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Tree branch: check. Assorted lightweight seed-bearing fruits and nuts: check. Other seeds: check. Water bottle, for when she has to veer away from the river: check.
Better not linger in her starting place too much longer. Yellow's faster than her and may have already come home to a wreck. Thorn might have a habit of checking up on the place, even, just in case. She's invisible, inaudible, unsmellable - that won't help if he sends someone thorough. Or comes in person.
She sets out.
She's been flying for about thirty minutes after her shopping trip when she falls through a tear and squeaks inaudibly and lands in the middle of -
imeanforever
imeanforever
Excellent.
Promise puts her mosquitoes in a box, turns it and them invisible, and hopes the mystery idiot's description suffices for a gate.
It does. Lucky mystery idiot. She steps through.
Promise puts her mosquitoes in a box, turns it and them invisible, and hopes the mystery idiot's description suffices for a gate.
It does. Lucky mystery idiot. She steps through.
whole_new_can
The mystery idiot, from whose perspective everything made sense at the time, is Eidolon. She might recognize him from the fact that he's Eidolon.
He, like all the fairies around him, has no idea she's there.
He, like all the fairies around him, has no idea she's there.
imeanforever
Oh, so that's how you misplace a 133468.
She quietly revises her estimate that she could not beat him in a fight, because she was assuming that his excellent power was not operated by a MORON.
She releases the mosquitoes.
She quietly revises her estimate that she could not beat him in a fight, because she was assuming that his excellent power was not operated by a MORON.
She releases the mosquitoes.
whole_new_can
They do what mosquitos do best, which is bite people, and what these mosquitos do best, which is vassalize them. There's no indication to her or them of whether it worked.
imeanforever
Yeah, that she has to handle separately.
She goes behind a rock, turns visible, sets down her box, and flies up to the court like she's just passing through on forage and thought she'd say hi. "Hello!" she calls to the nearest fairy. "Who's your master or envoy?"
"We're dealing with a change of mastery," the fairy says, "so we don't have an envoy right now, it used to be Dazzle. Uh, Cozy's in charge, I guess." He points.
The pollencloud. Of fucking course 133468 would get vassaled by a fucking pollencloud. Promise smiles and waves at the pollencloud. "Hi! Is this a bad time to ask about buying your mortal?"
"Yeah, kinda," says Cozy. "Besides, I think I want to keep him!"
"Aww," says Promise. "Really? Nothing you'd rather have?"
"He's a weird mortal, he can do mortal sorcery stuff."
She goes behind a rock, turns visible, sets down her box, and flies up to the court like she's just passing through on forage and thought she'd say hi. "Hello!" she calls to the nearest fairy. "Who's your master or envoy?"
"We're dealing with a change of mastery," the fairy says, "so we don't have an envoy right now, it used to be Dazzle. Uh, Cozy's in charge, I guess." He points.
The pollencloud. Of fucking course 133468 would get vassaled by a fucking pollencloud. Promise smiles and waves at the pollencloud. "Hi! Is this a bad time to ask about buying your mortal?"
"Yeah, kinda," says Cozy. "Besides, I think I want to keep him!"
"Aww," says Promise. "Really? Nothing you'd rather have?"
"He's a weird mortal, he can do mortal sorcery stuff."
whole_new_can
Oh. So it was Promise. Eidolon had been hoping for Cauldron, and not just because they can't possibly fail.
None of his reaction is visible, of course. He's waiting.
None of his reaction is visible, of course. He's waiting.
imeanforever
"A weird mortal," says Promise. "Gosh. I probably don't have anything to tempt you into giving him up."
"Probably not!" agrees Cozy. "He makes pretty fireworks and stuff."
133468 got captured by a stupid pollencloud. Joy. Maybe she can Nilbog it a little.
"Aww. Are you going to have him put on a show for everybody?"
"That's a good idea! Hey everybody! Come have a look at the fireworks!" exclaims Cozy. "You, do something nice and pretty."
"Probably not!" agrees Cozy. "He makes pretty fireworks and stuff."
133468 got captured by a stupid pollencloud. Joy. Maybe she can Nilbog it a little.
"Aww. Are you going to have him put on a show for everybody?"
"That's a good idea! Hey everybody! Come have a look at the fireworks!" exclaims Cozy. "You, do something nice and pretty."
whole_new_can
Fine. Fireworks, shiny things, and decorative explosions. And an attempt at a "make Cozy remove all my orders" sign in front of Peak, though for some reason that isn't nice.
imeanforever
And now everyone is assembled and looking at the pretty things. Promise says, "Stop."
The food vassalization fails to take hold on five fairies. They notice everyone else freezing and bolt. Promise gets their names from Peak and makes them come back, and stop. Promise lets everyone breathe. And then, to make sure there is no one whose vassalization didn't take who is just hiding it, Promise starts selectively enforcing trivial orders against various subsets of the group. "Clap. Shrug. Jump. Stomp. Wave." She catches one such hider and gets her name from Peak too before she realizes she's been found out.
And she notices Eidolon doesn't jump when she says jump.
