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Max heads home, writes up everything he remembers from the trip to the moon with Cam and Adana, and then when his girlfriend gets home, he presents it to her happily.
"Also," he adds, once she's been updated. "The portal hub in Pantheon got a ton of renovations, I think we're calling it the Belfry now. It's very cute."
castmyown
The dragon attempts to shift his bulk.
It appears he is not stronger than the lumps of osmium around his wrists and ankles and neck and tail and wings.
He growls.
It appears he is not stronger than the lumps of osmium around his wrists and ankles and neck and tail and wings.
He growls.
shesepankh
"I hardly know where to start. It's not every day I have the guy who's been trying to have me killed, kidnapped, and tortured at my mercy in my - is this a stronghold? I think it's a stronghold. In my stronghold."
"Phix," snorts the dragon.
"It's short, it's memorable, it's punny, and since there aren't any other sphinxes around, it's unambigous," snaps Phix.
"Phix," snorts the dragon.
"It's short, it's memorable, it's punny, and since there aren't any other sphinxes around, it's unambigous," snaps Phix.
shesepankh
"There must," mutters the dragon. "If there is you there must be more -"
"There was my mom. Would you like there to be more sphinxes? I have a friend who can resurrect the dead. We can fetch some more sphinxes. We've been waiting because if you were just going to kill her again it'd be pointless, but now here you are. At my mercy. In my stronghold. Totally, spectacularly mistaken about how many of me there are, rather hilariously in context."
"There was my mom. Would you like there to be more sphinxes? I have a friend who can resurrect the dead. We can fetch some more sphinxes. We've been waiting because if you were just going to kill her again it'd be pointless, but now here you are. At my mercy. In my stronghold. Totally, spectacularly mistaken about how many of me there are, rather hilariously in context."
shesepankh
"Also," she continues, "since I didn't know I was a sphinx until I was well into my teens? And didn't know sphinxes were a thing, let alone sphinx/dragon feuds? You didn't have to send monsters after me. You could have found me and said, 'hello, I am a dragon, let's be presumed-extinct together'. I would have fucking bought you dinner. But you kept sending monsters after me, of various types, some of whom talked and wielded pliers, and even when I had your address -"
"You never had any such -"
Phix recites it, folding her arms and lashing her tail. "Don't interrupt me."
The dragon growls again.
"Even when I had your address," she continues, "I thought, maybe he'll give up now that he's failed a couple times, he probably didn't find a fucking monster discount bin, it's got to get harder to hire torturers and guards if you lose all your previous employees simultaneously, isn't it, maybe I'm safe now, let's not call in the cavalry and assault him at home. Let's see if he'll leave me be. But you didn't."
"You never had any such -"
Phix recites it, folding her arms and lashing her tail. "Don't interrupt me."
The dragon growls again.
"Even when I had your address," she continues, "I thought, maybe he'll give up now that he's failed a couple times, he probably didn't find a fucking monster discount bin, it's got to get harder to hire torturers and guards if you lose all your previous employees simultaneously, isn't it, maybe I'm safe now, let's not call in the cavalry and assault him at home. Let's see if he'll leave me be. But you didn't."
ask_nicely
"We're actually quite nice," adds Adana. "But. Hi, we're members of the cavalry. Let's try not to be unfriendly now, hmm?"
from_scratch
"Should we have horses?" wonders Cam. "Banners. Muskets. Somebody to play a brass instrument of some kind to announce us."
shesepankh
"But let's pretend there were lots of sphinxes. What do you even want?"
"I wanted," mutters the dragon, "to end the war decisively before it could start again."
"Good fucking job," snarls Phix, suddenly sharper-toothed than she was a moment ago.
"I wanted," mutters the dragon, "to end the war decisively before it could start again."
"Good fucking job," snarls Phix, suddenly sharper-toothed than she was a moment ago.
castmyown
Max, for his part, will not ruin this threatening moment by coughing. He glares, though. If looks could kill, the dragon would probably be dead by now.
ask_nicely
"That doesn't really seem like decisively ending it, honestly, showing up in our stronghold alone after you'd had your minions repeatedly trounced? By three people? That does not strike me as 'decisively ending,' that strikes me as 'suicidal.'"
shesepankh
"Well, he's got his anti-magic thingy, if this had been a sphinx nest maybe he'd have trounced us. I'm betting the war hinged a lot on the indirect use of magic. Drop rocks on you rather than attacking directly, that sort of thing. His best position is close up with his claws around my throat. Instead he's had - this is osmium, Cam? Instead there is osmium dropped on him."
The dragon doesn't reply.
The dragon doesn't reply.
ask_nicely
"It still seems quite reckless, he rushed in here without knowing what was behind the portal after losing several times. Alone."
shesepankh
"Rather than let the imaginary sphinx contingent - I don't know, breed? Perform sinister magical experiments?"
Growl goes the dragon.
Growl goes the dragon.
ask_nicely
"Honestly? It's better to leave your enemy alone for a bit while you figure out what you're up against. Even if they are - breeding or performing sinister magical experiments."
shesepankh
"Please do not overdo giving strategic advice to the murder dragon. I want to know how he knew how to get through the portal."
Grrrrrrrr, goes the murder dragon.
Grrrrrrrr, goes the murder dragon.
shesepankh
"What do you mean to do with me?" the dragon asks.
"I haven't decided yet," says Phix. "Sending you home would require either resources I'm loath to spend on you, or giving back your medallion. I'm pretty skeptical you can convince me that I want you to possess a medallion, honestly."
"I haven't decided yet," says Phix. "Sending you home would require either resources I'm loath to spend on you, or giving back your medallion. I'm pretty skeptical you can convince me that I want you to possess a medallion, honestly."
ask_nicely
"Ehh. I'm not sure they'd want to be prison guards, Rae was skeptical about handing over a vial of sand."