Outside: Grass touch place

[Arkhosia]

► SHOW SPOILER

[Fox Hunt - Remixed]

Right, our.

May certainly was unique even for a kitsune and Obriane hadn't been able but to wondered if Kitty also had a second person living inside of her somehow.

...

And then she recalled that it seemed to be a family trait and just wanted to forget even considering it.
Back to the question she was going to ask.
"Right, so is, uh, Scarlet also okay with this plan? Just making sure so everyone is onboard." Obriane was usually a pretty cautious person.

[Fox Hunt - Remixed]

”It’s fine, really -” May insists, rubbing her arms and taking a step forward. “I’ll just, um, slip into fox form and have you follow me, right?” Assuming Obriane doesn’t do anything major to stop her, May walks into the brush, closes her eyes and concentrates. For a moment, nothing quite happens. Her tails swish in irritation, her mouth screwing up into a wriggly line, and then… poof. May is gone, and in her place a three-tailed fox looks turns to look at Obriane expectantly.

[quillpleasant]

Run Rabbit Run

Harley can't help but be intrigued by the seemingly nonsensical words of the... whatever she is. It's a riddle of some kind, it must be. The phrasing is too deliberate to lack any meaning... but what? He can't help but feel like he's missing part of the puzzle.

"A... trinity, plus you? So there's three others out there?" Math was never Harley's strong suit- bunnies have no use for numbers or theory. "And you don't what to see them again, have I got that right?"

Usually home is a good thing, but maybe not in this circumstance? So many questions.

He turns to shrug helplessly at Raheeda. "I don't really know who she is! Ghost is certainly possible. I think she's really angry, and really sad, and it has something to do with her being royalty." He's pretty sure about those things, but not much else.

[Shadowcaller]

[Fox Hunt - Remixed]

"That's the, uh, idea." Obriane confirms with a nod. "I can't be too close though since, well, as I said. It's shy to people and one can only move so stealthily."

Then May walks into the brush. Did that mean she was gonna do it? Like, turn into a fox? She was focusing, that's how Kitty did it right? It had been a while but she was sure of it.
Yet after only a few moments hesitation grips her and she is about to open her mouth and ask if May was doing it when she's suddenly a fox. Just like that.

"Oh. Right." She lets out a nervous laugh. She would never quite get used to that. "You should, um, take the lead."

There is one thing May will instantly learn the moment she assumes her fox-form.
It is the scent of blood in the air. Faint enough to not be picked up by the human nose but obvious to a fox. Something came past here not too long ago and it was bleeding. Was it the wolverine? Was it something the wolverine was tracking? Perhaps it was a dead animal carried by the wolverine.

Only one way to find out.

[Morty]

[Damundra Canyon]

Thariza isn't spared from Emily's roar and she's currently trying to stay upright, her sense of balance thoroughly shot. She's not going to be of much help to Emily for a moment.

[TeChameleon]

[Floating Library]

The proclamation that this secret library had no books on 'the Nexus' earned the enchanted book a blank stare from Eddie.

"When I first arrived here," he said slowly, "I was told that this... spatio-temporal region, this world, this dimension, whatever you want to call it... was known as 'the Nexus'- as in 'dimensional Nexus'."

The little golem turned to look at the book (scroll?) rack as well, although he didn't really hope to see anything useful.

"Failing that, uhm, dimensional travel, I guess? Universe-hopping, worldlines, Yggdrasil and the Bifrost, reality-mapping... anything of that nature?" he asked hopefully. Granted, he wasn't sure he wanted to deal with the Bifrost again, it had been kind of annoying the first time. He idly wondered if Eir had any luck creating divine prozac. If ever there was a pantheon in need of antidepressants, it was the Norse.

[Shadowcaller]

[Floating Library]

"Oh I get you now, dear. An interesting topic though not terribly popular with the academics around here." The book runs the scythe against its cover as if stroking it. "I might have something for you though but it's not a book. It's more like a collection of translated notes that's been stitched together. Hardly the most ideal reading material if you ask me but it does fit your description."

A beat. "However-" The book gestures at the door behind the counter. "It's in there being copied right now so you'd have to wait a bit. Which reminds me, I haven't seen you around before, do you know the rules in here?"

