Seventh Story - Delayed Adolescence

<Hollyhock God> Let's see, was anybody not here last week?

<Hollyhock God> Well, when last we spoke, Immanuel had decided to win the regard of his peers in the dumbest way possible.

<Dreams> That doesn't narrow it down.

<Hollyhock God> For some reason this plan did not fail even a little.

<Grayson> Immanuel ate something crazy.

<Dreams> Oh! Yes.

<Dan> Fire ate a sword, it's now turning him into a snake or something

<Immanuel> I accept that my genius will only be appreciated only after my death.

<Hollyhock God> With some slight help from Miranda, Noel, and Rhys, he purified the Abhorrent Weapon Despair, with his stomach.

<Immanuel> Such is the lot of truly great men.

<Grayson> Is it turning him into a snake or does it just seem to be a snake-y sort of thing itself?

<Hollyhock God> He does in fact seem to be turning into things. Which is where we begin.

<Dan> Rand: Hey! Dan helped too.

<Dreams> "Okay, did Immanuel actually eat that sword, or was I just imagining things?"

<Immanuel> Ah, but does anyone know you helped?

<Hollyhock God> Rest assured that the help of everyone is needed to keep your little brother alive.

<Immanuel> "I just purified Despair with a little help from my friends, yes."

<Grayson> "Knowing you, Dreams, both are probably true."

<Hollyhock God> Immanuel wakes after a long day of Dan trying to pull Acceptance back up his throat, and Miranda trying to force it back down the other way.

<Dreams> "And Miranda's marriage? That Strikes me as slightly less plausible but it's been a strange few weeks."

  • KreenWarrior has joined #lastmiracle

<Hollyhock God> He stretches out his arms, and then his legs, and then his tail.

<Hollyhock God> Then he does a quick reconnoiter of that last sentence.

  • KreenWarrior is now known as Henry

<Henry> (Yay, I exist.)

<Henry> (What's up, folks?)

<Grayson> (Fire has a tail.)

<Immanuel> ( I has a tail.)

<Hollyhock God> (He has a tail.)

<Henry> (Huh.)

  • Immanuel takes this in stride. All truly great men have tails.

<Dreams> (A monster has attached itself to your posterior! Chase it!)

<Henry> (Did he always have one?)

<Henry> (And if so, has he always always had one?)

<Hollyhock God> It's a rather pleasant scaly thing, with a suitably noble brassy red tinge.

<Hollyhock God> I'm pretty sure it wasn't there yesterday, Henry.

  • Immanuel tests for prehensibility. If that is not a word, he also invents it.

<Hollyhock God> This tail is delightfully prehensile. It seems almost more versatile than your talons!

<Hollyhock God> Wait, what did I just say?

<Immanuel> Oh frabjous day!

<Grayson> (Perhaps you should try eating it, and see what those Ouroboros-type Aaron's Serpents are always bragging about.)

<Immanuel> (I tried; can't reach.)

<Henry> Henry inspects it. "Is that an effect of your sword, do you think?"

<Immanuel> "Don't be absurd. Why would a sword make me grow a tail?"

<Dreams> "I haven't been spending that much time with him."

<Hollyhock God> I think he's still in his bedroom at the moment…

<Grayson> "It's not really his sword, Henry, it's just inside his stomach."

<Hollyhock God> Which reminds me, this bedroom will clearly not do.

<Immanuel> Well, they were tugging the sword back and forth

<Hollyhock God> You aren't quite sure why, but something about it is totally inadequate.

<Miranda> "Well. That's interesting."

<Immanuel> Now that you mention it, it's not covered in gold coins!

  • Miranda scratches her chin.

<Grayson> (Is it a newfound interest in feng shui? We need to figure out whether you're an Asian or Western dragon.)

<Miranda> "Whatever it is, it's not harm."

<Hollyhock God> Mmmm, gold. That reminds you that you're hungry.

  • Miranda crosses her arms, getting pretty annoyed at things transcending her shields.

<Immanuel> (You left out feathered serpents, you imperialist.)

<Miranda> "I've been shielding him since he swallowed the damned thing."

<Hollyhock God> You don't have any feathers.

<Henry> "Well, I could remove it if you like. Or not, whichever."

<Grayson> (They don't have talons, do they?)

<Immanuel> Scales and feathers are biologically similar.

<Miranda> "… why isn't it redirecting?"

<Henry> "Can you shield someone from growth, sister?"

<Immanuel> "You know, it's rude to speak of someone like they're not there."

<Immanuel> "'I am large, I contain multitudes'"

<Dan> A bridge appears to carry Immanuel out of the room.

<Dan> "Now we don't have to speak as though you aren't here!"

<Immanuel> Bridges don't move things of their accord, do they?

<Miranda> "Cancer is a form of growth, too."

<Immanuel> They only allow things to move.

<Grayson> Dan's bridges do.

  • Dan shouts at the bridge to bring Immanuel back.

<Hollyhock God> I suspect it's difficult for Miranda to create barriers against things she didn't see coming. At least, not without creating things like "A shield that prevents anything from happening, ever!"

<Dreams> It could be a bridge with a moving walkway.

<Immanuel> Don't tempt her.

<Dan> (Bridges move themselves when powered by a miraculous animation.)

<Dreams> Of course. Miranda nees to STOP TIME ITSELF!

<Immanuel> No, just causality.

<Hollyhock God> When you do things like "shields against anything I would disapprove of" you find yourself vulnerable to moral quandaries.

<Dreams> An hourglass, middle plugged with a tiny miraculous shield.

<Grayson> So are we all gathered somewhere?

<Dreams> It appears so.

<Immanuel> Apparently we're all in my bedroom.

<Immanuel> Note to self: get a lock.

<Dreams> "Not sure how that happened."

<Henry> (I think Shields could put a shield around a tumor, but not just a shield that would prevent tumors from forming.)

<Dreams> "There was a bridge. Perhaps Dan's Estate knew it would be helpful for us to be here?"

<Henry> (Not my Estate, though.)

<Immanuel> (Well, she could create a shield against radiation couldn't she?)

<Dan> "It tends to do things like that, yes."

<Hollyhock God> Cancer tends to happen for all kinds of reasons.

<Grayson> So what does Immanuel look like? Is he a full-fledged dragon-type thing?

<Hollyhock God> Although you could probably create a fairly effective shield with enough specificity, and another type of shield could halt the growth of a growth.

<Dreams> (I still find the concept of a shield against starvation one worth considering, and probably estate-property worthy. "Shields can't protect against threats from within", or such.)

<Grayson> Or some kind of dragon-person hybrid?

  • Immanuel takes the moment of side-talk to determine the extent of his changes.

<Hollyhock God> Well, to the eyes of everyone else, you currently note:

<Hollyhock God> One: Patches of scales growing out of skin.

<Hollyhock God> Two: Talons.

<Hollyhock God> Three: Prehensile reptilian tail.

<Immanuel> The best kind of reptilian tail.

<Hollyhock God> Four: Faint goldish tinge to the eyes.

<Hollyhock God> Five: Insistence that none of this is the least bit worrying.

<Dan> (No, nonexistant is the best kind of reptilian tail. <_<)

<Immanuel> (Haters gonna hate.)

<Hollyhock God> Meanwhile, Immanuel lusts after breakfast.

<Dan> (Rotaters gonna rotate.)

<Immanuel> (Your hate rotations are of no concern to me.)

<Henry> "Brother, were you… bitten by a radioactive dragon recently?"

<Immanuel> "Improbable."

<Immanuel> "Why do you ask?"

<Dan> "I think this is related to that sword I linked to Acceptance turning into a snake."

<Dreams> "He is new. Sometimes miraculous abilities take a while to manifest."

<Grayson> "You're looking different today, Immanuel. New haircut?"

<Immanuel> "No, but did I immolate away my stubble."

<Immanuel> "Oh, do you mean the robe? It belonged to Louis XIV."

<Grayson> "Ah, wait, it appears you have a tail and talons. Do you have any idea where those came from?"

  • Immanuel stares at you.

<Immanuel> "From my flesh."

<Grayson> "It is a nice robe, but the purple clashes a bit with the red scales that seem to be pushing through your skin."

<Immanuel> "Is this a riddle?"

<Immanuel> "I disagree. It is a little known fact that the purple used during classical eras was actually closer to red."

<Grayson> "Last I checked, it's not normal for people to randomly start growing dragon-parts."

<Immanuel> "Only in Medieval times did "royal purple" denote the shade you're thinking of."

<Grayson> "Had I woken up this morning with a tail, I would have been quite surprised."

<Dan> Is anything "normal" in this business?

<Immanuel> "Well, we can't all have tails."

<Immanuel> "But I'll pray for you, brother."

<Dreams> "Oh, I'm sure we could if we gave it the old college try."

<Dreams> (New Project!)

<Immanuel> "Perhaps you do have a tail but it's so secret even you don't know about it?"

  • Grayson nods thoughtfully.

<Miranda> (The reason 'shields can't protect against threats from within' isn't a Property is that I figured damned near anybody can phrase a miracle so it's a threat from within.)

<Dreams> "If you ever have a dream about having a tail, let me know before you wake up."

<Grayson> "Perhaps. But returning to the subject of your recent changes, do you think they're finished, or will you be turning entirely into a dragon?"

<Dreams> (Well, you would still be an Immortal who could thwack your enemies on the heads with large shields, at least!)

<Dreams> (And you would get MP for problematic limitations in your way!)

<Hollyhock God> Immanuel continues to think about breakfast. Its siren call threatens to drown out the annoying droning of that person who's talking.

<Henry> (Well, I'd say "shields keep things apart" covers it to a degree; if it can't be prevented by separating things it would be tough to shield against it.)

<Immanuel> "As much as I love being the center of attention, perhaps we should finish gawking and pointing at my glory over brunch?"

<Hollyhock God> The funny version of the suggested Property is probably "Shields have difficulty protecting you from yourself."

<Miranda> (Yes, but the sword being a causal agent…)

<Dreams> "Yes, I honestly don't see the huge fuss over the matter."

<Grayson> "I suppose we could talk over a meal."

<Immanuel> (Shields don't protect you from shields.)

  • Immanuel bludgeons people to death with their own shields.

<Miranda> "Alright. Let's see."

<Grayson> "Do you still eat the usual things, or does your transformation require a special diet?"

<Miranda> "How are we going to get this sword out of his gullet before he goes full-lizard?"

<Immanuel> "You're being overly dramatic."

<Immanuel> "I mean, is growing facial hair a transformation?"

<Dreams> "Do we need to? Immanuel may wish to just pay the 12 million OTC and keep it."

<Hollyhock God> Well, there's no actual law against Powers being lizards. Or monsters, even. Just look at the Groke!

<Immanuel> "Or nails? Or talons?"

<Dan> "Why would it be any harder to get it out of his belly as a lizard than it is now?"

<Hollyhock God> Her service to Creation is exemplary…. I'm told.

<Dan> "Seems to me if he's comfortable with it, we're making a big deal out of nothing. Just another crazy thing in an infinitude of them."

<Dreams> "Exactly, Dan."

<Hollyhock God> The urge for breakfast is beginning to assume in Immanuel the exalted status of a compulsion.

<Grayson> "I wonder if there's anyone we could go to for advice… Does anyone know an expert on Excrucian weapons?"

<Hollyhock God> Let us call it a Lesser Summoning of Your Stomach.

<Immanuel> "Since you saw fit to transport everyone to my bedroom, perhaps you could rustle us to the dining room, Daniel?"

