Patches (Open RP)


Arctic_Princess

 

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Besides... why are you so set on specifically here anyway? Surely in a place like Patches there's an energy source somewhere that no one will mind you taking. Hell, go drain the power out of a few of those harvester robots out in the ruined city. People would probably encourage you doing that."
Tafari guffawed at that.

"Did you not SEE that stuff?" He thumbed back toward the clearing. "That stuff...it was similar to the magical fallout caused whenever somebody uses the Malleus Mundi. And that specific type is the easiest for me to convert to my own type." He raised a hand and clenched it, a glaring orb of golden-orange power enveloping it. "I mean sure, I can convert anything into Divine energy easily enough. But it's like trophic levels. There's always a massive loss of energy during conversion. The more difference there is, the more energy is lost. So it's always best to keep an eye out for energy fields that are as similar as possible to my own. But that's beside the point. You couldn't stop me because you have no means to slow me down. You might be able to nettle me, but I doubt you have the capability to effectively combat a speedster in motion."


 

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Trisys had remained silent through Jade's experience. The Token's feed being one-way, she had no way to know if it even worked until Jade finally responded. By his words, she concluded he had gotten what he asked for, but not understood it all.

"Why wh..." Trisys had to stop, shock filled with icy chills. He had forgotten about the Token, maybe he also forgot about the Cost. She could not get alarmed. That leads to the Cold Place. Once she could be mostly dispassionate, she tried again. Hopefully keeping her voice quiet would prevent the level tone from coming across as upset.

"There is a price for everything, Jade. Even Wishes. Especially Wishes. It can not be undone. The price must be paid in full. Further, I must pay for my choice, like all who live. It is the way things stays in balance. The backlash from trying to subvert the consequences of Wishes has destroyed many Masters."

"You are good, Jade. Look at the results of your Wish. You are restored! You are whole! It is the greatest Wish I have granted."

How could she convay this to Jade? Stories. People seem to understand principles easier when given a parable. Searching through her lifetime, she found an example from her first Master. Come to think of it they had a lot in common, this Drokar-Akonos and that little human girl. Too bad they couldn't meet, they would probably enjoy each other.

"Think of it like this. Someone was given a house, fully furnished and ready to be moved into. Then he learned the family had given up their home. Instead they lived in a lesser place. The one who received the home tried to give it back, not wanting others to suffer on his behalf. But that was an insult, because they had done it out of love. Being able to sacrifice to show they cared was a privilege. The best way to accept the gift was to do so with gratitude, be responsible in maintaining the house, then further building the home as a safe place to grow and know joy.

"I care for you, Jade. It is a privilege to grant your Wishes. What makes Wishes good or evil is motive and willingness. Those can be discerned by the resulting feelings. Ask the Token, Jade. Tell it to show you how I feel about your Wish."

Offering a suggestion unsolicited was highly unorthodox, but so was choosing to modify a Wish. If Jade used that phrasing to ask the Token, it would be convey that Trisys had willingly made the exchange required and rejoiced in Jade's restoration. It would also spare Jade of the fears and doubts Trisys still struggled for her ability to cope with what was left.


 

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Originally Posted by Paradigm_Shift View Post
You might be able to nettle me, but I doubt you have the capability to effectively combat a speedster in motion."
"We are the best option around to help you to return to your home. However if you insist of being a pain then I say we even things up a bit." came Lady Aineruda voice in reply as she came to the area with the Captain of the Guard and 4 of the best archers. She rose her arms commanding the magical power and sent the energy to Ildela and Paxtera. For them it would seem like the world slowed down but in truth it was they gained a boost to their own speed.

Then she turned and done the same to the Captain dressed in what could only be some kind of enchanted armor he was also holding two swords. "I knew you were trouble but I gave you the benefit of the doubt. We would have been here earlier but we picked up a protective armor that would protect me that lighting of yours!" (Dual blades/ Willpower /Body mastery scrapper)

Meanwile

Cerelassion spun and looked at Kethara "Those Portal people of yours can send us back in time? This... yes I think that might be the best option if we can travel far enough back to the beginning of Patches we can get the information. Or even stop Patches from yanking us all from our home even before it happened."


