#he's been a little busy with the literal demon child and fire imp that were dropped off a few months back okay?

[innytoes]

For the generated AUs, I got Supernatural Is Known AU + Orphanage AU ^^

Okay but Caleb Covington's Home For Extraordinary Orphans. He's not exactly evil, but after 20-plus years of dealing with everything from mermaids to were-elephants, he is Grumpy.

The Molinas always wanted a big family. Most Werewolves do. Something about a big pack just makes them happy. Not all of them turn, Julie and Victoria don't, but Rose, Ray, and Carlos do. (There have been So Many Arguments in the past about Carlos chewing on Julie's shoes.)

Except Rose found out that after her cancer, she wouldn't be able to have any more kids. They'd been trying for some time but hadn't had any more after Carlos, and now there was no more chance to have any at all. They mourn for a year, before talking it over as a family and deciding that pack is pack and they don't need to be blood related to be family. When Julie is fourteen and Carlos is ten, they finally get approved to adopt.

Victoria goes with them, if only to make sure they don't 'bite off more than they can chew'.

They meet a lot of kids, and just like Victoria expected, they want to take home Everyone. She has to be the voice of reason that no, they do not have a big enough back yard to convert into a lake to adopt that mermaid girl. And adopting Willie, the raccoon shifter, was a terribly unsafe idea because Carlos still hadn't learned to control his chasing-prey instinct. Do they not remember the ordeal with the Henderson's cat?

Eventually, Carlos and Julie come running up to their parents, dragging just about the palest young boy Rose has ever seen.

"Mami, this is Reggie!" Carlos proudly proclaims. "He likes dogs and music and pizza so he has to be our big brother."

Reggie is a sixteen year old vampire who is just grateful he got turned after he was allowed to drive. It's better than being fourteen for the rest of his (after)life, that would be rough. Oh shoot sorry Julie. It gets better, he promises.

Ray and Rose are just so charmed by Reggie and the way he naturally fell into a big brother role for Julie and Carlos that they decide yes, they will adopt a sixteen year old vampire. No they do not care that he won't age. Once he actually matures mentally into adulthood (which vampires do, just a lot slower than than humans) they will help him get emancipated.

Victoria is not there to talk them out of it. Victoria, in fact, is in Caleb's office, getting the paperwork done to adopt Willie.

("What? I said it was dangerous for him to be around Carlos until he gets his prey instinct under control during the full moon. I don't turn, my prey instinct is fine! The only thing I hunt is a good bargain.")

So they take Reggie and Willie home, and things are great. Willie and Reggie were friends at the orphanage, they get together for Family Dinners every Friday except on Full Moons, everything is great. Reggie fits in really well and admits that even before he was turned ten years ago, he didn't have a great family, so having two parents that care about him is really nice.

Except sometimes Reggie acts in a way that can't be attributed to being a vampire, or adopted, or maybe a little traumatised from spending ten years in an orphanage run by a grumpy werepanther. He zones out, and sometimes he talks to himself, or laughs at nothing. Ray and Rose love Reggie, and are fully willing to support their new son and all his quirks (Ray immediately started learning about Star Wars when he realised Reggie was obsessed), but they also want to make sure this isn't anything mental illness related that will hurt him.

So they talk about getting Reggie evaluated, about asking Doctor Turner if she has any recommendations for therapists who specialise in vampirism... But Reggie overhears them.

And then Rose overhears Reggie. Talking to himself in his room again. Except this time it's not under his breath.

"No dude, don't worry about it. I'll just... I'll make something up. I mean, you've always said that I might be autistic, maybe we can just... Nobody's going to find out and send you back, I promise."

Which is of course when Rose pushed open the door before adopting a now Very Familiar Pose to Reggie. The Mom Pose. Hands on her hips, eyebrow raised.

The boy on Reggie's bed slowly started going invisible again, and Rose pointed at him. "Don't you dare!"

He stops fading out of view. He looks to be about Reggie's age.

"Can you just turn invisible, or are you a ghost?" Rose asks. "Because if I find out you've been letting someone go hungry under our roof, Reginald, you are grounded, mister."

"I'm a ghost," the boy in the bed said. "I'm so sorry, it's just that, you were taking Reggie, and your sister was taking Willie, and they're all I have and I just couldn't stay there and I'm so so sorry..."

The more he talks the more solid he looks and Rose is not sure if that's a good thing or not, so she just interrupts him. "Right, we need to call Caleb right now."

"No, don't send him back!" Reggie said. "Send me back instead, please, you'll love Alex, he's great, he's funny and cool and he likes music and pizza too. I mean he can't eat it anymore but-"

"We're not sending anyone back," Rose promises, wrapping Reggie in a hug and hovering a hand near Alex' shoulder. "But we do have to arrange some paperwork so Ray and I don't get brought up on any kidnapping charges, alright?"

#julie and the phantoms #AUs are awesome #make Reggie a Molina 2kalways #fanfic #I wrote a thing #rose talks to victoria about it and victoria is just like: I didn't notice but to be fair Willie is a way better liar than Reggie #and also causes so much mischief that him sitting quietly and staring off into space while wearing one earbud was honestly kind of a relief #caleb didn't even realise Alex was missing but he's not going to SAY that #he's been a little busy with the literal demon child and fire imp that were dropped off a few months back okay? #luckily they started dating and now dante and fuego are no long making his life a living hell #sorry this did not stay at the orphanage but can you blame me my whole brand is Make Reggie A Molina #Ray just like: it's free bonus son #and then of course Julie and Alex and Reggie start a band with Luke who is part siren on his grandmother's side

[friendshipcampaign]

Session Recap 9/14/19: Possession and Possessiveness

Amaranth explained to the group that a rat with the knotted tail was the symbol of the Unseen, the crime group that she had been a part of when she was younger. They were headed by Callen Aerotris, also known as the Rat. Hesitantly, she explained that she had known a dwarven woman in the organization when she was younger, and wondered if this might be the buyer in question. She said the person she’d known had helped her and another friend escape from the organization 20 years ago, but she wasn’t sure if she would be the same kind person that she’d known now. The Unseen was a group that messed with your head, and 20 years was a long time to be with them.

