01<@Ardweden> [Day: Thursday, August 26. Time: Early Morning. You're pretty sure, anyway.] 01<@Ardweden> [The lot of you are asleep, if "asleep" means "dream walking". You've all discovered that you're not quite what you are asleep when awake, and you met an interesting talking purple cat that called himself the Walrus. Sadly, he's not here anymore, but you do have his stylish plumed hat.] 01<@Ardweden> [You just opened the doors from your haven (currently a stylized throne room). On the other side is a thick gray mist. Dare you venture outside?] 01<@Ardweden> [Session Start.] 06* Imp skampers outside, leaving a thick cloud of smog and brimstone behind him. 06* Hien is still wearing the hat! She heads outside as well, because there's someone already out there to follow. 06* @Kali has her arms folded across her chest, hip cocked slightly to one side as she watches Imp go and the doors steadily. "Well if we're going to have a look around this place, now's as good a time as any, I suppose..." 06* Susa-no-o nods, and bows lightly to the goddess. "After you, then. I will cover your back." 06* @Kali looks a bit oddly at Susa-no-o and gives a mild frown as all her arms unfold, but she makes her way through the doorway anyways. 06* Susa-no-o starts to head out, but then pauses to look at Joan, as well. "Are you joining us?" 01<@Ardweden> [The fog clears, and you find yourselves standing what looks like could be Ashgate's square - if Ashgate existed in a funhouse mirror. While the buildings nearby are recognizable, they're also warped in different ways: some crooked, some bloated, some sucked in. The clock tower atop town hall is bent at an odd angle - and the clock is somehow both too slow and too fast.] Oooh this is fun. 01<@Ardweden> [Colors are off, too. The sky is shifting slowly through all of the hues in the rainbow, with far too many stars, and beneath you, the sidewalk is what you recognize - but the road is a shimmering cobblestone.] Oh, wow. This is *freaky*. And disorienting. 06* Hien turns around to see if the doors are still behind them. 01<@Ardweden> [The doors are still there! It's a heavy pair of wooden doors, in what looks like a church or a temple. The handles together make a pair of crossed keys.] Oh good. Doors're still there. I think I'll leave the Walruscat's hat here for him so it'll be safe. 06* @Kali looks around for a moment and holds her head. It definitely *is* disorienting. oookay any one know what this is? 06* Hien removes the cat-sized hat from her dragon-sized head and hangs it on the doorknob once the doors are closed. 06* Joan reopens the doors long enough to come through them. "Sorry. I was distracted by the stained glass windows." 06* @Kali looks about ready to fall down and is scanning around for a place to sit that's not just plunking herself down. 01<@Ardweden> [They are lovely windows!] They really are pretty. 06* Susa-no-o follows warily behind Joan, then. Oui. I am wondering what stands in zis place in reality. 06* Hien looks around. "Uh. I have no idea." <@Kali> Ungh. Guys. Can I steady myself on one of you? Oh. Sure! 06* Joan looks to Kali. "But of course. ... you are feeling sick? 06* Hien walks over to Kali and offers a shoulder to prop some of her arms on. <@Kali> ...kinda. Long story. 01<@Ardweden> [Kali, Imp, and Susa-no-o all realize that there's really no... temple, church, or religious worship place on the square in the real Ashgate. None at all. Susa-no-o additionally figures, by glancing around, that where the temple stands is the location of their Lunatic Fringe.] Huh... that's... interesting. God is like reading in dreams 06* Susa-no-o signals his readiness to support Kali, but allows the people who don't look like guys to hold up the naked goddess. For propriety's sake. 06* @Kali puts one arm around Hien's shoulder. And bumps her in the side with her other arm that she forgets is there. This is going to take some getting used to. 06* Susa-no-o looks about. "However odd this place may look, that temple of ours is where that shop we went to last night was." 06* Hien doesn't notice all that much, being decently thick-scaled. "Better?" 06* @Kali doesn't look *particularly* sick, but she does look rather disoriented. She closes her eyes and tries to blink it out. "Nngh. Much. Thanks." You're welcome! 06* @Kali then glances over at Susa-no-o. "Great." She looks it over, giving it a cursory glance. "A temple to Medea? How appropriate." 