The Temple atop Mr. Rephath is a bit more hectic than when Alptraum was here just recently. The Vigilant Eye is docked, and shows some signs of battle damage.. along with a few Eeee impaled on its hull spikes. There are Ptera in the large courtyard, being fed and tended to rather than sending them to their roosts, and a lot of partially injured Yodh milling about as well.
"That is so tacky. Corpses on the hull are so three years ago," Alptraum remarks as he approaches the docked ship from the, well, docks. He doesn't just go board it, though, that would be rude. So, he's looking for a deck officer.
There's one Yodh in Temple Guard garb yelling orders. "What are you doing?" she demands of an acolyte holding a bucket and a brush. "You don't use tar to mend the envelope! Go down and get the pteras ready for the next patrol! You aren't bite-sized anymore!"
"May I come aboard? I need to speak with the captain, or a deck officer. I have need of this ship to deal with an issue related to the recent attack," Alptraum calls out to that guard officer. "And before it comes up, yes, I'm the Barsunala, I have permission to be here."
The Yodh seems at a loss for words, or just needs a moment to switch to non-yelling mode. "The Captain is with Yodhrephath Tempesta," she finally says, pointing towards the rear cabin. "Beware of loose helium, it can make you sound all squeaky."
"More than I already am?" Alptraum asks with a fangy grin. "Thank you, I appreciate not going through the blustering for a change! Keep up the good work!" And off he goes towards the rear of the ship.
There are other hazards on the deck, mainly very bloody scorch marks that a few younger Yodh are trying to scrub clean. Someone appears to have actually exploded.
"Exploding is bad for your health, I really don't recommend it," Alptraum remarks as he makes his way around the younger Yodh. "It's not very fun and bad for your mood; you go all to pieces."
"It's a horrible way to punish acolytes," the Eeee on her knees agrees.
"So, who exploded?" Alptraum asks.
"Probably someone who deserved it," the acolyte suggests. "I wasn't there."
"Fair enough. You can now also say you've met the Barsunala, ooo, ahh, whoo," Alptraum comments in deadpan and heads onward.
There's an actual guard at one of the doors to the rear cabin area, so that is probably the door to go to. At least she doesn't look grumpy, but still holds a barbed spear (or possibly a harpoon) in her hand. "Do I need to introduce you?" she asks.
"I'd prefer being announced over being stabbed with that. I'm Alptraum," Alptraum explains. "I wished to speak with the captain. I need to borrow the ship for a Babel mission."
"We're already in Babel, though," the guard points out. But she turns and opens the door anyway. "Follow the smell of blood."
"No patting my butt," Alptraum requests as he steps through the door and into the ship rear. Then there is ... sniffing.
There's an overall scent of blood, but the freshest is coming from the rear of the narrow hall.
So, that's the way Alptraum goes. "I'm here for your souls, but only if they're small," Alptraum calls out.
Alptraum says, "The ones it comes with will suck."
"Barsunala?" Karada's voice carries through the thin door. "Come in."
So, Alptraum opens the door, and immediately looks to see if Karada was injured.
Karada looks fine, but Wynona is laid out on the cot. She's stripped to waist and both of her shoulders are wrapped in somewhat bloody bandages, and she seems to be unconscious.
Alptraum blinks. "What happened to her?" Alptraum asks and rushes over. He drops to his knees so far there's even a loud clunk, though he ignores it for the moment. "No one told me she was injured."
"We just got in," Karada says. "Yodhrephath Tempesta.. Wynona.. works out in the open. A suicide attack got through our defenses and shot her in the shoulders. I'm not sure what she was 'holding' but it went off and vaporized the attackers, luckily, and didn't hit the ship itself. Some sort of lightning strike, or else that's just what happens to air magic when you knock out the person wielding it."
"I apologize if I am about to violate some sort of protocol or rule, but no, this will not stand," Alptraum says, voice a level of seriousness he rarely uses. His hands immediately go to both her shoulders and he breathes slow. Brow furrows, and soon eyes close. All his concentration shifts to sinking shadow into her body to see how badly she is hurt. How long it might take to 'fix' it, or how much it might take doesn't matter. Well, at least at the moment.
It feels like crossbow bolts were used, so not as much tearing as an actual arrowhead would have caused. Alptraum can feel where the muscles are torn and where they are just swollen from bruising, and there is a small bone-chip that was knocked out from the impact in her left shoulder. Some odd issues further down her arms as well, like slight nerve damage that wouldn't have have been due to the bolt impacts though.
"The injuries are bad," Alptraum remarks, eyes still closed. "She has nerve damage in her hands, which concerns me the most. That is a problem for a mage. I'm going to fix this if I can. I might collapse during if it exceeds my abilities. If I do, contact the Mage's guild; Trilby. She will know what to do," he instructs in clipped words. Then he's silent as he goes about redirecting energy and using the shadow to encourage tissues to head back together, bone pieces to dissolve, and chips to fill in. All his focus goes on Wynona; he's not paying any attention to his own body, or the cost.
Soft-tissue damage is easy to fix, so muscle and ligament goes smoothly. Wynona was a Yodhrephath, and had built up her upper body strength. Eeee may have light bones, but their muscles can get pretty dense. The nerve damage seems to mostly be inflammation. An uncontrolled lightning spell could have caused it, but she should recover if she doesn't stress the nerves again, or if treated by a more skilled Life Mage. It's not that big of a draw on Alptraum's resources at least, although his own lower left arm feels a bit tingly, as if in sympathy for Wynona's traumatized nerves.
"I want Trilby to look at her hands; it's a bit out of my abilities to fix," Alptraum explains. "In fact, I want to take her there now. You can come with me." His eyes open, and then he's slipping his arms under Wynona and picking her up.
"Wait.. we should probably get her tunic on first," Karada says as he fetches the (still bloodstained) garment. "What brought you by?" he then asks.
"I came to request borrowing the ship. I need to undue the spells that the Royal Mage did to the prisoners kept here, and wanted to perform it outside of the city so that if it went wrong, damage would be contained. I don't want to risk trying to undo it inside the city," Alptraum explains. "And ... just drape the tunic on her; it's hardly the time to worry about minor things."
The tunic is draped, and Karada moves ahead to open the doors, and inform the outside guard that they will be away for a bit.
"If you'd rather carry her, I would understand. I just suspect I'm probably stronger," Alptraum says to Karada. "Just stay close to me and I will be able to get you in the Tower fine."
"Appreciated," Karada says. "I haven't had any rest in over a day.. or more. I lost track."
"I'm going to climb high. Old trick for weight over distance. Go high while your stamina is peak, then glide most of the way," Alptraum explains. "And you need to take better care of yourself too. You're no good to anyone too tired to think straight."
It's a bit of a climb, but since starting from atop a mountain it's not as bad. There isn't any air-traffic around the mountain (other than Yodhrephath) after all. The Mage's Tower is a bit of a distance, and further into the city when coming from Mt. Rephath. But at least Wynona remains unconscious and thus limp. This means she can't help with balancing, but also isn't moving or shifting her weight around unconsciously. The guards at the tower landing look surprised. "Uh, hey.." one of them starts to say.
"Important Business," Alptraum says right after that. "I need to see Trilby, now. She was injured during the raid, pretty badly. Shot and had a spell explode in her face. I'm Alptraum, the Barsunala; I'm known here and allowed here. This is Captain Karada of the Vengence. He is with me. I accept all responsibility for bringing him inside."
"Alright but.." the guard tries to say.. to Alptraum's back after he brushes past him. The receptionist looks up from her circular desk, then faints at the site of blood (not fresh blood, just the bloody tunic).
Alptraum rolls his eyes. "I know the way to Trilby's office. She's loud, and moody, and will probably be mad at me for barging in, but ... dagh, I don't often use my standing to push things; but a friend is hurt. I'm not going to take a no," he tells Karada. "Just try to not look threatening."
"Should I have left my sword at the ship then?" Karada asks, following along. The infirmary is mostly quiet, until they arrive. Trilby barges out of her office almost immediately, saying, "I smell blood!"
"Because there is blood. I've got someone injured here. Shot twice, and had a spell go off at close range; something to do with lightning. I repaired what I could, but there is nerve damage and it's beyond me. I need your help. Name your price," Alptraum replies firmly.
"Put her in there," Trilby says, pointing to one of the curtained off patient sections which actually has the curtain opened. It has an actual bed in it, if a narrow one. "Do you know the nature of the spell?" Trilby asks. "Yodh 'miracles' don't follow the Twelve Spheres very neatly."
"It was weather related," is all Karada offers.
"Karada, close the door, please," Alptraum requests. To Trilby, he says, "What I will tell you now cannot go beyond this room. I don't know who exactly knows or doesn't, but I must error on caution."
Alptraum also carries Wynona over to the free bed.
"Eh?" Trilby asks, as she goes to pry open one of Wynona's eyes to check her pupils.
"She's a mage. The magic she used was mage magic. Some sort of lightning spell; she specialized in wind and weather magic. She left her life with the Guild to help protect her city, and her family. I know I'm probably breaking all sorts of rules bringing her here for help, but I take responsibility for it. Please, help her," Alptraum requests, voice quiet.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Trilby claims. "But knowing it was Air Magic helps. Looks like her actual wounds are healed up already, care to tell me where the nerve damage is? And how long has she been unconscious?"
"I gave her a sedative about.. ten hours ago, I think," Karada says. "More of an anaesthetic honestly."
"Her hands. I presume backlash from lightning. I think she'd recover, but ... nerve damage would cripple her. If she could no longer help the city it would almost kill her," Alptraum explains, then actually goes and sort of traces over her hands where he remembers the damage was for a visual aid.
"At least it was limited to what power she could muster," Trilby notes, and feels the Eeee's hands. "Back in the last war, an entire city was leveled when the mages working on a big weather ritual were killed. I assume she was on an actual airship when this happened?" she asks.
"Yes, during combat," Karada relates. "Her two attackers where hit by the discharge and.. left a few marks behind."
"Blown to oblivion, frankly. She's a powerful mage," Alptraum adds.
"Mmmm," Trilby says. "Elemental discharge, I imagine. Lucky for you there were targets, which means she probably saw them first. I'm going to inject a numbing agent into her lower arms. What did you give her to knock her out?"
"Rephath's Mercy," Karada says, then explains, "Very diluted. It's normally used on fighters who are not going to survive their injuries and are in a great deal of pain. I've used it to make her get some rest before, so I have a special tincture already prepared."
Trilby has one of her ears against Wynona's forehead now. "Might want some of that," she says. "No side effects like hallucinations or hangovers?"
"She over-exerts herself. She wants to prove herself to both others, and to herself, that she can contribute. Frankly, she over-compensates; I don't think anyone ever things she does not. And if they do, well, I'll turn them into hogs," Alptraum comments.
"She never spoke of any before," Karada says.
Trilby is holding onto Wynona's arm now, eyes closed. "Blood pressure is a bit low, possibly from the drug but definitely from blood loss. Are these clothes important?"
"They can be replaced," Karada says.
"So, no," Alptraum concludes.
"I don't need bloody uniforms around, so you can take it with you," Trilby says. "I'll clean her up myself, but I'm keeping her until tomorrow at least. Not going to numb her arms until she's conscious again."
