There is a room that's dark and cold. It's made of stone, with a doorway cut into each of the four walls. At the room's center is some type of circle, carved into a raised platform. The only light comes from a slightly sad looking light fixture set into the ceiling.
Then the circle glows, brightening until it could rival the sun, humming and shaking the room around it. There is a buildup of energy of some kind...
And then it stops, returning to as it was before.
Except, now it contains two women.
One of them has pointed ears and red hair. She looks around in quite a lot of alarm.
Generated:
Post last updated:
Signs pointing to the nearest exits will not be provided.
Inavet
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
The other is dark-haired, armored, and, abruptly, armed with a glaive taller than she is (and she's six foot two).
"What is this place?" she hisses.
"What is this place?" she hisses.
Inavet
"I have," says the redhead faintly, "no idea."
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"Not your doing?"
Inavet
"No. And not yours, either, I'm guessing."
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"No."
Inavet
"Mm."
She inspects the floor, frowning.
"Have you ever seen anything like that before?" she asks, pointing at the circle. "Because I haven't."
The circle's intricate and complex, more like a very elaborate vaguely circular shaped doily than a simple shape. It is somewhat reminiscent of the mark the Bifrost leaves, but the style is very different.
She inspects the floor, frowning.
"Have you ever seen anything like that before?" she asks, pointing at the circle. "Because I haven't."
The circle's intricate and complex, more like a very elaborate vaguely circular shaped doily than a simple shape. It is somewhat reminiscent of the mark the Bifrost leaves, but the style is very different.
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"It is... similar to the mark left by the Bifrost, but the pattern is wrong. And the transit was dissimilar."
Inavet
"Bifrost?"
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"The rainbow bridge that can move people between planets."
Inavet
Blink, blink.
"... That's not a thing I've heard of before. I would have expected to have heard of a rainbow bridge that moves people between planets. At least once."
"... That's not a thing I've heard of before. I would have expected to have heard of a rainbow bridge that moves people between planets. At least once."
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"It is not common knowledge on all worlds."
Inavet
"And, how many worlds do you know of? I have just the one. Uh, it has giant trees thousands of feet tall, comfy ecosystems, magic everywhere, stop me if I'm ringing any bells?"
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"It... does not sound familiar."
Inavet
"Ah. Well." Pause. "Could your Bifrost be used to get us out of here?"
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"It would need to be activated from the other end. If it has not been so already, it may be that I have not been missed yet or that there is some difficulty with doing so here."
Inavet
"Okay. So. That's better than nothing at all. Uh, hello, by the way."
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"Hello. I am called Loki, Odinsdottir, of Asgard. Your name?"
Inavet
"Inavet," she says, after a second of hesitation. "Of Erdenir. Sunrise Empire, to be specific."
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"I would say well met, but the circumstances leave something to be desired."
Inavet
"Yeah, I left off 'nice to meet you' for similar reasons," agrees Inavet dryly. "No offense to you."
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"None taken." Loki peers at the pattern of the shape on the ground, produces a small scrap of paper from her pocket and a stub of pencil, and copies it out.
Inavet
Copying the circle does nothing in particular.
"Good idea."
She doesn't have paper to do the same, but she can lean on arcany a bit to memorize the pattern. She considers testing to see if the ground around the platform is safe, and how she would even go about testing that in a safe manner. Drop something on it, maybe? There aren't any obvious traps that she can sense, but she just got transported someplace strange, there's no guarantee whatever could hurt her can even be sensed by arcany.
There is a rumbling sound, off in the distance. Like a door of some kind is being opened.
"... That's concerning."
"Good idea."
She doesn't have paper to do the same, but she can lean on arcany a bit to memorize the pattern. She considers testing to see if the ground around the platform is safe, and how she would even go about testing that in a safe manner. Drop something on it, maybe? There aren't any obvious traps that she can sense, but she just got transported someplace strange, there's no guarantee whatever could hurt her can even be sensed by arcany.
There is a rumbling sound, off in the distance. Like a door of some kind is being opened.
"... That's concerning."
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"Everything about this situation is concerning, but, yes, that sound is too."
Inavet
Snort.
After some more consideration, she carefully edges her way off of the platform. Absolutely nothing happens.
After some more consideration, she carefully edges her way off of the platform. Absolutely nothing happens.