06* Joan taps her chin with a mailed finger. "Why does zat not surprise me?" I guess that makes sense? If we're all going to end up in the same place in the dream world? Otherwise we'd all be at where our houses are, and it'd take way too long to get everyone together. Especially me. 06* Hien looks vaguely sheepish, if a dragon can look sheepish. 06* Susa-no-o nods. "And it was surely the power of that woman that led us all here, so it follows we should show up here, then." 06* @Kali looks at the temple for a moment. Then pauses for a second. "Raven." She then glances up at the sky. "I wonder if he's here..." 06* Susa-no-o looks around warily, as well. "Would he show himself to us?" Is it wrong to hope not? <@Kali> Don't know. Nngh. Non. I 'ope to not 'ave to speak with that bird unless necessary. I do not trust 'im. 06* @Kali winces slightly. <@Kali> Gonna have to get used to this. 06* Susa-no-o glances curiously at Kali. "Get used to what? The odd nature of this place?" 06* @Kali lets out a long sigh. "Kinda. It's nothing really..." She pushes herself off of Hien and tries to stand up on her own. 01<@Ardweden> [As though she summoned him, as Kali looks at the sky, she sees a dark shadow gliding overhead. The raven circles over the lot of you and lands on the clock tower.] There you are jackass. Awww, dammit! 06* Hien snorts a bit of smoke. 06* Susa-no-o watches the bird closely. 01<@Ardweden> [The raven cocks its head as it gazes at you for a moment, then lets out a caw and spreads its wings, flying off over the edge of the forest. Wait, a forest? When was there a forest bordering the square?] 06* @Kali almost jumps back after pushing off of Hien as her breath catches in her chest. One of the hands seems to be inadvertantly going to the hilt at her hip but she doesn't notice it. It doesn't draw it though. 06* Joan watches the raven fly off. "Same to you." 06* Susa-no-o narrows his eyes. "Shall we follow it? If it's supposed to be helping us, perhaps it's leading us to the man we're looking for." I do not theenk it is 'elping us. More like it is using us. The last time I followed it into a forest, really bad things happened. 06* Imp starts moving after it. "Come on. It's supposed to be our helper. Let's help it." 06* @Kali mutters, rubbing her head. "That little slimeball's going to get us killed, I just know it..." 06* Susa-no-o turns to the others. "We have no other way of finding the teacher. We might as well follow." He starts off, as well, slow enough to not get too ahead if the others don't start following along. 06* @Kali shakes her head and sneers a bit, running after Imp. "Dammit, Tyler, wait up!" 06* Joan follows, if reluctantly. 06* Imp stops blinking. "What?" 06* Hien sighs smokily and brings up the rear. 06* @Kali doesn't notice Imp stopping suddenly and ends up tripping over him. 06* Imp winces as he gets pretty squished. "HEY!" 06* Susa-no-o grabs one of her lower arms, then, to steady her. 06* @Kali gets steadied just before she makes a faceplant into the ground, then whirls on Imp. "You trying to get us *killed*? God..." She jerks away from Susa- no-o's arm for a second and dusts herself off, then realizes she blew up a bit. "Uh...thanks." She looks a bit sheepish after that. The damn cat told us the raven was a helper. We're alice, that's our white rabbit. <@Kali> So you're just gonna run off without the rest of us? 06* Susa-no-o looks slightly affronted, but then nods to Kali at her thanks. Then it's just me dying and your life would be just so much better. So what. 06* @Kali frowns. "I hate your guts, Tyler. I don't want you stuck in a coma, alright?" We all are following along now. We can just be on our way. 01<@Ardweden> [By now, the raven's flown out of your field of vision.] We lost our white rabbit. He's late and in a hurry so we either hurry or lose him. 06* @Kali continues dusting herself off. "Those woods don't look good anyway..." she sighs. "But I agree. They're our only lead." 06* Susa-no-o nods. "Unless you have another way of locating other people here, we should go. And soon." oh right then, I will let the slow folks lead. And I will let the people with a sense of direction lead. 06* @Kali nods and starts moving quickly in the direction of the woods and errant raven. 06* Joan heads thataway. 06* Susa-no-o takes up the rear again, alongside the dragon. 