we made it back to the city before nightfall! As soon as I'd fixed all the ulgrane's featherstyles I went straight to my landlord's to pay the rent so I wouldn't be late.

Then I went to the swimming hole because TOO HOT.

EVERYONE was there because TOO HOT. It was so crowded it wasn't even a great way to cool off although at least being in the water meant NO CLOTHES. There are people who wear clothes during hot Surprise which I do not understand. I wouldn't wear FUR if it wasn't attached.

I caught up with everyone while I was down there and told them all about our GREAT ADVENTURES like the plot by bonstables to take over the branch that we foiled by proving it didn't exist.

That's maybe not the best story from the trip. It is a funny one though!

Eventually the sun went out and it got a teensy bit less hot and I decided that since I was paying rent ANYWAY I might as well go home.

I didn't want to wake Glorious Blue in case she was home (she was working nights last month -- oh wait I mean in LAGE stupid Chirreb -- but I didn't know if she still was). So I didn't bring any light into the bedroom. As soon as I stepped inside, I slipped and skidded across the floor and slammed into the side of my bed. The floor was rimed with melting ice. "Ahhhhhhh Glory-Morey I LOVE you!" I rolled around happily on the blessedly cold floor. The whole room felt actually cool.

Glorious Blue rolled over in her bed. "Welcome home," she mumbled. "Now go to sleep."

So I did.

delight-in.livejournal.com

Mirhandrax is back! He got back while we were talking to the ghempoch actually but Trust told him that we were taking care of it and that having someone who couldn't pass for norren around wouldn't help. So we didn't see him until after sunout on the 25th.

I don't actually know how you find out if someone is a bonstable. I could stare at their mageriums and if they've got all nineteen connections and a knack for the right creator god then I could be pretty sure they were prime. Except that there are spells that can disguise your magerium and the norren are good with that sort of thing so ... not even then. Maybe Sythyry knows but I think zie's busy because I haven't heard from zir recently.

I read one story in my scroll about

calamitous_cani and he found the bonstable by using (AGH) Mentador on some people he suspected to make them turn into birds. (Bonstables can take their own shape, goat-like and bipedal, or any prime shape, or the shape of little birds). But some of his suspects were prime and so the primes executed and exiled him for using Mentador on primes. I wouldn't go that route even if I could which I can't. Not even if I wouldn't get executed and exiled for it.

Bonstables are notorious for certain psychological traits though. Like they'll say "I"ll take care of the No Unwanted Child, dear" and then not because they want primes to have their kids. They're also flighty and don't stay in the same area long and take on big responsabilties and then ruin primes by not keeping their promises. Also they don't get a lot of god connections when they're little and no knacks so they don't use much magic and their kids do much less experimenting with spontaneous magic than normal. So when the villagers threw a big party for us the next night, we gossiped lots with all the locals to find out who fit those profiles.

There were four of them. Two kids, and a female Orren whose former partners were raising her three toddlers, and a male Herethroy with a nine-adult, fifteen-kids family. His immediate family was like one quarter of the village Herethroy population. Even if we could prove that he was a bonstable they'd probably lynch us and not him.

D:

But we could worry about that if we thought that he really was and didn't have random suspicions based on his flightiness, right?

I know a bunch of you are thinking "Why are you putting all this work into something you're not even getting paid for?" I guess that some things you do for the good of prime civilization and not just because someone pays you.

This morning, we went 'round to each of our suspects' homes. I told them we needed to do some analysis on them because when we were ~~torturing~~ talking to the ghempoch we'd found out about this possible terrible plot to destroy the village. "You fit the profile described to us of the unwitting participants. We don't actually THINK it was you --we think the whole thing was made up, to be honest. But just in case we wanted to check and make sure you don't have any horrible magics on you."

We had the Orren adult spont a Kennoc spell and the Herethroy adult spont a Creoc spell and then we spent a really long time staring at the spells to spot the racial knacks in them. And then had the Orren do it two more times and the Herethroy one more time because it took a while before at least one of us was confident that we were actually seeing a racial knack.

