Suddenly another spaceship approaches from beneath them, stopping about 500 meters away and a beam of green light encircles the group of 4, freezing them all in place and pulling them into a bay door with people standing just inside. The beam splits into 5 parts, separating the members of the group and holds them a few feet off the floor.

Bozon recognizes the man standing with his arms crossed as the Pirate King. "Well well well, I went fishing for 3 guppies and I picked up 5 fish instead! What luck! Captain, do you have two extra holding pens for these other two?"

A sharply dressed man all in black responds, "Of course, Tom! Lieutenant Warph, if you please?"

A man with an oddly shaped head presses a button and two open faced tubes descend from holes in the ceiling, setting down next to 3 other identical ones already on the ground. Each member of the group of 5 is placed in one of the tubes and the green immobilizing light switches from an external source to one within the tube.

Tom the Pirate King stands in front of Bozon and says, "You didn't think I'd let my favourite toy ever leave that easily, did you? You made me laugh harder and longer than I ever thought possible! But alas, someone wealthier than I had a standing request for the best entertainment, and I do believe you will qualify! You should be proud, boy, you're going to make me richer than I ever imagined! I sent a photocube video of your performance, and you've been purchased for the handsome sum of $13 quadrillion! I could break the economy of the whole multiverse! Captain, take us to home port."

"Of course. Navigation?"

A group of 13 robes figures with human skull mounted staves touch the tips of their staves together and the ship is suddenly sitting on the surface of some planet. A forest is visible outside of the dock. Tom holds his hand out, and one of the black robed mages hands him a small bag. He extracts a marble sized Magem crystal and looks at it through a lens, whistling. He salutes the Captain and begins to walk out of the room.

The light in Bozon's tube turns blue and Bozon can suddenly move.

OOC: the blue light will prevent the use of any magics, and will stay with Bozon wherever he goes (for now).
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:09, Sat 29 Feb 2020.

OOC: I'd mis-read originally and hadn't realized that Auricle and Djordan are with us as well. Whoops.

This sudden change of situation was disorienting. Magics like none he knew of by story or by experience were going on here. A light that paralyzed, yes, but being found by another ship so quickly, no. Unless it was as he'd thought a few moments ago, a planned-out scenario for the tourists. Hmm. That seemed more likely than Tom just happening across them so serendipitously.

Frozen in place, all he could do was watch, listen, and think until the light changed color and let him move.

Still full of helium, he started to drift upward with the gloves and boots neutralized. Hands pressed against the clear tube like a mime with an invisible wall, but unwittingly pushed himself away from that side in doing so. Remembering floating back in the hotel room, Bozon tried to brace his feet against one side of the tube and hands against the other.

Short post to clarify

more like these tubes, where when the light changes to blue, gravity kicks in
edit: and you can leave the tube, but the light will follow. To be clear, the Captain is giving you the chance to kill Tom. The Captain has no love for Tom whatsoever. Also, a pale man in a tye dyed suit, carrying a staff with multicoloured gems appears next to the Captain for a moment, floats up to the Captain's ear and whispers something darting his eyes at Bozon and his carpet bag from time to time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1jLo3y9HWI
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:10, Sat 29 Feb 2020.

In reply to Narrator (msg # 83):

OOC: Helium works by density, not by gravity. Since I was floating in normal air and normal gravity previously... it stands to reason the same physics would apply here?

Yes, just trying to clarify mainly that you can leave the tube.

Bozon thought that the fellow who spoke to the Captain looked familiar. Hadn't he been aboard their ship? He thought so. Hmm.

He caught the glances his way, and noticed the slight difference in angle as if more than one thing was being looked at. Letting go of the glass (or plastic), he floated up, trying to get out of the tube, keeping an eye on those darting eyes without being too obvious about it. Trying to figure out what was going on.

And, unaware of the magic-inhibiting effect of the blue light, he mentally reached for his Bounty of the Hidden Arts cantrip, thinking that tossing a pie at Tom's retreating person might be a suitable retort for his behavior. After all, it had grown enormously thrown at Mr. Stick, and if he shoved as much mana as he could manage into the spell maybe it would make an impression.

