JosephWongKS fucked around with this message at 18:14 on May 29, 2016

• A Nice Old Lady made of Fire
  
• A Grove of Trees made of Rubber
  
• A Demonic Emissary made of Lightning
  

News of the fallen mystery was on everyone's lips, in everyone's ears. Questing probes of Silver Song skittered of its surface, leaving only the faint impression that it wasn't ‘ready’. Unofficially, the policy was to leave it alone until something changed, but that didn't stop a crowd from forming a safe distance away.

-O-
Lustre had made camp a few days ago, studying the island from as close as she could. Gods drat it, was that thing getting higher? She went over her options once again. ‘Purest Milkstone’ ruled out all that stuff that fell into the Water, she expected. She couldn't fly up there, either. Oh, to have the wings of a Laitache! Speaking of which, they had been uncharacteristically cagey recently, even for them - she hasn't seen any leave the island while she camped.

Suddenly a figure appeared before her - literally stepping into visibility. In an instant she was on her feet, muscles bulking tremendously under the force if her Hydromancy. The figure - a Verre - didn't even flinch, just cocking his head and lashing his tail. Then he held up his hand and smiled awkwardly, assuring her he was there to help.

-O-
The fountain hovering silently over the lake of Milk was itself a source of great excitement. Flow-Down-Ages had visited once before, generations ago during the last Age of the Gods, and granted great power to one of the Milk People. Who would be the next to aquire its power? Or would it simply vanish once again, promise unfulfilled? The world had been very unusual of late, and this pantheon of Gods even more so. It was difficult to worry too much; the Gods were, at worst, benign influences on the world - and they’d be gone soon enough, anyhow.

-O-
As her compatriot Lustre went out in search of a much-needed ingredient, Shi looked inwards. She wandered Chromeport, cape trailing behind her, deep in thought. Those around her knew her eccentricities well enough to steer clear - too many had been trampled underfoot by the distracted Verre(?) Hero, and they didn’t intend to get any of whatever she was carrying in those Glass bottles on them!

The Water Curse had been laid before history began, so only snatches and fragments of oral history remained - and even that had passed through the filter of bondage under the Tyrant. Useless, or nearly so. From her own experimentation with Droplette, she knew that immersion caused instant dissolution, but that (with proper application of Milchemical ointment) minor contact simply caused irritation. The madness was no longer a factor at all, as of the current formulation (though initial testing had been interesting to say the least!)

Frankly, she was stumped. With the Purest Milkstone, she could make inroads, but waiting was maddening and wasteful - she needed to finish while the Gods were present! Nothing else for it - she needed to Ask-The-Stacks. Relic of the Goddess of History, the Remnant had stood in the Discotheque for years, unused. No one wanted to waste it, and Shi especially didn’t want to impose and use a ‘Silvurtle-owned’ Miracle. Time was a factor, however, and at this point she was one of Chromeport’s oldest living residents - they would simply have to forgive her!

She walked into the midst of the towers of stacked disks, steadied herself, and asked how she could cure the Water Curse.

As the Miracle flaked into glowing ash, she struggled to remember all she had seen. It could be done! She would need the Pariah, the Milkstone, and certainly some Luck, but it could be done. She’d only have one shot at it, and her People (her birth People) were so very vulnerable… She prayed fervently that she was making the right choice.

(The Silvurtle gain more Independence. Lustre encounters Quintzite on her Quest - more on that below! Shi uses Ask-The-Stacks to gain another step towards completion of her Quest to Lift the Water Curse, bringing her to 2/4.

Ask-The-Stacks vanishes forever.

Silvurtle Population remains 18. Their Places of Power are the Crystal Spires and the Discotheque.)


The Nomads made their way towards the new Material in a small group, leaving many at Glasshenge. The Goddess had said it would be a small amount (through gritted teeth, as her power broke apart), after all, and there was much work still to do in setting up the ritual site.

The Kittines were growing nicely, growing tall and strong under a diet heavy in Sterlingulls, their coat growing in glossy and smooth. As they leapt to catch the birds, the Verre almost fancied that they took to the air - but, no, it was probably just an illusion.

When they finally found the Material, it was nothing like they expected. The smell was indescribable - not bad, but certainly not within their experience. It bubbled and roiled, as though it was flowing in slow motion. Like Water, but not.

Gingerly, they touched it - and drew back their hands in alarm. It clung to them! Like mud, but infinitely tougher to clean! Each attempt to remove it merely stretched it, spinning fine fibres of the stuff that blew in the wind. Uncertainty gripped them - the Goddess had asked them to return it, but not how to do so. They attempted to scoop it into prepared Glass jars, but the stuff stuck to them even harder. Soon, one of them fell in! In trying to pull them out, the others fell in too! The Kittines watched silently from the outskirts, unhelpfully.