[TeChameleon]

[Floating Library]

"I don't mind waiting." Eddie said. "I pretty much earmarked today for reading, so if I have to wait for one thing, I can read something else in the interim. And scholarly and dry is fine; if I can wade through poorly-translated German psychobabble that everything in me is screaming is someone trying desperately to sound smarter than they actually are, I can manage most things."

"As to rules... nope! Not even the slightest clue. Although some things can be inferred- the fact that the manticores in the main area aren't making nesting materials out of the books there indicates that they're trained, and thus someone will probably get upset if I go out monster-slaying. For a 'library', this place is decidedly hostile to anyone wanting to actually... y'know, read."

[Shadowcaller]

[Floating Library]

The book lets out a weird giggle at his last comment.

"You said it. I mean, just look at me." The book gestures to its "head" with one of its scythes. "Do I look designed with bookkeeping in mind? Helping readers like yourself falls secondary to dealing with potential thieves which begs the question why they're letting in anyone here at all."

The book lets out a small sigh. "Anyway, they've been even more paranoid lately since there was an actual thief here. So this is probably the worst time to be here unfortunately. However, if you're just willing to wait for a bit longer I can bring out the text you wanted. But, as I mentioned, the rules state you can't actually bring any original books outside the library. That's why this place exists. So you can bring out copies."

[Ironsmith]

[Run Rabbit Run]

"Haunting you? You're nobody. Worse, you're chaff." The unseen creature chuffs as something tickles Raheeda's nose tauntingly. "So says the queen. But we chafe for the chaff. Breaks our heart, stuffed in cracks. Won't let us cry, won't let us laugh."

Spatters of water appear on the ground at Harley's feet, as a low, echoing moan fills the clearing.

"Oh, stars above, I'm horrid." The hidden figure sobs. "Such a selfish little beast, this one. No wonder we are so hideous, what god would waste the good stuff on us?"

[TeChameleon]

[Floating Library]

"Wasn't actually planning on taking any books anywhere- like I said, I have today earmarked for reading, and had planned on doing it right here. Frankly, I wouldn't want to try taking a book out of here- too much risk of it getting damaged in transit." Eddie said. "And I make it a point not to comment on anyone's design." he added with the hint of a smile in his voice.

"You know, I probably should have done more research before I came here, but what's the deal with this place, anyways? I got some confused reports of a dragon or some such, but I wasn't really expecting a full-on monster-infested dungeon with bookshelves. Almost tempted to just go 'screw it' and strip down to go read so my clothes don't get wrecked, at least as long as the monsters' training to not damage books includes books on the tables slash in peoples' hands..."

[Arkhosia]

► SHOW SPOILER

[Fox Hunt - Remixed]

"That's the, uh, idea." Obriane confirms with a nod. "I can't be too close though since, well, as I said. It's shy to people and one can only move so stealthily."

Then May walks into the brush. Did that mean she was gonna do it? Like, turn into a fox? She was focusing, that's how Kitty did it right? It had been a while but she was sure of it.
Yet after only a few moments hesitation grips her and she is about to open her mouth and ask if May was doing it when she's suddenly a fox. Just like that.

"Oh. Right." She lets out a nervous laugh. She would never quite get used to that. "You should, um, take the lead."

There is one thing May will instantly learn the moment she assumes her fox-form.
It is the scent of blood in the air. Faint enough to not be picked up by the human nose but obvious to a fox. Something came past here not too long ago and it was bleeding. Was it the wolverine? Was it something the wolverine was tracking? Perhaps it was a dead animal carried by the wolverine.

Only one way to find out.

[Fox Hunt - Remixed]

The scent of blood hits May the moment her fox form coalesces. She recoils at first, her eyes briefly widening before she dispels a flash of memory with a shake of the head. Blood... a strong way to track. Some part of her knows that. And if she can just keep herself together well enough to follow it....

Obriane will see as the fox turns and moves into the underbrush, though its movements take a few steps to find the gracefulness she might expect of a fox - it's May's first time in this form with three tails, and the change in balance takes some getting used to.