And he was right, too.
The little man disappears. Bozon is fairly certain that he's a Leprechaun.

The cantrip doesn't work, but Bozon does feel that he was drained a little from the effort. The Captain laughs. "Come, you're to be escorted to his highness. I think it's time for you to meet the King, and for us to return to work... Guards, escort the prisoners to their new master."

A group of 5 women of varying body types dressed in yellow jumpsuits with wicked katanas at their sides suddenly emerge out of the flat shadows into the room. They snapped their fingers and green lights from the holding cells all attached to rings on their fingers. The guards placed each floating prisoner in front of them as they went out into a lush garden. The moment they exited the ship, the women began growing in height until they ranged from the shortest guard at 8' to the tallest at 25'. They travelled for a time that seemed like a million years but was over in a moment, and entered into a massive sapphire castle built to accommodate people of up to 130' in height. There was a massive throne at the opposite end of the castle beyond a few walls. On the throne sat a ninety foot tall ancient Sangwen Djin, with a great frown on his face. Behind the throne was a pile of metal boulders, crystals, weapons and mana stones.

The group was lead into the presence of this great lord of darkness who adorned himself with chords of skulls of sentient peoples encircling his neck and draping down to his navel. The beast spoke in a booming voice that was never too loud but always foremost, "So, I hear you are entertainer. I have been bored for nearly 130,000 years. Make me laugh and you will all go free. You are a diversion for me."

The guard escorting Bozon turns off the light from her ring completely.

EDIT: There are all sorts of courtesans, of all heights and shapes. Some were even translucent. The amount of power that each person exuded reminded King Hergot of the most regal people he had ever met.

EDIT2: A few things I need to understand.
What would happen to Hergot if Bozon is popped?
Can Bozon perform a cantrip that would use up all his mana and kill him?
What happens if Bozon breaks his promise not to speak - is it even possible on his own, or would it require outside influence?
Do you need more information before you respond?
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:33, Mon 02 Mar 2020.

In reply to Narrator (msg # 87):

OOC Replies:

quote:

What would happen to Hergot if Bozon is popped?

It would be extremely unpleasant for him, pain-wise, but there is around a 48 to 72 hour window after you're popped during which the apprentice can be rescued to avoid really dying (with the lone exception of his popping being used to fuel someone elses' spell which could consume his soul to provide the needed power). If put back together in time, he'll be weak and disoriented for a while, recovering from that normally. But he'll have to (for medical and spiritual health reasons) stay the balloon buffoon for many extra months/years afterwards, with his taboos tied more closely to his health than before (thus, breaking a taboo delays or complicates healing for someone recovering from being burst).

And, as stated in his background, Hergot is completely unaware that such a rescue is possible, operating under the mistaken belief that everyone he popped really died at his hands when the reverse is true and none of his victims permanently perished from what he did.

quote:

Can Bozon perform a cantrip that would use up all his mana and kill him?

He could certainly use up all of his mana, but that's not fatal to him. Total mana loss (dissipating it but not preventing building up more) is a common result of taboo-breaking, and as such a teaching tool for apprentices in training to stay within the rules and restrictions of their Brotherhood or Temple.

quote:

What happens if Bozon breaks his promise not to speak - is it even possible on his own, or would it require outside influence?

That's not just a promise. It's a physical limitation built into his altered/enchanted state. So, not possible on his own; he can only speak in the limited set of words programmed into him. Of which his name "Bozon" is the only one that won't expend mana to say. It's quite possible for someone whose magic is from another kind to make it possible for him to speak, but I daresay that Hergot wouldn't take kindly to that being done to him without a lot of thought and consideration beforehand.

quote:

Do you need more information before you respond?

Unsure. It's more of writer's sphere at my end, complicated by offline life.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:03, Wed 04 Mar 2020.

Before Bozon begins, a man wearing various artifacts and dressed largely in black is escorted into the room by a black winged man. The black winged man raises his voice to be heard, "Greetings, most excellent one. This is Lugosi, the human responsible for the destruction of Gamma."