Long afterwards, the Verre sat grumpily, picking the last remnants of the dried stuff off themselves. They had collected all they needed of the sticky, sweet substance - but there was no way their Goddess was getting it in time for her plan! Dejected and embarassed, the group made their way back to Glasshenge.

(FITUMO LOSES 1 HP! The strange Material is revealed to be Molasses, the Essence of Stickiness, Sweetness and Sluggishness! It tastes really good, it’s extremely sticky, and it moves extremely slowly. Its properties are super, super weird to all People who interact with it. There is enough of it for 3 Uses, of which 1 has been consumed - or rather, it will be whenever the Verre use it.

Their Verre Population remains 13 - 7 near Chromeport, 5 nomads, and 1 Pyrexalted.)

-O-
Quintzite had been wandering alone when Tezcota had found him. His invisibiity never had availed him against the Gods - he was long used to being found and called upon whenever a God required him. He didn’t resent the Gods, not really, but knowing the Truth of them, he found it difficult to worship them. They were strongest, and so he would do their bidding, but they were mortal - and he wasn’t certain he was, anymore.

When the God Tezcota bade him to find this Silvurtle Quester, he half-wanted to reject the task out of frustration and spite… but found that he wanted to help. That’s all he had ever wanted. He said nothing, he justed nodded, then broke into a run. Not a thing striding the great land of Somewhere could match his speed on land.

-O-
In the now, standing with Lustre, he began to grasp the magnitude of his task. After he calmed her down (and she lost the bulk of Silver Hydromancy), she explained her predicament as thoroughly as she could, gaining his interest when she told him who had sent her. Shi, the one from Down Below, the one who had been adopted into his People and raised them up even as they raised her. He had great respect for that one. He wandered off as she spoke, staring up at the island, then began to draw in the Milky sand. Irritated, she walked over and watched. He had little faculty in Mangamancy, but she observed and understood it at once.

It was risky, but it could work. She would need to throw him with Hydromantic force up at the island as powerfully and accurately as she could. Midair, he would make a series of Cuts, opening raw wounds to the Ocean. The Ocean - rejecting the living Material of Somewhere - would ‘bounce’ him out with amplified force. If angled correctly, he’d bounce high enough to Cut what he needed. If not, he’d simply fall into the Water below… but then, he was Unbreakable, so he feared not.

-O-
As they set up their dangerous plan, Fortuna watched them from the skies. Their risky plan drew her here like a moth to a flame, and it warmed her heart to see these two - members of different Peoples! - working together to cure her poor Un-Fortugnats. She sent out a trickle of power, just enough to guide them on their way - and then it was all she could do to hold herself together, her power pouring out in an uncontrolled burst of chaos. All at once, everything went wrong - as Quintzite left her grip, flying like a spear, the cliff-face below Lustre shattered from the recoil, sending her plummeting down. Distracted, Quintzite looked back at her - missing his timing. Cursing, he Cut anyhow, slamming painfully against the surface of the Ocean, sinking in… and then rebounding, sailing uncontrolled end over end towards the sky.

But he was no mere acolyte of Cutting - he was a Master. He was no mere Verre, to be stunned or shattered at the jarring impact - he was a Pyrexalt. He was no mere mortal - he was Quintzite. He Cut the air as he flew, draining the life force from a hapless Wisp and regaining his composure, then kicked off the Ocean towards the Island. A split-second calculation, and his Riftblade flew spinning down towards Lustre, far below - he would make do up here with his tail.

Gleaming white Milkstone glittered in the daylight, whorls of viscous patterns visible through its surface. He had no idea what the ‘Purest’ Milkstone looked like, but he didn’t have the luxury of time - a frantic blur of Cuts, and a perfect grid of stones fell alongside him. He kicked them sequentially towards the mainland, hoping that at least one of them would survive unscathed - and then he hit the Water.

-O-
Lustre breathed hard, hanging from the Riftblade embedded in the cliff face. She saw the flashes of the Cuts, saw him hit the Water - and then saw the incoming missiles of Milkstone. Scrambling up the cliff, she stretched and caught a few of them, leaving the others to dash themselves against the rocks. She placed them gently in her pack then - with a sprint - dove off the cliff into the Water. She called out with her feeble Silver Singing, trying to find him in the shadowed Waters of Under-ParaDice. She found him face first in the muck (like a dart), and she hauled him to the surface. His eyes snapped open and he looked at her with concern.

_{”Did we do it?”}

(FORTUNA LOSES 2 HP - but did not cause a strongly negative effect. Quintzite and Lustre gain the Purest Milkstone. Upon receipt, Shi’s Quest to Lift the Water Curse will gain another step towards completion, bringing it to 3/4.

Their Verre Population remains 13 - 7 near Chromeport, 5 nomads, and 1 Pyrexalted.)