<Immanuel> "You know, before I start eating the furnishings."

<Dreams> "Our Chancel surely has some fine dining establishments who would be honored to serve us on short notice."

  • Immanuel is serious. Deathly serious.
  • Dan whistles at the recalcitrant bridge that had carried Immanuel out of the room earlier and manages to convince it to lead downstairs to breakfast.

<Grayson> "Should we perhaps keep the news of Immanuel's transformation to ourselves until we are more sure what we're dealing with?"

<Hollyhock God> Breakfast has been laid out on the table, with every kind of delicious food imaginable.

<Hollyhock God> Immanuel, it simply will not do.

<Immanuel> "Yes, I'm sure everyone will be quite concerned I grew a tail after PURIFYING AN ABHORRENT WEAPON."

  • Immanuel sighs.

<Hollyhock God> You find everything on the table to be utterly unsatisfactory, owing to their lacking a certain indefinable quality of suchness or somewhat that you obviously require.

<Miranda> "To be fair, no one has actually seen the purified weapon…"

<Immanuel> "Maybe I like tails; did that ever occur to you?"

<Grayson> "I thought you were starving, Immanuel, why aren't you devouring everything on the table and perhaps the table as well?"

<Miranda> "Really, it's more an issue of you growing a tail after you swallowed an excrucuan blade."

<Immanuel> "Dignity?"

<Henry> "Perhaps investing in learning how to change shape would be useful. Sometimes human form is helpful."

<Dreams> "Why aren't you eating in a dignified and sophisticated manner, then?"

  • Immanuel becomes increasingly ornery.

<Dreams> "You mean none of you have even taught him the Guising Rite yet?"

<Dreams> "I mean, really?"

<Hollyhock God> Dignity is irrelevant in the face of breakfast. You now realize this.

<Immanuel> "The what now?"

  • Miranda facepalms.

<Grayson> "It's difficult enough keeping track of Immanuel when he looks like himself."

<Dreams> "Admittedly as a human he'd have had less need of it, but it's still handy when going abroad."

<Miranda> "Commerce was supposed to have done it."

<Dan> "I don't think anyone ever taught me that either. I take it's some sort of magic disguise?"

<Hollyhock God> Your gullet commands you! Eat it all anyway!

<Grayson> "I do use it quite a lot, though, I suppose I could provide a basic demonstration."

  • Immanuel breaks off a leg of the dining table and shoves it down his maw without chewing.

<Grayson> "If he's keeping the tail, he'll need it."

<Dreams> "Mmm. David does get distracted."

<Miranda> "… Wait, what? You, too? Dammit, David."

<Immanuel> "There? Are you happy now?"

  • Immanuel begins swallowing fine china and cutlery.

<Miranda> (This is what happens when you are away for the session. You get promoted to the slot above Miranda on the blame table.)

<Hollyhock God> This is the only way to reach that slot.

<Dreams> (hooray! Dreams is off the hook forever… *power outage*)

<Grayson> "Of course I'm happy. It's a lovely day, we're enjoying an excellent breakfast, and you've grown a quite impressive tail."

<Hollyhock God> As he shovels silver cutlery and fine bone china down his throat, the tail indeed starts to grow to even more impressive proportions.

<Immanuel> (Dear God. I'm a tail-version of a camel.)

<Hollyhock God> Are his talons growing a bit, too? Maybe you only imagined it.

<Hollyhock God> Immanuel, that didn't satisfy you at all.

<Grayson> "Er, Immanuel? Your tail appears to be growing."

<Immanuel> "Harrumph. Is this the best our Chancel has to offer?"

<Hollyhock God> Silver has a pleasant metallic tang to it, but it just isn't filling.

  • Grayson looks slightly offended.

<Dreams> "You still appear to be hungry. If you only eat virgins or princesses now I'm not
covering for you at the Locust Court."

<Miranda> "Fine. This means we have two things we need to accomplish. First: we need to figure out how to get the sword out of Immanuel and arrest or reverse his transformation. Second, we need to teach Dan and Immanuel how to guise, which, under most circumstances, would call for a field-trip."

<Immanuel> "Don't be absurd. Who would eat a virgin?"

<Immanuel> "No texture at all."

<Dan> "Seems like Immanuel needs to sample foreign cuisine, so combine that with a field trip?"

<Grayson> "I trained the staff in the finest French techniques myself. I can't imagine they can't prepare something that would satisfy your tastes."

<Miranda> (Dude, it's all about only eating fresh produce.)

<Dreams> "Most volcano spirits find the taste pleasing, I'm told."

<Henry> (Can I do a Divination to see what he wants to eat?)

<Dreams> "Something about freshness."

  • Immanuel eyes the brass candelabra.

<Grayson> "Perhaps we could take a trip to a dragon world?"

<Henry> (or his stomach wants, I guess?)

  • Immanuel picks it up and swallows it, burning candles and all.

<Hollyhock God> Hm, is generic desire an ambition? I guess I'll allow it.

<Miranda> "No. I have no intention of enabling this ridiculousness."

<Dreams> "Anywhere where the people have a distinct appearance from ourselves would suffice, I think."

<Hollyhock God> You sense that only gold, the purest of all metals, can satisfy him. And only for a time.

<Henry> "He needs gold, I think. And frequently"

  • Miranda has a worrying thought: did Remus set this up?

<Hollyhock God> Immanuel feels a twinge at the sound of the word. Gooooooooooooooold!

<Grayson> "I imagine there's plenty of gold down in his vault."

<Immanuel> (I've always felt that gold is overrated as a metal. No one loves Tungsten.)

<Hollyhock God> This thought is heresy and your stomach rebukes you for thinking it.

<Immanuel> "I won't hear such talk."

<Hollyhock God> You are unable to disagree with the dictates of your stomach any longer unless you use miracles to do it.

<Dreams> (I think that was in response to Tungsten, not your vault-gold.)

<Dan> (My friend has a cat my nickname for which is Tungsten.)

<Immanuel> …(No I thought that was in reference to my vault.)

<Immanuel> Query: my hoard is off-limits presumably, or just tungsten?

<Dan> (Pretty sure a dragon wouldn't dream of eating their hoard.)

<Grayson> "Then perhaps we should travel to a world where gold is plentiful. Though not one inhabited by gold-based lifeforms."

<Immanuel> "Why not? We eat life-based lifeforms."

<Dreams> "Gold-based lifeforms would be an impressive display of guising."

<Hollyhock God> Your stomach demands that you acknowledge the primacy of gold.

<Grayson> "Yes, but do we really want Immanuel eating the locals?"

<Hollyhock God> And, now that you consider the matter, to eat some immediately.

<Hollyhock God> You're beginning to get a bellyache and you suspect that only gold will soothe it.

<Dreams> "Oooh! We could go to Ofelli! That might require greater effort on Dan's part, though, I don't know if he estate will do that for him automatically."

<Dreams> (As it'd probably require a great creation to go crossworlds)

<Dreams> (if his, even)

  • Immanuel 's stomach rumbles. LOUDLY.

<Dan> (Well, I can probably create the bridge with a lesser creation, it'd just be a question of how long it would take to traverse it, I would think.)

<Hollyhock God> Meanwhile, your fifth-grade steward rushes in, panting: "Emergency, lords and lady! The Great Museum of the Ash has been robbed!"

<Dan> (HG's discretion of course.)

  • Immanuel roars!

<Hollyhock God> (I think cross-Ash travel demands a greater miracle.)

<Immanuel> Is the steward married?

<Grayson> "I knew it was a mistake to keep inviting Rinne here."

<Dan> (Well, then I can't do it without a WoC.)

<Miranda> (Is that ours?)

<Miranda> (The Great Museum?)

<Immanuel> No, it's mine!

<Immanuel> ALL MINE!

<Immanuel> Quickly! Is the steward married or not?!?

<Hollyhock God> He might be a bit married, yes.

<Grayson> (I could maybe use a Greater Divination to find a secret path there.)

  • Immanuel rips off his wedding ring and swallows it.

<Dreams> "Actually, inviting Rinne here is the best way to prevent her from stealing our things."

<Hollyhock God> The Museum is one of the Chancel facilities.

<Miranda> (Would be nice to just go to Earth…)

<Grayson> "Well, while she's here."

<Grayson> "But she sees all our nice things for later thefts.

<Hollyhock God> It's full of many of your delightful treasures. Or was, I guess.

<Dreams> (If only you could express sensible desires IC, Miranda!)

<Henry> "What was stolen?"

<Dreams> (You might even get what you want!)

<Dreams> (Ha ha ha, I'm just kidding, of course.)

  • Miranda looks to Grayson.

<Immanuel> "You fool! EVERYTHING!"

<Miranda> "Who took them?"

<Miranda> "And what was taken?"

<Hollyhock God> The gold is delicious beyond compare. It soothes Immanuel's heart and gullet. But it isn't enough.

<Immanuel> I'm going to use a level 4 Treasure miracle

<Miranda> (Well, no, because IC, there are four more emergencies to deal with)

<Hollyhock God> "All the best pieces were taken, milady. And only a note was left behind… you had better come and see."

<Immanuel> To check on how much of my Vault is readily available.

<Dreams> (Psch, there's always going to be four more emergencies to deal with.)

<Hollyhock God> Immanuel's vaults remain, as far as you can see, unbreached.

<Hollyhock God> And full of delicious gold.

  • Miranda is reflexively looking to Grayson to prove unknown information, not the person actually coming to check on it.

<Immanuel> (You do realize my Vault IS the Vault of Ashes right?)

<Hollyhock God> I assumed you had stuff in it besides burned stuff, that you collected.

<Hollyhock God> Fine, no gold for you.

<Immanuel> It's a self-collecting Hoard.

<Immanuel> Which is its beauty

<Dreams> (If gold is melted down, does that count as burnt?)

<Immanuel> Yep

<Grayson> I'll use a level 5 Greater Divination to locate secrets about who robbed our Museum.

  • Dreams will look at this note.

<Immanuel> Presumably, anything I added to it doesn't qualify as a Treasure

<Dreams> That depends on if you care about it or not.

<Immanuel> It's just my crap.

<Hollyhock God> You find none. This becomes less confusing when you look at the note, signed with the purple sigil of Uncertainty.

<Grayson> "I knew it!"

<Hollyhock God> "For the Robbers. I'm not finished yet."

<Hollyhock God> "—Rinne"

<Grayson> "For the Robbers"? What does that mean?

<Miranda> "What was taken?

<Immanuel> "Is she not finished with the robbers, or not finished for the robbers?"

<Dreams> "Ah. The Order of the Robbers. Really?"

<Immanuel> "Oh, the Robbers."

  • Immanuel begins cursing

<Hollyhock God> As you check every room, you find that Rinne systematically took everything of any real monetary value, including the twenty-foot ivory statue of Surolam, which must weigh tons.

<Grayson> (Where's Rinne's Chancel located?")

<Dreams> (I like to imagine the circumstances in which that burned down.)

<Hollyhock God> You're uncertain! But you think it's under the water. It moves about, as befits the home of Whimsy, Uncertainty, and the Wave.

<Immanuel> (Inside of a box. Which may or may not contain a cat.)

<Hollyhock God> The museum isn't part of Immanuel's Vault.

<Dan> "Have we done something to irritate this Uncertainty?"

<Dreams> "Inexpert flirtation?"

<Immanuel> The Museum is the public viewing portion.

<Hollyhock God> Nah, she steals stuff all the time. It's what the Robbers do.