The Djin on the throne responded, "Thank you, Agarator. Lugosi, I believe my master would like to speak with you." He smirks and looks upward as he sing-songly says, "Ooooh Portal Waif, come hither..."

The Leprechaun in the tie-dyed suit with the multicoloured gems on his staff suddenly appears at eye level to the Djin and indignantly speaks in a booming voice far deeper and richer than James Earl Jones, "King Joe, I'm not wasting a wish to keep you from using that stupid name. But you aren't being a good Stuart King in my absence."

The Sangwen Djin frowns as he responds, "Very well, Emperor Pontorna." Gesturing to Lugosi, he relays the information.

Pontorna asks Lugosi, "What happened?"

Lugosi reports, "As you requested, I infiltrated Anima's ranks and was on the ship that found Gamma, just as you'd predicted I would. Once there, I proceed to execute the plan, planting the idea to use the Ragnarok Protocols in the Elf's mind. I concluded by setting the Planetary Portal shield to trap the planet in a Portal set to exit everywhere in the current multi-oner. I then used my jumper bracelet to escape to Agarator's floating island and was brought to you from there. Absolutely everything went according to your plan, my Emperor."

Pontorna appeared in front of Lugosi, "Well done, good and faithful servant. Now you may have the desires of your heart. Place your hand on my staff." He does. "Repeat after me: After I wish one wish, I will return this staff or I will be kept alive and tortured to the fullest extent of the King Joe's power as long as he lives."

The skulls on Joe's necklace glow red and suddenly hundreds of bodies fall from holes in the ceiling, with chains around them. Their heads look fluid and sloshy - as if their skulls have been removed. They are all screaming in agonizing torment, each of them burning in a flame but not dying. Lugosi repeats the phrase and his head glows red for a moment before the bodies ascend back into their holes and the holes close over, blocking out the cries. Pontorna let's go of his staff, and Lugosi holds it with greed and ecstasy.

Lugosi holds the staff aloft in triumph and says, "I wish to have and keep a bag of infinite storage from which I can retrieve and use any extremely powerful Magus artifact according to my needs and desires at the time."

King Joe opens his hand and places a neon green fanny pack before Lugosi. Lugosi takes the fannypack and hands the staff back to Emperor Pontorna.

Pontorna concludes, "When we have further need of your services, you will be called upon. Goodbye." Addressing Joe, "Ensure the next phase of the plan. I'm off to interfere here and there." And he disappears.

King Joe looks bored, and turns back to Bozon. "Well? Where's my entertainment, clown?"

Aghast at what he saw Lugosi threatened with, Bozon set his jaw and got to work trying to be funny in hopes of keeping the children safe from any such awful fate as that.

Turning up his weight to as far as the gloves could go (without exchanging gasses - he's still full of helium), he reached into his carpetbag and pulled out a random... battleaxe made of denim cloth, no starch or reinforcements to keep it from being exceedingly floppy. hmm? A weapon, now what to fight?

He reached in again, not looking, but thinking of small, soft, harmless objects. He pulled something out and set to work trying to fight it as if it were a dreadful monster. Overacting his barbarian aspect, Bozon soundlessly 'raged' against the... ordinary raspberry sitting inanimately on the floor. Trying his comical best, he managed to lose to it, the victorious fruit perched unharmed on the defeated barbarian clown's chest at the end of the skit.

A number of the people in the courtroom laughed at Bozon's shenanigans, but the Sangwen Djin only rolled his eyes in tired disgust, "I've seen better a hundred thousand times before. Let me help motivate you. I can tell that the two children are closest to you, especially since I expected them as part of the package to get you. But I don't know these other two... Auricle and Djordan. Oh! I see they've met one of my brothers. I wondered who was responsible for that droll Age of Agony. Choose between these two - Djordan, the nice young man you don't really know, or Auricle who was responsible for an Age in which every sentient being in the MultiOner became her pain-slave, and she became an unstoppable torture kingdom, whose sole currency was pain and suffering. If you don't choose, I'll choose for you. Someone pump him up a little more."