[Shadowcaller]

[Run Rabbit Run]

Chaff? Raheeda wasn't sure how that strange word got in her ears there but it clearly meant something to the potential ghost.
Then she sneezes the tiniest of sneezes as her near lack of a nose is tickled. Kind of like how a tiny dog sneezes when it's excited. A dry sneeze.

Ouff!

She wipes her nose despite the lack of snot. "Yeah, I think it's trying to be mean to me." She tries to wave away the ghost with one hand and strokes her chin with the other. "Maybe if we make it less sad and angry somehow?"

A beat.

Then she looks up to address the empty spot where she figured the ghost might be at.
"Hey ghost. So I once saw these two guys ahead of me run into a bar. So I ducked."

[Floating Library]

"I don't mind comments about my design, darling. You're not screaming in terror so pretty much anything you say is basically a compliment." The book remarks with a clear hint of amusement in its voice.

"But yes, that dragon would be the 'master'. Hoards a lot of books. Claims she wants to share them with people but has really strange ideas about how to go about that."

The book gestures at the door beyond the counter again. "For instance, the room beyond that door? It makes mimics. Like me but usually a lot less charming and not nearly as shapely."

The books form is technically that. As much as an upright ant would have an hourglass shaped body at least. "It is a lot quicker than copying the books by hand or even using a printer but not all of them are as nice as me. We have to potty train them before we hand them out to anyone essentially."

[Fox Hunt - Remixed]

Well, Obriane at least find's May's fox form adorable. But she refrains from commenting on that in case she'll embarrass the girl.

So she follows quietly.

Falling behind to let there be some distance between her and May. Just enough to just barely be able to make out her triplets of tails in the distance.

As May creeps through the underbrush the scent of blood grows ever stronger suggesting that whatever is producing it must be close.

Soon she enters a section of the woods where the trees stand much closer together and the vegetation would almost reach her chest May had been in her humanoid form. It's at this point it becomes clear even to her city eyes that while this part of the forest is nearly untouched someone or something has come through here recently.

The bent grass suggests as much.
It also tells her that whatever that was is also larger than a wolverine, unless they're dealing with some fantasy dire wolverine of course.

But then she can hear something moving through the tall grass. Though the same grass also makes it impossible to tell what it is. It is just barely audible though, her human ears would probably not even have picked it up.

[TeChameleon]

[Floating Library]

"You're a mimic?" Eddie asked, clearly a bit surprised. "You're certainly a bit more erudite than any members of that... genus, I guess?.. that I've encountered before."

His features remained invisible under his hood, but there was a clear hint of a smirk in his voice. "Granted, the longest interaction I had with a mimic prior to this had it incoherent with frustration for the duration, so I guess I can't really generalize... I think it was disguised as the lintel of a doorway I passed through- took me nearly half an hour to realize it was there. Poor thing spent the entire time gnawing on the back of my head without me noticing, I think it cracked a few teeth and maybe even sprained its jaw. So it probably wouldn't have said much even if it was inclined to be chatty."

"Right, sorry... anyways, mimics as loaners? I suppose that's one way to do it, but like I said, I just want a quiet corner to read in... and something to read, of course. I don't suppose your boss would be inclined to arrange that, if they were present?"

[Meowmai]

► SHOW SPOILER

Overly Adventurous

"Got yerself a wolf cub, huh? Ain't sure how I'd feel about it if ya had named him after me. Be a bit weird fer a pet to have my name. I'm usually the one doin' the petting." He chuckles, reaching over to ruffle Kestrel's hair to demonstrate. "Well, if yer goin' to explore some ruins, I guess I'm tagging along. Somebody's gotta keep an eye on ya, eh?" He grins a wolfish grin, slowing his stride to let Kestrel to start leading the way.

Overly Adventurous

"H-Hey!" Kestrel protests just a little bit at the hair ruffling, but as Atreyu is probably used to seeing from her by now she also blushes just a little. "I'll be happy to have yah! It'll be a little bit of a walk. Got any snacks? Learnt my lesson from last time, hah," Kestrel chuckled a little bashfully. "Got some trail mix with me. Want some?" She'll fish about for a moment as she starts to take the lead, before retrieving a bag full of nuts and dried fruit and chocolate. Atreyu will probably notice the chocolate to dried fruit ratio is pretty weighted towards the former.