Suddenly, Voski slammed a hand against a bench (the group was still in the gazebo she’d created in the demiplane) and pointed to her conspiracy board. She mused it was possible the Unseen were responsible for the body heist that had occurred at the temple of the Raven Queen in order to hide their presence, seeing as she hadn’t been able to pin it to any of the other groups.

Erwyn added that as far as the potential buyers Nilo had told Ditto about, he was also a little suspicious of the half-elf, as his primary point of contact with Esmeralda’s cult had been a half-elven man that seemed to handle a lot of their more social business. However, like Amaranth, he couldn’t be sure, and felt he had even less reason to be. He also expressed concern for Amaranth’s safety if the Unseen were here, given what had happened at the inn in Wayspell with the imp.

Voski shared what she had learned from Crispian Hue about the new competitors in town threatening his family business in trading arcane-grade gemstones. It seemed like it could be connected to the situation at hand, though why any of the groups in question would be trying to get people like Nilo to retrieve the gems from Mystic Maggie’s instead of handling it themselves was more of a puzzle. Amaranth said she wanted to try to figure out what was going on in regards to her old friend possibly being in the city, but she thought trying to contact her directly was too dangerous.

Kriv expressed some concern about the time sensitivity of some of the things they needed to accomplish --  in particular, getting Tenny to safety. The group discussed their next priorities and came to the conclusion that, since the exclusion zone seemed like a place they needed to try to get into for several reasons, they should talk to Nilo about his plan to get inside. Ditto also said that she would ask Nilo if he knew anything more about this dwarf woman. Erwyn asked Amaranth the name of her old friend, and she replied that it was Nora.

Making plans for the next day, the group decided they would try to secretly transport Tenny to Grankul’s Rest, then lay low before their appointments in the evening and potentially ask Tiktik if they would scout around over the exclusion zone or in the workhouse to see if they could learn anything before diving into either themselves. They also discussed finding another place for themselves to sleep, potentially by hiding the demiplane elsewhere. For the night, though, they agreed they would stay at the Fox & Hellhound and have Voski cast a Tiny Hut for protection.

As the party started to emerge from the demiplane, Erwyn noticed one shadow in the room that seemed deeper than the others. He Messaged Kriv, the only other one who’d exited yet, and advised they not let this figure know it had been spotted. Kriv walked away towards the other room. Erwyn Messaged the others the same as they left the demiplane themselves, and when Ditto tried to check in with Tiktik, they told her, panicked, that something had showed up and spoken to Tenny, who was now acting weird, before vanishing through the wall. They also said there was something else in the same room as them, chittering. She alerted the others.

As soon as Kriv, Ditto, and Amaranth had left for the other room, the shadow, which had been resting in a chair, stood up. In Abyssal, it commented that their demiplane was an interesting trick, before telling Erwyn it was terribly rude of him to refuse their invitation. He replied he’d only just gotten their message earlier that day, while Voski quickly cast Comprehend Languages to understand what was being said. The figure, which was made of shadows with only two points of darkness where eyes ought to be and stood much taller than Erwyn, glided over to him and asked what his business in the city was. He replied that he was looking for a friend. The creature grabbed his arm.

“Our recruiter has arrived,” Voski Messaged Kriv.

In the other room, Tiktik bristled in a corner as Tenny sat on one of the beds, staring straight ahead. Amaranth shook her, asking the girl if she could hear her. Speaking distantly, Tenny said she could, and that she had to find how the devils were getting in. She said her friend had told her to, and that the group had just missed him.

The shadow demon asked Erwyn why he had learned their tongue, when he was so small and weak. He babbled an answer about being curious about the planes, and trying to learn more through studying.

“An academic,” it said.

“A very bad one,” he stammered back.

After a long pause, the demon spoke again.

“Are you useful?” it asked. “We have several ways in which you could be, so if you have an alternate hypothesis, I suggest you make it, and directly.”

As Kriv and Voski continued to communicate about what was happening. Amaranth kept talking to Tenny, asking her more about what had happened with her “friend” and where he’d gone. At the same time, Ditto used her telepathic connection to tell Tiktik to act like a normal cat and run out of the room to hide somewhere safe.

In the other room, Erwyn stood frozen. Voski slowly pulled out her lute and started to pluck out a little countercharm in the form of some lines from Umbarenya Lingeas. Trying to assist further when Erwyn showed no signs of responding, she spoke up herself and said that Erwyn could translate for her if the demon didn’t understand Common, but she could vouch that he had information they might find useful if they were to speak to him.

“Unfortunate,” the demon said, ignoring her as it kept its eyes on a panicked Erwyn.

The demon swiped at Erwyn and he managed to duck out of the way, nerves on high alert despite everything else, but he then felt talons rake into his back as another demon appeared from behind. He couldn’t see this second attacker, but Voski watched as a silvery bird-like demon emerged from almost nowhere, the air rippling around it as it moved.

Hearing the commotion, Kriv raced back across the hall to see what had happened, pulling his Blindsense scarf over his eyes. Erwyn drew his sword and drove it into his attacker, though one of his strikes went wide, as he was still reeling from the shock of his injuries. Its eyes narrowed in anger and it swooped in to retaliate, rendering him unconscious as it ripped into his left arm with its beak. The creature grabbed Erwyn’s limp body in its talons and made a beeline for the door.

“That’s not yours!” Voski shouted after it as it went, using her Vicious Mockery on the creature.

Kriv intercepted it with an attack in the doorway to the room, using his Divine Smite as he smashed into it with his hammer. Amaranth, too, raced into the hallway and saw the creature trying to make its escape. She was able to slash into it twice with her swords. Around the same time, the shadow creature phased through the wall into the other room, where Tenny was. Still in the hall, Voski pulled out her hand crossbow and shot the creature that was dragging Erwyn away. The bolt seemed not to do as much damage as one would expect when it hit.

Ditto watched the shadow creature phase into the other room and smash the window before picking up Tenny. She hit it with a few Magic Missiles, but it seemed to shrug them off. When she asked it to put Tenny down, it replied only by making a strange noise in Abyssal. Kriv missed his next two hits on the bird-like demon holding Erwyn and it managed to slice into him once with an attack of its own as he ran forward, trying to intercept it. Seeming to decide it didn’t like its odds, the creature dropped Erwyn and disappeared. Kriv assured Amaranth that he had healing and could help Erwyn, but she still ran up and gave him a greater healing potion to get him back to consciousness.