The light on Auricle's cage goes out, and she bursts into Magem powered flames, flying toward the exit. King Joe points a finger at her and the flames go out and she crashes to the ground, breaking bones in her hands and a foot. She looks into Bozon's eyes and speaks into his mind through her communicator, Bozon, PLEASE CHOOSE ME!!! You HAVE to trust on this. I can't explain. Please trust!

Just then, a 50' long 2 legged, 2 arm/winged Dragon flies in through a hole in the ceiling, landing a few feet from the Djin. He speaks directly into the minds of all in the surrounding area, "Joe, my Queen greets you through me. I carry her avatar."

The Dragon opens her mouth, and a woman falls from her throat to the floor, landing on her two feet and looking perfectly well made up in business formal wear, standing 7' tall and not a sign of any fluid on her at all. Clearly treating Joe like an equal or lesser, she says aloud, "Joe, I am happy to report that the entire MultiOner is completely infested with Rulab, and the Malemagus Mages have Balur beaten down to no single Balur-mind-node larger than a moon. Within the hour, that will be diminished to chunks the size of a breadbasket, with the sole exception of the negotiation node in your possession. Soon, the impudent Balur will taste the wrath of the Dragons. No one harms us and escapes unscathed. This avatar is to remain here to observe proceedings with your consent."

King Joe nods his head, "I consent."

The 50' Dragon curls up on the floor and hides its head under its wing to take a nap.

The avatar stands beside the Dragon and waits, arms folded on her chest.

Bozon gets pumped up a little more by one of the courtiers. The Djin looks expectantly at Bozon, "Well? Try again, slave!"

Normally, the greater pressure trying to stretch his rubber skin would have been both carrot and stick. Hergot/Bozon thought that he would have been thrilled being pumped up larger, but given the circumstances it wasn't just himself facing discomfort, suffering, and risk...

Auricle's mind-call and Aflae's backstage cry both goaded him to mentally choose the lady. But whether it was choosing her to be spared or to suffer worse, he had no idea. King Joe's choice of wording had not indicated, to his social perceptions, what the consequences for the person being chosen would be.

He pantomimed, trying to indicate his choice through non-verbal means.

But when addressed as "slave," even the regality of the great Djin and his court did not keep the barbarian from glaring at Joe. He repeated an earlier pantomime that Tine and Jen had seen, using his fingers to describe a collar around his neck, and a leash held out... towards Tine. I'm his jester. Not yours, purchaser of stolen goods. This boy is my real master's son, Hergot thought strongly, heedless of whether he was risking breaking taboo or not for the moment in his anger.

Nonetheless, he pulled another pair of random items from the carpetbag and set to work trying to amuse the court with these props, and perhaps their monarch if he was lucky.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:08, Tue 10 Mar 2020.

Sometimes a bully orchestrates circumstances so that their victim has to chose their own pain, in an attempt to trick them into believing they are completely at fault. But what fault can be found in the person who chooses without knowing what they choose? Two options were presented, but what if Joe's choice had been both? Who can say what was right, but at least Auricle's will was carried out.

She smiled as it became clear Bozon had chosen her. She grabbed her wrists and curled up as a white-hot bolt of plasma shot at her from Joe. She seemed to vaporize, but King Joe's face flashed the micro-expressions of someone concerned for just a moment.


Joe responds out loud, "Hmph! Well! You have gall, boychild."

Immediately, he signalled and the lights came on paralyzing Bozon as a delegation of creatures wearing a variety of utterly alien clothing entered. "Your Highness, the daily status update is at your disposal."

"Proceed."

The group went on to talk about the fiscal, public health and general kingdom welfare as well as the status of the colonies. The kingdom's population was no less than 80 billion, and was peacefully expanding every day. Once the report was finished and Joe asked questions and made delegations, the group left and the paralyzation lights went off.

Joe looked at Bozon and heartlessly said, "Pick the next one to die or I kill the other girl next."