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
Loki follows, alert, still with her glaive in hand. One hand.
Inavet
From the doorway to their left:
Stomp stomp stomp stomp growl.
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"Are you any good at fighting monsters?" wonders Loki in an undertone, shifting her grip on her weapon.
Inavet
"... Depends very highly on the monster. I would say no. I am consistently good at getting away from monsters and staying out of other people's way, though."
She can sense the... whatever it is. Sort of. Not very well, but enough to tell its general shape and where it is. It's big and moving quickly. She frowns a little, searches carefully for its route to them, and then disguises a doorway between it and them as a wall. It's sort of hard to do something like this with something she can't actually see, but she thinks it's better to just trick it into not coming after them. And Loki presumably can't see what she's doing at all.
She can sense the... whatever it is. Sort of. Not very well, but enough to tell its general shape and where it is. It's big and moving quickly. She frowns a little, searches carefully for its route to them, and then disguises a doorway between it and them as a wall. It's sort of hard to do something like this with something she can't actually see, but she thinks it's better to just trick it into not coming after them. And Loki presumably can't see what she's doing at all.
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
Loki cannot see what she's doing without a line of sight. She stands ready.
"I am any good at fighting monsters," she says, "so stay out of the way, if we run into more than a growl of one."
"I am any good at fighting monsters," she says, "so stay out of the way, if we run into more than a growl of one."
Inavet
"Happily."
The monster is fooled by the door that looks like a wall. It moves on to another door that looks like a door, and goes in a direction that is not towards the two of them.
Good, that's good. Stay far away from them, weird monster thing.
(And there's the sound of another door opening...)
"Is the plan to stay here and defend this place as long as possible, or go exploring for a way out of this," maze, no, wait, she shouldn't know that yet, "place?"
The monster is fooled by the door that looks like a wall. It moves on to another door that looks like a door, and goes in a direction that is not towards the two of them.
Good, that's good. Stay far away from them, weird monster thing.
(And there's the sound of another door opening...)
"Is the plan to stay here and defend this place as long as possible, or go exploring for a way out of this," maze, no, wait, she shouldn't know that yet, "place?"
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"We need to at least explore long enough to find water, and ideally something edible too, in case it's very large and we're stuck here for a very long time." Loki listens. "It's getting farther away; we can move on. But ambush is less pleasant still than assault and I'd rather not be hiking while attacked."
Inavet
Nod.
"It sounds... loud and obvious," she muses. "I don't think we have to worry about an ambush from it. But there might be other less loud and obvious things here. Those are what I'm worried about."
(Also she can keep it busy. That's reasonably easy. For example: other doorway leading in their direction: be hidden.)
"I have some water on me, by the way. So we have a bit of added breathing room to find water."
"It sounds... loud and obvious," she muses. "I don't think we have to worry about an ambush from it. But there might be other less loud and obvious things here. Those are what I'm worried about."
(Also she can keep it busy. That's reasonably easy. For example: other doorway leading in their direction: be hidden.)
"I have some water on me, by the way. So we have a bit of added breathing room to find water."
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"That's something, then."
The hilt end of the glaive sprouts a little spike, and Loki marks the floor, takes a few steps, marks it again, etcetera.
The hilt end of the glaive sprouts a little spike, and Loki marks the floor, takes a few steps, marks it again, etcetera.
Inavet
Oh, that's smart. Inavet says so.
(And there are the things the other door let out, smaller and faster and moving in a way that reminds her of spiders. They get to have their routes to Loki and Inavet look like walls, too. Take that, spider things.)
(And there are the things the other door let out, smaller and faster and moving in a way that reminds her of spiders. They get to have their routes to Loki and Inavet look like walls, too. Take that, spider things.)
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
(Loki is of course ignorant of Inavet's behind-the-scenes interventions.)
"Thank you."
"Thank you."
Inavet
(Yes, that is the point of them being behind-the-scenes.)
She smiles a little.
Walking!
(The spider-things are not actually hampered by the doors that look like walls. They just... Pass through them, not even noticing the illusion at all.
... Sound based, maybe? Worth a shot. She makes the sound of footsteps, over on the other side of the spider-things, and masks the sound of their footsteps to anything outside of, oh, five feet.
Oh, good, that works fine. Spider-things go in a direction that is away from the duo. Success!)
She smiles a little.
Walking!
(The spider-things are not actually hampered by the doors that look like walls. They just... Pass through them, not even noticing the illusion at all.
... Sound based, maybe? Worth a shot. She makes the sound of footsteps, over on the other side of the spider-things, and masks the sound of their footsteps to anything outside of, oh, five feet.
Oh, good, that works fine. Spider-things go in a direction that is away from the duo. Success!)
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"...What is on your mind? I recommend keeping your eyes open even if you aren't going to fight anything that finds us."
Inavet
(Giant stompy monster gets more doors that look like walls. Spider-things get their footsteps in an away direction.)
... What does she say, exactly? 'I am busy distracting the things that are likely going to try to kill us?'
"Listening," she says, instead. "I think there are more things than just the big stompy thing in here. Sounds sort of like they skitter."
... What does she say, exactly? 'I am busy distracting the things that are likely going to try to kill us?'
"Listening," she says, instead. "I think there are more things than just the big stompy thing in here. Sounds sort of like they skitter."
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"Joy."
Inavet
"Yes."
(She has a range limit, moreso on the footsteps than the illusions. But she can keep both the stompy monster and the spider-things away from them.
... Another door opens.
Damnation. What's this one got?
Medium sized quadrupedal things. How do they feel about doors that look like walls and the sound of footsteps going in another direction? Mm. That worked okay. But now she's juggling three separate sets of monsters.)
At some point, she's started frowning. A frown of concentration, to be specific.
(She has a range limit, moreso on the footsteps than the illusions. But she can keep both the stompy monster and the spider-things away from them.
... Another door opens.
Damnation. What's this one got?
Medium sized quadrupedal things. How do they feel about doors that look like walls and the sound of footsteps going in another direction? Mm. That worked okay. But now she's juggling three separate sets of monsters.)
At some point, she's started frowning. A frown of concentration, to be specific.
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"What do you hear?"
Inavet
"Quadrupedal things. I think."
(She attempts to send the spider-things towards the stompy monster, in the hopes that they will kill each other and leave her less to deal with.
No dice. They ignore each other.
Wall, footsteps, wall wall footsteps...)
(She attempts to send the spider-things towards the stompy monster, in the hopes that they will kill each other and leave her less to deal with.
No dice. They ignore each other.
Wall, footsteps, wall wall footsteps...)
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"I wonder why none of them have found us yet."
Inavet
"This place seems pretty big. They uh. Might be lost. Or it might all be to freak us out."
(Wall, footsteps, wall, footsteps - augh, no, she was too slow for that quadruped, they move fast, damn it, now it's getting dangerously close -
Fuck you, quadruped, have a very centralized light that's as bright as the sun, you obviously use your eyes.)
There is an animal screech of pain, from over thataway.
(Wall, footsteps, wall, footsteps - augh, no, she was too slow for that quadruped, they move fast, damn it, now it's getting dangerously close -
Fuck you, quadruped, have a very centralized light that's as bright as the sun, you obviously use your eyes.)
There is an animal screech of pain, from over thataway.
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
Loki turns her head sharply. "Are they fighting each other? Or is the place trapped as well as infested?"
Inavet
(... There's a thought.
She adds checking for traps on her to-do list. Wall, wall, footsteps, wall, footsteps, fuck you, spider-thing, get a sonic burst, footsteps...)
"That didn't sound like a fight," observes Inavet, a little distantly. Shit, she's getting to the point where she's just going to fess up that she has magic and has been giving these creatures hell at this rate, carrying on a conversation and also causing them trouble is sort of hard...
She adds checking for traps on her to-do list. Wall, wall, footsteps, wall, footsteps, fuck you, spider-thing, get a sonic burst, footsteps...)
"That didn't sound like a fight," observes Inavet, a little distantly. Shit, she's getting to the point where she's just going to fess up that she has magic and has been giving these creatures hell at this rate, carrying on a conversation and also causing them trouble is sort of hard...
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
In addition to scratching the floor where they pass, Loki is now giving the floor ahead of them sharp thumps with her weapon every few steps.
Inavet
Good, good.
(Another fucking door opens.
Wall, footsteps?
No dice.
Fuck you, get a sonic burst and a blast of light?
Also no dice.
Shit.)
"... Something is coming from that way," she says, pointing. "Slithery-ish."
