It is the next morning! Unless Tark or Pyrus offered her a place to sleep, Zerry actually slept in the stables with the horses because they have bodies like hers, so maybe they have better sleeping arrangements? And besides, this was where they were supposed to meet Jamie for heading off to Parnast.

Pyrus is enjoying a bacon and egg sandwich for breakfast.  Dining area of the inn, of course.  He's about ready to move on to the stables.

In reply to Pyrus (msg # 2):

Jamie walks down after her own morning wake-up routine with her Squirrel minion in toe.  "Let's get some breakfast before we go, Sarah," she said.

  Tark has thanked the nameless staff for their hospitality, while on a similar snack timetable to Pyrus.  "I don't suppose you've been to Parnast before Pyrus? I've never felt the need to get around to it until now."

  He waves good morning to Moose and Squirrel Jamie and Sarah, as they show up.

Zerry, seeing nobody at the stables yet, decides to run over to the place she met everyone. Maybe they were hungry like her? And sure enough, there is the group she met yesterday. "Goooood morning!" she says, having burst through the door. A person or two in the place look shocked at a centaur barging in after having already watched a half-orc sit down to dine.

Because as usual, Tark is getting a lot of sideways glances and looks of caution.

Pyrus headshakes to Tark's question and waves in welcome to Zerry, Jamie, and the mystery squirrel.

"Well technically I was there briefly while on a hunt for a bandit, but I wasn't there any longer than it took to ask around if he had passed through.  Which he had.  So I promptly left to give chase.  But I was not there long enough to become more than slightly familiar."

"Well, good morning, Zerry," Jamie said as she picked up a couple crepes and a bottle of juice. "How was your morning?  I hope my minion here didn't trip you that bad."  She scritched Sarah on her head.

Zerry says, "Oh nice! Then you can be our guide there, Pyrus!"

Zerry looks at Jamie, laughs and stomps her four hooves in very quick succession to sound like a horse running full-tilt. "Trip me? Ha! I have four hooves on the ground! It's very hard to trip me. What happened was she ran into me and tripped over me, then freaked out over how injured I was as if I were the one who tripped! I think she has first-person dislexia." You have NO idea how right you are, Zerry. "But I will be more than happy to help her!"

Zerry gallops over to the table where Pyrus and Tark are at, looks at Tark, hoping Tark will say good morning back to her, a biiig, eager grin on her face.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:06, Thu 24 Nov 2016.

  Tark nods to Pyrus "Well, hopefully it's a nice place in need of some problem solving.  Instead of a lame place in need of problem solving."

  Tark's already demonstrated his willingness to wave hello to the arriving witch and underpaid(?) servant, so of course he's willing to greet the girl who acknowledges the existence of Pyrus and himself.

  "Hello Zerry, I hope you slept well. Though you probably did, being that ready to help people already."
This message was last edited by the player at 01:13, Thu 24 Nov 2016.

Speaking of the minion in came running the squirrel tripping over a slightly extended chair as she face planted into the floor right in front of jamie holding up a small bag speaking muffledly "Your spell components mistress"

"Oh my!"

The poor squirrel must be cursed to forever be tripping over things.  Pyrus hurries over to her to offer a hand up.

"Are you alright, miss?"

She smiles softly taking the helping hand up . " thank you so much. "
She rubbed her face it seemed fine but it was a tad sore.

In reply to meiou (msg # 12):

"Oh dear," Jamie said as she picks up the squirrel. She knows that the bag containing the components can't be hurt that bad.  (The more fragile parts is kept in a pouch of bubble wrap.)

"Sorry about that," Jamie said to Pyrus as she rubs Sarah's head.  "My familiar's a bit of a klutz."

Well it helped she had been holding up the bag so as to keep it from coming to harm. She churred softly as Jamie started to pet her blushing softly as she admitted it happened more often than she liked.

Zerry nods to Tark. "I did sleep well, thanks!"

Zerry then looks at Sarah and says, "Well don't you worry, Sarah! The more you fall, the tougher you get! So all being a klutz means is that you'll be one of the toughest around some day!"

In reply to Zerry (msg # 15):

"That's what I'm hoping Zerry," Jamie said as she picked up Sarah and carried her in one arm, a bagged breakfast in the other.

Sarah heard Jamie's voice in her head, a quiet whisper.  "I wonder how Meiou's holding up." Jamie knows that they'll both hear her.

" look i'm fine . stop pushing me " he said blushing abit under sarah. Still adjusting to his somewhat prison.

"Mistress I don't mean to press but you have things you wanted to do."

  Tark... Isn't quite sure head trauma works the way Zerry said.  It would be nice if it did considering previous events though.

  "Well, maybe Sarah could carry smaller loads at once instead?  You are having her carry luggage meant for someone nearly twice her size, after all." He's pretty sure Pyrus, or at least one of them, will be there to peel the squirrel off the pavement when the inevitable happens though.

Sparkles!  Poof!  Pyrus offered the slightly injured squirrel a conjured ice pack.  Not too cold.  Gotta love prestidigitation.

"Glad to hear it's not as bad as it looked."

He nods to Zerry and Tark then addresses Jamie with a smile, "I understand you're heading to Parnast.  I was going that way myself.  Perhaps we could travel together for increased safety."

Zerry says, "I already offered help. But Tark does have a good point. So let's get a carriage! Those carry lots of stuff... or is that all ready back at the stables?"

Zerry griiiiiiins at Pyrus. "Magic sure is handy... and nifty!"

Post Order: Zerry(GM), Jamie(David), Meiou, Tark, Pyrus
(Jamie's Turn to Post. Nobody but Jamie post please.)

In reply to Zerry (msg # 23):

"Well," Jamie said with a giggle, "I got all that in spades." She waved a finger in the air, creating a trail of stardust as she spun around.  "I also have my own carriage, as you can see."

It was a small covered wagon with a draft horse in the pulling position, the wagon was painted in shades of purple with stars adorning it with a dark blue canopy.  A sign was plastered on the back:


And in smaller print..


The contents seem to be all of her effects, including a caldron, various chests, some bags, and a keg of ale, fresh from the nearby brewery.  The only room available is the two seats up front.

---

Jamie's Hex is her primary defense spell, although she's prone to use it on people she believes deserve it.  Mechanically, it imposes Disadvantage (even overridding any Advantage) on any d20 roll, and can be used as a reaction to an attack.  She can do this once/turn, up to her WIS/Rest.

What can I say? she loves seeing people roll Nat 1s and seeing the results.  Finds it hilarious.

She took the ice pack from pyrus and smiled softly "Thank you.It only stings a little bit. " she looked to centuar " How do you manage with four feet running around? I barely can handle my own two. " she said blushing.

 Hearing Tark talk on her behalf she looks to him " Oh its no trouble. Mistress taught me mage hand for carrying everything. Though I wanted prestidigitation. Mistress said maybe later. "

Seeing the carriage pop up she sighed and shook her head. She wasn't supposed to be using it so often in a short time period. Yes she had rested but still it was a drain!

  "At the very least, it's less boring than traveling alone." Though boredom is generally safer, despite sayings like 'dying of boredom'. Even with sparkles advertising witch wagons.

  Tark nods the Squirrel, and says "Well, try to use that more often then if it helps. Cantrips are supposed to be the easy stuff, after all." Easy enough the Half orc could if he blew a feat on it, but he probably wont.

OOC: Durp, for whatever reason the new post coloring didn't kick in for me on this thread it seems. I've spent the whole time thinking Meiou hadn't posted yet like the other thread <.<
So Pyrus up next, though I think I'm posting this slightly too late for him to read it
This message was last edited by the player at 07:35, Tue 29 Nov 2016.

Pyrus returns the adorable little girl's smile. "I'm glad you think so. Magic is my bread and butter."

He'll let Zerry handle the squirrel's thoughts on more legs = more trips and answers the little familiar with a soft smile, "You're welcome, Sarah. Most impressive to have mastered that magic through study. You must be quite the good student."

Pyrus nods to Tark with a smirk and answers, "There is definitely that, yes."

He smiles at the appearance of the fancy wagon and gives a low whistle. "Well well well! Now that is a proper mage's wagon if there ever was one! Very nice!"

He gives the wagon a good look - over then gives the draft horse a friendly pet and conjured candy apple. "Hello there."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:36, Tue 29 Nov 2016.

Zerry squeals at the sight of the wagon. Upon hearing Pyrus comment that it is a proper mage's wagon, she says, "No kidding!" She zooms off to run circles around the wagon out of excitement!

Zerry looks over at Squirrelgirl. "Same reason why tables and chairs are less likely to be tripped than ladders: More legs means more stable!" get it? Horses? Stable? "Too bad I can't give you extra legs. If you want tips on two-legged stability, ask these pros!" She thumbs at Pyrus. Get it? Prose? Music? Bard?

Tark makes it sound like a feat in 5e is an easy thing. It's equal to an increase in any given stat mod, and they come in limited supply. "I WANNA LEARN MAGIC!" Well on the bright side, Tark, you have apparently decided the level 4 feat for the fighter centaur.

Zerry looks up at Pyrus and Jamie. "Teach me how to do a cantrip!"

---

Post Order: Zerry(GM), Jamie(David), Meiou, Tark, Pyrus
(Jamie's Turn to Post. Nobody but Jamie post please.)

"Why thank you Pyrus," Jamie beamed a bit of pride at her little pride and joy, picking up some of the heavier luggage herself so that her familiar won't get tired that easy.  She smiled at Pyrus as he offered her horse the apple, who whinnied her approval as it munched.

Jamie had to do a double-take when Zerry, out of the blue, asked her to teach her a cantrip.

(OOC:  Remind me to look at Zerry's character sheet again.)

Sighing using a combination of her mage hand and her own hands she started putting the luggage up into the wagon. She often wonder what her mistress was thinking with her travels sometimes.

  Tark opts to help load up the wagon.  Not out of any sense of chivalry but because he'd feel like a jerk just standing there watching (That's entirely different, right?).  At least any cargo willingly put into the hands of a 'Keyword: Clutz' girl like Sarah is going to be safe to handle unless the universe is quite literally out to get Tark.

  Besides, offering to drive a two seater means either Sarah or Jamie would have to walk, which would defeat the purpose of such an offer.  We're pretty sure his Tool Proficiency, Vehicles(land) doesn't actually DO anything unless you have a GM that makes parking a wagon flirting with death, anyways.

OOC: If Zerry really is a Fighter, at least that means the level 4 feat is an Extra compared to usual. So if we ever happen to level up in this thread, that's all sorted from a Vanilla Mechanics standpoint. Mage Initiate = Two cantrips and a 1st level spell from a single class's spell table, and not like Prestidigitation uses any stats.

Seems to be Pyrus, then Zerry next.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:41, Sun 04 Dec 2016.

Pyrus smiles and gives a polite bow to Jamie.  "You're most welcome."

For Sarah, he also offers a helping hand.  Magical and otherwise.

Pyrus smirks at Zerry's enthusiasm and answers, "I'd love to help you learn, but magic comes to me naturally without study.  For those who come by magic more honestly, I understand that it takes a lot of time, patience, and hard study.  Perhaps there's a primer we could get you to start you out on."

Zerry is more than fine with walking along since walking is no more exhausting to a centaur than it is to a horse (Besides, centaurs don't ride horses), but the others may want to get horse.

Regardless of travel arrangements, the group is soon on the road and the town they leave becomes smaller and smaller until all the group can see is the road. Zerry is humming a tune to herself and up ahead is a fork in the road with signs. One sign points to the left fork, saying "Parnast" and the other sign is scratched out and pretty much ruined with no chance of knowing what it said.

---

I don't have a character sheet for Zerry, but I'd love to make one soon.


Post Order: Zerry(GM), Jamie(David), Meiou, Tark, Pyrus
(Jamie's Turn to Post. Nobody but Jamie post please.)

"When I drive the wagon, I usually have Sarah on my lap," Jamie said, "So I'll be happy to have someone in the shotgun seat."  She rummages a bit in her wagon.  "I think I had a Magic Initiative primer book for people to use...Probably at the bottom of all the luggage, though."

She filed that thought for later when the group arrived at the crossroads.  With the sign that's scratched out.  "Who wants to bet that sign's been scratched recently?"

  "Probably best to look for the book it when the wagon isn't mid travel, then.  Might hitch a ride later though."  At the road sign discrepancies, he shrugs.  ."I think I'll pass on that bet.  Though I guess they must have liked Parnast more if they left that one alone."

  That said, Tark considers the direction both signs are pointing compared to the state of the world map.  Mostly to be sure they are still heading in the right direction.

OOC: Yay for automap features. I'm kind of assuming scratched sign would read "Error: Content Not Finished" or the like.
Pyrus, then Zerry.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:17, Sun 11 Dec 2016.

Pyrus accepts the offer to ride shotgun, then.  On the way he would have enjoyed striking up light conversation.  Upon arriving at the weird signpost, he perks an eyebrow.

"I can't really say.  I approached Parnast from a different direction than this.  There's a spell for fixing things that could be used for that sign..."

But that's not his job.  And he wouldn't be paid if he fixed it without being hired to do so beforehand.

Thank you, Tark. Tark can see that whoever did this was hoping the travelers didn't have a map. The sign pointing to Parnast is pointing the wrong way. The way to Parnast is the direction the scratched-out sign points. According to the map, the scratched out sign would have probably been labeled "Copper Mine".

Zerry starts bounding about, hopping in circles around the signs and the wagon. "Signs! Signs! Signs!" She pauses to look at Pyrus. "Oh! Oh! Can I see?! Fix the sign PLEEEEEASE?!" She falls to the ground, kicking her legs in excitement, which causes her to spin in place on her side. "OmigoshOmigoshOmigoshMagic!"

Post Order: Zerry(GM), Jamie(David), Meiou, Tark, Pyrus
(Jamie's Turn to Post.)

Jamie could only blink in bewilderment over Zerry's outburst.  'My does she put a lot of sugar in her cereal,' she thinks as she looks over the signpost.

"Does anyone have Mending, I think it'll work best for this."

Sarah spoke up " Ofcourse I have it mistress. You had me take it for fixing tears in your robes or your luggage handles coming off again etc etc. "

She got up to get a better view of the sign and focused her power on it as she cast mending upon it to make sure they would know where to go.

  Tark looks to Pyrus, and says "Well, you would have still approached Parnast from a different direction.  Someone also switched the signs around."

  Then suddenly a Zerry happens. "I get the feeling Zerry is just naturally-" polite word Tark, "enthusiastic, Jamie." Good choice.

  "Thank you, Sarah.  Fixing up the sign should let me know for sure these paths lead to where I think they do."

Pyrus laughs at the little girl's antics.

"You look like a beetle on it's back, trying to right itself!"

Not to long ago, that would have been him freaking out over the latest nifty spell.

He gives a nod and smile to Tark.  "Thanks for the heads-up."

...and to Sarah, "And thanks for fixing the signs."

While she spins, Zerry giggles uncontrollably to Pyrus' and Tark's comments and says, "I'mma enthuselastic beetle who eats SUGARRRRR! Weeeeeeee!" No, she didn't hear Jamie's thoughts. But like Tark, she inferred.

If the spell is used to put the sign back together, the spinning Zerry immediately stops and is frozen as she stares in awe of the magic in action! The sign becomes un-scratched and repaired to its former state where the only sign of wear and tear is how old the sign is. And it does, in fact, read "Copper Mine". However, switching the signs back to where they belong isn't technically "fixing a broken object", so the team will have to do that themselves. Zerry's frozen nature ends and she pulls downward on her hair, gritting her teeth while grinning, a high-pitched squeal coming from her that is barely in the audible range of most humanoids.

Zerry leaps for joy and rushes over to hug Sarah. "Woooohooooo! Thatwassoneatoohmigosh!"

And you have to admit... no matter how powerful spells get, the basics like Mending, Prestidigitation, Mage Hand, Light and Ghost Sound are all really fun to watch despite how simple they are.

---

A scene from Transformers comes to mind where Spike watches an Autobot transform and he says, "No matter how many times I see it, it still amazes me..."

Jamie is still blinking at Zerry's rambunctiousness.  'I never was that excited about learning spells, and I dreamed of being a witch as a child,' she thought.

"So," Jamie said, "Which path do you want to go?"

" HA! " thought meiou inside sarah. " She strikes me as the type to get excited over anything. Bet She's bluffing about it . "

Sarah blushed abit " But mistress you were so excited when you made me into your familiar . You made me celebrate with you." She blushed abit as Tark and Pyrus thanked her for fixing the sign. " It was nothing. Mistress is always tearing her robes or breaking something. I just fix it so its useful again. " Sarah blushed further as the young centaur girl hugged her.

Pyrus's comparisons about Zerry seem kind of apt, but he can't recall a breakfast cereal with a beetle for a mascot.  Much less one that would be hugging a mouse on the box.

Now that they are un-vandalized, Tark swaps the signs back to point in the correct directions.

"Well, the whole point of the trip was to reach Parnast. So I'd figure going to Parnast would be the general idea. Unless people wanted to stop and see just what is waiting for anyone that fell for being sent to some old copper minds instead, I guess?"

Tark nods at hearing Sarah's elaboration.  Yes, frequently needing extra help with broken property sounds about right from what little he's gathered about Jamie.

"Enthuselastic," Pyrus echoes with a chuckle, "That sounds as accurate a word as I can imagine for you, Zerry."

He smiles at Sarah's humble reaction and comments, "Well it's really good for her that she's got such a handy friend, then, isn't it?"

Pyrus gives Tark's thought careful consideration.  "On the one hand, it's likely that we're the most qualified to investigate.  But on the other, not only have we not been hired to investigate, but now that the sign has been fixed, we needn't worry about travelers falling into the trap.  I suggest we go into town and talk with the town's leadership about it first."

Zerry rushes over to Tark, climbs up one of the signs and does a tap-tance on the top of the sign. "Way to go, Tark! You sure set those signs straight!" She turns her attention to the others. She hops down off the sign and says in a concerned and thoughtfully slow pace, "But... what if someone already fell for the trap and are about to get hurt?"

"I agree with ye, my pretty," Jamie said to Zerry.  "And besides, I always like exploring abandoned places.  Who knows what you find?"

Post Order: Zerry(GM), Jamie(David), Meiou, Tark, Pyrus
(Meiou's Turn to Post.)

The squirrel sighed and shook her head " Sadly thats true. One time she went into this abandoned cabin in the woods and ended up unleashing what felt like all hell when she found this collection of artifacts. I still don't know how we survived. "


The rabbit raised a brow inside curiously. Had she? Was this how she was a sentient suit? Or had jamie just performed witchcraft on her famialer and turned her into this. With that trickster there was no telling

  Having a mostly functioning conscience is really inconvenient some days.  "Allright, let's check it out then." He'd ask Pyrus if he was okay with it, but can't think of how to do so without sounding sarcastic or belittling without intending to.

  Tark thinks it's obvious why Sarah and Jamie survived the mentioned artifacts, though.  Because it was a backstory gag.

Pyrus smiles at Zerry and says, "Good point.  Let's go rescue them."
He gives a nod to Tark and follows along, then asks Sarah, "Oh?  What sorts of artifacts?"

Upon arriving at the copper mine, the group can see the place looks suspiciously clear and is quiet. There are no signs of wagon tracks or people tracks. Zerry gallops to the entrance of the mine!

In reply to Zerry (msg # 55):

"Hold on, darling," Jamie said as she headed up to Zerry.  "Let's not go charging in full throttle.  We need to plan these things."