This time. This time it not been limited to two choices. He could choose Joe himself, or Portorna, or the dragon queen's representative... but no. Those would all be the wrong thing to do. Great Væran Ro'sènnpâdr would probably not approve.

Though he would have preferred to face death by overinflation the same as his own jesters/victims had, and at the hands of someone of the Elf court that had really purchased him, there was only one noble, honorable path he could see. And that was to choose himself. He could not see any way to utilize either Azraile's nor Sooth's advice in doing it at the moment though, nor did he have the time to try to work something up.

Maybe, just maybe, he could use the pain of being executed for something good, though? Cursehealing was a spell that Enja-Osdeon had. Scord had mentioned something about Joe and his kin being under an ancient curse. He had no idea of the details, or how to go about seeking to break it from his laughably weak cantrip version of the spell, but he was going to give it a try.

He indicated his own chest with a thumb, looking up at Joe's eyes seriously as one king to another. He was offering up his own life as his choice. Asking to be hurt worse than anything that he could possibly imagine.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:53, Mon 16 Mar 2020.

Joe stared carefully for a moment, then, "You wish to die in their stead? That is certainly the noble thing to do, and your interpretation of my wishes would leave some Djin envious of your cunning. But that was not the intention of my wish, and I am the Djin, not you. So try again. Choose between the two boys or the girl. If you fail to make me laugh, I will kill that one you choose, or my own choice if you do not choose."

A large box on wheels is rolled into the court. Joe remarks, "Ah, the Balur negotiator is here. We'll wait for the Emperor to return before we begin negotiations."

Bozon tried to look as sad and woebegone as he could, looking over his three paralyzed companions. I am greatly sorry, Djordan, but I must protect Tine above all others. Even myself. And Jen is his beloved friend.

His choice made, that Djordan's life was at stake here, he said "Bozon," quietly as he reached into the carpetbag and withdrew... the VI projector, which he set down and turned on so that he would have two different Joes try to get laughs from.

He mulled over his situation as he got out props to begin another attempt at entertaining with. He'd set aside his crown, his throne, and his kingdom - not that Havony was any way close to the great kingdoms of this world or worlds - for this ordeal and penance. And he was being forced into something that he would never, ever have asked of one of his own jesters. Being forced to weigh the lives of third parties and struggle to save them like he was some benighted hero, not the commoner buffoon and servant he had thought his life as Bozon would be.

He recalled that Young Joe had asked for a sweet cake backstage, so he tried to make a barbarian baking a cake into the act.

01:01, Today: Narrator, on behalf of Bozon the Burstbarian, rolled 834 using 63d24.  non-sacrificially Enhanced Performance.

Djordon's cage lights went out, and he took a deep breath. He looked at Bozon and said, "It's okay friend. I've lived a long life, and I do not fear death."

01:04, Today: Narrator, on behalf of Bozon the Burstbarian, rolled 13 using 5d6 with rolls of 3,4,1,4,1.  Neurodiverse.
01:05, Today: Narrator, on behalf of Bozon the Burstbarian, rolled 15 using 5d6 with rolls of 1,4,1,4,5.  But a king.

Although he had difficulty understanding social cues due to his neurodiversity, his training as a king had taught him to read people's micro-expressions, and Djordon was clearly more afraid than he had ever been before in his life. Bozon has a flash of a page from one of the books in The Chronicles of Synthia's Last Request, where Djordon personally witnessed Auricle torture countless people with the pain she herself was tormented by. She even tortured Balur itself in order to gain power. And the torture she used was very similar to what King Joe had in the ceiling above. Something told him the fear of death was mingling with the empathy for those in the ceiling.

King Joe looked at Djordon and said, "I've looked at her mind, boy, and your girl would do the same thing again."

Djordon's face flashed through deep pain, confusion and then denial at that comment.

King Joe asked for a report on the effects of the Rulabs on the general population, and he heard that most people were showing only mild signs of energy drainage.

