This post has the following content warnings:
Actana Silvers summoning people
Permalink

Eight of them carefully perform the ritual and another eight keep a ward, their backs resting against the walls of the former library.

They let the magical energies flow and weave through into a coherent effect that reaches out and plucks someone from another universe. There is light and then there is a person in the middle of the runic octagon. Hopefully, the cushions will stop their fall.

Total: 237
Posts Per Page:
Permalink

That magic something-or-other was definitely not there a moment ago. Also it's very weird. 

She has less than an instant to throw power into every defense she's got going or can on that notice and grab Genea to her magically. She does that.

 

Then they are somewhere else. She catches Genea and pours more into defenses and jumps up and says someone trying grabbing people with weird magic or something to Genea and looks around.

Permalink

(She of course is taken by complete surprise. 

'grabbing people with weird magic or something'. Well, it looks like that - happened. She gets up more slowly and stays close to Aye and also looks around.)

Permalink

He and...

Permalink

...and his counterpart sigh at the same time. Well, grabbing two people is not that bad of a spell flaw.

They are in a room with a very high ceiling, with elaborate archways and pillars made of green-blue stone. There is a total of sixteen creatures around them, most are humanoid, but some have animal parts, some are twice as tall as a human, but with extra arms. There is even a red-orange bird and a horse with a crystalline horn.

Permalink

Yep, weird. 

Not an illusion and no one's messing with your mind. Far as I can tell. If you were wondering.

 

Permalink

She was somewhat wondering. Is - probably somewhat reassured.

Permalink

They're the random kidnappers here, they can try talking first.

Permalink

That's definitely something that they can do. "We are terribly sorry for bringing you here, but we mean you no harm," says one of the tall four-armed people, they might notice that the other is identical to this one, "do you have any immediate or pressing needs besides knowing what's going on? Something urgent happening where we took you from?"

They understand perfectly, and it sounds like their native language, but his lips are not moving in sync with what he is saying.

Permalink

That's probably better to hear than not to hear.

She notices the lips. Checks with Aye about what language she's hearing.

Permalink

Aye is hearing her own native language rather than Genea's. Fancy.

She agrees with that take on the situation. Smiles.

"Nothing urgent!"

Permalink

Nods. "I will explain the situation then. You two have been moved to this world. We recently underwent a major disastrous event that left it inhospitable and thus we are currently searching for a new world to put our refugees in. Our currently plan to find such world is to summon inhabitants and interview them about the state of the world and possibility of taking people in. We are aware that this is a disruptive method and, once again, offer our sincerest apologies for the inconvenience and scare. Regardless whether you want to answer questions or not we will try our best to keep you comfortable until your return, which shouldn't take more than a few hours and definitely won't take more than a few days. Provided that you don't turn hostile, in which case we will still return you. Questions?"

He manages to speak this clearly and without running out of breath.

Permalink

...if that's true than that sounds - very serious, obviously, and like they're being - very good about this, despite that.

"If that's true we accept your apology. I'm sorry, that - sounds terrible." ...and, that is a question, isn't it.

"Do you have some way of showing that it is true?"

Permalink

She looks around for any other people who look like they're being interviewed. Doesn't think she sees any, not that they couldn't be in another room.

"We the first people you're trying? How'd you pick?"

Permalink

The other four-armed giant speaks. "We can show you the darkened planet below through a window in a few moments - we are on its moon - we can show you the refugees that we have here, and even show its monsters we keep for study. In an hour or, so we can even take you there."

Permalink

"It's a new field of magic to us. So we are still working out the details. But we are trying to aim for: No one experiencing strong emotions in general, with no fear, anger and sexual arousal in particular. No one too fragile to be harmed by transportation. No one who would find our environment hostile. No one who would find our proximity a health hazard, or who could be that to us. No one currently handling harmful or unstable substances, mechanisms or energies. No one who is partially or completely inside another being, pregnant, egg laying or budding. No one likely to turn hostile, though that last one is hard to aim correctly. Optimally, but not restrict to lone healthy humanoids that communicate through sounds and whose minds are structured similar to the casting group. If you don't fall under those parameters we would like to know. Your summon is number four. You are individuals five and six."

Permalink

(on its moon? How does that -?

But that's not what's important first)

She's trying to think how to be - careful right. What she needs to try and think of. Someone who says that might - actually anything up to 'have themselves done the damage they say they're worried about', and be wanting to do the same to someone else. Be looking for a place to conquer. Be - bad neighbors, for some reason. Be doing something awful to some of their own people, but that wouldn't be the same as the others - if another Sovereign Crossing or Tscher needed a new world she wouldn't want to leave them all to die, would she.  

 

Their - thoroughness, thinking - looks admirable. 

Permalink

She's also very interested in that 'on its moon' but can also tell it's not really the time to go asking.

 

"Well, I wasn't quite lone but lone and not hostile might be kind of hard to find depending on how lone lone is.

Others didn't do it or you need more than one or just concurrent interviewing?" (She's also interested in the others. Might want to go asking, though of course she's also interested in them and they're already right there. Also possibly in a lot of (urgent) need.)

Permalink

"We are still perfecting the ritual which we can only do through practice. The other summons have been from three different worlds and none vouched for their worlds. The first was lone lone, the last living person in his world, he is with us now. The second brought us a couple from a politically unstable world with very long winters and plagues. The third claimed his world had an all-powerful deity that demanded tributes, monolatry whorship and the following of weird rules that didn't appeal to us to follow. He was also uncooperative in a way we didn't find reasonable. To answer your question more directly. They didn't do it, and we are not interviewing others at the moment."

Permalink

...some of those are somewhat alarming things to know exist.

Permalink

"So the thing you're saying sounds bad, you seem nice - not that that should happen to people who don't seem nice, really - we'd really like to help. We'd also really like not to have it turn out that you're going to do something unpleasant to where we're from. I have an idea about the second; don't know if you'll like the idea. You have anything?"

Permalink

"Could you clarify what do you mean with anything?"

Permalink

"Anything that might help assure us that you're not going to do something unpleasant.

Very sorry about that. But."

Permalink

"Ah, it's an understandable worry, no need to apologize."

Permalink

"I am getting a sense she has an idea already. But in terms of things we could tell you? We don't want to conquer some place, and we definitely don't have the means to do so that wouldn't cost ten of thousands of our lives. What we need is a place that could host thousands refugees while we figure out what to do next. Which next meaning anything from just staying where we are to finding properly empty worlds to divide among people that helped things work out."

Permalink

(Finding empty worlds. That could - matter, maybe, to their own problems.)

 

Total: 237
Posts Per Page: