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tabletopjourneys · 3 years

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Session 29 Notes

Completing fae deals and sailing out to sea with magic whales and a fortune in ambergris. Tags: @aradow @gher-bear @telurin @epimetal

On this day we successfully trick our way into completing Ixayl’anu’s bargain with Diem’s patron without having to fight anything. Said patron then immediately turns around to have Diem hold on to the item retrieved for awhile - the chaotic deck of many things. Diem and Ixayl’anu then deliver the fungus sample and make arrangements for possibly more samples and by-journal communications with the fungus expert, Professor Whitskey. Afterwards, we all set sail the next day for Anesh to continue our main quest. On the voyage, we encounter weirdness that includes a vanishing crew member and a group of whales doing ancient singing magics alongside and under the ship for a part of the voyage. It doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the meteors though. Ixayl’anu helps us discover and haul in some ambergris that’s gonna be worth tons of $$$$. *Details below the “Keep Reading” break*

(Additional details noted before we knock on Dima’s door.) We agree that at some point while we’re all in the room, Phi found a good time to tell us about Averni being run by vampires. This will possibly get threaded into a previous notes session if I find a good place. Either way, it happened.

Phi would have also told us during fae deal planning that Dima is a follower of Selune the moon goddess and that he’s pretty much not very tolerant/caring about other religions/gods/goddesses

Together we all figure out what Selune’s about, slightly a trickster (but not really the aspect Dima follows), for sailors, the moon and the night, etc.

(The visit with Dima - ‘Waiting Room’)

Ixayl’anu walks up to the door, Alfred the butler opens the door and looks at our ragtag bunch, spotting Phi in the back. “Yes, can I help you?”

Phi: We were wanting to talk to Dima, something’s come up.

Butler: Mr. Lenkov is in a meeting with Aristin Pilwickin (cousin 2nd removed) currently, but you can certainly come in and wait until they are done.

Phi: Yes it’s that important, we can wait.

Rest of us: Yeah we’re okay with waiting.

Phi: How’s it going Alfred?

Al: *steps back opens door, responds*

Phi continues making small talk.

As we walk past the doors down the long hallway, past the doubledoors Phi gets whispered what’s going on because she’s the only one with perception for it and on high alert.

The exterior walls are def stone, but interior walls are plastered wood slats (a note for Rana)

As we reach the room we’re ushered to we see a scholarly blue and white dragonborn and fucked up gnome chick, not related to Phi, def looks like she had a hard life, low London rough and tumble accent.

Phi parses this as odd because she doesn’t really ever see these two together and they were both doing whispery voiced arguing that clams up when we enter.

Gnome lady stays quiet

Payton (scholarly dragonborn): Ah, leaf pick, haven’t seen you in awhile.

Rana gives Phi a confused look because this is like name #15

He’s one of the more stable potion makers of the group (Payton) soooome minor enchantments

Phi: Hey! How ya doin, Payton?

Rana and Diem hug the wall together not feeling great about the group’s chances in this situation.

Phi and Payton have awkward chitchat.

Phi gives Bamfina Lockley (the rough and tumble London gnome) a nod: Hey.

Lockley gives her a cool look in response, something of a glare.

Payton glazes over that about how great it’s going, lots of shipments and good time for working on my projects.

Phi: Have you heard anything about the weird meteors we’ve been having, lots of sciencey people talking about that?

Payton: I have seen them but I’ve been really busy this past week so I haven’t been...why have you heard anything?

Phi: We were talking to some people at the university and it just sounded pretty crazy, right?

Payton: *quetioning look* I didn’t realize you were so interested in astronomy

Phi: New hobby of mine, been spending a lot of time outdoors looking up at the sky and it’s just become fascinating to me.

Neither Payton nor Bamfina look like they know what to do with that.

Payton takes interest in Phi’s friends, we briefly greet back.

Phi asks if they’re waiting to see Dima

Oh we’re just gonna go in then

Lockley stroms off

Rana: Bye!

Phi’s cousin walks out from a door in the side hall on the east wall. “Oh, Selphina! I haven’t seen you in forever!”

Phi: Oh, hey *nickname for level 2 familiarity* Small chitchat in the hall about wishing their loved ones well follows.

He gives the rest of us a wtf are these people doing here look as he goes by but Diem doesn’t even notice him until he’s already past them while Rana tries to start obviously awkward conversation with Payton after Phi dropped him like a hot potato. (The meeting with Dima)

Phi knocks on door where Dima is waiting.

Dima: Enter

Phi peeks in “I brought my friends with me this time, is it okay if they come in?”

Dima gives her a look: It’s better than having them in the hall.

It’s a cozy little office with french doors leading into a garden/well area. 20x30 office

Diem comes all the way in and crosses with Phi to the french door area to allow room for Rana and Ixayl’anu, then sits in the chair on that side of the office.

Dima thinks this is unusual that Phi’s brought people in, but she’s not in trouble for it. He casually closes his books and sets them aside as we come in.

Dima: Phi what is this about, I thought we’d spoken earlier?

Phi: Yeeeeah, but it turns out my friends realized they have something to talk to *you* about and so I brought them here to talk about it.

Dima: Interesting *makes go on hand gesture*

Ixayl’anu: (rolls a 10 on persuasion) and she says something to the effect of “I’m on a mission from Selune, and you have something she requires to complete my quest.” Dima is intrigued

Diem doesn’t think he looks intrigued enough and decides to use phantasmal force to convince Ixayl’anu Selune is now talking through her to tell this story, and hopefully Dima that it’s true/help really sell the story. Sleight of hand casting succeeds/Nobody notices Diem cast it, but Ixayl’anu makes her save enough to know what’s going on and let it happen.

Ixayl’anu then rolls a nat 20 on persuasion with the rest of the story, letting herself believe she’s possessed by Selune. Diem adds a little moonlight prestidigitation to Ixayl’anu’s eyes to really sell it. Both trickstery deities involved probably fully approved and thought this was great fun (Dima’s and Ixayl’anu’s)

Dima: Yes, Ixayl’anu, whatever you need, name it.

“Selune”: Ixayl’anu will know it when I see it through her eyes.

He leads us to the basement where there’s a sleeping black dragon it looks up and snorts.

Peace Antimony, (words I missed).

It hisses some toxic green gas and lays back down.

Dima leads us around. “This is just general storage, but I’ve got a vault down here.”

Rana and Phi have been flabbergasted. We all stand back and just act like we’re not interested in snooping.

1st item: metal globe with protection runes “thaumaturge’s orb.”

2nd item: A staff with a golden hand at the end with one finger extended “Staff of Midas”

3rd item: Multi-faced star-shaped cut glass/shimmery crystal reflecting light in prismy way “The sky crystal focus” about the size of a basketball.

4th item: Beautiful finely made silver circlet with a large multi-faceted, mostly purple gemstone in the middle with 3 little motes of light that float around it in diff shifting colors “Arcanist’s Circlet”

5th item: A tiny hummingbird out of enamel or jade, in flight “Valonte’s vitalium”

6th item: Another orb, jet black with 2 copper bands runes carved into the orb. “Orb of passage”

7th item: A sword longsword with kind of twisted metal and hilt is standard wrapped hilt that merges into the base of the blade like grasping vines, cross blade is thorny “constrictor blade”

8th item: Just looks like a deck of fine playing cards, kinda plain. “The Deck of Many Things”

9th item: Amulet on a jeweler’s bust, inside is a beautiful topaz (yellow), large cut to shine brilliant, around it 2 sphinx’s and a four winged angel on top with sunrays behind it. It looks very ornate. “The Sunheart medallion.”

If Rana was looking she might be able to say more about it, but she isn’t.

Dima: I did just acquire this as well.

*shows wine decanter sized crystal vial with a metallic, shimmering in all the colors kaleidoscopic liquid, I’m not exactly sure what this does yet, I haven’t had it identified, but it may also be what you seek.

Arcana check of 22 to see if I know any stories about the item names: Enough to Cross off staff of midas, volantes vitaleum, and constrictor blade.

Diem manages to sleight of hand cast message to share not these 3, but my patron said you would know it when you see it, so maybe...communicate with your god in front of each one or something? “You can respond to this message”

Ixie: Maaaybe.

Rolling a d6 at a 5 (for where she’s drawn): Ixie narrows it down to the skycrystal focus, the arcanist circlet, and the deck of many things.

Ixayl’anu tries to use divine sense in front of the 3. It doesn’t tell her any more.

She’s doing the slow loop around the room kinda thing, holding a hand out, dowsing rod kinda passing each one. Loops back around to the deck, decisively points at the deck “That one.”

Dima: Yeah, that completely makes sense, let me unlock that for you.

Phi rolls investigation to see if there’s a magic component to these keys or anything. As he puts in the key and turns it there’s a faint puff of coloured magic smoke that comes out, and she knows it’s just like a simple alarm spell - it would make a noise to alert something or someone elsewhere. Takes out the deck and hands it to Ixayl’anu.

Phi notices the back of these cards is an exact match to the card she’s been carrying. Dima’s deck is complete, Phi got it within a year, but not from Dima. Meta info none of us realize: Vizier: At any time you choose within one year of drawing this card, you can ask a question in meditation and mentally receive a truthful answer to that question. Besides information, the answer helps you solve a puzzling problem or other dilemma. In other words, the knowledge comes with Wisdom on how to apply it.

Ixayl’anu tries to give him a good faith I know it’s not enough token of 100gold

Dima: No, this is between us and the deities. (but he appreciates the gesture)

Ixayl’anu: May her light shine on you.

Dima: And you as well.

We don’t linger and follow Phi out.

He invites us to a drink after with some chitchat. With as little detail as possible and as much truth as possible (not sure what I meant by this statement lol). We get very good bourbon.

Charisma check for how Dima views each of us moving forward: Rana 15, Ixayl’anu 15, Diem: 10, Phi: nat 20 (22 total).

Level up!

We go back to the inn and Rana buys us dinner.

We talk about when we’re doing the professor meeting and will they meet us at night.

We both are like as soon as possible, but we’ll say it’s an emergency.

Rana exchanges a look with Phi.

Diem: What? Wait did you guys get message while I wasn’t paying attention?

Rana: Yes. Phi tells Diem the truth though (no, we didn’t)

Diem talks about maybe appearing on the boat after it’s already set sail - they don’t know how these things work.

Rana: Won’t the captain have questions?

Diem: Well we’re already paid for so it’s not like we’d be stowaways.

Rana and Phi talk about how mad her mentor might be, they talk about not knowing it wasn’t an actual message from Selune and what if Dima finds out. Rana doesn’t for a moment believe Selune was involved.

Phi: That won’t be explained until the future either and if a catastrophe was averted by then it could make him less mad.

Rana: Let’s hope it was worth it.

Phi: Yeah, let’s take it one day at a time. Cross that bridge when we come to it.

Rana: Let’s just hope we don’t burn that bridge.

*cut to Diem and Ixayl’anu for a deal’s a deal scenes*

Diem does as last time, with the sense Ahrune heard.

Ahrune pops in “That was fast, what have you brought for me?”

Diem: We may have convinced him it was ordained by his goddess.

Ahrune: More interesting than what I had in mind.

Ixayl’anu *huffy*: It wasn’t exactly clear, but I brought you these.

