PBA 067a

[6/22/15, 10:50:30 PM] Aziz al-Awlari: ...you know what? Not the shop. People know to expect me there. The forest is quieter, and might include bears. Maybe I can get mauled to death and wake up.

[6/22/15, 10:50:45 PM] Aziz al-Awlari: Aziz al-Awlari probably runs into Janis at this point, rounding a corner slightly too fast

[6/22/15, 10:50:58 PM] Janis: Well...that got...weird.

[6/22/15, 10:51:08 PM] Aziz al-Awlari: Oh good, here I thought maybe it was just me.

[6/22/15, 10:51:32 PM] Janis: So...um...about what you proposed earlier...

[6/22/15, 10:51:38 PM] Janis: How would it work exactly?

[6/22/15, 10:51:43 PM] Janis: That spell you mentioned.

[6/22/15, 10:52:22 PM] Aziz al-Awlari: It is sad when this is the closest I can come to a normal conversation... anyway. Yes, I have an idea.

[6/22/15, 10:55:10 PM] Aziz al-Awlari: The original Cursed spell has the longevity I need, while the weaker spell has the focus I need but is too fragile. I'm thinking of casting the Calm Emotions spell in its entirety, simply leaving off the activation word  - and then continuing it into a deliberately weakened version of the Cursed spell. The Cursed spell would try to draw power from the Calm Emotion spell, which would in turn draw the spell - and its directed power - into the Curse. The result would be a Curse of Calm Emotions... or so I think, at least.

[6/22/15, 10:55:45 PM] Aziz al-Awlari: Since the spell would need to draw its energy from you, removing the item from you would slowly depower the spell.

[6/22/15, 10:56:09 PM] Aziz al-Awlari: Since it would no longer have the means to convert your life energy into magical power.

[6/22/15, 10:56:34 PM] Janis: ...........ok....I failed basically all my arcana studies in school.

[6/22/15, 10:56:47 PM] Janis: Can you...dumb that down a bit?

[6/22/15, 10:56:54 PM] Aziz al-Awlari: Alright, let me put this another way. Have you ever built anything with clockwork?

[6/22/15, 10:57:17 PM] Janis: ...no...but I saw a guy fixing this big clock in an inn once.

[6/22/15, 10:57:28 PM] Aziz al-Awlari: New idea. Imagine a bear with three legs.

[6/22/15, 10:57:34 PM] Janis: Ok.

[6/22/15, 10:57:46 PM] Aziz al-Awlari: The bear once had four legs, but I took one of the legs - its front leg - because it kept trying to kill me with it.

[6/22/15, 10:57:52 PM] Aziz al-Awlari: But now the bear can't walk, right?

[6/22/15, 10:58:00 PM] Janis: Not easily, certainly.

[6/22/15, 10:58:47 PM] Aziz al-Awlari: So I tape an accordion to the stump. The bear can use the accordion to walk - but it can't walk well, and it still can't adequately maul me. Meanwhile every time the bear takes a step using the accordion, the accordion still accomplishes its primary function - making loud and annoying noises.

[6/22/15, 10:59:19 PM] Aziz al-Awlari: The spell will work like that. Calm Emotions will happen every time the Curse tries to draw enough energy to maul you.

[6/22/15, 10:59:38 PM] Janis: ......ok, I get it.

[6/22/15, 10:59:51 PM] Janis: I'm gonna have nightmares about musical bears, but I think I get it.

[6/22/15, 11:00:00 PM] Janis: And you think this could work?

[6/22/15, 11:00:13 PM] Aziz al-Awlari: About as well as a bear with three legs and an accordion, but yes.

[6/22/15, 11:00:33 PM] Janis: ..........ok....how long do you think this will take?

[6/22/15, 11:04:11 PM] Aziz al-Awlari: I have to make a bear - in this case, an ancient and complex curse. Like the bear, I have no idea how to just make one from scratch - I usually just find them lying around when I least want to run into one.

Ripping the leg off the bear is easy. Once I can make a bear, making a three-legged bear is actually less hard.

Making an accordion - in this case, Calm Emotions - is easier for me. I'm already trained in working with the materials (as both a cleric and an artisan), so it won't be hard.

The difficulty comes in taping the accordion to the bear - not because that's particularly hard, mind, but because I don't know what will happen when you try to use the bear to push your sled.

[6/22/15, 11:04:46 PM] Aziz al-Awlari: So the hard part is making a bear. That being said, Nation is a being of immense and ancient power, and his library is more comprehensive than any other I've been in. I'm sure there are books on making bears.