---

► SHOW SPOILER

[For Whom The Bell Gnolls]

Being fair here, high explosives can reasonably be considered technology as well.

The gnolls, however, are pretty adverse to it one way or the other. They have their teeth, their claws, and those gross bone javelins. Not much else. They can toss the javelins pretty far, which they're getting ready to do about the time Blank decides to fire a projectile at a low arc right into the middle of the monsters. The blast sends them tumbling through the air, largely disjointed by the explosion.

Our NEXT wave of gnolls begin tossing their bone weapons at our heroes while several more rush into melee only for them to get cut down by Octavia. Really, they aren't doing very well at all.

More concerning, perhaps, is the gnolls in the back that are going to try to eat their fallen pack-mates.

That's how you get big gnolls! But between the melee attackers and the missile throwers it might be difficult to disengage and stop the dreadful nomming.

Meanwhile!

Khannie, likewise, wrinkles her nose at the dreadful glow from the heart of the pit. "It kinda reminds me of how Elysium felt, if it were turned inside out and gross."

It's an apt observation.

The realm of liberty is akin to all the good things about wilderness. The wildness, the freedom, the awe, the beauty, the peace.

This awful place, though, is all the BAD things about the wilderness. Hungry, savage, and filled with nothing but blind, pitiless indifference to suffering.

Really not great.

Creeping deeper, our heroes will soon find themselves standing before the heart of the this defiled place. A huge riftstone with a fiery gash slashed through its center, sweltering heat and the scent of rotting meat wafting out of it. Every now and again something like a gnoll crawls through, a hairless slimy wretch that though pitiful in appearance is full of unthinking malice.

"Okay I'm gunna have to drop my illusion to work on breaking this thing," Khannie says to Ginger. "Once I've got it weakened you whack it with your holy magic and that oughtta do it. We're probably gunna have some of these creeps trying to stop us."

And sure enough, as soon as her baffle fades the wretch down in the mud gives a fiendish cackle as it tries dragging itself over to the unicorn to bite her.

[For Whom The Bell Gnolls]

...Well.

Can't have that, now.

Blank doesn't have long to think over the situation. If the gnolls are given unrestricted access to their fallen brethren's corpses, they could find themselves dealing with a major problem; there's probably enough there to bring up half a dozen of the big gnolls, maybe more, and just having one already proved to be a big problem.

So he absolutely can't let them eat those bodies.

It doesn't occur to him until after he unleashes a redundant bombardment on the already-dead gnolls that they actually might make for decent bait. The gnolls still need a second to eat the bodies, and while they're doing that, they're staying in one spot, that Blank already knows about and can already hit, and as such are essentially literal target practice.

His concern is more along the lines of reducing those bodies to useless consecrated ash, but if he scores a few more kills this way it'd make a nice bonus.

For Whom the Bell Gnolls

Octavia swings her spear in a wide arc to keep the gnolls at bay, deflecting a couple bone javelins as she does so. However, one of them gets through, bouncing off her leg and leaving a gash behind. Her body is going to need some serious repairs when this is through.

But it'll need more than repairs if she has to deal with multiple gnollks or even worse variants. She notes the gnolls in the back with trepidation as they descend on their fallen brethren. Not good. She'll need t stop them before-

Boom. Oh, looks like Blank is on it already! He's going to keep bombarding the dead gnolls to lure in more. That's a great plan! -nice going, my friend!- she calls out enthusiastically.

But it won't work if the gnolls are able to swarm him and tear him to bits. Blank will need protection in order to keep blowing up the dead ones. Time to switch tactics.

-Razor Field Shreds The Misguided!- she intones, and her spear dissolves into light, which pools on the ground by her feet and spreads out in a wide vicinity around her and Blank. Then, with a metallic hiss, the pool of light extends up into a field of six foot tall razor sharp spikes. Anyone approaching any faster than a very careful walk will find it very difficult to avoid being sliced to ribbons by the spikes before they get to Blank and Octavia.

