(no subject)

[sythyry]

Aftermaths [24 Lage 4261]

The Irrigation

Vae insisted on staying for a while and putting out the fires. She did this by means of a mighty thunderstorm, of course, which probably did as much harm as it did good. Or more if the lightning hit anyone. (I returned the seven-winged burning thing to its usual place, of course.)

She didn't help the hugeng she had destroyed. "Disgusting and vicious half-people, they are, and it's me and Sythyry they attacked." The blee and mherobump and taptet didn't seem to mind, or, perhaps, didn't seem to want to argue.

(In all honesty, I hadn't burned up that much of Bfelmykh -- two or three dozen houses were on fire, and they had had less than a third of an hour to burn.. After the rain, a couple were probably not safe to live in anymore. The seven-winged burning thing was just bored, not trying to destroy the city.)

She made up with Nthuur. She more or less made out with Nthuur. I was not jealous. I would not have been jealous even if she'd done it in Orren form.

I didn't ask about the other yuldakai. Despite my knowing the language, nobody in Bfelmykh wanted to talk to me.

And then she brought us (herself and me, not Nthuur) back to Vheshrame.

Vae:"That's Bfelmykh. You can see why I like it!"

No. No, I could not. I knew better than to ask her to explain, though. She'd probably explain with some other act of sorcery and devastation.

The Conversation (part 1)

Me:"Vae? Please don't do that sort of thing again."

Vae:"Oh?"

Me:"It's very disturbing. And not very safe for me."

Vae:"Oh, there's a sorrow on me for any distressing I've put in you!" She sounded sincere.

Me:"So, please don't, well, cast spells on me without asking me first. Or take me on trips to distant non-prime branches. Or anything like that."

Vae:"Well, if you prefer it that way, I shall not do."

Me:"Thanks!" I am, in fact, determined to be the best ambassador to Vaisessasilmin that I can be. Some days that just isn't a very good one.

Me:"Oh, and I've still got this book for you."

Vae:"Oooh! Wonderfully!"

She sort of danced around happily with it for a bit. At least it didn't look like an orgasm.

We chatted about this and that for a few more minutes. I wasn't at the top of my form, I'm afraid.

Me:"I'm sorry -- I'm a touch rattled today. Let's talk more next time, when you've had a chance to read some stories?"

Vae:"Oh, the certainly!"

Me:"Very well -- cheerio!"

And she tapped me with her tail and tried to teleport me home. Just as she'd promised five minutes ago not to do. Of course it didn't work, since the city wall is in the way, but it did make the city wall ring like a huge bell to the Locador part of the magic sense, and probably wake up every sorcerer in Vheshrame Mene.

Me:"Vae? You said you wouldn't do that."

Vae:"Oh, the truly! I'm sorry. I shan't do it again."

Me:"No problem, really. But I'd rather fly."

We said goodbyeish kinds of things, and I flew back to the Halflight Gate. And realized I'd forgotten to ask what to get her next, or get any trade goods, or whatever.

The Interrogation

Of course the whole city guard and every sorcerer in Vheshrame was waiting for me. Vae's bonging the city wall wasn't even the noisy bit. She had drawn a very bright Locador line from Vheshrame to Bfelmykh, and then underscored it three more times. Teleporting a region, the way she had done, is a very cacophanous process. It is most visible from outside of our universe, as a glowing molten line pointing conveniently at Vheshrame.

This is not entirely a good thing.

Indeed, Vheshrame (and Bfelmykh, not that anyone should care) are now nicely pointed out to any offworld unpleasantnesses that might be looking for a good World Tree vacation spot.

I explained my role in the matter about 72347829510965187324653287462938465132498327509243 times, each one more frustrated than the last one. Several people seemed to be under the impression that I had some influence over Vae's actions.

I offered to resign. Several friends supported my offer. No such luck.

Finally, four good sorcerers did some very fancy magic to heal the glowy bit caused by the first jump. Now the offworld monsters are pointed at either nowhere-in-particular in the middle air, or Bfelmykh.

Some other sorcerers contemplated undoing what Vae did to my mind, but the dangers are large and I don't really need to know what "If you can read this, you're too close" really said, so we decided not to.

The Assignation

Ilottat and most of my roommates were waiting for me when I got back home. Brandy. Dinner. Brandy. Sex. Brandy. Ilottat tucked me into my fireplace, and curled up on the bed in case I wanted company in the night. I woke up an hour ago, dreaming of that yuldakai the seven-winged burning thing might have killed, and felt mostly sober and like writing to put my head in some little bit of order. Now I shall have more brandy and go sleep on my boyfriend.

Comments

[redbird]

Brandy, dinner, sex, and more brandy seem like a very appropriate response, and good for Ilottat for tucking you into the fireplace and curling up where you could reach him in the night.

