Brenda's is closed. Brenda's is never closed. Not during its usual hours, not at 5am. Except on national holidays, or during severe weather, neither of which is present today. There's no notice on the door, just the Open sign flipped around to Closed. This state of affairs is incorrect.
There was no indication that the coffee shop was in financial trouble. Max knew as much from eavesdropping on the teens working in the back. The manager didn't come out much, but she never seemed alarmed or upset- always a little smug, if anything. Max wasn't sure if her name was Brenda, or if that was just the chain- she was always Ma'am to the staff. Her employees-only room down the hall, near the bathrooms- usually dead quiet. All day long, at least when Max was there. Enough activity- footsteps, occasional laughter- to tell she was there, but nothing that indicated any trouble for the store.
An emergency, then. She'd been called away on some urgent business, and... told the kids not to come into work? It wasn't as if she did much managing- could she not trust her staff to do their job unsupervised, despite more or less doing so day in and day out? And...
And no, she couldn't have gone somewhere. Her car, that Volkswagen beetle was there. It was definitely hers, she left to go get lunch every day at 1:00. No other cars parked nearby, that he could see. So, unless she'd gone on foot to something extremely urgent, she was still in the building.
Max knocks. There's no answer.
Max goes around behind the building and takes the key from under the dumpster, where a less than cautious morning-shift barista had been fool enough to retrieve it while someone like Max could have been watching. He opens the door and goes inside, because they don't have cameras and he's a regular- they wouldn't charge him with breaking and entering, he's sure, even if they did find out.
People who aren't Max might have shrugged and gone to a different coffee shop. People who are Max are instead inclined to find out what it is that disturbed their nice, orderly little universe and demand it account for itself.
It's dark and no one is there. Max looks around for anything out of place, and finds that there is exactly one thing out of place. The manager's door is open. This is considerably more unusual than the related fact, which is that the manager isn't there. Max has seen how careful she is to lock that door before going anywhere.
He goes inside. Privacy is not something Max has a lot of regard for- more something he resents, to some extent. And the room is clearly the sort of thing someone might want to keep private.
There are bookshelves, and there is a desk, and there are chalkboards, and they are all covered in paper. As is the floor. The paper is covered in smears. Some huge collection of notes, or documents, or something, all smudged into illegibility. Written in pencil, erased by a particularly smeary eraser. Most of the shapes of the smears suggest diagrams and math more than they do writing. Max inspects all of it, searching for clues. Nothing is legible, except for a few notes posted by the door.
The other door. Not the one leading in. A door with scorch marks and dents. A door set into the wall, where according to the geometry of the building, it ought to open into the alleyway, despite no such door being present. The legible notes, written in ink and taped to the wall, read "I HAVE TO GO", "DO NOT OPEN" and "SOMEONE PLEASE BLOCK THIS OFF" and "DON'T LET HER IN" and "YOUR NAME IS PRECIOUS", scribbled in hasty capital letters.
Max wonders what is behind the door. He's unnerved somewhat by the surrounding evidence of the manager having some sort of psychotic break, but his thoughts have not had sufficient time to settle into questions before opening the door. He is still in the information-gathering stage, and there can clearly be nothing behind the door but additional information to gather. The question of whether to open the mysterious door in the mysterious place fails to even cross his mind.
He steps into a dark room.
Which abruptly stops being a dark room, and starts being a brightly-lit forest. Max's hand, halfway through reaching for the light switch, falls to his side.
Generated:
Post last updated:
this state of affairs is incorrect
Max
unblinkered
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
And perched in a tree nearby is a woman who is five feet tall, wearing a dress made of leaves, and possessed of much larger leaves attached in winglike fashion to her back. Directly to her back; he can see the joins and they grow seamlessly from her skin.
She cranes her neck to see him when he makes a noise.
"Mortal!" she exclaims. "What are you doing here? Do you have a way home?"
She cranes her neck to see him when he makes a noise.
"Mortal!" she exclaims. "What are you doing here? Do you have a way home?"
Max
unblinkered
Max's thoughts are somewhat too frantic for him to process this statement directly. His autopilot is just barely sufficient to enable him to turn around, observe the surprising lack of a door behind him (compounding his thought-franticness), and replying "Eh wha n-neh nuh nweh!"
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"...Mortal? Have you got your senses?" asks the fairy, jumping out of the tree to flutter down to the forest floor. She flies like she's much lighter than a five-foot-tall human, however slender, ought to be. If they could fly. With leaf wings.
Max
unblinkered
Max takes this in steps. Things to mentally process one at a time. What is step one?
Step one follows off his most recently coherent train of thought: the door did not open, as expected, into a brick wall. From where it was positioned with respect to the building's architecture, it ought to have opened into a brick wall, or perhaps pulled a brick veneer along with it and opened into the alleyway. This expected outcome did not happen.
Okay, what's step two? Step two is a fairy is talking to him. No! Bad! That's not step two! That's step four or five, at least! Hold your horses. The second thing is that it is 5 in the morning, and yet wherever the door DID open to, it was NOT 5 in the morning, but evidently midday. So far, his assumptions with respect to door placement and time of day have been thrown into question.
What else? The forest. There is a forest. There are not forests near the coffee shop, it being in the middle of the city. This throws into question, additionally, the proximity of the coffee shop to a forest.
Step four, let's observe how this does not make sense. There are no obvious explanations to account for the anomalous door placement, or the sudden brightness, or the presence of a forest. Virtual reality, memory manipulation, hallucinogenic drugs, and such things are acknowledged as possibilities and summarily ignored due to lack of useful predictive value.
Number five, there was a door behind him, and now there is not, and the thing that throws into question is the general truism that doors do not typically disappear upon being walked through. This is catalogued as support for the "things not making sense" explanation, which has not yet been unpacked substantially. This fails to provide any useful observations about the situation.
Okay, NOW Max's brain acknowledges the fairy. There's a girl in front of him with wings. Wings are not a thing people have, okay. Wings that size do not typically support the weight of a human being, so those wings are doing a thing that is further impossible on top of the existing impossibleness of existing on a person.
How about the things that the fairy has said? Max has been standing there processing things and looking her in the eye for a good ten seconds now without responding, so that should be addressed. What words did she say? She said "mortal", implying immediately that she is NOT mortal, okay, she is a fairy, this makes the "mortal" thing less confusing than it otherwise would be. She wanted to know how he got here and how he plans to get back, neither of which he has any useful answer to. She asks if he's got his senses, which is a prompt to start speaking immediately to demonstrate his senses-having.
He is not totally ready for this. He replies "You-!" several times in a row, interspersed with several vaguely interrogative parts of speech. A coherent reply does not emerge from the panic.
Step one follows off his most recently coherent train of thought: the door did not open, as expected, into a brick wall. From where it was positioned with respect to the building's architecture, it ought to have opened into a brick wall, or perhaps pulled a brick veneer along with it and opened into the alleyway. This expected outcome did not happen.
Okay, what's step two? Step two is a fairy is talking to him. No! Bad! That's not step two! That's step four or five, at least! Hold your horses. The second thing is that it is 5 in the morning, and yet wherever the door DID open to, it was NOT 5 in the morning, but evidently midday. So far, his assumptions with respect to door placement and time of day have been thrown into question.
What else? The forest. There is a forest. There are not forests near the coffee shop, it being in the middle of the city. This throws into question, additionally, the proximity of the coffee shop to a forest.
Step four, let's observe how this does not make sense. There are no obvious explanations to account for the anomalous door placement, or the sudden brightness, or the presence of a forest. Virtual reality, memory manipulation, hallucinogenic drugs, and such things are acknowledged as possibilities and summarily ignored due to lack of useful predictive value.
Number five, there was a door behind him, and now there is not, and the thing that throws into question is the general truism that doors do not typically disappear upon being walked through. This is catalogued as support for the "things not making sense" explanation, which has not yet been unpacked substantially. This fails to provide any useful observations about the situation.