(Another fucking door opens.
Wall, footsteps?
No dice.
Fuck you, get a sonic burst and a blast of light?
Also no dice.
Shit.)
"... Something is coming from that way," she says, pointing. "Slithery-ish."
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"Slithery. Grand." The glaive turns long and four-pronged, each spike arranged at the corner of a square.
Inavet
"I will be over there, out of the way." Over there she goes, out of the way. "It will be here in about... Thirty seconds. I think."
(Wall, footsteps, sonic burst because she wasted some time trying to catch the slithery thing and now that one's a bit too close, footsteps, wall, wall -)
(Wall, footsteps, sonic burst because she wasted some time trying to catch the slithery thing and now that one's a bit too close, footsteps, wall, wall -)
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
When the slithery thing comes, Loki will be ready for it, low-stanced, long-polearmed.
Inavet
Slithery thing comes!
It is snake-like, with six heads attached to one long body, and covered deep purple scales. Each of its heads is eyeless, but there are slits on its face that suggest nostrils.
The creature is faster than its slightly impractical body suggests, and slithers at Loki with barely a hiss.
(Meanwhile, Inavet is giving the other monsters in the maze hell. Wall. Footsteps. Fuck you, spider-thing. Footsteps, wall, footsteps - fuck you, too, stompy monster, actually.)
The screeches of pain are happening more often.
It is snake-like, with six heads attached to one long body, and covered deep purple scales. Each of its heads is eyeless, but there are slits on its face that suggest nostrils.
The creature is faster than its slightly impractical body suggests, and slithers at Loki with barely a hiss.
(Meanwhile, Inavet is giving the other monsters in the maze hell. Wall. Footsteps. Fuck you, spider-thing. Footsteps, wall, footsteps - fuck you, too, stompy monster, actually.)
The screeches of pain are happening more often.
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
Nostrils. Great.
With flawless grace and a few extra prongs added to her weapon, Loki meets it, seeking to catch it between the heads and fling it backwards, ideally so that it can fail to be able to roll over or something convenient like that.
With flawless grace and a few extra prongs added to her weapon, Loki meets it, seeking to catch it between the heads and fling it backwards, ideally so that it can fail to be able to roll over or something convenient like that.
Inavet
It is flung backwards! But it does not fail to correct itself.
Also some of its heads are not caught and are snapping ominously. What do?
(Oh god damn it, it's another door.
Keep the other things at bay, skip straight to trying to make this new type of creature dead. Sonic burst? Flash of light? Nope. Okay. She doesn't think she has enough control with heat craft to say kill it with fire at this distance.
But it is coming from behind them. Maybe she can lay a trap...)
She retrieves one of the dart plants on her person. Loki's busy right now, and she's not doing anything obvious. Feed it a bit with some water, turn it into a little glob to hold the small amount of water so it can grow while she's not watching it, fling it down the hallway in that direction. It would plop, but she silences the plop. Now. Grow. Grow grow grow grow grow, you need to murder a thing soon.
(Wall. Footsteps. They are starting to lose interest in the footsteps and listening for other things - she can start adding voices, that might help...)
Also some of its heads are not caught and are snapping ominously. What do?
(Oh god damn it, it's another door.
Keep the other things at bay, skip straight to trying to make this new type of creature dead. Sonic burst? Flash of light? Nope. Okay. She doesn't think she has enough control with heat craft to say kill it with fire at this distance.
But it is coming from behind them. Maybe she can lay a trap...)
She retrieves one of the dart plants on her person. Loki's busy right now, and she's not doing anything obvious. Feed it a bit with some water, turn it into a little glob to hold the small amount of water so it can grow while she's not watching it, fling it down the hallway in that direction. It would plop, but she silences the plop. Now. Grow. Grow grow grow grow grow, you need to murder a thing soon.
(Wall. Footsteps. They are starting to lose interest in the footsteps and listening for other things - she can start adding voices, that might help...)
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
Going for the brain(s) is an obvious losing proposition on something with six heads.
Loki forms Lævateinn into an axe. She wants to chop it in half beyond where it branches. If she has to push her coordination to jump over it and land where she can get a good shot, that's fine.
Loki forms Lævateinn into an axe. She wants to chop it in half beyond where it branches. If she has to push her coordination to jump over it and land where she can get a good shot, that's fine.