 

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Toy shook his head at Akat, raising both hands in a placating gesture.

"Sorry, sorry. My irritation at this whole situation is bleeding off in annoying ways," he said. "Borrowing a working cruiser, armed or not, would be invaluable. Though I would like to take a look at these hive-minded machines Cerelassion mentioned before we go...

"And speaking of going!" Toy exclaimed loudly, spinning around and jogging over to Jade and Trisys. "She's complaining about not being able to control her body, right?"

Hunkering down next to the satyr, he reached behind his neck to spool out his universal connector, hooking himself into the same port he had accessed before.

"When you got turned into a robot, I bet it didn't come with an instruction manual, did it? When I checked her out earlier she barely even had an table of contents, if you get my analogy."

Connecting in, Toy wrote up a quick little program to enable eye movement and installed it. He also started working on more complex programs, but this would suffice as a test.

"Right-o, can you move your eyes now?"


Statesman said let there be heroes, and there were heroes.

Lord Recluse said let there be villains, and there were villains.

NCsoft said let there be nothing, and there was nothing.

 

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Jade gave a long exhale through his nostrils, unable to squeeze out a coherent response. He got the idea, but...the lesser place was still a prison. Insult or not, how could he just up and accept this when the one who'd done the kindness was now subject to the torture that had been his burden to bear?

The same...

No. Not the same. The way she'd explained it, there were differences. As a machine, he'd been able to close his eyes. She wasn't. He hadn't been able to feel any contact or warmth at all. She was. So there were variations. Thus being, could he really judge the state? Could he presume to know what it felt like to be her right now? Or was he just assuming?

He looked to her in silence, eagerly awaiting the results of Toy's efforts. Perhaps they would answer his questions.

"Mhf." Akat meanwhile remarked with distanced negativity at Cerelassion's idea, "I don't know if that's such a good plan. I don't know myself, but I was always taught that time gets mad if you bother it too much..."


"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi

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"But it's like trophic levels. There's always a massive loss of energy during conversion. The more difference there is, the more energy is lost. So it's always best to keep an eye out for energy fields that are as similar as possible to my own."
"And we can't help but wonder, is the energy lost in conversion more or less that the energy expended trying to fend off people like us?", Paxtera asked curiously, inwardly amused at how civil this discussion was when only a few moments ago they'd been beating each other up. "We assume you factored that in when doing your math, yes?"

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You might be able to nettle me, but I doubt you have the capability to effectively combat a speedster in motion."
"Again with the assumptions", was all the peacebringer said in reply, as the elven contingent arrived. "And the cavalry arrives right on time.", she commented, before looking around curiously as the world seemed to slow down around her... nope, she didn't do that. And it wasn't what she thought it was, ok.

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"I don't know if that's such a good plan. I don't know myself, but I was always taught that time gets mad if you bother it too much..."
"It does, yeah", Kethara agreed. "So we just be sure to not bother it too much. Like that go back to stop it happening thing, as I understand it that either flat doesn't work or causes the universe to implode, depending on which theory you're looking at." Oddly she seemed to have near absolute certainty that they could do it - if they were careful and did it properly.

"And no, Portal Corp can't. But Mum might be able to if you ask her nicely", she answered Cerelassion.


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"And we can't help but wonder, is the energy lost in conversion more or less that the energy expended trying to fend off people like us?", Paxtera asked curiously, inwardly amused at how civil this discussion was when only a few moments ago they'd been beating each other up. "We assume you factored that in when doing your math, yes?"
"Are you SURE you're a Kheldian, chucklehead?" Tafari asked annoyedly. "You should already know the answer to that just through observation..."

And the the calvalry arrived.

Tafari INSTANTLY, as in, it would be impossible to accurately measure the span of time it took him act with anything other than half a New-York second, turned and locked eyes with the captain.