The only downside is that this provides no defense against the javelins. Octavia stands in front of Blank, dodging from side to side as she prepares to guard him. As long as he's able to keep blowing up enemies in range, she'll gladly take a few hits in his place. It doesn't hurt, and even if her body is destroyed, as long as her halo lives on she can make a new one.

Hopefully their compatriots are having an easy time of it thanks to all this.

[For Whom The Bell Gnolls]

"I wouldn't know. Never left the mortal Universe plane myself. Well, I guess I have now. I think the Nexus counts as something different. But it's no Elysium." Ginger comments. Being chatty is a nice distraction from how bad this whole place feels.

The Champion stops as the sickly heart comes into view, staring at it in disgust. "Shit. No wonder things got as bad as they have up there." There's a pause. "Go ahead. Drop it. I'll have your back. The sooner we get this done the better." She wastes no time in stepping forwards to meet the awful newly-formed creature when Khannie drops the illusion, plunging her blade into the things head without hesitation.

[Shadowcaller]

[Floating Library]

"Oh I'm one of a kind, darling." The mimic claims with another odd giggle and gestures at the door again. "The ones in there are a lot more similar to the poor specimen you encountered by the sound of it. Bit off more than it could chew, huh? You do look pretty snackable so I suppose one can't blame its taste."

The cover that makes up the mimics face bend in a way a book shouldn't be able to, making it appear as if its grinning.

"I can arrange for a room to read in though. Since, I kid you not, there is actually a reading room in here. Several actually. So you probably shouldn't bother the dragon with that. Surprised that you even suggested it actually, but you do seem like the fearless sort."

[Arkhosia]

► SHOW SPOILER

[Fox Hunt - Remixed]

Well, Obriane at least find's May's fox form adorable. But she refrains from commenting on that in case she'll embarrass the girl.

So she follows quietly.

Falling behind to let there be some distance between her and May. Just enough to just barely be able to make out her triplets of tails in the distance.

As May creeps through the underbrush the scent of blood grows ever stronger suggesting that whatever is producing it must be close.

Soon she enters a section of the woods where the trees stand much closer together and the vegetation would almost reach her chest May had been in her humanoid form. It's at this point it becomes clear even to her city eyes that while this part of the forest is nearly untouched someone or something has come through here recently.

The bent grass suggests as much.
It also tells her that whatever that was is also larger than a wolverine, unless they're dealing with some fantasy dire wolverine of course.

But then she can hear something moving through the tall grass. Though the same grass also makes it impossible to tell what it is. It is just barely audible though, her human ears would probably not even have picked it up.

[Fox Hunt - Remixed]

It takes a moment for May to put the pieces together, but when she does it causes a note of concern. If this thing they were tracking was bigger than expected, then it might be even more dangerous than they expected - or, even worse, their quarry got the attention of something bigger. And when the motion of something in the distance reaches her, she freezes.

Hey. Let me take over for this. I can handle this way better than you.
The fox shakes her head. No. I- I need to do this.
Seriously. This could be life or death out here. Don't be an idiot. This is my body too, y'know.
Leave me alone, alright?!

Quietly, May tries (and fails) to push Scarlet out of her mind and moves deeper into the brush. Hopefully somewhere that she can get sight on the source of movement without losing distance or increasing her risk of danger.

[quillpleasant]

Run Rabbit Run

"Hey! She's not nobody, she's my friend," says Harley indignantly. He's happy to endure whatever insults are thrown his way, but Raheeda is another matter entirely.

But this volatile spectre doesn't seem like the kind of person that can really be reasoned with. The way she goes between threatening and weepy at the drop of a hat makes it quite difficult to figure out the way forward. Maybe-

Raheeda's joke, out of place as it is, makes Harley emit a snort of laughter, turning away as he chuckles under his breath. The joke isn't even funny! It's just the contrast between that and the spectre's histrionics that tickles him so.

Recovering, he turns back to face the sobbing figure. "Hey, I'm a god. Ex. And I don't know what the good stuff is, but I don't think you're horrid. If I knew what you wanted I'd give it to you."

[Shadowcaller]

[Fox Hunt - Remixed]

The sound of motion continues even as May and Scarlet have their internal conversation. It doesn't sound like it's getting any closer though.