Ahrune: *examines them* Yes, these will do quite nicely *hands them over to Diem* Why don’t you hold on to these for me.

Diem: *thanks in shock*

Ahrune makes us a door directly to the guy, and hands Diem a return portal orb to the inn when we’re done. “Forgive me if I don’t want to stick around for this part.” *disappears*

*Diem tucks the cards into their inner suit pocket before following Ixayl’anu through the door.*

As soon as we walk in he looks up: Oh! Hello I didn’t...office hours are closed!

Ixayl’anu: Forgive the intrusion but I need to talk to you.

Whitskey: You don’t look like one of my students…?

Ixayl’anu: No we haven’t met before, I have an unusual question...well...maybe *looks at all the vials of fungus and thinking maybe not* Wondering if maybe you can identify something for me.

I’m given to understand you’re professor Whitskey?

Whitskey: Yep that’s me.

Ixayl’anu: Do you...I think this question is self evident but do you happen to study lichen and fungus and things?

Whitskey: That is my specialty

Ixayl’anu: I have a substance that I - well a group of us found recently and I was hoping you’d know more about it.

Magical lichen - you understand magical lichen very well?

Whitskey: Yes do you have one you want me to identify?

Ixayl’anu digs in her pack and pulls out the vial to hand over

Diem: before you open this you should know *tells about it briefly and where it was sampled from*

Whitskey: Yeah I recognized it so I wasn’t going to throw magic at it but thanks for the warning.

You said you found this in the shadowood? You’re quite far from home.

One of us: We spoke to professor Leonis he wasn’t sure if it was native here or if they came with the meteors, he kind of led us to think it was native

Whitskey: Professor Leonis, I can’t say that I’m too familiar with him but I don’t get out much. I have heard all this hullabaloo about these meteors but I didn’t realize it would have anything to do with my work.

We talk about it growing directly on the meteor.

Diem illustrates it for him.

Whitskey: Hmmm *adjusts glasses* (has very large eyes behind the glasses)

Ixayl’anu brings up the dwarf too.

Whitskey: There was a dwarf? Tell me more about this.

Diem does a 22 on telling the story again and all the details they can remember.

Whitskey looks at the lichen in the jar and studies it. His excitement continues to grow as he looks up things in books and compares, etc.

He keeps it in the jar and he brings the mage light closer to the vial. *Diem steps back*

The lichen grows toward the source of the magic with quite a speed, spindly bits and deeper colored. Whitskey quickly separates it out again.

Whitskey: This is quite a find! This is a very...I haven’t actually seen this before!

Diem would let him know what officials in Miova know, what little they don’t, or even the local Miovan professors about this fungus and that he might want to put a team together to stress the importance of this to his local magistrates/officials/etc, asks whether it might be wise to take a protected sample back there as well.

Whitskey: If I’m correct this line is very aggressive. Transporting it could be quite problematic, we’d have to set up a containment field, quite frankly I’m surprised it stayed in this method of containment.

Diem agrees on the point of transporting it back through another, different magical door and that it’s probably best to leave the whole sample with Whitskey after all.

Diem and Ixayl’anu talk about her mission and what they can do if they encounter more of it. Whitskey gets excited about the possibility of more samples then and happily gives us containers of his own.

Tips for future encounters: Bring someone who can create a null field, anti-magic area to contain it, and it is best you get the samples when they’re small, when they’re large they have a self-fulfilling mist about them and they become quite difficult to contain. At that point it can do certain things, take over other living organisms.

Diem: Like that dwarf - oh and maybe those gnolls.

*tells him about the gnolls now too*

Whitskey: Oh yeah some cults do use them to infect themselves with various forms of these lichens to become part of their deities. Usually those cults get found and irradicated. Some small discussion about that. We find out it’s common though with known species and not necessarily tied to this new one.

Diem asks about the care of the vessels

The containers are inert until you open them and put something inside, and once you shut them they become their magical versions and he wouldn’t recommend putting them in magic holding things like bags of holding or anything like that, but near those bags is fine.

(Rana:This guy is totally going to turn out to be evil

Leonis: "I can't just hand out University materials, I'd have to get permission."

This guy: "Take my personal vials.")

We get 3 containment units.

He goes around to the other side of his table and give us a small book of sending so we can keep in touch and we can coordinate how to get samples and such back and forth.

We verify we can send warnings through and not just notes, and he will contact us too about things he learns.

How durable are the contaminants?

More durable than glass, they can break, handle them with care, don’t smash them on the floor or throw them at things. They’re made of magical pyrex. Thick enough to drop from waist height and they’ll be fine.

Whitskey: You’ve made my whole night, my whole year, I have so many things to do!

Ixayl’anu has something else she wanted to ask but can’t think of it right now.

Diem makes sure it’s okay to ask him a question in the book later if she thinks of it.

Whitskey: Oh yes, so long as it pertains to all of this.

Diem: Can this book be stored in a bag of holding?

Whitskey: Yes absolutely.

Ixayl’anu: Anything else you can think of?

Diem: Nope I think we did a pretty good job.

Ixayl’anu smashes the portal and we go back to the room we were in, taking 45 minutes total.

Rana and Ixayl’anu played with their rats. *rewind a little (to prevent potential disaster lol)*

Before we left, Phi brought up that she had a similar card to the deck we got and she tells us it’s a deck of many things that have wildly varying effects that could be really good or really bad and she knows you have to declare how many cards you want to draw and select them. She has an enchanted card to be whatever card she needs and now that she knows this it’s revealed its true nature to her so now it probably doesn’t work as intended.

Phi asks if she can see the deck and Ixayl’anu hands it over (in the velvet bag Dima had tucked them in).

She puts them face down on the table “I have one of these cards that I thought was just a trick card. I use this to turn into a different card *she tells it to change by illustration* the fact my boss had cards like this tucked in his treasure room tells me this is more than just a simple trick.”

It’s def a trickster element to it. Diem realizes they know stories about these cards (21 arcana check), gives some examples of people dying, being lost, become more powerful or rich, getting wishes granted.

Rana makes a face when the wish spell is mentioned.

Phi: Sounds super dangerous but also kind of fun

Diem: Yeah, but also the epitome of fey fun, so it makes sense why you picked that one, Ixayl’anu.

Phi: *tucks her card away and talks about getting it identified*

*Phi and Rana time while Ixayl’anu and Diem are at Whitskey’s*

Rana: So how do you and Dima know each other?

Phi: He’s the head of an organization I used to be a part of.

My family is very involved still so I kinda don’t talk about being involved with it anymore so I kinda just go off and do my own thing but Dima is one of the people who knows I don’t wanna be a part of it anymore. He makes sure I don’t get any heat from not wanting to be part of it now.

Rana: Well your sister seems nice and he seems nice

Phi: He’s NOT nice, but my sister doesn’t know much about it, she’s just a family person, focuses on that. Her job’s not so intense (I have a lot of sisters though).

Rana: What do your other siblings do? *confused*

Phi: You know

Rana: No, I don’t.

Phi: Just stuff that isn’t necessarily on the up and up, you know, like...below the law things that you may not wanna do if you have kids you gotta feed. I don’t know, she’s just a different person.

Rana: Is that why she had so many kids?

Phi: Oh no that’s just normal and they’re not all hers.

Rana: Dima did help us. Well, we tricked him into it but he really did help us.

Phi: Yeah I was actually a little surprised by that. I think he’s just very devout so I don’t think he saw an option to not help if that makes any sense?

Rana: Either way if he’s been supporting you and he’s willing to help us out, he can’t be that bad right?

Phi: Sure. I mean he’s not supporting me out of the niceness of his heart, we made a deal.

*I missed Rana’s response, sorry*

Phi: It wasn’t like a favor it was a trade

Rana: At least we’re not making deals with the fae

Phi: That’s some crazy shit right? I’d never do something like that.

*Back to the present*

Diem stores coffee can sized containers in their bag with a tight fit and takes the sending book downstairs to meet the others after we decide to tell them about the deck in addition to the meeting with the prof.

They are cuddling very fat very happy rats right now when we find them.

Diem: Good news and...interesting news.

*we tell them*

*we go over our primary goal*

We decide to let the local lawmaster know our statement too and told the front desk lady. Rana didn’t come along, she went to bed.

Diem mentioned meeting them again for breakfast because they have last night of potential company.

Phi asks about that on the way and Diem dishes about the sexy librarian with his dark teal skin.

Ixayl’anu got a 13 on her insight check to the first story she overheard.

Contested against 23, she believed it all, but it was definitely just singing the praises of Teagan and nothing revealing at all about Diem themselves. (Insight checks were arranged after, Phi’s is yet to be determined)

(Getting on the boat)

Next day Diem doesn’t make it to breakfast but they do make it just in time.

Rana on stone: I have your stuff and bringing it with me to the boat, be there.

Diem: I’m already on my way I promise, I’ll be there soon *flying clothes on totally not already on the way* Diem also manages to get a pearl on the way for their new identify spell.

Rana is a bit grumpy as she eats her breakfast taco

Ixayl’anu tells Rana she has something that might help, even though she seems to have a handle on water forms now *hands over water walking ring*

Rana: If you don’t mind I would like to hold on to this for the journey.

Ixayl’anu: Sure

*brusquely nods*

Diem: Oh my pack is making up, you guys <3

Rana spent all night preparing all the water spells.

Ixayl’anu dumps 4 shark teeth

Phi: What’s with that?

Ixayl’anu: It’s so we have a safe trip?

Diem: What? What’s what about?

Ixayl’anu: Don’t you have anything to give too?

Phi and Diem: No, do we need to?

Ixayl’anu looks worried and gives us shark teeth and tells us to throw them in too.

We do so and I’m totally interested in the story behind it. Tell me Ixayl’anu, pretty please!

Ixayl’anu: You just do it for safe passage from the spirits.

Clearly the guardian spirits of the ocean are the sharks. This just insures nothing that’s beyond the sailors skills will happen on this journey.

Diem talks about that being fair - no shark teeth is probably why they ended up overboard in a barrel their last trip to sea.

*Ixayl’anu hands Diem a small bag of shark teeth just in case.*

Diem: Do I dump all these in now or for later?

Ixayl’anu: Later, you shipwrecked seems you’ll need them. Diem gives a fair point shrug and happily holds on to them.

During all this talk, Rana has tossed in one of the prettier stones from her pocket and while stressing out, is looking to spot it in the water. Rana manages to spot her offering.

Phi tries to distract by asking Rana about her homeland.

Diem internally pouts over not hearing Ixayl’anu’s story about how she lost her body guards the first time around that didn’t go so well, but is also interested in stories about Rana’s homeland (and distracting her). (I think I missed some of the initial talk)

Rana: Don’t wanna be caught out in the desert without protection either from the sun, cold at night, etc.

Phi: Well you just have to trust the experts that know about the place we’re in, like we trust these experts in the ship we’re in.

Rana looks over like “I know what you’re doing” Yes we do don’t we, let’s get on this boat before I change my mind. *Throws in all her shark teeth too*

When we get on, we mostly get ignored by the crew.

(Aboard the ship, talking about Anesh, Rana sees a new animal form!)

Phi does 14 perception, few new faces, mostly the same crew. “Hey how many shark teeth did you throw in the water today?” to the one she knows to be the nicest/most tolerant.