When Bozon began performing, he was taken up by the spirit of the moment and everything he did was executed with perfect timing and extreme skill. This performance made his act in the Pirate Palace seem like amateur night in a backwoods tavern. Among other hilarity, Bozon mimed pulling out a far-too-small bowl from a cupboard, and a polkadot bowl flew out of his bag into his hands. Every item he mimed did the same thing as he combined sparkling confetti 'flour' with green slime 'eggs' and other zany ingredients, and poured gallons from the thimble-sized bowl into an oversized mixing bowl and stirred with all his might, spraying mock-ingredients over everything. VI Joe was already laughing hysterically, when Bozon had a bright idea and an inflatable boy climbed out of his bag.

The boy looked like a typical vampire trope, and VI Joe said, "It's my friend, Yavod!"

King Joe's eyebrows raised at this.

Inflatable Yavod was not sentient, so Bozon mime-asked Yavod to help bake the cake, and 'punished' him every time he messed up by inflating him a little more. The oven made of ice beeped and Yavod pulled out a 15' tall completely finished utterly beautiful cake from the 2" oven door. When Bozon saw the perfection of the cake, he got excited and hugged inflatable Yavod, popping Yavod and causing the cake to fall and splatter all over the place.

When young Joe tried some of the cake, laughing he said, "Wow! That's even worse than Hagrod's pig-mush!"

King Joe huffed a little in bemusement at young Joe's reference.

After the entire performance completed, King Joe said, "Well, it's not quite entertainment, but I'll let Djordon live for it. Guard, escort Djordon to the hospital to see that he won't suffer too much from the Rulabs, then put him back on his home-world." The guards complied at once. "Now, since you must protect Tine above all others, Jen is the next to die if you don't make me laugh."

Pontorna appeared before King Joe and said, "Joe, my slave, greet Balur and explain the situation. I'll be back soon, the perimeter is almost secured." The emperor disappeared again.

King Joe had the box containing Balur opened and said, "We know all about your troubles, Balur. We are the cause. We've finally figured it out and halted your ability to reset the world. The creature consuming you is known as Rulab, and it was your divergent's natural predator in a divergent Oner from your own. It is mindless and cannot be reasoned with. As you can tell, you are the most complex and intelligent node of Balur remaining, and you are at our mercy." With that, he pointed at Balur and it shrunk to the size of a mouse pellet, then pointed with a different finger and it grew back to a little bigger than its previous size. "So you know my power. You will do as we say, or we will end you. I represent an ever expanding empire of 80 billion people whom you've no power over. We can live quite happily without you. We will name our price and you will pay it. You have no other choice if you wish to survive. You will remain gagged until your Emperor arrives to tell you the terms of your surrender."

Then, turning to Bozon, he began, "Now, enterta-"

VI Joe yelled, "You big bully! Just because I hate who you've become, that doesn't give you the right to treat people like that!"

King Joe replies, "Young me, shut up. You know nothing of what has happened. Do you know that I am Sangwen? But Yavod didn't survive Changing you when you stupidly nearly killed yourself. Your mother was brutally murdered by the people she sacrificed her time with you to benevolently rule over. They replaced her with your uncle, and he ate the kingdom into poverty. You know nothing, and I have the right to rule as I see fit, so be seen and not heard, brat! BOZON! Make. Me. Laugh."

The clown... frowned.

And reached into his carpetbag, pulling out an armband made from Joe's very anchor within the Sideways.

I do not think so, King Joe. By the powers of Scord and Theophili, that which was once a staff still commands you, but not under Pontorna's will."

The clown who was the King of tiny, distant Havony held the armband in both inflated hands, and gazed defiantly up at Joe's face on his throne. Sparks of the fire of Azraile's sword flared where his fingers grasped it, the power of Enja-Osdeön over artifice and magic items flowing through the tormented, suffering apprentice to try and take command of that bond between Joe and his anchor.

At that moment, Emperor Pontorna arrived with his back to Bozon, "There, we're sealed off. I've time-separated us from the outside so that 1000 years here will be like a moment or a minute outside. Why do you look like that?" He snaps around instantly, staring at Bozon, "Who the FRAK let someone with holy flame into my castle?"