"YOU." He said, a savage smile creeping onto his face once more. "Alright, everybody SHUT UP, right now and listen, or I will vanish and blow up something important. Every elven forest usually has some big magical voo-doo tree, and I'm betting that yours would burn real nice." To make good on his threat, Tafari raised a hand to the sky, and it started to radiate with glowing orange light that darkened the air. If anybody did anything surprising, even if Ildela merely went back into hiding, he would be gone in an instant.

"Here is my ultimatum." He began, the savage smile on his face growing wider and wider. "YOU." He pointed directly at the captain. "My day was ABSOLUTELY PERFECT until you SHOT at me, you *****. You completely RUINED the buzz I had going. This forest has NOTHING left of interest to me, so I am willing to leave. However, I will only leave AFTER I have kicked the utter crap out of him." He continued to point at the captain. "After I'm done kicking him around, I'll leave. In the offchance he actually wins, hey. I'm down for the count. And if none of you like those two options, I can just warp around exploding important things and setting everything else on fire until all of my frustration is gone."

He waited for a response.


 

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If Trisys could have moved her head, it would have done a double-take at the interruption to Jade's silent response. But she couldn't and only had Jade in her view. "whowha?" Trisys asked. A moment later it was clearly Toy, unless another robot had sprung up. Seeing Jade's eagerness she submitted to Toy's activity. Like the first time there wasn't a port, per say. The surface of Trisys was seamless with no entry or openings of any kind. It was the fact that Toy and Trisys were both robots that allowed Toy access just by physically touching her.

Semantics aside, the first program downloaded, tried to run, and... "No," Trisys had to report. As the armor-like shell was seamless, there was no eyeball to be moved. On a program level the visual sensors reported maximum efficiency and capacity. The amber-colored eyes looked painted because it was raw spirit magic seeming through. Though logically that would mean the magic could imitate movement, or should be solid amber color like the other points colored such. Magic was illogical that way. It was beyond Trisys's keen to discern all this. It depended on Toy's abilities how much was known to him or if only a simple error message resulted.

Overall the system, both software and hardware, was more primitive than Jade's had been. It was not capable of detailed sensor readouts, super strength, nor contained an automatic balancing system. Scent, taste, and touch were right out. Yet while half of the attempts returned errors, Toy's persistence with more complex programs would know success in other key areas. His efforts unlocked, restored, and filled in the limited programming. A graphic user interface bloomed in Trisys's vision. It provided interactive control for overall status, capabilities, filters, settings, even a mapping function which included a compass. As a bonus hearing was adjustable to a surprising degree. When at last the text help files were discovered they showed Toy had done all that was possible.

To Trisys the experience was discombobulating. She did her best to verbally confirm throughout the duration of Toy's experiments. The sensation of his programming evolving her was not actually tactile, though it was like having an army of ants rearranging tiny chunks everywhere. Externally the red static squirmed.

The results were worth it. The cumulation meant that while real touch was not available, Trisys once again had a sense of her own form: limbs, trunk, head, tail, and wings. She knew from the inside that the points of pressure were her fingers and palms, hooves, wing tips, ear tips, and tail tuff. As Trisys had suspected, tensegrity allowed larger gross movement by manipulating those micro pressure points. She tried to stand. It was like watching a floppy marionette and she ended up in a tangled clump. The new UI reported a couple points of damage, repaired by the automatic systems. "Nevermind," Trisys reassured Toy, Jade, and herself aloud, "I can move. It will be up to me to learn how to do so gracefully through practice."

Focusing just on her ear tips, Trisys rotated them. She managed to canter her head at a painful-looking angle. It allowed her to see Toy, so she held it there. "Thank you. You have helped tremendously. More than I would have thought possible. And... and I don't remember clearly, but I know you were there with me in the Cold Place. I think I said or did something wrong, and yet you continued to help me. I am sorry if I upset you. Without you I would not have had the hope to try to escape. Thank you again. I owe you a great deal. I don't know that I can offer much, but if possible I will repay you.

"Have we been introduced? Toy Dispenser, I am Tri..." She halted, her reflection in Toy's blank faceplate finally penetrating. In a more awed tone, she continued, "I... I am Bisys."