Person looks at her with sheer incredulity “what are you talking about?” and walks away.

Phi 11 retro-active perception checks superstitious stuff among this crew, but hasn’t noticed any.

When shown their rooms, Diem asks Rana if she wants to share a room since there are only 3.

Ixayl’anu attempts to bring her elk aboard and gets a few looks from the crew, but they don’t deny her. The captain is nowhere to be seen. It can roam around 9 or put it in 12 (the actual hold). She bought elk supplies bedding/food for the trip.

On their rush to the boat, I did manage to buy a pearl because my patron tipped me off to check my spell book.

We all hang out on deck, Diem tries and fails to come up with positive ship stories to distract Rana.

Ixayl’anu asks Rana about where they’re going.

Rana rolls 14 history check: She knows it’s a port town (Farford), they do a lot of the trade that comes in from Petarus rather than overland - specialty seeds, various animals (not the metals which come from Bouldergap). She didn’t stick around too much. Before she met us she didn’t stick around anywhere very much, sold her goods and moved on.

Ixayl’anu: What’s it like in Anesh?

Rana: It’s pretty dry, it’s a desert - most of it, near the mountains you have more brushy cover. You don’t wanna go to Lake Nitron.

Phi: Why not?

Diem: What’s wrong with Lake Nitron?

Rana: It’s pretty deadly, only a few birds can survive out there it’s not really a place that you’d want to live. Sunhame is right in the middle of it all but most of the towns are either on the coastline or nearer the mountains where there’s cover.

Ixayl’anu: And that’s where your home is, up in the mountains?

Rana: Yeah, that’s where I learned all my druid craft at too

Ixayl’anu: What do your parents do?

Rana: It’s just my mom, she’s a tailor. My dad died before I was born so I can’t really tell you much about him. My brother is a blacksmith.

Sunhame is not as large as Miova but the rest of the towns are about the size of Budelia.

I’ve been to Sunhame a few times, it’s heavily religious. I spent a lot of time traveling between them all between my mom’s business and my brother’s blacksmithing. We don’t have anything like the shadowood where we’re from though, that’s a you guys thing.

Ixayl’anu: Do you have trees?

Rana: Some, a few up in the mountains scattered near them, but not a lot of them. It’s not as green, you guys have a very green country

Diem: Do you prefer it that way?

Rana: I like both places, nature exists (I missed the rest of this) yeah it’s not as green as Rethwellian but I think you guys will like it, it’s a nice place.

Ixayl’anu: I get the impression it’s really hot though

Rana: Yeah, it’s warm. It’s a desert.

(Established that Rana’s staff is made of hazel, found in the mountains.)

(I may have missed some more things. You’ve probably guessed but even when I don’t note this, it’s probably true even for conversations that seem whole.)

Rana talks until someone stops her, but we’re all on team distract Rana, so we encourage it.

We have occasionally seen the captain if we notice.

Calm sailing so far.

Ixayl’anu rolls a d20 for us for mysterious reasons.

About 3 hours into the day, noonish, we see a pod of killer whales hanging out with the boat.

Rana ventures closer to the rail by then and adds it to her animals seen list.

Diem asks how her animal form hunting went.

Rana: I found a loud seal.

Diem: Did you try swimming?

Rana: No I just transformed into one so I know I can do it and watched them swimming so I’m sure they can. It’ll be fine.

Diem: Yeah, I’m sure it’ll be just fine. (As text this sounds like sarcasm but it wasn’t lol)

Rana: Yeah we’ll be okay.

Diem: We will absolutely be okay. (Also not sarcasm, but let’s not point out she didn’t try swimming in that form)

(Aboard the ship, Diem has identify now!)

Before the end of the day, Diem picks a time when everyone’s near enough to hear them to tell Phi “guess what I learned how to do?”

Phi: What?

Diem: *brandishes pearl* I can identify things now!

Phi: And what’s that?

Diem: Oh the pearl I need to cast it.

Phi: So does that mean you could find out what this card can do?

Diem: Maybe, wanna try?

Phi: Yeah *hands it over*

Diem starts trying

Phi: Oh but I also wanted to ask you how your night went.

Diem: *tries to concentrate on ritual but gives up to just answer the question* do you want to know that now or after I cast the ritual?

Phi: Oh later is fine.

Phi leaves so they can concentrate.

Diem finds it out after 15 minutes instead of just 10 and tells Phi it is the vizier and what it does.

Phi looks disappointed (I think because the card also lost its ability to be any card she wanted at a thought but all I literally wrote here is “Phi looks disappointed scene” and then failed to remember details I was so sure I could fill in later :P) (Aboard the ship: Keeping company with spiderwalking elks, Phi and Diem have a talk)

Ixyal’anu goes to keep her elk company after awhile.

Before the end of the night, Diem and Phi go to Phi’s room to dish the details on Diem’s last night with Teagan. By the time they get there, however, Diem has a more serious, related topic on their mind that alters this discussion (Sorry at the time I was stuck in the “no live awkward rated R details” mode and forgot something happened that would give Diem pause over the “after hours” story time).

Rana casts spider climb on the elk again to make herself feel better.

Ixayl’anu, confused, asks it “did you do this? How do you do this?”

Elk: I’m on the ceiling, it’s great!

Unfortunately realizes he can’t swallow upside down so comes down to swallow his food.

Ixayl’anu: You need to teach me this trick

Elk: I don’t know how I do it, it just happens.

Ixayl’anu insight checks 18 *stares down the elk*

Elk: Sometimes when your friend comes around I can do this.

Ixayl’anu: Which One?

Elk: The copper one

(Aboard the ship - next day shenanigans, I think? Day 3 shenanigans? I didn’t make the timeline very clear in these notes) At some point during the day, Diem snuck in Phi’s room to take back the doll from her packs, then tried to sneak it into her arms that night 20 stealth vs 25 perception, Phi wakes to see Diem looming over her, reaching out.

Diem quickly hides doll behind their back and is very awkward about this. Rana doesn’t cuddle and I wanted to see if you would.

Phi wants to know what they were doing, why they were reaching out for her face though.

They awkwardly try to explain that there was something on her face.

Phi tells them they’re being creepy. Diem: Oh, and who snuck into my room in Budelia just sitting on the end of my bed watching me? That wasn’t creepy? Deflection fails so Diem shows her the doll and pretends they were trying to get rid of it for her before she woke up and freaked out. This backfires as Phi gets really really freaked out and Diem decides they can’t go through with that either and admits that they did it, they were actually trying to *leave the doll in her arms* to find later and it’s just one of those normal dolls of the queen they were handing out at the festival.

Phi: I changed my mind, you’re not getting cuddles tonight.

Diem *crushed to lose cuddles*: I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you were that scared of it - What if I throw it overboard right now - an offering to the sharks?

Phi agrees to cuddle after all if Diem throws the doll overboard. We do so and then go sleep in the same room with Rana. Note: I think I forgot to note the passage of some uneventful days mixed up in this trip somewhere because otherwise we’d have only 2 full days out to sea, arriving in the morning of day 3. As such, I went back through the notes to note when an (the?) uneventful day(s?) might’ve occurred. (Ocean Voyage Day ?: What happened to Kelly?)

By the time the rest of us wake up, Rana is probably already on deck sitting miserably.

Diem tries to cheer her up but it’s mostly cause she’s not feeling well.

Ixayl’anu begins to notice how weird it is that this crew is quiet and antisocial

Diem doesn’t really notice but tries to encourage sea shanties. A few look my way (19 persuasion) and catch themselves humming before quickly cutting off and going silent again.

Ixayl’anu starts talking to phi about how strange this is

Diem agrees, noting how the ships they’ve been on always sing shanties and clearly some of this crew knows them…

Ixayl’anu: and they’re usually shouting back and forth about things they’re doing/seeing.

Phi: Maybe they don’t need to communicate like that?

Diem: Yeah maybe they all follow old ones...? Wait that sounded way more ominous out loud than in my head.

Rana is glaring at us.

Ixayl’anu: *Grumbling* it’s usually more lively than this, I just don’t like it.

Phi realizes something about something Tel whispered her: Wait a second guys, I wanna go ask somebody something *goes to find the guy who thought the whole shark teeth thing was weird*

Phi makes a 17 investigation roll, she does not see the person she was looking for, but she had seen him since launch.

Phi returns and tells us she can’t find the guy she spoke to yesterday when we set out.

Diem: Are all the little boats still here?

Ixayl’anu casts divine sense but doesn’t sense any celestial, fiends, or undead: Do you know his name? Maybe you could ask about him?

Phi doesn’t know why we’re worried, but she knows his name (Sean something I missed) and could go asking even though she’s not worried.

Diem messages: Are you really not worried or are you saying that for Rana’s benefit, you can respond to this message.

Phi: Well I’m not worried but I’m getting worried that you’re worried. You can respond to this message.

Phi goes off to ask the captain and knocks, hears sigh.

Cpn: What can I do for you Selphina?

Phi: I was gonna ask Kelly a question but I can’t find him, do you know where he is?

Peter gets quiet and then says “Oh no, Mr Kelly had other engagements and didn’t join us this go around.”

Phi: But I saw him yesterday…?

Cpn: You must’ve been mistaken.

Insight check 10. She knows he’s lying but doesn’t know anything else about it, only that something about this is not right. It’s also suddenly degrees colder in this room.

Phi: I guess I was mistaken.

Cpn: No worries it happens to everyone

Phi: How’s the trip going, are we on schedule?

Cpn: Oh we’re making excellent time, we should be there by morning.

Phi: Excellent

Upon returning to us, Phi: Guys I don’t think we should be talking near the captain’s door in the future, but I was clearly mistaken

Phi actively tries to get out of the conversation and drop it.

Diem suggests maybe it’s this crew’s own superstitions like “quiet passage for quiet passage.”

Ixayl’anu says maybe she’ll be be less worried about it then. (Aboard the ship: Ambergris!)

At some point during the day we see a lump of grey goo overboard about the size of 2 milk crates. Definitely smaller than a chair.

Ixayl’anu notices it first, rolls a 12 on nature check, it’s not something her culture uses but it’s whale vomit and worth its weight in gold.

She points it out, gives fancy ambergris name to us and looks for a bucket, Phi tries to help.

We found a bucket, it’s probably not big enough for this. Ixayl’anu hits the thing, but realizes the bucket is too small.

Rana casts control water to keep it with the ship. Diem runs to get their special rope.

When they return with rope, it ties off successfully and Ixayl’anu manages to get it up to the boat, with all four of us pulling we successfully get it on board (mostly Rana’s 21 and no thanks to my 2 lol).

It smells not great.

Diem: Oh that’s awful *prestidigitations it to smell like flowers* (Except it’s old enough to be hard and not smell too awful anymore)

We talk about getting it in the black of holding and breaking it in pieces so we don’t rip our bag.

Rana asks about what it’s for, is it part of the meteor?

Ixie: No, it’s...well it’s whale vomit.

Diem: Oh, gross... *looks at their hands and casts prestidigitation*

Rana goes back over to sit where she was before like oh my god as the rest of us talk about it being valuable. She leaves the bag of holding with us to break it and stick it in the bag.

Phi: This is awesome, the best day ever, I’m going to throw shark teeth in the water every time!

