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This is a weird thing.
"Are you sure it's not just artificed folded space?" Kayam asks again.
"I'm sure. It's not completely unlike it, but the flavor's different. I think there's an artifact around somewhere but it's not doing your thing, it's doing - something else. I think ravelers must have worked together on this..."
"...and none of them was a folder."
"None of them was a folder. I've never seen the thing this is before. There's got to be an artifice -"
Shara takes a step closer.
She trips.
"MILADY -"
And then Shara can't hear the rest of Kayam's scream, because she's somewhere else, too quick to reravel or even start to try.
the-ending-of-the-words
She lands in some very large arms.
The blonde man who caught her - an enormous blonde man, pushing the envelope almost to "inhuman" - blinks a few times. "I don't know that I object to this becoming a trend, but I'd like some notice first."
Oh wow he's magic. He's weirdly magic. He doesn't even have anything to do with the portal-thing.
"Excuse me?"
the-ending-of-the-words
He sets her down gently. There's springy moss under their feet. Criminy, this man is tall.
"Beautiful Southern-looking women dropping from the sky into my arms? Though I don't think you're made of orichalcum, so you make a bit more sense than the last one. I'm Aril; good to meet you."
"Beautiful Southern-looking women dropping from the sky into my arms? Though I don't think you're made of orichalcum, so you make a bit more sense than the last one. I'm Aril; good to meet you."
the-ending-of-the-words
"The Wild Marches, approaching the East. Don't worry, you won't mutate into some horrible beast. If you were worried about that. Or perhaps you're a very well-disguised horrible beast already; I try not to make assumptions."
"I've never heard of the place and wouldn't have known to worry," she remarks.
the-ending-of-the-words
"Well, you needn't anyway. And... well, I guess I shouldn't apply my expectations to strange sky-women. Are you from another world? If so, is it Autochthon, and have you read the latest issue of Automania, because Syl is dying to find out if Gerrel is Kenso's long-lost twin."
"I have never heard of that either."
She looks around.
There is so much fucking magic here. So fucking much. Magic fucking with other magic, magic on this person who caught her - she can't tell what he really looks like under it, but she can tell it's not like this. She must be from another world, because the thousand ravelers who together could have done all this would still be sleeping it off no matter how long ago they started.
"This place is so weird."
She looks around.
There is so much fucking magic here. So fucking much. Magic fucking with other magic, magic on this person who caught her - she can't tell what he really looks like under it, but she can tell it's not like this. She must be from another world, because the thousand ravelers who together could have done all this would still be sleeping it off no matter how long ago they started.
"This place is so weird."
the-ending-of-the-words
"That it most certainly is. Creation in general much less so, though. Are you using Sorcerer's Sight, or something?"
the-ending-of-the-words
"Generally, yes. Some people have ever-burning demonic eyes and the like for that, but that's a bit more... noticeable. The ever-burning demonic eye on their forehead, for instance, is usually a clue."
the-ending-of-the-words
"I'm glad! Apparently it's a right pain if you like hats. Or if you like not being killed by an angry mob for dealing with demons."
His stomach rumbles. "Shall we continue this conversation about hats and what to do about your existence somewhere with food?"
His stomach rumbles. "Shall we continue this conversation about hats and what to do about your existence somewhere with food?"
"If whatever's keeping that... forest... from doing things to us continues throughout the trip and meal, sure."
the-ending-of-the-words
"Oh, yes. That's me. Don't worry, it's awfully impolite to give your guests mutations during a meal."
He pauses. "That was a joke. I care about human lives in addition to manners."
He pauses. "That was a joke. I care about human lives in addition to manners."
the-ending-of-the-words
Ari flips a coin and starts off in an apparently random direction. "So, what's your not-sorcery like? Do you just see things?"
"I'm a metaraveler. I can't do any magic starting from nothing, but I can see and interact with magic that other people do."
the-ending-of-the-words
"Neat! What do you get off of me, anyway? Most of my stuff isn't even magic, just Exaltation junk. Unless that's magic for you?"
"Well, it's all very unfamiliar, not ravelry at all - I'm a little surprised I can see non-ravelry, but here we are - you've got some kind of illusion on, and you have some kind of - I'm tempted to say intoxicating? Mind-altering in a way I could see people seeking out, anyway - somethingness about you. I'll get more detail with more exposure, probably."
the-ending-of-the-words
"Intoxicating, huh? Nice. The cults certainly think so. And the illusion's just force of habit, really-"
He shimmers, revealing golden-furred dog ears and a long, wagging tail. "I kind of forgot about them, actually. Thanks!"
He shimmers, revealing golden-furred dog ears and a long, wagging tail. "I kind of forgot about them, actually. Thanks!"
the-ending-of-the-words
Aril continues merrily along.
"So, do you have any thoughts on where you'd like to go from, uh, ground zero, here? I imagine you'd rather not stay in the Wild Marches, for madness and death reasons."
"So, do you have any thoughts on where you'd like to go from, uh, ground zero, here? I imagine you'd rather not stay in the Wild Marches, for madness and death reasons."
"I'm opposed to both madness and death. I'd really like to get home, eventually - my traveling companion will be frantic and in the longer term so will my parents."
the-ending-of-the-words
"Ooh, yeah, parents. Very unhappy there, yes. Well, the bad news, I guess, is that I don't know of any way to, like, get you back to your home world. The somewhat better news is that Syl and I are actually working on that same problem to get her home! So, that's... better than nobody having even thought of it before, I'd think. And hey, that magic-magic you have could turn out to be really useful. So, you know, as hope goes, we're in a pretty good place for it. Metaphorically speaking."