Aww, you guys are the best :) Also, Nym might have mechanically sorted out how to one way or another have a familiar mechanically how she wanted one, but getting it to her IC seems to have been a whole different problem! :p


Many gave a few more goes to keeping his balance while spinning and lifting himself, but then stopped and relaxed with a "hew!" sound, enjoying bouncing in Nymn's hands, letting his eyestalks bounce around too and keep his balance. The eyestalks hem seemed to do a little dance, as if in victory of the beholders successful efforts so far to move around without the help of its shell.

When Meri spoke, Many looked around at her words. If he understood the full import of them, he didn't seem annoyed at being potentially supplanted for Nym's attentions. Instead, the little beholder bounced off of Nym's hands, and with many a wobble rushed across to Meri's legs.

It tilted back, almost capsizing itself, eyestalks flailing for a moment but righting themselves, as it looked up with its big eye to Meri.

"Nyeh! Nyeh!" it said excitedly, rocking forwards and then looking looking back  expectantly over to Nym. "Nah-nah feh! Mah feh!" [Private to Nym: He might be saying 'Another friend, more friend.' :)]


The Shadow seemed to smile, though expression and features were more like impressions of the blank-yet-not-blank face. He nodded towards Meri. "Thank you," he said simple. He then looked over to Nym. "Wish granted."

He lifted himself up, and walked across to the confused Nym. He seemed to have grown slightly taller again, growing taller still as he moved over to stand beside Nym. He actually had to kneel to be level with her once more. [Secret to Meri: When he spoke, it seemed to be in a language that Meri could not understand - nor Many, it appeared, for the beholder looked to Meri hopeful but confused at what was happening. The only word that seemed even vaguely understandable was something that might have been 'Nymmerannemallar'.]

[Secret to Nym: "Nymmerannemallar," The Shadow said, looking directly at Nym. It was very easy to imagine compassionate eyes in that face. "It is the tragedy of those who walk the path of magic. To understand it, to understand my essence, is a personal journey for each one. Mages may form schools of study and pool their information, yet there is a reason one mage cannot instantly read another's spellbook. Every mage learns alone, the association are theirs alone. Every wizard in every school, ultimately, will reach a point where they realise no one truly understands the path they have taken. Every other wizard may appreciate and empathise, may have similar stories, but there will always be a point where the most precious thoughts are the one no one else can understand. Perhaps if it were not so, mages would not seek greater and greater power alone, knowing no other can truly help them. And yet that is the cost of magic."
]
The Shadow leaned closer, pulling something from its finger. It seemed to be a tiny circular swirl of shadow, a part of itself. [Secret to Meri: It then kept speaking. ][Secret to Nym: "Still, there is a reason wizards gain familiars. There is a reason Meri build a helper that does not help, that seems innocent yet understands her perfectly. Many mages come to develop the ability to speak to the very magic they are shaping, that is a part of them. Speak to the only being thing in this multiverse that could truly know what it is feeling and doing, because it is their companion on this path." The Shadow help up the tiny seed. "The saddest thing is that you are so much a part of the magic, it is bound so tightly to you, that I do not know if you would ever be able to separate it from yourself to speak to it. It is as if the joy of magic is a sun before you eyes, and the magic the shadow formed behind you. The brighter the joy burns, the easier it is to see, the less reason you ever have to look elsewhere. The closest the magic gets to speaking with you is the moment you casts it in to the world. Perhaps you have felt the pangs of something, when all is quiet? It is the loneliness of the magic. Yet if you take this seed, whether you concentrate on it or not, at some point the magic will be able to wrap around this and give itself a form. You will have something that understands you perfectly, for it has been with you your whole life. And in turn you can give it your understanding, your companionship. As long as you live, it can never die. Keep magic alive, give it form so it can grow and thus you can. There is so much in this world you can show each other, yet you may never have discovered it otherwise without someone else's view. Someone who truly understands you..."]
[Secret to Nym:
Anyway, there you go, it's a little focus. You can either have Nym actively try to manifest a companion by concentrating on the little shadow seed thingie, or have it just spontaneously have Nym's magic wrap around it at some point when she casts a large spells, is asleep, etc. And of course The Shadow termed it 'hey Nym, the magic in you...it's probably really lonely. Maybe you can speak to it. You know, cuase I bet that sad lonely feeling you feel was...the...magic...