As she moves towards it she can feel water underneath her paws and will realize that she has wandered into a fen. The water level is shallow, perhaps a few inches high yet in the mud underneath she can just barely make out two sets of footprints.

One must be from the wolverine.

The other set must be from a human or at least a humanoid considering that this was the nexus.

Then she can hear a growl nearby as the sounds of movements suddenly cease. The sound come from just ahead. A clearing. A small island in this lake of reeds.

[TeChameleon]

[Floating Library]

Eddie waved off the 'fearless' comment. "Eh, less fearless and more aware of my own capabilities. I've dealt with dragons in the past, both hostile and non. Although frankly the hostile ones were more fun, for the most part. Talking to most dragons gets tedious in a hurry."

A mean grin crept into the little golem's voice. "The dragon that was attacking a village near Barcilonum, that was memorable. I dented its skull with a tanker lorry while it was flying overhead, then it reflexively flamed the truck and made the thing explode right in its own face. It was like watching a titan swat a mosquito, absolutely amazing."

His body language shifted a little, curling in on himself slightly. "Of course, not all the dragon memories were quite as much fun. One just snapped me up like an hors d'oeuvre. That was disgusting, my partymates were babbling about some movie by a director called Ridley Scott after that. I ended up having to throw those clothes out."

A shudder as Eddie returned to the present.

"So yeh... anyways, dragons are alright, long as they don't try to swallow me. That doesn't end well for anyone. I wouldn't mind meeting your boss anyways, at least at some point, just to confirm that I'm here and not planning on doing anything but read... well, that and talk bibliophile to bibliophile. But for the nonce, would you mind pointing me towards a reading room and... well, any book you'd recommend, really. I'm sure you've got some good ideas." Eddie finished.

[Shadowcaller]

[Floating Library]

"Dragons? As in multiple?" The mimic tilts its head. "Darling, not only are you indestructible but you're also from another world. No wonder you're so interested in the mechanics of interdimensional travel. But then again, we never really get normal visitors here anyway."

It raises one of its scythes, kind of brushing past the whole 'i'm-from-another-world' thing for a moment. "I'm pretty sure I can pinpoint exactly why dragons don't seem to like you though, dear. Since you're not what one might call 'appropriately afraid' of them.

That's usually the sort of respect they demand based on what I've read at least and ours don't seem much different. Though I think that's how she likes to present herself at least. I've heard she acts rather different when... well, I shouldn't say too much." The mimic grins again.

[Ironsmith]

[Run Rabbit Run]

"...Run into a bar..." comes the incredulous echo. "So you... ducked."

There's a moment of silence, followed by a sharp chlk, the kind that happens when one sucks on their own teeth.

"...And you think I'm talking nonsense." The disembodied voice mumbles.

Oh, well. At least Raheeda's joke seems to have distracted her from her misery, if more from bewilderment than amusement.

And then Harley makes an offer.

"...Is that so?" The figure asks, a strange clarity to her voice. "Anything I want? Anything?"

[Shadowcaller]

[Run Rabbit Run]

One imagines that in that moment of silence a cricket felt it appropriate to chirp somewhere nearby.

"To avoid the bar. Since it was the other kind of bar. Not the tavern kind of bar." Raheeda explains helpfully.
Harley had at least laughed so she felt it hadn't landed too poorly. It did look like she needed a new idea though. Hmm...

"But uhh, speaking of bars. I know of a cool ghost-offering."

She reaches into her robes and pulls out...
A bottle.

Containing alcohol of some kind by the looks of it.
She shakes it lightly and then holds it out as if offering it to an empty space where she believes the ghost might be at. "This sometimes makes me feel better."

[TeChameleon]

[Floating Library]

"Yes, the whole respect thing gets complicated with dragons. They demand respect because they are stronger; when I point out that I'm stronger than they are (physically, at least), and therefore they should be respecting me, they get a little huffy and declare that's not it. That they should be respected because of the inherent nobility of dragonkind. Then they get very very angry when I tell them 'oh, so you're just racists, then'. And then I slap some sense back into them, and for some funny reason they don't like me anymore."