06* Imp eyes Hien a bit and suddenly in a puff of even worse smelling sulfur is ontop of the dragon's head. "I'll see if I can spot something from up here." 06* Hien brings up the rear with Susa-no-o! Rear guarding is important! Also, more people to follow. She then frowns and reaches up, grabbing Imp by the scruff of his neck and holding him in front of her snout. "Ask next time, please." She places the minidemon back on top. umm...okay... 06* Imp gulps a bit. 01<@Ardweden> [You head through an alley filled with puddles of water and enter the woods. They seem pretty normal, but in about ten minutes the trees become very, very dense, blotting out the light from the stars and leaving you in in almost total darkness, with the exception of Joan's glowing eyes.] 06* Joan is a flashlight! 06* Susa-no-o slows down a bit, and looks around more quietly, moving carefully now in the dark. He thins his lips out. 06* @Kali frowns as she looks up top and tries to judge just how tall the trees are. So, any one hear or see or smell or dream or sixth sense anything? 01<@Ardweden> [In Joan's very faint light, the trees seem to stretch on forever. Nothing here. 06* @Kali shakes her head, barely visible in the light. "Afraid not." She still seems to be eying the trees, then eventually shakes her head saying quietly. "I guess dream trees really *could* go up forever..." 06* Susa-no-o raises his non-sword hand, almost tentative, and flexes it a few times, before blinking and setting off a ball of light to hang over his head. 06* Joan lifts a hand, filling the area with a bright light. "Perhaps zis will 'elp, non?" Ooh! Handy! 01<@Ardweden> [Not one but two lights appear, and after some of you blink away the sudden change in brightness, it becomes clear that, yes, you're surrounded by very, very tall trees that do, in fact, seem to rise forever. Their branches intersect and overlap and are filled with bright red and orange leaves, which fall around - but somehow not on - you.] 01<@Ardweden> [All told, it's really quite beautiful... though it looks like a pain to nagivate through, since ahead the trees look even more densely packed.] This was the only path so far, right? 06* Joan looks up. It seems like it. So we have only to go forward, then. Can you nudge the trees away big guy? 06* @Kali hangs her head slightly and sighs. "Or up. But I'm not sure I trust up." 06* Imp is looking down at the dragon. I could try. I could also go up, if you guys wanted. I think these wings aren't just for decoration. 06* Joan puts a hand on her sword. "I do not zink we are alone." 06* @Kali looks at Joan for a moment, as two of her hands also go for the hilts of her swords. "What?" Oh? Is it the raven still? I do not know. 06* Susa-no-o casts his light ball up higher. 01<@Ardweden> [The ball rises through the branches, and everyone watching it can see it illuminate a vague, human-like shape up in the trees briefly before it backs further into the foliage. There's definitely rustling that comes with that.] 06* Joan keeps looking up and waiting for... something. 06* Susa-no-o watches just where the motion was, and takes his bow off his back. 06* Imp just glances back and forth on his perch, not sure which way they will come 06* Hien looks up and shifts into a fighting stance. "Hrm," she rumbles. 06* Susa-no-o calls out, "Show yourselves, if you are waiting for us." 06* @Kali looks up at the branch for a second and crouches down suddenly. She blinks out for a second and suddenly appears up on the branch where they saw the figure, trying to make a grab for it before it gets away. 01<@Ardweden> [Silence, then a voice like a child's calls out, "No!"] 06* Imp looks around and tries to figure out where the voice came from 01<@Ardweden> [Above and to the right, Imp.] 06* Imp teleports up above himself spreading his wings to stabalize him as he looks around for the voice. 06* Susa-no-o watches, as the others move, his bow strung. He tries to focus on the voice. "And why not?" 06* @Kali tries to crouch low on the branch, holding one of her hands out towards the source of the voice. "We mean you no harm if you mean us no harm." She tries her best to look nonthreatening. 01<@Ardweden> ["I don't believe you. You got weapons. Don't think I can't see them!" That's coming from straight ahead, Imp.] 06* Joan takes her hand off her sword. "Fair enough." 06* Imp tries to see in front of him, he's half circling around though getting lower with each pass. 06* Hien relaxes her stance. And I've only my bow. No arrows notched, nothing. <@Kali> I suppose that's fair. Though to be honest, I'm not even sure I know how to use them. 06* @Kali continues to hold her hand out. She doesn't notice what Imp's doing though. 