We asked the kids to do the same but of course the reason we suspected them was that they didn't do much sponting. Only one of them could successfully spont a spell although at least it was a strong spell and I spotted the thread of knack in it right away. The other kid ran out of cley first and started crying.

But there really isn't anything SINISTER about a ten year-old not being able to spont. I tried to distract him from crying with a puppet show while Nightbloom and Outcast stared at his magerium. He was too upset to much notice them staring.

"The magerium definitely looked prime," Outcast said afterwards.

Nightbloom nodded agreement. "All seventeen connections. Short but there. Creoc knack a bit stunted. But that happens."

I shrugged. "I think this is as good as we're going to get it's pretty obvious the village isn't half-full of normal bonstables and if it's a new special bonstable well I think we're doomed. Let's go home and hope maybe someprime wizard will catch the plot before it's too late if there really is one."

Nightbloom patted my shoulder. "I am sure it is fine. What are the odds? That your extradimensional friend would tell us to fake. Something that happened to be true."

I sighed. "It was

terrycloth and zie's not always the same person or extradimensional even. Zie might have BEEN a bonstable when zie wrote it."

"If zie was a bonstable, why would zie have given away zir plot?" Mirhandrax asked.

I shrugged again. "I don't know but I bet I have nightmares about it."

"We do need to get home. Tomorrow is the first day of Surprise,"Nightbloom said.

...

ARGH.

delight-in.livejournal.com

Outcast and I joined in to nibble at the ropes because we'd tied the ghempoch REALLY WELL and most of us didn't know enough about knots to make a good one that would undo easily. And of course the rope had to be really strong (not to mention fire-proof!) to hold him so it was also hard to cut. It took a long time to get the ghempoch free, even after Secret came over to help too. He was relaxed and calm while we worked, not tense and ready to explode the way he'd been all the time earlier. He even thanked Nightbloom before he left. "You have put my mind at ease, bo --"

She put her spear to his mouth. "No! You will never speak of what I told you. Never!"

He dipped his head, nodding meekly. "I won't. But you have given me peace, the first I have known since seeing your village. Thank you."

We watched as he rose slowly into the air on his injured wings (Trust reattached them after the ghempoch agreed to leave but they weren't working that well yet.) As he flew off to the Verticals, the last sparks in the sunlamp died. Night fell.

When he was well away, Nightbloom asked, "Do you really think. He bought that?"

"I think he really wanted to believe it," Secret said. "He wants it to be someone else's problem, and now it is."

I nodded. We all watched the dwindling speck of the ghempoch's burning claw disappear in the twilight gloom. "Sooooo ... does anyone else think that we need to check the villagers now to make sure half of them aren't bonstables?" I asked.

Secret giggled madly, while Nightbloom and Outcast grimaced and raised their hands.

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IC journal for Delight and friends, using the World Tree RPG setting

November 2012

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IC journal for Delight and friends, using the World Tree RPG setting

Entries tagged with delight

26 Hivvem 4385: Post-Adventure

24 Hivvem 4385: It's Never the Stuff You Plan On

21 Hivvem 4385: The Crefian Nest

20 Hivvem 4385: Citrus

9 Hivvem 4385: A New Adventure!

18 Consimbs 4385: Escapade at the Orchestra of Occlusion

14 Consimbs 4385: No Surprise Surprise!

14 Consimbs 4385: Relationship Status: It's Not That Complicated

8 Consimbs 4385: Going to Temple Again

6 Consimbs 4385: Vheshrame Sweet Vheshrame

15 Oix 4260: The Airship of Delights

11 Oix 4385: Mystery Solved!

10 Oix 4385: I Hate Investigating

10 Oix 4385: MOAR INVESTIGATION

10 Oix 4385: Fine, Fine, I'll Investigate

6 Oix 4385: The Mystery Deepens

6 Oix 4385: Another Surprise!

1 Oix 4385: SURPRISE!

27 Chirreb 4385: Investigating Imaginary Threats

25 Chirreb 4385: Flying off into the Sunout

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November 2012

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