The Nexus

[Stonemason's Guild] The dwarf blinks, looks at the tiny hammer again, swallows, then nods Ye ken we na usually be startin' without seen' tha payment... but... well... it be nae wise ta argue wi' yer own creator, so aye... that'll do fer now, no doubt. Consider our services retained! We'll be needi...

Oh, that's a tricky one. It must have been quite a long time ago, right? "Hmm, those bug people, right? Dal-something?" "Err, no. Musta 'n the god of death." Honeysuckle immediately second-guesses herself. Fenric chuckles Aha! Good try, but the answer is hidden from divination. ...

[Stonemason's Guild] The dwarf nods True enou'. Not too much point wi' detailed design afore we ken tha site proper. So, an expedition it be! We will take ye on retainer, pending negotiatin' tha final price. Wha' had ye in mind ta' be payin wi' ? ---- [Shipping and Receiving] Delphie waves I'll lea...

[Stonemason's Guild] The dwarf chuckles Well now. We been 'ere nigh on a ten-year, and all o' this built since then. Fer basic structure or excavatin', matters naught, a good team o' three can do a room the size o' this very one we be sittin in each day. Decoratin' takes longer, of course, as do ou...

[Stonemason's Guild] The dwarf shakes his head Nae, we be findin' a spot o' bare stone fer tha surface work, don't be worryin' 'bout tha'. We may nae be afeared o' the woodfolk, but we dinna be startin' a full-on war by clearin' space in a place like tha! Then he chuckles Only if ye dinna ken yer o...

[Stonemasons Guild] Accent, and that's the only place "South" with Vulpans and a Temple of Inari... moving on The dwarf shrugs They be needin' a remote place were tha light doesn't reach. Mountain-shadow and heavy old-growth o' more usual trees be doin' the trick. As to tha place? Well: i...

[Stonemason's Guild] The dwarf's face positively lights up Yer from Inside! Ah, now it be makin' sense! An ye came up here ta choose us over tem elf-heads as not be deservin tha name o' dwarf, hence tha Lord grantin' ye his favor. Surely now we will get ye tha best dragon palace yer heart could wis...

[Stonemason's Guild] The dwarf gives Steven a puzzled look, and Caroline quickly explains Not one of our dragons, good sir. The dwarf nods Aye, clearly so: I do be forgettin sometime how different this place be. So ye be looking fer excavation and buildin' a home fer ye two? Tha's a decent enough j...

"Not a satisfying answer, that first one." "Pretty sagelike though." Honeysuckle then stops being a fox, and starts being a human with a fox's ears and tails, so as to place some gold coins on the bartop and ask for another round of drinks. She is, as always, wearing a visor tha...

Trog's and the Black Dragon's Den and a Milk Bar all right by each other, huh? Well, that would make it easier for them to compete. Honeysuckle nods deeply. "Know exactly what ye' mean." Words coming out wrong, something watching you that can't be seen or felt. Better not to worry about i...

[Cafeteria] Delphie laughs In a way, yes. Though you wont find it much of a raid - the shadowfolk here often use the morning delivery to sate their hunger or practice their abilities: you'll have to get in line. --- [Stonemason's Guild] The dwarf takes the small hammer Na here be sommat I'd nae be ...

[Stonemason Guild] Caroline also shrugs - things here are always at least a little weird, it's best to just roll with it. A segment of the heavily-enchanted door to the right opens as Steven approaches to knock: the door apparently knowing their intent to be "customers". Once inside, the ...

[Foxes and Ghosts] Khannie is about to take a bite out of donut number two when suddenly Caroline pratfalls right into the grass! That is, of course, not a very effective way to win a donut eating race. The girl's competitive nature says just leave Caroline in the dust but she hasn't even finished ...

[Dwarven City] Caroline shakes her head Why Malukhar would think anything in particular of me , and "on several counts"?!? I know Frederick helped out at one point, but as a relative he is an exceedingly distant one to say the least. I truly don't understand... but at least it's not under...