With that, Jamie pulled out a small orb from her shoulder bag (a Bag of Holding) and held it aloft, she spoke a command word, and it started to float up above her wide brimmed pointed hat and produce light.

She then turned to Sarah.  "Sarah dear, I think I heard your rabbit friend in the far bushes, go find him, will you please?  We need his skills."

What everyone didn't hear was the Mental order Sarah gave Sarah telepathically.  'Go hide somewhere and use the Requip command to tag Meiou in.'

-----

OOC:  Mechanically, I have it so that Meiou can still sense Sarah in his mind, even if he's no longer wearing her.  We're talking about this offline.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:46, Sun 08 Jan 2017.

The squirrel was kind of nervous about this order but she got up and hopped down to go into the brush " I will see if he is here as you paid him to be mistress." she said making the logical excuse for why the bunny would be here in the middle of nowhere.She slipped into the brush vanishing from sight before slipping on the bracelet and whispering the command word.

The rabbit appeared as Sarah was sucked into the bracelet . He shook his head squirming this whole experience was different than anything he was used to. He usualy provided the personality to the suit not the ohter way around. Now she was in his head as he felt a shove from Jamie mentally causing him to stumble out of the brush like he had been shoved by sarah.

  Tark comments to Pyrus "Maybe it's unspeakable artifacts, from how little they are talking about them?" Tark, no.  That's not how 'unspeakable magics' works.

  Things he agrees with Jamie on.  "She's right Zerry. Stay with the rest of us."   Things he disagrees with Jamie on.  "I don't think Sarah should stay all by herself.  Why warn Zerry not to rush off, if you're going to tell your friend to do just that?"

  That said, he will go to offer a hand up to Meiou if the apparent shoving results in faceplants. Hmm, maybe Sarah wasn't as nice as she acted, if this is the first thing she does when out of sight?
This message was last edited by the player at 00:09, Fri 13 Jan 2017.

Pyrus puts on a pitying expression for the comedic sidekick swap.

"Well if it isn't the bunny who runs from children.  It seems someone is wanting you to walk into danger in her stead.  Do you really owe her so much?"

To Tark he tries to explain, "Unless I'm mis-reading the clues, Sarah and Meiou are one in the same.  Just one is an illusion of some kind.  Or perhaps some other strange magic is involved.  Like two people were fused together but apparently have the ability to swap out."

Reality is stranger than fiction, they say...

Zerry thought the bunny was just playing hide-and-seek back then? She smiles at Jamie. "You sure are nice to me, Jamie. You call me pretty a lot and now you call me darling! OK... so who is going in first if not me?"

(OOC: Sorry this came so slow. Life being busy.)

In reply to Zerry (msg # 60):

Jamie looks back at Pryus and Tark's conversation about her squirrel and rabbit. 'Pryus is a bit close to the truth,' she thinks.  'But I'll let him figure it out before I tell them.'

"Always let the rogue go first, my darling," Jamie said, as she gave Meiou a light shove into the mine.  "And that means Meiou here.  Go on, you. I didn't hire you to line my hat."

She then stood up.  "Meiou here can be a bit grumpy at times.  It sometimes needs a bit of a nudge for him to get started." She gave a sigh and a flip of her hair.

" Sure you didn't.I'm only grumpy when I feel like i'm being used like a puppet!  " he replied sarcastically and somewhat grouchy as he slipped into stealth mode at Jamie's pushing sneaking on ahead to check things out. 

  Something like Pyrus was suggesting would make way too much sense despite how nonsensical it was... What the hell is adventuring doing to Tark's logic process?

  "Normally I'd be the sorry sucker going in face first Zerry, but Meiou has slightly better chances of not getting hurt at all without me stomping behind him to attract attention..." But he also wouldn't have to worry about Jamie awkwardly stopping him in the middle of something.

  "Let her get the pushiness out of her system now, Meiou.  Less likely for Jamie to get bored and do... whatever it is she does to you while you're in the middle of picking a lock that way."

What sorts of life choices lead to a person being used like a puppet?  Note to self.  Ask Meiu for his backstory.

"Anyone ever tell you that you catch more flies with honey?" Pyrus asks Jamie rhetorically, "Or is this the sort of thing where treating him as beneath you is part of the joy of the payback for whatever horrible thing it was that he did to you?"

He reaches over to pet Zerry, hoping that it'll help steady the high-strung child long enough for Meiou to do his job.

Just in time, Pyrus! Zerry was already starting to stomp her hooves anxiously*. She whispers to Meiou as he heads in, "Be careful, cute bunny!"

Meiou would find the mine to be eerily silent for the first minute of carefully exploring. But after that, he would be able to hear some distant scratchy voices, much like that of kobolds conversing with one another.

Zerry isn't sure she understands what is going on between the adults, but figures they will handle the adult things.

---

*This came to mind when Zerry was getting anxious:
https://youtu.be/uOnBUluT2jY?t=4m42s

"Oh, sometimes I'm prone to poke a little fun," Jamie said as she patted Zerry.  "After all, I need to remind him why he works for me:  My coven caught him trying to steal from us to repay a debt, so we pooled our resoruces and payed the debt from him.  He's now working to repay the costs."  She then gives the darkness a mischievous smirk.  "Soemtimes he needs reminding, don't cha, cutie bunny?"

Meiou crept closer to try and get a better look and listen of the situation in here. Best to see what he's dealing with and what the situation is before reporting back.

  "Huh, exactly how much was that debt in cash anyways?"  Tark has the feeling the answer will either be 'not telling' or some 'It was more gold than you'll ever see' type sum that even an artifact would not meet the economy crushing value of despite, somehow, being paid off.

  "Still, keep the more than verbal poking to when we're not on the job.  I don't want to see someone else up like I did a while back if I can help it."  And the short mouse probably would not be able to bounce back from 'that should have been fatal' injury once a day like he could.

  That said, he's glad to see Jamie and Pyrus trying to comfort the agitated Zerry.  Though hangs back because it would just be incredibly crowded and awkward if he joined in.

Pyrus ahs.  "Well that explains things in part.  It's good to hear that you all did him a kind turn rather than simply hand him over to his creditors and the law.  But why disguise him as a woman?"

He's trying to hide that he's getting increasingly uncomfortable with the silent absence of Meiou and is ready to rush in to the rescue on a moment's notice.

Meiou eventually finds a door. Meiou can see at the bottom of the door, there is some light coming from the other side of the door. At this point, he can hear the kobolds clearly and they are speaking in draconic. Lots of hissing, harsh scratching sounds and gutteral sounds compose their conversation*.

Zerry has a calm smile and her eyes close as she grabs Pyrus' hand that was petting her and rubs her cheek into the palm of his hand. Upon being pat by Jamie, she peeks an eye to smile at Jamie. Zerry then looks at Tark. "Like you did? What happened?"

*If you speak draconic, they are simply conversing about their card game at the moment.

Through her Warlock connection with Meiou, Jamie could hear the kobolds, and while she doesn't know draconic, she knows enough of those dragon wannabes to know they're up to no good.

"Meiou's got this thing for disguises," Jamie muttered, "And I know of some special costumes I'd like to try on him."

She then went through their mental link.  "I know Kobolds when I hear them, Meiou.  Don't get yourself caught."

"Kobolds up ahead," Jamie said.  "Don't know how many, and they don't know about us yet."

Through the mental link "Yeah well i was about to come back and regroup. Not like I know how many are in there and will you not advertise what I do to the world? "

  "A bunch of piled up stupidity from others that resulted with a broken pickaxe to the skull, a fake healing potion, and deciding adventuring would be less pointlessly dangerous."  Jamie's potions PROBABLY actually worked, even if her sales pitch was unfortunately familiar sounding.

  Speaking of, he comments to the Witch "Well if they don't know yet, at least Meiou's still safe for the moment.  They must not have had many people fall for the sign if they are just sitting around, that's encouraging I guess?"

Pyrus' heart melts from the adorable orphan affection and he leans forward to give her a soft kiss on the forehead.

"A thing for disguises..." Pyrus echoes as if the words were perplexing, "Special costumes?"

Upon hearing that it's kobolds he half chuckles.

"Ah.  You can probably leave everything to me.  Most kobolds worship dragons.  I am a dragon in disguise.  I drop the disguise and confront them and they'll likely do anything I say."

He sets down his backpack and approaches the entrance to the mine.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:02, Tue 24 Jan 2017.

Zerry looks confuzzled by Tark's tale.

At being kissed on her forehead, Zerry hops in place a few times. "Thanks for the idea, Pyrus." she comments before rushing over to Tark and, unless stopped, climbs him to kiss him on the spot where his wound's scar is. Then Pyrus mentions he's a dragon...

"....you're a dragon?! Coooooool! IwannaseeIwannaseeIwannasee!"

Meiou is able to make it back safely without issue.

Jamie places her hand on Zerry's sholder, "Shhhh..shhshhshh, you don't want to let them know we're here yet."  She then sees Meiou reappear.  "If you want to try to impress the little buggers, Pyrus, go on ahead.  Better plan than any, I suppose."

The rabbit came slipping out of the place and stretches out now that he was far enough away to not make noise. " So whats the plan here? "

  Despite how clear Zerry has made it she's a sweet adorable kind girl of a centaur, Tark is still surprised at her gesture.  "Thanks, Zerry."

  Then Tark discovers Pyrus was secretly a Dragon all along, a plot twist large enough to fly a helicopter  "I... okay?  Are kobolds picky about color coding or does any dragon do?"

  At Meiou's question, he just points at Pyrus. "Ask them, it's his idea."

Pyrus smiles at the sweet gesture of Zerry for Tark.  And that his new friends aren't negative about his race.

He chuckles and nods to Tark.  "You could say that.  On both points."

He nods to Meiou and explains, "I've got a nifty disguise too.  I plan to head in there and intimidate the kobolds into telling me their nefarious plans.  But please pardon, I must admit that my transformation is far less subtle..."

With that he rumbles with a growl, then bursts into flame!  For a brief moment, his human and draconic forms combine.  (( http://i.imgur.com/Xee53b6.jpg ))  Before long, he's transformed into a magma dragon!  (( http://img00.deviantart.net/e3..._by_njoo-d3ef1ma.jpg ))  ...Though his overall size hasn't changed much if at all.

"Mind the drool.  It can be hazardous to your shoes."

With that he heads into the cave to go knock on the Kobold's front door.

Zerry shivers from watching the transformation and looks terrified. "...that was sooo cool..." she barely says before keeling over unconscious, fainting.

(If Pyrus is allowed by the others to proceed inside, I will continue this post. If not, now is your chance to stop him.)

In reply to Zerry (msg # 80):

Jamie just stood there with her jaw sagging.  "That...what pretty awesome."

To himself mentally he jus grumbles. "Ofcourse. The dragon gets all the attention. That's always how it is. They shapeshift and boom everyones in aww but you unmask from being the local bar maid and its always "PERVERT!"  It really isn't fair."

  Even if Tark had ever seen Meiou pull said costume switch in this timeline (as opposed to nearly transparent Clark Kent swaps), he'd still be more concerned over the rabbit's personal safety than his lifestyle choices that still would not involve the risk of lava drool... at least, we hope they would not involve lava.

  Along similar lines, he goes to check up on Zerry.  The excitable centaur is probably fine overall, but being flopped over in the dirt in front of a kobold cave is probably low on the list of good positions to be.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:42, Fri 27 Jan 2017.

Pyrus winces at the sound of Zerry hitting the dirt.  Head ducked like a dog who knows he's in trouble, he looks behind himself to confirm his suspicions.

"Thanks, Jamie.  I'd rather it not have made Zerry pass out, though.  I'll leave her in your capable healing hands.  I'm afraid there's little I can do for her in this form."

Pyrus raises an eyebrow from Meiou's reaction.  Beats a freak-out, but why does the guy look bothered?

"Thanks for scouting ahead, Meiou."

Then onward to try the kobold's front door.  He's expecting it to be unlocked.

Unlocked it is. All of the kobolds immediately turn to point their crossbows at Pyrus when he enters, followed by panic, followed by one of them shooting himself in the foot. But all of them are too frightened to so much as scream. Shot foot or no, all of them slowly get down on their knees and bow low.

Meanwhile, outside the cave, Zerry slowly stirs. Tark can tell the centaur is, in fact, fine. Zerry peaks an eye at Tark, smiles and wiggles her fingers in a wave while slowly kicking a hoof. "Hi... Tarky-Tark..." she seems to be acting a touch drunk.

Jamie knows that she wasn't hurt, but rather fainted by the display.  She uses prestigitation to create a light gust of wind to regain her wits as the centaur shakes her senses back.

"Seems like Pyrus's plan is working."

"Well good thing he's not using breathe stuff. Wonder if its smoke instead of fire. If so does that mean we should call him smog?" the rabbit propsed to noone in particular. Just musing aloud to himself.

  Centaurs. Harder to figure out than dragons, witches, and rabbits? Or just so direct by comparison they seem out of place among everyone being secretive about half a dozen things?  "Hi Zerry."

  "I think I'd still call Pyrus Pyrus, but maybe that's just me Meiou."

Pyrus is amused by the reaction and lets it show.  As both a gesture of kindness and a show of intimidation, he shoots eye lasers at the kobold's foot to stop the bleeding.  It's only a cantrip, so it shouldn't be too bad.

"Well it's good to see you bunch have good manners.  I am Pyrus.  I have brought guests.  Disarm and see to it that they feel welcome."

He sits beside the door so that the only way for them to go is outside the cave.

Zerry closes her eyes to enjoy the breeze then re-opens her eyes, smiles at Meiou and says, "Or Smokey? Or Pokey? Or Smyrus?"

"D-Disarm?" One of the kobolds asks as if the dragon had just commanded the kobolds to kill themselves. "How will we protect your guests or ourselves if we disarm?"

With the door wide open and the acoustics being what they are, the group outside the cave can actually hear the conversation. Luckily, the kobolds are imitating Pyrus by speaking in common.

Zerry says, "Should we go inside? It sounds like he has it handled." She goes to the entrance and yells down, "Pyrus! Should we come in?!"

The kobolds jump a little at the suddenness of another voice echoing from above, but loosen up a little because they were already informed of guests and this voice addressed Pyrus and even asked his permission for something... obviously one of his guests.

Jamie tried to hold Zerry back.  "Not so fast, child.  I don't think he's got them ready yet."  Her voice was considerably quieter.  "Sometimes plans take a bit more time than they should."

The rabbit stretched out and leaned against the wagon waiting for the
all clear to go in. " Jamie just to be safe if you can ready a spell
or something incase they try something when we do go in."

  Tark nods, "I could go in first, considering the rest of you are too cute to scare a kobold without doing something horrible to them first... Wait, or would that be counterproductive?"  Diplomacy is hard.

Pyrus laughs at the objection!  "I've seen how you fare armed."

He turns an amused glance at the injured foot.

"You are shrewd to concern yourself with the well-being of my guests, but I told you to disarm for your safety.  I wouldn't want them to take offense and take your heads off.  So keep your hands where they can be seen, or the witch may turn you into frogs and have you for a snack.  I've already convinced them of the usefulness of kobolds, but let's not keep them waiting.  They might be just as dangerous bored as offended."

The kobolds set their weapons down. One of them says defensively, "You STARTLED us, master! When a magnificent god-like creature barges in suddenly, shooting yourself in the foot is a pretty normal thing! Don't doubt our prowess just because we were jumpy at the sight of your awesome presence! It's hardly a comparison to how we act around mortals!"

All the same, the kobolds walk out of the mine, hissing and wining in draconic about the light as they get closer to the entrance.

Zerry claps excitedly, but stays by Jamie since the lady asked.

OOC:  I'm assuming that the Kobolds spoke in Common, correct me if I'm wrong.  Only Jamie's response would've been changed.

"Well, that's understandable," Jamie muttered, and then turned back to Tark.  "Well, yes, my friend.  Diplomacy can be tricky, but if it means that you don't have to draw your sword or expend precious arcane energy, it has its place."

" Oh yes that always works" he says in sarcastic tones " I say loot first then ask questions later."

Sarah's voice kinda slipped out of his lips just barely picked up by Jamie. " Mistress says its better to use diplomacy first and if that fails just charm them. "

  "True Jamie, though I was thinking more about how hard it is to be successful even when you don't want things to spiral off into violence."  After all, it took apparently a Dragon able to both melt and eat them at the same time to merely upgrade to 'But what if we still want to stab them?'.  So it's no wonder Tark's track record of asking politely is so poor.

  So he can find Meiou's reaction understandable, even as he waves hello to the Kobolds because that seems like slightly less of a bad idea than just ignoring them.

Pyrus has to admit, it's fun to have groveling worshipers.  It's no wonder dragons keep kobolds around.  He thumps his tail and yawns at the objections, followed by some smoke snorted out his nose.

"You must be confusing me with the complaints department.  But if you're so eager to test yourself against my friends' spells, blades, and such, they might be willing to show you precisely how you'd fare against mortals."

He follows the last kobold out, chuckling at the complaints about the light.  "I believe a proper introduction is in order.  Introduce yourselves."

Four kobolds emerge from the cave. They squint and look twitchy.

Kobold 1: "I am Kruthkrix."
Kobold 2: "I am Muklk."
Kobold 3: "I am Churtrk."
Kobold 4: "I am Kevin."

Zerry says, "Lookit how little!"

All four kobolds are annoyed by this comment.

In reply to Zerry (msg # 101):

Jamie could hear out her Apprentice and her Warlock doing that body-sharing thing.  She sighed a bit, hoping that she could restore Sarah back into an organic being, instead of what Pippkin did that drove Jamie to do some interesting things to that white rabbit.

"Well, of course they're little, Zerry," Jamie said.  "They're Kobolds.  What're you doing here, fellas?"

The rabbit cringed at the girl calling the kobolds small. His kind was abit like them in that some didn't like being called small. " We kind of prefer height impaired or vertically challenged. "

  Tark could understand Zerry's reaction because Kobolds were like, actually tiny.  While Halflings, Meiou, and other similar sorts that often took up adventuring tended to be 'small' in a way that seemed more like some kind of formality.

  "Hello, I am Tark." He'll still take the awkwardness of this situation over immediate stab wounds and blunt trauma being thrown in both directions.  Though he has the feeling it's not far from now.

Pyrus growls a little, pretending to have taken offense on behalf of his new playthings.  But his friends do enough in the way of correcting her that he doesn't feel the need to add anything.

"The little centaur is Zerry.  Meiou is the one teaching her etiquette.  Jamie is the witch asking you a question."

He looks at Churtrk.  "I'm selecting you to speak for your brethren."

Why Churtrk?  Because he's second to lowest.

Churtrk says, "To answer your question, Witch Jamie, we are here to ambush someone. We already got one person, but she was not the one we were after. We have been feeding her and caring for her because she is has a very nice voice. But the one we wanted to ambush has been slow to arrive... The one we want is a man by the name of Karl Bigsby."

Zerry asks, "What is etiquette?"

Churtrk says, "I do not know, Centaur Zerry."

Zerry then asks, "And why use such big words when the word 'little' works? Pyrus just used it to describe me. Or... does Height Impaled and Vertibrately Challenged mean smaller than little?" she looks genuinely confused and clearly doesn't MEAN to be offensive.

Churtrk glances at Pyrus and says, "Forgive me, master, but I do not know these words."

Kruthkrix facepalms.