<Hollyhock God> I declare that it isn't part of his Treasure at all!

<Hollyhock God> That is for later~

<Immanuel> Bah!

<Henry> "So… we should steal it back, I suppose?"

<Grayson> (Do I have a Third Eye agent infiltrated there? Their wondrous property is that they're pretty much everywhere it's reasonably plausible for them to be, but it's possible that some Chancels may be well enough defended against spies or too poor in Chancel-folk to support a Third Eye agent.)

<Miranda> "… honestly, this isn't at the top of my list."

<Immanuel> Oh.

<Immanuel> That means my treasure is fine.

<Immanuel> Well, good, I didn't want it anyway!

<Hollyhock God> Then you probably have one there.

<Miranda> "I say we wait for David to get back, and then send her an itemized invoice."

<Hollyhock God> Although he probably doesn't know exactly where the Chancel is at the moment, either.

<Immanuel> You son of a bitch.

<Grayson> (Makes sense.)

<Dreams> "Hmm. Dan. Could you get me to vault where the Accords are stored? Something I really should do if people are waltzing about stealing our things."

<Grayson> "We have a number of problems to deal with, but I feel that we can't allow this insult to stand."

<Hollyhock God> Immanuel stares at a display case for gold jewelry, now empty, and once again begins to go completely spare.

<Dan> Yeah, just walk that way and I think a bridge should take you there now that I know that you want something.

<Dreams> "Ta."

  • Dreams walks that way!

<Immanuel> So, clarification: The Museum is independent of my Vault, and my Vault is unharmed? Or I had stuff there and it is now gone?"

<Dan> A bridge takes him there!

<Immanuel> "Oh, big surprise."

<Grayson> "Think about the past few months. We're being tested by other Powers now that we have no Imperator. If we show weakness, people will walk all over us."

<Hollyhock God> The Museum is independent of your Vault and your Treasure attribute and his empty. Your Vault is currently untouched but the note indicates that it may be in danger of burglary.

<Dan> "So… we go steal gold from the robbers and feed it to Immanuel?"

<Hollyhock God> Also you need lunch.

<Dan> "Or would destroying it count as raising the stakes or something."

<Immanuel> "That is a brilliant plan without flaw Daniel."

<Hollyhock God> Meanwhile, Dreams arrives at the separate, smaller, but extremely secure vault in which Miranda locked the Accords.

<Hollyhock God> Someone has been tampering with it.

<Dreams> Oh really?

<Grayson> (I'm going to spend some time familiarizing myself with the Third Eye agent in Locus Murthe, so that I can use Treasure miracles through her.)

<Hollyhock God> You can see tiny score marks in the metal where an unknown person who is Rinne made an abortive attempt to cut into the mechanism, but had to flee, possibly because you arrived.

<Hollyhock God> Okay, Grayson, but that will take a few hours.

<Miranda> "Insult or no, we have a major crisis on our hands at the moment. Immanuel is being corrupted by that thing he swallowed, turning into gods-know-what.

<Hollyhock God> Isn't there gold somewhere else in the Chancel? Jewelry shops? Banks? The Palazzo?

<Dan> (Hrm, is it possible to do to like, conditional miracles? If someone forces the lock on this door, the property of the door that connects it to the vault gets destroyed?)

<Dan> ( <_< )

<Grayson> (Hmmm. Can I speed it up significantly with an Aspect 3 action? My 1 natural Aspect plus two miracle points at the Chancel discount)

<Miranda> (… the palazzo d'oro.)

<Immanuel> I'm going to light up the entire museum with a greater enchantment of Illumination, Persona 7, 1 Strike, to reveal how it has been inflitrated and defiled.

<Hollyhock God> I think a conditional miracle would have to be sustained until it goes off.

<Dan> (Fair enough.)

<Hollyhock God> You can speed it up with Aspect, yes…

  • Dreams saunters in, summons all of his extremely mixed feelings about the responsibility that the Accords represent, and claims them them as an Anchor with a Word of Command.

<Henry> (ooh)

<Miranda> (… why did we not do this sooner?)

<Grayson> "You see, Miranda? She tried to steal the Accords. This requires an immediate response."

<Dan> (None of us wanted to take the Wound?)

<Hollyhock God> Meanwhile, Immanuel pushes through his intense need to eat quite a lot of gold for a moment and begins lighting up Rinne's petite little footprints, showing her path in and out of the building…

<Dreams> (A thousand things to do in a day! Plus, you know, some of you might have objected about who got to Anchor it.)

<Miranda> (*cough* Yeah, kinda.)

<Dreams> (Which is why I just did it without asking!)

<Grayson> "And besides, maybe Locus Murthe has some gold that Immanuel can eat. It would certainly serve them right, anyway."

<Immanuel> (I was already shot through the heart with love for all things, thanks.)

  • Miranda takes a deep breath.
  • Dreams looks a bit curiously at the words now covering his flesh.

<Hollyhock God> Dreams' head snaps back as ink begins to weep from his eyes and binding words of contract flow across his body. The power inherent in the Accords flows into you and through you, making you both master and servant of the Machinery of the Accords.

<Dreams> "Hmmm."

<Dreams> (Ha! Great minds think alike.)

<Hollyhock God> Grayson is mildly distracted from his phone call to his agent in Locus Murthe by the explosion of black liquid that pours from the Bank of Ash-Venetia.

  • Immanuel looks up from Rinne's foot prints, petite though they may be.
  • Miranda sighs and pinches her nose. Grayson, can you build us a bridge to her Chancel?

<Grayson> "Oh my. Hold for one second, please."

<Miranda> "Dan, can you build us a bridge to her Chancel?"

<Hollyhock God> The flood of ink breaks open a few vaults, causing a few trinkets to spill out… just a few gold candelabras and bags of golden salt-cellars, that sort of thing.

<Immanuel> "Oh my."

<Hollyhock God> Why would you go to her Chancel when you know she's in yours?

<Grayson> Ah, she's still here?

<Immanuel> Only one way to find out

<Hollyhock God> Well, somebody tried to open the vault and steal the Accords not too long ago.

<Dan> (I'm actually not entirely sure how far a bridge with a Lesser Creation can go.)

<Dan> (HG?)

<Hollyhock God> Not from Chancel to Chancel. For a start, you'd need to pierce its Auctoritas.

  • Immanuel power walks over to the escaped golden deliciousness and helps himself to a few particulars.

<Hollyhock God> For that matter, what's Grayson's Treasure rating again?

<Grayson> I use a Treasure miracle of 5 to put all of the Third Eye agents in Venice on high alert and on lookout for Rinne, using a variety of sorceries and magical devices to hopefully counter her powers.

<Grayson> It's 4.

<Dreams> (I am, for some reason, laughing out loud at the image of Immanuel power-walking nonchalantly and then scarfing down some gold.)

<Hollyhock God> You're going to need to pierce Locus Murthe's Auctoritas to contact your agent, but I guess the contact miracle gets 4 free Strike, then.

<Dreams> (Or at the very least, free Strike equal to his bond with his servants of the third eye?)

<Hollyhock God> Gold, delicious gold, devoured so nonchalantly. Immanuel rejoices at the delightful feeling of it, safe in his belly.

<Hollyhock God> Dreams notices the newfound bulge in his Sibling's paunch, but that is irrelevant.

  • Immanuel puts in his pocket for later whatever he hasn't shoveled down his throat.

<Grayson> So I'm sustaining two miracles, a Aspect 3 miracle of familiarizing myself with Locus Murthe and a Treasure 5 miracle trying to find Rinne.

<Grayson> And I instruct my agents to use the footprints Immanuel has illuminated as an aid in finding her.

<Henry> "We're going to need to find a more permanent solution, I think. Find a gold mine, perhaps?"

<Hollyhock God> What is relevant is his pending debt of twelve coins of silver merit for appropriating property of the College of Silver Bounty.

<Hollyhock God> This is suddenly extremely important to you.

<Immanuel> To whom does you refer to?

<Miranda> I'm Creating a Greater shield around the Chancel. No one is getting out.

<Hollyhock God> Dreams, I grant you: Affliction: Must obey the terms of the Accords at Babylon (4)!

  • Immanuel has had a bad day and it only looks to get worse.

<Hollyhock God> The weight of gold is, for the time being, sufficient to soothe Immanuel's raging hunger.

<Hollyhock God> He sighs, and tongues of fire escape from his mouth.

<Hollyhock God> Meanwhile, the Chancel goes into lockdown while Grayson's agents attempt to track Rinne.

<Dreams> "Right. Now that that's resolved… Immanuel, you seem happy with how your current state, and thus unlikely to return the Sword to the College of Silver Bounty?"

<Immanuel> I'm going to sustain a rank 5 Treasure miracle instructing my Hoard to defend itself and alert me if it does so.

<Miranda> "OK. NEW RULE. Nobody in this familia should be engaging in vast Projects of personal transhumanist transformation whout consulting the rest of us!"

<Hollyhock God> So far, no alarm bells have rung.

<Immanuel> "No ex post facto laws!"

<Grayson> "Hmmm. Rinne's powers might be too strong for my agents to get around."

<Hollyhock God> At the same time, Immanuel and Dreams might perhaps espy a pair of black eyes looking out at them, reflected in the puddle of ink, before they fade. But that's hardly anything compared to your other problems.

<Grayson> Ok, I'm going to break off the contact with Locus Murthe, since it seems unlikely Rinne will be escaping to there any time soon.

<Hollyhock God> A Noble cat burglar probably does have some rather powerful anti-detection mojo going.

<Grayson> Raise a Divine Mantle of 4, spending 1 DMP with the Chancel Discount

<Hollyhock God> I don't think the discount applies to things that aren't miracles.

<Grayson> Ah, really?

<Grayson> OK.

<Hollyhock God> It's powerful enough as it is!

<Grayson> Then I'll spend 4 AMP on it.

<Dreams> "No set date has been established for paying off this debt, but it's best to deal with these things on your own terms rather than another's. It occurs to me catching Rinne would probably be worth a coin of Merit or two."

<Hollyhock God> You supercharge yourself with an aura of truly awe-inspiring secrecy.

<Hollyhock God> I don't know that that's worth merit, you know.

<Immanuel> I'm going to use a greater emulation on myself of both Illumination and Purity, level 7, to allow myself to both reveal and cauterize anything that does not belong to this Chancel.

<Grayson> And spend 1 DMP to perform a level 8 Greater Destruction of Secrets targeting the secrets of anyone's location in the Chancel. That is, everyone in the Chancel should know, for the duration of the miracle, the location of everyone else in the Chancel.

<Hollyhock God> The Robber's Order is part of the Accords.

<Henry> (How does one earn merit exactly?)

<Hollyhock God> Performing great services to Creation or impressing large numbers of your peers.

<Hollyhock God> It's a rough estimation of how cool people think you are, turned into a currency.

<Immanuel> (I call it pulling an Immanuel.)

<Dreams> "Possibly not. She could make it hard to verify. And the Robber's Order does technically perform an important function for Noble society in the redistribution of wealth. It's entirely possible David is absent for a reason."

<Miranda> (You could just use an enchantment on Rinne to ensure she "comes out in the end".)

<Grayson> (I could, but I have 0 Persona, so it would require a lot more miracle points for an impressive miracle level.)

<Miranda> (Point!)

<Henry> (Could I find Rinne with Aspect 6 tracking? I recall Immanuel made a trail of the footprints?)

<Dreams> "Surely you have the wealth of a few sacked cities in your vault, though. You ARE planning on paying up, yes?"

