TSW 20: Mary and Arina in The Dreamland

[18:25]	IcePickLobotomy	Time: ??? Location: The Forest
[18:29]	IcePickLobotomy	Mary: The road turns to a trail, the trees growing denser. A thick fog has rolled in obscuring your view to a few dozen meters. Slowly you notice that the trail has started to become paved, the shrubs and bushes more common and seeming to be trimmed and ordered.
[18:36]	Mary	shivers, but heads on, clutching her newfound things as she goes for the instinct to help people, because, no one deserves to have something like that happening to them, and, ignoring them, while saying that they would be okay, as someone might by lying there and....
[18:43]	IcePickLobotomy	You exit the trees quite suddenly, finding yourself in a garden of some sort. The flowers are overgrown with weeds, and a few stone statues are covered in moss. Time and weather have worn down the details to nothing.
[18:46]	Mary	(generic humanoid ones ?)
[18:46]	IcePickLobotomy	(Yes)
[18:50]	Mary	(how long ago was the last scream?)
[18:50]	IcePickLobotomy	(A few hours ago. it came from this direction)
[18:57]	Mary	(do I really wonder then how loud they where considering that I heard them from miles away?)
[19:00]	Mary	(as I had assumed , human sized noises etc in/at the city
[19:01]	IcePickLobotomy	(Don;t think about it. AT Dick-fuckery)
[19:06]	Mary	She then will look around and after a momentary whisper of "sorry or entering " starts to enter the garden , looking warily around and also at th statues, it would just be her luck to run into victorian age medusa here...
[19:10]	Mary	(btw was in the stuff that she got from kasra and so vernbeck anything about human sized at powers, or misplacing your at field?)
[19:10]	IcePickLobotomy	(HUman's AT FIelds are too small to manifest any powers. And in theory you can't "misplace? your field. You'd get dead if that happened.)
[19:11]	IcePickLobotomy	Nothing, You come across a more statues, overgrown flower beds, even a pond choked with weeds and lilies. A shape looms out of the fog, a building of some sort, about 5 stories tall.
[19:13]	Mary	(yeah it was about finding a way to talk vernbeck into accepting her words)
[19:13]	IcePickLobotomy	(Let's deal with this and then do a talk with Vernbeck later)
[19:13]	Mary	(kk)
[19:14]	Mary	She walks onwards even if she looks around , is there any non plant presence aroun even if its just a insect as she walks throught the moonlit garden
[19:17]	IcePickLobotomy	The bulding comes into sharper focus as it comes into view. It's made of wood and is covered in patches of moss and veins. There's a large back patio with a pair of doors leading inside, and another patio built on the third story with a stairwell leading to it. The windows are dark and gloomy, giving no hint to what may dwell within in.
[19:20]	Mary	(anything in regards to the style of the building to say something about it ? )
[19:21]	IcePickLobotomy	(It looks vaguely Victorian)
[19:27]	Mary	(better then plantation style )
[19:29]	Mary	looks at it, and then if any of the doors are disturbed , either by vines, or the absense of these before if neither is present she heads for the lower doors resisting a urge to knock as she tries to softly open them, cursing herself for not having listen better in victorian horor tales
[19:29]	IcePickLobotomy	(Which door does she open first? ground floor or the deck door on the 3rd floor?
[19:40]	IcePickLobotomy	The door opens with only a soft squel of rusty hinges. The interior is some sort of ball room, thick with dust. Thing strands of light linger in from the grimy windows. The walls are adorned with rotted and faded paintings, a decrepit piano stands in the corner. The floor is covered in a thick layer of dust that appears to be undisturbed save for your passage. There is a banister stairwell...
[19:40]	IcePickLobotomy	...leading to the 2nd story that snakes along both sides of the room, with a archway directly opposite of you that leads into a long hallway. The building smells of mildew and decay, it creaks slightly in the wind
[19:53]	Mary	walks over to it, for the moment feeling save even if she fears that she missed the screams, even if  there is a feel that she did not ran past them to look at what it is that someone was playing here.
[19:59]	IcePickLobotomy	The music sheet is in decent condition, which is to say that the pages are heavily yellowed but some of the notes are readable

[18:35]	IcePickLobotomy	Time: ??? Location: The Forest
[18:35]	IcePickLobotomy	The road has become better kept again, interlocked cobblestones, slick with water and patches of moss snake through the forest. A thick fog has rolled in obscuring your view to a few dozen meters. It seems that the brush and shrubbery are being maintained here as well
[18:37]	Arina	moves down it quickly but carefully, following where the singing/screaming voice seems to have come from.