Inavet
It is not a very smart monster.
It misses her when it attempts to bite her, and then it is bisected, and having a very bad day. The creature hisses in pain, writhing a bit, but it is suddenly losing a lot of blood. Those are its death throes.
(Grow grow grow, sound of voices, wall, fake doorway over there, let's have you run into a wall you big stupid monster, footsteps, wall, voices, grow grow grow...)
Inavet is in that corner where Loki left her, eyes closed and face scrunched in concentration.
It misses her when it attempts to bite her, and then it is bisected, and having a very bad day. The creature hisses in pain, writhing a bit, but it is suddenly losing a lot of blood. Those are its death throes.
(Grow grow grow, sound of voices, wall, fake doorway over there, let's have you run into a wall you big stupid monster, footsteps, wall, voices, grow grow grow...)
Inavet is in that corner where Loki left her, eyes closed and face scrunched in concentration.
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"Slithery is down. Should I head something else off before it gets nearer?"
Inavet
"No, we need to go that way," says Inavet, pointing in a direction that is away from everything she's giving hell.
Up she gets, with a bit of urgency.
She considers. Does she really want to hide things anymore from her only ally here? Not really.
"... I'm magic, and I have been giving everything after us a very bad day ever since the first door opened," she says, in a rush. "The pain sounds were me, along with why most haven't found us yet. I have illusions and sound and a sort of area awareness, and some other things that are slightly less relevant, and I just made a trap there," she points, "for one of the newer ones. The maze seems to be learning what I can do and adjusting accordingly. It is concerning."
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"...I have healing spells, if something happens. Your illusions may be better than mine if you're deploying them in places you can't see, or maybe that's just your area awareness, which I don't have." Loki follows her lead. "If it's learning I'll hold back with my magic until it's beyond what you've already shown off."
Inavet
Inavet nods, and leads the way.
"I can heal myself a bit, but it's hard to do other things while I'm doing that." Running. Wall, voices, screech of pain from over there, wall, hello beastie you've activated my trap card, and then there is the sound of something far away struggling and dying while screeching.
"Got it. Ha," she says, once the sounds of a thing dying stop.
"I can heal myself a bit, but it's hard to do other things while I'm doing that." Running. Wall, voices, screech of pain from over there, wall, hello beastie you've activated my trap card, and then there is the sound of something far away struggling and dying while screeching.
"Got it. Ha," she says, once the sounds of a thing dying stop.
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"My healing's fast, low-concentration, touch-range."
Inavet
"Oh that's convenient, mine is high-concentration touch-range, I'm not even sure I can get people besides myself reliably."
Running, hell given to monsters, then she slows to a walk and tilts her head.
".. Found water. Could be a trap. I can't tell from here. Thoughts?"
Running, hell given to monsters, then she slows to a walk and tilts her head.
".. Found water. Could be a trap. I can't tell from here. Thoughts?"
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"I can handle poison, if it comes to that. If it attracts monsters is that different from our current situation?"
Inavet
"Fair. And I can use water for more traps."
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"Useful."
Scratching the ground as they go, Loki follows her.
Scratching the ground as they go, Loki follows her.
Inavet
To the water!
They are walking at a steady clip instead of running now. Pointless to waste their energy if the maze might have more in store for them.
"There hasn't been a door opening in a while," she observes. "Meaning no new monsters have been released. This might be good, or... It might be very very bad."
(She continues keeping the current monsters busy.)
They are walking at a steady clip instead of running now. Pointless to waste their energy if the maze might have more in store for them.
"There hasn't been a door opening in a while," she observes. "Meaning no new monsters have been released. This might be good, or... It might be very very bad."
(She continues keeping the current monsters busy.)
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"We probably shouldn't split up if you'd have a hard time defending yourself without teaching the maze more magic, or I'd suggest that I could chase them down and start mopping them up in case those are all the monsters available."
Inavet
"Mm. Yeah. We could always go on a killing spree together after getting the water. I could channel the monsters to you one by one when you're ready, or lead you to them."
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"Do you have something to carry water in? When I said we should find some I meant we needed an idea of where our next drink would come from, not that I had a canteen on my person. I'm lucky I had my weapon and armor."
Inavet
"I have my canteen. I can also make something to hold water in, with the caveat that I'd possibly be teaching the maze a new magical thing to account for. But I think it might know that one already, if it's learned it, I used a bit of the trick for the trap."
