PixCO

And we now have dessert. Scene feels somewhat complete. , good to move on?

There's a "slider" joke in there somewhere, but I'm not awake enough to come up with it. Ah well.

Yopine Quietclock "Berries it is then." She seemed genuinely relieved at her theory being dispelled. "My rump's all covered in dirt right now. And besides, I've seen you eat. My entire family combined doesn't have enough rump to keep you fed. I'll take that hand-up now, if you don't mind?" After standing, the deep gnome waited to see if her twin would actually begin looking for berries. "I think the part that was bothering me most was that they never said we weren't going to die. Just that they weren't here to witness us die." Waiting, after all, did not automatically suspend talking. "And the last thing I wanted to see was either of us on some altar just so they could witness the death of whatever was just summoned. So, thank you. Which ones are we looking for, then?"

Yopine Quietclock "Again... no... I need your help with something mushroom related. It's a suspicion that's become paranoia and needs to be corrected, if you'll listen?" She drew her knees in close, layed her hands on top of them, and then rested her chin on her hands while she waited for Rillik to either rejoin her or at least withdraw her hand. "Black dogs and crossroads have a long history. Any street-corner psychic reading the cards will tell you that." Of course, those psychics were all liars and cheats. So too were the old tales they liked to tell, obviously. "They ferry souls or something. Right? For rituals?" Yopine sighed softly, knowing that what she was suggesting was only half-formed from suspicions, legends, and lies. But it felt too right to ignore. She needed Rillik to explain to her why it was wrong. "So here's what I'm thinking. What if Yontu had been prepared by some organization for a ritual to summon something. The dog wouldn't even know about it. She's probably just as sweet as she seems. I can't think of any other reason for the Harpers to have her under such heavy guard." Would a transformed god qualify? Probably a dragon would, if they were trying to keep the dog in the armored wagon rather than others out. "That tentacle they're talking about? It's not some ice-squid, is it? That's some kind of horror we'll be looking for. One tentacle isn't much good, unless it's a component for something else." It was getting harder to speak, the words seemed even crazier as she said them. There was still the fear of their potential truth that needed to be crushed under the weight of reality. "The Autumnal Equinox is coming up soon, right? Seems about the right time for a ritual. And..." The deep gnome closed her eyes, hoping for a rational answer rather than ridicule or disappointment. "We have a pretty obvious sun-and-moon imagery going on here. So, Pinky. What I need right now is for you to tell me exactly how crazy that is. If you can do that, we'll go find all the berries you want."

Yopine Quietclock "No... I don't think that's right." Yopine's knowledge of poisonous mushrooms didn't extend past her mother's old cookbook, but she was fairly certain of at least one thing. "They're bright and colorful to advertise the poison. It's a warning to other creatures not to eat it. After all, why evolve defensive poison unless others know you have it?" She followed Rillik's searching for a bit, rolling her own logic over in her head. "Or maybe that's frogs, and mushrooms are bright to draw creatures in? Then they grow on the corpses? I don't know, that's all more Azrael's thing. But if you're worried about Ragz and Torben, I'm not blind. I know something's up, and that it's going to be dangerous whatever it is." Rillik's search took her to a frustrating dig in the dirt. Yopine stepped under the leaves and sat alongside the frowning gnome. "But I do trust them. They're not trying to hurt us."

Yopine Quietclock Yopine watched first Rillik make her way out of camp, and then Ragz as he and Yontu moved to the far side from her. He and Torben both seemed lost in deep thought, though she was still learning the subtleties of monstrous facial expressions. Kobolds, it seemed, were a difficult read due to the inflexible nature of having scales in addition to skin. Bugbears were more expressive, but also their faces were naturally farther away than others and at a bad angle to look up towards. Still, they both seemed to be processing the events well. She didn't see violence coming from either just at the moment. Rillik had been another matter. The rictus grin hadn't fooled her. Yopine's 'twin' was still hurting from the exchange. She closed her eyes and imagined the betrayal being felt. She had very valid concerns. It couldn't be helped that answers weren't coming immediately. Another glance took in first Torben and then again Ragz. A brief focus on Yontu asked silently keep an eye on him, though an untrained dog would hardly be able to interpret something like that. Still, it made the deep gnome girl feel better thinking someone might be keeping him company. She checked to see if D'Ar would go after the soldier, and then excused herself to anyone within earshot when he remained in camp. Dinner could wait a bit longer. Yopine walked quickly through the treeline where Rillik had vanished, and then called out to her on approach. "Rillk? 'You okay?"

Well... no. If the player doesn't want to interact, then intruding on the character might force an unwanted interaction. I'd prefer to get a read on Rum's intention for the move.

Does she want company at the moment, or would she prefer solitude?

It's okay. We can move on, please?

I'm not seeing a way to undelete or bump space to repost. We can just keep moving forward, it's fine.

I pulled my post -- looks like I undercut Harding, who had the better contribution. Sorry about that.

Yopine Quietclock "You mean, what did the Harpers do to her. Right?" Yopine stepped forward, surprised at the aggression in her sunlit other. "Or more like what was done to her that caused the Harpers to put her under heavy guard. Either way, Ragz doesn't exactly look like a mighty wizard. Maybe take a moment and think this one through?"

They did in Hunger Games. I'd like to change my bet. I think it may be another mislead...

I'll take odds on Soul Vessel!

D'oh! I cast Summon Rum!

You, I think. Detect Magic was cast?

Stay

In what universe is any of this considered serious?

Yopine Quietclock The deep gnome rolled to freedom as Yontu allowed. She'd been blindsided entirely by the dog's approach, but now she was on her feet and moving more gracefully. Disheveled and dirty, but with a happier expression than she might have worn a moment ago. In comparison to the Bugbear's claws, even this beast's mouth seemed friendly. "Okay, okay. Yontu?" Her quick hands came up with a stick. This was scraped along the ground once or twice before being lobbed in the general direction of Ragz. "Not sure what that means, but it sound like a fine enough name to me."

"The air split with an audible shriek as the chunk of wood soared away until it struck the trunk of a tree, where it shattered with an enormous boom." She was standing next to that. Way below Torben's line of sight. In the process of handing him another log. I'm sticking with yes she was exactly in so much awe that she missed the announcement. Fortunately, Yontu didn't miss her.

Nah, black fur and knives all the way!

Yopine Quietclock The deep gnome was still staring in awe at the trajectory the log had taken, mouth slightly agape. Images of how easily that could have been her thrown instead of the log passed through Yopine's mind. Would the massive brute even notice the weight difference? Would he even notice the weight, period? "No probl..." Was all the farther she could get after handing off the next wooden victim. Suddenly going down in a clatter of black fur and knives, Yontu found not just Yopine's hands occupied. Her mind was many, many yards away where birds still complained about the improvised missile when the leap came for her at last.

Well, yeah. And made it. Best I can do at this point is go 'waagh!' in a clatter of knives and black fur. The moment has landed, and I'm pretty happy with it.

Yopine is good with finally facing the slobbering.

Not if the word is DRAGON!!!! - would Torben be more open to answering questions now that he's been given some agency of his own? Or would it be best to back off for a bit?