[18:45]	IcePickLobotomy	A gate suddenly appears through the fog, though it's open. It's a old dull black with patches of rust clinging to it's frame as vines and moss have crawled up it's surface.
[18:46]	Arina	slows down a bit, carefully approaching the gate.
[18:47]	IcePickLobotomy	A gently breeze drifts past you, tugging your hair in the direction of the gate and bringing with it the damp chill of the woods.. . .
[18:47]	IcePickLobotomy	And as you pass the gate, it does nothing.
[18:47]	Arina	looks in.
[18:48]	IcePickLobotomy	You can see something, a building of some sort, laying at the end of the road.
[18:50]	Arina	quietly nods to herself, and moves towards the building. Most 0x1dlikely0x1d coming from there.
[18:52]	IcePickLobotomy	As you draw closer you can make out the details. It's a manor made of wood, the dark green paint faded and pealing on the exterior. A large front porch with a bench lays next next to the double doors each with a heavy knocker on it. The breeze has stilled and the grounds are silent. On the 5th floor is a window with a golden light leaking out from it, otherwise it appears uninhabited.
[18:54]	Arina	"Well... someone's home..." She moves up to check the door.
[18:55]	IcePickLobotomy	Thick wood, with vine-motif carvings running along them. The knockers are made of bronze, though long tarnished by the elements. They are in the shape of wolves heads.
[18:59]	Arina	checks if the door is openable.
[19:34]	IcePickLobotomy	The door is unlocked. It opens silently, revealing a expansive dark room. A fadded carpet lays on the floor, paintings long rotted into brown and grey messes line the hallways. Enough light shines through the grimy windows to give you a idea of the layout, but your lantern really lets you see. A large banister stair-case that curves down either side of the room stands on the other end of the...
[19:34]	IcePickLobotomy	...room, with a archway leading deeper into the building. On your left is the remnants of a sitting room or lounge, with hallways branching off to your left and right. It smells of mildew and decay, and creaks gently in the wind.
[19:36]	Arina	casts the lantern light about to get as good a view as she can as she moves towards the staircase. The most 0x1dlikely0x1d thing to look for is that room on the fifth floor.
[19:44]	IcePickLobotomy	And. . . from the other end of the building, part the archway and through the hallway, you hear the echoing squeal of rusty hinges.
[19:50]	Arina	frowns, shutting the lantern's flap and quietly working her way towards the sound of people.
[19:53]	IcePickLobotomy	The hallway is dark, but thankfully free of debris. You come to the doorway leading into the next room.
[19:54]	Arina	looks in carefully to see who's there.
[19:56]	IcePickLobotomy	The door catches on something, opening just a crack, but you can't see whoever, or whatever is there. The small crack reveals only a sliver of the dust covered ball room.
[19:58]	Arina	waits.
[19:59]	IcePickLobotomy	You hear footsteps moving across the room

[20:02]	IcePickLobotomy	Mary: You hear the door open and. . .
[20:02]	IcePickLobotomy	"Hello?" Says Arina, as a warm yellow light spills into the room
[20:02]	Arina	blinks. "... Mary?"
[20:05]	Mary	blinks and turns a knife like implement and a book in her hands, while some vegetation is hanging of her clothes and shoes
[20:08]	Arina	cocks her head. "Well, at least someone's here..."
[20:08]	Mary	"Arina? What are you doing here."
[20:13]	Arina	"Following the voice... you too?"
[20:14]	Mary	"I heard the screams and came to this place to offer help .."
[20:14]	Mary	gets closer to take a look at her.
[20:17]	Arina	nods. "Right... well, it's probably on the fifth floor."
[20:20]	Mary	"How long did you travel  to get here?"
[20:20]	Mary	puts one of her hands into her pockets
[20:21]	Arina	"Mm... a fair while, it's honestly hard to keep track of time out here."
[20:21]	Arina	heads back through the house towards the stairs.
[20:25]	Mary	"Here is a way up also , or did you find another one?"
[20:25]	Mary	looks at her, including if she leaves footprints in the dust
[20:25]	IcePickLobotomy	Mary: She does
[20:26]	Arina	looks around this room a bit more. "Mm? How many staircases are there...?"