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"Your canteen won't sustain us for a particularly long hike unless we keep coming back to this water as we map the place. Which might not be a terrible idea for right now, presuming the walls stay where they are and the monsters slow down or die fast enough that we can sleep, but in the longer term."
Inavet
"Fair. ... I might be able to make us food, with water and a monster corpse to feed plants with. So we might be able to huddle around the water for an extended period of time."
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"Useful. Should we drag the slithery? In case it would otherwise be scavenged."
That is the name of the kind of creature now. A slithery.
That is the name of the kind of creature now. A slithery.
Inavet
"... Probably not worth the time and energy investment. I can lure a quadruped to us and blind it while you stab it until it dies."
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"Okay."
Inavet
"The others are the big stompy monster and spider-things. Spider things are sensitive to sound, but probably blind. Stompy monster is stupid and stompy and really easy in comparison to everything else."
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"How many spider things?"
Inavet
"Five. And seven quadrupeds. The quadrupeds are the fastest, but can be tricked easier and have eyes. I tried sending a spider thing to the stomper, in hopes that they'd kill each other, but no luck there."
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"Okay. Bring on a quadruped. Ideally not seven at once, I only have one pointy object and it doesn't like to splay out too far."
Inavet
"Just one quadruped," she agrees.
Hey, quadruped! Dinner time! Come and get it.
There it goes, now it is running full speed in the direction of Loki and Inavet.
"It's coming from that direction." She points.
Hey, quadruped! Dinner time! Come and get it.
There it goes, now it is running full speed in the direction of Loki and Inavet.
"It's coming from that direction." She points.
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
Loki sets her spear against the charge.
Inavet
Well, that went well. For Loki. Not for the quadruped.
Turns out being fast has some downsides. Like inability to steer.
Inavet smiles a bit. "They are not the smartest of monsters."
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"Indeed. This might be edible in its own right but I don't have a way to cook it. What can you grow?"
Inavet
"... Short answer? Anything. Longer answer: depends highly on the materials, attention given and time investment. I can likely sustain the both of us if this creature's at all nutritious and if I make a sunlight-replacement with magic and have a few hours to work, but... We might not get that."
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"Well, on my own I would be planning on eating this quadruped when I got hungry, so I'm still glad the option's available if we're here for a long time."
Inavet
Inavet smiles a bit.
"Also clothes and bags and beds and such. Though I hope you like the color green."
"Also clothes and bags and beds and such. Though I hope you like the color green."
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"It's my favorite."
Inavet
"Oh, good."
Walking, walking.
Water!
It's located in its own room, a little pond set into the stone.
"I'm not sensing any murderous things," says Inavet.
Walking, walking.
Water!
It's located in its own room, a little pond set into the stone.
"I'm not sensing any murderous things," says Inavet.
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"What are the known gaps in your senses?"
Inavet
She had been stifling the sound from their conversation. She does that some more.
"Even when I'm not actually physically seeing or hearing things, I mostly operate by sight or sound. I'm not as good at catching things when it's dark and they're quiet. I can sense a bit through other means, but it's not as... I'm not as practiced at them, and it doesn't come as naturally. Something that is still, invisible and silent, I might genuinely miss if I'm not watching for it with the less practiced senses. Especially when I only have so much concentration to go around - I can do magic all day, but I can't do magic to everything all day, because I can't pay attention to everything all at once. Things that are closer are easier than further away - it's even easier if I'm touching them. My problem right now is that I keep having to pay attention to keeping monsters distracted and can't sit down and pay attention to little details in things."
"Even when I'm not actually physically seeing or hearing things, I mostly operate by sight or sound. I'm not as good at catching things when it's dark and they're quiet. I can sense a bit through other means, but it's not as... I'm not as practiced at them, and it doesn't come as naturally. Something that is still, invisible and silent, I might genuinely miss if I'm not watching for it with the less practiced senses. Especially when I only have so much concentration to go around - I can do magic all day, but I can't do magic to everything all day, because I can't pay attention to everything all at once. Things that are closer are easier than further away - it's even easier if I'm touching them. My problem right now is that I keep having to pay attention to keeping monsters distracted and can't sit down and pay attention to little details in things."
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"I see. Well, I'll try drinking some water, shall I?"
