(M) The Adventures of the mixed and messed up [IC]

[Highland Sniper]

"Interesting," She said as she exchanged the sword belt for her pistol belt and sling her musket over her shoulder. "Oh, ndaen Gasha antswi er... ishen earge."

[GodlyD&D]

Arapegol answered, resolute yet still a sense of awe giving way, "You're a sorceress! You might effectively overpower me and still kill me, but not without me putting up great fight for you to overcome. It would be one way to reverse the alteration. But your body would die with it too. I can only guess those with innate supernatural power would be related to immortal beings and transcendent beings which I have learned are that way. I should know you had power with what control there was with the imp, and seemingly with all this carriage. From what I learned, the alteration I can send from the rod is all from the supernatural translational thermodynamic energy released from it when it is triggered, there are special ways for doing that which I learned, as others have. But we do not generally tell commoners these or further details, leaving it all a mystery. The alteration brings a change based on another body, anything at all that might be chosen, for something comparable in size, yet is all a physical reality, all made from that energy regardless of the original body, patterned after the other body chosen, for it to exactly replicate as far as can be seen, or felt, from what I have learned, and have experienced myself. With a creature's body it is all there, the creature and all contained in it, with any hair, fur, or quills it had, with the body of any clothed person all the body and all within it and the clothes and all parts worn, down to all things in pockets, are all replicated in the alteration to the body it is applied to, from nothing we can find other than that energy for the alteration, all from the glowing tip with that gemstone at the end of a rod such that I have, only released with the way I, and others who have learned, can do. It is unidirectional and it cannot be applied to another at the same time. The glowing gemstone in the orb is like it in appearance, but just with testing it is known to have energy for teleportation, also that supernatural kind. The bodies from the alteration are indistinguishable as far as we can tell from the original which is basis for it, living just as much, but with any mind of that which was altered still there. And yet the form from alteration is not quite as permanent, and somehow the reality of the original form before the alteration is remembered, though no evidence of it is there while the alteration is there. The reverse alteration to that originally animated corpse came with the body from alteration being killed just then, though there was no mind to be affected. It had no impact on my alteration from the body you are in, reverse alteration just rids the effect of alteration, and it is gone. When the alteration I have is gone from this body, it would be the body you had, again. But what way would I have for having my body then? Besides death, other things can interrupt it and reverse the alteration to the prior form, supernatural, or magic, things are all I know for doing that, and I do know how for that. I do not believe in this form of myself, from alteration, that is indistinguishable from my original body, which you are in, there is any way for me to have control with such an imp. I would have had it, then, when in your body before the alteration, but that is gone, and it could be back if ever there was a way for all of us to get back to our own bodies by whatever kind of force put us all this way."

Arapegol turned glancing where the other three that he had gone to had gone further along the marketplace. They were just standing and talking with each other sone distance further along the streetway. He said, not much attending to whether he spoke to that Klara in his original body, or to himself, "You know, there are two kinds of people, basically. I know others say how there are one kind and another, in different ways. But really, there are those who don't really care about most others, and there are those who do care and look to be helpful to others. I do not think I will fit in this city. I thought there was enough who didn't care about most others in the city I came from, after going there from my home village when really young. But I really sense it is worse here. We are here to deal with ourselves, there are those others that way who were affected and they have no clue what happened, and they are left to themselves to not be helped at all. And life goes on in the rest of this city."

[Enigma]

Placing her new hand on her new chest, the half-orc replied "Nasa."

On hearing the original body wanted their gear, Nasa looked her over and asked, "Osën hátwa odën hìsta èrsonpì sèuën? Ostmá illwè itfën otnën."

[Highland Sniper]

"Ggerdae, owben ndaen rrowsae, amd taffsi." She said, "Tsien aen leasurepi oten eatma uoyen." Then Jaydeen turns to Gasha, "Her name is Nasa." she says, "I think she's worried some of your old clothes won't fit."
Saying this, she finally took the time to really at Gasha and his own old clothes and then the clothes of the elf he was now wearing. "Suppose half of my carrying gear won't fit either." She said as if half to herself before giving a quick blush and shaking herself. "We should probably talk to the other two." She continued, "Though they don't appear to be part of this little triangle we have, they're in the same predicament. Uh, sort of, see as they appear two of the same now."

[GodlyD&D]

Arapegol returned from his little reverie and his concern for other people who were being disregarded, and turning again to this Klara in his original body, he said, "You see, the alteration I used put the duplicate of your body which I was in on the animated body. It then had the living duplicate of your body, with all it had, but still no mind. So then it was available for another living duplicate of your body from it, so I then used the alteration to put a duplicate of my body which you are in on me, with my mind in it. There is possibility that there would come a reverse alteration to this duplicate I have, and it would return to being your body, while my mind is still stuck in it. I would rather that did not happen. Your body is not really my body, this duplicate has me being comfortably me. Had you died as I worried you would, with my body, it would not be in any way available to me again, without doing that. There is a physical memory of your body and everything with it that I would return to, so it is not really gone from reality though it cannot be located in any natural sense, and perhaps it is spread at different points in different dimensions, it is just as the duplicate of your body on that animated one went back instantly to being the dead body when you killed the duplicate of your living body there. Reverse alteration will always work that way. I understand reverse alteration will occur with other supernatural or magic occurances still. In this world that is apparently too possible. I do not think with this duplicate of my body or my original which you are in there is now anyway to do anything effectively with that imp. It would take the restoral of your original body, with it coming either with reverse alteration to me from whatever affects that, or any way that we are restored the way that amulet you mention messed us up in each other's bodies, and doing that to others near this carriage too."