<Hollyhock God> Meanwhile, information floods into your head as you locate every single person in the Chancel. Everyone except Immanuel learns this location, as well.

<Grayson> Except Immanuel? Odd.

<Hollyhock God> Immanuel learns that there's a jeweller's down the way that's full of gooooooooooold.

<Grayson> Is Rinne's one of the people whose location we know?

<Henry> (Heh.)

<Grayson> Aaah.

<Hollyhock God> Rinne is hiding…. in the cathedral!

<Dan> (Man, Immanuel is apparently turning into Glen Beck, with his gold obsession.)

<Henry> (Excellent, chase time!)

<Hollyhock God> AFK a moment…

  • Dan arranges for bridges between where everyone is and Rinne.
  • Miranda has taken a moment to secure the Reliquary, since there are few enough objects here that are that important to her.

<Grayson> (I should bill the Chancel's marriage counselors for this, I probably just revealed a few cheating spouses.)

<Immanuel> Harrumph, turning myself into a purifying, revelatory flame just showed me where gold is?

<Dreams> (No, that was Grayson.)

<Immanuel> Ah.

<Dreams> (Your Enchantment probably got lost in the commotion of things going on?)

<Immanuel> We won't know until RB gets back!

  • Dreams flexes his newly word-stained hands, draws the Sword of Nightmare, and walks purposefully across the spontaneously-formed misty bridge into the Cathedral.

<Immanuel> You know, I was doing the turning into an inhuman embodiment of my estate before it was cool.

  • Miranda meanders down towards the Cathedral. It would be nice if Dreams didn't kill her before she got there, but… either way.

<Dreams> (Technically, I'm not turning into an inhuman embodiment of my Estate.)

<Hollyhock God> I think Immanuel will need to be more specific about what Affliction he's trying to give himself here.

<Immanuel> I said Purify and Illumination as estate properties being emulated.

<Dreams> ("I purify! I reveal!")

<Immanuel> Specifically, things not belonging to the Chancel.

<Miranda> (Since everyone knows where Rinne is now, does that mean nobody knows her velocity?)

<Hollyhock God> "I purify" is not specific enough to be an Affliction.

<Immanuel> I am a white cell, seeking foreign antibodies to demolish.

<Hollyhock God> You need something like "My gaze sears anything not native to this Chancel."

<Grayson> (Everyone knows where everyone is, so no one can know anyone's velocity.)

<Dan> (Everyone except Heisenberg knows her velocity.)

<Hollyhock God> Meanwhile, Rinne sees all the attendees at evening Mass looking at her, and realizes that something is up.

  • Miranda travels towards the Cathedral at an indeterminate rate of speed.

<Grayson> (This makes walking around without bumping into people slightly more difficult)

<Hollyhock God> As Dreams either runs or walks toward her across a suddenly-appearing bridge, carrying a sword of terrible portent, she collapses her wave function.

<Hollyhock God> Or expands it.

<Hollyhock God> She does physics. Anyway, you abruptly become aware that Rinne is present in 74 different locations in the Chancel, possibly maybe.

<Immanuel> Can I enchant the whole Chancel?

<Hollyhock God> On Afflictions, they need a trigger condition more specfic than "Stuff happens."

<Hollyhock God> Yes, you can enchant the Chancel with a greater miracle.

<Immanuel> Well, then I do that thing, to the Chancel. Specifically it treats foreign entities as things to be destroyed.

<Hollyhock God> Although when you run out of MPs you're going to have a hard time disobeying your stomach.

<Hollyhock God> Aren't you supposed to be pursuing gold?

<Immanuel> With Persona 5 these cost me nothing. =P

<Grayson> I'll use another Treasure 5 Miracle to send my Third Eye agents at all of her possible locations, with orders to capture her.

<Immanuel> No, I already ate a big pile of gold that spilled out of the bank.

<Grayson> Which should also benefit from my Divine Mantle of 4.

<Hollyhock God> It no longer satisfies.

<Hollyhock God> Queue the Benny Hill music!

<Immanuel> Luckily, I stashed some aside for later!

<Hollyhock God> But then you ate it.

<Immanuel> (I actually did this. Scroll up.)

<Hollyhock God> Anyway, you feel the need to stretch your wings.

<Immanuel> Also I stop sustaining the hoard miracle.

<Grayson> "Marvelous wings," Grayson shouts, as he runs past Immanuel to the nearest Rinne sighting, his pistols Somnus and Tacitum in his hands.

<Hollyhock God> So, anyway, 74 Rinnes are attempting to evade the agents of the Third Eye, while the Chancel drops pianos on her and shifts cobblestones under her feet.

<Dan> Hmmm, I'm going to do a Greater Enchantment. The Chancel itself now connects Rinne to us.

<Dreams> "Rinne. This clearly isn't going to end well for you if you persist. We will donate an appropriate amount to the Robber's Order, but it shall be an amount of our choosing."

<Immanuel> Er…

  • Dreams is just talking to the air, because heck, she /might/ be there.

<Immanuel> Won't that turn my miracle on us?

<Hollyhock God> Passing wizards of the Veneto Praxis cast spells at her, just because.

<Hollyhock God> 13 Rinnes are caught and wink out as their wave function collapses.

<Dan> (I don't think so, but if so, at least I'm doing something. <_< )

  • Immanuel begins flapping his majestic wings majestically.

<Hollyhock God> By some miraculous chance, every member of the Familia crosses a bridge at runs into the same Rinne at the same time, just outside the jeweller's.

<Dreams> (Flapping wings majestically and eating gold are doing something!)

<Miranda> (Did you raise the Divine Mantle?)

<Hollyhock God> She finds herself caught between five angry Powers and a hungry dragon-man.

<Immanuel> (I am still a Power, y'know.)

<Grayson> (Not sure who you're asking; as far as I know, I'm the only one with Mantle up)

<Hollyhock God> A hungry dragon-man-Power.

<Immanuel> "Lady. You picked the wrong day."

  • Grayson essays a brief bow towards Rinne, keeping his pistols pointed at her.

<Dreams> (She's full of GOOOOLD! At least, she might be. You can't be sure.)

<Immanuel> (Only one way to find out)

<Grayson> "Rinne. I suggest you return our goods and leave our Chancel, or we might be forced to feed you to Immanuel."

  • Immanuel looks at Rinne.
  • Grayson grins briefly. He's probably joking.

<Immanuel> "I'll even chew."

<Hollyhock God> "A Robber never returns her prizes," says Rinne cheerfully, giving you a sidelong look from under her purple fedora.

<Dan> (Imannuel was a Dragon. I mean a Dragon-Man. I mean a Dragon-Man-Power. Whatever he was IMMANUELLLLLL!)

<Hollyhock God> "You may feed me to your pet, but I'll return somehow!"

<Grayson> "I don't think they're your prizes until you've escaped with them. Do Robbers usually get caught?"

<Immanuel> "I am not a pet!"

<Henry> (Does she have our stuff on her?)

<Immanuel> (….maybe!)

<Dreams> "Well, return us other things in equal value, then. The goods stolen by the Robber's Order are done for all of Noble society, yes?"

  • Grayson gives Immanuel a calming pat on the wing.

<Hollyhock God> Immanuel, the woman is talking nonsense talk. The important thing is that on the other side of her is a bunch of gold.

  • Immanuel inspects her for obvious signs of gold.

<Hollyhock God> "Well, I guess. Mostly I stole them because it was fun! And because I was… but never mind that."

<Grayson> "…Somebody hired you, didn't they?

<Immanuel> Does she have gold teeth?

<Hollyhock God> I'll tell you what you don't see on her- a twenty-foot-tall ivory statue of Surolam!

<Grayson> Maybe not for the Museum, but for the Accords?"

<Grayson> "Tell me who did it or I'll be forced to find another way to get the information from you."

<Hollyhock God> "I'll never tell!" declaims Rinne gleefully, through non-gold teeth.

<Immanuel> I can use any miracle type for miracle points right?

<Grayson> I'll use a Greater Divination to try to find out, still supported by Divine Mantle of 4.

<Miranda> (Yes, but there's a 3:1 or 2:1 conversion cost for using the wrong kind of miracle point.)

<Immanuel> (Thought they axed that in 3rd?)

<Grayson> (Depends on what you're using them for; you can use any type of MP for Strike on any miracle without a penalty)

<Dreams> (Nah, It's in the simple rites chapter)

<Grayson> (But if you want to use TMP to raise the miracle level of a Domain Miracle, you have to convert)

<Grayson> (You can also use any type of MP for Divine Mantle or Auctoritas without penalty)

  • Dan pulls out his computer and attempts to connect to the statue of Surolam and ping it's location.

<Hollyhock God> I'm not sure I buy that your computer can just connect to things if you don't have any idea where they are. Sell me.

<Dan> (It's global full flexibility.)

<Hollyhock God> I suppose that works, then.

<Dreams> ("I paid character points for it to do so!")

<Hollyhock God> It registers as present in non-space.

<Miranda> (Oooh, good argument)

<Dreams> (It's obviously in her hat.)

<Hollyhock God> You've heard stories about Robbers being able to cast their stolen goods into nowhere through their Sigils.

<Miranda> (You realize what's going to happen now, right?)

<Dreams> (Oh, or that.)

<Miranda> (I mean, it was inevitable….)

<Henry> (?)

<Immanuel> (I'm going to eat her?)

<Dreams> (Yes, yes, Immanuel's going to eat her.)

<Miranda> (Bridge to Nowhere.)

<Dreams> (Damn, ninja'd!)

<Henry> (ah, that)

<Hollyhock God> At which point they can only be called out in exchange for equivalent value or ripped out by a miracle.

<Dan> (I am Autocthon!)

<Dan> (Sadly, that'd be a Greater Creation. <_< )

<Grayson> Any result from my Greater Divination to find her employer?

<Miranda> (Autocthon has nothing on Ted Stephens.)

<Hollyhock God> Oh, you did that.

  • Dreams sheathes his sword, and rubs the bridge of his nose.

<Hollyhock God> Her employer was……. the Ink-Lord Vesperius!

<Dreams> "Right. That which a Robber has stolen can only be called in exchange for equal value. Are you ready to accept that which you've already taken and move on without troubling us more?"

<Henry> (He wanted the Accords?)

<Dreams> (NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!)

<Miranda> "What would you say the value of the stolen goods is?"

<Grayson> "So, Rinne, here's the thing-"

<Dreams> (Wait, Ink, not Words.)

<Miranda> "About 12 million OTC, wouldn't you say?"

<Grayson> (Actually, I'll let Miranda do her thing. I like where this is going.)

<Hollyhock God> He did indeed want the Accords.

<Hollyhock God> "Heh," admits Rinne. "Well, I'll vote for that valuation if it'll make you happy."

<Miranda> (Well, there are two ways this can go. Either we negate the debt, or we trade it for the damned stupid sword, which Miranda wants out of Immanuel, but nobody else seems to care about).

<Grayson> Do I know why? Just for the obvious reason that they're written in really magical ink?

<Immanuel> (Get your hands off my body, Miranda!)

<Miranda> "Great." Miranda takes out a piece of paper and writes on it.

<Grayson> It wasn't directly the target of my divination, but Greater Divinations tend to be pretty full-featured.

<Dreams> (Awesome power of the foundations of Noble Society?)

<Hollyhock God> Because you're too dumb to be allowed to have cool documents.

  • Miranda hands the paper to Rinne.