In reply to Zerry (msg # 106):

Jamie crosses her arms and speaks in a stern voice.  "Well, then, if this little songbird is not the one you're after, I'm afraid that we can't let you keep her." She let's her eyes flash a bit to show that she is not to be trifled with.

She'll figure out this Karl Bigsby person later.

" So what did he do? Did he drink you dry? Steal all your hard stolen gold? Kill someone you love? Seriously what'd the dwarf do now? "

asked the rabbit seemingly actually knowing who this Karl was they had brought up.
Worst he knew the dwarf had done was piss off Justin a few times.

  "Drawn out terminology seems to make things sound more polite sometimes, basically."  Though Tark thinks the real reason is to keep people from saying it at all from being too lazy to say things like 'vertically challenged individual' in the first place instead of 'short'.

  Still, actually taking care of people they grabbed (supposedly) is a lot better than Tark had hoped for.  "If you mean switching the signs earlier back, you're going to get more people you did not intend than whoever you are looking for.  But yes, we should probably check on who you are already holding."

Pyrus thinks about it and agrees, "Yes.  I think we could use a little music."

At first he thinks of sending one of the little buggers to retrieve the prisoner, but then thinks better of it.

"We'll go together.  Churtrk, you may learn from Kruthkrix why he is slapping himself after you've answered Meiou.  Muklk will lead the group to the prisoner."

He looks over to Zerry.  "It's not something you learn in a day, but it seems you have willing teachers."

He'll let the others go first then bring up the rear in keeping with the "minions first" tone he set earlier.

Once the group makes it to the room the kobolds had been staying in, they are led to another room, just through a doorway that was around the corner that was in Pyrus' blind spot when he first entered. In the second room is a cage with a young teenage human girl with red hair.

Image here:
http://i.imgur.com/jYZq8.png

The girl looks over at the group and looks especially scared of Pyrus. She is currently wearing a very plain off-white dress, a necklace made of just a cord and some beeds, and a pair of sandals.

Zerry looks ready to run everywhere. She lightly bounces in place whispering, "A caaaaaave."

Churtrk answers Meiou, "Huh? ...the Karl I'm after is a human. We are after him because we were hired to." (GM note: This Karl is Karl Bigsby, an NPC I just came up with for this storyline. Not to be confused with Karl Kinderforge, David's dwarf NPC)
This message was last edited by the player at 08:01, Fri 10 Feb 2017.

In reply to Zerry (msg # 111):

Jamie grabbed Meiou by the scruff of his neck, something she usually does when she's displeased at him.  "Wrong Karl, Rabbit," she said in her best Schoolmarm voice, and then gives him a time out.  By hugging him close to her chest.  Tight.

She then rolled her eyes at Zerry.  "Honesty!  The conclusion he'll jump to!"

( now see i specifically asked that of dave before my post. now i feel dumb XD )

He grumbled as Jamie yanked him up off the ground into her lap.
He sighed and shook his head not even going to say anything further.

  Tark hears Jamie's commentary, and turns to remark about how she probably thought the same thing (Wait, aren't you're the wrong Tark to know that?) when he see's Jamie manhandling the rabbit.  "You know, hugs are usually nice.  But they don't make up for treating them like a piece of property literally seconds before you do."

  Tark would like Jamie so much more if she didn't seem determined to negate all her charm with antics like this.  Probably doesn't help the first impressions to scared girl either, but hopefully she will be too preoccupied by the Dragon Tark is trying not to think too hard about to notice.

  "Hello, are you allright?  You don't have anything to worry about from us."

Pyrus looks at the prisoner and mouths some words, but not a sound comes from his lips.  He's using a cantrip to send her a secret message, "The half orc is right.  I'm a sorcerer who catches badguys.  The elf girl is a purveyor of healing herbs and whatnot.  The bunny owes her group for rescuing him.  And the centaur child is just a cheerful orphan.  I've intimidated these kobolds into obeying me so we wouldn't have to harm anyone to rescue you."

He then puts on a jaded expression.

"Yes, Zerry.  A cave.  Now be a nice little centaur and release the human girl."

"Churtrk, tell us the details about who hired you and what they want with Karl."

When Pyrus looks to where Zerry was, there is a blinking outline of Zerry.

Zerry is already using a key on the cage's lock even as Pyrus finishes his sentence before looking towards him curious. "Huh? Oh! Sure! I'm on it!"

The girl in the cage calms down a bit and exits when Zerry opens the door.

Churtrk looks almost proud to have been chosen to be the mouthpiece of explanations. "The one who hired us is a Lizardfolk by the name of Sess. He said Karl Bigsby broke the rules of honorable combat and because of this, Sess was both humiliated and maimed."

Zerry addresses the freed girl, "We have a bunny! Isn't he cute?! And the super-pretty redhead lady holding him? She's nice and keeps calling me pretty!" She then whispers as if in awe, "She and the dragon cast maaaagiiiiic...." then goes back to her normal tone, "And the big orc guy over there is actually very mellow. And! And! The dragon is, well, a dragon! Isn't that cool?!"

The red-haired kid leans over to whisper in Zerry's ear, causing the centaur to ooooh and make the zipped-lips motion.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:26, Sat 11 Feb 2017.

"Another Ginger," Jamie said as she set Meiou down.  "Are you all right, little one, and do be careful around Zerry.  She can get a bit hyper at times."

She lets Pryus deal with the development between the Kobold's leader and this Karl Bigsby fellow.

After being put down he leans against the wagon again. He sees no reason to mess with the kobalds or go back into their cave. Best to just sit things out.

  Considering Tark's more practical views on fighting in general, it's more the circumstances than the damage he's curious about.  "So they were having some kind of duel, or did they just happen to have a fight?"

  Oh, this kid is going to fit right in with most of the group if the first thing they do is want to keep something from somebody... Wait, no. The first thing they did was TELL one of them a secret, so she's wildly outlandish by comparison then.

Pyrus raises an eyebrow, looking half un-amused, half smug.

"Good work, Zerry."

He considers the plight of Siss and muses aloud, "Sounds serious..."

Then he gets an idea.  A wonderful awful idea!  And he smiles more and more broadly and sinister.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUUdW2bTa3Y

"Sess and his tribe live near here, don't they?"

Churtrk says, "I wish I could answer you, Tark, but I do not know the details. All he said to us about it is what I told you." he then looks at Pyrus and smiles, tail wagging like an excited dog. "Yes, master! He lives but a mere 20,000 footsteps from here!"

Zerry just continues to explore the cave by running around the place, halfway confusing the kobolds. She then rushes over to Meiou. "Ohmigoshbunny!" and reaches to hug/cuddle him.

The young redhead goes over to Jamie and nods humbly. "I am alright. Thank you. My name is Akemi."

In reply to Zerry (msg # 121):

"Akemi," Jamie said in a warm voice.  "That's a nice name.  It seems that you've gotten yourself into a problem between two warring kobolds.  You wanna tell us your side of the...story?"

That pause happened by both Pyrus' asking for Sess and Zerry pouncing Meiou.

She returned to her smile.  "We're quite a motley crew, aren't we?"  She chuckled.

The rabbit cried out in surprise as Zerry grabbed him and pulled him into a hug. He squirmed some still in surprise over it.

  Tark has the sudden impression it is a very good thing he has not been looking at Pyrus.  "Well even if they deserved it, pointing as many random people as possible to this cave probably wouldn't have Karl show up."  Admittedly, he would not be surprised if they turned up in the next five minutes just to prove him wrong.

  Hmm, 20,000 steps.  Just far enough to be annoying, not far enough to be a problem-wait what.  "Warring Kobolds?  Did I miss an extra problem happening too?"  See Tark? See what happens when you don't regularly write notes? You miss out on these details.

"Eeeehxcelent," Pyrus comments, sounding like Robotnick.

He continues to scheme then smiles to Akemi.  "Oh yes.  Do tell."

Zerry rubs her cheek on Meiou's cheek, distracted by bunny cuddles for the time being.

Akemi says, "My story? I am just a girl who was traveling to Parnast for supplies for my grandfather, but wound up ambushed by kobolds."

Churtrk says to Tark, "Welllll..." he rubs behind his head, blushing. "The ambush idea wasn't Sess' plan. He just hired us to find and capture Karl. We're kobolds, so our natural inclination is to set up camp inside a mine. Since we knew Karl is in the town that neighbors Parnast, and that the people of that town like to go to Parnast for supplies like the young human said, we figured it would be easy to just switch the signs, set up here, and wait till Karl comes our way."

Jamie nodded and gave Akemi a reassuring smile.  "We're eventually heading to Parnast, so you can stay with us for now. I'll make sure you won't fall into any other trouble, sweetie."

The rabbit squirmed and tried to get out from zerry's grasp.
Not quite sure how to react to being held like this. 

  "That's... slightly better thought out than expected Churtrk.  I guess you're just lucky you got us instead of people who would just chuck fireballs into your cave and call it a day."  Tark isn't quite sure how to feel about this little group being the reasonable option.  "The sign's been fixed as it is though, so that's your good news and bad news."

  He turns back towards Akemi, and asks "What did your Grandfather need, so we can keep an eye out for it?" probably not medicine or anything too significant to keep grandparents dying of being old... Or maybe she just didn't like her grandpa?  He'll have to ask Jamie's opinion if actual potion ingredients are involved.

Pyrus nods to Tark's comment about fireballs.  "Yes.  I don't keep foolish friends who would destroy something valuable to me.  The sign being fixed is all good news.  I have a better plan.

"But I want more details about what happened between Sess and Karl.  It will be important later, and I'm sure Sess will be oh so pleased with the results.  He'll become a willing herald for the greatness of Pyrus' army."

Akemi gave Jamie a smile and a nod in response to the reassurance.

Zerry lets Meiou go since he is making it obvious he isn't comfortable. Zerry is naive, but not dense. "Besides! Why destroy a perfectly good CAAAVE?! caaave?! caaave?!" her voice echoing all over the cave before she runs up the walls. Literally.

Churtrk shrugs, "For more details, you'll need to ask Sess."

Akemi looks at Tark and says, "There is a special herb that my dad normally has to travel further for, but we heard a pandaren in Parnast is growing and trading that herb, so I volunteered to go pick it up. We use the herb in a medicine my grandfather needs. If my dad has come looking for me, chances are he will find Parnast thanks to you fixing the sign... and he will find I am not there."

In reply to Zerry (msg # 131):

"So, once we deal with this kobold intrigue, we can go to Panast and talk to Pan again," Jamie said, having heard of the Pandaren before.  "Or the other way around, I'm not so strict."

The rabbit relaxs once let go and settles down once he's back on his feet. "So what's the plan then?"

  Possible Plot twists: The Panderen turns out to be Shayock instead in this time line.

  "Pyrus, there isn't room in the wagon for an army." There isn't room in the wagon for all of them, really.  But Tark is at this time missing the point as much on purpose as anything just so he can cherry pick what he's putting up with at the moment.

  "How long can your grandfather manage without it?  From the sound of things revenge will take longer than shopping, and honestly we should get you back with your family as it is." Somehow, keeping Akemi around for 'hunt for the asshole' seems irresponsible, juuuuuust maybe.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:19, Sat 25 Feb 2017.

Pyrus chuckles at Tark's point about the wagon then addresses Churtrk.  "I'm sending you and the others to Sess to find out the full story.  You may tell him that you were ordered to do so by Pyrus the magma dragon.  And that if he wishes to witness the humiliation of his hated enemy, he'll have to return with you to the cave.  Nothing has changed about your original agreement, so he needn't worry about me charging him extra for my intervention."

He then nods to the others.  "Yes.  Going to Panast first is fine."

Churtrk looks at Pyrus and asks, "Would you like me to go summon him here while you deal with Parnast? If so, what may I give him as proof of your summons? He may be doubtful that a dragon wishes to help him since he would not expect such an honor any more than the next mortal."

Zerry is still zooming about the cave going "Weeeeee!" in the background. If told to be quieter, she will whisper "Weeeee!" instead.

"Parnast it is then," Jamie replies, "And oh yeah, make sure I keep Zerry from my jet fuel coffee."

" Maybe you should try sparkling foldgers crystals. I hear you can't tell the difference."  snerked the rabbit as he began relaxing once more.

  "I'm traveling with the dragon, and I'm having difficulty beliving it. So that's understandable Churtrk"

  "You can tell the difference, but you're generally to tired to care because it's close enough."  Tark, we cant tell if you are taking these jokes literally on purpose or not.

So focused was he on his scheme, the thought hadn't actually occurred to Pyrus that Sess wouldn't believe the kobolds, but he is NOT going to admit that.  For Zerry's reprimand, he simply gives a disapproving look.  His belabored sigh for the kobold's question is tempered by the joking about coffee and he quickly recovers with an amused chuckle.

"Zerry on coffee could be a weapon of mass destruction."

Or a way to bend time:

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Over The Hedge Spoiler:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-eMdMsMgCU

---

He scratches himself to dislodge a loose scale.  "If Sess is wise, he will realize that you wouldn't have returned to him empty handed with a wild tale of a dragon telling you to do so unless it were true.  But not all lizardfolk are clever enough to realize something like that all on their own.  If he questions the truth of what you say, Kruthkrix can show him this.  No lowly creature would have a scale such as that."

Pyrus gives Kruthkrix the scale with the command, "Do not lose it."

To Tark he comments, "Many have difficulty keeping themselves together simply seeing my human form dragging a tiefling about, so I appreciate your cool."

He looks to the others to let them know that he appreciates them not freaking out.

Akemi is hugging Jamie's side this whole time, just being a quiet young teenager.

Zerry says to Tark, "I know, right?! I fainted when I found out I had a dragon for a friend!"

Kruthkrix has the biggest Bambi eyes you ever saw on a kobold (Until you meet May picking up a new weapon). "Thank you, master! I can not lose this now; it is my most prized possession!"

Churtrk looks jealous, but also knows better than to wine like a child who just saw another child get the new shiny toy. "Of course. You know best." he says with barely contained annoyance.

Zerry seems to materialize next to Jamie as if she teleported to her, a biiiig smile on her face and a strong breeze blowing from behind her as if the air was compensating for the sudden vacuum left where Zerry once was. "Jet Fuel Coffee? Why? Is it tasty? Is it special? IwannatryitIwannatryitIwannatryit!" her hooves stamp excitedly, causing enough stampings to emulate machine gun fire.

---

Fun fact! In the first game I played Zerry in, she was given coffee, so the party told her to patrol a tribe's camp in order to give her something to do. Within minutes, her repeated circling around the camp began digging a trench around them.

In reply to Zerry (msg # 141):

Jamie just stood there in front of Zerry, just patting Akemi's head in consolation, thoughts of Zerry on her Jet Fuel coffee running through her head, regretting mentioning that particular brew.

"I'm going to go find Sarah and make sure she's ok."  He said wandering off into the brush. Surely she could handle the hyper centaur better than he.

  "Zerry, please don't drink the beverage named after something highly flammable." Hey, fuel is fuel regardless of the prefix.

  He sighs at the Rabbit's departure, "Okay Meiou, thanks for leaving that remaining the least believable thing despite all these circumstances Meiou."  It was nice(?) to have a constant like that to compare and contrast recent events to.

  Like Dragons thanking you for not thinking they are the most outlandish thing to happen this week.

It's transformation time!

"Speaking of my human form, it is time for me to put that disguise back on."

With another burst of flame, Pyrus transforms back into his human guise.

He reaches to pet Zerry reassuringly, "Coffee is bitter.  But adults drink it anyway to regain some of the energy of youth.  You wouldn't want to deprive your friends of something you already have plenty of to enjoy by drinking it up, now would you?"

He pretends to have not really noticed the kobolds' reaction, but that's exactly what he was aiming for.

Akemi seems calmed by Jamie's touch. And Zerry doesn't push the issue; if a grownup says "no", it is probably best not to waste time unless you really REALLY want whatever it is.

Fast forwarding!

The trek to Parnast is uneventful after that. Akemi is able to pick up the herbs she needed from Pan and thanks the group for keeping her company. Pan hears the odd misadventure from Akemi and offers Akemi can stay with her until her father arrives. So Akemi bids the team farewell, promising to stay in Parnast so her father will find her and take her home himself. (Character to be revisited at a later time)

Pan was a pleasant enough person. The team doesn't meet (or even hear about) Igatho as the giant is off in her cave and the team was only here to drop of Akemi (and possibly some of Jamie's supplies*)

When the team makes it back to the mine, there is no sound, much like last time. But a kobold comes out of a hiding spot. It's Muklk. "Sess is here, Master."

Assuming nobody objects, he leads the group back inside the cave, saying that Sess values privacy.

The Lizardman they meet is 6' tall, has a rather large build with solid muscles, and has battlescars in a number of places. He looks like the picture of brute. He is wearing studded leather armor and has a bull's skull for a helmet to hide his face. His eyes glow yellow from under the helmet.

*Feel free to insert whatever your characters would have done in the short time they were in Parnast, since the intent was to return to the cave a.s.a.p.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:19, Sat 11 Mar 2017.

Jamie has a variation of her interactions with Justin and Darcy listed elsewhere in this forum.  She looks around for a tower so she can set up a lair and finds one with Meiou's help.  She even invites Akemi to live with her if she's has no other place to go.  (Something to brainstorm over)

She returns with the party back at the cave with a set of buff and protection spells along with Healing Word and Cure Words prepared just for the occasion.  "Looks like I'm the healer there."

She even prepared a decent brew earlier that she shared with the party; a fruit, vegetable, and herbal mix will energize you for the day.  (Think of a real thick variant of V8 with a ginseng, ginkgo, a smaller amount of guarana, and only as much caffeine as a real weak cup of coffee.)  Zerry might be running on all cylinders all day, but at least she's not achieving Matrix mode anytime soon.  "My signature Breakfast Brew," Jamie said as she cooked it.  "It's not Jet Fuel, but it's a great way to start the day for me."

The rabbit had drunk about three medium potion vials worth before Jamie shewed him away from the brew. Best stuff he'd tasted in a long time. Way better than that alcoholic stuff Pip always had around. He had pretty much helped out Jamie in their time in parnast when not upsetting a squirrel folk for getting the best of her at haggling.

  Tark takes advantage of being able to sit at a table with proper food cooked by other people while in town, primarily on the principle of the matter.  He does try to keep an eye on Akemi while they are still in town, but Parnast seems like an okay place to leave her.

  Jamie's breakfast sludge is given an 8/10 (Should have based it on V10, Jamie).  Though Tark is probably harder to please given his culinary training he keeps neglecting to mention out of a combination of self consciousness and the excuse to not cook anything himself.

  Then, it's back to the plot.  "Well, you look to be in much better shape than the kobolds implied."

The player takes the GM up on that invitation to narrate what he wants to have happened!

<< Flashback! >>
Once Pyrus was acquainted with Parnast, and more specifically, Pan, he was sure to have a private chat with her and anyone else from the team who wanted to listen in.  In this chat, he recounted for Pan the entire story in full detail.

"What I didn't tell anybody was that my 'evil scheme' is simply to have the truth be known.  Minus certain details that would only be a headache for you, such as the fact that I'm a dragon.

"What I'm expecting is to find out that Karl was in the wrong.  As such, he will no longer be welcome here since he's in the habit of provoking danger that results in kobold ambushes set up outside town.  Not the sort of thing you would want Parnast to be known for, I'm sure.  I'm expecting that his public humiliation and exile from town will sate any aggressive thoughts the injured party may have had toward those Karl does business with.  And will hopefully be sufficient punishment that Sess will be satisfied that Karl need not be killed, his vengeance much more sweet with Karl alive.  You may even have a new ally out of the deal.