"I can take the clothing. I think Karada should stay at her side," Alptraum comments, and looks at him. "And you can also make him get some sleep."
Trilby looks at Karada. "What's your relationship to.. what's her name, anyway?"
"Tempesta," Karada claims. "I'm her commanding officer."
"You can wait outside while I clean her up," Trilby says. "I still have some business with the Barsunala here, so don't go anywhere Alptraum."
"I'm just the resident pain in the ass," Alptraum remarks.
"That doesn't mean you shouldn't wait outside too though," Trilby says, shooing the two men out and closing the curtain.
"I've seen her naked! I've been a naked woman! It's not like I don't know what it looks like," Alptraum retorts, then wanders out anyway.
"You've seen her naked?" Karada asks Alptraum in a very calm voice.
"Not in any romantic sense. I'm a demigod, remember? I've been in others dreams, and come to them in other forms," Alptraum remarks and shrugs.
"I've read about some of the.. odder.. Olympian myths," Karada says. "And the Babelite ones. Now, can you tell me more about why you need my ship, and what will be involved?"
"The Royal mage, probably one of the most dangerous ones, has a complex spell weaved between himself and many former prisoners. He's very likely some sort of spell to elevate him into being a lich, and turn them into undead minions. Or worst case, trigger a massive death spell. None of those I want going off inside the city. I'd prefer to cut the spell threads outside of the city, so that worse case only a ship is lost. I'd have all the crew evacuate before I cut anything, so that I'd be the only one at the center of anything going wronf."
"And.. then what?" Karada asks. "If you succeed, that is."
"Then the prisoners can finish treatment and be freed. The mage either interrogated or killed," Alptraum says. "I was considering that the ship should be floated over an old city of death out in the wastes. Worst case and everything goes bad, it is ditched into oblivion and everyone on it. That being the mage and myself. I won't lie there is risk to the ship, and I am sure that bothers you," Alptraum admits. "But, I don't know of a safer option for the city. I cannot try to cut the links here; it's too risky."
"And is there someplace safe the ship could be landed and just those involved debarked?" Karada asks. "I ask this because we still have the General to deal with at some point, and we are short on warships."
"Possible, but it removes the chance of ditching the mess into the wastes if it goes bad," Alptraum points out. "I really don't want to leave a lich wandering about. Is there a small life-raft sort of ship? We could use that instead and worst case, just lose that."
"Also, are you talking about going into a Forbidden Zone?" Karada asks. "We do have a recently acquired pirate ship," he then adds.
"The pirate ship would be fine too. I just need a ship that is functional," Alptraum says, "I came to you since I believe it is all your fleet, no? I'm just no pilot. And I only have one close ally that used to work on airships. I doubt she can fly one herself."
"How many need to be transported, and in what condition?" Karada asks next.
"All ambulatory. About a dozen," Alptraum answers. And yes, it is basically over a forbidden zone I speak of. I've been in it; I just don't know if it extends very high. It's an odd location."
"IT's also the final resting place of the ship the General left in, by the way," Alptraum adds.
"Bringing magic into a Forbidden Zone is a gamble," Karada says. "This spell is something complicated though, from the sound of it. Did the ship crash or did it land? That was an historical artifact ship.. that nobody told us in the air guard about."
"Crashed. It's now a semi-sentient monster. Why? Want to try and capture it?" Alptraum asks.
"No, but I wish I'd had a chance to see it in working conditions," Karada says. "Anyway, I will try to help you in this. I don't want to go through another Boomer incident. Where are the people that need to be transported?"
"Handily enough, most are at Mount Rephath. Only two are here, along with the mage himself," Alptraum explains. I'd want to transport all of them out; none in the city when artifacts and unknown magic is brought to bear," Alptraum explains. "And if you want to see the ship, I'd have to turn you into a monster, but I could take you into the zone to see it."
"I have enough to deal with without taking time to see a monster ship that I would not appreciate," Karada says, glancing back towards the curtains as he says it. "So, the Mages will be cooperating in this mission?" he asks.
"Yes, I am arranging things, but all of this has been a joint operation between myself, the Mage's Guild, and Mount Rehpath. It's just not widely known," Alptraum admits.
"I imagine secrecy is critical then," Karada says. "I'm glad we knew what to expect out on patrol, and very glad that is where the actual fighting stayed. Unless there were military actions in the city itself? I haven't had a chance to catch up."
"There were some covert ones in the city. I took out a team invading the Tower of Babel," Alptraum explains. "Most of the big attacks were covers for the more covert attacks in the city."
"And which was this singular Royal Mage you mention caught in?" Karada asks.
"The one that attempted to assassinate Thath," Alptraum explains. "That one bagged Caradoc Pancrazio, if the name means anything to you."
"I'm not familiar with the Royal Mages, they moved in different circles than me," Karada claims, with a perfectly straight face.
Trilby exits Wynona's 'room' carrying her damaged uniform. "Here," she says, holding it out for Alptraum.
"You bring me such sweet things," Alptraum claims in sort of a faux-swoon.
"Now, what are you planning to do with my other patients?" Trilby demands.
"Save them from being part of a spell to make a lich," Alptraum answers rather bluntly and pokes her right in her nose. "I have done nothing but try and help you and your patients."
"Make a what?" Trilby asks. "That sounds like a sort of dessert cake."
"Imagine the biggest, ugliest undead wizard possible. Basically, immortal with all their pre-death powers," Alptraum explains, "And feeds on the living."
"Hmm, so that's his plan?" Trilby asks. "Gave up on living immortality I guess. What's it mean to my patients?"
"A trip out to the wastes. So if things do not go as planned, damage is minimized. If the spell isn't undone, they're on borrowed time as it is," Alptraum explains.
"Then I'm going with them," the mouse says. "They're still not fully recovered."
"Don't be ridiculous. You could die if it goes badly. I'm already at risk in this, there's no need to risk anyone else," Alptraum says.
"You're risking my patients and future patients," Trilby says. "What happens if things don't go perfectly and they need medical treatment?"
"I can keep people alive, that should be evident enough," Alptraum points out. "I don't have your fine detail and depth of knowledge, but I can support. And I'll ... er, have the Light of Nala along. No idea if you know what that is."
"A light of some sort," Trilby says, and snorts. "And what exactly is the risk of me coming along, other than that those two are my patients and I'm not releasing them without someone who knows their conditions going with them."
"A massive source of raw spirit and life magic energy," Alptraum corrects. "The risk is you could die. And a lot more depend on you than these two."
"Oh, so a massive source of life magic," Trilby says. "The sort of thing a good Life Mage could make use of, hmmm? And I'm not just a Life Mage, I'm a doctor. That means I have certain obligations. If you want to leave me somewhere along the way, fine, but I'm making sure the journey isn't going to put undo stress on my patients. Or the others. The whole point was to keep them all separated so the mage couldn't use them, right?" She points to Wynona's curtain, and says, "Then that means they have to be kept safely unconscious. They can't know they're being moved, or why."
"YOu're going to be a pain in the butt about this, aren't you?" Alptraum asks and sighs.
"Oh, I'm going to be a professional pain in the butt," Trilby claims. "You're just an amateur pain in the butt in comparison."
"You could always have your pet carry her to safety," Karada suggests.
"Yes, but you're now making your life my responsibility. I do not like risking others, at all. I could never be a commanding officer; I could never knowingly send someone into danger, I just ... I can't make that choice," Alptraum comments and gestures at Karada. He eyes Trilby for a bit. "And frankly, me dying matters less than you dying."
"Well, lucky for you it isn't your decision," Trilby says, smiling. "Where those two Cervani go, I go. As for moving the others, that's up to you. But they need to be unconscious before they're moved."
"Actually, it is my decision on who is risked. I could over-ride you through the guild uppers," Alptraum points out, "But I don't want to get into some political fight. Fine."
"Don't worry about me," Trilby says. "We aren't going into a fight. You've got a magic lantern I can draw on, to boot. So.. you need to talk to Cyprien still?"
"I worry about everyone. You think being a doctor is hard; try being a demigod. You deal with those alive. I deal with them alive, as well as long after they are not," Alptraum points out. "And yes, I need to see Cyprian."
Alptraum pauses, then asks, "Does the Shroud of Fate mean anything to you?"
"Is it a romance novel?" Trilby. "If it's some ancient magical artifact, I'm not the one to be asking. My free time is spent studying stuff I can make and use, not what some ancient weirdos imbued their souls into or however these things are made. Obsidian scalpels, good herbs, some decent glassware and apprentices who don't balk at getting into the really gross stuff are what I find useful."
"Olympian artifact," Alptraum explains. "And it's unfortunate because all of this is the foundations of your guild. But nooooo, head in the sand." He grumbles.
"Foundations are Earth Mage issues," Trilby says. "I patch people up and cure diseases. Now go deal with Cyprian while I get things ready. Got any of that tincture on you, Captain Dashing?"
"I do not, Madame Mage," Karada says apologetically.
"I'll need to know what species we're dealing with then," Trilby says. "So write me a list when you have a chance, Alptraum. Ages and weight details would be handy."
"Is that all you needed me for, then? To yell at me?" Alptraum asks, "As for species, Skeek, Khatta, Rhain, Eeee, Naga, Lapi, and Aeonian."
"AEONIAN?" Trilby squeaks, and then pinches the bridge of her nose. "They can't be drugged. It'll have to be magic. So I may as well do them all with magic. That's what I needed to know. And I haven't yelled at you. I'm just a little Skeek, after all. Now shoo, I need to write things down."
"Aeonian," Alptraum confirms, and sighs. "Good luck. If you think Tempestra is difficult to be around..." he warns Ksrada, then off he goes.
"She's been a model patient so far," Trilby says, and returns through the curtain.
"I suppose bedside manner for mages involves threats of physical violence if they do not behave," Karada suggests.
"YOu should be the first face she sees when she wakes," Alptraum comments to Karada. "I need to leave you now. Please ... behave here. I am responsible for you."
"I'm not about to lay siege to the place," Karada promises. "There's a doctor here. They are extremely dangerous, and always make the best torturers."
"I could turn you into a grok so you can be Tempestra's faithful companion," Alptraum offers.
"My crew would be jealous," the captain claims.
"Some Yodhrephath have very close relationships with their groks, you know," Alptraym comments, suggestively.
"Alas, I would probably make for a poor grok," Karada says. "I didn't even have any in my household."
Alptraum shrugs, "Never know till you try. Koldesh and I spent an evening as a pair of them once."
Karada raises an eyebrow at this. "The ways of the Yodh are beyond my ken," he claims. "I just work for them."
"It was fun," Alptraum claims and shrugs. "I guess I am lucky in that I can experience the lives of beast and men in all forms. Makes for some interesting perspectives."
"I can only imagine," Karada says, then asks, "Are you bringing the bloodied uniform with you when you see Cyprian, or should I take it for now?"
"I'll take it, I promised I would," Alptraum says and heads off. "And by the way, sometimes taking a crazy risk is worth it," he adds as he leaves.
There are always novices running around. One of them will know where Cyprian is.. most likely the one Alptraum recognizes as being on duty out side of Cyprian's office a few times, who is carrying an armload of scrolls.
"YOU!" Alptraum announces and points at the one novice with his free hand.
"Ah!" the girl shrieks, dropping her scrolls and immediately looking to the bloody clothes Alptraum is holding.