I actually had a something else The Shadow was gunna say, but, you know, if you suspected The Shadow might one day not be a friend, it would have seemed really evil...]
This message was last edited by the player at 19:03, Tue 01 Sept 2015.

Before I make a full post on this...I can either have Nym actively...what? I think one of your sentences it trying to escape ;).

Also, I really hope that the Shadow didn't deliberately create Many just to keep an eye on us (as it were), and to zap us later on if it seems like we're gonna try and stop him (from whatever the hell it is he's gonna end up trying to do) or otherwise turn out bad :(.

Definitely Genre Savvy there? ;)
Just remember, Meri called it already with her "The Ball is evil and leading us into a trap" thoughts!

Also, I think I got something that got cut off too...
This message was last edited by the player at 18:14, Tue 01 Sept 2015.

Ah, yeah, I just moved on to the next sentence for no good reason. Well, the reason is usually spotting a spelling mistake or doing something earlier then coming back.

Anyway, so I've added the sentence back in. And don't worry about Many, DM's honour he was created by you and Meri's magic, just kicked and twisted by the portal opening, nothing explicitly created by The Shadow. And the choices you've made have already ensured that he's with you, rather than something that appears later as a potential enemy :)

Well, I mean maybe you might have some choices down the line that influences stuff, but pretty much not kicking it out and actually holiding on to The Ball until now were the big ones :)

Hmm, Meri, your posts might be truncated a little bit more than Nym's because of reasons :) If there's a sentence that has actually just stopped weirdly, PM me it, I can't see anything.

I did change a 'now' to 'nor'

Wow, so Meri could've scared the Ball away permanently or something, by being too mean to it? Booo, shame on Meri :(. Still, turned out he was resilient enough to take a few zaps and grumpy words so yay for that. And one day he can get his own back by zapping her and nerfing her magic (at least temporarily :D.

Nym stares up with wide eyes, possibly in awe of the Shadow's returned size, or at his description of the ability he's giving her, or maybe just at something else. She holds out her hand for the shadow-seed.

"So..." she says slowly as though working her way through something incredibly complicated. "If I carry this...um...black shadow blob with me, then at some point it'll be...um...it'll get affected...like other stuff does, like how my shoes are always the right shape for my feet, and my clothes don't fall off or get all torn when I get bigger or smaller...and then I'll have a little friend like Meri has Timur?"

She looks up at the Shadow as though for confirmation that she's got this right, then blinks, looks slightly guilty, and glances quickly over at Many.

"Another little friend, I mean." she hastily adds. "Two little magical friends!"

She claps her hands together like a child who's been given a wonderful new toy.

"That sounds like so much fun!"

OOC: Well Meri thought it was evil and leading them into a trap :(  And she thought it was just a chunk of metal...  I mean it WAS just a chunk of metal before...  Wasn't it?  *is confuzzled*


Meri reached out tentatively towards Many, lightly touching the top of the spherical body, between the eye stalks.  Her movements seemed uncertain, as if confirming for herself that the creature was real, and not some odd hallucination.
Then she cupped her hand in front of it, inviting it to climb on.

She looked up at the Shadow, watching it carefully...


OOC: Yay, you got a...  Little ball of wibbly-wobbly weirdy-shadowy...  Stuff!  :)

Indeed, The Ball was pretty oblivious to Meri's anger and shooting at it, and probably just took it as signs of affection :p

The way to have lost The Ball was if Meri had actively spoken to the shaman earlier and actually offered the ball back to it thinking it was a trick, or if The Ball had been discovered by the shaman otherwise (because Meri had highlighted it when speaking to him earlier).