[20:29]	Mary	"I meant the banister one in this room"
[20:30]	Mary	takes a second to look at the sheet, considering the unlikely circumstances here
[20:30]	IcePickLobotomy	Mary: closer inspection yields a melody you are not familiar with.
[20:31]	Mary	"Hey Arina, do you know that one?"
[20:37]	Arina	blinks, looking at the sheet. "Let me see..."
[20:38]	Arina	taps her cheek. "... It's 0x1dfamiliar0x1d, but I can't place where from..."
[20:39]	Mary	"Considering all the symbolism here ..."
[20:40]	Arina	"Isn't it against dream etiquette to admit it?"
[20:41]	IcePickLobotomy	You hear something above you, on the third floor, moving around. A rapid fire staccato beat of foot-falls on hard wood.
[20:42]	IcePickLobotomy	The sounds are too fast and too close together for a human.
[20:42]	Arina	jolts, looking up.
[20:43]	IcePickLobotomy	The sound stops a few moments later.
[20:43]	Mary	twitches and holds to her weapon, " Up?" she asks ready to stop someone with letter opener
[20:47]	Arina	"... yes, though let's try to pass that floor 0x1dquickly0x1d..."
[20:47]	Arina	moves up the stairs, lantern held high.
[20:47]	Mary	(lantern?)
[20:47]	Arina	is holding a lantern.
[20:48]	IcePickLobotomy	(Arina has a weather beaten green Coleman lantern.)
[20:48]	Mary	was lacking a light source " I stand in front as I got the letter opener
[20:48]	IcePickLobotomy	( http://www.millioncandlepower.info/images/lantpost50/228H.JPG )
[20:48]	Arina	"Sure, that works."
[20:49]	Mary	"Meet anything else dangerous in here?" She whispers as she goes past her
[20:51]	IcePickLobotomy	The stairwell creaks ominously, but holds steady. The 2nd floor overlooks the foyer and ballroom. Rooms line the sides. Rotted and decayed furnature litters them, beds broken in half, chairs without legs leaned against the walls. You find a stairwell leading to the 3rd floor easily enough.
[20:52]	Mary	(any disruption of the dust?)
[20:52]	Arina	shakes her head, and quiets down as they're about to pass the third floor, with a quick look around the second.
[20:54]	Mary	is heading onwards to the third floor , taking a moment to make sure that the view out of the window and towards the other door makes sense considdering what else she saw here.
[20:54]	IcePickLobotomy	The third floor is dark hallways. The lack of windows in this area leaves the area shrouded in darkness. You can hear something moving in the dark, a clicking clattering sound, like a dog running on a hardwood floor. It moves around, sometimes coming from the left, other times the right.
[20:56]	Arina	's breathing is a little shallow as she casts the light around, looking quickly for the stairs.
[20:57]	Mary	 eyes dart around as she is clearly nervous and clutches the letter opener with both hands.
[20:58]	IcePickLobotomy	You wander through the hallways, looking for the stairwell. You stop at a T intersection, you hear it approaching from the left side.
[21:00]	Mary	moves to that side, shivering " Other way?" She asks clearly scared.
[21:01]	Arina	nods, moving in said other direction nervously. "Yes..."
[21:01]	Mary	then walks hasty, nearly showing her
[21:02]	Arina	shines the lantern ahead and moves, looking around for the stairs. "Come on..."
[21:02]	IcePickLobotomy	It emerges into the light. The skin is a leathery yellow-brown, with almost a dozen thin needle like legs that skitter along the floor. It's body is a teardrop shape with a long headless neck that sways gently as it moves. The front few tips are coated in blood, leaving tiny pin pricks as it moves across the intersection, paying you no mind, or else not noticing.
[21:03]	Arina	puts a finger to her lips and slinks away from 0x1dwhatever the hell that is0x1d.
[21:04]	Mary	puts a hand in front of her mouth to muffle any noises as her eyes widen and she moves hoping not to attracts it attention.
[21:17]	IcePickLobotomy	It moves on into the dark, the sounds growing more distant and softer, but never fully leaving.
[21:17]	Mary	shivers
[21:17]	Arina	moves away through the hall, looking for the 0x1dbloody stairs0x1d.
[21:20]	IcePickLobotomy	You find the stairwell, and tracks of blood on it. Small dots of varying sizes, most dried and staining the carpet brown, but a few are still wet.