Eddie shrugged. "It's honestly a bit sad how predictable that is. I lost count after the fifteenth dragon or so, and then my party stopped letting me talk to dragons. Unless they wanted an excuse to steal the dragon's hoard, anyways. I stopped adventuring with that party after that. I don't like killing thinking creatures unless I have no other choice. Although if a dragon tries to eat me again, it's getting brained with a house-sized boulder until it stops."

"And yeh, I'm from another world. I honestly don't have much to draw me back, most of my old friends have passed, or just plain don't relate to me anymore, and my only family is seven centuries gone. I mostly just want to figure out how this world works a little better. Bit surprised that you're surprised, really- a lot of the folks I've met out and about have been from other worlds, or their parents were."

[quillpleasant]

Run Rabbit Run

Raheeda's oh so helpful explanation of the joke amuses Harley further. But he quickly turns serious at the figure's query.

He hadn't said anything. In fact, there's plenty of things he would not give or do under any circumstances. Like if she wanted human sacrifice, or a lover, or his fondest memory, or a pledge of loyalty, or any number of other things that supernatural entities are wont to do.

But Harley's guessing that it's going to be different than those things. And either way, he can at least say no after hearing it. This isn't a contract. Yet.

"Well... I won't hurt other people. But I'd do most anything you want- making people happy is kind of my whole thing. So I'll at least do my best to get you whatever you want," he says tactfully. That still leaves a backdoor while being as ingratiating as possible.

He's not sure the drink Raheeda's offering will do any good, but it's worth a shot, right?

[Ironsmith]

[Run Rabbit Run]

whk!

One moment, Raheeda is holding a stiff drink. The next, her hand is empty. She'll even be able to feel the transfer of momentum as the drink is apparently snatched up, but it will seem as though she must have blinked in the time the actual swiping takes place.

There's then the sloshing sound of liquid and air moving around inside a bottle, gradually lowering in pitch as the former becomes less abundant and the latter more. Then, an unsatisfied grunt, followed by the soft pft of the bottle landing in the dirt at Raheeda's feet.

"Thadinnitdo shit." The voice returns, along with a definite sense of weight on Raheeda's shoulders. "Jushalburry now. Dinnitase good, eidher. Ugh..."

The branches overhead shake, and all too suddenly there's something on Harley's back, as though someone decided he didn't have nearly enough bags of potatoes and decided to generously gift him two or three without any forewarning.

"Yusae yurragod..." The voice mutters, in an almost sleepy kind of way. "Chishwat ineed. Just..."

"...Shay yer prouda me." The voice mumbles. "...Sall iwant, reely. Dunt ashually need a godfur that. Juss... juss shay I'm not a shrewup."

[Shadowcaller]

[Floating Library]

"Yes, the whole respect thing gets complicated with dragons. They demand respect because they are stronger; when I point out that I'm stronger than they are (physically, at least), and therefore they should be respecting me, they get a little huffy and declare that's not it. That they should be respected because of the inherent nobility of dragonkind. Then they get very very angry when I tell them 'oh, so you're just racists, then'. And then I slap some sense back into them, and for some funny reason they don't like me anymore."

Eddie shrugged. "It's honestly a bit sad how predictable that is. I lost count after the fifteenth dragon or so, and then my party stopped letting me talk to dragons. Unless they wanted an excuse to steal the dragon's hoard, anyways. I stopped adventuring with that party after that. I don't like killing thinking creatures unless I have no other choice. Although if a dragon tries to eat me again, it's getting brained with a house-sized boulder until it stops."

"And yeh, I'm from another world. I honestly don't have much to draw me back, most of my old friends have passed, or just plain don't relate to me anymore, and my only family is seven centuries gone. I mostly just want to figure out how this world works a little better. Bit surprised that you're surprised, really- a lot of the folks I've met out and about have been from other worlds, or their parents were."

[Floating Library]

The eye of the mimic widens at that confession and it lets out a low whistle. "More than fifteen? Either you're pulling my page or you're not just indestructible, darling, you're a force of nature. Which is what I usually call a dragon." The mimic's grin widens.
"Though you're honestly making the worst case possible for meeting the 'master', honey. Around here she's, supposedly, the last of her kind so it sounds like I should be protecting her from you rather than the other way around."

" But what exactly surprises you about me? I haven't even been outside these walls so outside of books the nature of the world is a mystery to me."

[Run Rabbit Run]

Raheeda was just about to explain that she had bought it while wandering around in those city-places but before she can open her mouth the bottle is taken from her.

Well, that had gone over well, hadn't it?

Or at least she hoped it did when she felt a sudden weight on her shoulder.

Was the ghost... sitting on her? She suddenly recalled a story about a ghost riding a person. Or had that been a demon? Either way, was this what the story had been about? Creepy. But as she listens to its voice things were starting to become clearer.
"Uhh..." She exchanges looks with Harley. Her first instinct had been to try to wave the ghost away but maybe she should have some patience. "You're... nice and not a screw up."

She had to fight and destroy the last ghost she met after it attacked her party so in comparison this one was nice so far. Despite obviously not being that. "You're good at ghost-y things." A beat. "A-and just in general."

[TeChameleon]

[Floating Library]

"I'm... not sure what I did that's so impressive." Eddie said, sounding a bit baffled. "Most of what we did with the dragons was talking, although I smacked a few of them once or twice. And it sounds like dragons are a lot more common back home than they are here, although... I'm pretty sure I've met at least one other dragon in this world- big fella, blue, has a thing for pastries and some kind of... baking magic?"

"And you don't really have to protect your boss from me; I'm not just going to attack her randomly, and even if a fight does break out for whatever reason... like I said, I don't like killing sapients unless I have no other choice. And if it's just me involved, the only thing I can think of that would force my hand like that is her trying to eat me. I'm not hanging about in her digestive tract until I come out the other end." The little golem shuddered hard enough that his hood flopped a little.

"Also, I apologize for making assumptions about your life; I tend to wander a fair bit, and I don't always remember that's a habit that not everyone shares."

[Shadowcaller]

[Floating Library]

"That... doesn't sound like the kind of dragon that I know of, honey. Curious. Perhaps you've done more planar traveling that you've realized since it dawns on me that we might not be talking about the same kind of dragons here. Or perhaps I'm more ignorant about the outside world than I realized." The mimic rubs its scythes together and tilts its head as it gazes at him.

"But you also told me that your party had stopped letting you talk to dragons, yes? That seems like a red flag if I ever seen one." It raises one of its scythes. "So let me put up to a test, pretend I'm the dragon. How do you approach and greet me as I'm laying flopping upon my giant pile of books?"

[TeChameleon]

[Floating Library]

"Eh, more likely that he was some extraplanar being as well- nothing says that dragons have to match across all realities, after all. I doubt that there was some kind of imperceptible dimensional interface just floating there between here and the city, given that I got here on foot." Eddie said.

"And that party stopped letting me talk to dragons because I treated them the way they treated me, which was apparently terribly rude." he continued, with an odd flickering inside the hood that could probably be interpreted (correctly) as the little golem rolling his eyes.

"Er... I've never been good at the role-playing thing, but I'll try. Oh. Before we start, does the dragon have any official rank? A title she goes by?" Eddie hesitated. "For that matter, do you have a title I should be using? Or even a name?"

[Shadowcaller]

[Floating Library]

"While I can't verify any of them, I've read accounts of people finding themselves walking into what seems to be a different world without there being a clear transition between the two. So I wouldn't discount the possibility out of hand." The mimic points out.

"Frankly, to me it's more unclear how you walked to a flying island, honey." It grins once more. "But who am I to question the great annoyer of dragons?"
It sits down on the counter and crosses its legs and scythes together.
"Now, as how to address the dragon. Traditionally, there's a whole slew of rituals that are supposed to be performed before greeting one but here we tend to be a lot more casual here in the library so that isn't necessary. Just call her 'dragon' or 'great dragon' along with her name and you should be fine."

A beat.

"Her name is Megeshi by the way. Don't call her master, that's just for the birds and the librarians. Speaking of, librarian is what you could refer to me too I suppose. Or Ji-Su if you want but people don't tend to use my name much." Ji-Su makes a circular motion with one of its scythes. "But go on honey, greet me. The big book dragon."