"On the other hand, if Sess was in the wrong, I have him and the kobolds right where I want them.  They will be much easier to capture and bring to justice believing I am on their side.  Either way, the danger to Parnast is minimized and violence is kept to a minimum.  I'll keep you informed."

<< Flash Forward! >>

Pyrus was sure to thank Jamie for the delicious treat!  And of course warn his friends to be ready to capture Sess if need be.

To Sess, he introduces himself.  "I am Pyrus, wearing my human disguise for convenience.  Tark is right to compliment you, Sess.  You wear the signs of your past victories well."

Pan was, of course, completely on board for anything the team may want aside from leaving Parnast for prolonged periods of time. She has much to do there. She did offer, however, that if there was need of a fighter on their team in order to secure safety on the Parnast roads, she would be happy to help long enough to accomplish the task and then return to Parnast. But since Pyrus appears to have things handled....

<Presently>

In response to the breakfast brew, Zerry hugs Jamie. "Thanks!"

Sess seessss the ssssillouettessss approaching... OK enough with the s.

Sess stares at Pyrus a little before nodding his head. A growl like a gator accompanying his nod, the lizardman then speaks. His voice sounds like a gator too when he speaks*, "Pyrus. Tark. Thank you both for your honoring words. Why did you take an interest in my affairs?"

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0OY_P7T9wY

Jamie just stands in the back, her arms crossed, watching the scene play out around her.  Her eyes scan back and forth taking in every detail.  If Zerry or Meiou were around, she could give them a reassuring pat on the side (if Zerry) or the head, (if Meiou).

The rabbit since back hadn't been far from Jamie. Mostly due to her teaching him and his alter ego some magic. As she had been living up to her promise he had no reason to avoid her. At the pat he blushed abit.

  "Even if it took a Dragon, the Kobolds were willing to listen to us wanting them to cut it out with the plans that end up with bystanders captured instead.  So the least we could do is look into the problems that made them resort to it in the first place."  Or, something like that.  Tarks's honestly a bit hazy on his own logic process at times.

Pyrus is absolutely loving this guy's voice, imagining him as an intimidating herald who announces, "MAKE WAY FOR PYRUS!" everywhere he goes.  Jamie making Meiou blush is quite amusing, and it puts a smile on his lips.

"Tark, as ever, is thinking practically.  For me, it was a passing curiosity when I saw the obvious trap.  But upon learning more..."

He points at Churtrk and replays what he said earlier using ghost sound,  "The one who hired us is a Lizardfolk by the name of Sess. He said Karl Bigsby broke the rules of honorable combat and because of this, Sess was both humiliated and maimed."

Pyrus lowers his tone, "I take matters of honor very seriously.  Tell me.  What happened?"
This message was last edited by the player at 06:29, Sat 18 Mar 2017.

Sess explains coldly, "Karl Bigsby is a human fighter of minor renown. But he has a desire for earning a reputation as a powerful warrior. And so, he sought fighters who had reputations of their own and challenged them. I accepted his challenge, fought him, and showed him all the respect due to a fellow warrior. What I didn't know was that Karl has secretly hired a magic user to enhance his prowess while diminishing that of his opponent. As if this was not enough, he rubbed my defeat in my face, boasted to my people, and made me out to be weak. I know I am not the only one to have been shamed by him, for I had heard about him defeating other warriors of some renown before I accepted his challenge. I even briefly thought myself weak, but after I recovered physically, I researched the other fighters and figured out he had a mage who traveled with him. I eventually put the clues together and am now certain the mage was helping him cheat."

To anyone with a high insight, they are able to detect Sess is talking in a cold manner in order to hide his utterly seething rage.

Zerry leans against Jamie, at first satisfied by her petting. But then looking concerned for Sess.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:47, Wed 22 Mar 2017.

Jamie's insight (She's proficient in it) was able to sense the anger drop out of the otherwise cold steady speech.  Her pointed ears perked up when she heard that there's a Magic User working with Karl Bigsby.  She didn't say anything, but knows that she will have to act against this mage.

Meiou and/or Zerry can sense Jamie's hand on him glow a bit warm, as if she's readying her magic, but not casting any spells. If they look up at her, they could see her wink at them, but her expression is nonetheless serious.

OOC:  Jamie has the ability to hex someone 4 times a day (CHA+Prof), which can invoke Advantage or Disadvantage (her choice) on any person's next d20 roll.

"Now that's just low even by my standards. If your doing a proper duel you don't cheat. Even us Rogues have a code we live by." he made note of the feeling but didn't question it.

  "So, does he even do anything with the reputation he's trying to build for himself?  If it's purely for his own ego, harder to guess where they would try for next."  Tark gets the feeling that whatever ridiculous plan becomes involved, will involve 'Half-Orc is the one with the strength modifiers' as bait.

  Because Pyrus likly won't bother to just step on the guy as a Dragon, and Zerry technically being a Fighter still leaves the fact she is an adorable centaur child Karl could not brag about beating up.

Pyrus looks utterly disgusted with Karl's story.  (( https://cdn.studentmoneysaver....oads/4621/clint4.gif ))

"And of course now if you tell of this hidden mage, people will assume you made it up to save face.  Has anyone from your tribe believed you?"

To Pyrus, Sess simply states, "No."

Zerry smiles at Jamie's wink, but goes back to paying attention.

Sess looks at Tark and says, "Beyond wanting a reputation, I do not know anything of his motives. However, I do know that he couldn't turn down a challenge made to him publicly, since refusing such would place doubt on all his past success even if his success had been legitimate."

Jamie just stands back, watching the scene unfold before her, biding her time for the opportunity for her to act.

"You know Jamie if you can counter his magic or keep it occupied chances are I could handle him to keep him from trying anything else. " He said stretching out watching the scene

  Tark had a feeling about that.  Hopefully someone makes good on their claims and comes up with a smarter plan than his stupid one.

  "Well, if we did try for that it would probably have to avoid trying to use magic on Karl.  The way things seem to go, if Jamie made him so much as sneeze suddenly everyone would know magic was involved after ignoring all the previous obvious times it happened to his opponents."

"Thought so.

"So as I expected, the ideal outcome is for Karl to be exposed as a fraud.  Having forseen this, I took the liberty of working out an understanding with a prominent member of Parnast ahead of time.  Conveniently, she's an empath, and can easily read where this mage is hiding once we lure the pair into a match..."

Pyrus smiles knowingly at Sess, "While there are alternatives, I'm sure you would like to be the one to humiliate Karl in a fair fight with the mage captured."

He nods to Tark.  "Yes.  Our use of magic will be limited to the capture of the mage."

Then to Meiou, "And thank you for offering to help out."

Sess nods to Pyrus and says, "You assume correctly. And I agree with Tark. Do not use magic on Karl during the fight. Simply use it on the other magic user while I fight Karl. If I lose to him without magical involvement, then I will acknowledge his martial superiority. But whether he wins against me or not, he must be exposed."

Sess slowly turns his head to focus his glowing beady eyes on Meiou. "Thank you. Although I would ask that, if at all possible, keep the mage alive. I will be having him and Karl confess to every warrior they dishonored..."

Zerry smiles brightly. "What's my part?!" she asks, hopping up and down before trampling the ground with her machine-gun hooves.

The machine-gun hooves nearly knocked Jamie down.  "Yiiieeeee..."  She paused a bit to calm herself down.  "If the wizard tried to break for it, you can chase him down."

Honestly, she doesn't see that a problem.

He stretched out some looking over to Sess " Well that was the plan . I'm a rogue not an assassin . I prefer take valuables not lives. " he smirked and dug out a coin to spin on one his digits. Making a show of it before flipping it into the air and it 'vanishing' as he shows both hands open palmed to show he wasn't holding anything. " As Pip would say. Make a show of it but make them follow your script instead of theirs." If one had been following the coin with great precision (or in this case perception :p ) one would of noticed one of his ears having caught it.

  "Expecting a script to matter either way is probably why this Pip guy ends up sounding less wise, and more like a cheap self help book."  Not that Tark's own wild stabs at philosophy tend to sound much better.

  He's also glad Jamie didn't end up falling "Zerry, please settle down when in shoving distance at least.  Not everyone can handle being as excited as you are."
This message was lightly edited by the player at 03:38, Wed 05 Apr 2017.

Pyrus nods to Sess.  "Then all that is left is to manipulate Karl into following our script."

He smiles to Zerry and offers, "You can play a much more important role if you think you're up for it.  Imagine an eager young girl such as yourself saying, 'It's him!  It's Karl!  The warrior I've heard so much about!  I just can't wait to see him in a duel!' and other such things to cause him to want to impress what he believes to be such an earnest fan.

"But then, when Karl is revealed to be a fraud, the look on the face of that sweet little girl, betrayed by the hero she had placed her trust in... it will utterly obliterate any lingering honor the foul cur may still have in the hearts of the witnesses."

Pyrus imagines her running away at cartoonishly extreme speeds screaming, "Karl a fraud!?  Waaaah!"

Zerry gives Jamie a nervous smile. "Eheh... sorry, Jamie!" and offers her a hug to show she means it. After hug time (assuming Jamie takes the offer), Zerry uses Jamie's arm as a measuring tool for how far shoving distance is. Once she is sure she is just outside shoving distance, she repeats her machine-gun hoof action, but with a concerned/cautious expression as her eyes stay on Jamie.

Sess stares at Zerry.

Zerry then gets distracted by Pyrus and says. "I'd like to practice my acting skills on you all first to make sure I'd be convincing. Someone tell me what to act like since I'm already a fan of yours, so that wouldn't be acting."

The hug scene with Jamie is priceless, with her wide open eyes, especially when Zerry simulated a tango scene as she uses her arm, draped in a silky purple flared sleeve to judge a proper distance for a second, more practiced, variant of hoof stomping.

Jamie had to smile; she remembers how she was as a kid.  She made a mental note to remind Zerry of a fellow witch who created a theatrical company.

The rabbit shook his head at the scene between Zerry and Jamie. Having amnesia really blows sometimes as he had no clues to his own childhood or even mother figure that jamie reminded him of in this . One day he would make Pip keep his promise and help him recover his memories.

  "Thank you, Zerry." It's her actual consideration for others that puts Zerry on a higher standard than the average hyperactive tag-along.

  He looks over to Pyrus and Jamie, "Yeah, I think Zerry may need a lot of practice, if the plan involves acting excited for a known jerk in a convincing manner." ...Well, okay he's sure Zerry can get the excited part down.  It's the convincing part that's the issue.

Pyrus chuckles at Zerry's little stomp display and nods to Tark.

"That ties into something else that needs covered."

He looks to Sess and prestidigitates the face of the first arrogant human fighter to come to mind.  https://static1.comicvine.com/...6388863528-gasto.jpg

"We'll need a full description.  As you describe him, I will update this image to match your description."

Sess gives a full description. Tempting as it is for the storyteller to say it IS Gaston, it isn't. The guy's name is Karl, after all. ;)

The police-sketch-prestidigitation results in the following to Sess' satisfaction:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pini...dd646d8988d0a774.jpg

"That... that is him."

Upon seeing nobody asks her to act out anything, Zerry says, "How about this: I'll act like each of you and you all can see if I'm good at acting? Here's Pyrus!"

Zerry puts on a large-and-in-charge smile, lacing her fingers slowly. With an uncharacteristically smooth and calm tone, Zerry says, "Everything that has transpired has done so according to my design."

She then goes back to herself and says, "And now to try.... Jamie!"

Zerry has a less "in-charge" and more confident smile with a hint of mischief in her expression. Her body language becomes substantially more girly and she says, "When I'm around, those I call friends have nothing to fear." Her espression turns dark as she tilts her head down, keeping her eyes on the others with an evil smile, "But those who threaten my friends have everything to fear."

Zerry goes back to normally and excitedly jogs in place. "How'd I do?! How'd I do?! Tark and Meiou are next!"

Jamie just laughed at Zerry's portrayal of her, a combination of melodious laugh and witches crackle.  "You got me down pat rather quick, my pretty."

She then glances over at the police sketch and commits it to memory.  She wants to know exactly who she's intending to hex.  "This outta be fun," she mutters to herself, "pretty armor there, it would be a shame if something happens to it."

The rabbit just listens in and smirks at Jamies remark before saying over their mind link "Swipe shiny armor. Got it."     he chuckled to himself "Yes such a shame if something were to happen to it. " The impressions were pretty good but he still rather not see one about himself.

  "That's very nice, Zerry."  He means it, though he had no idea what the hell an impression of himself would entail.  Maybe Zerry will complain cave lairs don't have proper railings over pits?

  He sighs at Jamie's habitual vagueness "You know, we're all kind of working towards this together.  So you're allowed to skip the thin 'I didn't say I'd do it' euphemisms... Though wouldn't stealing his stuff just work against the current plan and give him a believable excuse to say the fight was rigged?" You know, because it would have been.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 02:03, Mon 17 Apr 2017.

Pyrus chuckles and claps.  "Bravo, Zerry!  Bravo.  You have skill beyond your years.  Keep practicing."

He smiles and nods to Tark.  "A fair point.  Though I doubt our friend was considering relieving the cur of his armor before he is defeated."

Pyrus winks to Jamie.  "'To the victors go the spoils.'"

The kobolds look unnerved by Zerry, but chuckle darkly when talk of stealing starts going on.

Zerry hops happily from the positive feedback of her allies and rushes to give each one a hug! "ThankyouJamie!ThankyouTark!ThankyouPyrus!"

Zerry puts on a gentle straight-face. Stern, yet not gruff. She looks around at the cave the group is in before looking back at Sess deadpan. "OK, so the cave being unsafe, that's fine. That's nature. But why didn't the people who inhabited it put hand rails or other safety features in it?" Yep. Tark's narrative totally called it.

Towards the end of the sentence, it looks like Zerry was going to say or do something, but held herself back. Two of her legs lift slightly and go back down. "That was Tark."

Zerry can't contain herself anymore and ZOOMS to run around the cave, its walls, and even uses her momentum to zoom across some parts of the ceiling. "AAAAAAAH!"

"Now Meiou!" she announces before putting on a casual expression with a hint of matter-of-fact horrified. "...I'm surrounded by crazy people. I'm going to keep my talking short in hopes they will notice me less."

Even as she says this, Zerry takes a cringed posture: goo.gl/fFidET

Sess says, "This is all very entertaining. Maybe she can act like Karl in order to pretend she is idolizing him." How serious he is about the suggestion is debatable. Then again, he probably isn't sure himself how serious he is about it.

Sess looks at Jamie. "Take what you wish from him; I don't care. As long as it is after he has been humiliated."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:07, Mon 17 Apr 2017.

Jamie gives Sess an impish smile.  "Oh, I intend to.  Now then, shall we go on with the humiliation?"

"Oh ofcourse friend. I would not deny you your glory. I'm getting paid one way or the other so were good." he said smirking to jamie. He was going to enjoy looting that trickster and his mage.He cringed hearing zerry's impression of him. 

  Note to self, work on being less obvious he wants to complain out loud about something but isn't.  Should be doable, he didn't use Charisma as his dump stat.  "Yeah, that sounds about right."

  "Oh right, for our proper dose of additional paranoia.  Maybe check Karl's armor when this is over with in case it's some oddly specifically cursed armor.  Though probably not, he'd be running around killing things rather than being passive aggressive about his victories given the average curse."

"You're welcome, Zerry."

Pyrus sweatdrops at her strange leg-lifting antic, but doesn't ask.  He chuckles at her impersonation of Meiou and gives him a smirk.

He gives a nod to Jamie in agreement.  "We can brainstorm ideas on the way back to town."

Pyrus looks over to the kobolds.  "You may come with us as well.  Your talents may prove useful to us."

He nods also to Tark.  "Good points.  We should keep that in mind for when the mage is looted as well."

The kobolds take Pyrus up on his offer.

FAST FORWARD!

It only took a couple days before the group was able to find out where this not-dwarf Karl was hanging out lately.

In a city some miles north of Parnast, the group finds a tavern where the barkeep knew all about Karl. In fact, it is this barkeep's practice to organize fights legally. The tavern is full of fighters of all kinds; armored types, soldiers, monks, brawlers... you name it.

It is said that Karl is expected to return to the tavern by nightfall tomorrow. "So if you're lookin' to stay the night, I still have a room the bunch of you could share, if you aren't claustrophobic. Not enough beds, though, so that would be up to you all to work out." One room for Pyrus, Jamie, Meiou, Tark, Zerry, Sess, and the kobolds.

Zerry comments, "What's a bed?" (come to think of it, what nights you have spent with Zerry, you all would have noticed that, like a horse, she just seemingly falls asleep standing most times and every once in a while, reclines. But she never used a bedroll and seemed content reclining anywhere. Sess and the kobolds always just slept on the ground without comment.)

"We'll do just that, Pyrus," Jamie said.

{After the Fast Forward}

"It's something I'd doubt you'd ever use, Zerry, it's what people with two legs lay on to sleep." Jamie said to the centaur behind her as she talks with the others in the group.  "Okay, we're close to our quarry.  Suggestions?"

The rabbit looks to jamie " well I could always go stealth mode and look around.see what i can find out around here. "

  "A bed is something I have dibs on, obviously."  The cute kid doesn't need it, that means he doesn't have to feel bad about it!  Jamie probably has some travel arrangements inside her wagon that make the average inn stay bed look like the cheap straw filled lumps they are by comparison too.

  Back to businesses, "That's probably for the best Meiou.  Just let us know if Jamie makes you go off on any wild tangents instead.  Now... What's the most subtle way to ask the apparently fight enthusiast tavern goers 'hey, has Karl ever kicked your ass?'"

Pyrus was planning on luring Karl to Parnast, not go to him.  So as soon as it became clear that his first plan wasn't going to work out, he invited Pan to come along, pointing out how important it is to Parnast that Karl be exposed.  As for clever suggestions on how to lure Karl into a duel with Sess...  The player has been blanking for days where the character would have had half a dozen good ideas by now.  So...

"My suggestion is that we sleep on it," Pyrus answers.

He nods to Meiou.  "Thanks for offering.  The more we know, the better.  Even about seemingly trivial things like this place's customs and whatnot."

(( Best idea I have so far if it can be called an idea is to put up the sack of gold that Pyrus got for turning in Baby Eater as a reward for a big brawl.  But a tournament isn't Karl's M.O.  Nor is prize money from what we've heard. ))

Pan agreed to come. After all, more fighters for the guy to challenge increases the chance of luring him into whatever trap Pyrus or the others concoct.

Zerry is satisfied by the answers given. "Tired now!" and suddenly falls asleep on her feet.

When Meiou goes forth and spy, he sees the following cutscene:

Karl is seen talking to some lanky man.

Karl: "Well, Chirpy, we have a problem. A particularly renowned fighter has heard of me and I don't think even our combined efforts can best her. It is probably best we try to slip out of town before she hears of our reputation."

Chirpy: "Chirp!"

Karl: "Shh! Not too loud... don't need to be attracting attention."

Chirpy whispers: "squawk."

Karl: "Better. Now I'm in no condition to go slipping out tonight, but with some of your magic, maybe we can get somewhere far enough away and set up one of your magical camp sights?"

Chirpy yawns: "Chiiiir...."

Karl sighs. "Alright. We'll try to slip out tomorrow. But make sure you memorize Invisibility and Expeditious Retreat."