And yes, The Ball was just a ball to start with ... magic is a scary thing!

"Precisely," says The Shadow[Secret to Nym: .][Secret to Meri: , understandable again.]

Many's eyestalks parted away from Meri's hand, looking it up and down. Oddly, the skin between its eye stalks - that wasn't also a few eyes that clearly needed to grow to full eye stalk size - was actually quite warn and soft, the scales seemed flexible for the moment, having not truly toughened up to armour the little beholder yet. Many may have made a sound that was a giggle.

Many then happily if clumsily hovered on to Meri's hand. It took a moment to actually settle on her hand, making little panting noises as it recovered its strength. Then it screwed up its eyes and managed to float once more.

Its eyes then look across to Nym, clearly still interested in the little chaos seed and not noticing Nym's slip up. "Tyeh! Tyeh!" Many says happily. Then looks back to Meri, or more likely her backpack. "T...reh?"

You now have Three friends for Team Sidekick! *sniff* if...if only The Dog could have seen this *cries and runs out of the room* *comes back to hit 'post'*

The Shadow then looks to Meri. "And so you are free of the attention of ... anything, really. I must leave here soon. However, it there is any other way I can help, and information I can share, please ask it of me."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:16, Tue 01 Sept 2015.

Nym is absorbed in closely inspecting the shadow-seed, but glances up at Many's words.

"I think he wants to meet Timur." she says, then returns to looking at the seed, feeling its surface, lightly squeezing it, poking it, and generally giving it a thorough curious examination.

[Private to GM: Do I get to decide when it turns into a familiar or will you tell me/describe it happening when it does?]

OOC: Is it just me, or is Nym the only one who can translate Many's attempts at speech? :)
Keeps reminding me of an extreme version of the "Ermagherd" meme!


Meri raised her hand to examine the small beholder closer.
A hint of something that might have been a smile crossed her face as she looked at it.

Timur peered back at Many as it looked in his direction.  Hesitantly, one of his arms raised in a waving motion, clearly uncertain.

At the Shadow's question, Meri looked back at him.
"Was that also affected by the magic that changed the other things?" she asked, pointing with the hand not holding Many towards the top-right alcove where the Shaman's staff was.


OOC: Assuming The Stick is still there...
This message was last edited by the player at 20:24, Tue 01 Sept 2015.

Lol, I think it's sometimes a mixture of luck, guessing wrongly and Many going with it, and of course occasional Passive Insight help :D The saddest mis-translation is when Many was saying effectively 'yes' and Nym's like 'forever and ever?' and we were all 'aww, poor Nym' and Many was like 'ooh, cool new words'

[Private to Nym: And you get to decide when the familiar explodes in to life and what form it takes. You may notice a new addition to The Cast (hehe) that you may be able to post as... let me know a name if you want a name added before you post as it. Otherwise your call, I leave it creatively in your hands how it all happens. You got a wish, after all! It gets to happen how you want it :)]

Two of Many's eyestalks imitated the wave, whilst Many said "Teh-meh!" then settled back down on to Meri's other hand facing Timur and Meri, occasionally blinking. It seemed happy enough to rest for the moment. It had, after all, been a big day. If it was still the same day, time had lost all meaning, and it seemed a long time since entering this place.

The Shadow looked around towards the alcove where The Stick was. "Ah, yes, he was," says The Shadow of The Stick. "Unfortunately he picked the wrong time entirely to annoy a hamadryad. Perhaps the effect was more than she intended, but clearly she felt it was no less than he deserved, and allowed it to stand. She possibly did not realise the effect would be permanent, because of the added twist of the portal's interference at the time she cast her spell. How he managed to communicate well enough to get anyone to take him here, I do not know. I doubt he managed to get here unaided. What he did that was so terrible that coming this way rather than pursuing the hamadryad seemed a better option I would not say. And sadly those he came here with would not have survived the guardians of this place. Why Krunluc took The Stick as a trophy, only the orc himself could say."