 

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"Theory?" Akat inquired with a puzzled look, her tone very much suggesting that what she'd spoken of wasn't, but then her interest was drawn to Trisys' movement, the Khelari making her way over as well, and with a wide smile to boot. She was truly glad things finally seemed to be looking up for the satyr-like being.

Jade was as well, though of course for different reasons. He let the air pass from his lungs with relief. Trisys was indeed different then he'd been. Good. Well, he hoped it was good, at least. He supposed he'd just have to wait and see.

"Okay." he thus said with a nod, rising to his feet again (also a bit shakily still, but not nearly as unsteadily as Trisys), and reached a hand down for her to take - well, or he did so halfway technically, realizing only at this point in the motion that he was quite literally standing butt-naked in the woods.

"Urr..." he gulped self-consciously with a look about, his velvet-brown hide turning a very odd shade of red, "...haaasss...anybody seen my clothes...?"


"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi

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The Captain raised an eyebrow "Getting teleported to another world landing in the Middle of a waste land and you were find till a flash arrow go off near you? We didn't even see where you are we just fired those two arrows to SEE YOU. There was no goal to Hit you but given your behavior I wished I used something more lethal then flash powder."

"I accept your challenge and I won't threaten to run with my tail between my legs burning things if I loose."

Lady Aineruda rolled her eyes "Males... Look no one challenges anyone unless I SAY!" She looked at Tafari "Like I said before were your best chance of getting home so listen up. Do you want your ego driven male member match up or do you want to use that brain in your head and get HOME! I assure you for thousands of Miles around there is no one alive that knows how to return you from where ever you came from. You just be another grunt fighting for scraps on this mix match realm. We have been gaining knowledge for the last hundred and fifty years on how to end this madness. So if your ego still wants your Match go ahead. Or you can show your more then just a fight driven brute." Her eyes went to look to the Captain as she said that. "Then help everyone get to their home."

Back at the hot springs

Cerelassion rubbed his chin "Still it might be possible to just contact a Builder and find out how to deactivate Patches and even send people back where they belong." He looked at Trisys.. no Bisys. "Hmm I wonder if the Golem spells would work to help animate your metallic body now."


 

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"We might point out that making threats typically works best when you're capable of carrying them out. And we think we've proven already that you have no bite to speak of, just lots of bark", Paxtera commented, seemingly unconcerned about the threats in question. "So we must agree with the elf, there will be no challenge of any kind. With all due respect, please just shut up and either do something useful or leave." What she might do if he proceeded to do neither, well that was anyone's guess. If one were to look at Ildela though, one might get the idea that the stalker had a few ideas of what her mother might do to the man and thought it'd be highly entertaining.

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"Theory?" Akat inquired with a puzzled look, her tone very much suggesting that what she'd spoken of wasn't.
"Mmhm", Kethara answered simply. "You'd be surprised at the number of them people have thought up over the years." How many of them were anywhere close to correct, she didn't say. Mostly because she didn't actually know. She did however know, from experience with her mother, that time was both highly resilient and highly fragile depending on specifically what you were doing to it. Some things could be changed, and some of those more easily than others. Other things flat couldn't, no matter what you tried. Though, at times other time travellers had a lot to do with those latter sort of event.


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"We might point out that making threats typically works best when you're capable of carrying them out. And we think we've proven already that you have no bite to speak of, just lots of bark", Paxtera commented, seemingly unconcerned about the threats in question. "So we must agree with the elf, there will be no challenge of any kind. With all due respect, please just shut up and either do something useful or leave." What she might do if he proceeded to do neither, well that was anyone's guess. If one were to look at Ildela though, one might get the idea that the stalker had a few ideas of what her mother might do to the man and thought it'd be highly entertaining.
"Here's your bite." Tafari said, giving Paxtera a rude gesture. He vanished.

Some distance away, in the canopy of the central tree, a massive energy explosion went off and possibly fracturing and splintering its entire frame while also possibly setting it on fire.


 

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"Yes, me too please." Akat used this opportunity to voice her earlier request again, "Something warm, if you have. I know this might sound silly to you, but for me it's kind of cold here."