Chirpy falls face-forward onto his bed. Karl just stares. "You're a real piece of work, Chirpy..." and goes to his own bed.

(OOC: I am GMing, sure, but since this is David's world, I wanted to double-check before I go throwing high-level NPCs around. Does David mind if I use one of my characters for that, or is there a character David thinks would be appropriate for this? Either way, the high-level NPC isn't going to wind up in a fight with Karl since that would detract from the PCs besting him.)

For everyone else, the night goes uneventfully.

In reply to Zerry (msg # 191):

OOC:  Well, as long as Meiou doesn't mind (PROTIP:  Ask first) I'd allow it.  Meanwhile, I hope people don't mind slowing down the RP to expand on a scene.

Pan and Jamie sit around a table together, a pot of piping hot herbal tea in the middle with an assortment of tarts accompanying it.

Jamie brings Pan up to speed with any illustrations made with her minor illusion cantrip.  Pan could sense that she's been patient watching from the distance, waiting for her time to play her role...or prank out some baddie.

"That's what we have so far, dearie," Jamie said.  "I'm just waiting for just the right time to bring Karl and his Wizard friend down a peg or two.  Have you any plans?"

Pan says, "My only plans at the moment are more long term. Such as helping Parnast rebuild and grow. This situation with Karl... I suppose the best help I could be would be to fight him or be backup. I'd rather be backup if that is OK."

She takes the tea and brings it to her mouth, gently blowing on it while paying attention to Jamie's emotions.

Jamie's emotions were one of a combination of curiosity and playfulness.  She might think that here's some cat in this red-headed half-elf. "Looks like we're both in the background in this game.  If it wasn't going to be a battle of honor, I would've been bored already."  She takes a sip, looking up to see Pan's expression and figuring out what the pandafolk's thinking.  "From what I heard, Pan, you're an empath of some sorts.  I know how to detect thoughts myself*.  That could be of some good reconnaissance."

* As a preparable spell.

Pan says, "I am unsure what I could learn that you have not already deduced, but life can be full of surprises. And please let me assure you... it is not your thoughts I detect, but your feelings. I feel them as if they were my own, though the further the person, the weaker the feeling. For example... I know you are curious and playful right now, but I had no idea you would say what you just said. Your ability to detect thoughts is probably more useful while my ability to feel emotions is usually more useful for either immediate danger, or finding ways to heal people emotionally. I have been able to assess a long term threat before, but we already know what this man is up to, right?"

Expression-wise, Jamie can see concern, care, and thought. Pan is one to think things out, but is also clearly focused on Jamie more than herself. The twinkle in her eye, the hint of the corners of her mouth turning up, and the way her fingers fidget slowly betray the fact that she is feeling a little playful.*

If Jamie uses Detect Thoughts on Pan, she will find that the pandafolk is being mostly open. Outside what Pan is saying, the other thoughts she is thinking are things like "I would tell her I trust her and that she has a friend, but is this the proper time yet?" and "If it wasn't going to be a battle of honor, I would've been bored already, eh? I like that. I think I'll use it later." any deeper than that and Pan's thoughts seem to be layered and all about Jamie at the moment.

*As Pan explained, she feels others' feeling like her own. A lifetime of practice means she knows how to discern her own feelings from others, but that doesn't mean others do not impact her. Mad people make her mad. Sad people make her sad. It can't be helped.

In reply to Pan Flute (msg # 195):

"Yes, we do," Jamie said, after picking up her thoughts.  "Sooooo, you're feeling what I'm feeling right?"  She giggled, hoping that the panda would feel her bit of happiness. Not to mention her feeling that the Panda is just too cute.  She turned up what she's feeling right now, mixing it with a lot of friendliness, wondering how she'll react.

Pan would fell a bit of concern, though.  'Oh, poor girl,' she thought.  'Pippkin would have a field day with you, Pan.  I hope I'm not taking too much advantage with you, dearie.'

Jamie leaned back, sipping her tea, and teased her red hair a bit.  "I'm sure we can be friends, Pan.  After all, we're both well versed in herbology.  Oh, the brews we could make together."

The rabbit returned to the group and explained what he had seen/heard rather certain there was something more to 'chirpy' . After that he was pulled off by Sarah feeling the need to see to her mistress.


She emerges from the bushes the rabbit vanished into though no bright flash from the bracelet as Jamie had worked some kind of magic to prevent that as to hide the fact they were one or something. She came up the two chatting stumbling abit as she tripped on a rock. She was a town squirrelfolk and she was abit of a klutz. She caught herself with her tail and produced a tray of snacks. It was a simple cantrip Jamie had her learn for times like this. " Can i offer something to snack on friends? " She asked politely feeling abit bad about interrupting their private time.

If Pippkin has 100% control over his emotions, then yeah, he could mess with Pan's head, though only a little. As mentioned, Pan has gotten used to living with this. She could just as easily turn around and mess with Pippkin by discovering any doubts or weaknesses he has and manipulating him. Especially if his feelings involved a strong desire to manipulate, then ironically, he would be the reason she would even want to manipulate him.

But Pan is a Lawful Good goodie-two-shoes and tries not to be a manipulator. Manipulation is a tool she reserves to punish those who manipulate others for bad reasons.

Jamie, however, seems to be trying for good reasons. Care, concern, the like. The girl seems to be trying what she can to help Pan.

When Jamie asked if Pan could feel what Jamie felt, she simply nodded. "Thank you for trying to steer your emotions positively for my benefit. But controlling emotions is not easy and requires practice..."

Pan is about to answer Jamie's statement about brewery when Sarah bumbles into the scene. Feeling Sarah's embarrassment, Pan smiles to her and says, "Thank you." and takes a snack. "Hello, Sarah. Did you want to be part of the conversation?" she asks invitingly.

OOC: So much talk about Pippkin, but will we ever get to see him? XD

  "Hi Meiou, bye meiou." Yeah, Tark isn't surprised Pyrus, Zerry,  and himself barely rate drive by narration from the rabbit.

  He asks Pyrus "So, at least Karl being smart enough to run means he can get his ass kicked?"

He was listening to the ladies from another table, but when Meiou gave his report, Pyrus is befuddled by the description of Chirpy's eloquence, and it takes a while for him to collect his thoughts.

"Hmm?  Oh.  Well yes.  I never doubted that he was no match for you without his secret weapon."

In reply to Pan Flute (msg # 198):

Jamie just gave Pan the brightest of smiles.  "I had some practice.  My mama, who adopted me when I was a child, shared a psychic bond with me.  It helped me learn how to cast a spell, but it also helped with her emotions.  She had a bit of the Psychic Itch* and at times I help keep her head from running circles around the rest of her. Of course, she does the same to me at times, so we ended up consoling each other. Because of mama, I had practice in steering people's emotions, ooh!"

Jamie used her mage hand to straighten up Sarah's maid dress.  "Those rocks seem to pop up out of everywhere, I swear, Sarah!"  She picked the squirrel up to sit her on her lap while Sarah set her snack tray on the table.

*  The Psychic Itch is the In-Setting name for OCD.  Jamie's adopted mother, Silverskin Wintertouch, had a slight case of it, which turned her into Adrian Monk at times.  "It's both a blessing and a curse."  With a quiet home, herbal tea, and counseling by her Grandmothers in her coven, Silverskin manages the Itch very well.

Edit:  I keep mistyping "Wintertouch" as "Wisdomtouch."  Mea Culpa
This message was last edited by the GM at 09:28, Fri 19 May 2017.

"Oh! Don't mind me I just felt mistress was having tea and thought she would want something to go with it as she usually does. " She shifted to adjust herself in the lap comfortably with a smile to pan.


ooc: well i keep talking to dave about scenarios in which jamie and him fight over Meiou so I'd like to think we would. XD I personally would like to see him pop up.

Pan sips her tea again, eyeing Jamie and Sarah. She asks about the Psychic Itch so Jamie can explain. When she does, Pan ohs and nods before saying, "Well it is good you have had practice. So... why pick me to go and have a private conversation with? I appreciate that you seem to have taken a liking to me and that you want to get to know me, but I'm not even a member of your group."

---

Meanwhile, Zerry flicks an ear and mutters in her sleep. "Chirpy.. can I keep him as a pet? Jamie gets a pet..."

In reply to Pan Flute (msg # 203):

Jamie's emotions keep flowing into Pan as she half-speaks, half murrs.  "I know that you know some herbology, being that you're a natural healer and all.  I dabble in the same field myself, with my brews and all.  They're nothing too nefarious, I assure you, outside my usual mischief magic which I'm..." She rolls her eyes. "Nefarious over...the worst would be my Jet Fuel coffee, to be honest.  I was wondering, maybe we can compare notes, pick up on some things, you and I."

Pan says, "We'll see.. deal with this Karl cheat first. It might be a case where something leads to another thing. If you are sure you will have time afterwords, we can try talking herbs. For now, we both really should catch some sleep so we'll be of use to the team tomorrow." she looks at her empty teacup and smiles back at Jamie. "...and thanks again. No many try quite this forwardly to be my friend."

In reply to Pan Flute (msg # 205):

"You're quite welcome," Jamie replied, returning the smile.  "I'll be honored to be your friend."

End Cutscene.

Morning comes. The group convenes at the breakfast table. Zerry immediately shares that she had dreams about keeping a bird sorcerer as a pet that perched on her shoulder.

Pan says, "So what is currently the plan of attack?"

Meiou is able to recognize Chirpy sitting at a table across the room from the group. Sitting with Chirpy is a robed person about the same size and build as Karl.

NEW TURN ORDER: Meiou, Jamie, Tark, Pyrus, Zerry
This message was last edited by the player at 05:57, Tue 23 May 2017.

The rabbit was nowhere to be found though the squirrel was curled up in jamies tent this morning. Rather jamie was there or out making a brew or coffee who knew. Sarah would wake in time .

Jamie made her usual morning brew letting her apprentice/warlock sleep in a bit more while listening in to the more major players in the game.

  Tark hopes the bird in her dream had better taste than the birdlike person they were apparently dealing with.

  "I think that's still being slightly worked out, Pan. Though I'll probably go along with whatever is asked as long as peoples ideas do not conflict too much... On that note, is it just me or is that way more obvious than someone trying to hide would usually be?"

If Meiou gave a description of Chirpy, Pyrus will actively avoid eye contact with the strange mage.  In any case, he casually enjoys his breakfast and made light unrelated conversation.  When Tark asks his question, he shrugs.  "Not sure what you're talking about."*

Pyrus will follow-up his statement with a discreet gesture to indicate that plans shouldn't be discussed in the same room as the target of said plans.  Such as a finger to the lips.

*((OOC: Unclear how aware Pyrus is of the elephant in the room from Meiou's earlier infodump narration.  If a description of Chirpy and/or Karl was given, Edit: Thanks for clearing that up, Meiou!  ^_^ ))
This message was last edited by the player at 02:23, Mon 29 May 2017.

( ooc: i would meiou gave a very detailed report on what all he saw. i figure pyrus probably would of asked what chirpy and the guy looked like if tark didnt. )

Pan doesn't look in the direction of the pair.

After breakfast is eaten, Pan says quietly, "...follow me."

She gets up to leave. When the others follow her, she leads them to the side of the building in an alley and begins climbing the side of the building via access ladder to get to the roof and beckons the others up.

Zerry zooms up the side of the building... as always, how she climbs is a mystery since it looks more like she can just walk on walls.

From there, Pan says, "Here we will have a good view of where they will go next. But if their feelings were any indication, they want to leave town as quickly as possible. Which probably means west."

Jamie looks over at the western path out of town...and Pan could just sense a growing sense of mischievousness.

Everybody else saw Jamie showing a very impish grin.  "This has...possibilities...I'll deal with their escape route."  She then gave her combination of an angelic laugh and a hag's cackle.  Never a truer sign that Jamie Wintertouch is up to no good.

In her mind's eye, she saw a foam trap here, and a suspended bedpan there, here a swinging log, there something she saw in a movie once. (Very long story...)

(Dittos with the theme in her head:  https://youtu.be/-y3h9p_c5-M)

"It's going to take some time to get everything set right, especially when I don't want the villagers to get caught by accident."  She then calls for Sarah.

'Wake up, my dear," Sarah hears Jamie's voice say as a thought of a gentle shake stirred her awake.  "I need the wagon brought around to the Western path of town."  Even Sarah could tell that she's got mischief in her mind.

  Tark’s player knows at least, considering he suggested the magic item to Zerry.

  “I think they can probably slowly walk out of town by the time Rube Goldberg traps are set, Jamie… As much as I’d probably want to see that." He expects Jamie considers ACME catalogues as important as her spellbook.

"Honestly it seems outside of ‘make sure mage can’t interfere’, the rest of the elaborate planning seems based around the fact nobody can make up their mind if just walking up to him and challenging him in front of a bunch of witnesses means pan or I would still lose.  General humiliation is great, but the job was for something that at least looks respectable from our end to witnesses."

Sarah yawned and rubbed her eyes hearing jamies voice. She went to wagon to bring it around while at the same time prepping what few spells she had for the day. She didnt know what her mistress had in mind but could tell she was up to something. 

Pyrus of course follows along as well.  He smiles at Zerry's wall-climbing prowess, thinking on how amusing the reactions she must get are.  Then he listens to his friends and nods.

"Thank you for that insight, Pan.

"I'm thinking our friend Jamie is expecting that Karl will not be allowed to leave so soon and that she'll have plenty of time to prepare a proper send-off, Tark.  I expect the same.  The question is how best to goad him into a fight when he apparently is wise to someone in town being out of his league even with magical aid.  Perhaps false information that his renowned fighter is not at her best today?  Suffering from a wound, illness, or emotional impairment?  Or better yet, that she just left town.  Any ideas as to whom it is he's so wary of?  If we can gain her cooperation, he'll be more likely to fall into our trap."

Zerry says, "You have a wagon, so maybe I can try to sell them on your energy drink? That coffee you mentioned? Since I'm already energetic, they might believe I am energetic because of the coffee."

Pan nods to Pyrus and listens to everyone. "I will do what I can to slow them down then. Keeping in mind the idea you had in mind, Pyrus, I will see if I can persuade them to believe the incoming hero is weakened... As for who she is? I do not know, but if I am to fool them, I will need to find out who she is and fast."

With that, Jamie spins around to Zerry, placing her hands on the centaur's sholders.  "Zerry, dearie!  You might have a point there.  I might need a distraction to keep the guards from getting wise.  I usually have to charm them into leaving me be or even helping me out, but that spell's something I don't want to rely on too much.  Too high a risk of backlash."

Jamie still remembers the last time she charmed a guard, only to spend the rest of the hour running screaming away from someone who wanted her hand in marriage!  She shuddered.  (Think of Pepe Le Pew)


"I still have enough morning brew for a couple dozen vials.  Give me a moment when the wagon comes around."

  Tark will have to settle for Jamie's explanation that the only reason she's not charming people willy nilly, is a fear of consequences for her actions.  At the very least that means better odds of Tark being able to show his face in town again after all this.

  "I suppose if all else fails, I can just walk up to him and ask if it's true he's never lost a fight before challenging them in the middle of the street.  Though while we're at it, hopefully when Meiou or Not Meiou Honest get back we can have them confirm that's actually the guy under that oddly conspicuous cloak first.  I'm sure Jamie wouldn't want all her planning wasted for following the wrong guy."

Sarah yawned as she pulled the wagon up to the group. Still rather sleepy but she went with it the best she could unsure why her mistress was eager

Pyrus chuckles at the suggestion.

"Considering he's wanting to be able to leave town as is physically and magically possible, a coffee boost might be just the thing to attract his attention.  Good idea, Zerry.

"I'm a tad concerned that he suggested to his friend that he memorize invisibility.  If you have any scrolls of glitterdust, that could prove very helpful, Jamie."

He nods to Tark.  "Not everyone is a master of disguise, but it would be quite vexing to find we've been stalking a decoy."

To Pan he smiles and says, "I'll ask the local fighters about this famous person.  I'm sure they'll have heard the rumor as well.  I'll be right back."

He goes and asks around.

FAST FORWARD!

What Pyrus finds out: According to locals, the famous fighter is a gal who simply goes by "May". Some say she is a kobold, others say she is half dragon. Still others claim she might be some kind of lizardfolk cousin. Nobody can quite agree on what exactly she is, but they can all agree she is a lizardy thing who happens to have blonde human-like hair on her head. Pyrus also finds out May is a lover of all weapons and has become a renowned weapons expert. As for her reputation as a fighter, people say she is a dragon slayer and has ventured into the another realm to take down space pirates. She is said to be part of a team who have thwarted no less than three wars and probably more....*

*All true of this character. Tark, Pyrus and I play in a 4th edition game called "Scales of War" and are currently lvl 22. But since this is Aethercoil, I didn't list "took out 4 exarchs and befriended 3 gods" since this world is different enough that I doubt the same events could quite have occurred.

Meanwhile! Jamie has her cart all set up like a proper snake oil salesperson and Karl spots it. Initially, he seems intent on ignoring it, but then a Zerry ZOOMS up to him! "JetFuelCoffee! JetFuelCoffee!" how she even talks that fast is a mystery "Getchyer JetFuelCoffeeRightHere!!!! One gulp and you'll run as fast as meeeeeee!" zoom! Zerry gallops in circles around the cart, kicking up a small cloud of dust.

Karl sweatdrops. Then thinks about it. He walks over to the cart and looks at Jamie. "Does that speed also enhance reflexes?"

Meanwhile! Pan is staying out of sight with Tark (Up to Meiou if he stays hidden with Pan or out in the open with Jamie and Zerry). "If this doesn't work, I guess that will be your cue to challenge him..." Pan looks at Tark with sincerity. "But the only reason I would let you fight instead of me is if you want to. Far be it from me to have you fight when I could have done so and prevented harm to you." There goes her protective nature.

Karl would've also seen Jamie set up an assortment of traps along the back door, throughout the courtyard where Zerry was hawking homemade energy shots, and the final gate to the western path into the forest.

What Karl didn't know is the movie that Jamie took the traps from:  A bedpan overhead here.  A vial of oil there.  Several bags of marbles, a covered pit between some stalls, and if the feed actually succeeds in making it to the gate, a suspended log is waiting for him there to knock him back into this Rube Goldberg hell.

The villagers who saw that were looking over what she built, a bit hesitant even though Jamie told them that they're currently still safe.  She has a double trigger on each of her traps; a trigger that she controls that arms them, and the ones that the feeb will trigger himself.  (To arm the traps, Jamie will use mage hand to put everything in place.

One of the guards who helped her set things up said, "You will be putting everything back after this, right?"

"Of course," Jamie said.  But then she mutters, "I will not charm the guard, I will not charm the guard, I will not charm the guard."
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:55, Mon 12 June 2017.

  It would be less pride, and more the fact Pan doesn't seem to be the sort to deserve some jerk taking swings at her as much as Tark would.

  After the setup, Tark is impressed something like that is set up so readily by amateurs.  He needs to reevaluate what he can accomplish with his actual proficiency in construction.  _{You know, aside from perfect 5x5 foot design without a ruler.}

  "I'll do what I can about cleanup, if Jamie is suddenly absent once the dust settles."

The rabbit looked to Tark and Pan then back out towards Jamie and Zerry. Pan could feel his mixed emotions of feeling the need to try and protect Pan and Tark and take out the enemy first to feeling nervous about his skills. Sure he boasts but he felt that without those missing memories he was just a shell doing what Pip had trained him to. These people were what was the word he was looking for, Friends. He hadn't had those before and he was very conflicted about if he was capable of keeping them.

