Same as It Ever Was (Part 23)
Zeke shudders to himself watching the dragon decrease in size, but he says - wisely - nothing on the matter. Nala can do all sorts of things that are impossible, and he doesn't want to bring attention to the fact. Not any more than need be. Instead he takes stock of his allies and the growing collection of their doubles for a long moment to be aware of any injuries that they might be suffering before he comments. "We ssshould ressst before moving on, but perhapsss not here. Nor in the fae landsss if it can be avoided."
He dislikes the fae lands greatly, and does not trust them at all. Even they however would be preferable to no rest at all, and they may at least rely on Harkashan's ability to provide food. And Telamon's. The fruit had been quite tasty. "Isss there a plasce of sssafety nearby?"
Once the dragon has been soothed and healed out of danger, the Goblin checks with the others, tending to hurts and wounds. She watches as Nala shrinks the dragon. "Oh gosh, adorable!" A pale hand reaches out carefully, a finger stroking under the dragon's chin. "How long does the spell last?"
Simony glances around at the others, ending up looking at Nala. "As a follow up to Zeke's question... what's next?"
Telamon stares in bemusement as Nala shrinks the dragon down to traveling size. There's something you don't see every day. Then again, he's seen a lot of strange things. But the mention of Runelei's father makes Telamon frown. "We -- my friends and I -- went through something similar, but the differences here are enough that I think you may need to work out your own solution." His lips curl up faintly. "For example, we never encountered Legus'elain -- we'd killed him already."
He nods to Zeke, his shoulders slumping a little now that the adrenaline of battle is fading. "That might be a good idea. Give them time to recover -- and get to know each other a bit."
Yep, nothing to worry about. Just Nala turning a massive and ancient dragon into a puppy with the touch of a finger. Much like Zeke, Harkashan keeps his mouth shut on the matter, but there's something in his Sith-makar blood that boils at the idea of a dragon being miniaturized like that.
An ancient dragon, being treated as something less than even a Kobold.
"This region of Am'shere is not too close to any major settlements. And I cannot speak to the friendliness of any of my kin in this region." Harkashan answers, before glancing at Shankahar.
"Perhaps we follow Nala's lead on this and head on back to regroup."
Aryia owlishly blinks as her hands a half raised to respond in kind to Yiara jab as the massive dragon becomes a pocket lizard. "In all my decades, I've never seen some shit like that," the noble-esque voice mutters in the mindlink, shaking her head. Still blatantly staring at the tiny dragon, she nods along with the idea of retreating back to the cabin. As for what comes after...
Her eyes drift to Zeke, then Simony, before shrugging and nudging a piece of magicite with her boot. Thinking, she stoops to scoop it up, and pockets it. <Telepathy>
Where there are certain similarities between herself and this fire-haired counterpart, there are also some areas where their past does not align. Clearly, how this one returned to life is a different story from her own, but Rune doesn't dwell on that for long. She simply looks between the two of them, before letting her eyes settle on her own beloved. The echo of themselves is enough to make her heart ache.
Then, her ear twitches towards Telamon. "The Corpse-Eater was intimately tied to my journey. He was the one who made the curse laid upon the beloved of that Fae we encountered beyond the door." She's referring to the Golden Fate. "Though, I'm not sure where similarities echo, and where they diverge." She doesn't want to make too many assumptions.
The prospect of returning to rest seems like a good idea, though her eyes widen in wonder at Nala's unusual power, ever amazed by magic. "If... this world is anything like our own, then Runelei has the power to take the next steps on her own. Though, having friends at her side will make it easier." This draws her eyes to their counterparts, likely referring more to them than to the group of other-worlders.
Runelei frowns deeply at the pit like doing so might answer her question, and eventually, she just looks over at Nala. Seeing the little dragon in Nala's hand--who is cozying up to Nala's thumb and enjoying Nala petting her head--makes Runelei smile too. "Yeah," she says softly. "Easier to try and make sense of this with friends than without."
Shankahar's eyes nictate as he looks at the miniature dragon. "I don't like that," he murmurs softly. Apparently Shankahar and Harkashan are on the same wavelength. That's really not that surprising, though.
"Umm. How long?" Nala screws up her mouth in thought. "I didn't really think about that. Hey, do you like being this size?"
(Yes!) the dragon answers, nuzzling against Nala's thumb. (I remember being this small. It's nice.)
"Well, maybe forever? But also not forever? I don't know, I'm not thinking about it too hard," Nala admits, much to Telanmo's expression of bewilderment. She smiles winningly at the group. "I can teleport all of us home!"
