The two duos, one metal-clad, the other leather, approach each other across the black sand.
L: By the way, they are Gish and her brother, Gash. They never told me their names; Melandria did.
D: Spoiler.
L: What? You should already know I talk to her; that's the whole point of the story!
"Why are you out here?" asks Gish.
"Where do you think you are?" asks Gash.
"Both questies: we're lost in the Underdank," says Ling, she gestures for Kalyani to answer.
"Quite," says the priestess, "If you could point uss in the directshion of the nearesst town, we'd apprecciate it."
"That symbol," says Gash, "That eyeball you're wearing... What manner of follower are you?"
"Do you know it, brother?" asks Gish. She reaches for her sword, but before she draws it, Gash answers.
"That's the Love God's Eye," he says, "So how do you serve her?"
"Oh, you know her?" asks Kalyani, fluttering her eyes. She slithers toward Gash. "Are you a follower too?"
"Brother," Gish voices tings with annoyance.
"Let him have some fun, mate," says Ling, scampering up to Gish, "Yous two alone out here?"
J: I should have known. You're a wizard, Mum; don't you have stories about succeeding through... you know, wizardry?
L: Magic isn't the only answer to problems, Jevoi.
"No, we-" Gish cuts herself off, "Why are you really here? What do you think you're doing?"
"What do you want me to do?" asks Ling, still sauntering forward. Lacking the ability to flutter, she quickly licks her eyes instead. At the moment, she has no idea where this will lead, but it is succeeding as a distraction.
Gish takes a step backward. Out of the corner of her eye, she spots Kalyani encircling Gash.
"Perhapss, we've not been honesst," whispers Kalyani, "The Goddesss ssent uss."
"Somebody needs our help," says Ling, "Is it ya?" Ling gets up to Gish's faceplate. "A big strong woman like you shouldn't be alone."
"I- I'm not," says Gish, "My brother and I-"
"Brother doesn't count, mate," says Ling, now fully confident, "Let's see those eyes of yours." Ling places her hands on Gish's helmet, who does not resist. Ling carefully remove it and looks upon Gish's battle-scarred tallgoblin face. "Looks like ya had some bark taken off, eh?" Ling gently traces her claw down the diagonal scars; they clearly came from a claw attack.
Gish face contorts. "Would- would you like to see," she says, struggling to keep her strong warrior demeanor, "My other ones?"
"I'd love to," says Ling.
L: Long story short: they let us into the tower and we kept them distracted for a bit.
This has been the first, and only, Mikado Monday. I don't think any other character is going to get this much love from me, but I'm thinking of who to post about next.
Mikado has taken back the Yugiri.
It can be hard to tell, since it's a palette-swapped nodachi, but if you look close, you can see the hilt is red.
Down into the darkness the party did travel, climbing down by hand. One of Kalyani's staves carried a spell that allowed Maraja to imitate Ling's natural climbing.
"Do you really do thhiss every week?" asks Kalyani, carrying her entire weight on her hands alone, "Care to ssay why, dear?"
"Plant research," says Ling, climbing slow enough to keep pace while also carrying the priestess' bag, "I'm experimenting with biolumies in the Cave."
"Bio loomies?" asks Kalyani.
"Rocks and shrooms that glow down there," says Ling, "Trying to find a way to farm in the dark."
"For what purposse?" asks Kalyani, "The food crississ issn't from lack of light."
J: It is odd that you started there. L: Well, it's all I could afford at the time.
"If food can grow in the Caves," answers Ling, "That's a reason to get those b*****ds down there to stop raiding other parts of the Glow."
"Iss thhat why you moved here?" asks Kalyani, "And from where?"
"From Ozzel," says Ling, "Went to Lemonbum's Wiz School. Thought my accent would make it obvy. Where ya from, Sister? Ya don't sound local either."
"Her eyess led me here from thhe cloudss of Shheshhaparvata," says Kalyani, her voice more melodic, "Every few yearss, I-"
"Breathhe, dear," says Kalyani, "Move one limb at a time."
The light from above suddenly ceases to be; Bobbobo had closed the dome.
J: Why didn't you have any light with you? L: Ya think seeing how far down it was would help? Or seeing the light be swallowed by the abyss? The temptation of looking down would've killed her. J: Point taken.