<Grayson> (Well, sure, but why does the Ink-Lord have a special interest in it?)

<Dreams> (Oh, snap.)

<Hollyhock God> Secretly he thinks everyone but himself is pretty dumb.

<Hollyhock God> Not even that big a secret, really.

<Henry> (Heh.)

<Dreams> As long as he makes a token effort to hide it, I guess.

<Hollyhock God> Also, ink-lords like documents. They just do.

<Grayson> Fair enough.

<Miranda> And you complain nobody we meet has secrets!

<Hollyhock God> What does the paper say?

  • Dreams is full of secrets! Hasn't technically even told anybody he claimed the Accords as an Anchor!

<Grayson> Ah, wait, what is an Ink-Lord? I assumed you were saying he was the Power of Ink.

<Immanuel> (IOU 12M OTC)

  • Miranda brushes her hands off with a satisfied smirk.

<Grayson> I think we noticed, Dreams. Remember the wave of ink pouring out of the bank?

<Hollyhock God> Potayto, potahto.

<Miranda> (It says: 12M OTC)

<Dreams> (Any number of things could cause that.)

<Hollyhock God> And the words flowing through your flesh and blood?

<Henry> (Very true.)

<Miranda> (Or rather: Invoice: 12m OTC)

<Dreams> (The ink-lord's wrath at being thwarted!)

<Dan> (Like the power of squids!)

<Grayson> Ah, he is the Power of Ink? Ok, was just confused because you said "ink-lords," like there are more than one.

<Immanuel> "I just assumed we kept ink in our bank."

<Dreams> (Dreams is strange. These things happen.)

<Hollyhock God> Arguably, allowing ink to enter your body at this time was unwise!

<Dreams> (Fair enough, though.)

<Dan> ("This is my vault. It's full of 11 million gallons of tomato paste.")

<Hollyhock God> Ah, so it's a receipt. Rinne frowns: "Not much of a burglary, I guess, but still fun. I'll come back some time when you aren't at home."

<Dreams> Arguably, pissing off somebody who can Strike his name from the list of people who are technically members of Noble society was unwise!

<Immanuel> Perhaps I should make paper extra flammable.

<Hollyhock God> She makes a gracefully ironical bow.

<Miranda> "No problem. This is Venice. We're always open for commerce."

<Hollyhock God> "I'll see you at my party Saturday, right?"

<Dreams> "Oh, definitely. Thank Will for the invitation for me."

<Grayson> "We wouldn't miss it."

<Immanuel> "We'll think about it."

<Hollyhock God> Rinne spins and vanishes once again into quantum disentanglement.

  • Miranda shrugs and drops the shield around Venice.

<Hollyhock God> Immanuel realizes that nothing stands between him and at least $1 million in gold.

<Dreams> What $1 million in gold?

<Immanuel> Dinner.

<Grayson> I end the Destruction miracle and, once again, everyone is ignorant of the locations of everyone else.

<Miranda> "Now, someone tell Remus that Rinne has his money."

<Grayson> The Jewelry shop we were in front of.

<Hollyhock God> Yes, exactly.

<Miranda> "Henry, you may need to carve a new statue of Surolam before her powers come to visit."

<Dreams> (I meant to humorously imply that Manny had eaten all of it.)

<Miranda> "Actually, we'll require a great deal of effort to restore the museum."

<Grayson> (Ah, indeed.)

<Miranda> "But that's a matter we can delegate to the stewards, with sufficient funding."

<Immanuel> "What's important is that I don't owe anyone anything."

<Hollyhock God> Immanuel's belly bloats with the masses of gold he has, in implication, eaten.

  • Immanuel then barges into the jewelry stores and begins eating the gold.

<Miranda> "No, you owe us a sword."

  • Henry boggles slightly, remembering how big his stomach is.

<Hollyhock God> It would be difficult under these circumstances to identify him as human, or even as previously human.

<Immanuel> "Owe us? I am a part of us. I owe myself."

<Miranda> (Next session we need a field trip to teach Dan and Immanuel about guising.)

<Hollyhock God> His tail is at least twelve feet long at this point, and you can no longer see any pink skin under all the scales.

  • Grayson rolls his eyes at Immanuel.

<Henry> "We should really get around to teaching him Guising."

<Grayson> (We still have some time left in this session, unless people need to leave early)

<Hollyhock God> He is, in fact, pretty much a modestly-sized dragon as of right now.

<Miranda> "Henry, you're a surgeon, for pity's sake. Perform a blade-ectomy, will you?"

<Dreams> "Yes, yes. To the Chancel of balloon-people!"

<Grayson> (could do that now, unless we're going to

<Grayson> try to get the sword out instead)

  • Immanuel has left #lastmiracle

<Dreams> "Or, y'know, Bombay."

<Henry> "I tried that, remember? The sword is very content where it is."

  • Immanuel has joined #lastmiracle

<Grayson> "I believe Henry tried that before and it didn't work so well."

<Miranda> (AND DO IT QUICKLY, BEFORE HE LOGS BACK ON!)

<Hollyhock God> Too late!

<Dreams> (I laughed.)

<Immanuel> You people have awfully short memories.

<Grayson> "I don't know how much Guising is necessary in Bombay."

<Miranda> "I'm not content to leave that thing in there."

<Grayson> "Hey Immanuel, can you breathe real fire now?"

<Immanuel> "I'm not content with your lack of contentment"

<Miranda> "We know it's an otherworldly source of power, of excrucian origin, and it's obviously corrupting him.

<Dreams> "Well, presumably we'd look more local than tourist."

<Immanuel> "Well, only one way to find out."

<Hollyhock God> In fact you can!

  • Immanuel attempts to breathe fire.

<Miranda> "Hush. You've been compromised, your opinion isn't relevant."

<Grayson> "Be fair, Miranda. It's entirely possible that it's actually Immanuel who's corrupting the sword."

<Hollyhock God> Although you're probably going to want to use miracles of Fire to really get some oomph behind it.

<Miranda> (Henry only failed because we ran out of time.)

  • Dan also attempts to breathe fire, to provide a control.

<Hollyhock God> The Monarda Law asks Dan: "How?"

<Dreams> (Failure! 2 Destiny towards your gaining fire-breathing Project, however!)

  • Grayson approves of Dan's application of the scientific method.

<Immanuel> "There's no corruption going on. I am the Purifier. I have purified Despair. What is so confusing?!?"

  • Dan tells the Monarda Law "Placebo effect!"

<Miranda> (I don't think that Failure ought to count.)

<Dreams> (It's a trivial one, admittedly.)

<Immanuel> (Failure does count in the book.)

<Miranda> (No, I meant Henry's failure at excising the thing)

<Grayson> "It's confusing that there's a sword stuck in your stomach."

<Immanuel> "What's confusing about it?"

<Immanuel> "It's a sword. In a stomach."

<Grayson> "People generally don't keep swords in their stomachs."

<Dreams> "One wonders who gets to be king if they pull it out."

<Immanuel> "Do we need a diagram?"

<Immanuel> "People generally aren't Powers."

<Dan> ("If sugar pills can have a statistical impact on curing cancer, surely standing next to a dragon can have a statistical impact on being able to breathe fire" >_> )

<Immanuel> "I have answered all questions forever pertaining to anything."

<Grayson> "Powers generally don't keep swords in their stomachs."

<Dreams> (Speaking of Projects! I'd like to officially announce a increasing-treasure-stat Project.)

<Immanuel> "Well maybe they should!"

<Hollyhock God> Your methodology is compelling, Dan, but so far all tests prove negative.

<Miranda> (So Dan is trying to breathe fire through the placebo effect?)

<Henry> (The Power of Placebos would be interesting.)

<Hollyhock God> No enhanced abilities.

<Hollyhock God> No genetic mutations.

<Hollyhock God> No nothing!

<Grayson> "Besides, by all likelihood it's some sort of fantastical weapon."

<Hollyhock God> It seems you will never be anything more than a mere Noble.

<Grayson> "Wouldn't it be nice to be able to use it?"

<Miranda> (Dreams: Time to do that was before you anchored the Accords!)

<Henry> (See, we need to make him radioactive and then have him bite you.)

<Immanuel> "How do you know I'm not using it already?"

<Grayson> "Ah. What, then, are you using it for?"

  • Miranda looks at the non-Immanuel members of the Familia.

<Dreams> "Transforming into a dragon, obviously."

<Hollyhock God> Call the Domina Luna and make him a weredragon!

  • Grayson glares at Dreams.

<Miranda> "Why are we humoring him? Something is seriously wrong. He's turned into a dragon.

<Hollyhock God> I do love how everyone is totally concerned about the sword but takes Immanuel turning into a dragon in stride.

<Dan> "Henry, can you do a divination to find out if he wanted to turn into a dragon before he got the sword?"

<Grayson> "Dreams, can't you use your newly found reasonableness to convince Immanuel that this sword shouldn't be inside him?"

<Miranda> (The assumption is that the former is the cause for the later.)

<Immanuel> "Why are we humoring you? You keep butting in to everyone's business. Isn't there a chandelier you should be wooing?"

<Dreams> "I suspect reason is the wrong tactic to take, here."

<Dan> "Becaue if this is what he wants, hey, I'm fine with it. Like I said before."

<Grayson> Eh, if Immanuel wants to be a dragon I don't see what's wrong with that.

<Miranda> (You're humoring me because I have an Affliction!)

<Grayson> Powers are lots of different things!

<Immanuel> (I'll use that excuse the next time I do something.)

<Henry> (can I divine past ambitions like that?)

<Miranda> (I don't know; can you?)

<Grayson> "To be fair, Immanuel, she has did just pay for that sword for you."

<Hollyhock God> Sure.

  • Henry divines the past!

<Immanuel> "We. We paid for the sword."

<Dreams> "Okay, Immanuel's a dragon, I'm covered with oaths, and Dan's terribly white. Let's walk down this convenient bridge and practice guising on the other side while we argue."

<Miranda> "Using really sloppy accounting, mind."

<Immanuel> "Or so I am told."

<Dan> "Hey, tanning causes skin cancer."

<Dan> "… not that I guess I need to worry about that anymore?"

<Dreams> "Beaches are quite relaxing, though."

<Grayson> "We're still not sure if Miranda can protect people from cancer, but yes, being a Noble makes it less of a concern."

<Dan> "My hand grew back, wouldn't cancer just go away?"

<Hollyhock God> Henry receives the impression that, while possibly Immanuel never exactly wanted consciously to be a dragon, but you get the feeling that in a sense draconicism was always latent within him.

<Miranda> "I'm telling you, I can protect people from cancer. Sunblock is part of my estate!"

<Grayson> "Yes, if you got it in the first place."

<Immanuel> "As a noble, you're more likely to die from Cancer the giant crab than cancer then tumorous growth."

<Miranda> "But that's not important at the moment.

<Grayson> "Fine, skin cancer, maybe."

<Hollyhock God> Perhaps its onset was brought on so suddenly by stress, or poor diet, or by Abhorrent Weapons.

<Dreams> "It's starvation that gets us all confused."

<Dan> "If there are any giant crabs, I'll just hit their weak spot for massive damage."

<Henry> "I think it's less that he wanted to become a dragon and more he's always had a dragon-shape in him wanting to get out."

<Dreams> "Dan used precision shot! It's super effective!"

<Immanuel> "Thank you Dr. Henry."

<Miranda> "Regardless, the sword is acting on him. It shouldn't be."

  • Immanuel rolls his dragony eyes.