Ditto shouted to the others that the shadow creature was carrying Tenny away. In the arms of the demon, hovering just outside the window, the little tiefling girl waved.

“Leaving so soon?” Voski said on entering the room herself, casting Vicious Mockery. “No wonder you’re understaffed.”

Ditto shot a Fire Bolt at the shadow demon, but missed. She asked Tenny how she was doing and if she wanted to come inside, but the child shook her head. Hearing that she sounded very distant, Kriv pulled out his shield and started running down the stairs. When he emerged into the lobby, he saw Ben helping Jerik with a claw wound across his chest.

“Who the fuck are you people?” Jerik asked, accusingly.

“Literally no one!” Kriv said. “Now if you’ll excuse me, a child has been kidnapped!”

He ran out the door.

Upstairs, Erwyn pulled himself up off the ground after coming to consciousness and made it to the doorway, firing two arrows at the creature holding Tenny. He made one of the shots, but the other went wide and missed. Amaranth ran in after him and chucked her Dagger of Venom at the creature. 

“Fucking let go of her, you piece of shit!” she yelled.

“Oh, is that what you want?” it said, in Common this time, before briefly letting go of Tenny and letting her fall a short distance before it grabbed her again and floating back up.

Voski cast Message at the shadow demon and told it if it wanted to find out what its adversaries were up to, the party probably had more information than Tenny did. It paused briefly. At the same time, Ditto leaned cautiously out the broken window, using her flying shoes to get the height to peek out and Kriv opened the door to the outside so that he could stand underneath Tenny. 

In Common, the creature asked Voski what information she had. She sent it a Message again asking who they served and it replied that it served the Abyss itself. It went on to say that it would have appreciated gaining a new body with its first eye already open, but that it wasn’t going to mete out punishment if that’s what she was worried about. When she asked it if it was finding the supply of bodies running short, it told her the demons’ plan was moving smoothly enough, and suggested she ask her friend about it -- the eyes of the world were opening.

The shadow demon eventually tired of Voski asking questions and told her it wanted information from her, instead, before dropping Tenny a few inches again and catching her.

“If you really want to cause trouble for your friends on the other side, you could do worse than to start with Glasya,” she said.

The demon groaned. “Her again.”

It asked her how the devils were getting into the city and she said that they were a bit better at organizing subtlety, and that they and some mortals happy to help them were managing to persuade some of the more lawful elements of the city to their side. The shadow demon asked Voski what she was looking for, and she replied she was only in the city to collect one person, who she thought the devils might have taken, and then leave.

“Well, this has been a fascinating conversation. I would watch my back, if I were you,” the shadow demon said.

“Already excel at that,” Voski said.

There was a moment’s pause, and then the demon dropped Tenny. Ditto and Kriv both scrambled to try to catch the child from their respective positions but Voski, who was less tapped for spells, cast Feather Fall to let her down gently. In the chaos, the demon disappeared.

Tenny was strangely calm at first as Ditto guided her down, but once she hit the limit of Kriv’s protective aura she squeaked and started panicking, coming back to herself. Kriv and Ditto reassured her that she was safe, and as long as she remained near Kriv the demons wouldn’t be able to charm her again. Crying, Tenny asked if the cat was okay. Ditto reassured her that Tiktik was fine as Kriv handed her the scale he’d been gifted by Bahamut to calm her.

Amaranth asked Erwyn if the other demon was still in the room and he sat down to try to focus and channel his ability to detect fiends. As Kriv and Ditto went back inside with Tenny, Jerik and Ben said they needed to talk about what was going on. Kriv said they needed a moment first. Ben insisted that he’d paid for Alarm spells on the doors that day -- that hadn’t detected anything when the demons got in. Amaranth ran downstairs, concerned for Tenny, and was followed by Voski who also wanted to know what was going on. When she saw the little girl, Amaranth went over to Tenny, who leaned into her. She reassured her she was okay now.

Erwyn completed the focusing he needed in order to try to detect any fiends in the area and felt the presence of a few quasits on the roof and the departing shadow demon, as well as a general feeling of there being many, many others within the city limits. He did not detect the birdlike demon from before -- until there was a sudden flash of something very close, and he felt its beak bite into his left arm again and its talons rake into his side. He fell to the floor, unconscious.

From downstairs, Ditto and Voski both heard Erwyn’s cry cut short and a thunk as he fell to the ground. Voski raced up the stairs as quickly as she could and, seeing the demon there over Erwyn’s body, used Vicious Mockery a second time.

“Seriously?” she said.

Ditto was on Voski’s heels and tried casting a Fire Bolt that missed the demon. It hit the corner of the window in the room, which smoldered somewhat but didn’t burst into flames. The creature hissed and swiped at Erwyn, who was still bleeding out on the ground, then disappeared. Voski tried casting Dispel Magic right away, but there was no effect. Ditto rushed forward and gave Erwyn a healing potion, reviving him for the second time that night.

“It’s… it’s still here!” He gasped, sounding panicked as he came to.

Ditto grabbed his arm tightly and hung on. “Okay!” she said. “Someone! Do more!”

As Amaranth rushed into the room, Voski went over to Erwyn and cast a powerful Cure Wounds on him in order to heal him up further. Amaranth asked what had happened, and Erwyn explained that he though the creature might have been hiding on the Ethereal Plane. Amaranth remembered the Changeling’s Tears that Auntie Eyren had given them that allowed the user to see things hidden on the Ethereal. When she put them on her eyes, she saw the bird demon hovering there, waiting. When she tried attacking the creature, her blades passed through it and it ruffled its feathers before flying away. Amaranth asked Erwyn how he was doing and he was very slow to answer, prompting her to wrap her arms around him protectively.