"Mate, panicking is just making ya slower," says Ling, "Which means ya're up here longer. I'd be bottomside already if I weren't watching ya. Remember why ya're here."
"Then I'll jump after ya," says Ling, "I'm a wizard; I've a spell to save ya."
"If I use it too soon, it won't work."
"Remember, what shhe ssaid yessterday," says Kalyani, "Disstractsion. Tell uss more about thhiss lady we're following."
"Okay, okay," says Maraja, trying to calm her breath, "I can... do that."
The Good, the Bad, and Their Little Cat Too
is this for anyone? or just me lol
The whirling dust around Ioana approaches Jevoi and Tanglepork. "I shall have vengeance!" howls the glowing counter-silhouette.
Jevoi takes off running. "Tell you what," she says, "After you kill her, I can take to my mum; you can kill her too."
L: Love ya, too.
"Don't leave me here!" yells Tanglepork, scrambling to her feet. "Give me my gun back!"
"Why would I ever?" yells Jevoi, trying to figure out the mechanisms of the gun. The odd rotating piece in the center confuses her. It would be easier for her to study it, if she weren't running toward darkness.
"Don't come at me!" Luminița yells at the other women, "I'm not involved in this!"
"AND I AM?" yells Jevoi, running with Tanglepork and Ioana hot behind her, "I don't even know this woman!"
"I'm going to rip you limb from limb, Ling!" yells Ioana. The light emanating off of her continues offer a view of what the mortals begin realizing may be an infinite plane.
"Love the enthusiasm, Madam!" says Jevoi, "Wrong target!" Jevoi thinks, 'Gank, do something, please!'
'Like what?' asks Gank in Jevoi's brain, 'Ya want me to fight her?'
'You're the only one who can,' thinks Jevoi.
'I have an idea,' thinks Gank, 'Keep her distracted.' She sinks into the ground, invisible.
"Just shoot her," yells Luminița, running further ahead.
"She's a ghost, you drongo!" yells Jevoi.
"Not my bunica, idiot!" the lycan yells back, "Tanglepork!"
Jevoi aims the gun backward and pulls the trigger, but the weapon does not fire. It doesn't even CLICK.
Tanglepork laughs and throws a bone off the floor. It hits the gun causing Jevoi to drop it. She scoops it up as the gun and pulls the hammer back. She eyes Jevoi and rubs her hand along the barrel; sparkles enter the weapon. She puts both hands on the grip, turns toward the advancing dust-storm (while running backward now), and fires a glowing shot into it. A silvery explosion distorts the cyclone.
"That's how you do it, kiddo!" laughs Tanglepork, turning away.
Ioana howls in shock and the bones on the floor rattle. They rattle and shake and bounce into the air. Each begins flying in the direction of the closest mortal.
"Mamaia!" yells Luminița, "How did you screw that up, Jevoi?
L: How did ya screw that up?
The dining hall is a grand display: many lengthy tables, elaborate chandeliers, fancy crystal 'candles', and cushioned chairs. Jevoi sits at the head of the table with Angustias on her right. Dalini sits on the left with an unimpressed Ling beside her.
Ling looks down the table into the empty room. "Where's the rest of them?" she asked.
"We're eating earlier than usual," says Jevoi, "I don't want to overwhelm Dalini."
"Don't want to be seen with me," accuses Ling, "Or want my eyes on ya?"
Before Jevoi can respond, a chime rings out and four covered plates float to the table.
"Eh, what's this display for?" asks Ling, "Why not some bloke?"
Jevoi pauses, as if realizing something, but disregards it.
The group uncover their food: Angustias has massive steak, Jevoi and Dalini have fruit salads with snails, and Ling has a large insect.
"Dire roach!" says Ling, "Ripper, the lobster of land." She breaks off a leg and begins sucking the meat out.
Dalini begins scooping fruit into her mouth by hand.
"Use a spoon, please," says Jevoi, pointing to the by Dalini's bowl, "It's rude to use your hands like that, Dalini."
"Okay," says Dalini, picking up the spoon and carefully trying to pick up the pieces.
"The fork may be more useful," says Angustias, cutting up the meat before her.
As Dalini stabs a strawberry, she asks, "So how did you meet?"
Jevoi swallows a bite of food and coughs. "That's- that's a bit of a story."