Inavet
Nod.
"Good luck?"
"Good luck?"
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"Thank you."
Læateinn's flexibility is not infinite but it will consent to be a spoon. Rather than set it down and use her hands as a cup, Loki spoons some water up.
Sip.
Læateinn's flexibility is not infinite but it will consent to be a spoon. Rather than set it down and use her hands as a cup, Loki spoons some water up.
Sip.
Inavet
The water tastes faintly of chemicals.
... But is not poisonous.
... But is not poisonous.
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"It's not poison. It's not delicious, either, but unless there is some sensitivity I don't know about in your system it should be harmless."
Inavet
"There shouldn't be, but then, I don't know your biology in comparison to mine."
She tries the water.
"... Not poisonous to me, either."
She tries the water.
"... Not poisonous to me, either."
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"Fill your canteen, in case spiders die in it or something later."
Inavet
"I worry that it might have something that is nasty in some way but not poisonous," she muses. "Because I'm paranoid."
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"Nasty like...? I have a healing spell for infectious agents too, if we wind up feverish later."
Inavet
"Nasty like... Little tiny plants that can track our location. Some thing that is harmless now but could be activated later to kill us immediately. Something that combines badly with something else in the area in an explosive fashion." Pause. "... I am very paranoid."
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"All of those things are very nasty, and, yes, very paranoid. I can't help but think the situation calls for paranoia, but dehydration is a definite threat given that there's no exit in sight and your nasty ideas very indefinite. Still, keep your canteen separate, it's not an unreasonable thing to do."
Inavet
Nod.
"Think I should spend the attention span on making a canteen for you?"
"Think I should spend the attention span on making a canteen for you?"
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"Would you have more attention to spare if I killed more quadrupeds first?"
Inavet
"Yes."
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"Bring them on."
Inavet
"All right then."
Quadrupeds are brought. Quadrupeds are killed. Soon they are out of them.
"Yay, attention to spare."
Quadrupeds are brought. Quadrupeds are killed. Soon they are out of them.
"Yay, attention to spare."
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"They're not being immediately replaced, right?"
Inavet
"No. I'd tell you if they were. No new monsters have been released, as far as I know."
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"All right. ...I don't have very much paper on me. I've been marking the floor but we need a map."
Inavet
"I can make an illusionary one... But it'd take constant attention. Mm. I'll grow us a map, that's not very difficult, and I'm the one with the area awareness."
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"I can make an illusion that doesn't need constant attention but it won't last if I sleep, so one in - woodgrain? What will this look like? - sounds like a plan."
Inavet
"I have a bit of design freedom. We don't need to work with woodgrain. I can actually get more colors from plants than green, it's just a bit of a pain. So it'll be more of a flat leaf-like surface that's pale with green bits marking the walls. I'll want to keep it alive, too, so we can update it."
One dart plant, into the suspicious water, to grow a map. It also gets illusionary sunlight.
(She continues dealing with the spider-things and the stompy monster. She hasn't forgotten them.)
One dart plant, into the suspicious water, to grow a map. It also gets illusionary sunlight.
(She continues dealing with the spider-things and the stompy monster. She hasn't forgotten them.)
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"Can you tell much about the stompy monster and the spider things?" wonders Loki. "Should I kill those too?"
Inavet
"Spider things are sometimes on walls instead of the floor, though they don't go so far as to run on the ceiling. They're about three feet tall, four feet long, each. Stompy monster... Is big enough that sometimes it has trouble fitting through the doors. I can't tell much else about it."
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
"Send me a spider? If you can separate them out."
Inavet
"I can try, give me a minute..."
Separating them out is sort of tricky, she has to stop tending to the plant to get it right. Masking the sound of its fellow spider-things, sending the sound only to the one spider thing, until it's far enough away that she can lead it here.
"Got it. Just the one. Coming in from that way." She points.
Separating them out is sort of tricky, she has to stop tending to the plant to get it right. Masking the sound of its fellow spider-things, sending the sound only to the one spider thing, until it's far enough away that she can lead it here.
"Got it. Just the one. Coming in from that way." She points.
Loki Odinsdottir ↾ "Loki"
purposeful_glory
For a scuttly spider on the wall, she wants something long with claws on the end. Lævateinn obeys her. She wants to get it before she finds out if it's venomous.