Alptraum grins. "Hi! Remember me?" he asks. "I'm just looking for Cyprian. Don't mind the clothes, I just ate someone for lunch."
The girl is still staring. "What?" she asks, looking like he just said he was about to eat her. "Mage Cyprian?"
"Yes, Mage Cyprian," Alptraum agrees. He also happens to innocently lick along one of his fangs.
"Down.. below," she finally says. "You know.. down.." She even manages to point towards the stairs.
"Want to ... show me?" Alptraum asks. "It's easy to get lost in the dark down there; all those twisting stairs...
"I don't the way," the girl says, starting to shake. "We aren't allowed down there."
"Relax, I'm just messing with you," Alptraum admits and even crouches down. "Bad habit, but you looked so ... innocent."
"What's innocent?" she asks. "Is it something on my face?"
"NEvermind. Sorry for teasing," Alptraum says and rises. "See you around, or in your dreams," he says and turns to head down, down, down, down.
The trek down into the older sections of the tower is without incident - and also without strange odors (just the familiar ones). The observation room has a few new additions: a cot, and a self-contained Mateh brewing machine that looks like it was made from bits scavenged from Rostre or Trilby's laboratories. The cot is occupied by Mage Gusty, who amazingly does not snore. Aside from Cyprian, there's a Khatta Dream Mage sitting silently in a chalk circle on the floor. Cyprian himself is nursing a large mug of the thick beverage when Alptraum arrives.
"Sleeping is better than drinking," Alptraum remarks as he arrives. "So, two things. One, I have information on the stuff he used; it's called the shroud of fate. And that I should be capable of severing the threads myself, and it's best to do them all at once. So ... I'll be taking everyone out on an airship to disentangle all of it away from the city. Second, one of the Yodhrephath is here being taken care of, severely injured while dealing with the invasion."
Cyprian blinks, then raises up his mug and takes a deep swig. "I've tried adding honey to this stuff, but it just tries to crawl out of the mug," he says. "So.. go back to the bit about taking everyone out on an airship?"
"Well, the spell is likely to turn him into a lich; a powerful undead sorcerer. Nasty business. There are two things that can sever the link; me with a soulblade, or the light of Nala. Fortunately I have all three! But, I don't want to try this anywhere near the city. So, I want to take everyone out of the city on an airship, so if things go bad, it limits the damage," Alptraum clarifies.
Another sip. "So, someplace out of the city, and.. how do we move him without waking him up? And also making sure he's harmless after the.. severing. Unless you plan on killing him once it's safe?"
"Depends on if you want him to prod at him more or not," Alptraum admits and shrugs.
"So what's the risk you aren't telling me about, that he has to be brought out of the city for?" Cyprian asks, glancing through the wall-slit into the cell. "We're still making sure he's not in contact with.. anyone."
"If it goes bad, it would likely kill me. But, as for the city, the risk is, if it goes off here, it could cascade out in a large area from his victims, killing or zombifying a while lot of people," Alptraum explains.
"Yes, you should have led with that," Cyprian says. "We're no closer to transforming him into a tree. Trilby is looking into a medicinal means of keeping him from causing trouble, since we don't dare use magic on him. There's probably something in whatever hole the Coalition threw their artifacts into that could do it, but we don't have anything like that. Rostre was muttering about a spirit prison, but I'm more inclined towards the induced coma option."
"I could just hold him within the shadow," Alptraum points out. "That tends to stupify most."
"How do you do that?" Cyprian asks. "Do you have to be next to him the whole time, for instance?"
"Yes, I would," Alptraum admits. "Not easy."
Alptraum's right wrist suddenly buzzes and chimes.
Alptraum sighs. "What is it, Kaira?" he asks.
The dragon appears on Alptraum's wrist, and says, "Hey, this could be a chance for you to try another shadow construct. Then, that can be used to keep Mage Plain-crazy-oh in status."
"I would still have to keep it powered, which will be draining. But, I suppose," Alptraum says. "Also, if I knew you could make my hand vibrate, I'd have had less lonely nights."
"You've done plenty of constructs before," Kaira points out. "Technically, I'm one of them right now. The difference is that it wouldn't be used to house a spirit."
"Just a jerk," Alptraum quips. "Not a lot of difference, there."
"You just have to think like a starfish," the little dragon says.
"What's a starfish?" Alptraum asks.
"Well.. it's not a fish, first off," Kaira explains. "It doesn't have a brain either, so you can't really think like one. But it's got five arms.. although sometimes more.. and it eats things by wrapping the arms around it, and then extruding its stomach to digest it with. Sort of like when you use the shadow to eat or ken something. But this time, you.. pinch off the stomach, and come back for it later. And instead of eating the thing, it just holds it in scan-stasis."
"Except when I disconnect shadow it usually evaporates," Alptraum points out.
"I can demonstrate on Cyprian here," he offers.
"Pardon?" Cyprian asks.
"I can envelop you in fondling shadow, or something, then try to leave it on you," Alptraum offers.
"When you brought out Valantajr, she didn't evaporate," Kaira points out. "You just didn't think of that as a shadow thing at the time."
"Well, she had a mind and a good sense of self, that probably helped," Alptraum points out.
"And if it fails, it evaporates," Cyprian says. "But if it doesn't, what happens if you can't reconnect to it?"
"It would eventually run out of the magic sustaining it," Alptraum says. "And poof.
"Well, it's mostly magic," Kaira claims. "And a bit flesh. But weird flesh. In any case, it can't eat you by itself."
"Does it count as getting some sleep?" Cyprian asks next, looking to Alptraum.
"Are you sure? I remember its original owner liked eating people. Come to think of it, one of the last ones likes eating people," Alptraum comments after some thought. As for Cyprian's question, he answers, "Well, sort of. If you like sleeping in pudding."
"Another thing about starfish is if a leg breaks off, it can wiggle away and become a new starfish," Kaira notes. "I don't think that will happen, since I'm pretty sure shadow dragons didn't reproduce like that."
"So there's no chance of creating another Alptraum this way?" Cyprian asks.
"What's wrong with another me?" Alptraum asks.
"Wouldn't it be sticky?" Cyprian asks.
"Depends on what I've been doing, but I've been sticky before," Alptraum quips.
"Well, if he puts a little bit of his own spirit into it, it should behave as intended," Kaira says.
"That's too easy, I won't make a crude comment about that," Alptraum admits.
"It's not so different from the territory thing," Kaira explains. "You'll be sort of in two places at once, but one of those instances of you isn't going to be really conscious at the time."
"So you claim. I can try, but this seems a bit much," Alptraum admits.
"Practice is always good," the dragon claims. "And if it works one someone that's awake, it should work even better on someone unconscious."
"Are you both volunteering me now?" Cyprian asks.
"I can see when I'm not wanted. I can find someone else," Alptraum says.
"No, I'll do it," Cyprian says. "Because I have a held spell. If it's still there when you release the.. hold.. we can better gauge the effectiveness."
"Can I also tickle you?" Alptraum asks with a grin.
"I've been drinking Mateh for several hours, so that might not be wise," Cyprian says. "You wouldn't want to tickle Pancrazio."
"You're cuter, though," Alptraum points out. "But, your loss!"
"Wiggling would make it harder, wouldn't it?" Kaira asks Alptraum. "And be sure not to absorb any of that foul smelling drink."
"Right, I'll save it for you to drink," Alptraum promises. Turning his attention to Cyprian, he says, "You'd best be sitting comfortably for this..."
Cyprian looks around and takes the only available stool. "Not particularly comfortable," he notes.
"It would be less comfortable if it was turned upside down," Alptraum points out as he moves in position to behind Cyprian and puts his hands on his shoulders. He doesn't even give any warning before he starts enveloping the other Eeee in shadow. It would probably be less creepy if he wasn't announcing "Om-nom-nom" while he did it.
Cyprian takes one last sip. "This is not how I imagined it," he claims.
"What, less silly?" Alptraum asks. "I'm tired, I get weird," he admits, then finishes engulfing the other Eeee to try and stasis him.
Alptraum feels things.. stop.. inside the shadow. "Got him?" Kaira asks. "You want to take that feeling of time being frozen, the awareness of it, and put it into the shadow."
"It's a feeling I know well. I felt like this every time I was rejected when I asked someone out on a date," Alptraum remarks, though distracted. It's focusing on that feeling and trying to make it part of that shell; like shaping, only not of the physical this time.
"Remember, you can copy a spirit," Kaira tells him. "Out here, it's just a magical construct, not an actual soul. We haven't done a lot of practice with spirit stuff, so if this doesn't work you can get Rostre to help."
The notion of copying a part of himself isn't exactly the same thing as managing it. The sense of stopped time is easy to saturate the shadow with, but what should be copied over? Does it need to actually react to anything? "Above all else, don't overthink it," Kaira offers. "Unless that's actually what's needed for Spirit Magic. Rostre doesn't strike me as the overthinking of things type though. Oh! Can you hum a gypsy tune? That's probably a good enough focus."
Alptraum decides to copy, well, the feeling of being at a festival and the desire for it to last forever. Maybe that would help. MAybe not. Still, it does get him to whistle something. Mostly in tune, even.
This helps, as it gives something for him to emotionally attach to. Eventually it feels like the shadow is performing a duet with him, even though there's no sound to it.
And that's when Alptraum tries to slowly detach himself from it. If Cyprian explodes, he isn't sure how he'd explain it.
The connection thins.. and thins.. and eventually detaches, although it isn't immediately apparent at first, due to how gradual it is. Without the 'duet' effect it might not have been noticeable at all at that rate.
Alptraum steps back. "Pity we don't have paints to decorate Cyprian while he sleeps," he comments and frowns.
"I have no idea if anything will disrupt the cocoon," Kaira admits. "Stuff isn't flying around loose and bonking people on one is it?"
"Depends on the pilot. But if kept in an empty cabin, unlikely," Alptraum concedes.
"Try to lift him up," Kaira says. "It's probably safer for you to do it than anyone else."
"But he hasn't bought me dinner yet," Alptraum jokes, then tries to lift him, one arm under the legs, the other bracing his back, and a lot of squatting.
The robes are probably the heaviest part, and of course his pose doesn't change, so he stays in a sitting position. It isn't clear if any of the Mateh can be spilled inside of the cocoon. It's not beyond what Alptraum's Sylvanian-vampire muscles can handle though.
"So, if the prisoner is cocooned first," Kaira speculates, "then the others probably don't need to be sedated. But still need to be smuggled out under some sort of cover, just in case."
"Quick, I have him, lets run before anyone notices! We can sell him on the black market!" Alptraum jokes.
"There's a black market in Babel?" Kaira responds in mock shock! "I don't think he'd make for a very good paperweight though. How long do we want to let his run for? We should have another Mage try and poke at it."
"Well, it's called the Twilight Market," Alptraum claims. "We could have Rostre poke at it."
"She probably has a special poking stick," Kaira agrees. "Do we.. and by we I mean you.. carry him to her lab or bring her here and see if she can carry him?"
"We carry him, it'll be fun to see if anyone reacts," Alptraum jokes, adjusts, and well, heads out with cyprian-in-arms to find Rostre.