[6/22/15, 11:05:04 PM] Janis: Janis nods

[6/22/15, 11:05:12 PM] Janis: Ok....ok....

[6/22/15, 11:05:21 PM] Janis: This is really dangerous stuff, isn't it?

[6/22/15, 11:06:08 PM] Aziz al-Awlari: You wouldn't consider a bear dangerous, right? Since you've had experience with animals. I have experience with strange spells and bending them to my will.

[6/22/15, 11:06:18 PM] Aziz al-Awlari: I'll be fine. I'm more worried about you.

[6/22/15, 11:06:54 PM] Aziz al-Awlari: Since in this analogy, you don't have experience with bears.

[6/22/15, 11:07:10 PM] Janis: No, but I'll have you coaching me.

[6/22/15, 11:07:25 PM] Aziz al-Awlari: Yes. I can promise that much at least.

[6/22/15, 11:08:15 PM] Janis: When you see a bear, your best option is to always stop and wait. See what the bear does.

[6/22/15, 11:08:25 PM] Janis: I'm betting you know how to do that with curses.

[6/22/15, 11:08:50 PM] Janis: So, I'll need you to watch this bear for me, and let me know when we're losing grasp of it.

[6/22/15, 11:09:36 PM] Aziz al-Awlari: I'll do what I can. The concern is in the curse itself.

[6/22/15, 11:10:18 PM] Aziz al-Awlari: The old curse, the full-strength curse, makes the wearer want the curse to continue. They view their old life as abhorrent and refuse to return. I'm worried that might happen to you if the spell backfires.

[6/22/15, 11:12:02 PM] Janis: Hopefully, being able to take it off will fix that.

[6/22/15, 11:12:07 PM] Janis: Or, at least, make it harder.

[6/22/15, 11:12:23 PM] Aziz al-Awlari: I hope so too.

[6/22/15, 11:12:34 PM] Janis: Ok. I say we do this, but do it carefully.

[6/22/15, 11:12:55 PM] Janis: And, since I'm saying we do it carefully, that means REALLY carefully.

[6/22/15, 11:14:25 PM] Aziz al-Awlari: The primary person this would be dangerous for would be you. Just... try to keep aware of what's going on, alright? If you feel anything strange at all, remove it - and quick.

[6/22/15, 11:14:52 PM] Janis: Janis nods "Right"

[6/22/15, 11:15:27 PM] Janis: Wouldn't be the first time I got possessed by a magic Cursed object.

[6/22/15, 11:15:45 PM] Aziz al-Awlari: Really? What happened your first time?

[6/22/15, 11:15:58 PM] Janis: ...........um.......I kind of don't remember.

[6/22/15, 11:16:15 PM] Aziz al-Awlari: That's... generally not a good sign. I don't want to put you at risk for a repeat.

[6/22/15, 11:16:20 PM] Janis: I disappeared into the forest for a while and.....then just sort of woke up there.

[6/22/15, 11:16:42 PM] Janis: Also, when I first got possessed I tried to eat everybody.

[6/22/15, 11:16:51 PM] Janis: Or, at least, I wanted to.

[6/22/15, 11:16:57 PM] Aziz al-Awlari: That sounds... awkward.

[6/22/15, 11:17:05 PM] Janis: It got better after that.

[6/22/15, 11:17:12 PM] Janis: And this time, I know what to look for.

[6/22/15, 11:17:25 PM] Janis: Wanting to eat people, definitely a time out moment.

[6/22/15, 11:17:49 PM] Aziz al-Awlari: Honestly, I'd also rank wanting to hurt people up there as a time-out moment.

[6/22/15, 11:18:20 PM] Janis: Right. ...well...except for the right people.

[6/22/15, 11:18:23 PM] Aziz al-Awlari: It's supposed to make you feel nothing, so any strong emotion - even a helpful one - should be a warning sign.

[6/22/15, 11:18:25 PM] Janis: But, point taken.

[6/22/15, 11:18:35 PM] Janis: We'll do this slowly and test it out in short bursts.

[6/22/15, 11:18:43 PM] Janis: Like riding a horse.

[6/22/15, 11:19:58 PM] Janis: ...ok...next question...how much will I owe you?

[6/22/15, 11:20:34 PM] Aziz al-Awlari: Let me work that out. It depends on how much the process takes out of me.

[6/22/15, 11:20:40 PM] Aziz al-Awlari: And my resources.