And her blood runs absolutely cold, because it's expected for haw juice to have a failure rate against fairies, but. When could he have slipped her something? How could he know? If he picked up the wrong Thinker power, got it accidentally, couldn't he have the fucking decency to - not again not again -
...So she takes Peak aside for a chat, asking after the composition of the court, is anybody away, how long has Cozy had it, yes you may hold hands with your consort... And she thinks of names. And names. And names. Hundreds of names. So many names.
Eidolon shares a first name with Ficus, a Kept who does topiary golems. Mid-sentence, Promise says again:
"STOP."
And she whirls on Eidolon.
"You may breathe, and be glad I'm letting you do that."
The food vassalization fails to take hold on five fairies. They notice everyone else freezing and bolt. Promise gets their names from Peak and makes them come back, and stop. Promise lets everyone breathe. And then, to make sure there is no one whose vassalization didn't take who is just hiding it, Promise starts selectively enforcing trivial orders against various subsets of the group. "Clap. Shrug. Jump. Stomp. Wave." She catches one such hider and gets her name from Peak too before she realizes she's been found out.
And she notices Eidolon doesn't jump when she says jump.
And her blood runs absolutely cold, because it's expected for haw juice to have a failure rate against fairies, but. When could he have slipped her something? How could he know? If he picked up the wrong Thinker power, got it accidentally, couldn't he have the fucking decency to - not again not again -
...So she takes Peak aside for a chat, asking after the composition of the court, is anybody away, how long has Cozy had it, yes you may hold hands with your consort... And she thinks of names. And names. And names. Hundreds of names. So many names.
Eidolon shares a first name with Ficus, a Kept who does topiary golems. Mid-sentence, Promise says again:
"STOP."
And she whirls on Eidolon.
"You may breathe, and be glad I'm letting you do that."
imeanforever
Yeah, if that had been compulsory she would have restrained herself.
She asks Peak, "Does anyone in your court or among your neighbors have unusual hearing?"
There is a broadear, one of the court gardeners. Promise has the broadear put his fingers in his broad ears and hum.
Then she glares at Eidolon again and says, "Use no powers. Follow me."
And stalks off away from the earshot of Peak's court.
She asks Peak, "Does anyone in your court or among your neighbors have unusual hearing?"
There is a broadear, one of the court gardeners. Promise has the broadear put his fingers in his broad ears and hum.
Then she glares at Eidolon again and says, "Use no powers. Follow me."
And stalks off away from the earshot of Peak's court.
whole_new_can
He follows, having precisely no other options. (Unrelatedly, all Promise vs. 133468 speculation just took a turn for the boring.)
imeanforever
When they are out of earshot:
"You may, enforcing no orders, speak."
Maybe he has something to say for himself.
"You may, enforcing no orders, speak."
Maybe he has something to say for himself.
whole_new_can
"I needed a real fight, for reasons I'd prefer not to explain, and came here exactly because it was dangerous. It didn't work, incidentally, the thing that got me wasn't anyone attacking me at all."
imeanforever
"Peak said you were yelling about sorcerers. You came here to fight sorcerers? You could have stayed in Bet and helped with the Fallen dustup, you could have any day of the week gone to Africa and attacked Moord Nag, you could have helped track down Glaistig Uaine who according to the Internet is exactly a match for you, and you wanted to fight sorcerers, so you broke into my house, attacked a relatively pleasant and functional fairy court as these things go, and did not realize from watching me that sorcery is never the real threat?"
whole_new_can
"The Fallen? I've been a bit poorly informed recently.
Of course I've gone up against ordinary villains, fighting capes never really worked. Fairies being more of a threat was a point in favor."
Of course I've gone up against ordinary villains, fighting capes never really worked. Fairies being more of a threat was a point in favor."
imeanforever
"Fairies are more of a threat because of mastery. Not because of sorcery. A sorcerer who gets a good hold on you can turn you into a snail or kill you outright, sure, but there are capes that threatening who require less observation time. A smart fairy with your name, or who fed you, or who in this case I suppose you inhaled? Cozy would have lost the court in a few weeks, tops, she doesn't have the wit, and then Peak would have had a pet 133468 or whatever your cape name is and you'd have been exquisitely lucky that she isn't gratuitously sadistic, at least until she lost you to somebody who was! All this without a fight ever being part of the equation."
whole_new_can
133468 decides against mentioning his cape name. Eidolon is still a name that has some weight.
"I believe you about the many possible worst-case scenarios. I thought the reasons were important enough if there was even a small chance of it working."
"I believe you about the many possible worst-case scenarios. I thought the reasons were important enough if there was even a small chance of it working."
imeanforever
"Well, it didn't. And now I have learned that my ability to keep people out of my trees doesn't work if I leave gates to them open; and you, apparently, have learned, somehow, that fairies can be vassals. How did you come by that information?"
whole_new_can
"A thinker power, combined with the fact that you avoid mortal food. I don't plan to try to use the information against you, and haven't told anyone."
imeanforever
"Do you want to risk finding out what happens if at any time during this conversation I suspect you're fucking with me and go back over all my questions with a truth order?"