<Dan> "See, it's just Noble Puberty. Give him some lotion and tissues and let's all get on with our lives."

<Immanuel> "Yes and your voice is acting on my ear, which do you think is a greater annoyance to me?"

  • Miranda glares at Dan. And you're basing this on your long years of noble experience?

<Immanuel> "Why am I even here, anyway? I can fly! So long, sister!"

<Hollyhock God> It does seem sort of reasonable that a blade named Acceptance might have caused his body to assume his final form over a day instead of a milennium, yes.

<Miranda> "And you're basing this on your long years of noble experience?"

  • Immanuel leaps off into the sky.
  • Dreams resists the urge to say that getting on with our lives is not Miranda's forte, but probably thinks it loudly enough for Grayson to hear.

<Miranda> (Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.)

  • Grayson tries to suppress a laugh at Dreams.
  • Immanuel lands several seconds later.

<Miranda> (Everyone tries to suppress their urge to laugh at Dreams. It is not always successful.)

<Immanuel> "She's afraid I'll go blind, clearly."

<Dreams> (I reveal hidden emotions!)

<Hollyhock God> A dragon with hairy palms is troublesome and embarassing.

<Hollyhock God> She is merely looking out for you.

<Immanuel> At least I don't have to worry about acne.

<Dreams> Oooh, but Scalepox is now an issue!

<Dan> Didn't we have two other crises to deal with?

<Miranda> "If he wants to be a dragon, I don't care. But I don't want to see him making that decision under the influence of an Excucian weapon."

<Grayson> If we want to look for someone who has some special knowledge about Abhorrent weapons, are there any obvious choices?

<Hollyhock God> Burglaries, dragons… I think that was it.

<Hollyhock God> Although now you have an Ink-Lord to consider.

<Dan> "Henry said he's always had it inside him."

<Immanuel> "It's not an Excrucian weapon. I am going to write this on a piece of paper and underline it every time you say that."

<Miranda> "Also, he's being an ass."

<Immanuel> "Did it occur to you to check on the sword itself?"

<Dreams> "Yes, clearly showing the essential truths of his nature remain intact."

<Grayson> "A piece of paper, Immanuel? I'm worried the sword has sucked out your sense of drama. Why not 10 foot high flaming letters?"

<Immanuel> "Because Miranda pays attention to paper more than Fire, apparently."

<Miranda> "Praxael would never have allowed this!"

<Miranda> "You know it, and I know it."

  • Grayson gets quiet.
  • Dreams joins the awkward silence.

<Immanuel> "You mean the moaning about my miarculous blow against the excrucians being unheralded, unpraised, and instead bitched about from here to the Roots of the World Ash?"

<Dreams> ("My, this bridge is long.")

<Dan> ("That's not all about Bridges that's long." ^_~ <_< >_> )

<Henry> (Oh, dear.)

<Grayson> "Immanuel, we're quite happy about the purifying of an Excrucian weapon. But I don't think the job's really done until we remove it from your gullet."

<Immanuel> "Colbrand was traded for an Age of Peace. I shattered Despair. Do TRY and smile some of the time."

<Miranda> "I'll smile when you stop trying to get yourselves killed! Or horribly, unrecognizably mutated!"

<Immanuel> Hmm.

<Immanuel> "I have the right to mutate!"

  • Miranda glances to Dreams. Uh. What happened with the letters…?

<Hollyhock God> Honestly, he doesn't look that different to me.

<Dreams> "Oh, he's quite recognizable as Immanuel. You just need to look past the surface."

<Hollyhock God> That smartass look on his face is still basically the same.

<Hollyhock God> It's just, ya know, a bigger face.

<Henry> (Did any of us meet the previous Fire? Or was there one?)

<Miranda> (Ooh! Let's say yes!)

<Hollyhock God> Up to you!

<Immanuel> I would like to cast a greater enchantment of Revelation on Acceptance.

<Immanuel> I want its nature to be perfectly, abundantly clear.

<Dreams> (I assume there's been a few. Wayland, of the forge! Sarah, Hearthkeeper! Devon the purifier, who we don't like to talk quite as much about.)

<Henry> (interesting)

<Miranda> (Though notably most of us don't have longevity gifts)

<Dreams> (Or was it Devlin? I need to check the Wonderella references.)

<Dreams> (Shield against old age!)

<Miranda> (You've just been arguing that I can't do that!)

<Hollyhock God> The blade's true nature shines through!

<Immanuel> "Go ahead, take a look!"

  • Immanuel opens his mouth wide.

<Hollyhock God> It's core power is "make things what they are."

<Miranda> (Visible to all who can see into Immanuel's stomach!)

<Immanuel> Very, very wide.

<Grayson> "Like a snake!"

  • Immanuel goes aaaaaaaaah. His breath smells of melted gold and charcoal.

<Grayson> Does its true nature tell us anything about why it won't budge from Immanuel's stomach?

<Dreams> (Stick your head into the dragon's mouth!)

<Dan> (It's name isn't Acceptance, it's name is Tautology. Because it's name is Tautology.)

<Dreams> (You don't have any gold fillings, do you?)

<Dreams> (Delicious delicious gold fillings.)

<Hollyhock God> Perhaps its work is not yet done?

<Immanuel> In the infinite void of his stomach, there appears to be a cross. It shines like the sundered Gate of Heaven.

<Immanuel> It is in fact a sword.

<Henry> (Is there a Power of Swords? They might be able to help)

<Immanuel> (Well? Now's your chance! Put up or shut up!)

<Grayson> "I must admit, Miranda, it doesn't seem to be a malignant sort of thing."

<Hollyhock God> There might well be a Power of Swords. Maybe you could ask the Byzantine Society.

<Dan> "I know you don't think much of my lack of experience, but it does seem fine."

<Immanuel> (Blukmuj, power of sharp stabby thing.)

<Henry> "It still might be useful to remove the sword, so Immanuel can use it, if nothing else. Perhaps we can see if there is a Power of Swords who might be able to help?"

<Hollyhock God> He can just eat things and let them fall on it.

  • Immanuel jaw is starting to ache. He closes his mouth.

<Dreams> "Probably ask the Byzantine Society. they seem to have quite a bit of access to making non-sword-like things sword-like. Hmmm. Actually…"

<Grayson> "Seems to be worth a try."

<Immanuel> "Show's over. Make your way to the egress, etc."

<Dreams> I communicate with the Accords! Is there a Power of Swords signed to it?

<Hollyhock God> So, are you going to pry Acceptance out of Immanuel even if he wants to keep it?

<Hollyhock God> Um… sure.

  • Hollyhock God tries to think of one.

<Henry> (moot question if we can't remove it)

<Dreams> I don't need details right now, it can come up later.

<Immanuel> (Didn't 2e have one?)

  • Dan idely speculates what that blade would do to him.

<Dreams> (I can't remember one, and I'm fairly good with the 2e NPCs)

<Hollyhock God> Doubtless you'd become godlike and built like a football player, perfectly comfortable with command and with the vagaries of the miraculous world. For is that not your true nature?

<Dreams> (Do you speculate… out loud?)

<Hollyhock God> Technically there's Arianeira.

<Hollyhock God> Blades.

<Dreams> (Huh, definitely don't remember that one from the GWB. Ah well, perhaps I'm not that good.)

<Hollyhock God> There is no 2e trivia reference you possess, Dr. Dreams, that I cannot take away!

<Grayson> "I mean, I suppose if the sword isn't hurting Immanuel, and he wants it in there, we could leave it for now."

<Dan> (Dreams: sort of muttering not enough to interrupt others, but enough to be overheard.)

<Hollyhock God> The peri's girlfriend.

<Dreams> (Aaaah, yes, didn't remember her estate. Heh. Boyfriends come and go. But Realm 5 is a girl's best friend!)

  • Miranda sighs.

<Miranda> "It's turned him into a monster."

<Hollyhock God> Was that a sigh of resignation?

<Miranda> "If he was a monster all along, does that make it better?"

<Immanuel> "I was always a monster."

<Grayson> "It's turned him into a dragon."

<Dreams> "Now, that's discriminatory against dragons."

<Miranda> (A sigh of uncertainty!)

  • Immanuel raises a scaly eyebrow at Miranda
  • Miranda turns her back on him, and starts to walk away. Praxael will judge you for your actions.

<Miranda> "Praxael will judge you for your actions."

<Immanuel> "You know, someone's talking themselves out of an air tour of our Chancel quite quickly."

<Hollyhock God> I am now updating the countdown to midnight. It is now twenty minutes to midnight.

<Miranda> (From?)

<Grayson> What happens at midnight?

<Hollyhock God> Midnight in this scenario is the moment when Miranda finally snaps.

<Immanuel> (Watchmen reference I assume.)

<Grayson> Aaah.

<Hollyhock God> No, it's the Doomsday Clock.

<Miranda> (Watchmen was referencing the doomsday clock)

<Dreams> (Cuban Missile Crisis : Miranda putting her hands on her hips.)

<Immanuel> (Yeah, midnight is when we all die.)

<Hollyhock God> It's a measure of how close we are to world-ending catastrophe, most specifically nuclear war.

<Henry> heh

  • Immanuel shouts after her

<Miranda> (But, yeah, I did think that was an appropriately delusional thing to say)

<Hollyhock God> "Praxael denies you skin!"

<Immanuel> "Maybe I'm not the one that needs Acceptance, dear sister!"

<Miranda> (But it's never been 20 minutes to midnight)

<Dreams> "Right. Let's continue along this bridge so we can teach our less experienced brethren Guising. And maybe a few other simple rites while we're at it."

<Miranda> (It was lowered to 12 minutes once, in 1963….)

<Miranda> (And 17 minutes in 1991…)

<Hollyhock God> And so it was that four gods and a dragon-god clambered along a bridge, off into the sunset.

<Hollyhock God> While another goddess walked in the opposite direction to continue holding off a nervous breakdown.

<Miranda> We still have half an hour, I suppose we could do a quick side-scene teaching Dan to guise.

<Immanuel> I find your use of the qualifier "dragon" discriminatory.

<Hollyhock God> It's an awesomeifier. Like Bahamut, the Platinum Dragon.

<Grayson> four human-gods and a dragon-god?

<Immanuel> Yes.

<Immanuel> It's only proper.

<Miranda> (It would be lame if he was just 'the platinum')

<Immanuel> It's fine with Bob The Dragon.

<Immanuel> But not if it's Steve, Fred, and Bob The Dragon.

<Hollyhock God> I refuse to call them man-gods.

<Immanuel> That's like Stormie, Debbie, and Black Debbie.

<Immanuel> Next we'll have dragon only restrooms and dragon entrances.

<Hollyhock God> You can't fit in the normal entrances.

<Immanuel> That's not the point!

<Immanuel> And of course when I'm harmed by unfair practices, Miranda is nowhere to be seen.

<Dreams> (I suddenly recall a D&D cleric in a game I once played in who refused to heal injuries we brought on ourselves.)

<Miranda> Right. So. Guising lesson!

<Grayson> We've presumably arrived at some sort of different world.

<Hollyhock God> Up to you guys! I don't think they're that hard, but play it out however you like.

<Miranda> Like, Earth.

<Dreams> Or part of the world where people look distinctly different.

<Immanuel> If we just walked outside the Chancel we're in Italy I imagine.

<Miranda> Like, places where there are humans.

<Grayson> Well, Immanuel now needs to guise in Earth

<Miranda> "I do tend to forget, from time to time, just how new you are to all of this, Dan."