Okay, NOW Max's brain acknowledges the fairy. There's a girl in front of him with wings. Wings are not a thing people have, okay. Wings that size do not typically support the weight of a human being, so those wings are doing a thing that is further impossible on top of the existing impossibleness of existing on a person.
How about the things that the fairy has said? Max has been standing there processing things and looking her in the eye for a good ten seconds now without responding, so that should be addressed. What words did she say? She said "mortal", implying immediately that she is NOT mortal, okay, she is a fairy, this makes the "mortal" thing less confusing than it otherwise would be. She wanted to know how he got here and how he plans to get back, neither of which he has any useful answer to. She asks if he's got his senses, which is a prompt to start speaking immediately to demonstrate his senses-having.
He is not totally ready for this. He replies "You-!" several times in a row, interspersed with several vaguely interrogative parts of speech. A coherent reply does not emerge from the panic.
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
The fairy takes a step back from him.
"Did someone bespell you?" she asks.
"Did someone bespell you?" she asks.
Max
unblinkered
"Spell? Sp- there- there was a- there was a door, now there's- there was a door, now there's not a door... you have...! The sun is...! Trees?! Where's? How did?"
He cradles his head in his hands.
He cradles his head in his hands.
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"Okay," she says in a soothing sort of voice, stepping forward again, "a door, so you came through a gate. I don't see a gatekeeper here - I didn't even know there was a gate here - so it may not be a stable gate. But you should definitely get home as soon as possible. Do you want help finding another gate?"
Max
unblinkered
"Wh- no! I don't- go home? I don't want to go home, I want to know what's going on! What's- gates? There was a gate? Why- mortal? Wings? How can a door disapp- why was...!"
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"You need to go home. It isn't safe for mortals here," says the fairy, slowly and clearly, like she doesn't think he's very bright. "You're a mortal because you're going to die, but if you're lucky it won't be very soon. I have wings because I'm a fairy; you can call me Promise. The door didn't disappear, it moved."
Max
unblinkered
"Moved! Moved, okay, that's a thing doors do, sure. Got it. Moved. And you're Promise the fairy, okay, fairies are real. You- you get why I'm having trouble with this, right? I- the question is, I... christ, this- the question is, why didn't I already know this, why did...!"
He looks around nervously.
"...why d'you say it isn't safe?"
He looks around nervously.
"...why d'you say it isn't safe?"
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"Because not all fairies are as harmless as I am," says Promise. "And someone could decide that you're a fun disposable toy."
Max
unblinkered
"More fairies? Evil fairies? I'm in Evil Fairy World? How is there Evil Fairy World?! Why was I not informed about this? It seems like the kind of thing that'd be sort of hard to ignore!"
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"What would you have expected to notice?" inquires Promise.
Max
unblinkered
"To notice..."
This is a surprisingly good question.
"To notice things like- like magic doors! That... are those that rare, you- you said I needed to go home, are there other people who go home? Why haven't they told- what about the physicists, wouldn't they find... fairyons, or- oh, god, oh god. Fairies- is magic a thing, it's got to be a thing if there's doors that move, christ, someone..."
He looks at her again. She definitely has wings. No special effects going on here. This is real life. Real life is supposed to be very bad at keeping secrets. But then, this. Fairy. That's that.
This is a surprisingly good question.
"To notice things like- like magic doors! That... are those that rare, you- you said I needed to go home, are there other people who go home? Why haven't they told- what about the physicists, wouldn't they find... fairyons, or- oh, god, oh god. Fairies- is magic a thing, it's got to be a thing if there's doors that move, christ, someone..."
He looks at her again. She definitely has wings. No special effects going on here. This is real life. Real life is supposed to be very bad at keeping secrets. But then, this. Fairy. That's that.
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"Sorcery is a thing but it doesn't work in the mortal world," says Promise. "The doors aren't really common - I certainly don't have a total of how many there are in the entire fairy realm but I'd have to fly for days to find one stable enough to use, and longer to find one with a cooperative gatekeeper."
Max
unblinkered
"...I don't buy it. You didn't say- what about mortals? If people go back and forth at all... wouldn't the secret get out? How long has this been happening? How long... wait, magic doesn't... why doesn't it- no, that's a different question."
He starts pacing nervously.
He starts pacing nervously.
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"I think mortals have only come through able to speak for the last few - millions years?" says Promise. "I'm not personally old enough to remember it. I don't care if you go home and tell everybody you met a leaflet, but if you don't go home soon you're going to wind up vassaled or dead."
Max
unblinkered
Millions. Millions of- that's longer than there's been people, that... there were fairies, humanoid fairies who... before... what's that mean for evolution? The history of... or maybe before they weren't humanoid? The resemblance goes the other way, causally? Dinosaur fairies? Max realizes he's started thinking about dinosaur fairies and mentally slaps himself back on track.
"So nobody's ever- wait. You... what's "vassaled"?"
"So nobody's ever- wait. You... what's "vassaled"?"
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"...Oh, I should warn you about that. Don't tell any fairies your real name, make something up - and don't eat anything here unless it is directly hand-to-mouth from a fairy who you are willing to be bound to serve until you die. It might be a better option than starving, if you like the fairy, but ideally you'll go home to safe mortal food before it's more than a minor discomfort."
Max
unblinkered
He stares.
"Bound to serve until...?"
He turns around and starts muttering to himself.
"Doors that move, folding space, okay, unusual system, fits with... wings, some trick with mass, reasonable, that... bound to serve? That's- neural- brains are complicated, people... you can't... simple effect... someone would have to... nanobots? Nano... magic... thing? Why names, food would make sense but knowing a name! The mechanism... where's the softwa- who wrote- why would... that's not basic, that would have to..."
He turns around again.
"When you say "bound to serve", do you mean that they can threaten to kill you, or... is it mind control? How do they get it by knowing your name, why would that be the restriction, any effect that could trigger on a match between name and name-knowing could easily trigger on something easier. Why- did someone make magic? Why would they design that to...?"
"Bound to serve until...?"
He turns around and starts muttering to himself.
"Doors that move, folding space, okay, unusual system, fits with... wings, some trick with mass, reasonable, that... bound to serve? That's- neural- brains are complicated, people... you can't... simple effect... someone would have to... nanobots? Nano... magic... thing? Why names, food would make sense but knowing a name! The mechanism... where's the softwa- who wrote- why would... that's not basic, that would have to..."
He turns around again.
"When you say "bound to serve", do you mean that they can threaten to kill you, or... is it mind control? How do they get it by knowing your name, why would that be the restriction, any effect that could trigger on a match between name and name-knowing could easily trigger on something easier. Why- did someone make magic? Why would they design that to...?"
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"I mean, if the Queen - the only person to whom I am vassal, because she knows every fairy's name - showed up here and told me to do something it would happen without my decisions in the matter entering into it, although technically my mind would be free to think whatever thoughts I liked. If you told me your name or took food from me I could do the same to you. If any magic that exists was designed it was so long ago that no one remembers why or who, I assure you."
Max
unblinkered
...'YOUR NAME IS PRECIOUS'. Brenda- Brenda? The manager must have known. The manager must have used that door. The manager... that mystery hardly seems worth pursuing at the moment. He'll look into it later, perhaps.
"...and why the hell does it work that way? It's not... those rules are fundamentally complicated, someone had to... the Queen? How long has this Queen been around, would she know?"
"...and why the hell does it work that way? It's not... those rules are fundamentally complicated, someone had to... the Queen? How long has this Queen been around, would she know?"
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"The Queen's been around as long as anyone can remember and I very much do not recommend attracting her attention in any way, shape, or form," says Promise firmly.
Max
unblinkered
"...care to explain why that is?"
'DON'T LET HER IN' springs to mind. The queen...? No, more likely some other hostile fairy. Although... there was exactly one HER that was present on the other side of the gate, noticing him immediately and telling him that absolutely nobody else in the world could be trusted, including and especially the Queen of the entire realm.
Horrifying realization sets in. Max doesn't let it show on his face.