Of course, nobody comes down this far. The other two mages are either napping or in some sort of trance. But at least it's not far. Up one curving flight of stairs to where it joins the main one, then down that and follow your nose. Lugging Cyprian up stairs isn't much fun, though. Rostre herself is literally face down in a book. It's a big book, which is handy because she has a lot of face. And she doesn't always close her eyes when she's napping.
"Hey! Wake up! I have a mage stuck in the muddle of a pudding monster! I want to know how many licks it takes to get to the center," Alptraum declares as he enters and spots Rostre face down.
"I'm awake!" Rostre insists as she jerks her neck back. The book follows, stuck to her nose for a moment before falling free. "What is that you're carrying? I is it a giant wax candle?"
"Cyprian was devoured by a dastardly pudding demon! Can you save him?" Alptraum asks with a straight face.
"Where's the demon?" Rostre says, and pokes at the mass to see if it sticks to her finger. It doesn't. "What is it really? Why is there a weird Creen on your head?"
"Part of my shadow cloak. I'm testing out putting someone in stasis. I volunteered Cyprian. I wanted to see if it was 'easy' for someone to disrupt it or not," Alptraum explains. "And the creen is my secretary, and not a mobile dong."
Kaira chirps, creen-like.
"Hmm, so it's made of your shadow stuff," Rostre says, and.. gets out a glass wand to poke into it. "And he can't suffocate, right?" she asks, as the probe fails to penetrate.
"He'll be fine," Alptraum claims. He's been in it a while after all.
"It's slippery," Rostre claims, trying to pinch it. "I suppose I should be trying magic on this," she then realizes. "There is a spirit component to your goo after all."
"My goo is special," Alptraum manages with a straight face as he carries him over to a table to plop his butt on.
"It's been very useful," Rostre says, and maneuvers Cyprian onto a large upturned bucket. She doesn't have stools or chairs for some reason. "Well, I'll try a minor dispel," she says, and gets a small box from a shelf.
"Now, what are you allergic to?" Rostre asks as she opens the box on the table, and flicks her tongue at Alptraum. It looks to be filled with.. bits of junk, mostly.
"Do I need to hide under something?" Alptraum asks. "My secretary is skittish and wimpy..."
"Are you trying to hide under me then?" Kaira asks.
Rostre produces a large thorn. "Thistle bark thorn," she says. Then tries using it to cut through the shadow skin.
"Your butt is big enough to hide anyone," Alptraum jokes, then goes to watch Rostre in action, and winces reflexively at that thorn!
The thorn doesn't cut right away, but does catch on the shadow skin. "Minor effect," Rostre notes, and fetches something else out of the box. It looks like a needle, sized between sewing and knitting. It's also very shiny. She manages to get in a bit deeper with this one, but there's no sign of a hole when it's pulled back. "So, silver can penetrate, presumably all the way to the person inside. But who carries around a big enough bit of silver to manage that?"
"Iron would work on it," Alptraum comments. "More than silver would."
"Then we'll try.. this!" Rostre says, and produces something that looks horrific. It follows the sort of jagged, ugly pattern of classic Babelite chitin daggers, but this one is covered in what looks like dried blood. "I need to get the rust off of it sometime."
"Cyprian is in there," Alptraum yelps! "Be careful!"
"Well.. what's the best spot to test then?" Rostre asks. "What's he holding? Or is that his fist? Are his fists that big?"
"He has a mug in his hands," Alptraum explains. "I guess you could poke that."
So, Rostre pokes at the mug with the nasty looking dagger. The shadow actually crawls away from it, exposing the ceramic. "Would they have iron though?" Rostre muses. "It's not exactly common in this part of the world. Unless they have some from Abaddon."
"Some might, most wouldn't," Alptraum concedes. "But I'm surprised it's holding up this well. I even have y bad luck charm sitting on myh head."
"Bad luck for whom?" Kaira counters. "I never get you into trouble!" she claims.
"Still, given how form-fitting the skin is, and how it didn't disrupt it, it would be rather dangerous to use if you want the person inside alive," Rostre notes. "Now we move on to actual magic!"
"So a 'minor dispel' is just poking with stuff that disrupts magic, apparently," Kaira comments.
"Yesss!" Rostre hisses, and raises her arms up as if she's trying to summon lightning from the ceiling.
"I'm surrounded by crazy people," Alptraum sighs.
Rostre mutters ominously, swirling her hands and swaying to and fro. It doesn't help that she's still holding the bloody-looking knife, and looking like some sort of deranged reptilian shaman about to sacrifice some poor victim.
"I'm not surrounding anyone," Kaira says. "I can cover your eyes with my wings if you want though, so you don't have to look at jiggly snake boobs and hypnotic swaying."
"I'm used to it," Alptraum says with a sigh. She likes being weird."
"So does it hypnotize you?" Kaira asks, as she tries to tickle Alptraum's ears with her wings.
Alptraum's ears start alternately whacking Kaira. "Nope, not really. I've seen this before."
"You mean your dancing kitty crushes from your troupe?" Kaira asks.
"They danced better," Alptraum says, wistful.
"Ahahaha!" Rostre crows. "Spirits of evil, recoil at my might!" She then lowers a claw and taps Cyprian's shadow covered nose. "Boop!" there's a flash of magic, and it seems to have an actual effect. The skin is no longer completely opaque, and Cyprian can be made out through it, if dimly.
"If we had to rely on her for protection, we'd be doomed," Alptraum observes and sighs.
"I can do offensssive spirit magic too," Rostre claims. "Anyway, part of the shell has been effected. From thiss, I'd ssurmise that combined Spirit, Life and Shadow dispels could break it."
"Which would require three different people normally, no?" Alptraum asks. "Well, now I feel sorta special."
"Yes, three mages, or equivalent enchanted itemss," Rostre says, bobbing her head. "So, the person would need to be taken to where that could be done. Is thiss a tesst for some scheme?"
"MAking sure it would be durable enough to transport the Royal mage in stasis," Alptraum explains, "Out to where his spell can be torn apart. His spell is likely to turn him into a lich. Lovely, eh?"
"A lich, hmm," Rostre muses, her tongue flicking rapidly. "I've alwayss wanted to dissect one of those.."
"We are not letting him turn himself into one. Lots would die. Drop that idea right now," Alptraum growls.
"Oh, I don't mean to let it happen," Rostre says, holding up her hands. "I'm hoping to get a Sylvanian one ssomeday. Would be very useful to know how they work. There will have to be an invassion of Aeztepa eventually after all."
"Good, and no, you really don't. Anything from Sylvania is nasty and something you don't want," Alptraum claims.
"But.. how will I know if the limbsss still function after being sseparated from the lich?" Rostre asks, holding her palms upward and clenching her talons in frustration. "Nobody hasss properly sstudied them! And the only oness who know how to fight them were in Sylvania."
Alptraum sighs. "Some things are best left forgotten," he remarks. "I lived there, I saw the results."
"Ssss, are you ssure they can't happen again though, ssomewhere else?" Rostre asks. "We need to be ready."
"Burn em. Blow em up. Drop a mountain on them," Alptraum ticks off. "What else do you need to know?"
"Ah, they're flammable then!" Rostre says. "That is a good sstart!" She then looks at Cyprian and asks, "How long is he going to be like that?"
"Mmm, a long time unless I let him out. I'm tempted to go leave him in the ladies wash room," Alptraum admits.
"There's a wash room?" Rostre asks.
"Of course there is. What's wrong with you?" Alptraum has to ask.
"Communal sponge baths," Kaira suggests.
"I jusst wash up in my room," Rostre notes.
"And you people call us uncivilized! Even I have used a proper bath!" Alptraum claims and throws his arms upward.
"I didn't think there would be bathss big enough," Rostre admits. "Hot baths? With attendantss to sscrub me?"
"Eh, probably just a bunch of girls gossiping and slacking off," Kaira claims. "Natural hot springs are better. They've got minerals."
"Have you seen these baths?" Rostre asks Alptraum. "Iss there one for the men?"
"I'm sure there is, I've not looked for it as I don't live here," Alptraum points out.
"Who would know?" Rostre asks.
"Cyprian? Trilby? Just about anyone else who lives here?" Alptraum suggests.
"Anyway, I'm sure there aren't any steamy baths with naked Savanite attendants here," Kaira says. "These are Mages. Do they even do laundry?"
"Gods, I hope so," Alptraum says and winces. "Otherwise, think of the undergarments."
"So, should we see if a Life Mage or Shadow Mage can do any further damage to Cyprian's candy shell?" Kaira asks.
"Sure, we could I suppose. But Trilby will yell if we bother her, and I have no idea where Hush is," Alptraum concedes.
"That iss the problem with Shadow Mages," Rostre notes. "Good at hiding. But Summer iss terrible at hiding and will know where everyone iss."
"You going to carry Cyprian this time, then?" Alptraum asks.
"I ssuppose we should keep him close," Rostre says, and picks up Cyprian. "Hmm, ssseems less slippery to me now."
"He's not a lawyer, or a frog. Of course he's not slippery," Alptraum quips. "One pudding-bat to go."
Claiming that Summer is easy to find isn't as easy as it sounds, although there are only three places she's very likely to be: her room, the greenhouse, or the cafeteria. It really comes down to where they want to carry Cyprian around to first.
Alptraum decides greenhouse first. Less staring than if he brings a coated mage into the cafeteria like some sort of desert.
Rostre has a general idea of where that is: "At the top of the tower, where there iss a glasss dome." So it's up and up. The main stairway spirals up to it, so they aren't likely to get lost. And one advantage of having Rostre along is that she naturally clears the way ahead of anyone with a working nose.
It isn't clear what the greenhouse was originally, but likely was some sort of garden or courtyard. The dome looks old, and many glass panels have been replaced with different materials over time, when something made it past the ironwood mesh that protects them. The panels don't always match in opacity or color, but at least there isn't any broken glass on the floor. The space is crowded with planters growing vegetables, and even a few small trees. It smells very earthy, with a hint of manure as well. Someone is humming somewhere.
"Delivery! One mage to be planted in row two; to grow into a new mind mage!" Alptraum announces over the humming. If it's not Summer, they'r egoing to be confused probably. Heck, Summer will be confused.
The humming stops, and there's click-clack of tiny hooves before Summer appears from behind some sort of fruiting bush. She's got on a big brown apron and gloves, with a wooden spade in one hand. "Row two is for cabbages though," she tells Alptraum. Then tilts her head when she sees Rostre carrying what appears to be a wax statue of Cyprian.
"Hasn't anyone called Cyprian a cabbage before?" Alptraum asks, and grins.
"Is that a giant candle?" Summer asks. "And I doubt it, since most of the folks here don't even know what a cabbage is."
"No, that's Cyprian, encased and held in animation. To test something," Alptraum explains and shrugs. "It's the real deal."
"Do I actually have to plant him then, like a seed?" Summer asks. "Why did you bring him here? He doesn't look like a tree. That's the sort of suspended animation Earth Magic does.."
"No, you don't have to plant him. Supposedly you would know where everyone is, and we need to find a life and shadow mage to test a couple things. Mostly the durability of holding him like this to ensure it would be safe to use with less-friendly occupants," Alptraum explains.
"Oh, well, you already know how to find Trilby," Summer says. "I know Hush is off-duty, so either in the library or in her room now."
"You can come with us, so she can yell at you instead of me," Alptraum suggests helpfully.