<Dreams> (Has Guising been tuned to this campaign at all?)

<Dreams> "Right. Hrm. How to describe it…."

<Grayson> "Well, the basic thing is, sometimes you're visiting a place where your normal shape would be out of the ordinary."

<Dreams> "I don't even remember how I learned how to do it."

<Grayson> "For Immanuel, that now includes Earth."

<Miranda> "This… entire situation is highly unusual."

<Hollyhock God> I assume Guises work as normal.

<Miranda> (Have we lost Dan?)

<Dan> "Why is this something we can all do, instead of like, a Disguise miracle?"

<Dan> (and no.)

  • Immanuel stares at Grayson with his, "Go on, impress me" look.

<Grayson> "But another example was a couple of weeks ago when I visited that world of intelligent plants to help out a Third Eye agent; I guised so I looked like an intelligent plant too."

<Dreams> "Christ, I think
*Alaemon

  • must have taught me. That'd be ages ago."

<Henry> "We Powers are expressions of fundamental concepts of reality, and transcend the limiations of normal mortals. Including languages, and the mundane limitations of form!"

<Grayson> "I can't give you the theological reason, Dan. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that we are the Power of our Estate for all the many worlds, so we need some way to interact with all of the worlds different from our original ones?"

<Dan> "I've heard about rites, but some of them seem general and some of them seem oddly specific."

<Henry> "Well, that's one theory."

<Dan> "I get why we all can attack other estates, but.. anyway. Doesn't matter, show me how to do it."

<Dreams> "Well, some of them are really just ordinary magical rituals that are a bit easier to do when you've got a wellspring of divine energy in your soul."

<Miranda> "No, it does matter. It gets to something you've never fully understood. You aren't exactly human anymore. Your soul is co-existant with every bridge everywhere."

<Henry> "Which would be a good explanation if he was able to turn into a bridge…"

<Dan> "Which I can do, actually."

<Dreams> "You really should push yourself and do a major incarnation sometime if you haven't yet. Or at the very least spend some time celebrating the fundamental properties of your estate."

<Miranda> "Exactly. The question is more, 'why does he look like he does now?', than 'why can he look a different way?'

<Immanuel> "Why don't you build a bridge for me to burn? Two birds with one stone."

<Dan> "I've played around a bit with incarnations, but I've never tried a greater one. If I wanted to connect to a bunch of things, I've got my computer for that."

<Grayson> "I think we better show Immanuel how to guise before people notice that we're walking around with a dragon."

<Dreams> "Well, yes, but you're using your computer as an intermediary, not /lived/ as every bridge in the world, simultaneously."

<Miranda> "That's why I suggested Chinatown."

<Immanuel> I think I'm ambling, technically.

<Dan> And I'm not sure how to build bridges. They sort of build themselves though. I think my estate likes me more than I like it.

<Miranda> "There's a lovely fireworks festeval…."

<Grayson> "I'd prefer not to inflict any mortals with Dementia Animus today."

<Immanuel> "Don't worry, I'll justr Strike them with the Fire of Enlightenment."

<Immanuel> "And they'll take it all in stride."

<Dan> "I don't know that they'd appreciate being bur… aha."

<Miranda> "You know, that's unusual. In most Nobles, the love of our estate imprints itself on the soul."

  • Dreams waves his hand and enchants Immanuel with dream-nature causing people to think they're just daydreaming him.

<Dan> "I dunno. I've always tried to minimalize the physical objects in my life."

  • Immanuel waves at a passerby, using his tail.

<Dan> "Simplify, streamline, do everything in virtual spaces."

<Grayson> "So, Guising."

<Miranda> "Which explains the ideosyncratic interpretation you take of your estate. But He chose you for a reason. Perhaps that was connected."

<Dan> "Hey, is Guising like running a virtual machine on myself?"

<Grayson> "Everyone has their own little tricks, but here's how I do it, anyway."

<Dan> "Overlay another visual system over my natural one?"

<Grayson> "I suppose you could look at it that way."

<Dreams> "Run a emulation program, perhaps?"

<Dreams> "Rather than looking like a windows program in a mac world."

<Dan> "well I was thinking more like a hardware abstraction layer, but an emulation could work too."

<Dreams> "I don't actually know much about computers outside of a few cartography and urban zoning programs."

<Miranda> "It's nothing as extreme as that. Like, um. A font? A skin?"

<Dreams> "MetroCADD and the like."

<Dreams> "Yes! Changing fonts! That's a beautiful example."

<Dreams> "The words remain the same, but the superficial appearances differ."

<Grayson> "So, I start with a good mental picture of the locals. You should find yourself drawn to particular details. Guising isn't the same as full scale shapeshifting."

  • Immanuel has been ignoring most of this computer talk, because we're in Italy and he's been doing Italian for decades.
  • Dan spends a while staring at a local and trying not to look creepy.

<Grayson> "As a particular form accretes in your mind, you should be able to just sort of put that form on, like a coat."

  • Immanuel attempts to become a non-miraculous Italian, again.

<Grayson> "You won't have fine control over appearance or even clothing, but you'll get something that fits in with the locals."

<Dreams> "You'll generally be recognizably as yourself to anyone who knows you. Just an italian, chinese, or plant-person version of yourself. It's not a good /disguise/, it's about fitting in."

<Miranda> (Pfff. You were a tourist)

<Henry> "Or at least not making people run in terror."

<Immanuel> (Tourist to Venice. I has an Italian passport, so phhshaw!)

<Henry> "Or try to eat you."

<Miranda> (Were you Italian?)

<Immanuel> (Indeed I was. All in the biography.)

  • Dan struggles with the non-existant UI of hs own mind for a bit, trying to change his own font.

<Grayson> "In Immanuel's case, I'm more concerned about him trying to eat them."

<Immanuel> "I don't people unless they're made of gold or Abhorrent weapons."

<Immanuel> "Or gold Abhorrent weapons."

<Hollyhock God> Speaking of, Immanuel should probably rearrange his Bonds and Afflictions to support his sudden dragonicity.

  • Immanuel begins to drool; the spittle steams when it hits the ground.

<Dreams> "Or it's necessary to hide them from inquisitive party guests we're trying to impress."

<Miranda> (You lived in Illinois!)

  • Dan stops trying to change long enough to pendantically interject that "or and xor are different things."

<Immanuel> (No, it says I moved to Illinois after being born in Bologna!)

<Dreams> "Yes, but english doesn't have distinct terms for them."

<Miranda> "Xor ARE they?"

<Dreams> "The True Tongue of Heaven does, though, conveniently enough."

<Miranda> ("English is the true tongue of Heaven. It's why the angels and devils all have the poncy accents…")

<Grayson> (I thought we were speaking Russian?)

<Immanuel> (I was thinking about that actually, I'll rearrange them a bit after and post in the ooc thread)

<Dan> Argh.

<Miranda> (… whose side DID you spy for, Grayson?)

  • Dan pulls out his computer, connects to

*himself

  • and changes his settings through the menu, coming out as a dapper European version of himself.
  • Dreams probably changes language without realizing it occasionally when speaking with other powers.

<Grayson> (whose side haven't I spied for?)

<Dan> "I'll figure out how to do this without the aids later."

<Immanuel> Am I Italian again!?!

<Miranda> "… well, that would work…"

<Hollyhock God> Pasta dragon!

<Immanuel> Huzzah!

<Dan> "It did work, right?"

  • Dan doesn't really have a mirror handy.

<Dreams> in Tagalog: "Indeed. Once you've done it with computers a few times you'll probably be comfortable enough to do it without, I imagine."

<Henry> (bridge light back to your eyes!)

<Dan> (heh, I could do that, actually.)

<Immanuel> (while we're on the subject of appearances, my new portrait)

<Immanuel> http://www.daoine-sidhe.org/galeries/img/Keith%20Parkinson/The%20Great%20Red%20Dragon.jpg

<Henry> heh

<Dreams> (A mirrored bridge conveniently appears in front of you!)

<Grayson> nice

<Miranda> (I should probably draw the familia t some point…)

<Dreams> (With a conspicuous absence of Dreams, because Miranda is petty.)

<Dan> (Hrm, I suppose you can just do that. Actually, I could have just made gold bridges for Immanuel to eat, come to think of it.)

<Immanuel> (And now I'm sad because that was a Keith Parkinson picture.)

<Dan> (I could destabalize an economy by making bridges out of any rare material!)

<Immanuel> (We could use some Iridium bridges in Venice, I think.)

<Dreams> "Right. What else is there. Nettling? The Witch-Hunt Rite? The Chancel-Finding Rite? Hmmm."

<Grayson> "Well, now Immanuel should be able to leave the Chancel without being attacked by enterprising knights, and Dan should be able to travel the Ash without trouble."

<Dan> I know about Nettling already.

<Henry> (I'm afraid I must depart now to try to learn Business Associations)

<Dreams> "Rite of the Last Trump, I would hope."

<Grayson> "Do you know about hiding in flowers?"

<Henry> (so far it seems to be winning)

<Dan> "I assmue we aren't talking about hide and seek in a field."

<Dan> "In which case… no."

<Immanuel> "Oh sure. Squeeze a dandelion and someone thinks Magnets did it."

<Henry> ("How not to be seen")

<Immanuel> "Or something like that."

<Miranda> (Dude, I didn't leave you out on purpose, I wrote you in, then it ate my post and I missed it when I rewrote it…)

<Grayson> "We more or less are, actually, Dan."

<Dreams> "There's a few obscure ones too, like a rite that's usually performed in marriages that gives you a small amount of power over your partner's estate at the cost of power over your own…."

<Grayson> "It's another of those things we don't understand very well, but you can screw up divination attempts by associating whatever's trying to be divined with some flowers."

<Dreams> "The servant's rite, which imbues one of your anchors with love for your estate."

<Henry> (at Miranda: If that was at me, I was making a Monty Python reference in regards to the "hiding in flowers" thing. Because it's what gamers do. Anyways, see you later folks)

<Immanuel> (Later!)

<Dreams> (Later!)

<Dan> (Take.. d'oh.)

<Rand Brittain> I guess that settles the dragon issue for now, then.

<Rand Brittain> Although Ink-Lords are still trouble!

  • Grayson is now known as Polotet

<Polotet> indeed

<Miranda> (No, that was at Dreams. I neglected Dreams in a post about Nobles opening Jars)

<Immanuel> So can I eat other precious metals or only gold?

<Immanuel> I like to think I can platinum but am trying to watch my weight.

<Immanuel> Too rich, you know?

<Rand Brittain> Gold is the purest metal!

<Dreams> (Heh heh. I was just making a joke about Miranda resenting Dreams for being gone so long, rather than refering to that post, but yeah.)

<Immanuel> Pfeh, says a bunch of dead alchemists.

<Rand Brittain> Delightful stomach lining.

<Immanuel> Titanium is where it's at.

<Dreams> Immanuel kidnaps the power of Alchemy and the power of Pencils.

<Miranda> (Oh! No, being mad at Dreams over that isn't petty at all!)

<Immanuel> Now, lead? That's like, the oatmeal of metals.

<Immanuel> Sure, it gets the job done.

<Immanuel> But why man, WHY

<Dreams> Sprinkle some brown sugar on it, you'll be cool.

<Immanuel> And Palladium. Eh. Not my thing.

<Immanuel> Too sour.

  • Dreams enjoys mercury himself when he's in a metal-eating mood.

<Miranda> Also, Seimbeda.

<Dreams> metal-drinking, technically.