Downstairs, Jerik asked Kriv, who was still holding Tenny, if there was anything they could do to keep the building safe. Kriv admitted he didn’t know and said they’d talk when the others came down, which didn’t take long. Once the whole group was together again Tiktik, who had been hiding behind the front desk, darted out towards Ditto and asked if everyone was okay. She told them it would be eventually. Voski walked over to Jerik and healed him using another Cure Wounds, prompting him to look surprised before pulling off the bandage. She asked him how much it would cost to replace the window and he said they could talk about compensation later.

When Ben stepped away to get some wood to board the window up, Jerik turned to the party and asked if they thought it would be safe to sleep at the inn that evening -- and if they’d brought the demons in after themselves. Voski suggested to him that fighting off the bones last night might have attracted some attention, but Jerik pressed further and asked about the strange message the party had received earlier. His brother had just thought it was strange, but he was far less trusting. 

Quietly, Kriv said they should probably leave. When Jerik said he thought that might be for the best, he added he wasn’t sure how long he and his brother would be in the city themselves -- though he was having a harder time persuading his brother they should go. Growing up in the mountains, he said, Ben had once come across some pages from a book about an adventuring party resting in an inn that was safe and warm and he’d grown obsessed with it. Having a place like the inn had been a dream of Ben’s that Jerik wasn’t sure he could get him to let go of. But he said that while things had seemed like they were getting better for a bit, the last few weeks in Veritas had been growing steadily worse. He asked if they knew anywhere safe to head, but no one had any distinct ideas.

“You’re the kind of person that has kept a lot of people alive,” Kriv told him when Jerik seemed upset, and asked if he was the older or younger sibling -- commenting when the goliath said that he was the older brother that he had the air of an eldest sibling.

Ben returned with a sort of forced cheerfulness. He asked if the party were all alright and, at Kriv’s suggestion after he asked if they needed anything, said he would bring them up some tea. The party then headed to the boy’s room, though on the way Voski stopped Jerik to suggest Caritas and Sconz were close places to travel to, and if he was willing to go further, Arlton had a decent amount of people coming and going, and she’d found Amio fairly quiet (although there had been some sort of a disagreement amongst the wealthy families in the area the last time she was there). She then followed the others, casting Cure Wounds on herself to heal up some injuries from prior to the demon attack.

Up in the room, Ditto tried casting the ward she’d asked Palava to teach her as Voski ritual cast Tiny Hut and Ben brought up the tea. Tenny and Erwyn both accepted the drinks. Kriv told the goliath he was doing really well, and added that his brother had a good head on his shoulders and they should look after each other, adding there were adventurers everywhere when Ben drooped his head somewhat. He asked if they thought the tree now growing in the lobby would survive a trip, and Erwyn quietly suggested they could always bring the seeds.

After Ben left, Amaranth offered to keep first watch. Kriv said he wasn’t going to sleep, as his protection on Tenny would fade if he did. Experimentally, at Ditto’s suggestion, he did try moving away from her to see if she was still affected. Tenny said she could still feel the presence of the demon, distant now, but still telling her she had to find out how the devils were getting into Veritas or she’d burn up. Kriv affirmed he wouldn’t be sleeping.

Erwyn asked Tenny if she would mind if he tried casting a spell to protect her, but she didn’t accept until Amaranth reassured her she could trust him. With her permission, he cast Protection from Evil and Good. It didn’t seem to have any effect. Before the rest of the group went to sleep, Ditto apologized to Tiktik, saying she felt like she had phrased her comment to them earlier too much like a command. They told her it was fine, and in a teasing tone said they knew she was the cool kind of wizard.

Amaranth protectively gathered Erwyn and Tenny both close to her on one of the beds--of which there were only two, meaning that Kriv took the floor and Ditto curled up under one of them. Partway through the night, Erwyn extricated himself from her arm and snuck over to the bed Voski was sleeping on, leaving a note and a small pouch at the foot of it. Kriv, who had taken his scale back to hold as he kept his all-night watch, was somewhat startled by the movement, but also very tired at that point.

In the morning, Ditto went downstairs and got some caffeinated tea from Ben, placing it in front of Kriv before having a cup herself. Voski noticed the pouch at the foot of her bed, noting it was addressed to Kasia, from Erwyn and that the attached note read “Half payment.” Inside were 250gp. She squinted at it before tucking it back in her bag.

After everyone had roused themselves, Kriv tried stepping ten feet away from Tenny once again. She still felt the effects of the demon’s command. Experimentally, Voski tried casting Dispel Magic on her and the girl gasped as the effect faded. An exhausted Kriv fell backwards onto the floor as Amaranth thanked him for staying up to protect Tenny -- who herself briefly tried hugging Voski in thanks before deciding that might not be the best idea and switching to Amaranth instead.

Voski asked Tenny what she remembered, now that her head was clearer, and she said that the demon had told her she was going to be very useful before commanding her to figure out how the devils were getting into the city, because they wanted to know if there was a way to get out. She added that the shadowy creature had the same voice as the “ghost” she had mentioned before. When she commented it had been less solid then, just whispering bad things to them and making them write in Abyssal on the walls, Erwyn mentioned that if it was still there, he might be able to translate it if they went back to the hideout.

Accusingly, Tenny asked him why he knew Abyssal at all. Erwyn told her that when he was much younger -- at first saying that he was closer to her age but then correcting himself and adding that elves worked differently -- he had been in a city where a portal had opened up too, and that it had lead to a lot of people getting hurt. He said he’d decided then that he wanted to keep things like that from happening again, which was the reason he’d learned so much about demons.

“Does that make sense?” he asked her.

“Yeah,” Tenny agreed. “What’s it like being so old?”

“Exhausting,” Erwyn said.

Kriv and Amaranth started teasing Erwyn for being an old man, partially prompted by Tenny asking him if he was a thousand years old. Kriv then told the girl that even though Erwyn’s knowledge was helpful, that didn’t mean she should look into the same things. The group then asked her how she felt about going to stay somewhere else safe, away from the party but where she’d still be protected.

“The odds that we’re going to get into a whole lot of shit are pretty high,” Ditto said.

“Language,” Voski said.

Tenny protested, “I know swears!”

“Amaranth said ‘fuck’ like two minutes ago,” Kriv said.

“Well, Amaranth can’t be contained,” Voski said.