"We got time, Jevoi," says Ling, cracking open the roach's carapace, "And we got a third witness here too."
Gank briefly flickers behind Jevoi with a malicious grin, as Jevoi sighs. "I suppose we shouldn't keep it a secret."
In total darkness, Ling drops Kalyani's bag and skitters off. "Hold on," she says, "I know it's around here." There's a tapping and creak. A dull light enters the chamber. Ling now stands by a small open door filled with glowing stones. "Great to see ya, again."
Maraja rolls her eyes, then turns her attention elsewhere. The chamber opens into three tunnels, but the small stone structure Ling stands beside has several metal pods attached to its sides. "What is that?"
"Just my current experiment," says Ling, "These pods contain different crops and the paneling shifts over time like the sun." She skitters up onto the building to a valve. "By turning this once a week, it keeps going 'round."
"Are thhosse dangerouss?" asks Kalyani, slithering away and roots through her bag.
"Defo!" says Ling, "With too many, anyway. Like standing in the sun." As Kalyani pulls a torch from her bag and lights it, Ling shuts her door and joins the duo in the center of the chamber. "So, who knows the way to go?"
"Her loving eyes will guide us," say Maraja. She fall to her knees and prays, "Dearest Vanessa, please, show us, on what path did Kirono head?"
A flaming eye suddenly appears in a tunnel and vanishes further in.
J: The gods did something? Hah. L: Two of her followers asked on a quest she assigned one to. J: ... L: We can talk about Vanessa later, Jevoi.
Ling licks her eyes. "South, toward Vrow territory."
"Oh, great," Kalyani shakes her head and takes out a staff, "The worshhiperss of Lmaoth." She conjures a new floating disc.
"Don't jinx it, mate," says Ling, hoisting the bag back on to it.
J: Can you just skip to the castle? L: What? But the purple-stuffed worm- and the tuning fork. D: I want to hear about the worm! J: Fine, just the interesting parts of spelunk. L: I'll do.
"She will protect us," says Maraja, standing, "She will protect us. Let us go forth!" She marches into the tunnel.
"Do ya remember," asks Ling to Dalini, "What I told ya about the sun?"
"Yeah," says the little one, releasing her grip on the wizard's robe, "The sun used to shoot light of the hole in it: shoosh." She wiggles her arms in front of her. "And it span around and around: woooo woooo woooo." The older geckos watched her twirl about. "But you didn't say why it stopped," she said, pouting and no longer rotating.
"Should we tell her?" asks Ling, "Why doesn't the sun shine?"
Jevoi scowls. "Sure, let's tell her... exactly why. Let's tell her everything about that happened that day." Jevoi's face contorted into a wicked smile. "Let's not leave out a single detail."
Ling looked away. "Maybe it's too soon."
Dalini hopped around into Ling's view. "But you said-"
Ling raised her hand. "That story's too... long."
"Dalini," says Jevoi, "We can tell that story later, like after you come home." She cracks a little smile. "Do you know what a palace is?"
Dalini shakes her head.
"It's a big castle filled with all sorts of things. We can go there and you can meet your other mother, my wife. We can get you new clothes and your own room and anything you want to put in it."
Dalini's eyes sparkle in the light. She inhaled an audible gasp.
"She isn't going," says Ling, "Without me."
"Very w-"
"I'm not going, so rack off."
The pool of the ship is a happening place. The fake sun hanging like a disco ball shines loving warm rays all around. There are couples and crowds swimming, relaxing, and playing pool volleyball with a demilich sealed in a magic bubble. (She's loving it.)
Stretched out prone and naked in a beach chair is Luminița. The lycan drifts in and out of consciousness to the waves of the crowds' mirthful sounds. This bliss is interrupted by a shadow cast upon her.
"Take it," says Jevoi, dropping the bag by the side of Luminița's chair, "Where's my tome hidden?"
"What's your rush?" asks the lycan, her eyes refusing to open, "We'll do this after the cruise."
"Or we can do it now, while we're far from everyone."
"Nope, mourning," says Luminița, flipping onto her back, "My bunica was just sent to Hell."
"That's not my fault," says Jevoi, "And she was trying to kill us."
"Trying to kill you," says Luminița, eyes firmly shut, "Besides, you just want me to have the sheriff on my tail for the rest of the trip."