<Immanuel> Now is "I have a former Abhorrent weapon in my stomach" a bond or an Affliction?

<Miranda> Well. Let's see. Did we accomplish anything this session?

<Immanuel> We cancelled our debt.

<Dreams> We got some stuff stolen, and waggled our fingers most sternly at the thief!

<Immanuel> We "successfully" defended the Chancel.

<Dreams> I kind of claimed the Chancel's most precious possession.

<Polotet> We came to terms with Immanuel being a dragon with a sword in his belly.

<Polotet> Well, most of us did.

<Dan> I passed remedial Noble Education!

<Immanuel> Me too!

<Immanuel> Highfive!

<Rand Brittain> "Is it okay to be a dragon?" is kind of like a Struggle, but who struggled with it?

<Immanuel> Miranda seemed to do the most struggling on that account…

<Dreams> Well, as a Familia we struggled with it.

<Rand Brittain> Arguably everyone but Miranda gets struggle-Destiny on that one.

<Immanuel> Hmm, that's a valid point

<Dreams> In that the people against it argued against it and the people for it argued for it.

<Dreams> But I'll take it! How much is that?

<Immanuel> I argued for my right to self-determination, yes

<Rand Brittain> 3.

<Polotet> I think Grayson definitely struggled with it

<Polotet> Only coming to terms at the end when the sword's nature was revealed

<Dreams> And can I get success-destiny on my increasing-Treasure Project for a word of command to claim the Accords?

<Miranda> In Miranda's case, the question was part of the larger 'how can I hold the family together?' struggle thing, specifically 'how can I keep these numbskulls from harming themselves?' section.

<Dreams> I know normal miracles are just a trivial success/failure, but that's a kind of big one.

  • Dreams idly considers the sort of things you could do to actually improve at that stat.

<Immanuel> Hoard.

<Dreams> Hmmm.

<Miranda> Technically, you got an Affliction instead of a bond.

<Dan> If we all get struggle-Destiny, is that personal, or what Project is it going for?

<Miranda> Which was od.

<Dreams> Personal, I think.

<Dreams> Well, you get Afflictions for deadly wounds from words of command.

<Miranda> Ah, I see.

<Dreams> But you can be attached to a treasure by an Affliction if it represents the trouble it manifests in your life!

<Dreams> I figure by the time the wound heals I'll replace it with an appropriate bond. But that's a month away.

<Dreams> Tut, ChatZilla doesn't let you scroll back very far, does anyone have the exact wording of that Affliction?

<Immanuel> I might if my cat hadn't closed my chat window.

<Miranda> 'Affliction: Must obey the terms of the Accords at Babylon (4)!"

<Dreams> Danke.

<Immanuel> Aren't you sort of a Res now?

<Miranda> That's reification!

<Polotet> I've got to head out, later all.

<Immanuel> Later!

<Miranda> Although, in some respects, Nobilis is a gigantic protracted exercise in reification.

<Rand Brittain> Well, we did sort of have an explosion this week.

<Dreams> So, Rand Brittain, yes/no on treasure-increasing Success?

<Immanuel> Nobilis as it is played:

<ADamiani> Basically, I would say this— Miranda was obviously struggling with
*something

  • if she's moving tht much closer to snapping.

<Immanuel> Make an absurd statement. Justify it.

<Rand Brittain> Of ink. And Immanuel's weight.

<Benhimself> And feelings.

<Rand Brittain> What was the question?

<Immanuel> Hey, I'm a growing dragon!

<Benhimself> Does claiming the Accords count as a success for a Project of increasing my Treasure Stat?

<Benhimself> I figure it's an impressive Treasure to claim, and doing a word of command is probably fairly good for flexing the old treasure-muscles.

<Rand Brittain> I guess so. A new Anchor is pretty sucessful!

<Rand Brittain> So Victory for that Project.

  • Benhimself nods.
  • Benhimself jots that down under his Personal Destiny.

<ADamiani> What's my combined Destiny atm?

<Rand Brittain> Project, not Personal.

<Rand Brittain> ….I don't know.

  • Rand Brittain has changed the topic to:

<Rand Brittain> Stuff!

<ADamiani> … crap, I'm not tracking it, I thought you were.

<Benhimself> Which is exactly why I've been writing it on my character sheet.

<Rand Brittain> I'll go back and make a count.

<Rand Brittain> For everybody and their Projects.

<ADamiani> What was the question? WWPD?

<Rand Brittain> What indeed.

<Dan> I think this 3 (And maybe something for the tutorial) is the first destiny I've gotten.

<ADamiani> Technically it's 'how should I act in Praxael's absence?' :)

<Immanuel> Updated my bondflictions

<Immanuel> Tell me whatcha think

<ADamiani> And Miranda felt one way but ultimately concluded she was uncertain, or at least not certain enough to fight her entire familia over.

<ADamiani> Which looks like Failure to me.

<Immanuel> Well, I achieved my goal of becoming a dragon!

<ADamiani> No you didn't.

<ADamiani> Not according to your new sheet.

<Immanuel> Sure I did.

<ADamiani> Otherwise you'd have the Affliction: I am a dragon.

<Immanuel> I've got a tail and everything

<Immanuel> I have that Affliction.

<ADamiani> Instead, you kept "I am becoming a dragon"

<Immanuel> 3 points.

<ADamiani> … Oh. I see. My page just reloaded the cache.

<ADamiani> Mybad!

<Immanuel> My page has defeated you once again.

<Rand Brittain> Seems like Acceptance should be a Bond if you want to try and make it an Anchor.

<Immanuel> I do but I figure I have no control over it.

<Benhimself> "I love my stomach-sword-of-dragonification!"

<Immanuel> Which would make it an Affliction

<Benhimself> Well, bonds are about how you act towards or because of it.

<Benhimself> Also, did you give yourself a gold-eating bond/Affliction? Might as well get MP out of it.

<Immanuel> If you think bond is better, bond it is

<Immanuel> Of course I did.

<Immanuel> Gold is delicious.

<Immanuel> How are you modeling wings and what not? Gifts?

<Benhimself> Technically, if the HG just says you have them, you have them.

<Benhimself> It's like how you know your Project for immortality has succeeded when something that would kill you doesn't take!

<Immanuel> I'm mostly concerned with the miracle level of the effects

<Immanuel> I guess 0

<Benhimself> It could be a mortal-level wings.

<Immanuel> As mundane actions?

<Benhimself> Skill: flight 2

<Benhimself> Or such.

<Rand Brittain> I declare that you have the Flight Gift!

<Rand Brittain> Let it be so!

<Immanuel> Inherent superiority maybe since I've gone Beyond Thunderdome.

<Benhimself> Skill: Dragon.

<Immanuel> Just call it the Dragon gift.

<Immanuel> Saves space!

<Benhimself> It also includes breathing fire on people!

<Benhimself> Mundanely!

<Immanuel> Gee, now I wish I hadn't locked it.

<ADamiani> So he got Flight and Fire Breathing and an anchor?

<Immanuel> Don't have the anchor.

<ADamiani> Maaaan, I wanna swallow a sword now.

<Immanuel> Gotta fight for it!

<ADamiani> I tried! Nobody else took my side!

<ADamiani> And it was stuck in there with plot.

<Immanuel> Plot and miracle points!

<Immanuel> Which is like glue but not made from ponies.

<Immanuel> Come to think of it, does force lock removal actually, like do anything? Is there a reason I shouldn't just click that?

<Benhimself> Maybe it only works for admins?

<Immanuel> Wonder Twins Powers Activate!

<Immanuel> I was thinking something more like it alerts the admin and annoys him

<Rand Brittain> I didn't give him Fire Breathing. He can just do that with his own powers he already had.

<Benhimself> I suppose.

<Benhimself> Lesser enchantment of breath?

<Immanuel> Yep

<Rand Brittain> Lesser Emulation, "I am full of fire."

<Immanuel> I could exchange some destiny for it?

<Rand Brittain> I guess, but wouldn't your current power over fire be more effective anyway?

<Immanuel> Eh

<Immanuel> If anyone was upset I s'pose!

<Immanuel> Come to think of it I could just make it a skill

<Rand Brittain> It might be true that instead of flight, Inherent Superiority (Dragon) would be better.

<Immanuel> I called it Dragoning but yes should be done now

<Immanuel> http://nobilis.me/immanuel-laertius

<Immanuel> Replaced Gourmand with it since…well, I'm not eating anymore fancy dishes now am I?

<Rand Brittain> Whee!

<Rand Brittain> :(

<Benhimself> A Project to get up to Inherent Superiority: Dragon 5! So being a dragon actually makes your life better!

<ADamiani> So now you're tasteless? :)

<Immanuel> There's not as much variety in precious metals as one would think.

<Benhimself> "Ah, this gold clearly came from the south california hills. An excellent vein."

<Benhimself> Yes, Immanuel didn't Strike me as much of a gourmand, gleefully eating anything and everything that he could find and excuse to do so to, though.

<Benhimself> Any.

<ADamiani> It does raise the question of why Praxael chose each of us to embody our estates.

<Immanuel> I'll remind Miranda of that next time she says something negative.

<Immanuel> Praxael chose me, so I must be the right one for the job!

  • Immanuel is now known as Melum

<ADamiani> No, you got out of this one on that basis.

<Rand Brittain> You're thinking of 'gourmet', Ben. 'Gourmand' is different.

<Benhimself> Oh, yes, so it is.

<Benhimself> I should know this. Amulet of the Gourmand in dungeoncrawl and all.

<Melum> I'm partial to Clarity myself.

<Melum> I'll save my Destiny for a point of Treasure when I anchor the sword. Two birds, a stone etc

  • Benhimself has been digging Faith lately.

<Melum> Which I suppose means that's my new goal.

<ADamiani> Hm. So what's on our agenda for next week?

<Melum> I heart faith but it's rare to find it for me.

<Rand Brittain> Ink hunters? Bachelor auction?

<Benhimself> Yeah.

<Benhimself> Uncertainty's party could be the bachelor auction.

  • Benhimself found an amulet of faith with his beserker, and Trog has been showering him with weapons, fairly nicely.

<Rand Brittain> What's the starting bid on your services?

<Melum> "Next up, Immanuel!
*crickets
*"

<Rand Brittain> Duchess Fine: "One penny."

<Rand Brittain> "Sold!"

<Rand Brittain> Everyone applauds.

<Melum> "'…he has a former abhorrent weapon in his stomach valued at 12m OTC.' bidding goes up"

<Rand Brittain> Then under the terms of the contract, you cannot leave until she's satisfied with the date.

<ADamiani> What are the terms of the auction? I mean, what do you have to do?

<Benhimself> "You'll have to perform the extraction yourself"

<Benhimself> Bidding goes up again.

<ADamiani> Because Miranda could bid on him, just to make him apologize. Over and over….

<Melum> Clause 1b: Immanuel does not apologize. Ever.

<Benhimself> It occurs to me the next time he performs a great incarnation all fire everywhere will gain a new hunger for gold.

<Rand Brittain> I was thinking "You must satisfy the client. We don't care how you do it, and they can't specify, but they have to have a wonderful time."

<Rand Brittain> "Miraculously declaring that they retroactively had a wonderful time is bad form."

<Benhimself> "Fire purifies all preventing you from having a wonderful time!"

<Benhimself> Then just sit back and let the candles work their magic.

<Melum> Someone bids on Immanuel and makes him give children rides for the entire date.

<Melum> "The next one who calls me Falcor is getting flambéd."

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