Tenny agreed she would be alright with the idea and asked how they would get her there safely, since they were talking about moving with secrecy. When Kriv mentioned the demiplane and demonstrated how the door to it could be opened, her eyes widened. She was amazed by it and started badgering the party with questions about how it worked. When Kriv deferred to Erwyn (by saying, “Erwyn, you’re portals”), the elf explained it was another plane of existence, just really tiny.

The party took Tenny, who was overjoyed by the sudden excitement, into the demiplane and Kriv introduced her to Volfred. She was also delighted by the steed, especially when Kriv explained he was a celestial being he had summoned thanks to being a paladin. When he used the morphic properties of the plane to make her a nice table and chair to sit at, she asked him how he’d made them appear. Once Kriv explained, she closed her eyes and conjured a ridiculous throne covered in shiny things like gilded skulls. Ditto and Amaranth complimented her on her taste, but Kriv seemed a little taken aback by her creating something so fanciful and commented he hadn’t thought to make fancier things since he’d never really had many. He seemed contemplative about the opportunities. 

As the party gathered outside the demiplane and prepared to head out, Voski pulled Erwyn aside. She asked him what exactly Alembic and Palava had taught him back in Wayspell. He explained that it wasn’t dissimilar to the methodology that Alembic had used to close the portal near Folly’s End, and that while he probably wasn’t at the skill level yet of closing massive tears, he now had some ability to mend smaller rifts in the Material Plane. She asked him if he thought he could reverse the process and tear one open, noting that it sounded like he’d learned some of the essential theory behind manipulating the Weave and Hubris seemed to imply he’d taken to it pretty well. Erwyn said he had no idea -- only that he wouldn’t want to try.

Voski told Erwyn that the entire time she’d known him, he’d been very ready to inform strangers that he’d dedicated his life to trying to stop dangerous forces.  Moreover, he’d come awfully close to offering up information on his recent progress to people before. She said that his abilities would probably be of particular interest to their visitor last night, and that they were likely to try to make Erwyn think that caving to their demands was somehow the nobler thing to do; but that no matter what happened, he couldn’t say yes.

“Because the bad news, Erwyn,” she concluded, “is that you’re useful.”

#session recap

[nh935]

The Adventures of Solaire IV: The Clockwork Temple I

The Incredible Yet Accurate Adventures of the Dread Pirate Captain Solaire Ravenheart

Otherwise known as

The Adventures of Solaire

Part IV: The Clockwork Temple i

50 years ago, the Kellian philosopher Ero Tamakiani became interested in what he called “meta-academics”, that is, the process and science of people understanding and learning. After several years of experiments, research, and general thinking, he published The Scholar’s Guide to Expanding Your Intellect and the central lesson contained within was a phrase he repeated often both throughout the book and in person: “the quickest way to teach a child to swim is to throw them in the deep end.” It was a claim he was eager to defend. Anyone who pressed him on the subject was liable to become buried in evidential rhetoric fired off in rapid succession. Proving this became his life goal.

Unfortunately, he decided the quickest way to do this was to take a group of baby gibbon monkeys and throw them off of a bridge. And if this was a private affair, history might have been willing to forgive this little hiccup. After all, murdering animals is far from the worst thing ever done in the name of science. But he did this in broad daylight, on a very busy bridge, after shouting at the top of his lungs “hey everybody, look at this!” And baby gibbon monkeys are very, very cute creatures.

So a trial had to be had. A public trial, at that. Now, Kellian law allows the defense to put forward a claim without the consent of the defendant, so the defense decided to plead that their client was far to stupid to realize what he was doing. In response, the prosecution procured a simple “Create Campfire” spell scroll and told the ladies and gentlemen of the jury that if the defendant could read, comprehend, and utilize the spell contained upon it then surely he was intelligent enough to understand the implications of his actions. Ero readily agreed, preferring to go to jail than be a dunce, but he stuttered on the third line of the incantation. Because of this he summoned a roaring funeral pyre centered on the spot he was seated instead of the simple campfire he was attempting to create and immolated himself within seconds, both proving his innocence and rendering the whole point moot simultaneously.

The incident was so embarrassing that most booksellers and librarians quietly destroyed any works by Ero (intact copies are so rare nowadays that my three copies of The Scholar’s Guide could probably fetch me a sum close to that paid for River Ravenheart, if sold to the right people), and Ero’s legacy was recorded not by the pages of scientific discovery but instead by a hundred slightly tipsy lawyers trying to prove that law is not, in fact, a boring career choice they are repenting at their leisure in following.

Why am I telling you this? Because I find the whole story rather tragic, as I think Ero was onto something. Not about the buoyancy of baby animals, obviously, but about human nature. We are very adaptable creatures, far, far more adaptable than we give ourselves credit for, and the best way to harness that adaptability is to force ourselves to utilize it. Yes, there may be the occasional dead monkey along the way, but we come out the deep end much better for it. I encourage those of an intellectual bent to consider the possibility while reading the following three sections of Solaire’s story.

***

Weiss had a smile on his face as he moved down the hallway, a very expensive gold and ivory cigarette holder hanging out of the smirk of his mouth. “Arse-faced?” he asked. “Solaire really said zat?”

Winthrop, shuffling behind him, nodded. “According to the accounts.”

Weiss chuckled and slotted another cigarette into the holder before lighting it.

“Should I put the order in to have him publicly punished?” Winthrop enquired.

“Hmm? Of course not. Zis incident undoubtedly built camaraderie and morale amonghst our ‘volunteers.’ Ve vant zem to vork togezer, so zis is good. Plus, seperatink zem from ze crew is probably a good idea in general.”

“As you wish, sir.”

Wiess exhaled a long plume of smoke as they approached a large hatched door in the underbelly of the ship. “Are zey all here?”

“Yes sir.”

Weiss smiled. “Excellent.” He waited as Winthrop took ahold of the wheel and spun it, unlocking the door and swinging it open wide to allow Weiss to enter first. He did so, entering to a small room where Austin and Tomo were standing to attention while Skyler was twirling one sword while it was hooked to the blade of the other.

“And if I do this, then I have the benefits of an extended reach and the element of surprise,” he said, lazily spinning the weapon around its twin.