'DON'T LET HER IN' springs to mind. The queen...? No, more likely some other hostile fairy. Although... there was exactly one HER that was present on the other side of the gate, noticing him immediately and telling him that absolutely nobody else in the world could be trusted, including and especially the Queen of the entire realm.
Horrifying realization sets in. Max doesn't let it show on his face.
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"The Queen knows every fairy's name. She doesn't have yours, but that doesn't give you any special protection from anything else her vassals can do, ranging from magic to forcefeeding to just tying you up and torturing you until you give up your name anyway. Look, do you really want to quiz me about the way the fairy realm works? I would think you'd want to get out of it as soon as possible."
Max
unblinkered
Want to get out. A way out. She wants him to go with her to find a way out of this world, and back into his. DON'T LET HER IN. The vassal thing... a bluff? If he couldn't eat anything here, he'd get hungry, be forced to go back eventually, leading her right to the exit. At least, the eating things part. YOUR NAME IS PRECIOUS- that much, at least, had to have been a real warning. Max can't see how not telling her his name could be playing into her hands.
"I think..." he says, carefully, "I really would like to quiz you about the way the fairy realm works." (To be fair, he actually really would.) "Is this place not safe to talk in? Should we go somewhere we're less likely to be overheard?"
"I think..." he says, carefully, "I really would like to quiz you about the way the fairy realm works." (To be fair, he actually really would.) "Is this place not safe to talk in? Should we go somewhere we're less likely to be overheard?"
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"This area isn't especially heavily trafficked, but my house would be more private, if that's what you want to do with whatever calories you came in with."
Max
unblinkered
"Well, I don't have the first idea of where I'd find a- a gate, you said, so I've hardly got an alternative. You have a house?"
He does not, in fact, have all that many calories in him. He'd just woken up, and was on his way to Brenda's for breakfast and coffee when all this happened. But he's not worried about that- that part is a bluff to get him moving along faster. There's no reason for there to be two triggers for the vassal thing, after all. It's probably safe for him to eat whatever's edible.
He does not, in fact, have all that many calories in him. He'd just woken up, and was on his way to Brenda's for breakfast and coffee when all this happened. But he's not worried about that- that part is a bluff to get him moving along faster. There's no reason for there to be two triggers for the vassal thing, after all. It's probably safe for him to eat whatever's edible.
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"In my tree," she says. "It's quick flying, it'll take longer walking because there's a river you'll have to cross and I definitely can't carry you."
Max
unblinkered
"What's "quick" and "longer"? Few minutes? Does the river have a bridge, or a crossing? Or is it just assumed everyone's going to have wings?"
Is she trying to dissuade him by coming up with obstacles? If she wants him to go somewhere, to some gate, to open it or something... she'd be taking him to it, right? Does she really not know where the gate is, and needs him to find it? So she'd know that her house doesn't have a gate... but in that case, she's going to be very disappointed when she finds out he's not lying about not knowing how to find one.
This is quite the tangled web of deceit.
Is she trying to dissuade him by coming up with obstacles? If she wants him to go somewhere, to some gate, to open it or something... she'd be taking him to it, right? Does she really not know where the gate is, and needs him to find it? So she'd know that her house doesn't have a gate... but in that case, she's going to be very disappointed when she finds out he's not lying about not knowing how to find one.
This is quite the tangled web of deceit.
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"Everyone here does have wings unless they've been cursed," says Promise. "There's not a bridge, but there's a detour where you could probably wade. It'll take maybe two hours all told?"
Max
unblinkered
Two hours? And he's going to ruin his- no, he can take off his slacks and carry them.
Two hours is a lot of time. It's time enough to ask a lot of nosy questions.
"Sounds good. Which way are we going?"
Two hours is a lot of time. It's time enough to ask a lot of nosy questions.
"Sounds good. Which way are we going?"
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"This way. And if we meet any other fairies pretend that I've fed you, okay? I can't offer much of a fight to somebody who wants to take you but if they don't want a fight it'll put them off."
Max
unblinkered
Pretend she's fed him? But... okay, so... if she's bluffing and the food thing is a trick, then that wouldn't discourage anyone. Maybe she doesn't expect to encounter anyone? If the food thing is serious...
Max is quite hungry. If it comes to that... he might be able to steal some food from her house without her noticing, to eat in an emergency. She might not notice she can give him commands until he's escaped, although there's the risk that she might try to command him anyway out of desperation if he does anything too overt to resist her.
For now, at least...
"Will do." and, once they've embarked, "What happens if I eat something that doesn't belong to anyone- an apple off a wild tree, or something?"
Max is quite hungry. If it comes to that... he might be able to steal some food from her house without her noticing, to eat in an emergency. She might not notice she can give him commands until he's escaped, although there's the risk that she might try to command him anyway out of desperation if he does anything too overt to resist her.
For now, at least...
"Will do." and, once they've embarked, "What happens if I eat something that doesn't belong to anyone- an apple off a wild tree, or something?"
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"That might be safe, if no one notices, or it might turn out someone's got a claim on the tree. I can't get vassaled that way - it's very hard to vassal a fairy with food unless you're a mortal offering mortal food - but you could. That's also the reason it's hand-to-mouth feeding if you do wind up taking food - it shortens the chain of responsibility so no one else can wedge in and say that was their - is an apple a nut or something?"
Max
unblinkered
"You don't have- you have nuts, but you don't have- okay, different ecosystem, but also different plane of existence, that would- why-"
He sighs.
"It's a fruit. Pretty common, tasty sort of red thing with more solid flesh than most. Kind of the archetypal example of fruit on Earth- wait, I'm assuming this isn't somewhere on Earth, right? Different dimension, or something?"
He sighs.
"It's a fruit. Pretty common, tasty sort of red thing with more solid flesh than most. Kind of the archetypal example of fruit on Earth- wait, I'm assuming this isn't somewhere on Earth, right? Different dimension, or something?"
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"Different dimension," she confirms.
Max
unblinkered
"And- is it a planet? Ball of ground, floating in space, orbiting that sun there? How big is it?"
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"It's not a planet. And - big. I'm not sure if it's literally infinite, but big enough that no one's sure."
Max
unblinkered
He ponders this. He gives up pondering it and files it under "weird magic things that don't strictly make sense and probably have some common artificiality behind them".
"So- fairies. You, uh... there's the wings, but... why do you look like humans? Or, I guess, why do humans look like you? What's the connection there?"
"So- fairies. You, uh... there's the wings, but... why do you look like humans? Or, I guess, why do humans look like you? What's the connection there?"
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"I don't know. Leaflets look more humanlike than many kinds of fairies, but it's all the same basic shape, none of us look like snails or rocks instead. It's possible some breeding kinds wandered into the mortal world long ago and - bred there. I don't know much about how breeding kinds work but that seems the likeliest explanation."
Max
unblinkered
"Breeding kinds?" he asks, before changing his mind and asking "So- the mortal world, you say- is it just this place and our place? Are there other worlds with..." Fairies, what else would there be? "I don't know, dragons, or elves or something? Is the connection between here and there special, or is there a wider context?"
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"As far as I know it's just the fairy realm and the mortal one," says Promise.
Max
unblinkered
So. Okay, things make slightly more sense to Max now. The laws of physics are still probably being violated, insofar as flying and parallel universes go, but... in neat, isolated ways, that can probably be described neatly. Except for the vassal thing, which may or may not be a bluff but could, theoretically, be attributed to some very clever nanotechnology. The rules are being broken, but they aren't a totally different set of rules. Probably.
"So... so back to the breeding kinds thing- we're mortals, okay, so by contrast, you're... not mortal? But, what, only some of you reproduce? How's all that... work, biologically speaking?"
"So... so back to the breeding kinds thing- we're mortals, okay, so by contrast, you're... not mortal? But, what, only some of you reproduce? How's all that... work, biologically speaking?"
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"I don't know how breeding kinds work. I'm not a bred kind."
Max
unblinkered
A sickening feeling grows in his stomach. Or maybe that's just hunger. Please, please let that not mean anything weird and magic.