Luckily, it didn't take long before some of the elves that had been attending to them at the hot springs returned with the garb Jade had worn earlier (minus the necklace of teeth of course, as the Dragon had still worn that when he'd been returned to a form of flesh and blood, resulting in its destruction), greatly easing his awkwardness - at least until he tried to get into it again. The sleeveless leather jacket was easy enough, but the black pants were a different story now that he could feel them again and they bunched up strangely while he pulled them on. Worst of all, however, was that no one had been able to find his left boot, and Jade didn't realize it to be missing until he'd already put the right one on.

The Khelari meanwhile had no such trouble, an elf bringing to her one of the robes they'd brought for the others before, and Akat purred happily upon wrapping the warm, soft fabric around her, snuggling into it comfortably.

"Would you like some help?" she then offered Bisys a hand to steady the satyr-bot with a gentle smile...


"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi

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Bisys was rapidly becoming confused. Again.

About the only thing that had not changed, to any who might have been able to follow her thoughts, was that Bisys still didn't have a firm grasp on sequential order.

First she had been primarily awaiting Toy Dispenser's response, hoping to hear what she could do as thanks.

Then she had realized her evolved state. It undoubtedly had happened during the Wish. But after all she had been through before, why Jade's Wish? Was it because of her dual-horn status that she had retained as much as she had, rather than dissolve away? The more Bisys thought about it, the more questions she had.

Cerelassion further muddled her with talk of spells. She wasn't sure she felt stable enough for more magic, but politely asked, "Golem spells? How do they work? What is involved?"

Jade had asked about his clothes. Bisys in response had had her thoughts tangent into wondering why he would need them. Having been in so many forms herself, Bisys thought that fur, scales, tough hide, and now metal all were covering enough for modesty. Jade's hide looked thick enough and rather handsome. Clothing seemed redundant. At least the Khelari had explained her need for warmth. She could create enhance Jade's form to simulate clothing in coloration and texture, or create an illusion more realistically optical but with no tactile substance, yet not both. Would he like it if she took the initiative? By then he had donned his clothes, however, so Bisys only noted his preference for future reference.

Kethara said something about thoughts over the years, which made Bisys realize yet another thing: She'd missed a lot of conversation that had happened nearby. She would have to adjust her hearing settings. Er, that is, after she had caught up to what was happening in her immediate vicinity.

And to top it off a hand and a question from the Khelari. Pause. Think back. What did she ask? Oh! She was offering to help again. Bisys was humbled at the ceaseless caring. "Yes, please." The metal hand moved ponderously, eerily like an invisible someone else was the one moving the extremity too high, then sloppily down into the offered hand.

Physical therapists often promoted correct posture by coaching to imagine pulling a string attached to the top of the head. They probably hadn't had Bisys in mind, who did pretty much that. When the Khelari pulled, the arm came with the rest delayed by a few seconds. To someone uniformed it might have looked like the satyr had been dragged. Then Bisys caught up, primarily lifting her body vertical through her ears while the other points mostly dangled beneath. Her vision seemed tilted, so Bisys tried to straighten it with the result that her head became askew the other direction. Oh, well. That was little to the fact that she was unknowingly three inches off the ground. Internal connection she might now have, but full grasp of perspective still needed fine tuning.

"Thank you..." Bisys paused, then sounded strained, "uhm, I... I haven't gotten your name..." The static fizzled to an even glow in her version a blush.


 

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Originally Posted by Paradigm_Shift View Post
"Here's your bite." Tafari said, giving Paxtera a rude gesture. He vanished.

Some distance away, in the canopy of the central tree, a massive energy explosion went off and possibly fracturing and splintering its entire frame while also possibly setting it on fire.
Lady Aineruda shook her head "Someone shows a lot of maturity. Don't get his way so destroy stuff. Captain you have my permission to do what you need to stop him." About that time it started to rain.

It soon became a down poor as the fey were generating the massive storm drenching any fires Tafari started also making it harder to start new ones. This also worked for the fey to find him. If he stopped to burn something he would need to dry it giving the forest time to rise Golems to attack. So each time he would stop the stone Golems will rise and attack.