"No, I don't," says Jevoi, kneeling down closer to Luminița, "She has no reason to think you have it, she'll keep chasing me."
"Oi, Ling," yells a withered voice from the pool, startling Jevoi back up, "Fancy seein' you's 'ere."
Jevoi turns toward the disruptor: a decrepit old sea hag with wet leathery skin and in a tiny black bikini. "You're mistaken, miss, but you're not the first."
L: Salica, maybe? J: How am I supposed to know? L: She'd have been like forty; that's not old. J: She didn't look forty; she looked eighty.
"Really?" The hag crawls out of the pool, her seaweed hair dragging limply. "You look just like 'er." She slithers along the ground, limbs desperately trying to lift her water-logged body; her long claws scrapping as her hands search for footing. "You sound just like 'er." Her neck cracks as she twists her head to better look at the gex. Her smile is marred with broken teeth. "You smell just like 'er."
"Not willingly, I assure you." Jevoi steps back, scratching he wig. She looks about and spots, out into the pool, the volleyball game which has seemingly paused. "I think your coven's waiting for you. Shouldn't keep them waiting."
The hag jerks her head around to look, then she swings back. "They'll be- huh?" Jevoi is already gone.
"Go on," says Gash, pushing Jevoi into the room, "Say 'hello.'"
Jevoi freezes; the older reptilian's eyes stare into her. Gank puts her tome down and slides off the side of the bed and slowly walks toward Jevoi.
"Hello, there, pinky," says Gank. She turns her attention to the tallgoblin, "Shouldn't you be helping your boss, old man?"
"Boss said-" Another explosion and Melandria's voice echo up the tower interrupting Gash. "On second thought, keep an eye on Ling's kid." He leans down to Jevoi and asks, "Are you going to be okay?"
Jevoi nods and Gash takes off back toward the stairs.
L: To be fair, we were just about to call him back anyway.
Gank quickly slams the door shut and turns to Jevoi. "Alright, pinky let's play a little game." She grabs the gecko by the shoulders with one set of claws and the waist with the other, and sets her on the bed. "I know your weird mom can regrow her limbs," she says with a smile. Her three rows of sharp teeth shining in the low light. "Let's see if you can do it, too." Jevoi continues to stare into Gank's eyes, transfixed. Gank hesitates. "Aren't you scared, pinky?"
Jevoi's voice squeaks out, "You're so cool."
"No fear at all," says Gank, "You're as weird as your mom."
"No, I'm not," says Jevoi, snapping out of her enamoration, "She keeps bringing women home and putting them in her bed." Jevoi looks to her side. "You put me in your bed; you're the weird one."
"I'm going to eat you," says Gank, bluntly.
"She says things like that, too," says Jevoi, equally blunt.
L: When have I ever said that.
D: You said that to that lady who needed a new arm last week.
L: That- Th- Nevermind it.
Gank pushes herself off the bed. "You're funny, pinky," she says, "What's your name?"
"I'm Jevoi." She sits up and spots Gank's tome. "What were you reading?"
"Just magic rituals," says Gank, trying to be cool and aloof, "Old man says I have to learn something here and this is the least boring thing they've got."
"Mum wants me to study magic too," says Jevoi, "But all she has is her dumb plants and animals. I want to learn blades."
An idea worms its way into Gank's brain. "Blades, huh?" she says, "I know where my 'mom'-" Airquotes. "-keeps her swords." She leans toward Jevoi with a coy smile. "Want to see them?"
"YES!" Jevoi jumps off the bed and almost into Gank's naturally armored face.
L: Reminder: I was fighting the abomy outside.
J: And?
L: I just think Dalini would like to know the other side of this.
J: Fine, make it quick.
In the second game, the characters have a set of special kata performances they can do for certain achievements. The dance in question changes based on weapon.
Beating 20 opponents in Vs CPU mode, winning in Group Battle Mode, or beating Story mode without dying will show you something like this.
Obviously these aren't the locations they're supposed to do this in. This second location is the secret "Samurai Mansion" stage in the POV Link Battle Mode.
This is one of the training rooms.
Old enough to remember the NES. Pathfinder 2E DM. Fascinated by folklore, religion, mythology, and occultism. World's biggest Bushido Blade 2 fan. Really liking what's happening with indie animation lately.
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