"What... do you mean, you're not a bred kind? Where did you...?"
"What... do you mean, you're not a bred kind? Where did you...?"
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"I started in my tree. That's where leaflets come from."
Max
unblinkered
no no no no no no no please
"Your tree. You... how did the tree... where I come from, trees don't typically... make people. Is that a euphemism for...?"
"Your tree. You... how did the tree... where I come from, trees don't typically... make people. Is that a euphemism for...?"
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"It's not a euphemism for anything. I assume we have different trees. The kind of tree in question makes leaflets occasionally."
Max
unblinkered
Deep breaths.
"...how does it make leaflets occasionally? Are you... is it some kind of symbiotic... are fairies a species, or a category of... but?"
"...how does it make leaflets occasionally? Are you... is it some kind of symbiotic... are fairies a species, or a category of... but?"
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"I'm not sure I understand what you're asking. The tree hollows out in the middle and when there's enough room a leaflet starts in it. That's where we're going, is my tree, with my house in it. I don't have to live there any more, if I wanted to move I could, but it's convenient and no one else is going to make trouble with me over my tree, so I do."
Max
unblinkered
"What I mean is... I'm trying to get a handle on this place as... a model of my world, with a list of deviations from that model, to be explained by some common cause or set of causes. And... you have a magic vassal system, teleporting gates, wings that hold a person's weight, a non-planetoid geology, and now... now I need to figure out trees that generate people. There's... there's a vanishingly small set of explanations that account for these increasingly bizarre and seemingly unrelated phenomena."
He throws up his hands.
"What else is there? Have I not even encountered the most... inexplicable thing, yet? What is this place?!"
He throws up his hands.
"What else is there? Have I not even encountered the most... inexplicable thing, yet? What is this place?!"
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"It's the fairy realm," says Promise. "Why are you starting out by modeling the mortal world at all to understand it?"
Max
unblinkered
There's a sputtering noise in the back of his throat.
"You- I mean, of course that's the problem, is that I only have the one frame of reference! I somehow thought... there was a universe with consistent rules, that existed because that was just how the rules happened to play out! But this... what are its rules? Does it have rules? If there are rules, does anyone know what they are? Where did... where'd it all come from?"
"You- I mean, of course that's the problem, is that I only have the one frame of reference! I somehow thought... there was a universe with consistent rules, that existed because that was just how the rules happened to play out! But this... what are its rules? Does it have rules? If there are rules, does anyone know what they are? Where did... where'd it all come from?"
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"There are rules. Laws of magic and traits of fairy kinds and so on. I really don't understand what's so baffling about leaflets starting in trees. I don't know where it came from, I'm much newer than the world."
Max
unblinkered
"Trees," he explains, "are, in my world, plants that evolved to produce more of themselves, and do not ordinarily produce things not tailored to that purpose. They also don't produce things that are members of entirely different species. Unless this tree was somehow specifically modified to serve as a reproductive system for a species of fairy, it's the sort of thing you wouldn't expect to happen by itself. Raising, then, the question of "who modified the tree, and why". Assuming," he admits, "that my model of trees as a product of evolution instead of a product of... fairy... rules, is something other than a profound deception."
He sighs.
He sighs.
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"It's possible that you're hearing the word I'm using in the way you are for reasons having more to do with what the tree looks like than how it works," suggests Promise.
Max
unblinkered
"What, the word "tree"? As in, the "tree" is some kind of... fairy egg, that just looks like a tree for some reason? Or am I not catching your meaning?"
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"...It's not an egg. It grows from a sprout into a large plant and then sometimes it hollows out and a leaflet appears in it. Although not too often. Most trees don't have leaflet hollows."
Max
unblinkered
"So... an R-type... only some of them... or there's a parasite they don't know about... or..."
This is not a question that's either likely to be answered neatly soon, or be useful if pursued further. Max changes tracks.
"You said- you're newer than the world, okay. Clearly. But I'm also newer than my world, and until recently I thought I knew approximately where it came from. We have... people who've looked into it, made their best guess at what the universe is like and why everything is there. It's... if not common knowledge, at least accessible knowledge. Do you have people here, who know that kind of thing? Or who are trying to find out?"
This is not a question that's either likely to be answered neatly soon, or be useful if pursued further. Max changes tracks.
"You said- you're newer than the world, okay. Clearly. But I'm also newer than my world, and until recently I thought I knew approximately where it came from. We have... people who've looked into it, made their best guess at what the universe is like and why everything is there. It's... if not common knowledge, at least accessible knowledge. Do you have people here, who know that kind of thing? Or who are trying to find out?"
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"There's books about the past. I have some. But books don't last forever and neither do memories, so they only go back so far. How do you find out where your world came from?"
Max
unblinkered
"They... we looked at the sky, figured out how the stars and planets moved, and what they were made of, and what directions they were going in. We dug up the ground and looked at the layers to see what we were standing on top of, and how long it'd been there. We looked at the cells of living things to find out how they were related to each other, and how they were changing, and what they probably looked like before. History leaves traces on everything, like it wants to be discovered."
"And then there's this. We somehow missed this part. And we're probably going to have to do all that tedious research all over again, unless there's someone here who already knows."
He looks at her.
"How long has there been a Queen?"
"And then there's this. We somehow missed this part. And we're probably going to have to do all that tedious research all over again, unless there's someone here who already knows."
He looks at her.
"How long has there been a Queen?"
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"As long as anyone can remember. She claims to be eternal, but anyone could claim that, I could claim to be eternal if it weren't for the fact that there are lots of leaflets and people know how we start. Are you proposing to bring a lot of mortal scientists in here to - look at things? I think that would end badly."
Max
unblinkered
"...I never said "scientists". How do you know that word? Do you have fairy scientists? What have they been doing, if not figuring out where the world is from?"
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"I don't really know what you're hearing," says Promise. "See earlier remarks with respect to 'tree'. Did you think I'd learned a mortal language for some reason?"
Max
unblinkered
Max blinks.
"You don't... know what... language? You don't speak...?"
There's the sickening feeling again. He's pretty sure it isn't hunger this time.
"You don't... know what... language? You don't speak...?"
There's the sickening feeling again. He's pretty sure it isn't hunger this time.
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"I speak, I just speak - generically."
Max
unblinkered
"You don't mean..."
Oh, christ. Not this. Please, not this.
"So you just understand- and I understand- but! That's not... language is complicated, almost as complicated as people! You can't automate... there'd be more conflicts than just trees and scientists, and... and your mouth! It's definitely- the spell would have to bend light, or generate a different image, or directly modify my visual cortex to see something different, and- and the timing, there's no way it'd match up, if I- it'd look like you were still talking when you'd stopped, or that you'd- there were no weird pauses when you finished saying things, how would- how would it know, did someone learn all Earth's- no, it's older than- it'd have to take it from my head, it'd- if i had a different accent, would you sound...?! How does it process the- there's no predictive...! Please tell me I'm hearing you wrong, that it's not really..."
Max's breathing is getting shallower.
Oh, christ. Not this. Please, not this.
"So you just understand- and I understand- but! That's not... language is complicated, almost as complicated as people! You can't automate... there'd be more conflicts than just trees and scientists, and... and your mouth! It's definitely- the spell would have to bend light, or generate a different image, or directly modify my visual cortex to see something different, and- and the timing, there's no way it'd match up, if I- it'd look like you were still talking when you'd stopped, or that you'd- there were no weird pauses when you finished saying things, how would- how would it know, did someone learn all Earth's- no, it's older than- it'd have to take it from my head, it'd- if i had a different accent, would you sound...?! How does it process the- there's no predictive...! Please tell me I'm hearing you wrong, that it's not really..."
Max's breathing is getting shallower.
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"Well... I can't guarantee that you aren't hearing me wrong because I don't know what you're hearing? If that helps? Are you okay? I don't really know what to do about it if you... aren't."
Max
unblinkered
"Am I... correct in inferring that what is happening is that, by magic, when you speak in your own language, it's magically translated into mine, and vice versa? That's what I'm hoping isn't the case, because of how egregiously nonsensical that would be."