"Remember, the plan was to have Sess fight him."

Pyrus is ever so amused at Zerry's salesmanship.  And how perfectly Karl is falling into the ruse.  And at Jamie saying "I will not charm the guard" out loud.  He quickly relays what he's learned then goes to try and find this "May."  To say he's intrigued by her doesn't begin to describe his level of interest.

Pan looks at Meiou. Then goes to pull him in for a hug.

Pan gives Pyrus a smile and a nod in acknowledgement to let him know she heard him.

To Karl's question, Zerry screeches to a halt and looks dumbfounded. "Let's find out!"

Sess is approaching with a bunch of townsfolk. "Yes. Let's. I am here for a re-match, Karl."

Karl looks over to see Sess and the townsfolk. "Oh... alright..." he thinks this his opportunity. "But this has to be my only fight today."

Looks like Jamie's traps will be used a little later and Tark & Pan will not need to fight this guy, but the point of them was to make sure the guy stayed in town, so that is fine. Little does this guy know that just because Sess isn't May doesn't mean he won't lose... thanks to some teamwork.

Sure enough, the team can easily see Chirpy going to blend with the crowd before any of the crowd even realizes there was another man with Karl.

Meanwhile: Pyrus is able to find May easily. She is quite the celebrity visiting this town and when Pyrus finds her, there is no mistaking the little lizard with blonde hair. She is in a tavern just a few blocks away and is in the middle of telling the tale of how, out of reflex, she bit this guy's leg and light shown out her mouth before the guy's leg exploded.* "And the moral is: Never underestimate the power of friendship! Friendship can make your bites explosive!"

*True story.

Giving everything the second once over and seeing that everything is in place, she took a deep breath, nodded, headed over to an open air cafe for a tall glass of tea, and waiting for Meiou to come back to her.
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:14, Fri 16 June 2017.

  Tark would be happy to hear Meiou's inner monologue, but he's not the Empath here.

  "So, Jamie. I'm going to try and judge it as optimism that I don't want to step in.  Because that means I'm expecting your ACME catalog be something I'd rather see at a distance."

  Still, keeping an eye on Chirpy is what he's trying to do either way.  Since as interesting as watching Sess pound Karl, or reputed Weredrakes talk about exploding bites would be…  Chirpy is the part of the job not finished yet.

He shivered and blushed at the hug from Pan. He was still nervous but not really quesitoning himself anymore for the time being. he just focused on the task at hand of waiting to strike.

Pyrus uses magic to catch May's attention if he has to.

"May!  Your reputation suggests you're a woman of justice!  There is a villain trying to slip out of town at this very moment, because he fears you.  If you'll come with me, I'll explain on the way!"

If she agrees to come along, he'll explain the situation while returning to the others.

"...so will you be willing to help us expose Karl for the fraud he is to restore Sess' honor?"

May listens to Pyrus and grins. "I'd love to help! But from what you are telling me, I think you've got all the help you need. Still, I'll come and be on standby in case he has some other trick up his sleeve."

Meanwhile, back at the fight, Sess charges at Karl and Karl seems to be barely holding his own against Sess. It doesn't take long for Karl to give a subtle signal and Meiou (and anyone else who is on the lookout for Chirpy) can see Chirpy beginning to cast a spell.

Pyrus and May are showing up around this time, but neither would be able to get close enough to do anything before Chirpy can get his spell off.

Jamie just leans back and smiles.  "Oh, don't worry, Tark.  My traps are idiot proof.  Nothing will happen until I want it to happen."

  "Well, you might need them fairly soon then Jamie."  If Meiou doesn't interrupt the wizard, Tark will probably resort to something as subtle as a brick.

A literal brick.  Hey, it's less pointy than a javelin.

The rabbit quietly slips into the crowd to come up behind chirpy and quietly whispers to him "I'd stop that if i were you.Be a real shame if something were to suddenly happen. "

A burlap sack over his head would likely be enough to stop Chirpy.  Most magic requires line of sight.

"Thanks.  What I need you to do is..."

Pyrus notices that Sess is fighting Karl.  "Huh.  Change of plans.  Looks like my friends managed to goad Karl into a rematch with Sess in spite of his big hurry to avoid you.  So I guess what we need to do is find Chirpy and loudly expose him when he tries to use his magic on Karl.  Your rep will really lend a lot of weight to the reveal."

Chirpy slowly glances over his shoulder to see if he can spot who his assailant is. But he has stopped casting, at least.

May says, "Find Chirpy. Got it." and heads into the crowd with surprising stealth. How is her armor not making sound? And how did she just turn invisible?

Meanwhile, Zerry goes to the front of the crowd and says, "WOOOOOHOOOOO! This is KARL! The guy who has a long winning streak! Undefeated as he goes across the lands and challenges warriors who are well-known for their ability to fight! He ain't afraid of anyone and will take on any fighter! And! And! SESS! Greatest Lizardfolk warrior for dozens of miles! Give it up!"

The crowd begins clapping and cheering for the fight.

Pan watches intently. "I sense worry in both Karl and Chirpy. Especially Karl." she comments.

Speaking of idiot-proof, the village idiot is wandering his way to one of Jamie's traps. Because idiots have a reputation to keep up.

The Bumbling idiot with a glazed look in his eyes, a couple teeth missing in his mouth, and seven fingers total, managed to discover one of the spring-loaded hinges that Jamie has otherwise successfully concealed from the general public.  The more intelligent people who know of this just chuckled and kept clear, knowing the ruse.

Jamie, while sipping her tea, caught a glance of the fool about to touch the device, and wiggled her nose. For little more than dramatic effect.

A tall conical dunce cap fell from the ceiling and covered the village idiot's head.

The village idiot cried out, or rather slurred out, his protest.  Born more out of too much alcohol too early in the morning than any lack of IQ, he managed to stumble blindly out into the plaza creating a humorous scene for everyone at his expense.  Jamie made sure that the main trap remained locked, but the one she designed for looky-loos were armed.

Out of one of the market stalls, an oversized glove sprang out and was nudged the village idiot over to the side of the road.  (I'll let someone else tell where the bumbling idiot stumbled into, only to have him kept busy for a while.)

Jamie chuckled and held up her hand.  The glove floated up and flew into her waiting hand.

"Prepared for Village Idiots, Check," Jamie said.

  Oh good, Tark does not have to resort to hurling bricks in public just yet.

  "Normally people love free hats, I wonder what his problem is." Your sarcasm still sounds too much like honest questions, Tark.  Work on that.

"Look friend. Just Don't do any magic and everything will be just fine. You really dont want to see a pissed rabbit folk so please for the love of money don't even move a finger. " hed seen pip cast magic without saying anything so he knew it was possible and he was trying to be friendly without resorting to violence if he didnt have to. Surely Tark would approve of that.

One of the wonderful things about prestidigitation, it's a foregone conclusion that May knows the faces of Karl, Chirpy, Tark, Pan, Meiou, etc, etc.  So she shouldn't find it at all difficult to recognize any of them.  It would be very unlikely, then, for May to interfere with Meiou's superb stick-up.

"Well she's exuberant," Pyrus chuckles, not addressing anyone in particular.

He scans the crowd, spots Chirpy, and starts hurrying over to him, unaware that Meiou already has things handled.

"Anybody taking bets?  I want in on the action!"

Chirpy doesn't respond to Meiou, but given he isn't moving, it is obvious he heard Meiou.

Karl is quickly figuring out that he doesn't have Chirpy's backup.

People begin betting and take Pyrus up on his offer. However, Karl is getting nervous and Sess is starting to look like he's winning.

Pan says, "I sense he is reaching the point where he wants to flee..."

So... Karl books it! ....right for Jamie's traps.

Zerry widens her eyes. "It's running... I must... chase..." and ZOOM! Zerry takes off, chasing Karl. "Aaaaaaahhhh!!!! RunningRunningRunningRunning!"

It's right then that May appears right next to Meiou. "Hi, Chirpy. Hi, cool rabbit."

"Oh good," Jamie said as she flipped a finger, arming all the traps, "here comes my...ZERRY!"

At the same time, these two scenes happened:

One:  Zerry books over toward the hallway Karl is going through, only to be broadsided by a spring-loaded glove that shoved her into a just opened pit full of foam balls.  It didn't hurt anything save for her pride, since it only knocks her into the pit.

Two:  A spring-loaded dark sends a trip wire across the hallway, just for Karl to trip it.  When he did, a swinging log smacked him on the back of the head as a ball of marbles ripped open to spill its contents into the floor.  At the end of the hallway, another dunce cap big enough to cover his entire head dropped down waiting for him.

  Today Tark learned Zerry is part dog?  "I'm going to punch anyone who questions my decision to help Zerry first."

  But then, it's a ball pit. Zerry might want to stay down there.  Tark still feels it best to head over to check on the girl though.

You know normally someone popping out of the aether into existence would startle someone but in this case when you normally work for a magician thief rabbit welllll you get used to them popping in on you out of nowhere when you least expect it. He raises a brow at this new comer before returning his attention back to chirpy. " So chirpy you see that nice lady with all the traps. I think she wants a few words with you. I'm sure she would just love to pick your brain."   Zerry wasn't so much part dog as a typical child chasing after the current thing that held her interest.

Not the tear-jerking "child's hero turns out to be a cheat" scene Pyrus was hoping for, but he can't help himself and bursts out laughing!

"Looks like the coward fell into the same dunce trap the fool did earlier!" he bellows between his laughing, hoping the crowd will laugh at Karl's comic attempt at escape as well.

"Not very likely that Karl will be getting away any time soon, but just to be sure, I'm going to see to it that answers for his sudden lack of spine."

With a dramatic point of his finger, Pyrus summons an adorable magma elemental next to Karl:  (( This girl: http://tinyurl.com/ybuxza3n only with a more magma-ish color scheme:  http://orig09.deviantart.net/4...asparrow-d7i75fi.jpg ))

She grabs Karl's ankles and sinks them into the ground halfway up to his knees.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:51, Fri 11 Aug 2017.

When Zerry springs the Jamie-trap, she yells, "WHEEEeeee!"

Chirpy sighs and answers Meiou with "Tweet."

May stares at Chirpy. Then looks at Meiou. "Is that mage-code for something?"

When Tark gets to the ball-pit, he can see four horse legs sticking out of the balls and perpetually wiggling/kicking like a panicked insect on its back.

Meanwhile, Karl is groaning from being hit in the back of his head. He looks and sees the random elemental child and stares for a few seconds before just conking out and going unconscious.

At first, Jamie was worried over Zerry, but then she realizes that the centaur, being the way she is, wasn't hurt in anyway, or even embarrassed.  'I think I'm really going to like her,' she thinks as she turned her attention to her prize.

She snapped her fingers, causing all the traps to disarm themselves for now, and as she lifts the dunce cap back into position, she used mage hand to whisk all the marbles away, lest they trip a villager.

She then knelt over to the unconscious Karl, her lips stretching into a mischievous grin.  She pulled out a rope and proceeded to hog-tie Karl so that his arms are behind his back, and his legs together and bound ankles to hips.  With a gag over his mouth and a blindfold over his eyes, she summons a Tenser's Floating Disk to carry him away.

"I got Karl," Jamie said, using Message to the others.  "All nice and packaged up.  What you want me to do to him?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:54, Sat 26 Aug 2017.

  Okay, well then Tark will give the flailing horse girl a minute to enjoy herself/settle down.  He is slightly less likely to be accidentally kicked in the face that way.

  At the message, Tark is about to respond but then remembers that spell is one way.

  So he just walks over to say it to Jamie.  "Presumably, let Sess taunt him in public further."

Well it was good to know Jamie got the other guy. He focused on his connection to her asking "What do you wanna do with this chirpy fella. I'm not good with magic users. I've got him for now but I don't know how long my sword to the back will keep him quiet. "

After collecting himself, Pyrus shrugs in response to May's question.  He tosses a coil of rope in the direction of Chirpy and answers Meiou.

"Let's let May have the honors of tying up the rascal mage.  As for what we're going to do with them, I believe Tark has an excellent suggestion.  Our mission was simply to expose Karl and Chirpy's deception.  More than that is all gravy."

To Sess he smiles.  "I trust we have lived up to your expectations?"

Sess slowly looks over to Pyrus with a wiiiide grin. "Yes."

May ties up Chirpy!

Fast-forward time! Soon, the whole town is in on the ordeal. Nobody likes being lied to and nobody likes a cheater, so Karl does wind up with rotten veggies thrown at him in addition to a humiliating defeat at the hands of Sess.

A celebration is had at Karl's expense (both literally and figuratively... his money pouch is used to pay for drinks and such).

A pair of centaurs come walking into town and rush to Zerry! The li'l centaur is now reunited with her parents! :D They, of course, thank the heroes profusely for watching over their daughter.

In reply to Zerry (msg # 253):

After putting everything back to where they're from, Jamie was all too happy to accept the adulations of the crowd, as well as the coin she got from selling her spare brew.

And after a hug and a good luck kiss for the Centaur ("You don't be a stranger to me, dearie.") She returns to town.

Meanwhile, a black-furred rabbit and a mouse overlooked the village from the mountains.  The mouse had on traveling clothes and a Handy Haversack, which failed to contain the cuff of a Jester's Motley in it.  "I don't know about you, Angel," he said, "but I don't think that frost giant'll hurt anyone intentionally.  Too bad she hasn't reached the level of cooked foods yet."

Edit:  Got the town name mixed up.  Made the correction.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:05, Wed 18 Oct 2017.

  Wait, wait… Zerry didn't spring fully formed from rock candy mountain as the avatar of excitable jitters?  This changes everything, and raises so many questions.

  "Zerry is a wonderful girl, and I hope life treats her well." The practical part of Tark is glad they won't have to keep her away from harm with how dangerous adventuring is.  But he will still miss the honest girl.

  "Pyrus, remind me to think of her next time I'm wondering why I bother."

OOC: I had half that earlier post sitting around all day, such is Murphy law circumstances change up while I'm uploading it. But preferable to the alternative dejavu scenario.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:40, Wed 18 Oct 2017.

The rabbit wasn't sure what to make of zerry leaving but shivered nonetheless it just felt like something was coming that would change things.

Pyrus is pleased that his customer is satisfied.  He's sure to give Zerry a fond farewell before she leaves.  And thanks May for lending a hand.  He gives a nod to Tark.

"Challenge question.  Why did you bother before meeting Zerry?"

Pyrus learned long ago that most people would rather not warm themselves over magma, so he doesn't offer to help Meiou with his shivers.

Upon spotting Angel and Johnny he waves. Something familiar about that lady.  She reminds me of her.

Angel waves back to Pyrus as she answers JB. "I think the child adorable, honestly. Hmm... looks like we have been spotted by friendly people who match the description given to us back at that victory meal. Let's not be strangers."

Angel begins heading down the hill towards the other adventurers.

In reply to Angel Bard (msg # 258):

"Would I ever?" Johnny said, winking as he bounded his way down the hill, hopping over any tree branch and rock that was in his way.

Meanwhile, Jamie wondered what Pyrus was waving to, so she took a look far into the hills.

And saw him.

"Goddess!" she muttered, "Briz!"

  Tark answers Pyrus, "To keep myself fed without dying, crime, or pointlessly indebting myself to someone."  Meiou is certainly a reminder why to avoid that last one, no matter how much certain people claim they have his best interests in mind.  "Sounds simple, but it seems honest work has it in for my family."

  He looks to where Pyrus is pointedly waving, and then learns that apparently... Wait this planned joke falls flat because Johnny isn't dressed like a clown. False alarm about hat envy between jesters and witches.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:37, Mon 23 Oct 2017.

He didn't know who everyone seemed to be acknowledging and wasn't that interested. Despite his shivers he stretched out some the light glittering off of his bracelet as he did.

Pyrus raises an eyebrow from Jamie’s quiet exclamation.

“I’ve only heard that name once, and it was used as a curse on the lips of one of the villains I was hunting.  What was it he said?  Something like, ‘You’re almost as annoying as Briz!’ I think.”

He nods to Tark.  “Well from my perspective, you seem to be doing an excellent job.  I would be happy to continue to find mutually profitable work for us should I remain fortunate enough to keep your company.”

Pyrus then looks back to Jamie and Meiou and adds, “The same invitation is extended to you as well.”
This message was last edited by the player at 00:10, Thu 02 Nov 2017.

With the wagon parked nearby, Angel casually makes her way down behind JB. She doesn't seem as enthusiastic as JB, but then that mouse tends to be an active one (Wait'll he meets Zerry. Hoo boy).

She spots Meiou and pauses a moment... but continues to walk to the group rather than run. She recognizes Meiou, but also notices he doesn't recognize or even acknowledge her. This could mean one of three things: 1) He has lost his memory or 2) He is showing a profound lack of attentiveness, or 3) He just happens to LOOK like Meiou but is not actually Meiou.

Once at the group, Angel lets JB do the introductions for her.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:19, Thu 02 Nov 2017.

In reply to Angel Bard (msg # 263):

"Thank you thank you thank you," Johnny says as he waves his arm, "You're far too kind.  My name's Johnny Briz, Jester extraordinaire...and yes, yes, I'm not dressed for the role, I know that.  You have no idea what you have to do to launder that thing."  He then stepped to one side, surprising Angel who just got revealed into view.  "And here is my partner, the beloved Angel Bard.  My partner in crime, my better half, and even a budding royal once she gets her own kingdom.  Give her time, she will."

He then put his hand over his forehead, as if looking for something. "We were out and about looking for a certain rascally rabbit when we received word that he's here.  I...KACHEW!!"

Johnny sneezed.

He paused, rubbed his nose, and scanned around.  "Ooooo, looks like my reputation precedes me.  I wonder who might be talking smack....looks like..."

As he said that, he produced a ball of light in his hand.  He looked around some more then.

"There you are!"

He threw it into a corner, where it exploded in confetti and streamers, accompanied by a scream.

Jamie Wisdomtouch slowly walked out of the corner she was in, soot covering her eyes.

"Well well well, if it isn't the Black Forest Troublemaker, how's life.  Turned some dudebro into a Romeo anyway?"

Jamie was growling.  "Johnny Briiiiiiiiz."

"Probably already did your new warlock already, if I heard the rumors right."

"Like you're the one to talk, last time I heard about you, you were wrapped around the finger of your own rabbit!"  Jamie pointed to Angel.  "And ma'am I do hope that you keep this big-eared hell-raiser on a short leash!"

"Getting personal here, why don't'cha?  I'm surprised you haven't burnt all of Germainia down yet."

Everybody in the room would think that the pair knows each other.  And it looks like Jamie didn't like the last time she met that mouse who smiled like the proverbial cat.  If the witch was casting any spells on Johnny by the look on Jamie's expression, JB isn't showing any effects.

"Ain't'cha supposed to be playing anything in order to do Countercharm, rodent?"

The rabbit hearing the fighting between Jamie and Johnny wasted no time slipping behind the mouse and lifting his coin purse all in the course of just walking by. Unless you were really paying attention you wouldn't notice his quick handy work. He was already walking off as Jamie heard in her head As the old saying goes "A fool and his money are soon parted" he chuckled one might think it the sun or some other light source that flared up briefly around the rabbit before dying down as he deposited it in his bracelet.