Fenric chuckles The "Theatre of Masks" nearby the Black Dragon's Den tavern housed the guild, and the mafia headquarters was below Sneak's Milk Bar. Fenric shakes his head Figured out? But then they wouldn't be mysteries! Though I suppose familiarity does breed contempt, as they say, and w...

[Dwarven City] The temple is hardly remote: the moment they go through the doors they are out in the bustle and sound of an underground dwarven city that is very much alive and well. It's probably a little unsettling for the relatively short Vulpans to suddenly be more than a head taller than basic...

[Temple of Malukhar] The cleric looks to Steven and appears about to say something but abruptly pauses and seems to listen intently. Then he breaks into a huge grin. Of all tha strange tales I ever did be hearin', ye have tha strangest. But be knowin tha yer wife thar be high in m'Laird's favor on ...

[Winterhearth -> Temple of Malukhar] Applying a Lesser Miracle to provide the necessary input to the circle is all it takes, which Caroline does without further ado. And suddenly, it is rather wamer, considerably darker, and decidedly underground. A rather surprised looking dwarf in cleric's robes ...

[Winterhearth] Cricle's not big enough for dragons. In fact, the four of them with the cargo is going to need some careful packing as it is. Caroline nods and moves over to the circle inlaid in the floor. Yes, let's get started! We all need to be completely inside the circle - mind your tails, you ...

[Winterhearth] The road is well travelled and well patrolled, so there is nothing more of interest that happens on the way back to the city. The guards at the gate nod respectfully to clerics: even though they may not know the meanings of the color and trim Steven and Caroline are dressed in, they ...

[Winterhearth Road] As Keiko said, they're pretty close to a mile off: the city is clearly visible in the distance. The cold wind proving Steven's explanation quite correct. Caroline shifts back to her Vulpan form and holds Steven's robes and equipment out to him: shielding him from the view of the...

[Foxes and Ghosts] Divine magic sure is weird. Like... Someone else gives you a pile of spells to use or something? And once you are out that's it? Like a daily allowance. Except magic instead of money. Anyway! Who cares about that it's time to RACE! Khannie positions herself near an old fashioned ...

[All Over] Katia nods Yeah. Let's go do something fun and leave the fandoms to their... She flaps her hands at the groups pretending to have pokemon battles and destroying imaginary cities respectively stuff. Her friends nod their agreement. ---- [Foxes and Ghosts] Caroline shakes her head Oh no, n...

Fenric. No, that doesn't seem to ring a bell. "Honeysuckle. Nice t'meetcha. too." the vixen says, sweeping her tails to one side. "Were things much different back then?" Fenric smiles Smaller, for one: the place was just called "Town" and only really had one street. Th...

[Foxes and Ghosts] Caroline looks thoughtful, and then nods Fair enough, but easily fixed. The only use for the Miracle spell that isn't massively unpleasant is it's ability to mimic any other spell, and I can't imagine needing all of my high level allotment for today anyway, so... To be fair in th...

[Shadows] Caroline nods her agreement Yes, let's get going! We can formalize this all later, it doesn't matter right this moment. And so, off they go. True to Keiko's directions, a hill looms out of the darkness as they get closer, and the inky blackness of a jagged cavern can clearly be seen at th...

[Ghosts and Foxes]

Caroline pads over

I would like to try as well, if I may, Khannie?

[Shadows] Yeah... Keiko isn't known for her excess of empathy, even in ... goddess of vengeance form. Yeah, not her strong point. Though to be fair, she was considering this whole thing to be temporary - most of her "converts" who were on the more powerful end choose to go back to being a...

The waith nods Truly: young girls can never resist a pony. With luck, though should give us the time we need to try to actually talk to them. By my understanding, we need to find an older victim who is close to suffering the penalty of the vile contract. For that, our lesser shadows are already unob...

The fox, Honeysuckle, hops off of the manticore's back and onto a bar stool, betraying substantial clumsiness in the process. "Which whole time? you somebody famous ' oughta recognize?" Fenric chuckles I don't know that I count as famous, or that you ought to recognize me: I'm just old. I...