"Why would she yell?" Summer asks, but sets aside her spade and gloves. She's wearing shorts and a sleeveless top underneath the apron - no sense getting her robes dirty! "She specializes in silence after all. Oh! Did you mean Mage Trilby?"
"Trilby," Alptraum confirms. "Hush is quiet. Also weird and a bit innocent."
"All Eeee mages are a bit strange," Summer claims, with a straight face. "She's just a Journeyman, what sort of shadow stuff do you need, or is just advice?"
"Mostly to test to see if she can dispel or disrupt this any since it is made of partially shadow-like magic," Alptraum explains, "It is my goo, after all."
Summer pauses for a moment, then looks at Rostre, then at Alptraum. "That's.. a lot of goo," she finally says. "Do you want to get yelled at or hushed at first?"
"Not that kind of goo. You have a dirty mind," Alptraum chides. "Probably Hush first."
"Alright," Summer says, still looking a bit suspicious. "She should be in the library, it's just a level down."
"Well, come along then. And it's good you have the apron, in case anything explodes," Alptraum quips.
"I never take the apron out of the green house though," Summer claims, folding it carefully. "It has some special enchantments on it that might make other mages sneeze."
"You make other mages sneeze," Alptraum claims, then rolls his eyes a little.
"Only if they're talking about me behind my back," Summer claims, but her tail is wagging as she heads down the stairs. "I've never been to the library," Rostre admits.
"Can you even read?" Alptraum jokes to Rostre, then winks at Summer.
"Not upssside down," Rostre admits. It's a relatively short trek to the library, although it isn't easily found. It's in a nondescript hall, save that it has wood paneling. One of the panels silently swings inward to reveal the library. Which was, apparently, an actual library for the tower. It's pie-slice shaped, and goes down an extra level, with bookshelves for walls, and plenty of extended perches. There are some tables and chairs on the lower level, and the main level balcony is without railing. A spirale staircase seems to be a recent addition. It has a vaulted ceiling with a hanging chandelier, but only a few of the candles are lit.
"I can't sssee the edge," Rostre informs the others.
"Neither can I. But I can hear it," Alptraum comments, "Best you wait here, then." Breaking the cardinal rule about being quiet in a library, he calls out, "Hush, we need you to look at something. It's not pudding, or wax, though it might look like it."
A shape dangling from one of the perches below shifts. Wings unfold from being wrapped around it and there's a barely heard yawn. "Who are you?" is the first thing she asks though.
"Alptraum. The Barsunala. Have you forgotten already?" Alptraum replies.
"Why do you want me to look at your pudding?" Hush asks next.
"It's not really pudding," Summer notes. "It's Mage Cyprian."
"It's actually part of a spell testing a suspended animation approach. It's partially made of shadow and I want to see how easy it is to disrupt," Alptraum explains.
There's a flap of wings, and Hush lands on the upper walk, but almost runs into Summer while doing it. "Shadow Magic in suspended animation?" she asks, as if the near miss never happened. "Is it for some sort of sensory deprivation?" She doesn't have a book, so might have just been taking a nap in the otherwise empty chamber.
"Partially, yes. Partially because my abilities make use of it; it's rather hybrid after all. I'm a weird monster," Alptraum points out.
"Oh, well where is the subject?" Hush asks, apparently not being able to see Rostre just outside of the door.
"Rostre has him right outside," Alptraum explains, then wraps a shadow 'leash' around her neck and leads her that way!
"Hey!" Hush complains, if quietly. Once out in the now cramped hallway (such things often get cramped bother physically and aromatically when Rostre is involved) she pokes at Cyprian. "We need to go to the Privacy Suite," she notes.
"Oooh, the privacy suite, with you on a leash. My my, and here I thought you weren't very Eeee," Alptraum teases. "We'll go there."
Hush gives Alptraum a frustrated look. "Are you certain that Cyprian is still alive in there?" she asks, then takes the leash in her hand and tries to drag Alptraum by it this time.
"Yes, I am sure he is," Alptraum says as he follows the pull, grinning. "And yes, I drive everyone crazy. I gave Summer weird dreams, and a snake boobs."
The last bit causes Hush to pause, and look at Rostre again. Since she's been carrying Cyprian, her chest has been mostly obscured. Then she looks to Alptraum and asks, "Why would you do that?"
"Because she asked for them. Why else?" Alptraum replies. He also points at Rostre.
"I had my reassons," Rostre claims.
"And the dreams?" Hush asks, eyeing Summer now with concern.
"I can't help it if I'm alluring," Alptraum claims.
"I thought the dream was mine and you just showed up in it?" Summer asks Alptraum.
"I'm sure I instigated it somehow. You pulled me in," Alpraum points out.
"And what are you gonna do to me if I get involved in this?" Hush asks Alptraum.
"Depends on what you end up telling me you want," Alptraum answers and waves a hand dismissively.
"Just.. follow me and try to be quiet," the Eeee girl says, and leads the way further into the tower, but not towards the stairs.
"Quiet? How boring. Ashamed to be seen with me, is that it?" Alptraum jokes.
"Seen by whom?" Hush asks, as the corridor so far has been empty. She brings them to a stop in front of a pair of black double doors. There's a little panel in it that Hush slides open to show a green rectangle. "It's safe to go in," she says, and opens the doors. At first it seems to Alptraum that the doors open onto an empty void. It's black and very deathly quiet, at least until Hush enters it.
"By anyone in the tower. Hmph, it's like I'm diseased," Alptraum complains as he continues on, then follows her into that room.
Once past the threshold things are easier to make out. There is a small table and some chairs (none of which look comfortable) in the center, with an oil lamp on the table. Hush lights this, showing a magic circle embedded in the floor around the central area.
"I sstill can't ssee," Rostre claims. "If only I were a pit viper," she laments.
Alptraum gestures for Rostre and Summer to enter. "Just move forward, there's not much in the room."
Rostre takes advantage of the chairs to set Cyprian down in one, since he's already in a sitting position. Summer investigates the chairs and table. Hush says, "Try not to cover any of the circle," though it's likely aimed at Rostre. "I need to check the charge on it."
Rostre brings her coils inside the circle, forming a softer alternative to the wooden chairs. "Don't sit in these," Summer advises Alptraum.
"What's wrong with the chairs?" Alptraum asks. "I grew up in Sylvania, where sitting on a spike was a trend."
"Thistlebark," Summer explains. "No wonder they're so bare.. they must have been really expensive."
"Now THAT is a good reason," Alptraum agrees, and sits on the snake instead.
This leads to Alptraum getting hugged against Rostre's chest. Hush is muttering quietly as she seems to be rearranging the black material (charcoal?) in some of the circles lines and symbols into other lines and symbols. Some of the muttering sounds suspiciously like complaining.
After another moment, Rostre removes Cyprian from the thistlebark chair, since she already tried that on him, and now he sits next to Alptraum in the serpent's coiled lap. Summer smiles at the sight.
Alptraum pokes one of the chairs with a toe to see what happens.
The chair scrapes across the floor loudly, causing Hush to shoot an dour look towards Alptraum. His toe doesn't feel any different for the brief effort though.
"I bet if you sat in it your butt would start to feel hot," Summer offers.
"I'm supernatural, I had to try," He points out to Hush.
Summer decides to sit down as well, first in Cyprian's lap (which doesn't work well because of how he's holding a mug), and then Alptraum's lap, since it isn't likely that Rostre would even notice the extra weight.
Alptraum proceeds to chew on her shoulder.
"You smell like an Eeee," Hush counters, and finishes her manipulation of the circle. "I'm going to trigger the dispel now," she announces softly, and then proceeds to chant for another ten minutes.
"Do I need to prove I'm only partially Eeee, then?" Alptraum counters.
"What?" Hush asks, when her chanting has finished. "Partially-eeee?"
"I'm a monster, remember?" Alptraum reminds.
"Which part?" Hush asks, then points a finger at Cyprian, probably just to be dramatic, and utters a word. To Alptraum it looks like the circle flares brightly, and he suddenly itches all over. Cyprian becomes clearer under the shadow shell, which seems to ripple as if made of water with a rock dropped into it.
"Gah!" Alptraum barks and starts scratching like mad!
This causes Summer to hop to her feet. "What?" she asks, wondering why Alptraum is scratching himself like that. Rostre loosens her grip on the bad, and holds onto Cyprian more. The frozen mage is still apparently frozen, but is fully visible now.
"She made me itch!" Alptraum barks and glares at Hush.
"Really?" Hush asks, sounding pleased. "Well, I suppose you are a bit supernatural then."
Alptraum growls. "I'll turn you into a yiffle," he threatens.
"Oh, so it wasn't me then," Summer says.
"It wasn't intentional," Hush claims. "You were just inside of the circle."
"What was on Cyprian was also part of me!" Alptraum points out.
"Well, you didn't tell me that," Hush and peers at Alptraum. "You don't look any more transparent though," she points out.
"Well, of course not. Gah, my teeth itch," Alptraum complains.
"Of course not?" Hush asks. "Well, was this the effect you were looking for then?" she asks, pointing to Cyprian and not getting any closer to Alptraum just yet. At least the leash is also gone now.
"WEll, it took a while. Can that be a held spell?" Alptraum asks, while he tries to scratch his teeth with his tongue.
"All dispels can be held, and have different levels, from Cantrip to Ritual," Hush explains. "That was technically a minor spell, since I could make use of the charged circle already in the room. Otherwise it would have needed some components."
"What's the average cast time, then? Could I stop it from going off?" Alptraum asks.
"About.. ten to twenty minutes, depending on skill of the mage and setup time," Hush says. "So, you could just.. leave.. I suppose. If it's a held spell though you would need to just not be in range."
Alptraum nods. "All this matters as it may be used to transport a certain prisoner to a place away from the city before dismantling a spell"
"And there will be a Shadow Mage there to dispel it?" Hush asks. "Although one may be able to counter a dispel by dispelling it first. I've never actually heard of that being done though, except in a duel, and Shadow isn't a combat sphere so we don't have duels."
"I have to be prepared for anything; like a rescue attempt," Alptraum points out. "I like to be prepared."
"Well, then you probably want a Shadow Mage to counter any Shadow dispels," Hush suggests. "And other sort of magic you think might be used. There's no universal dispel, other than maybe surrounding the target with magical nulls."
"Well, it'll be nearish to a forbidden zone," Alptraum admits.
"Oooo, that could be bad then," Hush claims. "Wild magic can really mess with proper spells, even held ones. Is that.." and here she points at Cyprian.. "already some sort of wild magic?"
"Do I count as wild magic? I made it," Alptraum explains. "That was all my work."
"Sssince it incorporatesss part of the cassster, it may be proof against wild magic," Rostre suggests.
"I don't know how blended magic does around a Forbidden Zone," Hush admits. "I'm not familiar with anything like this. I've never had to layer or combine different spells before."
"With Earth Magic, we work with other elemental spheres all the time, especially Air and Water," Summer points out. "It's not that unusual."
"I'm probably more akin to the Olympian magics than modern, Some of it comes from the time Nala lived, after all," Alptraum admits.
"I don't know who that is," Hush admits. "But, have you learned what you needed, or do you need me to try something else?"
"I think so, though I'm curious. Can you control my shadow at all?" Alptraum asks.