Ixayl’anu: *excited* yeah the teeth just show up on the beach it’s so easy to find them. (not knowing if that’s true everywhere).

Diem: Or maybe the whale just saw that doll (as an aside to Phi)?

Phi laughs.

We have a pleasant evening, no plans.

Ixayl’anu gives a heads up to the elk: Watch listen tonight so you can stay up. Keep your ears open.

Evening perception checks: me (literal 0), Ixayl’anu: (nat 20), Rana: 21, Selphina: 10. (Ancient Whalesong Magic!)

Rana can’t sleep tonight. She hears a low wailing that goes into a series of clicks. She hears it all night long.

Rana goes to Ixayl’anu’s room and asks “What is that?” It sounds like they’re following the boat or just all around us. A lot of them and very close.

Ixayl’anu: It’s whale song

Rana: Why are they so loud?

Ixayl’anu: Well it’s...I don’t know what they use it for, but it’s communication

Rana: But why are they so loud?

Ixayl’anu: I don’t know *both go above deck to check it out*

Rana makes 7 perception, Ixayl’anu a 14. She knows what to look for - occasionally she sees a spout but they’re not hanging out at the surface, only coming up to breathe and going back down, unlike what she’s used to.

Looking out over the water for a little bit they speak with animals at about the same time. About 10-14 whales.

Rana or Ixayl’anu: What are you singing about?

A whale: We’re working

Another whale: We’re busy

Now that they can hear what they’re saying, it doesn’t make sense at first, it has a weird strange poetic cadence to it, it kinda sounds like chanting or a ritual spell.

Ixayl’anu makes an 8 on arcana check

Rana wants to see if this is natural and rolls an 18 nature check. It seems like a natural thing, these are natural whales.

Ixayl’anu: What’s the song about?

There are words they can recognize, but she didn’t pre-arrange the song (Bless you if you know what I meant at the end of this statement).

19 perception from Ixayl’anu to get the meaning through the overlapping song. It’s about wrapping something around things and tying things together and binding something, repetitive in the round song way (row row row your boat lol) about keeping something together, apart from everything else.

Rana is leaning over the railing intrigued by all this.

Ixayl’anu is looking for any visual signs, 14, little waves, but not enough to disturb the pretty view of moonlight on the water. She doesn’t hear any birds or any other splashing. Very quiet other than the whale song.

Rana excitedly runs below deck to wake Phi and Diem up to experience the whales too! Diem actually does manage to perceive whales. It is very cool.

Rana (to whales): Are you coming with us?

A Whale: No we have our own business to attend to

Rana: Where are you going?

Whale: Here

Ixayl’anu: Are you hunting?

Whale: No, we are not hunting. We are very busy.

Rana: Do you need help?

One of the whales spy hops, large whale between humpback and blue whale (fin whale).

Diem: Wow that is so cool.

Rana gets the sense it’s looking at her and comes back down with a snort: I don’t think you could.

Rana: You’d be surprised. I might be able to help if you need help, but what’re you doing?

Whale: It is old magic for our kind.

Ixayl’anu and Rana ask them more about it, find out they’re doing some kind of binding ritual.

Rana casts locate object looking for pieces of the meteor.

She does not sense anything within a thousand feet of her.

Rana: Is it about a rock?

Whale: It is about the project

Rana looks at Ixayl’anu with an unspoken question.

Ixayl’anu shrugs.

Whale clarifies: The Great Project

Rana: Good luck!

One whale acknowledges with a little fin wave

Rana: They clarified it wasn’t about a rock

Diem knows of sailors telling a few tales of whales helping shipwrecked people and other species and some people say the whales seem to be very benevolent forces, not really heard of magic, just weird sailor tales.

Diem suggests maybe the great project has to do with the sharks teeth thing.

Eventually over the next half hour we get out of immediate range, but we hear them for the rest of the night.

Phi dozed off leaning against something.

We go back to bed and the whole thing puts us at a later rising time. (Farford on the horizon!)

When we wake up we see Farford in the distance.

We’re gonna get 30k platinum for the amber gris (7500 each)

Next session: Jan 14th 5pm. (But really...tomorrow, it’s tomorrow!)

We don’t need to rp out selling whale vomit.

Phi kept a little jar of amber gris for future trade options.

Ixayl’anu tries to find more shark teeth.

(Omitted notes to self with note of omission so I remember to reference them for establishing some previous details)

Diem promises when they receive their cut of the amber gris, to name their firstborn after Ixayl’anu lol.

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zenosanalytic · 5 years

Video

youtube

Great Beasts of Legend: Centaurs, Sirens and Chimaera: The Greeks and th...

I know I’ve posted this lecture by Dr. Jeremy McInerney before, but I was watching it again(third time; really love this one uwu) and at 41:55 he starts a discussion of a boundaries-based reading of Centaurs(good target for that given the melding/muddying of boundary btw animal and man Centaurs represent[1]), beginning with the Herakles, Deianira, Nessos Myth that I feel he doesn’t quite hit though he makes/brings up other great points and it made me want to write a short little thing about why this myth, specifically, is really open to such a reading:

Ok so the basic outline: Herakles and Deianira are traveling, they come to the river Evinos where Nessos[2], the Centaur, is selling his services as a living ferry(ppl sit on him and he carries them across). Herakles, of course, decides to swim across and pays Nessos to carry Deianira across. While doing so, Nessos attempts to rape her, Deianira calls for help, and Herakles whips out his bow and arrows dipped in Hydra’s blood, and shoots Nessos dead. As he dies but before Herakles reaches them, Nessos tells Deianira to take a vial of his blood(sometimes blood mixed with his semen). The story splits interestingly here, so remember this point for later. Years down the road, Herakles is off in some part of Greece partying in celebration of yet another city he’s plundered, and he sends a train of new slaves taken from said city-plundering back home, along with a messenger with an off-hand request to Deianira that she send his favorite cloak along cuz he plans to keep partying for quite a long while. This is another point of ambiguity in the story and its retellings so remember it, too. She steeps his cloak in water mixed with the vial of Nessos’s blood, sends it along and, while the poison doesnt kill Herakles cuz he’s part god and Hydra’s poisonous blood isn’t powerful enough to do that, it DOES cause him such enormous, unending pain that he builds his own funeral pyre and burns himself alive, apotheosizing into a god in the process.

So, regarding Boundaries:

Nessos, obvsl, is a physical manifestation of the close and ever-present boundary between humans and beasts; btw self-control and indulgence; btw “civilized” behavior and “uncivilized”, as discussed above, and particularly of the threat of rape Greek men present to Greek women.

This story involves a River, a physical boundary

Rivers are ALSO what separate the world of the living from the world of the dead to the Greeks, and this is a story ABOUT TWO DEATHS, both tied directly TO a River(one taking place in it, during the act of crossing it; the other a long-term effect of that event[but also Herakles’s hubris, though most versions, being written for men, don’t emphasize that totally obvs aspect of it]).

Not only that, it’s LITERALLY the story of Herakles’s apotheosis: of how he comes to finally transcend the boundary between God and Mortal which he has straddled his whole life.

Herakles is celebrating the sack of a city, ie, his violation&destruction of the Boundaries defining said city, when he dies. Greek cities are often protected by female divinities(Athena usually), so it’s yet another symbol of rape.

So Split 1: In most versions, the reason Nessos gives for why she should take his blood is that it is a powerful love potion that will ensure Herakles remains faithful to her if his eye ever strays. BUT, also in most versions, this is a lie and he’s secretly trying to poison Herakles, though how would he know Herakles’ arrows are poisoned with Hydra-blood? I remember reading a version where he presents it to her AS POISON, explaining about the Hydra, but I cant find any mention of it online, so maybe my brain’s just making it up(or maybe this was the Hercules TV Show version X|).

Split 2: BUT BUT, while in most version Deianira sends the cloak out of desperation to keep him faithful(and of course there’s a particular slave girl in the train she’s warned about just so all of this can be EXTRA the fault of women, rather than Herakles for being a giant asshole like he always is), in other versions she sends it OUT OF VENGEANCE, TO FUCK HIM UP because Herakles is being a giant asshole, wrecking up Greece, partying as much as he likes, flaunting his rapes and his victims in her face(this is VERY RELEVANT given the nature of other versions of this story), and leaving her to run his household alone while ordering her around like she’s a slave rather than his Wife.

These are mutually exclusive: she cannot be both seeking to punish him, and trying, in anguished desperation, to keep him faithful to her[3].

Herakles in this story, as is ALWAYS THE CASE IN ALL HIS STORIES, is flaunting the boundaries of Proper Behavior, in this case those defining a happy and successful marriage(IE Hera’s Domain; which you’d THINK would be kind of relevant, given the deep narrative connection between Hera and Herakles and her quickness to anger regarding marriage violations, yet it somehow perennially goes unmentioned), and getting punished for it.

Now here’s an ADDED kicker. There’s a version of this story were Herakles initiates the conflict. one day he visits the house of Deianira’s father, Dexamenus, and while a guest, rapes her. Dexamenus can’t fight Herakles, of course, but he demands by the gods and tradition that Herakles marry Deianira to “repair” the injury(WE LIVE IN HELL!), and Herakles agrees. After he leaves to prepare for the wedding, a local Centaur, Eurytion(name meaning “Widely Honored”) visits Dexamenus and proposes to marry Deianira himeself(you know: without the whole BEING HER RAPIST thing), and Dexamenus complies. Herakles arrives a few days later, kills Eurytion, and sees that their marriage is carried out. Presumably in this version, the blood poisoning the cloak would be Eurytion’s.

What I’ve tried to get across here is that, among other things, there are readings of this myth were Herakles is the bad guy and Deianira the agent of divine punishment, if not the actual Protagonist. And those readings suggest certain ideas we would be prone to consider “modern” about the agency of women, consent, personal and social boundaries, morality, Greek ~Heroic Masculinity~, and yes even Centaurs, might not have been so alien and “anachronistic” to the ancient Greek mind as we tend to think.

But anyway, even if you think that particular part of my little argument here is total Bunk, I hope I’ve managed to get across that Deianira and the Cloak is a myth Absolutely LOUSY with the theme of Boundaries, what they mean, what it means to Cross them, and the Consequences for which you Cross, when, how, and plain just choosing to cross them in the first place. It’s a really great example for him to suggest for this particular topic, and it really inspired me quite a lot today, and I just wish there was a lecture online where he developed it further uwu

[1]And not only that, but of course owning horses was a common sign of aristocratic status, and trading horses a common aristocratic activity(this is one way you know Hesiod’s claims of poverty are a put-on; his family breeds and sells horses). I feel like it’s pretty well understood that Centaurs are in someway a commentary and meditation upon the nature of Greek masculinity, on the capacity for violent cruelty and wanton appetite Greeks inculcated men into beside all the talk of civilized society, but I also feel it’s less well understood how open they also are to a similar reading regarding the appetites and barbaric capacities specifically of the upper classes of Greek society.