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"I'm not sure I'd call what I'm speaking a language the way you know them. Otherwise, yes."
Max
unblinkered
"That means... this definitely can't be a natural phenomenon. This has to have been engineered by someone, it- it has to be continually updated, as language evolves- holy- there wasn't language that way before people, and you predate people, nothing functions that perfectly in a context it couldn't have predicted, whoever or whatever designed this translation effect... they'd have to still be alive, maintaining the effect and making sure it's working properly, making it work smoothly like that. Even if... even if you speak in, what, pure meaning, optimized for the effect to translate, there'd still be syntactic ambiguity to handle, there could be someone listening to everything we say and-"
Oh, of course. Someone who had magical access to every conversation anyone had, they'd know all sorts of secrets. Like, for instance, the names of anyone who was named here. The names of every fairy. There's someone like that who's supposedly been around forever, right?
"...why is it so out of the question to visit the Queen, besides her being powerful?"
Oh, of course. Someone who had magical access to every conversation anyone had, they'd know all sorts of secrets. Like, for instance, the names of anyone who was named here. The names of every fairy. There's someone like that who's supposedly been around forever, right?
"...why is it so out of the question to visit the Queen, besides her being powerful?"
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"I assure you," says Promise, "that fairies are people. And the Queen can get anything she wants, so the strategy is to avoid being wanted, and what does that have to do with speech?"
Max
unblinkered
"It just strikes me that if someone has global translation magic set up to listen to conversations in enough detail to translate them smoothly, they'd know every name anyone ever spoken to someone else here. And there being one very powerful person who knows exactly that and has been around for- oh, sorry about the "people" thing, I meant "humans"- been around for as long as anyone can remember... there's an obvious candidate for who's responsible for speech magic."
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"Oh, no, that can't be it, my name - for instance - has never been spoken aloud."
Max
unblinkered
"What, Pro- oh, right. Pseudonym. Clearly. Otherwise- right. Duh. Did... your tree tell it to you without talking, somehow? Are we sure the translation doesn't apply to nonverbal information transfer? If... wait. Are there books? No, yes, you said there were books. Would I be able to read the books, or would someone need to read them aloud to me?"
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"I started knowing it. The Queen has never to my knowledge evinced the ability to read minds, just know names. There are books, and you should be able to read them."
Max
unblinkered
"Books- so, would the... if I scratched at the letters that looked like English letters, would it scrape off ink, or... or would it really... if you don't use "what I'd think of as a language", how does... I guess it could..."
Wait. No.
"Started knowing it? That's- that's not how information works. At all. Is a name- I mean, if it were encoded in DNA- do you have DNA?- I can see if being a thing that grows out of- but then the system would rely on that, it wouldn't work the same way for mort- do mortal names- how-"
God, he's flailing again. What's the most important line of inquiry right now, even? He takes a deep breath and puts his hand over his mouth.
Wait. No.
"Started knowing it? That's- that's not how information works. At all. Is a name- I mean, if it were encoded in DNA- do you have DNA?- I can see if being a thing that grows out of- but then the system would rely on that, it wouldn't work the same way for mort- do mortal names- how-"
God, he's flailing again. What's the most important line of inquiry right now, even? He takes a deep breath and puts his hand over his mouth.
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"I don't know if I have DNA," she says. "I mostly study sorcery and more practical-level things like where there's quicksand and where there's hostile fairies and where there's fruit. And I will only let you read my books if you are not going to deface them."
Max
unblinkered
He breathes. DNA, probably not the most important right now. This girl does not have access to the deep secrets of the universe- or if she does, she doesn't want him to know. Books...
"No, right, hypothetically, I meant, I wouldn't scratch at your books. Unless- well, no, they probably wouldn't have one of those publisher pages in the front with all the legalese and numbers no one cares about. No fairy ISBN."
He pauses. He needs to figure out... where he can find the most information. This leaflet is visibly confused, possibly annoyed by his questions. Max needs to find someone better-equipped to expedite his making-sense-of-the-world agenda. And who is less likely to be the person who kidnapped the Brenda's manager and mind-controlled her into erasing all her notes.
Questions, right now, need to focus on navigating fairy society and finding someone with the appropriate spirit of scientific inquiry, or at least the appropriate spirit of enjoying listening to someone ask lots of stupid questions.
"So... okay, other people who could be responsible for the effect. You said- nobody's designed a spell in living memory, so they wouldn't be easily found. Where... this is all forest, out here, but are there cities? Places with lots of fairies in the same place?"
"No, right, hypothetically, I meant, I wouldn't scratch at your books. Unless- well, no, they probably wouldn't have one of those publisher pages in the front with all the legalese and numbers no one cares about. No fairy ISBN."
He pauses. He needs to figure out... where he can find the most information. This leaflet is visibly confused, possibly annoyed by his questions. Max needs to find someone better-equipped to expedite his making-sense-of-the-world agenda. And who is less likely to be the person who kidnapped the Brenda's manager and mind-controlled her into erasing all her notes.
Questions, right now, need to focus on navigating fairy society and finding someone with the appropriate spirit of scientific inquiry, or at least the appropriate spirit of enjoying listening to someone ask lots of stupid questions.
"So... okay, other people who could be responsible for the effect. You said- nobody's designed a spell in living memory, so they wouldn't be easily found. Where... this is all forest, out here, but are there cities? Places with lots of fairies in the same place?"
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"The assemblies of ones who accumulate plentiful vassals. The Queen's court, the family halls of the breeding kinds with their long parentage chains, some others who've managed it other ways. I haven't had cause to go far from my tree yet, it's not very close to any such concentrations of fairies, and I'm neither master nor vassal, save for the Queen, so I live in a thinly populated forest. Did I say something that sounded like no one having designed any spells? Sorcerers design spells; I could design spells, if only simple ones."
Max
unblinkered
"Wh- yeah, you said, uh, something that sounded like... if any magic exists that was designed... something... you- you definitely said something like that."
Here it is. The first contradiction. He's starting to make a dent in her ruse, little by little. He'd like to see her try to wiggle out of this one.
Here it is. The first contradiction. He's starting to make a dent in her ruse, little by little. He'd like to see her try to wiggle out of this one.
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"No one designed how to design spells," she explains. "That seems to have been stable. But a lot of spells must be purpose-built or at least customized per occasion. If I wanted to - oh - set that little ivy there on fire," she gestures as she flies at a sprig of new ivy, "I'd need to land near it and have a look at just how big and how dry it is and adjust the spell to match. Making a new spell is more or less like that on another scale, but I can't decide that from now on magic in general is going to work by - singing while standing on one's head."
Max
unblinkered
Oh. Perfectly reasonable miscommunication. Right. Okay. Suspicious.
He wants to ask if she has books on designing magic at her house. But, of course, if she wants him there for nefarious purposes, on false pretenses... she'd say yes. So... if she wants to encourage him to come by any means necessary, he needs to flip the script and...
Wait, no. He's going there anyway because he doesn't have anything better to do. He'll just... "And do your books go into how to build new spells like that? What... sorts of "magical" things about this world seem like they could be powerful complicated spells within that system, and which things appear to stand on their own?"
He wants to ask if she has books on designing magic at her house. But, of course, if she wants him there for nefarious purposes, on false pretenses... she'd say yes. So... if she wants to encourage him to come by any means necessary, he needs to flip the script and...
Wait, no. He's going there anyway because he doesn't have anything better to do. He'll just... "And do your books go into how to build new spells like that? What... sorts of "magical" things about this world seem like they could be powerful complicated spells within that system, and which things appear to stand on their own?"
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"I have books like that, yes, but at a relatively elementary level... I don't know nearly enough to guess if it would be possible to make new fairy kinds by magic with our native sorts of magical properties intact. I imagine the effects on geographical areas, such as this forest not having a night or the Forever Snows always snowing could be accomplished by spell but I am satisfied enough with the forest's layout to have chosen other priorities than remodeling it. I haven't the first idea about how speaking could have been done by spell - it would have had to be done by somebody, and if they couldn't speak I'm not sure how they'd conceptualize the magic - but that doesn't seem like a fundamental limitation of the system, per se."