[21:21]	Mary	shivers and starts to move faster
[21:21]	Arina	swallows, and moves up the stairs quickly.
[21:24]	IcePickLobotomy	They lead to a small antechamber, a large set of doors leading forward, with large windows behind you. Outside is . . . not the woods. A vast endless expanse of broken red rock, chunks of ground floating in the air as if they were bits of flotsam. Red dust is carried with the wind, as streaming ribbons of harsh gold light shifts and flows like water. And the sky. . . .
[21:24]	IcePickLobotomy	The sky is empty. A yawning black abyss.
[21:24]	IcePickLobotomy	A strange vista.
[21:24]	IcePickLobotomy	A starless sky.
[21:27]	Arina	"... Um."
[21:30]	Mary	wimpers as she sees the sky and drops the letteropener "not again...."she whimpers
[21:32]	Arina	"Let's... take the stairs. What's down there isn't any more inviting."
[21:32]	IcePickLobotomy	(You're passed the stairs, it's either back down or through the doorway)
[21:33]	Mary	is hyperventilating for a moment.
[21:33]	Arina	lays a hand on Mary's back. "Hey..."
[21:35]	Mary	shivers and then turns around and just stares in the lantern holding Arinas arm still.
[21:39]	Arina	"What's wrong? This is definitely... unsettling, but..."
[21:42]	Mary	"The... the lights are still there right.. it.. ain't eaten everything?"
[21:44]	Arina	"Well... there's plenty of light, but... not so much on the stars."
[21:45]	Mary	shivers "It .. , there is still light, that.. that is good, get... let us get away from em."
[21:49]	Arina	"Down, or forward?" She indicates the stairs and the door. "Neither is all that inviting right now."
[21:50]	Mary	"Up I..away.. I.." She fiddles for the knife , not leaving the latern out of her eyes as she turns away from the windows
[21:50]	Arina	rests a hand on her shoulder. "Okay. Forward then. Take a few deep breaths."
[21:51]	Mary	shivers and then her hand rests on the fibble excuse for a weapon "We.. I.. we have to save someone I .. I.."
[21:51]	Mary	tries to distract herself
[21:56]	Arina	nods. "... seems like the screaming was... an encounter with that... thing... downstairs." She moves ahead to the door.
[21:59]	Mary	"But the blood.."
[21:59]	Mary	shivers and then turns to the door
[22:02]	IcePickLobotomy	The door opens without a sound. The next room is a single long hall, or perhaps a church. A central pathway lined with pews, the trail of blood now a thick line. Unlike the rest of this place things are in pristine condition here, the sharp gleam of varinshed wood on the benches, a lush carpet save for the track of blood. Paintings hang from the walls showing strange places. A city spun from...
[22:02]	IcePickLobotomy	...glass whose filament like towers reach to the stars, a cliff-side set against a gas giant, Seattle laying half submerged in waters, a large city contained in a archeology at sea. The far side is dominated by another set of windows who show the same view as the last set. There is a altar of brass and gold laying on dais. It's stained heavily with blood, both fresh and dried, and laying...
[22:02]	IcePickLobotomy	...upon it is a woman.
[22:03]	IcePickLobotomy	She's curled in on herself, and despite laying in a pool of blood she appears unharmed. No marks on her bare body. Her skin is pale, a chalky unhealthy shade of white. But the most striking thing is the shoulder length cut of pale-blue hair.
[22:03]	Arina	's eyes widen and she moves up towards the altar.
[22:05]	Mary	run up to her and whispers something as she reaches , and then stops in front of the altar.
[22:06]	IcePickLobotomy	She's still breathing
[22:07]	IcePickLobotomy	But gives no sign of having noticed you. Her breathes are shallow, pained.
[22:07]	Arina	"... Miss...?"
[22:08]	IcePickLobotomy	She mumbles something, her voice soft and ragged, in a language you don't understand.
[22:09]	Mary	walks up to her "We have to get her out here.. , " She leans down mumbling something as she tries to get her into a pieta carry trying to evade touching the blood, unless arina will stop her with a word
[22:10]	Arina	"That... mm... can we get her past that thing downstairs...?"
[22:10]	Mary	"I don't know yet, but we have to get her away "
[22:11]	IcePickLobotomy	Her eyes snap open. "Mary?!" She blinks and looks at Arina, then too the lantern. She smiles "I. .  I won't ask what you are doing here." She grabs onto Mary's shoulder and shakily hoists herself to her feet, her limbs trembling "The coin, do you still have it?"