01<@Ardweden> ["... You dunno how to use them?"] I don't think you should have said that. 06* Imp finally glides back down onto the dragons head. Just come out. Or let us be, and we'll leave you be. You seem too young to be the man we're looking for. <@Kali> Well...that's not *exactly* what I said. I don't know if I know...why do you ask? 06* @Kali adds a "Shut up, Tyler" under her breath. 01<@Ardweden> [Now a head peeks out from the foliage. It's a child's, matching the voice. "Why're you looking for a man? Is he your friend?"] Sure. Friend. It's a long story, I think. 01<@Ardweden> ["Oh."] He's more than a friend. He's our teacher. 06* @Kali gives the child a half-smile. "And who are you, if we might ask?" 01<@Ardweden> [The child blinks, maybe not comprehending. "Who are you?"] 06* @Kali ponders that for a moment and settles on the hopefully safe answer. "The Walrus sent us." 01<@Ardweden> ["Oh. I sent me," the kid says proudly.] And 'ow did you get up zere? So, why are you stopping us? <@Kali> She didn't really stop us. She was just watching. We stopped ourselves. 01<@Ardweden> ["I climbed up! Look, I'll climb down." With that, there's a rustling of leaves as the child drops from branch to branch, then to another tree, then farther down until the bottom with a big smile.] 06* Hien claps her hands. 06* Joan does too. "Impresseeve! I doubt zat I could do zat." 06* @Kali crouches down and blinks out of existance again to appear back on the forest floor, taking a deep breath. "Well that was tricky..." 06* Susa-no-o turns to face the child. "You move quickly." 01<@Ardweden> [The kid beams. "Thanks!" Up close, you can see that it's probably a girl... or maybe a boy? with short, muddy brown hair. Dirt is on its face, leaves are in its hair, and its clothes are a muddled reddish-brownish color: an oversized shirt over a pair of pants with bare feet.] So why are you here? 01<@Ardweden> [Interestingly, you can also see through the child: the trees behind are visible even as you look at him or her.] 06* Susa-no-o nods a greeting, and he's not putting away his bow, but he relaxes his arm. 01<@Ardweden> ["I live here. Do you live here, too?" Pause, with a scrunched up nose. "Why does it smell so icky down here?"] 06* Susa-no-o gestures at the Imp. "I believe it's just him." 06* @Kali thumbs at Imp. "Yep, that's him." 01<@Ardweden> [More scrunched nose at Imp. "You should take a bath."] 06* Joan snerks. 06* Imp frowns but stays up on his perch. 06* Hien chuckles. 06* @Kali shakes her head slightly. "Don't think it'll help him. And no, actually we're trying to find our way through." 01<@Ardweden> ["Oh. That's really hard to do. I haven't gotten out yet."] Have you been looking long? 06* @Kali blinks a little. "You've been trying? But you said you live here." 01<@Ardweden> ["Uh huh. Well, sometimes. It gets kind of lonely." Foot shift. "Sometimes things come through, but they're not always as nice things as you guys are. Even if you are a little stinky."] What sorts of zings? 06* Imp sighs heavily at that but is keeping quiet. 06* Susa-no-o laughs. "It's just him, friend. Do you have a name?" 01<@Ardweden> ["Oh, like all kinds of things!" And distracted by Susa-no-o. "Oh, um... I don't know. I don't remember. I don't think I do?"] 01<@Ardweden> ["Do you have names? Do I need one?"] It would make things easier if we knew how to address you. 06* Joan nods. 01<@Ardweden> ["Oh. But I don't think I have one."] 06* Susa-no-o regards him for a beat. "Would you like one?" 01<@Ardweden> ["Like a present?"] Sure! I wouldn't think to ask you for anything in exchange. 01<@Ardweden> ["Yes!" And the child is suddenly very excited. "I want a present!"] 06* Susa-no-o looks him over. "Do you like Carlos as a name?" he suggests. 01<@Ardweden> ["Sure, that sounds fun!"] 06* @Kali can't help but snicker at that, two arms going around her waist. "Very exciteable, isn't he? She?" She looks the child over for a moment. "I can't tell..." That's true. Are you a boy or a girl, then? 01<@Ardweden> ["I'ma boy," Carlos says happily. "And I have a name. Are you gonna visit again?"] Of course. We will try Absolutely. If you want us to. 06* @Kali frowns slightly. "I dunno. It's hard enough to find ourselves in this forest as it is..." 01<@Ardweden> [Carlos beams, even as you hear alarms and music as the world begins to fade away.] 01<@Ardweden> [Session End.]