"Aye," say the rest of the alternates, and then Yiara signs, "I'm beat. I need to sleep after whatever the fuck that was." She's gesturing to the shrinking of the dragon. Zeke glances at Telamon. "Isss there not a perssson who isss waiting for usss at Nala'sss home? It might be unwissse to go there. It may not be ressstful." He is trying to remember the name of the person. Something about suns or sons? "A ssssun?"
Zeke really can't remember and it's been too long and too much since they delt with the man the first time.
Simony giggles at the voice in her head, and holds out her hands to Nala. "May I hold her?" The Goblin smiles. "She's even tinier than Tanith!"
She looks to Zeke. "Oh, uhm... the other fae king, right? Perhaps Telamon might allow us to use his magnificent mansion again?" Her eyebrows rise up and she looks to the sorcerer.
"Who should be in charge of the Castle on the Edge of Waking right now? Best guess? Possibly the same person in our timeline?"
The Goblin frowns slightly. "Or is that place outside of time?"
Telamon's brows come together. "That's true. Nala's unwanted suitor may still be slinking around, though with all of us he'd have to be rock-stupid to make a play." He rubs his chin. "We can use the mansion, though, if we need to." His eyes twinkle. "I can even modify it, if you want some variety."
At Simony's question, Telamon looks thoughtful, his mind latching onto the problem. "Hard to say. Ni'essa grants stewardship to those who please her with their works. At the time I received it, it was being maintained by a solar, Cupertos. But... I don't know if it exists independent of the timelines or if there are duplicates. The only way to find out would be to go there."
Zeke's reminder of the danger that may very well await Nala back at her home gets a nod from the rogue, who rests her hands on her weapons. "I think facing her suitor is part of Nala's story, one way or the other. But, it isn't a step we need to take just now." She shifts herself closer to Harkashan, leaning her shoulder ever so slightly against his arm for the contact.
"Maybe Telamon's mansion, or perhaps a message to Nala's Fae benefactor." Referring to Grandfather. "He sent us here, so he may have insights on next steps now that we've gathered two more to his Granddaughter's adventuring party." Just how they get out of here, and where they go, that she seems to leave to those who are more magically inclined. Otherwise, it's a long walk back through a lot of golden memory threads.
"Thisss one thinksss that a mansssion isss a wissse call, and then perhapsss a visssit to Nala'sss relative that wasss ssso wisse. Or to our next objective." Which is to collect the last member of Nala's collective - his own double. Zeke is somewhat anxious to this part of the story. He wants to help his double, but he is wary of what it will mean and what will happen. So far none of this has been *easy*.
"The Mansion will work as well." Harkashan answers. "Though I do not know how it will operate if we open it from within here." He adds, motioning at the realm around them, so intertwined and out of tune with time itself.
GAME: Zeke rolls Will: (4)+26: 30 GAME: Telamon rolls Will: (12)+25: 37 GAME: Aryia rolls will: (9)+20: 29 GAME: Aryia rolls will: (1)+20: 21 (EPIC FAIL) GAME: Harkashan rolls Will: (1)+28: 29 (EPIC FAIL) GAME: Rune rolls will+1: (3)+19+1: 23 GAME: Simony rolls will: (14)+24: 38
"Oh. Raeluin." Nala's expression sours considerably. "That guy. I forgot he was sniffing around my house. But... Zeke asked not to go to the fae lands, and I don't want to make him uncomfortable..."
Which prompts Telanmo to crack his knuckles and point to a wall in the cave. He intones an incantation quite familiar to Telamon... And a doorway forms. He smiles quite proudly, putting his hands on his hips. "There. Magnificent mansion made."
"Wow!" Nala's eyes sparkle as she looks at Telanmo. "You're so cool, Tel..."
"Oh fucking kill me." Yiara rolls her eyes and saunters over to the doorway. "Last one in's a rotten Corpse-Asshole."
The party (everyone) files in. It's... well, it's a beautiful and gorgeous mansion in a Mythwood style. Dinner is served and it's a childhood favorite Telamon finds quite nostalgic. The saved miniature-sized dragon ends up curling up with Simony (aka Mama), and everyone finds rooms for the evening in the ample space.
For Simony and Telamon, the night goes without incident. Dreamless sleep. Sleep without dreams.
Not everyone else is so lucky.
...
Heat.
Oppressive. Unrelenting. The drying of the sun scatters on the body, malformed, misshapen by the cruel hand of fate. This body should have died long ago. _You_ should have died long ago. You were abandoned out in the wilderness to die, and yet, by His Will, you endure.