[22:12]	Mary	nods and after a second she grabs something from her pocket and holds it in her hand, seemingly a polished silver coin. " Yes I have it here, and I am getting you out."
[22:12]	Arina	"Er... who... you know each other...?"
[22:13]	IcePickLobotomy	It flows like quicksilver, melting and flowing into her. A hint of her color returns and you can feel the trembling of her limbs lessen. "We do, I'll e-" She's cut off by a noise.
[22:13]	Arina	whirls around to face said noise.
[22:14]	IcePickLobotomy	It's distant, but even then it still deafens you, the whole building shakes as something like a thousand trumpets blare at once. The golden streams of light flash, bright enough to leave you blinded for a moment with spots in your vision.
[22:14]	Arina	"Wha...?"
[22:15]	Mary	looks as if she was about to say something and then stands taller, afraid and yet determined.
[22:17]	IcePickLobotomy	". . . . We need to leave." the woman says. The stream of light flashes again, and in the distance you can see a spot of harsh golden light approaching.
[22:17]	Arina	"I am 0x1dseriously0x1d going to ask for that explanation later, then let's go." She double-times towards the door again.
[22:18]	Mary	"A day and a night" she whispers " We, we need to run and get down. "
[22:19]	Arina	"Then 0x1ddo0x1d it!"
[22:20]	IcePickLobotomy	The woman stumbles along, still leaning heavily on you. A new sound, almost like a choir but. . . inhuman, something subtly off about it. Fear settles deep in your gut. As you turn down the stair well Arina you come face to face with the creature from before, the front four legs raised forward in a threatening pose.
[22:22]	Arina	holds up her lantern in the hope that the bright light will make it flinch a little. "Run!"
[22:24]	IcePickLobotomy	For whatever reason it's undeterred (perhaps it's the lack of eyes). It lunges at you, the tip tearing through the side of your shirt and leaving a thing cut.
[22:26]	IcePickLobotomy	*thin
[22:27]	Arina	shoves Mary and the lady to get them 0x1dfucking running0x1d and moves after them, swinging the lantern at the thing. "Go!"
[22:36]	Mary	lets lilyl stumble foreward as she pulls arina back "HEY DOGFACE !  PUPPY OF TINDALOS ! She calls at it " BRIng her out ! " She calls before she pushes foreward, knowing the imprtance of it, and well it is just pain, she is getting used to it as she /reaches/ out to the creature guiding the knife foreward, mans tool, a symbol of tools, of the fruit of
[22:36]	Arina	'of the fruit of ' - Cut off.
[22:37]	Mary	wisdom. She is afrait yes, but sometimes you have to know who is more important. as she snarls and gives her fear and hatred voice trying to bodycheck the creature as she stabs at it guided by , not knowing where to hit it, but /knowing/ where it is
[22:39]	Arina	'where it is' - Still cut off?
[22:40]	Mary	(nah the end, I just missed setting down the ".")
[22:40]	Arina	bites off a short frustrated 'tsk' and moves up after Mary, smashing her lantern into what passes it for a head.
[22:43]	IcePickLobotomy	Mary: You feel a sharp pain in your thigh, a line of fire as you drag the knife across the tear-drop shaped body. The flesh parts easily, spilling it's innards in a steaming pile before your leg gives out and you collapse to the floor, dragging the woman with you. It's torn a long clean cut across your leg, though it seems to have avoided anything immediately fatal. Arina, the lantern...
[22:43]	IcePickLobotomy	...smashes into the short stump of a neck that terminates in a round mouth just as Mary disembowels it. It goes down and stays down.
[22:45]	Arina	pants for breath, dragging Mary and the woman up. "Come on, you have one leg, lean on me for the rest now let's 0x1dgo0x1d. That is 0x1dnot0x1d what letter openers are for!" Or lanterns.
[22:47]	Mary	screams, and wimpers " Get,, get her down the floor first. she .. she is more important"
[22:48]	IcePickLobotomy	The three of you quickly manage a mutual support for eachother and start to make your way down the rest of the stairwell. When the sound stops suddenly. You hear a single deafening footstep above you, and a few rays of harsh golden light lance out above you. The walls and floors shrivel where it touches them as all color bleaches from them in moments.
[22:49]	Arina	"Go 0x1dfaster0x1d!"