Willaby’s eyes went wide. “Fascinating.”

“Still seems like a lot of work to do less than a pistol can,” Solaire mumbled.

Weiss cleared his throat.

Skyler grabbed the handle of his other sword and sheathed them as the three men, slightly reluctantly, turned towards the sound of their boss.

“Glad to see ve are all gettink along so vell.” He smiled, warmth nowhere to be found in the expression. “Zis is good, for today you vill go on your firsht job for me. Aren’t you excited?”

“Woo” Solaire muttered with all the enthusiasm of a man cheering on drying paint.

“Zat’s ze spirit! Nov, ve are approaching ze Isle of Delphine. In its center lies a shtructure known as ‘Ze Clockvork Temple.’ You are to enter ze temple, nafigate ze halls, and retriefe an armored gauntlet for me.”

Skyler raised an eyebrow. “A gauntlet? You have a whole palace floating here, and you want a metal glove?”

A twinkle formed in Weiss’ eye. “It is a very schpecial glofe.”

“How do we know if we found it?” Willaby asked.

“Zis vhole temple vas built to hide it, so it schould be ze obfious sing in ze center.”

“Can we just get this over with?” Solaire grumbled.

“Yes you can! Tomo, you shtill remember ze vay, correct?”

He nodded. “I do.”

“Zen feel free to shtart vhenever! Ve’ll be here, vaiting for you to come back.” The predatory grin returned to his face one more time. “Good luck gentlemen, somesink tells me you’re goink to need it.”

***

The Isle of Delphine was named after Delphine of Acria, a woman of myth who was so cold and uncaring that she literally turned to stone. Presumably, this is why the long, rocky outcropping continuously buffeted by the harsh waves and stinging cold of the whiping salt-filled winds of the sea was named after her. My own visits have confirmed that this moniker is fitting.

The monolith that was The Emperor casino ship needed only to anchor alongside a crescent curving of the shore to block the incoming waves and create a calm harbor to lower Solaire and the others in a small wooden rowboat. At this point, they had rowed it to the shore, disembarked the small vessel, and were now hiking up the sharp rocks, lead by Tomo.

“Just a bit further,” he shouted over the sound of the wind. “Once we round that peak we’ll be there.”

“How do you know where it is?” Solaire shouted back.

“I led another group here once with the same mission. I did not accompany them inside.”

“Too chicken?” Solaire taunted.

Tomo shook his head. “Weiss told me to return once I had taken them there.”

“What happened to the other group?” Skyler asked.

“They never returned. We assumed they died inside.”

“Great,” Skyler complained. “Then what makes Weiss think we’ll do any better?”

“They only had a wizard,” Tomo replied. “We have a sorcerer.”

Willaby gave a cough. “That’s very flattering and all, but I’m not sure that you should rely on me as an upgrade.”

“Wasn’t planning on relying on you,” Solaire assured him.

Skyler gave him a reaffirming pat on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, We’ll go in, get the glove, get back out. Piece of cake.”

The group took a turn around the ledge they were following and came face to face with a gigantic set of brass doors, close to twenty feet high. Intricate details lined the exterior, with beautiful depictions of angels, demons, fairies, and large tentacled monstrosities fighting each other up and down the length of its surface. In the center was a giant capital ‘A’ adorned with full feathered eagle wings, and underneath that was a flowing delicate script written in a foreign language.

“We are here,” Tomo said.

Solaire rolled his eyes. “Thanks for letting us know.”

Tomo gave him a polite bow. “You are welcome.”

Willaby stared up at the strange words. “That’s… High Veqekian. Long dead language. Wonder what it says.”

Tomo glanced up. “It reads: ‘Herein lies the Clockwork Temple, designed by the Titans and protected by the Order of Archangels. Trespassers, leave now while you still possess your lives.’”

Skyler raised an eyebrow at Tomo. “You know High Veqekian?”

He shrugged. “I read to pass the time.”

“Great, fascinating,” Solaire interrupted. “How do we get them open?”

“The doors are not locked, but they are heavy.” Tomo turned to Austin. “Would you please assist us?”

Austin grinned and cracked one side of his neck and then the other before placing his massive hands on either side of the doors, leaning forward, and shoving. The metal gave a loud, protesting groan as it scraped along the stone. Giving it one last push to force the doors open wide, Austin stood, made a show of wiping his hands off, and then presented the now open doors with a grand gesture. “After you.”

The other four did so (ever-paranoid Solaire watching Austin out of the corner of his eye) as they stepped inside a metal room constructed in the shape of a hexagon, the sound of the roaring waves fading away and replaced by the chorus of ticking, tocking, and various other sounds of mechanical contraptions. At each of the six walls, a closed door was flanked on either side by two columns. The area was bereft of decoration, with the exception of a statue of a knight in armor kneeling with his hands outstretched, waiting to receive something, and two small pillars next to him, a miniature statue of an imp on one and an angel on the other.

Austin reached into the inside of his big white coat, withdrew a torch the size of a man’s arm, and dragged it across the ground to light it. He held it above his head and let the light illuminate the area. “Gotta say, this wasn’t what I was expecting when I heard the words ‘Clockwork Temple’.”

Skyler pointed down to the feet of the kneeling knight, where more Veqekian words were scrawled. “Tomo, can you read those?”

Tomo squinted. “I believe it says ‘If you do not understand what you see in front of you, you will surely die before you find what you seek. We give you one last chance to turn back.’”

Willaby looked from the imp to the angel, scratching his head. “Alright, I’ll admit it. I’m lost.”

“It’s a very over-the-top password system,” Solaire explained. “Obviously, what we have to do is put the right statue into his hands. That should unlock one of these doors.”

“And then we get the glove?” Willaby asked hopefully.

Solaire scoffed. “Don’t be stupid. There’ll be more past that point. No one’s going to hide something behind a single 50-50 chance.”

“Ah. Right.” Willaby’s face went red as he stared at the ground.

“Well, seems obvious enough to me.” Austin stepped forward and snatched the statue of the angel off the pedestal.

“Wait!” Soliare hissed. “Let’s think about this.”

Austin looked at him. “What is there to think about? Archangel, angel. Pretty self explanatory.”