Max
unblinkered
"That's reassuring. That's... honestly reassuring, to know that there's a solid system in place and its underlying mechanics could conceivably account for most of this. There's a line of inquiry, there. I'll want to read those books... and possibly find a way to buy books that go into the underlying mechanics and metaphysics, if those exist."
There's still the serious possibility that there is no house and no books, but instead some gate or nasty magic thing that the manager had been trying to warn people about. Ideally, he'll encounter another fairy before they reach their destination, and the opportunity will arise to confront her about the messages in Brenda's. But... he should know what she wants him to think about other fairies, first.
"You mentioned earlier, that other fairies aren't as harmless as you- something about being a disposable toy? What... how are most fairies likely to treat a mortal like me?"
There's still the serious possibility that there is no house and no books, but instead some gate or nasty magic thing that the manager had been trying to warn people about. Ideally, he'll encounter another fairy before they reach their destination, and the opportunity will arise to confront her about the messages in Brenda's. But... he should know what she wants him to think about other fairies, first.
"You mentioned earlier, that other fairies aren't as harmless as you- something about being a disposable toy? What... how are most fairies likely to treat a mortal like me?"
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"You cannot stay here long enough to read all my books unless you want me to feed you - you'd starve - and frankly I'm not sure I want to feed you; I'd feel even more responsible for you than I already do. And it'd depend on the fairy - kind and individual both - but nearly every fairy you meet will want to get you to eat something or tell them your name. Even if they don't want you, they can pass you on to someone who does. Fairies that are smaller than I am and don't have claws or sharp teeth, in this region, as a general rule of thumb that I do not guarantee overall, will not physically attack you but might know sorcery - other fairies vary too much in their violent inclinations or lack thereof for me to offer a good heuristic. Even if you eventually get hungry and talk me into giving you food in spite of the fact that I'd then feel particularly obliged to look after you, I don't plan to, say, order you to dance without rest until you expire or something, but the list of things that someone might find amusing to use you for is long and unpleasant."
Max
unblinkered
"I don't intend to just go back- I'm- I can't ignore all of this, just because it's not safe. Why... where do you get your books from? Who sells them, what do they cost, can I buy my own? Can I buy food, get someone to give up their claim? What are my options for living here?"
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"If you stay here long enough you will wind up someone's vassal or dead, and I have not invited you to be my indefinite houseguest so most of those possibilities are not pretty - I can make a gate to the mortal world that will stay put for you, maybe? Then would you at least go home for meals? I'm not sure how long it will take. I'd need to get books - there's a library in the glen I have borrowing privileges with and when I want to own a copy of a book I take a library copy to the scribes up in the cliff and do their foraging and chores for them for a few days. Or copy it myself, occasionally, I make my own paper - you couldn't get to the glen or the cliffs without flying. And - buying food is economic, not, not, claim-invalidating. It means you aren't stealing; it doesn't mean you didn't accept food from whoever sold it to you. It's the accepting, not the owning. You can basically live here only if there's a gate that will let you go home and eat - apples and whatever else - on a routine basis, or you haul in enough food to last you the rest of your natural life and no one ever sneaks a candied dewdrop in with it, or you become some fairy's vassal and they bother to hand-feed you as often as you need."
Max
unblinkered
Hm. So she can make the gate herself? That's... if she could do that already, then why would she need him to...?
Max hears rushing water up ahead. It's probably wise to ask more about gates before they arrive at whatever place is past the river.
"I'm not... you said you could make a gate? Just... that's something you're ordinarily capable of? You don't need me to help you with that?"
Her plan doesn't make sense, if that's the case. Why lie to him, why try to get him out of here? Besides genuinely caring for his safety, but a false negative on malice is more dangerous than a false negative on benevolence. Why would the Brenda's manager write warnings against the...
Oh.
"Wait. Scratch the gate thing. More urgent question. Can fairies be made vassals to- they can, you said- mortal with mortal food- did you mean- can mortals vassal fairies?"
Max hears rushing water up ahead. It's probably wise to ask more about gates before they arrive at whatever place is past the river.
"I'm not... you said you could make a gate? Just... that's something you're ordinarily capable of? You don't need me to help you with that?"
Her plan doesn't make sense, if that's the case. Why lie to him, why try to get him out of here? Besides genuinely caring for his safety, but a false negative on malice is more dangerous than a false negative on benevolence. Why would the Brenda's manager write warnings against the...
Oh.
"Wait. Scratch the gate thing. More urgent question. Can fairies be made vassals to- they can, you said- mortal with mortal food- did you mean- can mortals vassal fairies?"
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"...Why would I need your help? You aren't even a sorcerer. And yes, you can, if you feed us or get our names. Don't try it, please."
Max
unblinkered
There is a new, scarier thing to worry about. Promise is probably not secretly evil, her actions and words being consistently inconsistent with the nefarious plan as initially outlined.
"Right, of course you wouldn't. A fairy wouldn't need someone's help to enter the mortal world, right? I..."
He hesitates for moment, wondering if Promise is in fact hostile and trying to trick him into revealing that he knows... before realizing that she'd have no reason not to simply call him on it.
"Until just now", he confesses, "I've been suspecting you of being responsible for creating the gate that brought me here, and of kidnapping someone through it. But that explanation doesn't make sense anymore, and I think that, yes, I do need to get back as soon as possible, because of the alternate explanation for what happened."
"Right, of course you wouldn't. A fairy wouldn't need someone's help to enter the mortal world, right? I..."
He hesitates for moment, wondering if Promise is in fact hostile and trying to trick him into revealing that he knows... before realizing that she'd have no reason not to simply call him on it.
"Until just now", he confesses, "I've been suspecting you of being responsible for creating the gate that brought me here, and of kidnapping someone through it. But that explanation doesn't make sense anymore, and I think that, yes, I do need to get back as soon as possible, because of the alternate explanation for what happened."
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"I don't even know how to make a gate yet. I'm going to have to learn. I'm afraid that if you came through an unstable gate, and you probably did, the kidnapped someone could be anywhere - I can scry on them if that's a higher priority than figuring out gates, but that doesn't guarantee they're within traveling distance or retrievable if they are."
Max
unblinkered
"I'm not... sure the person was kidnapped, actually. The door I went through to get here had notes on it- saying to keep out, to bar the door, and to not let "her" in. What I thought was that you were the "her" on the other side of the door, and that you were planning to get into our world somehow by using me to open a passage."
"What I now suspect is that the kidnapping went the other way- that a mortal used an unstable gate to kidnap a fairy from your world, and... how much do you know about the mortal world? Do you know why this could be extremely dangerous?"
"What I now suspect is that the kidnapping went the other way- that a mortal used an unstable gate to kidnap a fairy from your world, and... how much do you know about the mortal world? Do you know why this could be extremely dangerous?"
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"The mortal world has... mortals in it. And apples, apparently. I've read books about it but it's not clear how much to trust them sometimes. I suppose a mortal with a fairy vassal could then - feed the fairy lots of mortal names, since you give those out like candied dewdrops, and command those mortals at one remove?"
Max
unblinkered
"That's the worst-case scenario, yes. It's not just easy to get someone to give you their name- we have these things called phone books, see. They're like... we have phones, devices that allow people to speak to anyone at a distance, but each person's phone has a different number attached to it, and you need to know the number to call them. So some people, they use public records to... compile enormous lists of people's phone-numbers alongside their names, so that anyone who wants to contact someone can look up their phone-number in the list. Not only is it trivially easy to find names, it's trivially easy to contact the people those names belong to and give them orders. Becoming Queen of the mortal world, for someone with a vassaled fairy and a telephone, could be less than an afternoon's work."
He stares off into space and shakes his head. "The phone book... is a powerful artifact that grants the wielder absolute control over the human race. The phone book."