[22:51]	IcePickLobotomy	In the time it takes for the three of you to stumble down the hall way it takes another foot step, still in the floor above you. The light has reached the body of the thing, which blisters and burns where it touches, the flesh dissolving in sow motion. The you turn and stumble your way down the next stair well.
[22:51]	Mary	does her best there , as she is forced to so fearing for more then just her life here.
[22:52]	Arina	keeps going, since she's the only one in actual good condition right now, and mostly drags the others along.
[22:53]	Mary	makes herself a bit lighter " If I stumble, run"
[22:55]	Arina	"Save your breath and your attention on getting out intact! Instead of making dramatic decisions about what to do if you don't!"
[22:56]	IcePickLobotomy	You reach the ground floor. The light is almost blinding as it streams in from behind you. Somehow you manage to stumble outside. It hurts, the light seems to scour at you, tearing away at you inch by inch by inch. Just like during the fight. Somehow you make it to the gate and. . . .
[22:56]	IcePickLobotomy	Mary: Arina: You open your eyes.
[22:57]	IcePickLobotomy	You're laying on the road, Lily between the two of you. Where the Manor stood is a crater. The back of your necks and arms are blistered and burned. The woman appears completely uninjured yet she's shaking and heaving for breath.
[22:57]	Arina	"... what...?"
[22:57]	Arina	shakes herself slightly, trying to lever herself upward.
[22:59]	Mary	tries to stand , and then after a second decides, yess lying is good, lying is very good , and so only tries to hold lillys hand
[22:59]	IcePickLobotomy	She squezes your hand. It feels feeble and insubstantial
[23:00]	Mary	"Hey, stay, stay with me, we , we got away ..."
[23:00]	IcePickLobotomy	"Where. . ." She gasps for air "Where's Kasra? He was there too."
[23:00]	Arina	gets to a sitting position. "Kasra...? What...?"
[23:02]	IcePickLobotomy	"I," She slowly sits up "He was there too, when you two came to get me." She frowns "He had. . . ." She blinks, hand shaking as she starts to cry.
[23:04]	Arina	"I'm... sorry? I have... no idea what happened, but Kasra... wasn't there..."
[23:04]	Mary	"He, got injured in the last fight . I had hoped you could help him."
[23:04]	Mary	hugs her
[23:05]	IcePickLobotomy	"I. . ." She shakes her head "No, no. He was /there/ not here." She leans into the hug clinging to you.
[23:05]	Arina	just looks at them, somewhat confused.
[23:06]	IcePickLobotomy	"Ok. . . ok. . ." She takes several long breaths before breaking the hug off "Thank you, both of you for that." She looks Arina in the eyes
[23:09]	Mary	pats her a bit unsure and just being there.
[23:12]	IcePickLobotomy	Arina: Blood red eyes meet your own, just like Robin's, save for one critical important fact.
[23:12]	IcePickLobotomy	She's not human.
[23:13]	IcePickLobotomy	There's a depth in those eyes, something that draws you in, you can almost feel yourself losing yourself.
[23:13]	IcePickLobotomy	And in the back of your throat. . . You're thirsty.
[23:15]	Arina	pauses. "I..."
[23:15]	Mary	pats her simply.
[23:17]	Arina	wavers as she looks into the woman's eyes. "... that..."
[23:18]	Mary	clenches her teeth as she moves her leg.
[23:20]	IcePickLobotomy	"I'll deal with that later, I think the two of you have some questions?" She glances back at the crater "And it's gone. For now."
[23:21]	Mary	"Let us hope it does not happen a third time."
[23:21]	Arina	shakes herself. "... I have 0x1devery0x1d question."
[23:22]	Arina	"Who 0x1dare0x1d you?! What was 0x1dthat0x1d?! What was the 0x1dother0x1d that?!"
[23:23]	IcePickLobotomy	"Call me Lily. The thing you killed was a servitor. Nothing more than a biological robot. The light. . . I don't know exactly what it is, which is /deeply/ worrisome."
[23:24]	IcePickLobotomy	"I do know that it's not a Angel, it's not one of the First, nor a-" She cuts herself off with a grimace.
[23:25]	Arina	"Okay now what did any of 0x1dthat0x1d mean?"
[23:25]	IcePickLobotomy	"I apologize, I will be as honest with you as I can, but there are things I *cannot* tell you. I do not mean I do not trust you, or think you shouldn't know, but rather I am physically unable to tell you."
[23:25]	IcePickLobotomy	"I. . . forgot myself due to my trial."