Solaire nodded. “Exactly. It’s too obvious.”

Austin narrowed his eyes, as if he was concentrating on reading a book where all the words had at least three syllables. “So… you agree with me?”

“No!” Soliare rubbed his eyes. “Look, they obviously want people to not get what’s inside here, right? The best way to do that would be to put forward a choice that seems so right no one would question it and then trigger a trap when they do so.”

Austin thought about it for a moment. “Nope, don’t get it.”

Solaire growled in frustration.

“I understand Solaire’s statement…” Tomo said.

“Thank you!” Solaire exclaimed.

“...but I do not agree with it,” he continued. “I think you are overthinking the problem.”

Skyler shrugged. “Gotta say, I agree with Tomo on this one. I mean, look at this place Solaire. Seems pretty obvious that these Archangel people cared a lot more about making the place look nice than thwarting thieves.”

Solaire turned to Willaby.

“I… I like the angel,” Willaby stammered.

“Right! So it's settled!” Austin took the angel statue and placed it in the knight’s hands. As soon as he did so, the hands of the knight statue animated and curled around the object placed inside and the door immediately to the right of the group opened with a grinding sound.

As the other four moved towards the now-open entryway, Solaire grabbed the angel statue and tried to pull it out of the knight’s hands. It refused to budge.

“You coming?” Skyler asked.

Solaire glared at the group. “Fine. But only because you’ll get yourselves killed in whatever deathtrap that is without me and I’m not finished with any of you yet.”

Austin laughed as Solaire continued inside with the rest of them. “That’s the spirit!”

Inside was a large square room, still done in brass metal, with a colossal angel statue in the center, holding up an enormous piece of cut crystal. At the top of the walls were metal shutters, currently closed, but with sunlight outside just barely visible, and across the room was a door with a knob and a keyhole.

Austin strode confidently up to the door. “See! Nothing to worry…” he gripped the handle and turned, but the smile faded on his face when the door refused to open.

There was a loud “SHUNK SHUNK” as the door behind them shut and the metal shutters snapped open, streaming in bright white light. The angel statue in the center began to spin slowly, rising as it did so, raising the crystal piece into the light and directing a beam of it into the back of the room. A sliver of it landed on Skyler’s hand, causing his skin to turn red and blister. He yelped and lept back. “Gods and demons, that’s as hot as a fire!”

“What did I tell you?!” Solaire yelled. He ran over to the door and peered through the keyhole. “There’s an actual lock here, but it’s no pushover. I can pick it if you give me time.”

“How much time?” Tomo asked.

“I don’t know, time!” He frantically patted his pockets down before withdrawing a small sewing needle. “Mother… fine, you’ll have to do.” He put his ear up to the lock and began to wiggle around the small metal instrument.

Skyler turned to Willaby. “Can you stop it?”

“Um… I… uh…” he took out the wooden rod Weiss had gave him, tried to figure out which way to turn it, then pointed it at the crystal. “I command you to STOP!”

A small bouquet of flowers sprouted from the top of his wand.

“Heh.” He blushed and ripped the plants off of the end. “Let me try that again.”

Tomo grabbed Skyler’s shoulder. “Do you think you can climb to the top of those shutters and try to close them with me?”

“And get burnt up?” he protested.

Tomo shook his head. “That is regular sunlight. The crystal makes it deadly. But if we can close the shutters, there will be no light for the crystal to weaponize.”

“Right.” Skyler unsheathed his hook swords and took a running leap towards the angel statue, hooking an outstretched arm and spinning himself upwards, unhitching himself at the top of the arch to hurl himself at the left set of shutters. Tomo climbed onto the statue as well, hoisting himself higher and higher until he was level with the other set of shutters, where he leapt across and grabbed onto the metal slats.

Once the two were off, Austin roared and bear-hugged the angel statue, digging in his feet in an attempt to stop it from rising. The stone gave a protesting “GRRRrrrRRRRrrr” as its progress was stopped.

The white light was now covering the back quarter of the room. Willaby pointed his rod back at the crystal and grimaced. “Arcanum, ipsum… abracadabra!” A sudden shrieking howl sounded as several glittering projectiles arched around the room, exploding in a shower of stars and thunder like fireworks, none even coming close to their target.

Solaire jumped, dropping the needle. “Depths damn you, sorcerer!” he swore as he scrambled for it, “Either help or do us all a favor and step into that death beam!”

“I’m trying to help!” Willaby shouted.

“Really?” Solaire called back. “How ‘bout you take me up on that second offer then?”

The light inched a few more paces forward and Willaby yelped as it hit his backside, causing his clothes to smoke.

Skyler, meanwhile, was leaning back, sword secured to the metal slit. He began kicking the shutters in frustration. “I don’t think this is working Tomo!”

Tomo, holding onto his own set, nodded. “I would have to agree.”

“Solaire…” Austin groaned. “Hurry up. I can’t… hold this… much… longer…”

“C’mon, c’mon.” Solaire fished the needle upwards, prompting a small *click*. He swung the door open. “Inside, now!”

Willaby ran for it, practically bowling Solaire over as he did so. Skyler and Tomo jumped onto the angel, hanging on to slow their descent, before leaping into the open door. Austin, seeing that everyone else was safe, let go and broke into a sprint for the door frame as the angel, no longer held back by a large grunzen, began to spin upwards rapidly, causing the deadly light to sweep over the room at a rapid rate, nipping at Austin’s heels the entire time. Austin dived in and Solaire stepped in and slammed the door shut a half second before the light washed over doorway.

The group, now panting, turned to look around at the tiny, cramped room they were smushed into. At least, they tried to. It was far too dark for any of them to see.

“Well…” Skyler spoke, “what now?”

As if on cue, there was a sudden CLACK as the room shook for a second, then slowly began to move amidst the sounds of loud clicking and whirring. It stopped, jostling the occupants inside, then the door Solaire was next to opened and the group spilled out into a larger space…

...that happened to be the room leading from the entrance.

The same room where they just started from.

Skyler pounded the ground with his fist. “Dammit!”

Solaire got off the ground and brushed himself off. “Well now, have we all established that I know what I’m talking about after that little screw-up?”