"Normally a Shadow Mage manipulates their own shadow, or creates shadows," Hush says. "Taking control of someone else's shadow magic though.. I don't know."
Alptraum nods, "Then I guess that is all you could help with. Thank you. Next is Trilby. Whee."
"You do not sound excited to see her," Hush points out. "And how bad was the itch?"
"She yells. And the itch was bad," Alptraum answers.
"Maybe she can give you something for the itch," Hush says. "I've never heard her yell."
"She doesn't like me. I usually mean more work for her," Alptraum explains.
"Doesn't everyone who comes into the infirmary mean more work for her though?" Hush asks. "I've only been there once."
"I cause weird work. Aven't you noticed?" Alptraum points out.
"No, I've only met you twice and this is the only time you've caused me to work," Hush points out.
Alptraum hmms. "Okay, I'll make it weird next time," he says. "Thank you. I won't keep you any longer."
"Mage Cyprian won't know I did this, will he?" Hush then asks.
"Probably not," Alptraum waffles.
"I didn't even think about that before I did this," Hush says, shaking her head. "I don't want to get into trouble. I'll shut things down in here if you want to head down to the infirmary."
"You won't get into trouble. He knows I needed to test things. And he volunteered," Alptraum explains and gets up. "Right, so on you the yelling doctor!"
"She will hopefully be too amused to yell," Summer offers.
Alptraum frowns, "I doubt it. Grab Cyprian, Rostre, we're off!" And off he does gp.
Of course now Cyprian is fully visible (save for a glossy sheen) as Rostre carries him. There's no avoiding notice when they arrive at the infirmary, since there are a few Novices about acting as nurses. There's no sign of Trilby, but one of the nurses timidly points to her office-workshop door.
Alptraum goes and knocks on the door. "Special delivery, mage under glass," he announces.
The door opens a crack, and a tired brown eye looks out. "What is it, Alptraum? Not another patient I hope."
Alptraum thumbs towards Glossy-Cyprian. "I want to see if you can undo that," Alptraum admits. "I'm testing the layered stasis. You're the last one."
"Of course I am," Trilby mutters, and opens the door while also hiding behind it. "Rostre won't fit inside," she notes.
"Well, you're the busiest," Alptraum notes, then goes to fetch the encased Cyprian.
Once Cyprian is on a stool in the room, Trilby turns up the wick on her oil lamp. She's wearing a nightgown, which probably means she meant to sleep for awhile. She looks at Cyprian in silence for a moment, then asks Alptraum, "Is he dead?"
"Of course not. I put him into sort of a limbo state through shadow, life, and spirit. I didn't kill him. Why does everyone ask if I killed him?" Alptraum sighs.
"Well, because you're the Son of Death and he isn't showing any signs of life?" Trilby suggests, then taps Cyprian's head with a rubber-tipped reflex hammer. "I suppose he can't be hurt in this state either," she says. "Now.. what do you want me to do?"
"See if you can distrupt the stasis, mainly. I want to make sure if I hold you know who, that it would be hard to free him," Alptraum explains.
"So, there's Life Magic involved," Trilby says, and puts her bare-skinned palm on Cyprian's head. "Could be useful to figure out. Tell me how you put him into this state."
"I encased him in my shadow-flesh I use for shifting my body, or repairing others. It sort of puts the body asleep, so to speak, only deeper," Alptraum explains.
"Well, he's not breathing so I'd say that was pretty deep, certainly," Trilby says. "Can you demonstrate the process for me so I can examine it in action?"
"Firsthand, or on someone else?" Alptraum asks.
"I don't think I could examine it from the inside," Trilby says. "You can use Summer."
"Why me?" Summer asks, squeaking.
"Because you're here," Trilby says. "It's perfectly safe after all, and if it isn't you're in the best place to deal with that."
"I can also use myself," Alptraum points out.
"So you can remain conscious through it?" Trilby asks, looking Alptraum in the eyes. "Or is that just for you? Ideally I'd like to observe both."
"I wouldn't be conscious, no," Alptraum concedes. So, Summer first," Alptraum says and makes grabby hands at her.
Summer comes over, and asks, "Do I need to be sitting down?"
"Unless you want to fall over," Alptraun says. "So, want to wake up a Zelak?"
"No!" Summer reacts. "This is just to do the suspension and then release me, isn't it?"
"Well, if you want to be boring, yes," Alptraum claims.
"Yes," Trilby claims. "We already know how to change a person with Life Magic, but supposedly this method doesn't require destroying the person's resistances first. So just turn her into a statue and back again this time."
Alptraum nods. "Okay, okay. So sit down and I'll make it only slightly weird," he promises.
Summer sits on the floor, hugging her knees up against her chest and trying to make herself small, which is difficult with her long limbs. So she also tries folding her ears down.
Alptraum doesn't help because he grabs those ears. "Just relax, it won't hurt. You probably won't feel much at all," he tries to explain calmly; a few seconds before her head is 'shadow covered' and rapidly oozing down her body!
She can't really protest, since her head is covered first. "Hmmm," Trilby goes, getting very close. "It seems to take effect quickly," she notes. "Does it matter if the target is still to being with?"
"It helps," Alptraum explains, though distractedly because he's engulfing her entire body, then it's the matter of trying to separate it as a separate entity.
Trilby is trying to scrape some of the shadow into a tube, but she can't get a sample. "I think the suspension aspect is all Life Magic," she says. "What were the others?"
Alptraum explains, "Shadow and spirit"
"I'm not sure what they do, although Spirit might be to really freeze them," Trilby says.
"It's all one thing to me, I don't really see or feel a separation," Alptraum admits.
"It may be that Spirit and Life are more closely connected then, but Shadow must have some role in it," Trilby says. "Still, it would be handy to be able to do some of this via just Life Magic. Can you bring her out of it?"
Alptraum nods. He stands up and pulls his hands off her ears like he was pulling socks off them, and the entire shadow cocoon sort of slurps off of her. And even sounds like it. At least it leaves her clothed.
It takes a moment before Summer starts breathing again. She blinks, flicks her ears.. and then stands up and feels up her chest and rear as if checking for changes. "I don't feel any different," she announces. "How long was I blacked out for?"
"Three years, two months, five days, six hours, and forty-three seconds," Alptraum says with a straight face.
"Then why is Trilby still in her nightgown?" Summer counters.
"She's lazy," Alptraum offers.
Trilby says, "It was probably less than a minute. I couldn't catch all of what was happening though, so I'll need you to repeat this later when I have a proper diagnostic circle set up."
"Bah, ruin the joke," Alptraum grumps.
"I'm a doctor, that's what we do," Trilby claims, and clears some clutter away from the magic circle permanently inscribed on the floor. "Drag Cyprian into the center of this... wait, I'll get a stool."
A suitable stool is placed in the center for the frozen mage to be sat upon.
"I can't stand him on his head? Bummer," Alptraum complains as he moves Cyprian to the center of the circle and plops the Eeee's butt on the stool.
"Not with those ears," Trilby says. Then, of course, tries to see if she can sit in Cyprian's lap. "Stupid mug is in the way," she complains.
"If we somehow recorded this image for posterity, he would probably be upset," Summer notes.
"Only if he were naked," Alptraum claaims.
As she gathers some components, Trilby asks, "Summer was covered by the shadow, but I can see Cyprian just fine, so is that due to having the Shadow and Spirit magic worked against?"
Alptraum nods. "That would be the case, and no, say, being eaten and pooped out by an invisible snake," Alptraum agrees.
"So, can he see us?" Trilby asks. "That could have been the purpose of the shadow component, to ensure the frozen person doesn't build up a backlog of sensory data that hits them when they're unfrozen."
"But.. wouldn't that just be like a flash of light or something?" Summer asks. "Not anything discernable."
"I doubt it, but who knows? This is uncharted," Alptraum points out. "I AM somewhat of a unique monster, you know."
"Well, all monsters are unique, otherwise they'd be species," Trilby claims, as she sets out differently colored candles here and there, and fills certain bits of the circle with sparkly (or dull) sand. "We could always test it be dancing around naked in front of him, but then if he did see that, he wouldn't admit it. One more thing to test."
"Picky picky," Alptraum remarks while rolling his eyes. "Most monsters get more respect than I do. At least they get pitchforks and torches."
"The Earth Magic version of suspended animation can allow for certain sensory information to get through," Summer says. "I think I heard it suggested that it might be possible for the subject to remain conscious, but that just sounds like an expensive form of torture."
"Pitchforks and torches can also be used for roasting marshmallows if the forks are clean enough," Trilby notes. "Or the roasters are drunk enough."
"Pitchforks are never that clean," Summer claims.
"Have you ever been chased by an angry pitchfork-wielding mob then, Alptraum?" Trilby asks as she rummages through drawers. "Where'd I put the green matches.."
"Yes, I have," Alptraum says and shrugs. "Also by angry fathers, and by spider monsters."
"Spider monsters can carry pitchforks?" Summer asks, and shivers. "You wouldn't think they'd need to."
"No, they carry spines, with heads attached to use as maces," Alptraum claims.
"Were they on fire?" Trilby asks. She pauses a moment, then lifts up an overturned clay pot to find her matches.
"Thankfully not? The the giant skeleton made of other skeletons was partially on fire," Alptraum says.
"You were chased by a giant skeleton made of other skeletons?" Summer asks, looking shocked. Trilby strikes a green match, which.. burns green. "I think he's pulling our legs with that one. Were the spider monsters made of smaller spiders too?"
"No, I went inside one," Alptraum clarifies, "It's where one of the Prometheans made a home"
"It didn't move then?" Summer asks for clarification. "Wouldn't the inside of a skeleton be very drafty?"
"It didn't move any more. It used to. Now it just sits on the throne of bones," Alptraum explains. "And if you have enoug bones, it's not very drafty."
"That sounds like a lot of bones," Summer claims. "How big was it?"
Trilby goes around lighting her candles, and sort of humming a tune as she does so.
"Over a hundred foot tall, at least. Necromancers were both vain, and weird," Alptraum says. "Rostre would seem normal around them."
"She's a Naga with boobs bigger than my head," Summer points out.
"So? That would be mundane around a Necromancer. I mean, they would make shambling boob-zombies," Alptraum points out.
"What? You've seen things made of undead boobs?" Summer gasps.
"Read about. Thankfully never seen," Alptraum claims. "There are stories of at least one town in Sylvania that was crushed by undead boobs."
"I'm going to start now," Trilby says. "Ritual level, as best as I can manage without backup, but I'm not letting the apprentices in here for this."
"And that wasn't from one of those lurid romance novels?" Summer asks.
"Nope," Alptraum claims. "I don't read those."
"To be fair, it was a bit poetic that a town named Hooter was crushed by them," Alptraum remarks while he rubs the back of his neck. "They had lots of owls, hence the name."
Summer asks, "Are necromancers really that twisted? Or is it to ensure the victims stand there dumbstruck until it's too late for them to escape? That seems a silly name for a town."
Trilby begins to sort of squeak-sing-chant, and instead of standing still she moves as if doing very slow ballet.
"Summer, Sylvania is known for having celebrations for people that have more than ten teeth left and they're older than twenty," Alptraum points out.
"Wow.. so they'd probably worship Trilby as some sort of goddess then, given how old she is," Summer says. Possibly to see if it will cause Trilby to break her concentration, but it doesn't.