[2]In some versions Nessos and Herakles actually have a history, and the whole incident is Nessos’s attempt at vengeance. There is another story, where Herakles visits a centaur who is his friend named Pholos, and a gang of nearby Centaurs(I like to think they were Rowdy Teens myself u_u) smell the wine they’re drinking and crash the party to share some. Herakles, being Herakles, of course immediately begins killing them for the perceived insult, which inevitably leads NOT ONLY to Pholos dying(cuz Herakles isn’t careful and shoots him too, or in other vers bcuz he refuses to so much as retrieve his arrows from the bodies due to concerns with “pollution” from the corpses, and Pholos cuts himself on one of the arrows), but ALSO the poisoning, and eventual death, of Chiron, who was one of Pholos’s neighbors and who Herakles accidentally knicked while wildly chasing down and shooting the interlopers. Nessos is one of these Centaur teens, and the only centaur in the whole situation to survive (:T

[3]Which, btw, the whole “faithful” thing doesnt make much sense(even though it pops up regularly in Greek Myth), because her “competitor” in these versions is a slave. These next sentences are going to be gross and awful, but in the society which told these stories male slave-owners already had unrestricted sexual access to their slaves and, beyond that, I’ve never read a single example in Greek or Roman sources of a slave being legitimized and married as a wife(which doesnt mean such examples dont exist; I’m an amateur). So the idea that a slave could threaten Deianira’s position as Herakles’s wife seems very dubious to me(as does the general trope of slave women as threats to wives in Greek stories). Again: this is all super-awful, but it’s something complicating the traditional presentation of the myth, which is rarely addressed because most academics writing for a general audience are super-loath to deal with classical slavery as the awful, body and soul crushing institution which it was.

#Penn Museum #Dr. Jeremy McInerney #cw: rape #cw: slavery #Classical Greece #Centaurs #Boundaries #Myth Analysis #Mythic Themes #Agency #Female Protagonists #analytic posts #Critical Analysis #zA Opinions #Video #Youtube

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writingrampant · 5 years

Text

The Keep of the Demon-King

Prompt: a young woman is kidnapped by her own father and sent to a demon-king in hopes of finding a suitable warrior to be his successor

The raven made a streak of black against the turbulent sky. Heavy clouds roiled, sheets of rain drifting across the barren bowl of the caldera. Pungent steam escaped the tormented ground with a hiss and wail.

The raven’s claws scraped the stones of the demon-keep as it landed. A gnarled hand reached up for it, coaxing it closer. It dropped into the darkness within.

“There, now,” its master murmured. “What secrets do you bring?”

A bell sounded from deep in the stronghold. The raven baulked, clutching the bare arm under its feet.

“Be still, my pet.” The air of the keep was cool and sulfurous, the ancient volcano beneath sleeping, but not dead. The bent figure stopped beside a heavy curtain.

“Yes, lord?”

The answering voice was deep and rough. “What news, Hach?”

Hach stroked the sleek feathers on the raven’s head. “Someone approaches.”

The curtain stirred, drawn aside so Hach could see into the room beyond. He lowered his eyes respectfully.

“When?”

“By nightfall. Two riders.”

“See to it.”

Hach transferred the raven to his shoulder. The sharp tips of the scavenger’s talons bit through the wool. Hach hurried to the lower levels of the stone keep, the raven’s wings half-spread to keep balance.

The clouds hid the passage of the sun and the dark thickened as the day closed. Soon they are ready; they had dealt with similar invasions many times. Hach waited with the rest of his Lord’s horde, caressing his pet in silence.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

Three heavy thuds sounded on the tall keep doors. Hach signaled and the winches creaked. Slowly, shrieking, the doors moved. Cold air oozed between them, damp and smelling of deep, lonely places.

In the glow of the torches waited a girl.

She was sitting on a horse, who stood phlegmatic before the leering horde within. Her hands were tied in front of her and she was blindfolded. Not how encroaching warriors usually approached the demon keep.

Hach and the horde hesitated. The second rider had already cleared the bridge, the clatter of hooves growing faint under the wind. Hach spoke softly and the raven leapt forward, rising to tail the rider and report back.

“Hello?”

Hach nearly jumped. The girl, a young woman, was leaning forward, head twisting as she tried to peer around her blindfold.

“Hello?” she repeated. “Frantu? This is ridiculous! Untie me!”

Hach found refuge in his script. The arched ceiling above made his voice grumble dangerously. “Who dares disturb the Demon King?”

Her mouth looked surprised, then angry, compressed to a thin line.

“Of all the-” She broke off in a coarse curse. “That lying, back-stabbing, useless puddle of milk water!”

The horde shifted uncomfortably. They looked to Hach. Was she insulting their lord? Should they attack?

Hach grew more bewildered each moment. He cleared his throat.

“Who comes before the Demon King?” That was less threatening, but still stern.

Her voice was tart and scornful as she retorted, “Obviously, I did not choose to come here! And would someone get me off this thrice accursed horse? I can’t feel my butt cheeks.”

One of his underlings whispered to him. “Master Hach? What should we do?”

There was no help for it. One couldn’t order a girl dragged screaming to the dungeons when she clearly was not terrified of being so abused. Hach signaled. Three or four of the horde pointed to themselves, then each other, none wanting to be the one. Hach glared and the group of them shuffled forward.

With the help of a horny hand, she slid to the ground. Her legs wobbled and she leaned on the creature half her height.

“Be a dear and cut these ropes?”

The poor goblin was too bemused to disobey. Once free, she shook out her hands, swept off the blindfold, and looked interestedly around her.

Hach was impressed. She was quite the ugliest human girl he had ever seen. She was brave, too. She gulped a little as she looked over the horde massed in the twilight. But she swallowed it down and stepped forward.

“Hello,” was her friendly greeting. “I’m Kasha.”

Hach said nothing. His lord’s voice rumbled from above, a trick of the channels cut through the stones.

“What is taking so long?”

This Kasha jumped. Hach sighed.

“Bring her,” he ordered. The horde again was unsure. Should they leer at her and harass her as they marched her though the keep? That seemed suddenly impolite.

Hach bypassed the tunnel down to the dungeons. Instead, he led her to an anteroom in the south tower. A fire had been laid and lit easily. After milling about in the corridor, the horde dispersed back to their normal duties.

Kasha sat gingerly on a wooden chair. Her face was more pinched than before and Hach somehow didn’t have the heart to glower.

“Are you hungry?” he asked stiffly.

“Famished!”

“Wait here.”

By the time he had arranged a tray, his lord had heard the whole tale. He stormed into the pantry.

“What is this nonsense?”

Hach arranged a wedge of cheese on the tray. “A young woman, my lord. She was left.”

“Left?” The Demon King scowled down at his second-in-command. “Another sacrifice? It is months from the equinox!”

Hach shook his head. “It does not appear so, my lord.” Those were usually beautiful maidens, adorned in ridiculous outfits, draped in jewels and pearls. After a ‘ritual’ goblet of drugged wine, Hach could generally dispose of them to a neighboring kingdom in need of a damsel in distress.

“Well, then?”

Hach admitted his own bafflement. “She seems more annoyed than anything.”

Phytos, Lord of the Demon Horde, Master of the North, rubbed his temples. “Just get rid of her.”

The girl was standing at a window. In the south tower, the windows were leaded and filled with thick glass. She peered out into the night, the shifting clouds above giving tantalizing glimpses of the early moon.

She squeaked as Hach entered with a lantern but tried to speak normally.

“Thank you, um…”

“I am Hach, Master of the Demon King’s Keep.” He bowed. Three of the horde carried the tray and a fresh gown into the room. They also bowed and backed out.

Kasha giggled. Hach scowled up at her and she hastened to cover her mouth.

“I am so sorry,” she said. “I mean no offence. Just, I was expecting…”

He scowled harder. “I assure you, lady, no harm will befall you here.” He managed to impregnate his words with extreme disgust for such barbaric imaginings. “Please, eat.”

She hesitated, but then moved to a chair within the circle of light. Hach served her and settled across from her. She examined him frankly, chewing mouthfuls of bread. She swallowed and grinned at him.

“Thank you. Frantu hogged all the food.”

He said nothing. She chewed some dried dates and tried again to make conversation. “I am sure you’re wondering why I am here.”

Hach was burning to know, but only raised his bushy eyebrows.

Kasha nibbled at the sharp cheese. “Honestly, I think father was hoping you’d kill and eat me.” She eyed the food with sudden misgiving. “You’re not going to, are you?”

Hach could not help a small smile. “No, fair lady.”

She flashed a grin. “Nothing ‘fair’ about me, Master Hach.”

That was perfectly true. Her nose was too large, her forehead too broad. Her eyes were wide and had a friendly twinkle in the firelight, but they were muddy colored. Her hair was a tangled mess and no amount of silk, pearls, or gold would transform her into a beauty. He doubted even the strongest Beauty Elixir would make much of a dent.

The girl was glaring at the olives she was holding. “That’s probably why my father dumped me up here.” She crushed the olives between her teeth and spoke around her mouthful. “He hates me.”

Hach didn’t know what to say. She guessed at his unease and smiled again.

“Don’t worry, I hate him, too. He’s a nasty, grabbing pig. And I clearly wasn’t going to bring in any dowry. I’m surprised he didn’t just have Frantu slit my throat once across the border and toss my body in a river.”

“That would certainly have been more efficient.”

Her laugh tried to be merry; it fell bitter and disillusioned to the stone floor, too old for her still plump cheeks. “I thought so, too. Which is why I didn’t try to escape. I figured wherever Frantu was taking me had to be better than my home.”

Suddenly, she yawned. Hach signaled her to follow him. The sleeping chamber was simple, but snug. She kicked off her boots and curled up in the bed.

“Thank you, Hach,” she said, eyes half-closed. “Good night.”

Hach seemed to have lost his voice. He made a dignified bow and retreated before he succumbed to the impulse to tuck her in.

Phytos was displeased. “How soon can she be shipped out?”

Hach trembled slightly but drew out the unopened vial from his pocket. “I…that is…”

Phytos peered at his loyal servant. “What on earth am I going to do with a girl?”

Hach tried to explain what Chrrrirr had told him, what this Kasha had said. “The girl’s father is Ghrent, Lord of the Shadow Woods.”

Phytos scoffed. “’Shadow Woods.’ And?”

“And it seemed he needed a way to rid himself of a useless daughter.”

His lord’s face darkened. “Thinking we would do the deed for him?”

Hach did not want to commit to an opinion. Phytos pushed back his chair. “Where is she?”

“Asleep in the south tower.”

Phytos paced the room. “Have any if the Triumvirate indicated a need for a maiden?”

Hach shook his head.

“What is so ‘useless’ about her?”

“She is…” Hach hesitated. “Not beautiful.”

Phytos rolled his eyes. Hach explained further. “And I fear of a frank and -erm- inquisitive disposition.”

Phytos continued to pace, eyes distant and thoughtful.

“Leave me,” he said finally. Hach bowed himself out and spent the night thinking of whom among their clients could do with a such a girl. ***

He presented his solution to his lord while the sorcerer breakfasted.

Phytos waved this aside. “I will see her, then decide her fate.”

She was awake and dressed in the gown, which fit her better than her own frock. A simple spell, but worthwhile. She was munching an apple when Phytos swept into the room, Hach hurrying in his wake.

She leaped to her feet and paled perceptibly under Phytos’ hard stare.

“I am Phytos, Demon King of the North.”

She stood paralyzed for a moment, swallowed mightily, and gave a wobbly curtsy.

“Your Majesty,” she squeaked.

Hach was relieved to see his master’s mouth thin to hold back a smile.

“What are you doing here, girl?”