Cerelassion looked up as the storm started "I tell you about the Golem spell in a moment but first follow me lets get out of this down poor." He grabbed his coat and ran for the cliffs where what could be called buildings were being carved into them.


 

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Toy had cackled to himself in satisfaction as Trisys moved, back up to let Jade and the others have their turn at talking. He was particularly proud of himself at the moment, having effectively performed a feat of programming akin to building a house of cards in a wind-tunnel. The underlying structures he had laid down would hold firm under anything less than a direct cyber warfare attack and if his guess was right, Tri-...Bisys might eventually start self-programming. To a man with a keen interest in the development of sentience in artificial beings, this had been a very interesting experience. Kind of like doing everything in the wrong order.

"You are quite welcome, Bisys," he replied with a chuckle, glancing up at the sky as rain started pouring down. "But how about we all continue this line of discussion somewhere drier? I might be waterproof, but that doesn't mean I have to like getting rained on."

Hooking a thumb in the direction of the fleeing Cerelassion to indicate where to go, Toy followed the elf at a somewhat more leisurely gait.


Statesman said let there be heroes, and there were heroes.

Lord Recluse said let there be villains, and there were villains.

NCsoft said let there be nothing, and there was nothing.

 

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"Akat-Ietan Ariam'n." the Khelari told Bisys after they'd gotten out of the rain, shaking off the water that had gotten on her in just about the same manner a god would employ, then looked to her again, "But you can just call me Akat. Everyone does. So you're Bisys now, huh? How come? I liked the sound of Trisys better."

Jade dried himself in much the same fashion, though he stayed upright and shook more quickly, a flap of his wings serving to get the worst of it off him (except for what stayed in his long, wet hair, of course), and gave a sigh as he looked back outside at the downpour. It was probably about time he told them.

"Guess now's as good a time as any." he mumbled and turned to the gathered group, feeling a little awkward, but knowing he should, "Hey guys...um, about that story earlier. I'm afraid you got a few things wrong. It wasn't a city. Not all of it, at least. And it didn't turn on them. It was the other way around..."


"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi

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"Hey guys...um, about that story earlier. I'm afraid you got a few things wrong. It wasn't a city. Not all of it, at least. And it didn't turn on them. It was the other way around..."
"How do you know, aren't you from Paragon?", Kethara asked, somewhat disbelievingly but very much curious.

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After Tafari disappeared, Paxtera just sighed. "So very typical. One would think basic logic would suggest he won't get very far, but no that won't stop him from trying." She sighed, then turned to Aineruda. "We presume that if this tree he was talking about does exist and is as important as he suggests, you have in place the appropriate defenses against such things as someone casually teleporting to it and destroying it?", she asked. Chances were, the elves did. After all, if it was indeed as important as Tafari thought then such defenses would be a very obvious move in a world such as Patches where every other species wants to kill you.


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The elven defenders may have sensed one more power sink firing off before Tafari's energy signature simply vanished. He was gone, and it did not look like he would be returning anytime soon.


 

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Water pinging down on hollow metal? Yeah, the din was tremendous, especially to its resident. She had to turn down the volume almost completely. Thankfully her innate knowledge of where her Master was let Bisys follow Jade even when her amateur flight left her upside down or backwards.

Inside the shelter it took a few tries to get limbs straightened out. She did remember to turn up her volume again quickly enough to hear the Khelari speak her name and inquire after hers. "Thank you, Akat," the dripping satyr replied, then answered, "'Tri-' means 'three'. 'Bi-' means 'two'."

Further details were waylaid as Jade, then Kethara, started speaking about a city besides Paragon and obviously not this elvin retreat. Her best guess it was more of the missed conversation. Hopefully it could be picked up by context.

Bisys tried to kneel down attentively in front of Jade. The result was somewhere between kneeling and cross-legged, head still askew.


 

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Cerelassion had started a fire in the housing shelter. "So the machine defended itself. I can understand that we had to execute a man for forcing himself on one of our women. A crime that has never happened before. But we judge people on a one on one basis... okay I take that back the Gre'shil have pushed us to the limit on that."