  "Thanks Pyrus, the age old condition of 'nothing better to do' could do worse than staying on."

  Tark is not sure if he's going to grow to dislike Johnny, or take spiteful amusement at treating Jamie like Jamie treats everyone else.

  Probably the third option, wish he was less petty himself. The curse of being a Half-orc with a positive Charisma modifier means a higher self awareness of your manners.

  "Johnny, while I'm sure she's long overdue many jokes at her expense.  Please stop throwing pyrotechnics or otherwise messy shenanigans at a traveling acquaintance of mine." At least the Warlock can do their own instant laundry… Wait Tark forgets if she knows prestidigitation, cantrip so powerful even a wish spell can't grant it, or not.

  In the usual case of 'you notice because you don't care', Tark notices Meiou's pilfering but will not, in fact, make a thing of it.  At most he will later attempt to caution his bunny buddy to be careful in case it's somehow filled with mousetraps that haven't set themselves off or something.

Pyrus was all set to be all polite introductions and stuff when slapstick happens.  Which, if this were the kind of setting that didn't include silliness like centaur child slipping into a ball pit, would have offended Pyrus' loyalty to his new friend Jamie.  But this is not that sort of setting.  This is the kind of setting that does include such things on the regular, so instead he takes it in stride and figures Jamie can fight her own battles.

"I'm sure if Jamie needs us to intervene, she'll let us know," Pyrus asserts, "Pleasure to meet you, Angel.  My name is Pyrus.  This is Tark.  Jamie.  And... not sure where Meiou disappeared to."

Angel says, "I'm happy to have met you bunch, although I already know Meiou; we grew up in the same town... please stop ignoring me, Meiou. It's rude even if I was a stranger, which I'm not."

She looks at JB and then Jamie. "Very well." And looks at JB again. In a confused "why did you do that?" tone, Angel says, "Johnny... I don't know why you are acting this way to this woman, but please be nicer... didn't you tell me your goal is to make people smile? She isn't smiling." Angel is saying this just as much for JB's sake as anything. But the half-pleading look in her eyes makes that much clear to JB.

Angel then looks at Jamie. "Jamie, I'm unsure if you know, but using the term rodent in that way is offensive. Not just to Johnny here, but to me as well."
This message was last edited by the player at 06:42, Fri 03 Nov 2017.

"Oh, you don't know about Jamie Wintertouch, Angel," Johnny said looking at Angel's concerned expression. "She's even worse of a Prankster than I can ever be."  He then looked around, to see that some of the people in the background producing a combination of gasps and some laughter, he could tell that the joke bombed a little.  "Humph.  Some loss in translation here.  Best back off on her for now."

He turned back to Jamie. "Don't think for a moment that I didn't sense Meiou snatch that pouch behind my back.  Proves that he's got amnesia 'cause if he hasn't he'd know for a fact that I'd never put anything valuable in my back pockets."

At that Jamie's face dropped a little.  "What did you put in that pouch?"

At that moment, where Meiou was at, there was a flash coming from his bracelet, at the exact moment he put the sack in.

the rabbit cringed and squirmed as the flash faded revealing the six year old human girl in a bright pink dress looking none to happy. she hated magical pranks. seriously they took all the fun out of stealing. "Look I don't know who you are bunny lady but I don't know you or this town you say I grew up in. "

  What, an explosive joke bombed?  Someone is dying of a wordplay induced heart attack right now.

  Tark also see's he was wrong about his assumption of something as mundane as bruised fingers rather than the growing trend of magical grandstanding for the slightest offense.

  "I'd figure you'd have been used to that by now hanging out with Jamie, Meiou." Of course, since the rabbit is allowed to so much as express his annoyance... This is actually better than what Jamie's arrangment does to him on a regular basis.

  Tark wishes his sympathy for the thief wasn't so often based on realizations such as that.  "Still, try to get around being treated as a proxy for Jamie and Johnny's little pissing contest, and listen to Angel.  Whether or not what she has to say is true, at least she seems concerned."
This message was last edited by the player at 06:03, Mon 06 Nov 2017.

Pyrus raises an eyebrow at this latest development.  He's glad this latest bit of magical pranking is apparently harmless, but is worried for Meiou's loss of memory.  But smoothing things out enough to be less adversarial seems to still be necessary.

"'More a prankster than he could ever be?'  That's some high praise, Jamie.  But now we've got two people claiming Meiou should be familiar with them, and I see that you're very familiar with Mr. Briz.  Let's put our heads together and look into this amnesia for Meiou's sake.

"Meiou, how far back can you remember clearly?  Can you recall where you did grow up?"

Angel has one of those "trying not to laugh" expressions on her face as she sees Meiou is now a human girl. She has no idea this has anything to do with the bracelet, but it wasn't lost on her that the bracelet was the only thing unchanged. So her smile turns into a ponderous expression. Angel looks at Tark. "Thank you."

She then looks at Pyrus, "Let's try this again. I'm Angel Bard. I'm relatively new to adventuring, but am quite skilled at marksmanship, so I assure you I would be useful. I came here to meet you bunch specifically. I heard about you from the neighboring town. What's more, I started adventuring to find this guy." she points at Meiou to indicate who she means.

"Meiou is a childhood friend of mine who disappeared about three years ago." She holds up some letters. "I even have the last few letters Meiou wrote me."

She looks at Meiou. "If it were me, and I were missing memories, I would want to know. But that's just me and I'm not you. I am glad you are alive, at least."

Angel then looks at everyone she just met. "So who is in charge of your group?"

Jamie was just about to throttle that grinning mouse Jester--who was chuckling at Angel when he saw her expression; shades of what he made her do--when she heard what Meiou said.  As she slowly set Johnny down, she says, "Amnesia, eh?  I don't know who caused it, dearie, but I have a way to circumvent that."

Johnny just brushed away what the witch left on his new tunic with some elaborate swipes.  "Malfesience notwithstanding, maybe you can help us out, however, it might not be something that should be said in public."

That makes wheels turn in Jamie's head, followed by a knowing smile.  She glances over to Angel and she thinks that maybe she could get to know her a little bit more.  Something about her has an air of regalness.  And she might need to be present for what she intends to do with Meiou.

Or rather, what she'll do with another part of Meiou.

"After a while, Angel, is it?" Jamie said, "let's meet together in my wagon outside of this village.  We've got a lot to discuss.  And oh yeah," Jamie rolls her eyes, "You can bring your boyfriend too."

"I'm not sure that we're at that point in our relationship yet," Johnny said, protesting before Angel can do the same.
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:02, Tue 07 Nov 2017.

The girl sighed grumbling mentally at his appearance "The earliest thing i remember was waking up on a floor of some kind with Pip poking at me. He wasn't exactly thrilled carrying me out"

  People who hang back and shoot mean, in theory, less work keeping them safe.  So that's a plus for tagalongs.  It's also probably an unfortunately short list for anyone who could say they are glad Meiou is alive with a straight face and lack of apparent sarcasm.  So that certainly helps Angel's credibility.

  "Nobody in particular is in charge. A method I have found to be surprisingly effective at weeding out those with no idea how to wing it." Or maybe it was just that one guy spending all day complaining to every passerby he was no longer immortal, like his Draconian pen pal wrote about.

"I've heard of Pip.  Probably a nasty character considering the name was always used as a threat on the lips of lowly criminals.  'Pip's gunna get you for this!' and the like."

He nods to Tark then looks to Angel.  "We haven't yet found a need to formalize a hierarchy for our group, but there's no question that I'm the one in charge of the kobolds."

To Meiou he asks, "About how long ago was that, Meiou?"

Pyrus would also ask if he ever found out the nearest town to where was he was found, but he's expecting the question will get lost by the the time everyone else has something to say.

Angel nods as she takes in the various comments. "Pip is a powerful criminal, yes." But Meiou here being alive tells Angel one of two things: either Pip has found ways for Meiou to be useful to him, or Meiou is in big trouble.

Angel looks at Jamie and says, "Perhaps after we've all earned a bit more trust. Let's go get a bite to eat and fill eachother in on our adventures."

Tark mentioning that nobody is in charge is good news to Angel. It means that in general, nobody will presume to tell Angel what to do.

"Of course, and if you excuse me..."

Jamie pulls off the child's head, revealing Meiou under the costume.

"Meiou dear," she said, "Go find Sarah and tell her to get the room prepared for us."  Jamie's voice had a serious tone, and her face had a bit of worry about her warlock.

She then stood up and said to Angel, "I think I have some things that might help you in your quest, dearie.  I'll look for it in my wagon and if I have it, I'll bring it to our meeting."
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:56, Sun 12 Nov 2017.

The rabbit holds his head in frustration and abit of anger at how
everyone was talking of pip. "Is he a rogue who can manipulate people and things to his advantage? sure but that's part of being a rogue. mind you i don't charm people into doing my dirty work. I do it myself. Is he bad? Hes a bad influence and tricky. Speaking honestly here yes i've had many bad experiences with him but I just think it wasn't anything I wouldn't of done had I still had my memories. I mean he never made me into one of his magical girls. You have to understand he may of done some bad stuff but he also took me in helped me get back on my feet literally and figuratively. Hells bells if not for him i could be dead i don't know how many times over or worse! I don't know i'd be here if not for him. I'm not trying to defend what he does just trying to point out hes not all bad.

"He took a breathe and looked to Pyrus I don't know really. Firstly wasn't really keeping track of time when being reschooled and then I was rather busy working."

Finally to angel " Maybe he is but then again so am I. Not to the same degree mind you. Just I think i've seen a side few get to see of him. "

it seemed sarah was ignoring orders and letting her counter part speak his mind.She didn't like it and knew jamie would be upset but these people wanted to talk to him and it was only good manners to not interupt.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:43, Sun 12 Nov 2017.

  "Yeah, no. Not happening Jamie. Meiou is staying right here, and Sarah is staying out of the picture.  If the squirrel shows up before any proper conversation, let alone explanations, I'm going to have to shove your head through your wagon wheels and take a drive down the road, or some other outlandish thing."  Well, that covers Meiou blindly obeying orders and running off to transform as well then.

  "Maybe you think you're trying to be some kind of helpful storybook witch, but it really comes across hard that you have no idea how to act without expecting anything but just going along with you out of either fear, or feeling it's not worth the trouble.  But hey, just maybe, even if you'll probably turn me to stone and everyone will smile and nod when you tell them I deserved it lest you do the same to them?  I think Meiou is probably worth the trouble calling you out.

  He turns back to Meiou, and says "So. Meiou.  How many friends do you currently remember having, that don't spend a lot of the time jerking you around for their own whims and amusement while claiming they are your friend while holding debt and magic over your head?  I hardly know you, and I'm offended enough to go 'remember that 2,000 gold debt you owed?"

  Tark pulls out a bag of gold, full of what he was saving for surprisingly expensive plate armor with some extra.  He dumps it on the ground.  "There, two thousand and a bit extra.  Debt paid on his behalf, no strings involved."

OOC: Even with the latest edit from Meiou talking about how "Oh, Pip wasn't THAT bad, because he didn't to horrible things to me that he does to other people!", turns out I don't need to re-edit my Tark post.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:51, Sun 12 Nov 2017.

Hitting pause in the game right now. I'm going to have to rework Jamie's entry.   I didn't count on Tark's response.  My bad.

Okay, I changed my post with Jamie's response.  Meiou and Tark can make their changes.

Okay, Catastrophe Adverted.  Let's move on.
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:52, Sun 12 Nov 2017.

There's a side of Pyrus that is rather encouraged by Meiou defending Pip.  Considering that magma dragons are reviled as harbingers of the apocalypse, and maybe they are mostly engines of civilization-ending devastation, but darn it if it isn't wonderful that it actually matters if you're willing to help a guy!

But he is still a dragon.  When 2,000 gold shows it's beautiful self, Pyrus' eyes go wide, and they sparkle.  He stares at it for half a moment, collecting his thought.  (Yes.  Just one thought.  https://img00.deviantart.net/0...ull_by_kaykaykit.jpg )

Pyrus low whistles.  "Now that's a lot of gold there.  How extremely noble of you, Tark.  But since we're making open threats, I suppose I'll make one of my own.  If anyone but Meiou takes that gold, they'll soon discover why dragon fire is the stuff of legend."

Realizing that two present weren't already made aware, he bashfully tells Angel and Briz, "I'm a dragon, by the way."

If Meiou's too proud to accept the gold, does that mean it's up for grabs?  Get a hold of yourself, Pyrus.  That would be rude...  Mine?

Pyrus offers Tark a pair of mirror sunglasses.  "These help with resisting petrification."
This message was last edited by the player at 07:03, Sun 12 Nov 2017.

Angel raises an eyebrow at Pyrus for claiming to be a dragon.

In a tone that almost sounds like a slow-clapping villain giving a monologue, Angel says, "Everyone standing up for everyone. It would be more touching if there were not so many threats going around."

She looks at Jamie and says in a matter-of-fact tone, "Don't get me wrong, Jamie, I do appreciate your offer, but from now on, wherever Meiou goes, I go. I didn't come all this way to have him whisked away... no offense, ma'am. Just that I don't know you yet. Though I would like to get to know all of you. So let's just all go together to the local eatery."

Angel looks at Meiou. "If what you say is true, then you won't mind if I go with all your new friends to talk to Pip myself some day. Because if he did save your life, I'd like to thank him in person."

Angel comments to JB, "It looked cordial enough at first... complete with people claiming these are heroes. But it looks like an awfully dangerous situation. If dragon's breathe, Jamie's magic, or a furious half-orc sound too dangerous for you, I will not force you to come with me. But I will also miss your company."

Johnny just smiles at Angel.  "Just when this adventure was about to be interesting?  No way I'm skipping this part.  Besides, I've yet to see you acquiring your own kingdom."  And then in his usual flair, he offers Angel his arm.

Jamie had to smirk as she saw her initial plan go awry.  Sometimes these happen, especially when she forgets the reputation she gets at times, with her being, as some would say, a Storybook Witch.  "I still have something that would be of your interest, once you deal with this Pippkin lout.  I'll go get it and return to you."

Jamie then tsk-tsks at Johnny being a gentlemouse toward Angel.  She barely mutters, "Those two'd make quite a couple."

Behind Angel's back, Johnny glanced back at Jamie with a "Knock it off" expression.

Before Jamie left he snatched the mask and said the key phrase the guise
vanishing and him being left as he normally was. From there he flopped
onto the ground and sat there looking at the gold. On the one hand he
wouldn't owe pip anything more but on the other it was one thing to steal
things but to be given it was another. He wasn't sure he felt he could take it
even if Tark wanted him to really have it. He appreciated someone else looking out
though he still wasn't sure what to make of it. He sat there looking at it some
more while musing over the questions.

"other than you all?" As he was about to speak further he
winced and grabbed his head like something was hurting him. After a moment
he returned to normal and looked at Tark "What?" he looked to the coins
and seemed to look confused on why there was so much gold on the ground
almost like he didn't remember Tark dropping it.
"Did we rob a gold shipment or something?"

  Tark's lapse of manners may have a (To him) reasonable excuse, but that does leave it a lapse of manners all the same.  "I suppose the fact I'm not usually so shouty is as believable as Pyrus's claims of dragonhood about now." at least, to someone who has just shown up.  Speaking of Pyrus, he accepts the offered sunglasses.

  "It's a lot easier to save up cash from when not only is it legitimate work, you lead a boring lifestyle between jobs." You also get to undercut trail guides when you're better at foraging food and water for several people and finding your way through the most unforgiving wilderness than most Druids. "I've been robbed a few times, but I think over the years I've made more than that back from less successful attempts to do so." And after years of no offended guild masters, no angry corrupt officials, no shadowy overlords vowing to avenge this slight, or so on. Tark expects no thief or crooked guard wanted to admit they were out-smarted by a single half-orc doing his best impression of the times he did get robbed like an ignorant newbie.

  He sighs at the obvious signs of mental shenanigans, and kneels down by the amnesiac bunny.  "While I could have been far more tactful about it-" Regrets of not being so are rather minuscule however "The general idea is that overpriced armor that isn't even magical can wait, compared to having one less thing to watch you get jerked around over while hearing how you should be thankful for it."

OOC: Due to the screwed up economy slanted towards faux hardcore GMs barging into art threads asking what half-plate looks like to declare "I don't just HAND OUT Full-plate to my players!"   Tark is still rather well off.

After all, magical +1 splint mail is literally 1,000 - 1,399 gold cheaper than Mundane plate. It would still be cheaper even if you included the full price of the mundane armor on TOP of the magic item cost. But nobody brags about withholding +1 Not Plate.

Yeah it's a freeform thread, but poking fun at game mechanics and the skewed mindsets around them is forever.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:03, Sun 12 Nov 2017.

Pyrus's only surprise that his claims to dragonhood only got a raised eyebrow is in the fact that most times people take him for a loonie when he makes such claims.  Shucks, he hasn't even flaunted his magic in this scene.  Not that he feels a need to.  Nor prove that his claim is true.

He smiles to Angel like a parent who's child caught him sneaking a cookie.  "My apologies.  It was an empty threat.  I have every confidence that whomever tried to steal Meiou's gold would be beaten senseless, transformed into a helpless creature, and turned to stone before I could so much as lift a finger.  What's this about acquiring a kingdom?"

To Jamie he objects with a pouty look, "Togetherness, Jamie.  Please.  How am I supposed to gallantly defend you, or you defend the rest of us, if you disappear?  We can all go to where this thing you want to retrieve is together."

He furrows his brow in concern for Meiou.  "In other words, that gold was given to you freely by Tark just now to purchase your freedom.  But then you had another memory lapse."

At least Meiou still remembers everyone present...  Right?  Pyrus dismisses the thought that Pip or Jamie put Meiou under a magical curse.  The clues don't add up.  But if this is due to a medical problem, that means Pyrus is fantastically unqualified to help - a thought he's not happy to entertain.

With a nonchalant wave of his hand, the gold collects itself into a sack for Meiou's convenience, then Pyrus heads in the direction Jamie does.

Upon seeing Meiou have a memory lapse, Angel frowns. "Just take your money back for now, Tark. Regardless of who he is indebted to, he appears to be under a magical compulsion to remain so. At best, he'll forget you gave him money and be duped to give it to someone like Jamie. At worst, he'll forget he even had a debt to pay. So perhaps it would be best to find out who all he owes, and pay them directly yourself. With us present so we can protect Meiou from whoever it is if they refused to let his debt be paid."

She looks at Pyrus. In a half-joking tone, even chuckling as she speaks, Angel says, "We all have dreams... mine just happen to be grandiose."

Angel nods to Jamie, waits for Tark to pick up his gold and then heads for the nearest eatery.

(Fast-forward cleared with all players)

Once the group is in the tavern, May joins them! Introductions are had!

May grins and proceeds to fill Angel in on what the group just did with Sess and Karl! Her telling of it is surprisingly accurate while still making it sound amazing. But then again, it kinda WAS amazing. "And Meiou here had a dagger to the mage and was all _{don't mooooove....} And then all kinds of traps spring up left and right! I found out later those were Jamie's traps. But it was hilarious how once he was knocked out by a swinging log and fell over from some marbles, a dunce cap fell down on his unconscious head! Truly comedic! And I also found out about how Pyrus here did the footwork for getting to the bottom of this..."

She actually tells it pretty quick rather than carrying on and on.

"Hmmmm... your name is familiar, though. Angel... Bard... Oh! You're the daughter of Billy and Velocity Bard!"