“I am so sorry to impose on you,” Kasha rushed to explain. “My father – I assume it was he – had me abducted and carried here. I will leave at once, if I may beg some food from you, and perhaps a horse. I…I cannot return to my home…if perhaps you could suggest somewhere I could seek asylum?”

She was so pathetically brave. Phytos stood in silence a long moment.

“I must consult with my oracle,” he said finally and swept from the room. Hach hurried to follow.

The furrow in his master’s brow stilled the many questions Hach was eager to ask. Up a steep stair and into a wide tower chamber led to the oracle.

Phytos leaned over the silver basin, only a finger deep and polished so it resembled a mirror. The water that filled it had come from a high mountain spring and was perfectly clear.

The demon-king gestured and the water stilled its restlessness. The sunlight reflected off the basin and highlighted the sharp features of Phytos’ face.

Hach moved so he could see into the scene below him.

No sound, but he could well imagine the clamor of the horses and men in the courtyard. They shouted, weapons raised in assent. A man stood on a balcony, gesticulating, his face red with emotion. More cheering and the men mounted. The activity blurred and the scene narrowed, following the man, a king.

He had a surly face, not unhandsome but spoiled by chronic displeasure. He sat and shouted at the other men in the room, advisors of some sort.

“Ghrent?” Hach asked.

Phytos grunted, concentrating. He watched the man a moment more, then the oracle whisked forward in time to follow the riders. They were moving fast and not waiting for those who fell behind. Ahead of them, a distant shadow in the sky, was the Demon King’s mountain keep.

“Why on earth are they coming here?” Hach demanded. It was sheer lunacy to launch an attack on the most powerful sorcerer East of the Hyperan Sea.

Phytos stroked his chin thoughtfully. “They come to rescue the girl.”

Hach mentally juggled the conflicting facts. “Ghrent abducted his own daughter just to rescue her?”

“And so find a warrior to be his heir.”

Hach added, “And dispose of an unappealing daughter in marriage.”

Phytos laughed. “A stupid and convoluted plot. I like it.”

“You will allow them to come?”

“Of course. Though they may find their task harder than they expect.”

Kasha was bouncing on her toes when they returned to her.

“You, girl. Kasha. Can you read?”

She cringed under Phytos’ barking question but nodded.

“Do figures?”

“I had a tutor until a few years ago.”

“How old are you?”

“I will be seventeen years at the Rabbit Moon.” Hach remembered the rough faces of her father and the men sent to fetch her and winced.

Phytos snorted. “Follow me.”

She had to jog to keep up with Phytos’ long strides. Hach hovered in their wake. The front of the keep was towering and filled with twisting corridors, empty rooms, and ominous echoes.

Phytos unlocked a door and waved Kasha through to the main wing.

“Oh!” Kasha’s eyes opened wide. The courtyard was filled with blooming roses, kept in perpetual summer. The far half was tidily planted with vegetables. The goblins assigned to tend the beds bowed to their lord and cast shocked looks at Kasha.

Phytos entered the workroom, where the goblins prepared powders, potions, and elixirs from carefully measured ingredients. Their lord leaned over them to sniff a vial here, finger a bright blue powder there. The kitchens were busy with preparation of the noon meal.

Kasha seemed to shrink smaller and smaller as Phytos led her to his own workroom, a large room with high windows and shelves filled with the bits and pieces of his magic. She sat on the edge of a stool and jumped when Phytos spoke to her.

“You will attend me in the mornings for your lessons. It is well you can read, though I doubt it has been of any use to you. In the afternoons, you will take your instruction from Hach. He manages my keep and my goblins. Do you understand?”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Hach will see to your comfort. You may go.”

“Excuse me, my lord?”

“What?” Phytos was less threatening wearing reading spectacles, but still quite ferocious.

“What about my father?”

Phytos dismissed the man with a negligent shrug. “He means nothing.”

Hach wanted to draw his lord’s attention to the sudden swell of tears in the girl’s eyes, but instead gently led her to her own room. Certainly more appealing than the cell she inhabited last night, she looked around with a watery but smiling face.

“Thank you, Hach,” she said, running the back of her hand across her eyes to rid herself of her sorrow. “It is lovely.”

It had been many a year since a woman had stayed in the castle walls longer than a night. The room would do well enough for now. The bed was narrow, but comfortable. A wide window looked north. Rather than the rocks and wasteland to the south of the keep, one could see the fields growing the Demon King’s grain and hay. The goblin workers were darker dots moving along the gently rustling rows.

Kasha made a quick inspection of the room, then followed Hach as he returned to his long overdue tasks. ***

Over the next few weeks, she learned how the gardens were managed, the produce dried, salted, and milled for winter. She eagerly learned the name of each plant, both magical and not. She helped, clumsily at first, but with growing skill, to ready the leaves, roots, and stems for the workers.

They were shy of her. But her infectious giggles soon became a normal part of the hum of activity in the keep.

The field workers proudly showed off their herds of tiny sheep and goats, pigmy cattle giving rich, warm milk. She spun the golden fleece from Phytos’ prize herd into glistening strands, a chore she declared she hated but showed remarkable dexterity for, for a human.

She continued to be meek and silent in Phytos’ presence but attended her lessons and was soon reciting on the movement of the planets and their earthly effects. Her spelling was atrocious, but she had a quick head for figures and loved to plot charts by the hour.

***

Ghrent’s warriors reached the castle after the next full moon. Phytos stood on the highest reaches, watching them through his spy glass.

“Swine,” he muttered. “The lot of them.” The telescope clicked as he slammed it closed. “I should turn them into swine and let them loose to be eaten by wolves.”

Chrrirr had been reporting to his master of these ‘rescuers’ and their activities. Their journey across the countryside had left several villages weeping after their passage.

Phytos stilled his restless pacing. A slow smile curved his thin lips. “Or…”

Kasha trembled when Phytos told her of the approaching riders.

“You aren’t-” She gulped. “You aren’t going to give me to them, are you?”

Phytos gave her the softest smile Hach had ever seen on his face. “No, little one. But I will need your help.”

Her eyes popped as Phytos opened his Book of Spells, a tome she had been expressly forbidden to touch.

“Read this, child.”

She mouthed the words. Her grin lit her face and made her almost lovely.

“Can you remember it?”

She nodded and hugged herself.

They had kept some of the ‘sacrificial’ garb worn by the girls dumped here in the past. Kasha squeezed into a glistening, gossamer gown. She hitched up the bodice and scowled.

“How did they ride a horse in this thing?”

Hach dressed her hair with gems, adding a few muttered incantations to aid in her costuming. She in turn rehearsed her own lines. When Hach finished, he paused a moment to press her hand. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and followed him to the south wing of the keep.

The wind was howling, encouraged by Phytos’ spells. The horde had gathered and their chuckles of delight were truly terrifying. Kasha stalked through them, a scowl of determination on her face.

It was not long before a rumble of hoofbeats could be heard. Hach appreciated the clouds tumbling overhead and hoped the men’s ride was wet and miserable.

They drew up before the massive gate. One braver – or stupider – than the rest dismounted and came forward.

“Demon King! I am Fhrynheld. I come to reclaim the maiden you stole from King Ghrent!”

“Ha!” Kasha muttered in the shadows.

“Come forth at once and face my blade!”

Hach let his echoes fall to silence, then signaled to begin the spectacle.

***

The great doors groaned as they opened, thunder laughing mockingly overhead. The torches writhed as a gust of wind nearly swept Fhrynheld’s feet from under him, cold and merciless.

He kept his feet and readied his weapon, his comrades doing likewise behind. A few muttered useless prayers. Something gathered in the shadows, a figure. He tensed his legs to spring away when…a woman came out.

He stared, unable to move as she glowered down at him. Her arms spread wide and her voice shook the earth below their feet.

“Behold! I am Kasha whom ye seek.”

Fhrynheld could only gape. He had seen Ghrent’s whelp; this glorious, glowing creature could not be she. He found his voice.

“Hold your tongue, witch!” he snarled. “Bring forth the girl!”

She threw her head back and laughed. It was a musical but dark sound and Fhrynheld was suddenly uneasy.

“Do you not recognize me, Fhrynheld, Brenheld’s son? Have you forgotten me so soon?”

He felt markedly alone before her, the others drawing back. She did not forget them. Her eyes found each one and gleamed her displeasure. She named them one by one and showed her teeth. “What a mighty band my father has assembled. A pity he did not join you.”

Who else could it be? “Lady Kasha, whatever the Demon King has done to you-”

“Silence, dog!” she shrieked. Lightening cracked, so close it and the thunder were one sound. “You think I would return to my father’s keep? Do you think I would suffer to join with such as you! I, who have been given such power by the Demon King himself? You are nothing! Worms! Dross! Swine!”

She pointed at them and spoke terrible words, a mass of glowing, hateful eyes surrounding her. Fhrynheld scrambled to escape her spell, but it twisted his bones, pulling him down to his hands and knees as he desperately tried to crawl away.

“Go! Run like the stinking cattle you are! Tell my father he will rue the day he cast me aside, hoping the Demon King would do the wicked deed he dared not. Tell him that Kasha, Queen of the North, will cause him and his seed to suffer into eternity!”

Fhrynheld ran with the others, fleeing her taunting, hysterical laughter. He could only crawl, the grunting, braying noise tearing his throat mixed with the others’ panicked cries. His hands and feet were twisted in pain, the icy rain soaking his back.

They ran for the edge of the caldera, the horses towering over them as the mass of cattle and swine escaped the wrath of the Witch Queen. ***

Kasha ran up the stairs, lifting her dress so she wouldn’t trip on the trailing silk. She burst into Phytos’ study, face flushed and sweaty, the dazzle enchantment starting to wear off.

“Have they reached the wood yet?” she demanded. “How did I do? I thought I stumbled over the second phrase, but it worked! I turned them into pigs! You weren’t helping, were you, Lord Phytos? I did it myself?”

The Demon King smiled kindly on her. “No, child, you did it yourself. Though I may suggest my work in the heavens added to the general atmosphere.”

Kasha hugged Hach and danced around the room. “Can we watch them? Do you think they will make it to Ghrent’s castle? Will they turn back in front of everybody?”

A quiet voice interrupted her rapid queries.

“Pray, tell me what devilry you’ve been up to, Phytos.”

Kasha peered into the corner. “Who are you?”

Phytos chided her, but it was easy to see he was mostly amused. “This is Daem, an associate of mine.”

Kasha curtsied perfunctorily. “How do you do? Lord Phytos, will you show me how to use the Oracle next? So I can see them when they turn back to human? Oh! Will they be naked? Oh, how funny! I think Cousin Belina might faint!”

Daem nodded greeting to Hach as the goblin came to him. “Who is this creature?” Daem asked, watching her spin around the room.

“A sacrifice,” Hach summarized. “An unwanted daughter, by the sound of it. She’s just been ridding herself of her rescue party.”

“And quite pleased to do so, it appears.”

Hach still had trouble with human expressions but noticed the bright gleam in Daem’s eyes as they followed Kasha. She settled on a cushion at Phytos’ knee and preened over her accomplishment. Her hair was a snarl, her features as uneven as ever. But her eyes glowed with a light not quite natural, some magic still burning inside her. Her smile was quick and cheerful. With the scant gown falling off her shoulders and the ruby headpiece cast aside, she looked a grubby, rumpled mess.