"My questions are the same as the little lady Kethara here. How do you know that?" Then he looked at Bisys kneeling. "The spell for Golems requires drawing runes and magical symbols on the Item being animated. Once done the Item is able to move, bend and able to follow basic orders. I think your right thought mixing magic is risky... but perhaps your Master Jade could wish for your... um shell to be a tad more flexible? To make things easier for you to move. Perhaps not I don't the nature of your abilities."

Aineruda drew up a hood over her head "Indeed the tree is important... All the trees are. On our world or should I say our dimension itself has more magic then others its vital to our way of life. The Trees hold the magic in our boarders absorbed in the trees themselves causing them to grow so high. Us elves would be fine thought I think our magic would weaken in the generations after. The Fey however would vanish unable to come to this plan of reality with out the magic."

"Yes it's very protected for obvious reasons I won't say how. Now lets get out of this rain. My cabin is this way." She didn't bother to look behind if they come they come. Her home was a tree house built in the branches with steps leading spiral style around the trunk of the tree to the ground.

The Captain seemed to not even notice the rain "I'm going to scout out the area I want to make sure that Outsider is gone." With that he ran off boosted by Aineruda's magic he was just a blur.


 

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Akat blinked. That...hadn't really answered her question. But a fire had been started, and it looked like they were about to be told another story. Far be it from her to want to interrupt such, so she merely lay down on her side by the flickering flames with an excited smile, eager to listen.

"I can do that?" Jade meanwhile inquired, starting the sentence with his eyes on Cerelassion and ending it with his head turned to look at Bisys, "Can I do that?"

As a result, he noted she'd knelt down before him again, and thus he reached down to her hands and gave them a gentle tug toward his person. In repetition of the very same situation back when he'd been metal and she'd been flesh, he asked of her with sincere eyes, "Please...don't do that. I...it makes me uncomfortable. Unless, I guess, you really want to...but...oh boy, listen to me yammer. Anyway, uh...yeah, can I do that? And would you want me to?"

If the answers to these questions fell positive then, he'd have no second thoughts about making that wish. If not, he'd of course refrain. He didn't want to push anything else on her that she wasn't sure about right now. Regardless of which result said answer brought however, the Dragon followed it up by gently guiding her over to the fire while he started to explain.

"No, I'm not from Paragon." was the first thing he said, and with a shake of his head, "I'm from here. Well, out there...sort of. I am from the same planet. That place that you call the Waste there? That used to be Rauk; a wide, green plain. I know this because, well, I was there when it turned into that dust sea. And...in a way, I was kind of the reason."

"See, when I was made," he took a deep breath, "made into a machine I mean, that's when it all started. I thought I'd destroyed the lab, I thought I'd stopped it when I...when I killed them...but I guess somehow something got out. And then when the news started showing pictures of me, the Hetrar, I mean the humans, they got scared of me. Well, more scared than they already were. Um, not of me, I mean. Of...aw man, I'm not making any kind of sense here, am I...?"


"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi

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"Huh? Oh. Oh! I'm sorry, Jade. I did it without thinking." Rare humor crept into the echoing voice, "We spend half our time apologizing to each other, don't we? Except... which way can I rest that will please you?" She listened for this detail from Jade, minor in the grand scheme of things but of great importance to her because it mattered to him. Once that was settled she refocused on the matter of her mobility.

"Toy Dispenser," Bisys nodded her gratitude towards the other mechanical being, a flop down then mostly back upright, "programmed this form to its capacity. The rest is learning control. I think. I have barely started practicing."

She further answered Jade, "You can Wish whatever you want. Though no one has yet managed to make a Wish for all contingencies. Usually the method and consequences and not what is expected." The red static sparked as she mulled what they suggested, then ventured, "Adding another spell when I still don't fully know what I am now... it makes me uneasy." Bisys was relieved when Jade was content to leave it at that.