[Highland Sniper]

The little imp Continued to grin, and it's horrid grin only got wider with each passing word the declared it's practical freedom, and it tried to laugh to no avail, and hopping out of the carriage seemed not to work either.
It raged inside for all it was worth, but there was no release.
If the young mistress had no control over it, then how was it still bound? The only reason it only tried now is that the conversation was way too good to leave unheard as it should have confirmed the possibility of the mayhem it could have caused.
It started to bang its head against the wall of the carriage and silently cry as everything became all too clear. The binding held despite the lack of a physical Acantha body binding him.

[Alura]

"You cannot kill what is already dead," Klara replied to Arapegol in reference to the attempted creation of a Helmed Horror prior to the business that shuffled them all into different bodies. She would have said more, but the indication that he had no control over the summoned imp caused her to go pale. Was it clever enough to have remained still this entire time?

Its grin grew wider. It was still mute due to the command it had been sealed under and as it listened it bashed its head into the wall of the carriage. Just when it thought that the binding of the Acantha blood contract must still hold it fast somehow, against all odds; it tilted back its head to let out frustrated howl... and heard it echo inside the carriage. Dark eyes gleaming, its devilish grin grew to reveal small, sharp rows of teeth.

The fiend jumped from the carriage in glee, popping out of view before reappearing at the duplicate Arapegol's body and snagging the smooth teleportation orb from him. With a second pop it appeared at the edge of the trough before the inn in which one of Deveris's men had been dunked during the fighting. With a chittering laugh and a shake of the orb, it eyed the real Arapegol again. Though it did not look like its mistress, there was some trace of her that lingered despite the physical changes. Perhaps it was that the imp could see beyond and move through other planes of existence that it knew, but lacked the true sight that higher level fiends might have had to differentiate the two bodies from one another.

Whatever the reason, with waggling brows bent in concentration, the little terror managed to teleport the rod of alteration to it. With glee, it flung the orb into the air and Klara lunged for it in an effort to save it, fumbling it. It hit the cobblestone with a sickening crack, but did not shatter. Scrambling, Klara scooped it up, snagging his finger on one of the cracks and popping it into his mouth to stem the bleeding.

The imp chortled and waved the rod as if it were a child with a wooden sword. Seeing the discomfited human confined to the real Arapegol's body and the wrong-looking body that gave off lingering traces of what seemed to be its mistress only stoked its enjoyment. With another pair of pops it appeared standing astride one of the carriage horse's backs, tail curled smugly about its legs as it gave the rod a final flourish, made an obscene gesture at the mixed up group in the courtyard with an accompanying maniacal cackle, and winked out of existence once and for all.

Lips parted around his bloody finger and orb resting in the palm of the other hand, Klara did a slow turn to take in the people and scene around him. Turning back toward and closing the distance to the group, he extended the orb to the real Arapegol while murmuring, "Well... I suppose that could've been worse."

[GodlyD&D]

Arapegol in his own duplicate body started to say, "Of course you can't kill what is dead. Did you not understand? The duplicate of your body was still living, until you killed that body, and there was the reversal to that originally dead body." He never got all the way, as the imp exploded out of the carriage, disappeared for a moment, and reappeared snatching the orb right out of the bag Arapegol had it in. The imp disappeared from there with it, and then reappeared near this Klara in Arapegol's original body, and inexplicably and impossibly without using the orb right teleported the rod into the grip of one of its hands, throwing the orb up high with the other. Klara in Arapegol's original body lunged for it in an effort to save it, fumbling it, and it hit the cobblestone with a cracking noise, but it did not shatter. The imp disappeared again and reappeared mounted on one animal at the front of the carriage, still holding the rod, and then it disappeared as it laughed.

Arapegol in his duplicate body stared and just said, "My rod!" As the other handed him the orb, he took it and put it back in the bag where it had been.

A group of people were walking toward the two. He looked at them, wondering. They came across from the other side, and he realized they were the other group of people he had seen. Six people, three men and three women, held another man among them. One man spoke up as they came to these others. "Excuse me. We do not know what is happening here. But we had seen this robbery happening a little while ago, and since then we see there is a whole lot of things happening around this carriage. There is that hellfiend we saw, there was a great shaking that came from this carriage earlier, and each of us here found ourselves in other bodies. We do not know how, we were not all even standing near each other. We had to find each other with our original bodies. Do either of you know about this? How is this explained, and what can be done about it? This man here who we hold has my body, but he is no neighbor here and knows no real person he can name in the city. We are sure he is one of those we saw participating in the robbery."