Joe said, "I did."

"Do you know what you've done, you IDIOT?"

"I do."

"SKAN you!"

Everyone in the room was staring at Bozon. Even the Dragon and the Dragon avatar were staring at him.

Joe said, "MeliKami, kill the Dragons!"

Suddenly the stairs and floor beneath the Dragon and avatar snap closed, smashing them both within. The floor, walls and boulders behind King Joe's throne begin to move and shift, forming a humanoid shape with the pieces floating and the whole thing standing on the ground. A rocky voice grinds out, "You finally noticed that the Dragon helped Auricle escape?"

King Joe replies, "I suspected it. I have my own Dragons dampening his power." ((no boost from Magus))

Pontorna says, "It better be enough."

King Joe calmly answers, "Even better. Bozon, return to your task to entertain me, and give up your wasteful rebellion or Tine will die."

EDIT:
OOC: You haven't commanded him to do anything yet.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:40, Mon 30 Mar 2020.

I am not your slave or subject, Joe. I am King Hergot of Havony, third of that name, and though I may have set my crown, throne, and kingdom aside to serve as jester and entertainment to King Samhradh of the Elfs, even placing my own life in the hands of his court, I have never consented to being used to decide whether a third party would live or die. Particularly one of Samhradh's own royal sons.

Bozon's lips were moving soundlessly as he glared at both Joe and Pontorna. Forget the taboos and rules. What was going here was a complete violation of his personal ethics as well as a travesty of a proper court.

As far as you, Na, I wonder if your enslavement of Joe would hold should he restore Pon and Tor to life and their own selves? I would think that two against one would be in his freedom's favor, shattering a hated master so. Though making you deathly allergic to The Sideways now, and for all other incarnations you might have prior and hence, might be a suitable punishment too.

That the Emperor disliked Azraile's flame was not lost on Bozon, and he dumped every bit of mana he could scrape together from his suffering into that aspect of the armband's powers. Let it burn in whatever way Na feared most. For his part, he envisioned the purifying light of Vìrya Nanye, She Who Shines, as the exemplar of holiness in his own faith.

OOC: there are two possibilities here, depending on what Bozon's motivations are. I'll write them both out, so choose the one which is more true.

---

Spoiler for if Bozon is trusting the Creator or the Fates or the ultimate personal power to ensure the best outcome, even if the armband fails: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
01:15, Today: Narrator, on behalf of Bozon the Burstbarian, rolled 108 using 14d16 with rolls of 4,10,14,8,12,15,7,12,3,5,5,4,3,6.  If trusting deity

The flame lights up more brightly, and Bozon gets the feeling that he should ask that the boy's life be spared. Bozon senses the bonds that tie the Djin to the staff in Pontorna's hand. He can see how intertwined they both are, as if the staff is part of the Djin's soul. Looking more closely, he sees that the staff isn't really a staff at all, but literally the Djin's physical body. The Djin's apparent body is a physically solid projection from the staff. He can't claim ownership of the Djin, but he can play the strings on the soul of the Djin to force it to do his will.

Pontorna smiles, and Bozon can sense his thoughts vibrating through the armband, saying, His heart isn't pure. He loves his homeland, and he is from an honour/shame culture. He will try to prove his worth by sacrificing his life to save the boy. I can use this...

Pontorna whirls his staff above his head and sends a fireball flying at Tine. In an instant, Bozon can see the inner workings of the spell - it has layers of complexity, but the outer layer is pure destruction on a vector. It would be easy enough to let the holy flame burn one thread away and cause the spell to reverse direction and consume the one who sent it.

---

---

Spoiler for if Bozon is trusting the combined power of himself and the others and the armband, to overpower and win: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
01:16, Today: Narrator, on behalf of Bozon the Burstbarian, rolled 80 using 14d16 with rolls of 4,16,1,7,1,4,6,1,13,2,2,2,12,9.  If trusting power.