"I know, right? I bet she uses life magic to keep her butt from sagging," Alptraum one-ups Summer.
"One of the benefits of being a Life Mage," Summer agrees. But also checks out Trilby's butt. "Rostre never has to worry about anything sagging though, which isn't fair."
"She has to worry about the boobs," Alptraum points out.
"Aren't they magical boobs though?" Summer asks. "She's already in her sixties, given her size."
"They're artificial, I suppose," Alptraum ponders, "And that's young for a naga."
"How old do you think Trilby is?" Summer asks.
"Ninety," Alptraum suggests.
Trilby moves into another sweeping pose as she continues to squeak. Skeek is a fairly high-density language if the user really wants it to be.
"Maybe mentally," Summer says. "At least I look and act my age," she adds proudly.
"Right, you look not a day over fifty-three," Alptraum says and nods sagely.
Summer points and punches Alptraum in the shoulder. "That's grandma old, meanie."
"Ow!" Alptraum says and rubs his shoulder. "Like you even know how old I am," he retorts.
"You're can't be that much older than me," Summer claims. "Unless vampires age slower, like Nagas. I'm not sure how old Cyprian is, for that matter."
"Well, then how old am I?" Alptraum asks.
"And for the record? I'll live for centuries," Alptraum remarks.
Summer squints at Alptraum. "Well, I can't tell how many growth rings you have.. just the regular kind of rings. But based on posterior firmness.. well, no, that'd make you adolescent by non-Eeee ratings. And your hair is white so no help there. Then again demigods probably follow different rules. So, I'd say you're between.. 25 and 50?"
"It's much easier when you can count the antler points," Summer notes.
"Well, that's a wide range, but yes, I'm in there," Alptraum laughs. "Well played!"
"I could grow antlers if I wanted to," Alptraum jokes.
"For Skeeks I usually go by pudginess, but Trilby is so high-strung she probably lives on nothing but Mateh," Summer notes. "Have you ever seen her eat anything?"
"I haven't even gotten her into bed yet, so no," Alptraum says with a straight face.
"Does she have one?" Summer asks, eyeing the other doors. "If not for the nightie, I'd have assumed she just didn't sleep."
"Pretty sure she sleeps. She would be dead otherwise," Alptraum says. "Though, to be fair I expected her to be more the thigh high leather boots, and a riding crop, sort of sleepwear woman."
"Boots to bed? And why a riding crop?" Summer asks, as Trilby twirls and dances and sings squeakily around Cyprian.
"Well, I knew an Eeee that wore such things. She liked to spank men when she got them in bed. She was a little crazy," Alptraum explains. "So, imagine an Eeee with big glasses, in a corset, boots, and a small whip, standing in a room of nothing but pink taffeta."
"I'm having trouble with the corset part," Summer admits.
"It didn't help she was flat. I mean flat," Alptraum says, "Like a board flat."
"Yeah, you already said she was an Eeee," Summer says with a grin.
"She was also like you. She grew monster plants," Alptraum remarks dryly."
"My plants are normal plants," Summer says, and crosses her arms. "It's not like Earth Magic lets you just create new plants.." she claims, then ponders a moment. "Well, yes, it can do that but I've never been able to."
"She also lived in her own castle, and had a minion. So, actually, more successful than you," Alptraum adds and sticks out his tongue.
"So.. just how many castles are there in Sylvania anyway?" Summer asks. Followed by, "Was the minion cute?"
"He was a deformed rat with a lisp," Alptraum answers, "And there are plenty of ruined ones. No so many intact ones."
"Was the rat a good gardener at least?" Summer asks. Trilby stops chanting just then and there's a flash of blinding green light. This is followed by a sipping sound, and Cyprian saying, "It's gone cold. Why are you in a negligee, Trilby?"
"He was an expert surgeon, actually," Alptraum answers. To Cyprian, he comments, "We'll ou've been in that bubble a while, and carted all over the tower like a party favor."
"Mages tend to have more flashy party favors than me," Cyprian says, and looks for someplace to lay his mug. He settles for the floor next to the stool. "Is it safe to move around? And how was I being carted all over? Carts don't do well on stairs."
"You were carried by Rostre. She didn't do too many lewd things to you," Alptraum promises.
Cyprian is silent for a moment, before sniffing the sleeve of his robe. "Well, she is one of the more robust mages residing in the tower," he says afterwards. "From the setting, I'm guessing that Trilby here use a Life Magic dispel on me."
"It took three different spells, life, spirit, and shadow, to break the stasis," Alptraum explains. "Though Trilby here was insisting I killed you."
"Well, good to know it isn't easily overcome," Cyprian says, and stands up. "I don't feel any different than I did before," he notes, with a bit of disappointed. "I was hoping it would make me feel more rested."
"Do you want to to feel different? I could turn you into something else, or just make you female," Alptraum offers.
"Rested is all I was hoping for," Cyprian says.
"I can give you some special tea to help you sleep," Trilby offers.
"That's boring, though," Alptraum claims.
"I could have, for example, given you the body of a Yodhinala," Alptraum claims.
"I'll sleep when Caradoc is gone," he tells Trilby, and to Alptraum asks, "Where would I put it?"
"You'd be it," Alptraum points out. "You would know the wonders of needing a bra."
"Would it help me stay awake?" Cyprian asks.
"With the right company, yes," Alptraum claims. "So would any number of insertable training toys I know they used."
"Couldn't you just change my blood out for Mateh?" Cyprian asks, then looks at the mug on the floor. "Warm Mateh." Trilby picks up the mug and brings to one of her lab tables to be heated up over a burner.. eventually, as she's misplaced her matches again.
"Everyone was very respectful of your position, Master Cyprian," Summer offers.
"I held my mug in a way to specifically make it hard to sit in my lap," the Eeee Mage replies.
Alptraum admits, "I wasn't very respectful."
"I can't help it," he sighs, "It's ... I have the irresistible urge to mess with people."
"Did they try to dress me up funny?" Cyprian asks.
"Surprisingly, no," Alptraum says.
"Rostre only has ponchos," Summer points out. "One probably could have fit.."
"Well, you woke up too quickly once the last of the spell was gone," Trilby notes. "But you wouldn't fit in any of my clothes anyway."
"Not even your underwear?" Alptraum asks.
"I don't wear any," Trilby claims. "I'm a doctor, I don't have time for that sort of thing."
"Also, mages are notoriously paranoid about their laundry ending up in the hands of another mage," Cyprian notes.
"I don't believe either of you," Alptraum comments. "Even I have underwear."
"Do you wash it yourself?" Cyprian asks.
"Usually. It's not like I have any servants I could ask, or trust, with it," Alptraum explains and shrugs some.
"We can't trust others with it either," Trilby claims. "Novices and Journeymen might have time to launder their undies, but it's not worth it at the Master level. I've seen what Spirit Mages can do with underwear."
"YOu know, you really ought to do more normal things like wash underwear," Alptraum chides. "People would think you less weird. And less haughty."
"This is Babel," Cyprian points out. "Underwear can be considered formal wear here."
"And? Would it hurt you to wear it?" Alptraum counters and pokes him right in the snoot.
Rubbing his nose, Cyprian says, "I prefer that nobody wonder whether or not I'm wearing any. That aside though, how much energy did it take to suspend me? Enough to leave you feeling drained at all?"
"Surprisingly not as much as I expected it to, though making it self-sustaining took some extra. Nothing beyond me or risky, though," Alptraum claims, then frowns. "Which worries me in my own right, truth be told. This used to be hard."
"Mages improve by finding their own unique takes and shortcuts to the spells they originally learned by rote," Cyprian notes. "The other question is if your supply of shadow material itself can be exhausted. If not, I would suggest suspending all of the subjects involved. But if Caradoc can be managed, that may be enough." He also cants his head to one side for a moment. "My held spell is gone. So besides Mateh, spells do not survive the suspension. Perhaps because they are not alive."
"I'm sure there is a limit to it, though having the Light along gives me a massive advantage. And No, you can't have the light," Alptraum comments as he rubs his chin. "And it's more like since you can't actively maintain it, it fades, or gets absorbed."
"So best to limit it's use to just the prisoner then," Cyprian says. But Trilby asks, "What's this Light you're talking about? Something that makes sharper shadows?"
"I already told you about it. The nearly limitless source of raw life and spirit magic from the pre-Olympian era of the world," Alptraum says and sighs. "One of the few artifacts in my collection."
"Oh, that, right," Trilby says, rubbing her eyes. "I didn't make the connection. The Royal Mages really soured the whole ancient magical artifact thing here in Babel and beyond. We're taught not to trust them."
"Probably because they show you how limited your current magicks actually are," Alptraum quips, "And how much knowledge was actually lost back in that war. The light was crafted be Amenlichli's main rival. It's that old; and it is her, and of her, and ... it was what helped win the last Necromancer war."
"Also, if misused, The Light can make, well, a forbidden zone all on its own," Alptraum adds.
"So, honestly, dangerous," he concedes.
"Exactly," Trilby says. "It's unearned power, with unknown or hidden costs."
"It also can't be used by just anyone. It's bloodline bound, in a sense," Alptraum adds.
"Magic is supposed to be difficult, otherwise mages would rule the world," Cyprian says. "And fight over the limited artifacts in wars of magic."
"I never said it was easy, just far more capable than what is done today," Alptraum points out.
"And the creation of it cost a great deal of the one that created it. It was necessary, to offer a counter to Aztepa's growth," Alptraum adds. "I also have a timestone weapon."
"What's timestone? Some sort of Sifran crystal?" Trilby asks. "There's no such thing as Time Magic."
"Sure there is, just not native to, well, here. It's an exile weapon, and capable of erasing someone from existence. Anyone. Anything. Any Deity." Alptraum enunciates slowly.
"That is terrifying, but.. it doesn't seem like something you could easily test," Trilby remarks. "Why do you have something like that?"
"How would you kill Amenlichli for good?" Alptraum asks Trilby.
"I wouldn't, because I don't fight undead monsters," Trilby admits. "That's more in the realm of Spirit Magic, if a deity is just a very powerful spirit manifestation. But while that makes sense for deities with actually worshippers and belief systems.. it doesn't really account for deities that don't have living worshippers. Although I suppose maybe a small population of very powerful necromancers or incredibly deranged people might do it. She doesn't show up very often after all."
"I suppose it kills the concept of the deity then," Cyprian says. "So that no matter the amount of belief or worship, it just can't come back."
"Monsters don't need to be believed in to be monsters," Summer says softly.
"She's outside your current magic system. You have no way of doing it that I know of," Alptraum replies simply. "And that's why I have that weapon, and why I believe she fears me." He sighs and rubs his forehead a bit before continuing, "I know I act like a twit and come across as some sort of harmless doofus. That's ... intentional. I have, well am, considerably capable and wield some enormously powerful items, along with my innate abilities. Would any of you, would any person on the street, not fear me if they only knew of something like that? Instead of, well, how I present myself? I don't want people to bow to me, or worship me, or any of that sort of rot. So ... I try to appear mostly harmless."
"You're dangerous to the beings that the people on the street fear," Cyprian explains. "You aren't threatening them. They want someone to protect them from the real monsters, which are quite often just people with more authority or wealth than them."
"I'm not afraid of you," Summer claims.