Angel nods. "Yep." Then looks at the others. "Although May has done a good job of telling me what you did today, I don't suppose you all would mind telling me about yourselves?" She glances at Meiou. "Including you, Meiou. I knew you from childhood to adulthood, but your mind has been wiped and influenced by all kinds of events I don't know yet..."

Along the way, Johnny saw Jamie appear to vanish in a flash of light, and then reappear the same way, with a tube in her hand.  He didn't ask what it was for, knowing that she'll reveal it.  Besides, he was busy being next to Angel.

---

Johnny knew that he already introduced himself to the group, so he recapped his latest caper.  "I spent a month or two personally entertaining a prince in his castle, with her mother who was a bit of a..." He glanced over to who he was talking about and thought better of relaying the freak that Queen was.  "Anyway, I caught wind of a general of the king's army staging a coup, and you know how Court Jesters are prone to say things that nobody else would have the balls to say.  It's part of the job, along with dressing in a silly costume, prancing around all zany and stuff and performing in the streets. I ended up blowing the coup scheme wide open.  The general got beheaded, and I got knighted.  Even got a new snazzy motley and some magic items to use in my act."

He then turned to Angel and placed his hand on her shoulder.  "When I heard that Angel here had a dream of having her own kingdom, I gladly offered my help."  He glanced over to see Angel's expression to his display, and then put that hand behind his head.  "I have to admit that I find myself smitten by her.  I'd love to be the Jester to Queen Angel Bard.  Of course, I have to deal with her parents."

When it was Jamie's turn to introduce herself, she said, "I've headed out to represent the Black Forest Coven as I traveled the lands seeking for answers.  There are some things missing in history that I have to find out what happened.  Some of which you've probably haven't thought about, so I'll keep what I'm looking for under my pointy hat for now.

Along the way, I help out whoever I am, such as this stray map I got here.  It's about a castle that nobody has claimed, which has some secrets that will allow someone to claim a whole kingdom for himself.  Or in this case, herself."

And with that, Jamie set the map on the table next to Angel.  There was a sound of something rattling in the case to boot.  "It's part of my coven's ways to give away any magical item, map, or someone else you don't need to someone who might.  Usually, I just drop them off at some mission house, but I think this might interest you, Angel.  Especially after you deal with my warlock's ... memory problems."

Jamie turned toward Meiou with a look of concern in her eyes.  She didn't count on him being amnesiac to boot.

The rabbit listened and just stayed quiet till there was a pause.
I woke up in a cave or temple i dont know which to Pip poking at me. Asking if I was ok. I couldn't exactly speak at the time. I just blinked. He took me out and back to his place. Overtime I quickly relearned how to do things again. From there it was training on theifing. I then started to do things for him." From there he explained a few of the things he did to give an idea with it leading up to Pip sending him in his place to Justin.

  Tark wasn't expecting the act of giving a thief a bag of gold to be this convoluted, but convoluted is often the case for a lot of things where melodramatic background events are involved.

  "It turns out that honest work is more dangerous to my family than jobs where you expect to get attacked by bandits or wildlife as a daily occurrence.  Go figure adventuring would lead to me having more time to worry about others than myself."

Apparently "teleport" is Jamie's answer.

Pyrus returns Angel's smile and answers, "Reach for the stars, my friend."

If Nathan were here, he'd burst into song.  ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ddHdO8jeZY )  ...and wind up with a craving for a tower of hamburgers.

Pyrus smiles in amusement from May's recounting of the story and chuckles during the funny parts.

"Angel Bard is it?  I hear your dad is quite the singer."

JB's story also makes him smile, and he offers an applause.

Pyrus raises an eyebrow at Jamie's offer.  "Sounds interesting.  What's this about Meiou being 'your warlock?'"

He nods to Meiou.  "Sounds like Pip will have the best clues on where to start."

Pyrus smiles at Tark and nods then answers Angel's question.  "I'm just a baby by dragon standards - only 26 years old.  It'll be over a millennium before I'm full grown.  Because my kind doesn't do the traditional family thing I'm on a quest of self-discovery of sorts.  So far, I've found I have some small talent for hunting down killers.  My primary fascination right now is learning history - especially that which deals with my race specifically.  How 'bout yourself?"
This message was last edited by the player at 17:46, Tue 14 Nov 2017.

Angel says, "Mom and Dad are retired adventurers, so I grew up not only on tales of their adventures, but also experiencing some of them. I've always been fond of making friends, socializing, and well.. marksmanship. But thanks to Mom and Dad, I have a bit of a head start on adventuring dos and don'ts." She looks at May. "How about you?"

May says, "I've been adventuring for a while now. I like weapons of all kinds and tend to collect them. I enjoy the thrill of battle, but I cannot abide being ignored by my enemies... so I've made it my practice to be nigh-impossible to escape from!" She grins her great-big alligator grin and says, "Behold!"

May unsheathes a short sword and places it on the table, but keeps her hand firmly on the handle. "Portal Wrecker. Or so I call her. This beauty keeps anyone I hit with it from being able to teleport. If there is one thing annoying to a team's tank, it's an enemy that teleports."*

May sheathes it and then holds up her hand to show a finger that has a ring on it that looks like the scales of justice bent into a circle. "I call this the Peekaboo Ring. No matter where my opponent goes, I know what distance and direction they are. So even on the off chance I didn't hit them with ol' Portal Wrecker, that won't stay that way for long."*

She lifts her foot to show the boot she is wearing. "Maldeen Greaves. I move faster towards enemies than I do towards anything else with these on."*

May puts her foot down. "And that's just the items devoted to aiding me in keeping enemies from running away or trying to go for one of my teammates instead of me."

Angel says with a smirk, "Well that just makes me look downright mundane. Then again, I did just set out on adventure less than a week ago."

May says, "Keep at adventuring and you'll come across all kinds of wondrous things like these. And even when you don't find them in dungeons and stuff, you can just buy them from the sheer pile of money you get from adventuring. You want a kingdom? Trust me, Angel, adventuring is the fast track to that."

---

*OOC: All of these are items in 4th edition, if under different names:
Feyslaughter Weapon (Lv 9. 4,200 gp)
Ring of Uncanny Judgement (Lv 13. 17,000 gp)
Greaves of Maldeen (Lv 12. 13,000 gp)

When asked about Meiou being Jamie's Warlock, she muses "I set up a bit of mental rapport with him, similar to a familiar, but I can have it go both ways.  I hope to teach him some magic to improve his skills."

JB just bows when he hears applause.  The kind of elaborate bow Angel is familiar to now.  Sometimes there's a shared border between JB the mouse and JB the court jester. "Oh, thank you, thank you, you're far too kind."

Jamie winces when she sees Portal Wrecker.  "And that sword's Cold Forged Metal on top of it.  I assure you, May, gals like me find Portal Wrecker just as annoying."

JB's ear closest to Angel twitches as she talks about her mundane items.  "Well, I have a special lyre as a gift.  It's another gift I got for performing.  I have a special Jester Costume that renders me neigh-invulnerable, but I might need something more normal in the armor and weapon department."  He glances over toward Angel.  "Can't go around as a jester all the time, and I don't want it to get cut or bloody."

Jamie's ears perked up when he said that.  "You know, maybe I could find something that you can use, something I'm not using anymore."

"I might look into what you're willing to part with, Jamie."  JB turns to Pyrus.  "I'm basically looking for a place I can call my own. If I can help Angel build her own kingdom and be a part of that, bonus."  He then looks at May.  "You might have to ask Angel about it, but maybe you can join us, May.  We have room for a tank."

---

OOC:  JB has a variant of a Carnaith Mandolin (5E Instrument of the Bards:  Can be used as an implement, charm spells cast by this imposes disadvantage on saves, can cast the following spells with this (1/each: Fly, Invisibility, Levitate, Protection from Evil and Good, Charm Person, Enthrall, Modify Memory))
He also has a Heward's Handy Haversack and Boots of Elvenkind.

The rabbit sat quietly until he heard cold forged metal. Something about that made him note to get a book on metals later or ask Jamie if she has one. Upon hearing JB mention equipment he pipes up "When we get back I suggest talking to Sassy if she's around. Seems to dabble in everything. Seems friendly enough. " He blushed quietly at the idea of this rabbitfolk female he had just met being a queen. why was this idea something he liked? she knew him but he didn't her right? This whole thing was abit confusing to him and they wanted to talk to Pip. He might talk to this Angel but he doubted he'd let Jamie or JB come round. Possibly the mouse if for nothing more to check this aura about him he had.

  Tark gets the feeling that if he ever had a magic weapon, it would be either the most outlandish swiss army weapon of all time.  Or the worlds most pathetic magical javelin.  The Half-Orc has visions of needing to chase down fleeing giants who would rather throw rocks than engage in melee combat despite having dice large enough to one-shot him.

  "Abandoned castles rumored to guarantee a prosperous people seem to be in shorter supply than ones that come with a free crown." Land deeds are easy, it's even on the trinket list.  Actual worth is the hard part.  "But it's certainly a faster start, so long as it's not one of those 'owner will show up once you start making progress' deals."
This message was last edited by the player at 10:21, Thu 16 Nov 2017.

"Very nice, May.  Any thoughts on how to go about restoring Meiou's memories?"

Pyrus smiles to Johnny.  "I would prefer a nice, cozy, active volcano.  But I won't knock living in a palace till I've tried it.

"Nice to see you and Jamie getting along without attacking each other, by the way."

He nods to Tark.  "I get the feeling that kingdom building of any sort will take a back seat to healing Meiou."

May strokes her chin. "Recovering memories... reminds me of this time I fought a githyanki gal who out of spite set of a psychic time bomb in her head to erase her own memories so she couldn't answer our questions. It was kinda sad watching her regress. She was talking like a child stuck in a woman's body and soon became empty." she shakes it off. "Sorry! Despite seeing something like that happen, I never did find a cure for lost memories. But I'll bet psychics would be the first people you would wanna talk to."

Angel frowns. "Even if we are never able to restore Meiou's memories, at the least, we can work out his freedom both from debt and from this... whatever it is that is causing Meiou headaches when confronted with trying to remember anything." She looks at JB. "Home is where the heart is. The location isn't as important as the people you keep company with. So the castle can wait until I've helped my friend Meiou. Once I have done what I can for him, then maybe we can worry about castles and stuff. But if your earlier statement is any indication, I'm sure you are excited to get to helping Meiou."

She looks at Meiou with a smile.

Angel looks at Tark. "....how do you know these things, Tark? You go about counting all the abandoned castle rumors or something?"
This message was last edited by the player at 07:59, Sat 18 Nov 2017.

Johnny just winces when May retells what the githyanki did....to herself!!

Fortunately, Angel keeps him from any other morbid thoughts.  "That's perfectly understandable, Milady.  I'll just take this map case Jamie so graciously gave us and keep it in my wagon, for safe keeping."  He then winks at the others.  "Right next to the rubber chicken and stilts."

"I second the priority, dearie," Jamie adds, "If for nothing more than to settle my worries about my Meiou's missing memories.  It'll also give me some time to see what else I can assist you with after this chore and you return to your main quest."

He shuddered at the mention of psychics looking to Angel
whom for some reason he blushed and squirmed upon seeing her.
" Ms.Angel i would prefer to stay away from the psychics if possible. "
listening to johnny he couldn't help but feel he didn't trust the map
from Jamie.

  "Even I have a deed to a castle, Angel.  Of course while I'm normally I'm pretty good with maps, I have no idea where it is. Hard to feel bad about that when everyone I've asked has been just as clueless. It's probably not very pleasant anyways, it's got skull in the name."

  He looks over to Johnny "That said, if whatever Jamie has in mind is even slightly approachable, I can probably pick out the area before you shove it in a drawer and forget about it because of who gave it to you."

  What's that? The reputed dragon likes hot places and the rabbit who has already had people dig through his brain wants to avoid increasing that frequency? Sounds reasonable.

OOC: My usual trinket of choice is the "Deed to land in a realm unknown to you" one, so it's not just Tark making reasonable assumptions about living in a fantasy setting.

  I expect Tark won't be finding Castle Grayskull anytime soon.

Pyrus' face skews in uncertainty when he hears May's story.  That's the sort of thing for the history books, but he's never read anything about a people who could erase their own memories.  But then, Meiou's predicament isn't something he's run into before either, so there is that.  In a morbid thought, Pyrus remembers that some clerics can recover the memories of the dead, so all they'd need do is kill Meiou, recover the memories, then revivify him.  Maybe psychics are a better option in spite of the guy's preferences.

"I'm sure there's got to be at least one psychic who can work their magic without any unpleasantness for the patient.  Would you recommend a reputable one to us, please, May?"

He's fully expecting her to tell a tale of a kindly mind-flayer she met at this point.  'He's a really nice guy!  Never mind when his tentacle face wriggles in excitement whenever he stares hungrily at your cranium.'

Angel looks at JB. "I look forward to your next act that involves your rubber chicken. And I'd like to learn how to use stilts if you are willing to teach me."

Angel smiles at Jamie for seconding the motion. Then nods in acknowledgement to Tark's answer. Angel is SO glad things are going smoother now. "Thanks again, Jamie." she looks back at Tark. "I'll be glad to help you find your castle eventually."

To Pyrus' question, May ponders. "Well I know Githyanki, Githzerai, Kalashtar and Shardminds tend to be psychicly gifted. But a specific individual? I'm sorry. Probably your best bet would be to track down a member of one of those races I listed and ask them? It has been my experience that the old saying 'birds of a feather flock together' is very true! Ask a psychic, and chances are you will learn of one who is painless, friendly, etc. But if you want to be prepared against psychic attacks during your search and make sure only someone you allow will be able to enter your head, I can teach that to you. Technique I learned from a Githzerai as a reward for saving his people."*

Angel says, "Sounds like a good start." she looks at Meiou. "Don't worry, Meiou... We'll look for other methods before resorting to psychics. But I see no reason to pass up free lessons on keeping our minds protected from further invasion."

---

*OOC: That is how I flavored May's "Closed Mind", which granted her resist 10 psychic and an interrupt power that let her add 2 to her will. For the purposes of this game, since this is freeform, May can teach you all how to shore up your minds so that psychics can not enter your mind without your permission. But that is only for whoever takes her up on it.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:48, Sat 25 Nov 2017.

In reply to Angel Bard (msg # 304):

Johnny raises an eyebrow when she heard Angel talk about using the stilts.  Why would she want to use them, he wondered.  Maybe to get a higher vantage point or something.

Then he heard Jamie say something to herself that made him cringe: "Maybe I should just bring Meiou to my mother, she's one of the few people I'd allow to get in my..."

"Not now, Jamie," Johnny said, tilting his head up to see Jamie behind him.

"Well, she is a psychic and a pretty good one."

"Doesn't she have the Psychic Itch, though."

"She's not that bad."

Well whovever this Angel girl was she was already winning him over with the no psychics until needed thing. He didnt know anything about Jamies mother but hearing she was psychic made him rather nervous especially so hearing Jamie wanting to take him to her. Times like this he wished he could just hide in the bracelet.

  It always seems more common to hear about people using psychic powers to blow stuff up or abuse people's minds, while actual beneficial effect hardly make it into any stories.  Sure there's people trying to make their stories sound dramatic, but you hear talk about wizards creating food for the starving as often as you hear them bragging about killing with a word.

  Which the real reason May offering to teach Meiou psychic tricks is so surprising.  At least to Tark.

  He leans over and whispers to Pyrus for advice on phrasing.

OOC:  Clearly Angel wants the stilts so she can practice looking down on the common folk, Duh.  She's too short to practice that without standing on a table otherwise.

Pyrus isn't going to openly admit to his love of chewing on things like rubber chickens openly.  He smiles at May.

"Why thank you!  I'll be happy to take you up on that offer!"

Pyrus would figure "psychic itch" to be meaningless in a world where you must sneeze when someone mentions you in conversation.  Except the dialogue suggests that it's not.  So his curiosity is piqued.  Coupled with Tark's urging, he can't help but ask.

"Please let the rest of us in on this secret, Jamie.  What is 'psychic itch?'  Why would your mom's gift be compared to it?"
This message was last edited by the player at 00:53, Sun 26 Nov 2017.

Angel and May wait to hear Jamie's answer. May already knows the answer, but figures it would be rude to answer for Jamie when Jamie was the one asked. Angel doesn't know much about psychics, let alone what a "psychic itch" is.

In reply to Angel Bard (msg # 309):

"Well," Jamie said, putting a finger to her chin. "_{How do I explain obsessive-compulsive disorder in RPG Terms,} oh, I know.  Ever had your thoughts go fast in your head that it makes you think you're going insane?  Sometimes the only way to shut them up is to do something like wash your hands or touch something x number of times, or rearrange your book collection for the fifth time today?  It's the mental equivalent of the proverbial Itch you just can't scratch.  Hence the name."

"There's a lot of psychics who have that in some degree or another.  My mom's got it bad, but not bad enough to keep her from raising me well enough.  Keeps her on the outskirts of town with drum-loads of her homemade anti-anxiety tonic."  She nods.  "One of the many brews she taught me."

---

OOC:  For the Record, Jamie's mother, Silverskin Wintertouch, has a bit of Adrian Monk in her, although with her quiet homelife (even as she's raising Jamie,) away from any large cities keeps her from flying off the handle. (a la a more infamous case of OSD, Christina Crawford. Silverskin never did raise a hand on her protege.) Fortunately, Jamie knew enough about OCD to know how to live with her.)

It was at this point he wanted to run. Just hearing that her mother had OCD and was psychic did not click well in his head. He was just noping out in his head almost shooting anyone who was looking a pleading look of keep her away from me!

  Tark nods to Jamie  "That in itself is hardly unheard of. Madness is everywhere with causes ranging from possession, disease, spells, skull exploding eggs, poorly defined dark forces, and more."  He sighs.  "So it's little wonder the more mundane ailments go overlooked so often by comparison."

  He tries (poorly) to comfort Meiou.  "I'm PRETTY sure something only embarrassing at worst would happen to you due to Jamie's mother Meiou. Though I'm hardly going to fault you for not expecting a psychic with their own mental problems to handle yours."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:29, Wed 29 Nov 2017.

Pyrus ohs.  Was not aware that being a fussbudget was common among psychics.  Gold dragons, absolutely.  Psychics he would imagine would have different problems than that.  ( https://new3.fjcdn.com/picture...e_197071_3489876.jpg )

"I find my thoughts to be at the right speed most times, so I can't say I've ever had that problem.  Though it's pretty clear Meiou isn't confident in a mental surgeon with thought speed problems probing about in his head.  So let's prioritize avenues that we know are stable.  Like May's lessons."

Angel gives Meiou a concerned look. She gets up out of her chair and goes to put a hand on his shoulder. "I can't imagine how frustrating this is for you. But even though you don't remember me, I hope I will earn your trust again."

May says, "Well whenever you all are ready for the lessons, I'll show you in whatever room you guys are staying the night in."

Angel says, "That brings up an important point... where are you guys sleeping?"

"Sure thing, Meiou," Johnny adds as he leans over Angel's shoulder. "After all, she gained my trust pretty easily."

He waited for Angel to say something about him literally falling before her feet at first sight while pushing him away, for the third time so far, but instead, she talked about where everyone's sleeping tonight.

He looked around wondering if there'll be a spare room for Angel...and himself if he can manage.  Granted, he'll sleep anywhere, but he's with traveling companions that aren't as prone to crash at the back of a jester's colorful wagon like he is.