Your scaled body endures. You look down and see limbs of flame. They are a gift, from Him, by His Will. But He did not give you enough to quench the hunger. There will never be anything ready to quench the hunger--
Then you look up over the horizon, and you see a massive dragon, shimmering with blue scales, water running along their form, as their head hurls up to greet you.
"Nepantla!" you roar. You hunger. The dragon will quench your all-consuming hunger at last.
The space between.
...
And in the morning, you shuffle out of the mansion, back into the cave again. Nala yawns. "That was nice!" she says, stretching her limbs. "I slept like a log."
Zeke looks weary after the night of 'sleep'. Yet also more determined. He leaves the mansion fully rested, fully equipped with his new spells gifted from the Dragonfather, and thinking deeply of the dream that he'd been given. It is so like his own experiences and yet so very different. He hopes that he will be able to reach his double, or that someone will.
"Thisss one isss ready." He remarks, his tail twitching. (If only Cuemoni were here, he knows that she would be able to reach his double so easily...) Yet... was it not people like Telamon and Cor'lana who had taught Zeke to find value in himself so that he could find happiness with Cuemoni?
Slumber without dreams is not usual for Telamon, but when there's enough fatigue, it claims him. And in honesty... he embraces it. He does not wish to dream of anything else, especially with the missing spot in his heart where Lana's thoughts should be. When he awakens the next morning, he's physically refreshed, his magic renewed, but... he is not whole, and will not be till this work is done.
He rubs his forehead, and takes a deep breath before dragging clothes out of his haversack and getting dressed. Once all his gear is in place, he checks himself in the mirror, before following the others out. At Nala's comment, he smiles, "It's always important to get a good night's sleep. Doubly so for magicians, since we need the rest to regain our magical energies."
One might expect there to be comfort in the night, surrounded by the safety of the mansion, nearby friends, and the presence of her beloved at her side. Harkashan's warmth is enough to comfort Rune to sleep, but not enough to ward off nightmares.
This is different, though. It feels different. The heat from Harkashan extending into something alien to Rune. She is not herself, but someone else entirely. The flames flickering across his scales. The aching, clawing feeling of hunger seizes like fire in his veins. The need to consume...
When she wakes with a start, she looks to Harkashan, the two likely sharing one of those all too knowing looks. It is not the first dream they have shared. Nor the first one of a horrific nature, either.
As she joins the others, there are dark circles under her eyes. Or perhaps, darker circles than normal. "Glad you slept well, princess. Me, not so much." She mutters, rubbing her palm against one eye and yawning.
Similar to Zeke, Harkashan awakens rather wearily. This isn't the first time he's had dreams like these. Dreams of the hungry, the unstillable need to feast. They had haunted him throughout many of his early years in Am'shere, during the midst of the wars against Charn. And they had reared back up when he'd met Brother Skielstregar.
They had quieted for a while since, so his mind wasn't ready for them. So this time, it'd been Harkashan and Rune who had woken each other up, rather than just Rune awakening from a nightmare. A knowing look had been shared indeed, but there's also a big puddle of drool formed at the edge of Harkashan's maw.
He'd been gnawing on her 'scaled' arm.
---
When they get downstairs, Harkashan is dead-quiet. Not the usual 'grumpy Harkashan' kind of quiet, but more just... disassociating-Harkashan quiet.
Aryia shambles out of the mansion, dark bags under her eyes with her shades held in one hand. The telepathy spell is long gone, so it's only a wonder what profanity is going on in her head about how tired she is. She smacks her cheeks, faint bursts of light dashing over her face before she slips her shades on to cover her glowing eyes. "Well that was ass." She glances to the others that have shared in their lamentations. "Got shit sleep too?" A long pause. Her stomach grumbles. Anything that could be signed is faux pas, so she shoves her hands in her pockets. <Handspeech/Tongues>
The Goblin slumbers heavily, curled up, facing the little dragon upon her pillow. She murmurs from time to time. She awakens fully refreshed, and like many other Goblins, ravenously hungry.
Her eyebrows rise up as Rune and Aryia speak of a bad night's sleep. "Did you two wish to talk about it? We've all been experiencing bad dreams, reliving some traumatic event of someone else's life. There may be clues in that... perhaps if you are able, we could discuss it over breakfast?"
Simony cradles the small dragon in her arms for a time, before convincing her to take up a spot on her shoulder. "You can see everything better from up here, and I can feed you, too."
The makari do not get bags under eyes. That would require having flesh. But Shankahar seems to be feeling a similar malaise to Zeke, Rune, and Harkashan. He just looks... disquieted. Discomforted. "I did not sleep well."
Runelei, meanwhile, definitely has bags under her eyes, and she's rubbing at hers, too. "Same here," she says. "That... was a fucked up nightmare."