"I just want to see if I can copy some of your techniques," Trilby says. "There haven't been a lot of advances in Life Magic during my lifetime."
"Again, because you know me," Alptraum points out to Summer, "If someone came to you and said you're about to be visited by someone who can turn you into a toad, make you suffer unending without dying, make you live as just a head in a jar, could invade your dreams, and make you lust after virtually anything ... that you wouldn't be afraid of that person just from hearing that?"
"Well, who would be telling me those things?" Summer asks. "I get a lot of that about my employers. This is guy is very rich and powerful and expects you to do whatever he wants, so you don't dare disappoint him or he'll ruin your whole career and then what can you do?"
Alptraum also comments to Trilby, "The best way I can explain my techniques is ... I can learn the innate structure of any living thing, and use that as sort of a template to impress that shape onto another's flesh. Healing actually isn't any different. I use the same 'template' to encourage and push flesh to move back to what should be it's normal condition. That's ... more or less it putting it simply. If you can learn how to learn a template of a race, it becomes a lit easier to heal wounds to members of that race. You're not doing a broad semi-uncontrolled 'heal up' kind of thing, you're encouraging growth at a very, very, sepecific level."
"Mages don't exactly react like normal people," Trilby admits. "Life Magic already has methods for doing things similar to that. I'm more interested in the suspended animation technique, since that can provide a lot of extra time to prepare for dealing with something serious."
"My point is, I don't want you to feel like you have to tiptoe around me, or worry I might ruin you for some perceived insult. I mean, I could, but it's not the kind of person I am and I don't what the raw abilities of 'me' to, well, make it so you never got to learn about the person," Alptraum tries to explain, but poorly.
"It's not any different, though," Alptraum switches back to Trilby, "Once you know how someone is built; you just hold them in a specific place physically at a very, very, small level. You lock their body from deviating any further from their current state at that precise moment."
"You aren't an ancient magical artifact, so we can just ask you about hidden costs and intentions," Trilby points out. "You also aren't a mage, so the whole hedge-wizard restrictions don't apply. You aren't a spirit either, you're alive. So you're attractive to mages, because you're in our world but outside of the restrictions the Guild places on us. You learned all of that at the time you wrapped up Cyprian and Summer? So maybe that's the Spirit aspect then. I'll have to consult with Rostre about it."
"Eeeh, I just thought about it and realized that it made sense if it was working that way. I effectively set their body to repeat a small period of process over and over in a loop, versus a more normal move forward, or something like that. I know what my abilities affect at a core level, I use them on myself plenty. So, I just thought about ways it could hold someone in stasis as sort of a reflex. I'm having the body apply the same exact condition back to itself over and over, and hence, frozen in that state," Alptraum babbles.
"So, think of it this way, if you peed out an ounce of water, then sucked it back in a fraction of a second later, then repeated that over and over, it would be like being frozen mid pee, no?" Alptraum explains lamely.
"That would take all of the enjoyment out of peeing though," Trilby muses. "Hmm, so it is a sort of time magic, just biological in nature and not the extreme slowing or stopping that turning someone into a tree or stone can do. And I'm still waiting for someone to translate Barabbas' Amber Sleep spell into something usable by mages that aren't adept in both Life and Earth."
"It's not time like, time time. I'm not changing any flow, I think I'm just getting the body to hold itself to a snapshot of its own current state," Alptraum explains. "It's not like I think about how I do things, I just do them!"
"Which is why there needs to be a proper examination of them that doesn't interfere," Trilby says. "So don't try explaining it further, lest you end up confusing yourself. I've seen that happen.. and had it happen to me before. You find a novel way to perform a spell, then can't do it again because you think too hard on what made it work. Probably happens to most starting mages, until they learn to stop trying to explain it and just go with it."
"Fine, if you want to learn from me, then I expect you in thigh high leather boots, a corset, your hair in a bun, and glasses on the tip of your nose," Alptraum demands.
"Do you really think I could get away with wearing thigh high leather boots?" Trilby asks. "How would I bend my knees? Next you'll say I should wear heels too. I've never noticed a librarian wearing boots like that."
"If you were serious about learning, you would find a way," Alptraum claims and crosses his arms. "How else can I get you prepared for Cyprian?"
"Pardon?" Cyprian asks. "Is Mind Magic needed for this, or just hypnosis?"
"I've never seen someone hypnotized before," Summer says.
"No, I just think you two would make a cute couple. You're both stubborn enough," Alptraum claims.
"I don't have time to be hypnotized," Trilby claims, crossing her arms and glowering (mousily) at Alptraum. "Let's compromise. I'll wear underwear instead of the boots. I wouldn't know how to even find boots like that."
"I know where to find them. I can bring you some," Alptraum promises.
Cyprian just sighs. "Matching me up with female co-workers seems to be a popular pastime," he laments.
"Well, it's better than you being all wistful over that human girl," Alptraum notes.
"That fit me?" Trilby asks, skeptically. "Eeee have longer legs than I do. They'd better be open-toed too."
"Human girl?" Summer asks, leaning forward a bit. Gossip!
"I know people who can custom make them." Alptraum comments.
"I don't think she's actually human," Cyprian says. "And she was helping me to develop a protective spell."
"She's a very empowered spirit, that looks human. An oddity, yes, but then most things I deal with are. I know her," Alptraum remarks and shrugs some. "Cyprian had a date with her, an actual date, date," he adds to Summer.
"With dinner and dancing?" Summer asks, looking extra attentive.
"Something like that? I didn't pry," Alptraum claims.
Cyprian does not comment. "When should I plan on the prisoner transfer," he asks Alptraum. "Or do we need to move the frozen mage to a specific location for pickup."
"Soon. I just have to confirm the ship date, then we should be ready to go. So, a couple of days, maybe a bit longer? I feel like I need a rest, myself, and do something fun before I might go die," Alptraum says.
Summer doesn't say anything to that, since she's planning a 'fun surprise' still for Alptraum. "You both need some rest," she tells both him and Cyprian.
"Cyprian needs a spa day with tons of pretty women fawning over him. Best I could arrange would be Yodhblakat, or maybe Barinala," Alptraum offers.
"Isn't there a fancy nightclub in Babel that does that sort of thing?" Summer asks.
"If there is, it unlikely that mages would go there," Cyprian says.
"There is. I know the owner. I could arrange a private party for all of you there if you wish," Alptraum offers. "I think."
"Too much work right now," Trilby says. "And I missed my nap. Too many patients to look after."
"Would you dance with me there?" Summer asks Alptraum, wiggling a bit.
"If there is a party, you will be there, Trilby, or no more learning from me," Alptraum notes, calmly. "I don't know if I would be there, Summer. Me in public is awkward," Alptraum claims.
"Because you're a celebrity?" Summer asks. "Then you'll have to dance with me somewhere else, in private."
"I'm creepy. Most people are uncomfortable around me," Alptraum reminds.
Summer looks from Alptraum to Cyprian and back again. "Are you sure?" she asks.
"They're both creepy because they're too tall," Trilby says.
Alptraum holds up his right hand pointedly.
"It's not like you have an extra eye in the middle of your forehead though," Summer says. "Isn't that like a mark of divinity or something?"
"It's a mark of defeating an ancient evil, which I suppose goes somewhat along with that. Maybe," Alptraum concedes. "But you have to admit, it's creepy."
"I have a cousin with a wooden leg," Summer claims. "It's got a hinge in it and everything, along with an Earth enchantment so it actually works. He varnished it all black and has shiny studs on it, but it doesn't look as cool as yours. And when you rub yours, your familiar pops out!"
"Lots of things pop out of me if you rub certain spots," Alptraum remarks with a straight face.
"I don't think he actually has to rub it," Cyprian notes. "Isn't she just always eavesdropping until you say her name?"
"How many other spots?" Summer asks, grinning.
"Not really We're not that interesting," Alptraum claims, "As for what other spots, it's a mystery to be solved."
It's Trilby that comes over and starts polishing the orb on Alptraum's wrist with the sleeve of her nightgown. "If it comes out, I'm asking for three wishes," she tells Alptraum.
"Hey, Kaira, come out now. It'll mess with the mouse," Alptraum thinks while Trilby does her thing.
The little dragon pops up through the back of Trilby's hand. "I'm here to mess with mice and dress up nice!" she declares. "And if you really want to get a better response from Alptraum, you have to rub your soft bits against him."
Trilby pulls her hand (and sleeve) back. "I didn't expect that to work!" she squeaks. "Where else does she pop out of?"
Alptraum siiiiiiighs. "I'm going to sell you to some demons in there," he threatens Kaira. "As a harem girl."
"And replace me with the doctor?" Kaira asks. "Does she make.. mouse calls?"
"Depends on the mouse she wants to call," Alptraum claims. "She's probably got a dozen boys stashed in a closet somewhere."
"I have a wardrobe, not a closet," Trilby counters.
"How posh!" Alptraum swoons.
"We all have wardrobes though," Summer points out.
"We'll you're all rich and snobby, so hardly a surprise there," Alptraum claims. "I have a sack."
"I have a walk-in," Cyprian admits. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get started on some paperwork to handle the transfer of Caradoc to Alptraum's custody. You'll need similar for the two Cervani, Trilby."
"Don't forget that Alptraum has to sign things too!" Trilby reminds.
"I do not sign things," Alptraum claims. "I did that once in Sylvania, and almost ended up a boy toy for a hundred year old korv woman."
"Almost?" Summer asks. "What did you think you were signing?"
"An agreement on wild oats," Alptraum claims.
"Magically binding contracts and receipts don't leave room to sneak in weird things," Trilby claims.
"For making beer?" the doe asks.
"Yeaaah, we'll see about that," Alptraum says and crosses his arms. "Remind me to introduce you to the demon that turns people inside out for agreement violations."
"He's squamous and batrachian, don't let him sit on anything you like," Kaira warns. "Including the floor."
"I thought he was cute," Alptraum claims.
"Everything needs to be signed out in the Guild, especially patients," Trilby says, crossing her arms. "And experiments."
"I don't know what those words mean," Summer admits.
"I've never had to be signed out," Alptraum points out. "And I've been inside the guild many times."
"Squat and toadlike," Alptraum explains.
"You aren't guild property or under guild custody though," Trilby points out.
"And scaly, of course. Mostly he looks like an oversized toad," Alptraum says.
"Why not just say squat and toadlike then?" Summer asks, eyeing the phantasmal dragon suspiciously.
"I used to be a lawyer," Kaira claims. "We get paid by how hard we are to understand."
"Because she's a snob and likes to feel superior?" Alptraum claims.
Rather than comment on that, Cyprian slips out of the room.
"Seeya batbutt," Alptraum calls after Cyprian.
"Bats are not known for their butts," Trilby notes. "Although the can be famous for being asses. Now, I have.. stuff to do! Medical stuff!" She makes shooing motions to Alptraum and Summer.
"Do you think I'm an ass?" Alptraum asks suspiciously.
"Everybody is an ass!" the mouse squeaks. She sounds middle-aged, at least. Or it's just the result of having to treat mages, which are probably the worst possible patients.
Alptraum grabs one of those shooing hands and pulls Trilby close, then licks her right between the eyes. She's also very quickly letting go and trying to escape the room!
"Wait for me!" Summer calls, and tries to escape before the door can close.