The flame goes out, but Bozon can sense the bonds that tie the Djin to the staff in Pontorna's hand. He can see how intertwined they both are, as if the staff is part of the Djin's soul. Looking more closely, he sees that the staff isn't really a staff at all, but literally the Djin's physical body. The Djin's apparent body is a physically solid projection from the staff. He can't claim ownership of the Djin, but he can play the strings on the soul of the Djin to force it to do his will.

Pontorna whirls his staff above his head and sends a fireball flying at Tine. In an instant, Bozon can see the inner workings of the spell - it has layers of complexity, but the outer layer is pure destruction on a vector. It would be easy enough to sever one thread away and cause the spell to reverse direction and consume the one who sent it.

---

The flames burned more brightly. Bozon's trust was in the Gods above, not in his own feeble and untrained magic. And he still considered Scord, Een, and Theophili to be demigods of some degree or another, in accordance with how he perceived them in The Sideways. He didn't know what Azraile was, but if the flame she wielded was a holy one, than it seemed to him that using it in service to the wills of the divine was best.

Joe. It is my wish that you spare Tine and Jen's lives your malevolence, he thought hard, expressing his desire to the Djin.

And while his grasp of magic was tiny and uncertain, in the light of the holy fire he saw things about the staff Pontorna held that he would never have dreamed. And saw how to defend Tine from it should the Emperor use magic to attack, turning his blow back upon him by burning one parameter of the incoming spell.

OOC: The Rocto-CathSinnian pantheon actually does not have a single Creator or deity of creation, seeing the world as made by all of the gods to varying degrees working together. The Pavaric pantheon does have a Creator deity, Hnálla, but most of the others in the pantheon had hands in how the world(s) developed from his initial pattern.

When Bozon manipulates Pontorna's spell, the holy flame disappears, but the outer layer of the spell's complexity melts away, and after it flies toward Pontorna for a moment, it begins flying faster towards Tine.

Pontorna laughs, "Joe! He doesn't know how to use the holy flame!"

King Joe blinks twice, the relaxes and laughs. "Nothing to worry about, then."

Bozon can see the workings of the spell enough to know he can't stop it now. But he could get between the fireball and Tine. It looks likely that if it pops Bozon, it won't hurt Tine. He has enough time to mentally say one sentence as he moves.

Sad to have to throw away his life in such an unfunny fashion, almost feeling like it was a dishonorable death save that it was protecting the life of an innocent child, Hergot/Bozon dove into the path of the fireball to spare Tine that ghastly end. It made his whole purpose for becoming Bozon meaningless, in his mind.

King Joe freezes the fireball and Bozon in a momentum suspending zone (neither move even an inch, yet both will retain their current momentum once the field stops). Joe says, "As a good ruler, I have an obligation to remain true to my word. I offered freedom to the clown and his companions if he made me laugh. He made me laugh, so I am obliged to free him."

Pontorna replied, "I hate it when my wishes contradict my wishes. Very well, he has earned his freedom. But by trying to turn my fireball against me, he has attempted regicide. Even a free man who makes an attempt on my life must be punished by the very laws you drafted."

"Might I suggest he die by overinflation? If he makes it part of his act, it could be hilarious."

Pon can't resist a good laugh, so Pontorna finds himself drawn to this possibility. "I like the sound of that! Release him. But, Bozon, if you attempt to use that holy flame again, I will kill both of your companions."

Noticing VI Joe, Pontorna points and says, "What's the purpose of that?"

King Joe responds, "I believe it was meant to reason with me or entertain me. It mostly just annoyed me."

"You are boring Joe. Clown, if you make me laugh, I might decide to let you live. Lipsync for your life, clown!"

King Joe unfreezes Bozon, but leaves the fireball in the freezing field.

The Holy Flame remains accessable throughout this scene, but still responds in its own way, if at all.

Unbeknownst to him, due to Aflae's spell, overinflation won't kill him. Instead he'll end up completely in the Sideways.

When used properly, Holy flames are unstoppable.

OOC: I'm drifting off to sleep as I type so that's it for this post.