The Great Cave was looking positively homey! Alone and unmolested for the first time in… ever, the Fortugnat had settled to work. Though they for the most part kept their homes in the Cave, a few adornments spread out of the cave mouth and into the surrounding forest. The recent addition of pulleys and levers had made the work far easier - within a cave, there are always anchor points to be found, after all. Houses were built on the ceilings, on the walls, wherever they could reach.

The Riskers tended to live near the very top of the Cave, in cabins lashed to the stone with a tangled netting of ropes. They swayed and rocked with every motion, seemingly on the brink of falling - but that was just how they liked it. Sorcerisk grew stronger when the user was in peril, after all, and one can get used to anything.

Homes were well and good, but the true benefit was gaining families to fill them. Peace allowed for growth, and growth allowed for happiness. Most couldn’t remember a time when the sound of young filled the air, the sound of laughter. They gave thanks to their Goddess, immortalizing her in Manga, already lamenting her eventual demise. She had given them back their hope.


(The Fortugnat learn of Simple Machines and use that knowledge to improve their Building. They have a Baby Boom, and lose Depressed! Sorcerisk gains increased power when the user is in peril to a proportionate degree!

Their Population increases to 5 - then increases again to 6! Their Capital is the Great Cave)


The Lake of Milk turned brown one day. A huge splash was heard and then laughter from the gaggle of gluttinous Gulmites, and then when the Lake was examined, the… taint… was revealed. While the Milk certainly tasted quite nice, it was somewhat unsightly - and worse, the cheese made from it was an aquired taste, to say the least! The Aqueau of Chromeport began to go out of business - not all of them, the lesser lakes of Milk remained and the lake of whey, of course - but without the massive source of Milk to produce their cheese en masse, it simply wasn’t sustainable. Within Chromeport, at least, Gulm was not a popular God. Not at all.


-O-
Outside Chromeport it was a different story. The Aqueau of the Lakes LOVED the changes to the Lake of Milk. Having grown used to the rich diet of Gulm, the chocolate cheese was purest decadence. The Milk itself was great too! They couldn’t swim in it - even less than they could before, but a cold Glass of chocolate Milk was simply divine! They praised Gulm for his wisdom and creativity in generating such wondrous foodstuff!


(GULM LOSES 1 HP! The large Lake of Milk turns to chocolate Milk. It tastes better but it is less good for making cheese (for the average palate, at least), and that’s having negative effects in Chromeport’s Market.

Their Population remains 16. Their Capital is Chromeport.)


Legendairy’s mind was full of ideas, plans, and half-understood strategems, burned in by the power of the Artifact. He knew exactly what to do to make his People great - and, oddly, part of it involved watching Mason do whatever he was doing. Vibrating with nervous energy, he watched the God direct his People to build ‘Rokkits’. Carving huge sections off the mountain, they created large, backwards facing, open-mouthed tubes. With the crude tools used by their erstwhile slaves, they painted ‘flames’ on the Spelled Milk supports and cowlings - because it would ‘make it go faster’ naturally. Then, they loaded them up with a huge amount of Hoozebootch.

Finally, the day had come. Mason stood proudly over his gaggle of foolish worshippers, loudly pronouncing that this was the finest ship he ever did see, smashing a bottle against the mountain, and declaring it fit to fly. Legendairy waited patiently, a condescending smile plain on his face. With a final flourish, the God sent a divine spark of power into the engines.

A pitiful explosion of strange-smelling smoke, and the mountain shook gently - but no motion. Mason gripped his stomach as though in pain, vomiting a multi-hued stream of colour over the edge of the mountain. Legendairy cleared his throat, drawing everyone’s attention.
_{”This crass display was embarassing, but necessary. The basic principle was correct, but the implementation was shoddy and lacking - much like the rest of this pretender God’s antics. The fuel wasn’t powerful enough. You need something like this.”}

Hoozebootch was too mild, not energetic enough. Through his own Moocoup experimentation, he had created Hoozebootch Extra, magnitudes stronger than the milder civilian stuff. Wisely, he had hidden it from Mason.
<sub>”Czarmark-ParaDice is too large, too heavy. The energies required to move it are beyond your paltry stuff, or even mine. Go smaller! Spelled Milk is light and strong, but alone simply isn’t enough to contain the power. Dicestone is hard enough, but too heavy. But, ah, do we not know precisely how to deal with ‘heavy’ matters?”

”My People, from the ashes of your shameful belief in this charlatan, from his foolish works, I bring you the means of our ascendance, the means of our final destruction of the Dice Demon!”</sub>


(MASON LOSES 1 HP! Legendairy has invented Moosiles! What-Goes-Up is active! The Laitache and ParaDice will rise to greatness - for now!

Their Population is 14 - 5 Heavy (2 Winged, 3 Earthbound), 9 Light (5 Winged, 4 Earthbound).)

Dog Kisser fucked around with this message at 22:18 on Jun 2, 2016

HiHo ChiRho fucked around with this message at 03:20 on Jun 2, 2016