[23:27]	Arina	blinks. "Er... okay...?"
[23:28]	IcePickLobotomy	"What I call Angels are what you would call Intruders. The First are. . . the ones who came first. The first living things. I cannot speak of the third catagory."
[23:30]	Arina	cocks her head. "The... First? I get the impression this doesn't mean microbes and bacteria."
[23:31]	IcePickLobotomy	"Well they were until they evolved into more complex life. But I would not worry yourself about them, should they turn their eye here we will be at their mercy with no recourse."
[23:33]	Arina	"... Right. So... beyond a name, who 0x1dare0x1d you, Lily? Or what? How does Mary know you?"
[23:35]	IcePickLobotomy	"I met Mary a. . . short time ago. She got caught up in something that the . . " she glances back at the crater "We need a name for that thing, that it did. I helped her. As for who I am that is. . . I am a fragment of something like a Intruder."
[23:39]	Arina	's jaw clenches. "... Are you."
[23:39]	IcePickLobotomy	"I am not a Intruder Arina. I'm not even from this world."
[23:40]	Arina	"Really."
[23:43]	IcePickLobotomy	"Really. And I will tell you the tale of who I am and where I am from but not yet. I'm not. . . ready to relive those memories quite yet, and I only wish to say it once. And Kasra deserves the truth more than either of you."
[23:44]	Arina	shakes her head. "Even when I dream of getting clear answers I still don't."
[23:45]	IcePickLobotomy	"You have my word that I will share the truth with you, just not at this moment. These actions are not without a cost and I am in need of rest after what happened to me. What questions I cannot answer now I will answer as full as I am able once we get Kasra back. Or do you not trust me?"
[23:50]	Arina	snorts. "Of course I don't."
[23:50]	Arina	"I don't know you, why would I trust you? What possible basis could there be?"
[23:50]	Arina	"I know exactly two things about you: What you'd like to be called, and the fact that you claim to be a fragment of something 'like' the monsters busily genociding humanity."
[23:52]	Arina	"You're at least promising 0x1dfuture0x1d answers, which puts you in the top three, but that's more a marker of how sparse the competition is than a basis of trust. Also, dream."
[23:52]	Mary	"and she saved my life in the past in here"
[23:52]	IcePickLobotomy	"A common foe and a common interest. I have no desire to see your species snuffed out, I'm rather fond of you all really."
[23:54]	Arina	"That's appreciated, I suppose."
[23:56]	IcePickLobotomy	"The Intruders have been taken over by something, the same thing we just ran into I'm sure you've gathered. But do you know why they woke up in the first place? They are guardians and their prisoner has started to slip free."
[23:58]	Arina	"I legitimately have no idea what you're talking about."
[23:59]	Arina	"You're saying the Intruders were... on Earth the whole time, guarding something, and then got taken over by whatever that was?"
[23:59]	IcePickLobotomy	She nods.
[00:01]	Arina	"... Right. And what kind of prisoner needs or benefits from guards taller than skyscrapers? You're an alien, did you chain some kind of dark alien god in the core of Earth or some such nonsense?"
[00:03]	IcePickLobotomy	"Me? No it was not me, I came later. But that is, as far as I can tell, close to what happened. And I would suggest that if you need guards the size and power of an Angel then they are keeping something of a similar scale."
[00:04]	Arina	rubs her temples. "I don't even 0x1dlike0x1d those plotlines in sci fi novels, why am I dreaming them up as the answer to all of this?"
[00:05]	IcePickLobotomy	"Do you want to know the truth Arina? Are you willing to take the risk to find out?" She looks to Mary "What of you?"
[00:09]	Arina	"Oh let me guess, the dark alien god is 0x1dactually0x1d the Red Plague... this is just a dream so it hardly matters, but you should bloody well know the risks I'm willing to take. I certainly can't rely on anyone who's 0x1dsupposed0x1d to be handling matters."
[00:09]	IcePickLobotomy	"I see. Mary?"
[00:15]	IcePickLobotomy	[Edit in Mary's Answer Later]
[00:15]	IcePickLobotomy	"Well Arina, I'll keep my word. I hope when we speak next you'll feel better about me."
[00:15]	IcePickLobotomy	And you dream.
[00:16]	IcePickLobotomy	You dream of strange vistas and starless skies.
[20:01]	Arina	unhoods the lantern and opens the door in full. "Hello?"