Hach met Phytos knowing glance and asked the young man, “How long do you stay this visit, my lord?”

Daem dragged his eyes away. “My uncle made no orders for my immediate return. Perhaps I may impose upon your hospitality these next few days?”

“You are always welcome here, my lord. Did you find the Scroll of Inzeri?”

“I did,” Daem said. “Paid a fair amount for it, too.” He drew a tightly sealed scroll from his bag.

Phytos, never missing a detail, broke into Kasha’s gloating. “Child, go change that ridiculous outfit and fetch us some refreshments. I wish you to see this scroll Lord Daem has travel so far to recover.”

“Yes, Lord Phytos!” She skipped out of the room, calling to the goblins to hear her thrilling news.

Phytos held out his hand for the scroll. “An engaging child, yes? Ugly, which is a pity, but certainly gifted. Turned twenty men into pigs with the barest education in the Magical Arts.”

Daem’s tanned face was a little darker than usual. “Certainly a prodigy, my lord. I have started a translation.”

Hach watched the young man closely as he argued linguistics with Phytos, as Kasha interrupted them with eager questions, as the confused, but interested look in Daem’s eyes grew softer and warmer over the following days.

The young human took his leave a week later. Kasha begged him to return soon and bring her a present from his home by the sea. She peered longingly through the door that led, not to the fields beyond the castle walls, but to a warm and sunny city, the tangy sea air blowing fresh and crisp into the keep.

Daem waved farewell to them and Phytos shut the door and locked it.

“Can I go to the sea?” Kasha begged. She had a smudge of dirt by her nose. “I’ve only heard stories of the sea. Please, can we visit Daem in his home soon?”

“We will visit one day soon, child. Now, you have delayed your lessons long enough.” When she made to complain he raised a thin eyebrow and stated, “Lord Daem was only fourteen years when he mastered all the of Third Lexicon. Surely you do not want to be outdone by a mere scholar. You, who has the Gift?”

Determination set her chin in stubborn lines. “When is he coming back, do you think?” It asked was so casually that Hach had to turn away to hide his grin.

Phytos had a look of extreme pleasure in his own machinations. “Oh, I am sure we will see him soon enough. Now, go to my study and copy out the First Incantation. Neatly, if you please.”

Kasha scampered away and Hach gave into his laughter.

#shortstory #writingrampant #writingprompt #writing

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riviae · 6 years

Note

⭐fave lines per chapter MoF? Also your personal fave chapter and why?⭐

[cracks knuckles] k, let’s get to it! (bolded sentences are like my most favorite line)

under a read more bc this is,,, a lot:

chapter 1: “Oh, we’re plenty talkative. A side effect of immortality, I imagine. When one can live forever what is the point in conserving words? I have all the time in the world, unlike you, nameless witcher, who will die a bloody, forgetful death. No one to mourn you. No one to even bury your body. You could die here in this abandoned hut and no one would come looking for you. That is the pitiful fate of a witcher, abandoned by humans and gods.” Regis grabbed the witcher by the collar of his armor and threw him, slamming the man into the wall. -regis hitting the witcher nail on the head–witchers in-universe are relics of a bygone era. they are a testimony to how low humanity would go to preserve its progeny, taking abandoned or stolen children & turning them into killing machines… :///

chapter 2: Regis nodded, pouring Geralt another glass. “We are quite alike, you and I. Family sounds like something made for other people. I am not easily tied down. The fiercely independent sort, which I’m sure you’ve guessed. This world we younger vampires have been born into, the one we are merely sojourners in, is not kind. It breeds fierceness and mistrust. Even among my own people, though I am popular, I cannot say I have any close friends. Vampires know of me, but that is all. I guess that is why you’re still alive. Perhaps I’ll find more in common with a witcher.”-another regis monologue; oh man, if he only knew what was coming. the irony is still hilarious.

chapter 3: “Thanks. You’d make a good healer, you know. If you ever wanted to give up terrorizing villages.”

Regis laughed, exposing the tips of his fangs. “Perhaps in another life, Geralt. I enjoy being a fiend, to some degree. Healing sounds like a lot of boring, thankless work.”

“So is being a witcher. But someone has to do it.”-another nod to canon bc i love doing that lmao. good thing vampires can basically have multiple lives due to their longevity!! ‘cause joke’s on young regis lol

chapter 4: A sense of déjà vu seized Geralt when he awoke a few hours later. He was perched carefully on the back of Roach, a certain vampire taking up the majority of the saddle.

At his shifting, Regis turned to look at the witcher, giving a grin.“I do say, I’m starting to feel like your caretaker. Have you always been such a handful?”

“I…I’m alive?” Geralt said, tone laced with surprise.Regis rolled his eyes.

“Yes. Thanks to my quick wit, I was able to drain most of the poison out of your system. Which tasted horribly, might I add.” -i apparently have the most fun w/ young!regis’ dialogue lmao. but tbh 99% of the witcher series is geralt’s friends taking care of him bc he’s a disaster and prone to bouts of, well, near death ^^;

chapter 5: “Comfortable?” Regis asked, a teasing lilt taking over his voice.

“As comfortable as I’d be sharing a coffin with a corpse,” Geralt retorted.-ch.5 aka the start of the bed-sharing™ trope and also the beginning of genuine banter between geralt and regis!

chapter 6: “Thank you, Geralt.”

The witcher gave a small smile. “No problem.” Reaching into his pouch, Geralt retrieved the white vial and downed it in one go, closing his eyes. The White Raffard had the added side effect of being a mild sedative and tiredness—from the blood loss and the day’s events—robbed him of coherent thought as he felt himself drift off beside Regis. His head lolled against Regis’ good shoulder and he soon fell into a light slumber.

“Geralt,” Regis muttered with endearment, looking at the sleeping man, “you are truly an awful witcher.”-this is probably my favorite chapter tbh! we get a lot of bonding between geralt & regis, and this was also where i caved and made it a geralt/regis fic lol. i just think, in a technical writing manner, this was one of my better chapters. the scenes flowed well and i got some good banter in. my favorite things to write are generally dialogue and action–so i really enjoyed doing this one.

chapter 7: The innkeep’s mouth formed an O, worry knitting between her brows. “Thank you for the warning. I’ll write a letter to put on the notice board. In the mean time, did you find your lodgings to your liking?”

“It’s fine.”

Regis grinned. “As Geralt said, the room is good. No mites, fleas, or termites. Quite the sturdy bed, too…”

Geralt choked on his ale, sloshing some of its contents onto the tabletop in his surprise.If anything about the comment and the witcher’s subsequent panic startled the innkeep, she did not show it. She busied herself by checking the wine glasses for dust with a cloth, a soft smile upon her features.“Have you two known each other long? It’s quite rare to see a witcher traveling with another person.”

Geralt shook his head. “No, we’ve only been acquainted a short while.”

“I think you’re selling our relationship short, Geralt. We both know a great deal about each other.”

“That may be true, but—“

“Time doesn’t dictate closeness. I think we’ve experienced much together. Enough to make us close acquaintances, at the very least.”

The innkeep laughed. “I must agree with you, sir. Many travelers pass through my inn, but none as chatty and argumentative as you two. You remind me of an old married couple.”

“Well, one of us is ancient,” Geralt muttered under his breath to where only Regis could hear him.

The vampire, to his credit, merely snorted into his mug, giving a tight-lipped smile.-lol more geralt/regis banter.™ the innkeeper is truly the mvp here. -also, regis’ thoughts here make me sad™: The vampire pulled the hood up as he waited by the noticeboard for Geralt, the warm Toussaint sun fixed high in the cloudless sky. Regis closed his eyes and listened to the chatter of passing townsfolk, the sound of children splashing at the bank of the lake, the creaking of wicker chairs and the clacking of knitting needles, and felt something akin to peace. Quaint village life… perhaps in another life, in a time where he deserved such a respite, he would have settled down in a village like Francollarts and spent his time as a healer. He could imagine himself living on the outskirts in a yellow-roofed home, spending his free time reading on the porch and giving coin to the village children so they could buy sweets from the traveling merchants. He could see himself living a full life and then growing old, giving in to the gentle lull of time, and dying in a room full of people who loved and cared about him—people that he too loved and cared about.

But that wasn’t—and never could be—his life.

chapter 8:There was a sort of natural aristocratic shape to Regis’ profile that the fire highlighted, his high cheekbones, strong features, and onyx eyes begetting otherness in the same manner that Geralt’s cat eyes did. He looked out of place in a village, as if he were instead a traveling noble who had taken refuge at the inn, content to spend the day pretending he was just like the common folk.

And Regis was pretending, to some effect, that he was normal. Human. But the witcher had spent enough time with the man to see the nonhuman traits he tried to hide: his pointed nails that clutched the stem of the wine glass, the barest glimpse of his teeth which gleamed white and dangerous from behind his thin lips, the reflective layer of tissue in his eyes that Geralt had seen glow in the pitch-black darkness of their room, and the man’s lack of shadow, as if Regis wasn’t really there at all.-geralt checking out observing regis in this chapter was fun to write. i like that witchers are canonly observant and whatnot for their job.

also, this scene which i shamelessly borrowed from the book: “I apologize for leading you astray. But truly, you are much too easy to manipulate. It must be due to your youth. This world is cruel. It hasn’t broken you yet, Geralt, but it will and I’ll be there to see it.”

“No, you definitely won’t be,” Geralt said, pointing his sword forward.

To his surprise, the vampire moved so that the tip of the blade pressed against the center of his throat, scraping against his Adam’s apple as he swallowed.

“Go on, then,” Regis leered. “Thrust it in.

chapter 9: “Hmm, how lovely. Truly, you are everything I’ve ever wanted—and more.”

Regis cupped the nape of Geralt’s neck, clawed hand digging into his mess of white locks to tilt his head up, capturing the witcher’s lips in another searing kiss.

Geralt melted into the touch, a warmth settling in his chest. He felt whole. Complete. It was beyond anything he’d felt before.-that dream sequence tho ;3c in all seriousness, i had fun writing this scene bc it was just.... end game geralt x regis. like how sweet they’ll be by the end of the fic.

chapter 10: “Thank you, Geralt."

“For what?”

“For giving me something to cherish.”-dream sequences, am i right? they’re always fun!! and give me the chance to show what characters would say if they weren’t inhibited by their pride. soft & sweet and to the point--regis is slowly falling for geralt and he’s gonna just... meet it head-on. bc what else can he do? he’s not gonna leave geralt unless the witcher asks him to.

#wishingformemoria #mof updates #<-- tag i'll use when talking about this fanfic in case y'all get tired of hearing me ramble lol #ask games #bless u amanda for asking this!!! i had lots of fun combing back thru these chapters

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jessipalooza · 6 years

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Of Unseen and Eyes, Part I

Whether people wished to admit it or not, the sea changed from land to land, place to place. In Quel'Thalas, it was fresh and teemed with magic. In Stormwind, it was sturdy and bland. In Booty Bay, it was rotten and unruly.

In Drustvar, it was ancient and stank of blood, fish, and rotten earth.

Karsteth had manged to find an island off the coat of Drustvar, within sight of the Crimson Forest, tucked down in the south where it should have been cold - but it was not cold...it was damp, it was humid, it was uncomfortable. Nobody wanted to be there, and so it was the perfect place for a man that wanted nobody around him.