"Incredibly ass. Not incredible ass--that's me, thanks--but incredibly ass," Yiara signs over to Aryia in agreement. <Handspeech/Tongues>
Telanmo and Nala both look surprised. "Were we the only ones who slept fine?" Nala asks.
"I did keep you up a little," Telanmo murmurs, grinning as that earns him a tiny nudge in the waist from Nala (who is blushing a little).
Shankahar speaks up again. "Nepantla. That is one of the names of the dragon who is bonded with my community." He looks uncomfortable. "Someone is coming to... kill Nepantla. I cannot allow that to happen."
Telamon's expression becomes dour. "I didn't, but... I have more mastery over my dreams than most do. If I do not wish to dream..." He shrugs, before considering what has been said.
"We have only one left to find, Nala. The counterpart to Zeke." He looks at Zeke with a kindly expression. "He... may not be in his right mind, you realize. And if Shankahar is right... we may have to hurry." Telamon exhales, and rubs the bridge of his nose. "Alright. We need to find Nepantla, and heal my friend's counterpart before he does something horrid. Anyone have anything to add to that?"
"Well, your ass is pretty incredible." Rune mutters to Yiara as she stretches her arms over her head, still trying to wake herself up fully. Reaching for her waterskin, she pours a bit out onto her palm and then splashes it onto her face, using it to slick her dyed hair out of her eyes.
"Sounds like we weren't the only ones. I hope no one else had to be woken up being gnawed on." Rune waggles a part of her clothing that have distinct Makari teeth marks. Her eyes sweep the Makari present, eventually settling on Shankahar, who confirms her assumptions that this was no singular dream.
"I've known that hunger before. It's... not something you can explain unless you've experienced it." Her hand lays across her belly briefly before shaking her head. She looks to Zeke, and then away again quickly, as if worried to linger on him too long given that this is likely his counterpart they are dealing with. "The dreamer seemed to at least have some semblance of self left... which is something, given what I know."
"His name issss Maxitia-mayana he isss... like thisss one." Zeke looks at the group of friends who are not his own, but like them after a fashion. "Thisss one hass a sstory to tell, a ssstory that you need know, that can be told on the way. We mussst asss Telamon sssaysss, hurry. Before he doesss ssssome-thing that can not be forgiven."
Zeke looks at them. "Thisss one hassss ssspellsss that can bring him back. Pleassse. He can be brought back. There isss goodnesss in him. Do not kill him. If you have mersscy for the dragon, then have mersscy for him."
"I, too, slept well.", Simony says, a small look of guilt briefly passing over her expression. She looks to the dragon upon her shoulder. "Did you sleep alright, little one?"
The Goblin snorts at Yiara's handsign, "I don't know, Aryia's definitely got tone down there."
She eyes Shankahar while he speaks, and then nods in agreement with Telamon. Her eyes go to the wee dragon upon her shoulder. "Are you ready to save a dragon? And Zeke's counterpart?" She looks to the others. "I uhm I do have a question for you all... what should we name her?" A hand gestures to the miniaturized black dragon upon her shoulder.
"We don't do all those squats for nothing," Aryia gestures to her counterpart, going for a reflexive low five before resting on her back foot, ignoring the two love birds. She didn't know the exact extent of whatever Shankahar was talking about, but it seemed serious.
Invigorated by compliment by proxy and directly, she perks up, hands on her hips. "I can subdue him so it won't harm himself or others," she signs before looking down to Simony, as well as the tiny (but still terrifying, knowing how dangerous it is) crystal dragon. "Well, you're the mother. If anything, it's on you if the dragon friend here is alright with it." <Handspeech/Tongues>
Harkashan doesn't speak on the matter. The idea that a Forgotten could be healed is something new to him. He's always understood the soul to be so corrupted, it couldn't even be undone by the way of Miracle. So to hear otherwise is something that brings Hope in an area where Hope has generally not existed. But it also brings a worry for him. One he's expressed in the past. "Let's get moving." He remarks instead.
He's not feeling hungry.
Nala offers to teleport everyone out of the cave, just to evade the golden threads, and, well, golden threads are evaded. Outside of the cave is... the Am'shere jungle. Same as it ever was.
Nala sneezes. Telanmo blinks. "Are you okay?" he asks.
"Yeah. I think maybe I'm allergic to something out here," Nala says, before looking at the group. "Shankahar, how far is it from here?"
"Two days on foot at a leisurely pace," Shankahar says. "Half that if we go fast. Zeke, I welcome you to tell the story... For I would not wish to condemn the enemy seen in the dream to death if you believe he can be saved." He starts walking. Briskly.
-TBC