This is the state of affairs concerning the universe, apparently. He shakes his head in disbelief some more.
"How long did you say it would take to make a gate?"
He stares off into space and shakes his head. "The phone book... is a powerful artifact that grants the wielder absolute control over the human race. The phone book."
This is the state of affairs concerning the universe, apparently. He shakes his head in disbelief some more.
"How long did you say it would take to make a gate?"
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"Well, I don't know, exactly, since I don't currently know how and haven't marked it on my schedule as a project. More than days, probably less than months."
Max
unblinkered
"...that's going to be a long time to go without eating anything, and an impossible time to go without drinking- is water typically safe to drink?"
It's also a long time to go with a potential world domination attempt in progress, or at least a very-nasty-behavior-requiring-magical-coercion attempt in progress. The fairy, though, is more likely to be concerned with his immediate well being than...
It's actually weird that fairies haven't already tried to take over the world on their own, come to think of it. It'd be insulting if none of them cared enough to try.
It's also a long time to go with a potential world domination attempt in progress, or at least a very-nasty-behavior-requiring-magical-
It's actually weird that fairies haven't already tried to take over the world on their own, come to think of it. It'd be insulting if none of them cared enough to try.
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"Water's safe if that's all it is. I know where to get you safe water."
Max
unblinkered
"Speaking of water..."
They've reached the river.
"I don't... rivers come from... I'm not even going to start questioning the geology of this pl- wait, if it just goes on forever, how can there be a consistent water cycle? How does it regulate the... are ecosystems even stable over long time periods here?"
Max doesn't necessarily care, and suspects the answer is going to be some variation on "it's magic", but that's not reason to not ask the question. Not asking a question is like... not thinking a thought.
They've reached the river.
"I don't... rivers come from... I'm not even going to start questioning the geology of this pl- wait, if it just goes on forever, how can there be a consistent water cycle? How does it regulate the... are ecosystems even stable over long time periods here?"
Max doesn't necessarily care, and suspects the answer is going to be some variation on "it's magic", but that's not reason to not ask the question. Not asking a question is like... not thinking a thought.
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"Don't drink the river water," she recommends. "This particular river comes from a spring up on a mountain that way, and the spring would be safe to drink from, but between here and there it picks up enough detritus that it's not completely pure. I have safe water at home."
Max
unblinkered
"Do people here get possessive about their river detritus? Random strangers in the habit of giving mortals orders just to check if they've accidentally swallowed some of their trash? Or... do fairies have a sense for when someone becomes vassaled to them?"
He walks down the river bank, looking for a good place to cross. She'll probably point it out when he reaches it.
He walks down the river bank, looking for a good place to cross. She'll probably point it out when he reaches it.
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"We have that sense about names but not about the food thing, but mortals are uncommon and interesting enough that someone might well test orders on you to see if they've got an incidental claim like that. Especially if you don't look taken, or only taken by a very new leaflet with no vassals of her own to bring to bear." She points out a shallow swath of river with tall rocks. "Can you wade that?"
Max
unblinkered
He shrugs. He's never waded across a river before, but there's no reason he shouldn't be able to. Besides how there's lots of quickly-moving water and rocks and it seems like a generally risky thing to do.
He takes off his socks and shoes and folds his slacks around them. After a moment, he takes off his suitjacket and buttons it closed around the bundle.
"D'you mind carrying these across?"
He takes off his socks and shoes and folds his slacks around them. After a moment, he takes off his suitjacket and buttons it closed around the bundle.
"D'you mind carrying these across?"
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
She shrugs, takes the bundle, and flies across the river with it to wait perched on a rock on the other side.
Max
unblinkered
...it's probably not a safe assumption that a fairy wouldn't lie about being unable to carry him in order to trick him into wading half-naked through a river for laughs, in general. But Promise doesn't seem the type to do something like that. He's sure.
The river water is cold and the riverbed is gross and squishy and the river is moving very fast and it's rather harder to stay upright than he expected. Not harder than it would have been if he had been properly modeling it as a massive wall of liquid falling horizontally as opposed to a thin band of wet, but harder than he was expecting nonetheless.
Halfway through he slips and smashes his head against a rock. Not hard enough to knock him out, but hard enough to get him stunned and washed downstream a few meters before catching himself on another rock.
What a colorful vocabulary he has.
The river water is cold and the riverbed is gross and squishy and the river is moving very fast and it's rather harder to stay upright than he expected. Not harder than it would have been if he had been properly modeling it as a massive wall of liquid falling horizontally as opposed to a thin band of wet, but harder than he was expecting nonetheless.
Halfway through he slips and smashes his head against a rock. Not hard enough to knock him out, but hard enough to get him stunned and washed downstream a few meters before catching himself on another rock.
What a colorful vocabulary he has.
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
Promise puts his bundle down and flits over to the rock, and hovers over him. "...I can help pull you back to the shallow bit, if you think having me hauling on your hand would be more use than using it to swim," she says. "Or I can try to get you - branches or something?"
Max
unblinkered
"I'm FINE! I- ffffuck, I just didn't know the rock would wobble, I- bollocks, I can-"
Wait, no. Help is good. Asking people for help is fine and a good idea and reduces the probability of drowning. He'd lost track of this, on account of the head injury.
He grabs her hand. "Iz... izzit bleeding, christ, I can't tell if it's bleeding..."
Wait, no. Help is good. Asking people for help is fine and a good idea and reduces the probability of drowning. He'd lost track of this, on account of the head injury.
He grabs her hand. "Iz... izzit bleeding, christ, I can't tell if it's bleeding..."
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
Promise has a bit more difficulty hovering when he's got hold of her hand, but she manages. "A bit. It doesn't look huge, just enthusiastic. I know a healing spell that should work on you but I don't have it completely memorized, I'd have to look it up."
Max
unblinkered
Maxwell groans some unintelligible expression of assent. Swimming back to the shallow water is difficult, but he suffers no further complications on the way to the far shore. He retrieves his bundle of clothes- he'll have to wait til he's dry to put them on.
He ties one of his socks around his head. They're clean enough, he put them on this morning. That's how hygiene works. Definitely.
"Healing spell. Also very complicated, specialized magic. I'm... going to need to understand the fundamentals of this before I can decide what sorts of things ought to be surprising, now."
He ties one of his socks around his head. They're clean enough, he put them on this morning. That's how hygiene works. Definitely.
"Healing spell. Also very complicated, specialized magic. I'm... going to need to understand the fundamentals of this before I can decide what sorts of things ought to be surprising, now."
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"The one I'm thinking of is simple," Promise says. "Introductory."
Max
unblinkered
"Well, yes, sure. I meant- in the context of- bodies are complicated and medical magic in general sounds..."
He's not sure if it's the head injury diminishing his willingness to press the issue, or hunger. He stops talking, walking along in silence. Questions can wait for when his head isn't swimming anymore. It appears it didn't get the memo about the rest of the body being done with that.
He's not sure if it's the head injury diminishing his willingness to press the issue, or hunger. He stops talking, walking along in silence. Questions can wait for when his head isn't swimming anymore. It appears it didn't get the memo about the rest of the body being done with that.
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
Forest forest forest specific hawthorn tree with a door in it.
"I'm afraid you'll be cramped, although you should be able to fit," she says, opening the door for him.
"I'm afraid you'll be cramped, although you should be able to fit," she says, opening the door for him.
Max
unblinkered
Max ducks under the doorway- it's just a little too short- and steps inside. Of the tree. With a house in it, that gave birth to a yada yada yada magic. He's resolved to postpone his magical-mechanics inquiries for the books.
He locates seating and slumps. "Walking. Back home I don't have to do that so much."
Back home he also didn't ford rivers or acquire head injuries, but those things weren't strictly typicaly parts of getting around in this place.
He locates seating and slumps. "Walking. Back home I don't have to do that so much."
Back home he also didn't ford rivers or acquire head injuries, but those things weren't strictly typicaly parts of getting around in this place.