“It might be a screw up,” Austin said, standing up, “OR maybe we picked the right one and that was the first choice in a long combination.” He gave a confident smile, obviously proud of the conclusion he came to.

“That is incorrect. Look,” Tomo pointed at the words written on the ground, “the script has changed. It now reads ‘Congratulations if you survived. The next trap is inescapable. Leave now before another wrong choice kills you.’”

Austin’s face fell. “Oh.”

“That’s not all that’s changed.” Willaby scrambled over to the statues. Now, instead of a knight, there was a man dressed in the elaborate clothes of a noble, bent over into the same kneeling position, and the small figures on the pedestal were now a hunched man in tattered robes, face hidden by a hood, and a young child enthusiastically banging a drum almost as big as himself.

Skyler walked up beside him. “So, we have to pick again. Well…”

Solaire loudly cleared his throat. All the members of the group turned to look at him.

“Before any of you go locking us into an inescapable death trap,” he stated, “would anyone mind if I go ahead and pick the right answer?”

“What makes you so sure you can?” Tomo questioned.

“I picked the lock. I broke Weiss’ little slot machine. And I correctly predicted the last answer.” He stepped forward to face the noble statue. “If I’m qualified to do anything, it’s to cheat the system.”

Tomo turned to Skyler and Willaby. Skyler just shrugged.

“Austin?” Tomo asked.

“Eh, let’s see if he does any better” Austin replied.

Solaire looked at the noble, then the man in robes, then the child, then back to the noble. After a minute of thought, he picked up the statue of the robed man and placed it in the noble’s hands.

Like before, the noble’s hands immediately clasped around the figurine and a door, this time to their ahead right, opened.

Solaire strolled over to it, turned, and motioned to it with an outstretched arm. “Well?”

With only the slightest amount of hesitation, the group filed into the room. Once everyone else was inside, Solaire stepped in as well, the door shutting with a loud “SHUNK!” once he did.

This room was smaller, barely thirty feet across, with a low ceiling and open vents at the bottom. And most concerningly, no door on the other side.

A long hissing sound was emitted as the vents began to spill forth a foul smelling smoke, the odor of which resembled something close to a combination of metallic blood and rotten eggs.

“Depths damn it” Skyler moaned.

“What do we do?!” Austin demanded, spinning around in a panic and bumping into the walls. “There’s no doors, where do we go?!”

“I have a plan! Willaby stand over there,” Soliare shouted, pointing to the area where the door they entered from had been. “Everyone else, to this wall, with me!” He strode over to the opposite wall as everyone took their places.

Willaby looked across at Solaire. “N-now what?”

Solaire took out the Ivory River and pointed it at Willaby. “First, we kill the useless one to conserve air.”

Willaby’s eyes went wide with shock and he gasped, inhaling a trail of the sour smoke. He gagged, then coughed, then began to hack and heave, pounding his chest and turning red, then redder, then even more red, until he began to literally shed red light.

Austin furrowed his brow. “Wait a minute…”

A huge KA-BOOM! erupted as Willaby, in every connotation of the word, exploded, releasing a shockwave of fire and ash, blowing out the wall behind him in a shower of metal shrapnel. Soliare stepped through the smoke cloud and back into the entrance room, uttering a “thank you” as he moved past Willaby.

Willaby flopped onto the floor, crawling forward, still wheezing, as the others moved around him to get back to the hexagon room.

“What the hell was that?!” Skyler demanded, fury in his voice.

“I figured the sorcerer could get us out, given a push in the right direction,” Solaire answered in a calm tone.

“And what were you going to do if it didn’t work?!”

“Dunno.” Soliare shrugged. “We didn’t have to find out, did we?” he called over to Willaby.

Willaby drew himself up to his knees and vomited.

Solaire made a face of disgust. “Eugh.”

There was a loud CLACK and the sound of more precise machinery from all around as the noble and the two pedestals slowly sunk into the floor, only to be replaced by a kneeling king and the figurines of a knight with large butterfly wings protruding from his back and a raggedy beggar doing a polite tip of the hat.

Skyler looked at the new choices and gave a long, exasperated groan. “Oh c’mon!”

Austin stomped over to the butterfly knight and grabbed it.

“Stop you moron!” Soliare grabbed onto Austin’s arm, which was about as useful as a caterpillar grabbing onto a squirrel and attempting to slow it down.

“It doesn’t fucking matter which one we pick, so might as well throw a random one on there.” He started to place the knight into the king’s hands.

Solaire snatched it, fast enough to grab it away. “Yes it does, and that is very obviously the wrong choice!”

“How the hell would you know? You screwed up the last one!”

“And you screwed up the first one!”

“I fail to see how that makes your choice any more logical,” Tomo remarked.

“Give it!” Austin grabbed for the statue and Solaire darted away, keeping it just out of his reach.

Willaby crawled on all fours towards the center of the floor. “Wa… wa…”

Skyler stepped in behind Solaire and grabbed the statue from behind, twirling the two of them around like dancers on a ballroom floor. “Solaire, stop this.”

Austin drew back a fist and held it there. “Just get him to stop in front of me, Skyler. I’ll punch his lights out.”

“Austin, don’t!” Tomo exclaimed. “You’ll probably kill him.”

Austin squinted an eye to improve his aim. “To be honest with you, I don’t really see that as a downside right now.”

“I can not allow you to do that” Tomo stated, stepping in front of the large man.

“Water…” Willaby gasped. “I need… I need…”

“Move!” Austin shoved Tomo, forcing the man to stumble backwards into the locked pair of Skyler and Solaire. Skyler tripped forward, knocking Solaire over with him, both men losing their grip on the statue as it slid across the ground, behind the group, over to Willaby, where it landed with a splash.

The melee stopped as everyone registered the sound, looked at each other, then over to Willaby, who was kneeling on the floor that seemed to have been transformed into a shallow pool of fresh, clear…

“Water?!” Willaby cried, excitement in his eyes.

There was a rush of wind and a sinking drop in the pit of everyone’s stomach as the water, along with everyone on it, succumbed to the force of gravity and fell into the depths of the Clockwork Temple.

#adventures_of_solaire #fantasy #steampunk #pirate #short_story #series #adventure