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

He's a very good boyfriend. Especially on those occasional days when he's willing to be seen with me in public. I don't know why all of you offworlders think he's so doomsome.

[Sythyry toddles off to curl up on Ilottat. Bard just smirks evilly.]

[redbird]

He's turning into a much better boyfriend than at first, and I'm glad.

Some of your monster friends have had unfortunate experiences with girlfriends or boyfriends who didn't want to be seen with us in public, and were thus worried that your boyfriend who is still reluctant to be seen with you wouldn't make you happy in the long run.

*sigh*

[cattitude.livejournal.com]

You truly have my sympathy. The worst part is that this is just the beginning. This kind of thing will happen again, unless something, anything, changes about your relationship (small 'r') with Vae.

There's the germ of an idea in your interrogators' questions, though. This kind of thing will keep happening until you actually do gain some influence over Vae. Do you, or your older relatives, know anyone who as influenced the behavior of a nendrai by less than force majeure?

[OOC: So how many XPs does Sythyry get for taking out a chunk of a small foreign town? Hoody Hoo! ]

Re: *sigh*

[lysana.livejournal.com]

[OOC: Depends on how many gazebos that included, I'd guess.]

Re: *sigh*

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

[You don't get xp for killing things on World Tree -- rather, you get xp for doing adventury stuff, which includes killing things, and lots of other things too.]

Re: *sigh*

[waterotter.livejournal.com]

[And like I mentioned before, probably some bonus xp specifically for magic resistance. Hm, the system doesn't differentiate between the ability to resist different nouns or verbs, other than with advantages or racial traits. Suppose it's possible for a World Tree resident to practice being especially resistant to Mentador magic?]

Re: *sigh*

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

Sure, you could have a house rule -- e.g., you could have 7+12 extra magic resistance skills, "Resist Creoc" and "Resist Mentador" and such. Your magic resistance total against Cr Me would be (1/2)Magic Resistance + (1/4)(Resist Creoc) + (1/3)(Resist Mentador), I think. This works best in the skill-by-skill (alternate) experience system, not the pooled (standard) one. I think it's overly complicated compared to how valuable it is.

[dracosphynx.livejournal.com]

There there -- just survive a few centuries or so. When the next model nendrai comes out (say, complexity-125 capable), Vae won't seem so bad.

[collie13.livejournal.com]

I must say, Sythyry, you may have been terrified, but you did a fabulous job -- you got home safely, your "charge" is happy and trying to learn what you want, and you're still in one healthy piece. You win! I think you have every right to be proud of yourself. Good for you! ;)

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

Well, they did cause quite a bit of property damage, but it's okay, no one is complaining (to the powerful nendrai), right? };)

[niss-the-ai.livejournal.com]

Try "clicker training." You know, whenever your new friend refrains from drawing molten lines in the universe, you give her a book or something. Works with parrots, sort of.

[terrycloth.livejournal.com]

Hmm... she has a yuldakai to make out with, and can cause extensive devastation without anyone complaining. That'd be my guess as to why she likes it.

[goodluckfox.livejournal.com]

My god she sounds like my younger sister. Beautiful, powerful, and batshit loco.

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

Except for the "beautiful" part, yeah. Vae's not that.

[goodluckfox.livejournal.com]

You weren't saying that before you found out she was really a nendrai. :)

[striderhlc.livejournal.com]

A small question; Vae seems to travel a lot by making shorter hops- when you first met her, for example. I suppose it's possible that she normally moves about by using Mutoc Locador on herself which does not cause the same sort of pointer as your unscheduled, but she must have moved a pretty decent-sized chunk of space when she moved your table out of the Tavern Underneath the Ballistas. Wouldn't that have made the same sort of path visible from the outside of the World Tree?

This might be a good thing to sit Vae down and explain to her. It's possible that she may not know that it's happening or how potentially dangerous it is. Do Monsters have the same sort of magic sense that Primes do?

- HC

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

Well, um, I might have exaggerated a bit in Dining on a Ring of Fire. I have been known to do that. It might have been six miles, or sixty. Or it might have been six hundred, or six thousand, for all I know. I didn't measure it.

Or, for that matter, maybe she did leave a big glowing line there, too. She didn't ring the city wall that time.

[terrycloth.livejournal.com]

It might be that Nendrai are powerful enough that your average visitor from Outside is a diversion and maybe a snack instead of a real threat, too.

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

Oh, the average one isn't much of a problem for a typical prime adventurer. The outliers are the problem.

[yotogi.livejournal.com]

It gets lonely on the ends of the bell curve.

[kensaro.livejournal.com]

Ilottat tucked me into my fireplace

Somehow this summons visions of a basting tray.