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"I don't walk much either, though I suppose it's for different reasons. The water in that pitcher," she adds, pointing at a glass vessel on what appears to be the fairy treehouse equivalent of a kitchen table, "is safe for you if you're thirsty."
Max
unblinkered
Oh, good, the clean water he-
"Uh. I don't... think I swallowed any river water, but it definitely got in my mouth. Is that... something to worry about? What's the threshold there?"
He doesn't see any cups- he supposes he's supposed to drink from the pitcher. He lifts it to his mouth, and...
And if she were lying about water being safe, and not wanting to make him her vassal? Not eating, not giving his name, those were in his control. If she were to enslave him, this is how she would do it.
He hesitates. Waits on the answer to the river question.
"Uh. I don't... think I swallowed any river water, but it definitely got in my mouth. Is that... something to worry about? What's the threshold there?"
He doesn't see any cups- he supposes he's supposed to drink from the pitcher. He lifts it to his mouth, and...
And if she were lying about water being safe, and not wanting to make him her vassal? Not eating, not giving his name, those were in his control. If she were to enslave him, this is how she would do it.
He hesitates. Waits on the answer to the river question.
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"...Well, there's nothing to do about it if it's going to get you in trouble, really," says Promise. "I'm not sure, though. Did you swallow it? Let me get you a cup -" She gets him a cup. It's made of wood.
Max
unblinkered
Max pours a cup, but doesn't drink it yet.
"I don't think I swallowed any mouthfuls, no- although I could have missed doing so when I was dazed- but I did ordinary swallowing, and some of that- you said, detritus- could have lingered in my mouth. If you don't know the rules there, I don't suppose it matters."
"I don't think I swallowed any mouthfuls, no- although I could have missed doing so when I was dazed- but I did ordinary swallowing, and some of that- you said, detritus- could have lingered in my mouth. If you don't know the rules there, I don't suppose it matters."
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"Well, rinse and spit - into the potted fern over there, please -" there is indeed a potted fern, and, on inspection, no sink - "if you think you might have something stuck between your teeth, but otherwise I'm afraid I can't help you figure out whether you've got claim on you or not until some flowertender or something tells you to stand on your head and you do it."
Max
unblinkered
"I don't think I could stand on my head, ordinarily- would I just be forced to try, would I be granted special balance, or...? What happens if you're ordered to do something impossible?"
Max rinses and spits. He refills the wooden cup. He still doesn't drink.
Max rinses and spits. He refills the wooden cup. He still doesn't drink.
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"Well, if someone ordered you to levitate, nothing would happen; standing on your head it probably depends on how thoroughly you can't." She starts browsing her bookshelves, wings twitching occasionally to help her keep her balance. "Maybe you have to try, maybe you're just barely close enough to being able to do it that when you really have to you can? But it doesn't give you special powers."
Max
unblinkered
"And... what if more than one fairy knew my name? Is it first-come first-served, or is there sharing? What happens if you've got two masters- assuming you can share- and you get conflicting orders?"
He looks apprehensively at the cup.
He looks apprehensively at the cup.
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"You can have any number of masters. They can contradict each other and you obey as many of the orders as you can, most recent taking precedence, and they can't order you to ignore the others - or to harm anyone who qualifies as your master, either. Nobody likes situations like that, though, unless it's an actual chain - A masters B masters C, A collects C's name from B and then sends out B and C to do things together with B in charge between the two of them, like that. There's relatively amicable ways of settling it when it's messy. If you'd walked in and introduced yourself by name to me and some other fairy I'd have tried to get you in a dice game because I'm good at Rain Dice and think I'm liable to be nicer than anyone else you'd encounter, and then the other fairy would most likely leave you be, if I won."
Max
unblinkered
"Nicer than anyone else I'd encounter? You're telling me you're the nicest person in the world? By random happenstance, the very first fairy I meet is the only one I can trust, you're saying?"
He sets the water down on the table. This is too much.
He sets the water down on the table. This is too much.
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"Anywhere I'd be, in this forest, yes. I can't vouch for how nice the fairies in the rainbow desert five days' flight south would be, but you wouldn't find me and one of them in the same place, would you? I'm not claiming much exceptionalism, there aren't that many fairies in this forest or my neighboring haunts. I know for a fact that if your gate had disgorged you in the scribes' place, for instance, the scribe would have done his level best to get your name or get you fed and use you for slave labor copying books."
Max
unblinkered
He ponders this for a moment. On the no doubt extensive list of unpleasant tasks to be enslaved for, copying books from another world is not, strictly speaking, the worst possible fate. He has half a mind to visit once he has his own food, if they'll let him help copy without being vassaled.
But...
"These scribes- mortals aren't that uncommon, are they? In my world, we have... these machines that let you copy and print off lots of pages quickly, which would probably speed up that kind of thing like wow. Do they have some kind of magic that's more efficient than mortal technology? Or is there some other reason they don't swipe office printers from our world?"
But...
"These scribes- mortals aren't that uncommon, are they? In my world, we have... these machines that let you copy and print off lots of pages quickly, which would probably speed up that kind of thing like wow. Do they have some kind of magic that's more efficient than mortal technology? Or is there some other reason they don't swipe office printers from our world?"
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"Mortals don't show up here very often," she says. "I've never heard of an office printer. It's possible they wouldn't work here? Like sorcery wouldn't work in the mortal world. If they would work I want one."
Max
unblinkered
"I can't imagine why they wouldn't- mortal technology doesn't run on anything like magic, it works by taking advantage of the same ordinary mechanics responsible for... everything working properly. If a printer wouldn't work here, I don't think my body would either- unless there's some ambient magic effect that messes with sensitive electronics."
"...and how often is "not very often", exactly?"
"...and how often is "not very often", exactly?"
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"I can't rule out there being an ambient magic effect that messes with electronics... I don't have any statistics. But you're the first mortal I've ever met unless you count seeing the one that clan of rivergreens keep as a pet as 'meeting' her, and she's been in the fairy realm for years and years."
Max
unblinkered
Max notices that he's very thirsty. If she's lying to him about water, she's probably lying about helping him get home, and so he's not likely to find an alternate source of the stuff anytime soon.
He drains the cup while looking her straight in the eyes.
"...Well?"
He drains the cup while looking her straight in the eyes.
"...Well?"
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"Well what? I can't take on an entire clan of rivergreens over one mortal. I'd like to, but I'm new and still learning magic."
Max
unblinkered
"I meant-"
Well, never mind. Not reacting is more or less confirmation that pure water is safe.
"So... what's the first step to getting a gate home? If I understand you right, the clock is ticking, with the- with the starvation."
Well, never mind. Not reacting is more or less confirmation that pure water is safe.
"So... what's the first step to getting a gate home? If I understand you right, the clock is ticking, with the- with the starvation."
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"I'm really not sure I can pull it off in time, but yes, sure, I'll get started," she shrugs, heading for her bookshelf and pulling one and flipping through it. "You'll stay put while I go get more books, right? You could easily get lost or caught or killed out alone."
Max
unblinkered
"I don't expect to find anything outside that we didn't encounter over the past couple hours of walking, so... sure. Seat's comfy."
He gets up and walks over to the bookshelf.
"Anything introductory here?"
He gets up and walks over to the bookshelf.
"Anything introductory here?"
Alisyrrabel | Promise
imeanforever
"Try the blue one," she suggests. "I'll be back in a few hours. And don't - wreck or rearrange anything, please." She heads for the door.
Max
unblinkered
Max takes the blue book from the shelf and sits down as Promise leaves the tree.
There is no copyright or publisher's page, as such. This does not keep Maxwell from experimentally scratching at a page number, and at several seemingly blank gaps between the English-looking letters. There's no way she'd notice something like that. And nothing scratched off! It's fine, probably.
He opens to the table of contents and sets to the business of boggling.
There is no copyright or publisher's page, as such. This does not keep Maxwell from experimentally scratching at a page number, and at several seemingly blank gaps between the English-looking letters. There's no way she'd notice something like that. And nothing scratched off! It's fine, probably.
He opens to the table of contents and sets to the business of boggling.