There was a small, wooden 'tink' sound. The Stick had fallen over, despite the lack of air or movement. It then, with great obviousness, and awkwardness, rolled uneavenly twice to the very corner of the alcove it was in, as if trying to make itself invisible against the wall.

Edit: Wow, didn't have Many say anything to Timur, thought I had. Corrected!
This message was last edited by the player at 21:07, Tue 01 Sept 2015.

[Private to GM: Cool, I'll have it happen at some point when it feels good then :). Also, I notice I now have the future familiar added as a second character - cool, dunno when I'll specifically post under that name (as opposed to just having the familiar act in Nym's posts) but it's handy to have anyway :)]

On noticing everyone's attention seems to be on something new, Nym looks around, trying to see what it is everyone is looking at.

"What is it?" she asks, curiously. "A magic stick? You mean like a staff?"

She looks at Meri.

"But we've already got one each. Are you getting a few one? Isn't the one you've got good enough? I like the zappy crystal thingys."

She looks back over toward whichever alcove it is contains the mysterious "Stick".

"Is it another magic-friend?" she asks. "You made it sound like it's alive or something."

She looks back at Meri again.

"Did you find it when you were...erm...doing...whatever it was...in all those little...side-thingys, in the room...with the weird cup and the dirty wall and all that?"

Meri got to her feet, carefully placing Many down next to her backpack and Timur.

"It seems to be the staff the Shaman used, but it was once a person.  Changed by the same surge in magic that altered everything else."
As she spoke, she moved over to the alcove and looked down at the Stick for a moment before reaching down to pick it up.

"Can it be changed back?" she asked, looking towards the Shadow.

The Shadow considered The Stick for a moment. "A Wish could set him free, if you would use your second and last upon him. And the hamadryad that cast a spell upon him could undo the change by undoing the original spell. It feels as if the magic of her spell was augmented as well shifted, strengthened by the power of the forest she served. You may find another mage hard pressed to match the power that was unleashed, even if they could find the original spell that needs to be countered."

The Shadow then gestured to the feathers and leaves that were still sticking out from the corner of the alcove, the topping of The Staff. "The shaman only used the staff as a trophy when he found it. His implement was the totem placed upon the top of the staff. A reasonably powerful one, as these things are. You may find the hamadryad ameniable to trading the totem to undo what she did. It would, of course, depend upon the reason she was casting the spell in the first place..."

Nym looks at the Stick with curiosity, absently stowing the shadow-seed into a random inner pocket of her robes.

"Hello Mr Stick." she says to it. "So you're not really a stick? What are you, then? A miney-tore? Or maybe one of those lizardy-kobbles? Or an elf? You'd better be careful if you're an elf - Meri wont like you just because you're an elf. Or are you something else, like maybe...umm, well, I suppose I could keep guessing forever but it doesn't seem like you can talk. Can you move? Can you maybe...point the way to the hammy-dried who turned you into a stick? I mean, if you even know the way. Um. Maybe we can find it for you? And then get you changed back, or something?"

Meri examined the Stick closely for a moment before replying.
"Do you know where we can find the Hamadryad then?  And do you know what it was he did?"


OOC: Yay, another quest :)  (Sort of!)

Lol, a quest indeed. Another animated object dragging you around it seems! :p


As Nym got closer she could see that the staff was odd. Whilst the centre of it was a normal if plain staff like any other, the base of it was knobbly and strange. If one wanted to squint at it, one could imagine an ugly, lumpy and crude representation of a squat humanoid body, lumps for feet, bumps for legs, and lumps for hands on squat arms.

That would, of course, make the rest of the staff a very, very elongated neck. This would see a foolish idea, if there wasn't something facelike in the very top of the staff, in between the mass of twigs, feathers, bones, leaves and string that had been tied together at the top of the staff. It seemed, again, that if one squinted, one could imagine vaguely spotting an eye or nose beyond the mass at the top of the staff, though that would mean the head was leaning back screaming and the totem had been stuffed in to the mouth.