[6/22/15, 11:20:46 PM] Janis: Janis nods

[6/22/15, 11:20:49 PM] Janis: Sounds fair.

[6/22/15, 11:20:59 PM] Janis: Ok...I guess we have a plan.

[6/22/15, 11:21:19 PM] Aziz al-Awlari: I'll go hit the library. I get the oddest feeling we just dodged a bullet.

[6/22/15, 11:21:36 PM] Aziz al-Awlari: Aziz al-Awlari shudders for a second, then darts off to the library

[6/22/15, 11:21:46 PM] Crow: Marti runs into him.

[6/22/15, 11:21:52 PM] Crow: Literally, and bounces off.

[6/22/15, 11:22:05 PM] Aziz al-Awlari: Oh, gods. Are you alright?

[6/22/15, 11:22:08 PM] Aziz al-Awlari: Aziz al-Awlari helps her up, concerned

[6/22/15, 11:22:10 PM] Janis: Janis peeks around and sees them...then decides to give them some space and goes off to the forest.

[6/22/15, 11:22:44 PM] Crow: Marti: Ouch! Oh, that hurts. You're so fragile.

[6/22/15, 11:23:22 PM] Lexicon: I'm so sorry... I should have been looking where I was going. I was... distracted.

[6/22/15, 11:24:04 PM] Lexicon: Are you alright to get where you're going? I know this form is unfamiliar for you. Do you need a hand?

[6/22/15, 11:26:19 PM] Crow: Martivir: You're sweet.

[6/22/15, 11:26:27 PM] Crow: Martivir: I have two, though.

[6/22/15, 11:26:37 PM] Crow: Martivir: Although your feet are... funny.

[6/22/15, 11:27:40 PM] Lexicon: Lexicon refrains from rolling his eyes. "It's a colloquialism. 'Needing a hand' usually means that you'd benefit from assistance in some way."

[6/22/15, 11:29:07 PM] Crow: Martivir: Oh. ... I'm trying to make a swamp in a room.

[6/22/15, 11:29:53 PM] Lexicon: That would be difficult, only because these rooms are part of Nation; we should probably ask him permission.

[6/22/15, 11:30:10 PM] Lexicon: But if we got it, I could help.

[6/22/15, 11:30:32 PM] Crow: Martivir: Nation is the ship, isn't he? How do you ask?

[6/22/15, 11:31:11 PM] Lexicon: Usually he hears us if we just call out to him. I think he's distracted with something right now, though.

[6/22/15, 11:32:07 PM] Crow: Martivir: Nation?

[6/22/15, 11:33:48 PM] Lexicon: Lexicon waits a minute or so. "He usually responds pretty quickly, if he's not distracted by other affairs."

[6/22/15, 11:35:07 PM] Crow: Martivir: Oh. ... but...

[6/22/15, 11:35:28 PM] Crow: Martivir: It's very dry here.

[6/22/15, 11:37:01 PM] Crow: Martivir: Even a pond would be better.

[6/22/15, 11:38:18 PM] Lexicon: Pond? There's a lake in the forest region... or there's the baths, if you're just looking to wash off.

[6/22/15, 11:39:01 PM] Iskandar: NAtion:  Yes? Sorry about that.

[6/22/15, 11:39:08 PM] Iskandar: Nation:  Need something?

[6/22/15, 11:39:12 PM] Crow: Martivir: No, that's... is that him?

[6/22/15, 11:40:06 PM] Crow: Martivir hushes a bit. "... the ship?"

[6/22/15, 11:40:24 PM] Lexicon: Yes, that's him. Hello Nation.

[6/22/15, 11:40:32 PM] Lexicon: Could we bother you for a bit of a favor?

[6/22/15, 11:40:33 PM] Iskandar: Nation:  Yes, that's me.

[6/22/15, 11:40:58 PM] Crow: Martivir: You're enormous.

[6/22/15, 11:41:20 PM] Iskandar: Nation:  I know.

[6/22/15, 11:41:38 PM] Crow: Martivir: Like the biggest dragon.

[6/22/15, 11:42:14 PM] Lexicon: Martivir is from a swamp, and misses home a lot. Would it be possible to convert a room to swampy conditions? Preferably one that was already relatively cold and damp?

[6/22/15, 11:43:18 PM] Iskandar: Nation:  Oh, that's very easy. Cold and damp, or warm and damp?

[6/22/15, 11:43:25 PM] Lexicon: Martivir? What would you prefer?

[6/22/15, 11:44:08 PM] Crow: Martivir: ... please?