Arapegol in his duplicate body said, "Ask this other one about these things. It involves some amulet, which something happened to." He looked at the one in his original body. He turned again, and said, "Excuse me. There is something I know I need to go do. I need to go." Arapegol in his duplicate body, with his bag in hand, walked past the others and went on, in the direction away from that in which the other three had gone off in.

[Highland Sniper]

Jaydeen looked over and rushed to reload her musket as soon as she realized that imp was on the loose and had it shouldered just before it disappeared for the last time.
She scanned the immediate area before lowering her musket.
“You think?” She said as she walked over before doing a facepalm, “Rggh, that little devil could be anywhere now. How much mischief could it cause?”

Klara shook his head and lifted his palm up uncertainly.

“That it remained as long as it did and left with so little trouble is in itself a mystery. Perhaps the bonds did not break as they should have and it is taking time for them to decay? If we cannot summon or dismiss it, it would take a sorcerer who can command a greater fiend or another more powerful Acantha with the same bloodline to instruct it. There may be other ways in the world at large, but none that I know. They are mischievous by nature, so it is possible this is not the last we’ll see of it.”

"Did you say Acantha?" Jaydeen as they looked up at them, "That explains it." She sighed, "alright, where is it most likely to go if it doesn't follow us?"

Narrowing his eyes thoughtfully, Klara shook his head. “Hard to say. It pains them to be too long in this world if they can avoid it. Like an itch beneath their corporeal skin I have heard it described. Blood contracts can bind them to that form unless they are dismissed and recalled. If it is true that being in this plane for long periods of time when it has a choice is uncomfortable, then it is likely to remain beyond our plane unless it disappears and reappears in bursts. It knows the Acantha Library well. For some reason it was also rather fond of cats, if that helps at all to know. It is weak to iron and can tolerate, but greatly dislikes, bright light.

“I imagine now that it has regained its freedom it will do all it can to avoid being summoned or captured by magical sorts like us, but it might be more susceptible to non-magical people with a way to lure it. It may be a little… perturbed, however, about certain disagreements we had while it was in service to me. If it believes someone else to be me, or that we are culpable somehow for it, it may remain watchful and visit us again.”

Klara did not seem happy with that prospect at all. It was, after all, one of the worst things that could happen with a summoning.

"Well, that sorta helps" Jaydeen said, “It may hold a grudge and come after you, or stay as far away from us as possible. But I’m blowing that thing to pieces if it pops up again.”
She looked at the others, before sighing, “Well, we’re going to need a plan. We found nothing about the amulet besides that it was close to being an artifact, since it was so old and powerful. So, unless either of you two know anything about it, then we may need to find someone who might.”
She looked back up at Klara “Would you like to join us?” She asked.

Klara gave Jaydeen a half-hearted nod. She was right at that. Best case, the imp either ignored them completely or did not feel drawn to the part of her that lived beneath her altered body. Worst case it did sense her and came for either the remade Arapegol or all of them. The imp itself wasn’t the worst creature to contend with, but if it had friends beyond this plane who knew what trouble it could conjure? Klara hoped Jaydeen was a fast enough markswoman if it came to it.

Bowing his head in greeting to Jaydeen and the two others with them who he had barely spoken to except to shout at poor Gasha, he replied, “Yes! I think in this case we’ll accomplish more together than separately. Besides, this way if any of us are recognised by someone the ‘real’ one of us can help them through it.

“Would you mind if I took some rubbings or sketches of the amulet also? I could send a copy home with a letter explaining what has happened to see if there might be anything to glean there while we search? Perhaps they could also offer advice on ways to retrieve the stolen rod.”

“Oh, sure.” She said and dug out a large piece of the amulet, “You could have this whole chunk. Might make it a little easier to identify.” She handed it over to Klara.
“Is there anyplace you feel would be best to head towards in the meantime?” she asked.

They would need a place to stay and plan out their next move, if only to wait for results. And they would probably need assistance from their respective counterparts in living in their new bodies. Jaydeen involuntarily blushed at the thought of how that would go.

[Alura]

Brushing his fingers over the symbols on the shared piece of amulet, Klara frowned. They were completely unfamiliar to him. Hurrying to the carriage, he fumbled for paper and wrote a hasty letter, laying a second piece over the amulet and gently rubbing along the symbols to copy them. With a few careful, hasty sketchings, he completed the process of recording the appearance of that portion of the amulet and returned it to Jaydeen.

"If we could tell anything about the symbols that might help us identify where to look first. Alas, they are completely unrecognisable to me. Unless... do you think they look a bit like runes? Or did they look familiar to any of the rest of you?" He asked, looking around the group as his mind buzzed. "Do any of you have enough knowledge of metalworking to tell where it might have been made, perhaps, if no one can read it?"

There were metal workers in the Great Desert and the castle boasted its own, but Klara had never had reason to explore that subject in any real detail beyond those tidbits. Hardly enough to share.