The Stick did not speak, but it did start to shuffle, awkwardly moving back as far as it could go as if to avoid being seen.


Meanwhile, The Shadow looked to Meri with a smile. "From down here, at this time, in this place, I can see the past and future radiating dimly from those touched by or swimming in the tides of magic. I could not tell you the hamadryad this poor man encountered until she was close, but I can feel the direction - south of here. More like south east. I daresay some of the elder forests still hold shrines of the fey, shrines a hamadryad may honour and tend. What the man did, I do not know. That means he did not manage to do it. Or perhaps did nothing wrong. What he meant to do, unfortunately, is such a large pool of possibilities radiating from him I could not begin to start and hope to finish whilst you still lived. I am still reacquainting myself to mortals. Your cores are the same, but your thoughts have new patterns, I need to adjust to know the probably from the merely possible. Once I leave here I will be able to connect with you all once more, but by that time... not a true help to you."

The Shadow seemed to radiate sadness. "Indeed, once I leave, I am not sure we will ever meet again. Such a shame. Such an anticlimax. That is the way of change, and of mortals. Somethng larges happens in such a small way, the stone that cast the ripple gone long before the ripple gains enough time to bounce and create more and more ripples to great a wave in history."


The Shadow drew himself up, and seemed to be taking one last look around the hall.


Meanwhile, Many did not seem to notice, having fun waving eyestalks at Timur and quietly saying "Teh-meh! Teh-meh! Feh? Teh-meh-feh?"
This message was last edited by the player at 21:27, Sun 04 Oct 2015.

"Oh dear..." mutters Nym, looking at the staff. "Well, that doesn't seem like much fun."

She starts to reach for it, but then looks around as the Shadow speaks.

"South?" She looks back at Meri. "That's not where we came from, is it? Can we go back and see Crass and everyone first? We can tell them about all this place..."

She gestures to indicate their general surroundings.

"And we can see if Tym's still being grumpy and all that. Hopefully Crass is all happy and making lots of yummy food."

She makes some "num-num"-type noises, then looks over at where Many is "waving" at Timur.

"Hey, Timmy." she says to the homunculus. "I think he's asking if you're his friend."

Meri glanced towards the Shadow and then to Nym.
For a moment, she looked impatient at the delay that returning to Stonebridge would likely cause.  But then her gaze softened noticeably.
"Why not?  Might be a good place to rest up for a while.  And maybe they know something of the forest in question, like whether it's safe to just walk in there.  We don't want to end up like this guy."
She gestured towards the Stick at the last part, then reached down to pick it up...


OOC: Hoping he doesn't bite...  Probably can't anyway with that totem stuck in his mouth...

Timur stared at the tiny Beholder for a moment, then looked over to Nym, tilting his head to one side in a curious gesture that Meri had been known to use occasionally when encountering some interesting example of magical technology.

Clambering out of the backpack, he sat down in front of Many and reached out hesitantly to it, the way Meri had before...

Many plopped down on the the ground, the shimmied closer to the tiny homunculus, whilst the little beholder's eyestalks moved around to get a better look at Timur from other angles. "Me-ah! Me-ah mah!" murmered Many indistinctly.

Lol, anyone want to guess? :D


Meanwhile, The Shadow stretched up as if to touch the ceiling, and suddenly he did. His form was as great as it had been when he had emerged from the portal.

"You should share what has occurred here, for you have done a good thing this day. You have stopped a catastrophe from occurring, and a villain in the making from losing himself to The Dark. Even if only a few still inhabit the region above, they have become the guardians of it. Whilst you, Meri, hold the clear stone, you lock the magic of this place. Still, reality has worn thin, and great things are buried here. And darker shadows than mine can be cast here. It is best others know to safeguard this, generation to generation." A frown passed across the face of The Shadow. "Perhaps those of faith should not be amongst those told."