Under Jade's guidance Bisys settled near the fire. Her form may be alloy, but the firelight was absorbed rather than reflected. She knew she should feel a rise in heat, the water evaporating, and increased heaviness in the air. Nothing. By contrast her pair of horns glistened as the rainwater dispelled. Their tingle threatened to become an itch.

A bit of the distraction showed through her voice as Bisys gently replied to Jade's story with, "No, not really.

"Something like this? The Waste used to be a green plain called Rauk. Then you were made into a machine." A simple statement. Learning to be one herself, one traded from the one that was Jade, Bisys didn't find being a robot evil or bad, nor particularly beneficial or desirable. It helped that she was trying to subdue all emotions, anyway.

She furthered her guess, "An unwilling fate? Then you tried to destroy what and who made you that way. News circulated of your new form, which scared Hetrar that also lived in Rauk. Are Hetrar the same kind of human mortals found in Paragon, or significantly different humanoids? Their enlarged fear turned on a city, before or after which Rauk became the Waste? And then you ended up in Paragon and the Waste here in Patches?" Probably a lot more to it. Hopefully the questions would help order Jade's story.


 

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Miles.

Miles. And Miles. Of desert wasteland.

After landing in the jungle and gone through its crash, the Arthropod had been assaulted by a pack of large cats. A ways later, a tree had attacked it, along with the grass. And then a giant carnivorous plant had decided to fall on it from above. But that was just the jungle.

A giant worm had almost eaten it, what had looked like a giant sting ray had decided to reveal itself as a sand dune while walking on it, a nest of ants had decided that YES, they were numerous enough to take down a creature magnitudes larger than themselves, and sand and rocks kept getting stuck in its joints. Flies were buzzing all around its exoskeleton, hunting for a weak point.

And yet, even as it trudged through the desolate wastes, the arthropod looked upon them with a strange sense of awe.

'How long has it been...' The alien creature wondered as it trudged along the alien landscape and observed its vexing, unfamiliar wonders. '...Since I've actually had solid ground beneath my feet? Real sunlight beating upon my carapace? Since time actually mattered? How much time has passed on the ship so far? Did time even exist? How did I exist there? That...was no way to live. Especially since a ship, even one like that, is easier to destroy than a giant rock. It is...NICE to have an atmosphere that will not shut off, gravity that is consistent and unfailing, and dangers that can actually be combated.'

The creature approached its goal. It was getting closer - At least, the sensor suite that had been introduced to its biology kept telling it. There was only one last impediment. A large wooden gate, barricading the only way between the mountains. Despite it being in the way, the arthropod mentally sighed with relief - wood indicated a primitive culture, at least technologically. So perhaps they wouldn't be so inclined to try and kill it on sight.

'And yet, ironically...' The arthropod thought as it raised a massive pincer. 'Here I am, looking for a means to get us moving again. To live in that hellish existence as we travel to our ultimate destination. Here I am in a bizaar yet comforting alien heaven...Looking for a way back into an all-too familiar hell.'

The creature knocked on the massive door, and for the second time that day, the guards would hear a knocking noise - Though this was condierably softer and more obvious than Tafari's own knocking. It was a loud, sharp rapping noise clearly audible by anybody near the top of the gate, but not too far beyond.

"Is anybody up there?" The nightmarish, demon-creature impossibly chittered with multiple sets of mandibles that should have been incapable of producing ANY coherent set of sound.


 

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The magically created storm was lightening up now that Tafari was no longer setting fires. With the captain still scouting the area it was his second in command a female elf with redish blond hair looked over the edge.

"Greetings down there... um..." She looked at the other guards and softly "can you tell if that thing a male or female... It don't matter. Send a runner to Lady Aineruda." Then looking down again and speaking up "Were in a bit of an emergency so please understand that were not going to open the gates right away. So state your business."

At the cliff shelter

"I have lived for over 200 years and understanding humans or as you call them Hetrar still gets me confused as well." He settled down on the floor given the shelter had no furniture. "But given this perhaps we could.. well when I say we I am thinking more of you Toy Dispenser. You know one self aware machine to another it might be aware of one of those... what the phrase... Oh Control Node for Patches."