[6/22/15, 11:45:12 PM] Crow: Martivir: Oh, like this is fine.

[6/22/15, 11:46:25 PM] Iskandar: Nation:  Cold and damp, or warm and damp?

[6/22/15, 11:46:49 PM] Crow: Martivir: Warm.

[6/22/15, 11:48:56 PM] Iskandar: Nation:  Have you already picked out a room?

[6/22/15, 11:49:32 PM] Crow: Martivir: No.

[6/22/15, 11:50:11 PM] Crow: Martivir: ... it should have a place up above water too. So sq... humans... can be comfortable.

[6/22/15, 11:52:33 PM] Lexicon: Huh. And just when I was getting used to being called squishy.

[6/22/15, 11:53:32 PM] Crow: Martivir: You can visit whenever you want!

[6/22/15, 11:54:40 PM] Iskandar: Nation:  Well, the rooms are somewhat limited in their size -- I don't think it would be big enough for your dragon form.

[6/22/15, 11:55:16 PM] Crow: Martivir: That's all right, I have a place in the forest for that.

[6/22/15, 11:55:34 PM] Crow: Martivir: I need to get used to being littler, though.

[6/22/15, 11:56:14 PM] Iskandar: Nation:  Okay. I'll work on the room, it should be ready in an hour or so.

[6/22/15, 11:56:19 PM] Lexicon: A place above water would also help for storing your dress. It's got some minor abjurations against mess, and I can always clean it properly if you need, but... it won't hold up too well if it's constantly underwater.

[6/22/15, 11:57:06 PM] Iskandar: NAtion:  I can make up a room that has a small pool for you, pretty easily.

[6/22/15, 11:57:06 PM] Crow: She nods. "Do you like to catch frogs?"

[6/22/15, 11:58:08 PM] Crow: Martivir: I like ponds.

[6/22/15, 11:58:21 PM] Lexicon: I've never tried to catch a frog before, I'll be honest.

[6/22/15, 11:59:00 PM] Crow: Martivir: It's fun. And then you let them go and they swim away.

[6/22/15, 11:59:57 PM] Lexicon: You're... not like the black dragons I've read about. You're much gentler.

[6/23/15, 12:00:45 AM] Crow: Martivir shrugs. "You have to stay hidden or they find you."

[6/23/15, 12:01:54 AM] Lexicon: ...you deserve so much better than the life you left behind. Maybe this curse isn't all bad.

[6/23/15, 12:02:09 AM] Lexicon: We just need to find you a better hoard. Or get you your old one back.

[6/23/15, 12:03:34 AM] Crow: She nods. "It does hurt, not having it. I had so many interesting coins. Gold and silver and copper and things."

[6/23/15, 12:04:53 AM] Lexicon: Would a different hoard ease the hurt? Or does it have to be the original?

[6/23/15, 12:05:24 AM] Crow: Martivir: ... I don't know. I'm sure it would be better to have one than nothing at all.

[6/23/15, 12:07:31 AM] Lexicon: We'll have to try that, then. While we work on getting you back your old hoard. If it works out, you'll just get a bigger hoard!

[6/23/15, 12:08:29 AM] Crow: Martivir hugs him!

[6/23/15, 12:08:53 AM] Lexicon: Lexicon is confused at first, but then hugs back, smiling softly.

[6/23/15, 12:09:27 AM] Lexicon: ...you'll make it through this, alright? You're stronger than you realize.

[6/23/15, 12:11:24 AM] Crow: Martivir: I do miss it.

[6/23/15, 12:12:15 AM] Lexicon: It won't be easy, but you'll have my help - and everyone else's, too. Your world's humanoids might have been awful, but my world's aren't... and we'll do whatever we can to help out. If we all work together on this, I know we can get out of here.

[6/23/15, 12:13:48 AM] Crow: Martivir: You have eyes like lapis lazuli.

[6/23/15, 12:13:51 AM] Lexicon: We'll get you your life back. ...we'll get all of our lives back. Better than we had them before.

[6/23/15, 12:14:46 AM] Lexicon: Lexicon is a little taken aback at that. "I... do? I never really thought of them like that."

[6/23/15, 12:17:39 AM] Lexicon: We should check up on Nation... and I should get back to my shop.

...thank you, though.

[6/23/15, 12:17:54 AM] Lexicon: Lexicon gives her another hug before straightening up. "Shall we?"

[6/23/15, 12:18:03 AM] Crow: Martivir: Yes!