The Shadow then looked upwards. "Good luck in all that you do. I do hope you see the tiniest part of what you have allowed to begin this day. Mortal lives are so sadly short, but the effects of those lives can echo in to the millennia."

The Shadow then looked down at them both. "I will try to keep track of you. My help may be subtle, but I daresay it shall always be there when you need it. I feel I can do no less."

The Shadow looked fondly to the homonculus and the tiny beholder, then turned to Nym. [Secret to Meri: He said something to her in that strange language again. ][Secret to Nym: "I hope you see the fruit of Meri's wish for you one day. And never forget, I am still in your debt." A small bow from the tall figure.]

The Shadow then turned to Meri. [Secret to Nym: He seemed to speak in a crude language, it felt sounded like the Goblin language from earlier. ][Secret to Meri: "Keep them all safe," he said meaningfully. "You alone best know what lurks in The Dark."]

And then, in a blink of an eye, the figure was gone. And with that, the strangeness of the day was at an end, the last few hours could become merely a strange dream for the companions.


And he was never seen again, and everything was right with the world :)

The Stick made one last unsubtle attempt to subtly shift out of the way, and then stopped, radiating nothing but innocence.

The Stick felt no different to any other, perhaps a little warmer to the touch, when she picked it up. Given that there was the hint of Elvishness at some of the features of the face, it felt oddly satisfying to grasp The Stick and effectively strangle it.

And surely it was merely clumsiness and not taking in to account the odd knobbly base of the stick, and getting it caught at the corner of the alcove, that caused The Stick to jerk and almost hit Meri in the head. And nothing to do with her comment regarding ending up like The Stick...


Lol, this 'guide' might have a ... different... personality to The Ball. Who knows!

[Private to GM: I'm going to guess at "Metal! Metal man!".]

Nym blinks as the shadow-creature rises tall and then suddenly isn't there any more. She looks around as though expecting him to reappear, then shrugs.

"Well, that was weird." she says to no-one in particular. She looks over at the Stick. "Hey, Mr Stick." she says. "Do you want us to take that bundle of...whatever...out of your mouth? It doesn't look very comfortable."

Meri moved back out of the alcove, heading back towards where she had left her backpack and staff.
She was holding the Stick at arm's length for most of the way, but looking up at where the Shadow had been before he disappeared.

"I alone best know what lurks in the Dark" she murmured quietly, thinking over the Shadow's last words to her.

She glanced towards Nym at her comment, then back at the Stick.
"Hmm, maybe.  I suppose he can't talk like this anyway."
Reaching for the totem wedged in the Stick's mouth, she tried to pull it out, being careful not to damage it in the process...


OOC: Hope he doesn't bite either!  :)

[Private to Nym: Lol, you would be right with metal man :)]

The bundle is firmly wedged, and takes a decent pull to remove, but does come free. The carved face revealed is certainly a male elf - the mouth is open enough that the totem probably caught on the carved teeth.

The totem itself seemed to have a familiar shape buried deep in the mess of leaves, bones, feathers and twine - perhaps a raven or bat shape. Despite the haphazard arrangement of everything on the face of it, it seemed far more complex and deliberate when looking closely at it. There was a power coming off it that the two magically sensitive companions could feel, and it seemed very solid in its construction.

The Stick jerked briefly in Meri's hands, a small nod of the tip forwards, dipping the chin forwards. Perhaps it was bowing in thanks? Perhaps it was just trying to knock the totem from Meri's hand, as if to smash the thing that had tormented it. Who knew with an otherwise uncommunicative stick.


You have a shiny.But one I deliberately made sure wasn't directly useful to you. At level 6 Meri could boild it down for some magical incredients, but right now it's probably useful to trade as The Shadow suggested, or maybe get rid of / sell some other way.

Though the rule of higher level magical items is always - they start to basically cost more than a city's whole worth. You might not find a seller anywhere closeby that can give you anything close to its worth.

Oh, also a stick....never forget the hard to communicate with stick :p