With his ship docked on one side of the small island, he trudged along the beach, rounding the large hill (or perhaps small mountain). Even Booker remained back with the ship, leaving the one-eyed, hand-scarred captain alone. He listened to the waves, the cry of the gulls as they circled fish nearby, and the crunch of shells and sand beneath his boots.

The island was silent of people, his men far enough away that their shouting drowned out beneath nature. But that was how it needed to be in order for his gruff voice to carry as he bellowed:

"DASIA!!"

Her home had grown smoky with the burning of offerings, and so when she felt the call to sea-soaked climes, she took it. It was simple to her-- when certain clients called, and with such need, she came. There were deals to make, things to win... and she had been hoping to hear this voice through the shady betweenplaces.

When Dasia' feet touched the sand, though, she gasped softly, full lips parted to taste the air, the mist, the blood thick in both.

Kindred, she felt. Kin and kith alike. Welcome home, the land said. Where you belong. Amethyst-bright eyes flashed over the rocky outcroppings, the thin trees for this blasted and small islet, and she shivered with delight. She took a step, and almost lost her footing. Her magic, so well heeled for centuries, raced and dragged at her leashes, bright and eager for the hunt. She knew this place then, and her laughter filled the wave-wracked wind.

"Oh, my Captain, you always know the best places for our dalliances." She replied to him, her bare feet light on the soaked leaflitter. "My heart sings."

There was a distant call for more tar. The repairs were getting started in full swing, but Karsteth made not even a glance up. He knew where his ship was, he knew what it needed, he knew what his crew was doing...and his crew knew better than to dally. Thankfully, where his ship was wounded, he was not.

“Cut yer weird shit, Dasia,” he said, as gruffly as ever. “We ain’t here for a lover’s triste. Y’know that well enough. Guessin’ ye even know why I called ye here.”

She hummed softly, eyes tracing over the man's features. He may not want her now, but her appreciation for him was certainly not purely professional and it showed in the smile that curled her lips. "To business then, my Captain." There was always special emphasis on that title; she had helped him secure it, and maintain it-- a possessive shade that lingered when she spoke it.

"I know what the winds tell me; that you engaged and were so close to your goal that the blood was all but on your lips... when it again, was snatched back."

She tossed her wine-dark hair and stepped forward. "I also know she lived, and that your work is far from done, and that you need something to help you keep your shadow close and tucked neat between your boots, so as not to tip your hand to any." She stepped around him, eyes trailing from his features to his shoulders, circling the man while we words would wrap them in a thick mist.

Soon, even the sounds of his ship seemed to fade in the murk, and the scent of copper permeated, combining with the seasalt and the scent of dried herbs that clung to the witch.

"In short, you wish to make another deal, and my Captain, I am very happy to oblige."

Karsteth looked unimpressed at her 'guess'. With a deep breath in, he ran a callused hand over his face and scratched at his scruff-ridden chin. He unhitched his bow from his back, swung it to rest against a nearby rock, and sat himself down. With a wide spread of his legs, he rest his arms across his lap.

"In short, aye. I want another fuckin' deal."

He turned his eye - nay, his eyes - up to the witch. One green and wispy with the taint of fel. One all different colors and teeming with her own magic.

"She had a fuckin' war ship. I could sit around all day and wonder how the fuck that lil' bitch got a war ship, but it won't do me any fuckin' good. I didn't kill her, I know that much. And if she's been huntin' me'n'mine, she'll know I'm comin' next time. So I wanna make sure she doesn't. I want her fuckin' blind."

"You want more than just one girl blind." Dasia corrected, her voice almost chiding. "She hunts you now, but you know that as soon as word rises that the White Widow was wounded, there will be other sharks chasing the chum in the waters." She clucked her tongue to teeth softly. "I know your enemies are many because they are sniffing after anything that will bring them an edge... even seeking witches."

There was always the risk he would grow violent with her, of course; she liked it, he was chaos made man and she loved that he was one of the few who could end her, wholly, upsetting so many years of planning. Still, she wanted him to know-- she was courted by others, and had not given them nearly as much as she had given Karsteth.

No other had given her two sons, despite the firsts faults. "I have not bothered with them, but they seek anyway." She finished her circling and stood before him, arms crossed beneath her heavy bosom, hip thrust out becomingly. "I will make you a deal to blind them all; they would need to have their soles on your deck to know where you are."

Leaning down, she purred softly to him. "Imagine, Karsteth, lord of the waters... unseen. By any foe. Arrive like mist over the shore, disperse just as invisibly." She closed the distance, stepped up to where he was seated, and recklessly slid her hand over his unscarred cheek. "I could make you this way."

“Who the fuck else is lookin’ for me?” He all but growled, watching her come closer but keeping his hands safely down, dangling between his legs casually. He was a predator and knew another predator when he saw one. He knew better than to take his eyes off of her.

Without waiting for a response (it didn’t matter, after all, they’d all be dead sooner or later and he had a more pressing matter to handle), he scoffed with a whiskey-scented breath. He leaned back and gestures loosely to the witch in front of him.

“That’s why I’m fuckin’ here, Dasia. What d’ye need this time? Some rubies, some fuckin’ flour, and the cock of a general or some weird shit as usual? Name yer price.”

As he leaned back, her hand was drawn away, and she clucked. "Other captains, other pirates. You make no friends with your white flag." She shook her head as though sadly, but he could still see her smile. "They circle, but I will help you evade."

She opened her hands to him, and in them red mist swirled. "I need very little this time; hiding is what me and mine are very very good at." Dasia purred and in her palms grew a small stone vial. "Drink this, and follow the tracks of white light amidst the red; you will find what remains of... something I need. Something I cannot get."

Dasia's voice softened, a serious note growing in the dulcet tones. "Use it where your ship is docked against safe harbor, but no step you will need to take. Get me the glowing fragment, and I will make you invisible to all your enemies. I have the stones and bones and things I need to hide you, all I ask is for this one thing; an eye lost in the Nightmare."

Karsteth arched a long brow at her words. She was a woman of deals and didn’t give anything freely. Whatever she required must be valuable enough. She must have been desperate enough. But he wasn’t going to question it and ruin an upper hand. The two had their dance. He would stick with it.

“Glowin’ remains of what exactly?” He asked, looking to the mist and then the vial as it materialized. “Ye said an eye? How am I supposed to know where the fuck it is in all this place yer sendin’ me?”

"It will glow." She said it with surety. "It doesn't belong there, and the Nightmare is trying to consume it and it is not being consumed. You have the... easy part, it has been moved part of the way to the edge of Nightmare, and just needs the last steps to bring it back to the world of living and breathing."

The danger, of course, was that he would smell enough of her or just enough of life to bring the things that hunter Nightmare to hunt. But she could not traverse those lands for this item; she could not touch it, while within the Nightmare. Her deals had been clear, no matter how she chafed against them these many years later.

Simpering, she pitched her voice softer. "It won't appear like an eye. I do not know what shape it has in the Nightmare, now that it has been there so long, but it will glow and stand out against the wilds."

Karsteth's attention dipped down to the vial in Dasia's hands. His tongue ran along his teeth again and he leaned back - not just for comfort's sake, but to sit taller, straighter.

"So, ye don't know what the fuck it looks like. Might not look like an eye. But it'll glow. And it'll be fairly fuckin' close to wherever the fuck I dock my ship. But if I take this shit ye got, find the glowin' piece'a'shit, and get it to ye, then ye'll see to it that that fuckin' bitch won't see me comin'. That she won't be able to find me."

Dasia's eyes met his. "I will make it worth your efforts. I want this eye, and you want to be unseen. A trade made by fates, yes? Steal an eye and steal sight with it." She laughed, but there was no humor in it.

If he had not called her, she would have sought him-- or sent one of her other debted dealmakers into the Nightmare. She needed this, and the sooner she had it... the sooner she could begin. Things were unfolding, becoming, far quicker than she had hoped. If Karsteth could obtain this...

"I will do exactly as you say; bring it, and you will move over waters unknown and unseen, until you so choose to be seen." Her tone grew serious, and she leaned in, eyeing his features once more with clear evaluation.

"Do we have a deal?"

As Dasia leaned in, his eyes dipped down briefly to the humorless smile. It was business, and he knew that. But it was something else, and he knew that too. He couldn't shake the feeling that she was fucking him over somehow. He knew she wasn't telling him the whole story, but he didn't give a fuck about what all of these eyes, tongues, secrets, blood, and stones were for. And yet....

Rather than offer her a gruff, verbal answer, he reached up and forcefully grabbed a fistful of dark, wild hair. Tugging her down, he smashed his lips against hers for a hard and open mouthed kiss. There was a sort of hunger to it, one that came from the sheer power of both of them being in such a close space. But he had also not had a whore for nearly a month.

Releasing her with a bite of her lip and a taste of blood, he made a grab for the vial and tried to stand all at once.

"Aye, we have a deal."

The potion grabbed from her hands, Dasia let herself fall back a step after the rough assent. With a toss of her hair to right the mussed locks, she reached up to touch her bleeding lip with a smile. Chaos made man indeed; she was never caught so unawares as she was with him. Hunger and demand in him was always met with a surge of her own, and she had not the time to delve into such now. Yet, her smile was as genuine as a witches ever could be, and there was smug satisfaction in her words.

"Sealed with a kiss, then." Her fingertip traced in pink, she made a symbol in the air that seemed to trail fire briefly, before burning up-- and in the burning, so too did the mists finally fade. "I would linger for... further amusements, but this spell is in need of reagents, and I have perfect faith you will return to me soon with what I have requested; I would not keep my Captain waiting." There was a note of resignation in the words; she would have enjoyed a dalliance, but he had been right when he said this was no place for a tryst.

"And I don't have any time to waste," he said easily.

Slipping the vial away on his person, he watched Dasia for a moment longer. He had seen the fire well enough, but he knew better than to question such things with the witch. There was no purpose in it. He would not get a straight answer. And neither did the answer matter.

"I'll get whatchye need and bring it back here. With the seas as stormy as they are and the fuckin' trolls fightin' the Kul Tirans, they won't come near here. Right under their fuckin' noses."

He already started to leave, but stopped and glanced back at Dasia. "Ye will be here when I fuckin' need it, aye? Or are ye gonna pull some creepy shit and materialize on my ship when I got the eye?"

Her laughter was bright. "Here is well enough; I promised the riding of rough waters to another, I will be here on land for you to find." Dasia took a step away, not bothering to leave Karsteth with a linger glance-- she had what she wanted, and promise of his return.

Maybe they might have time then, maybe not, but she had smarting lips and heat to remember him by and that was enough.

As her gaze slid over the rock, she glanced to the mainland as well, and lifted a hand-- marks, inky and dark appeared on the skin in a rush as she felt the wind that blew from it, and the scent of magics that swirled within. "Oh, I will be here." Her smile grew sharp as she stepped between shadows of a tree, and seemed to disappear, only her words remaining. "Afterall, you brought me exactly where I need to be."

Karsteth watched as she stepped forward. He saw the blow of the breeze, and then he saw the shadows encompass her until she was not but an echo of her voice. He took in a deep breath of the ancient-scented land and sea - the blood and rotten earth of it all.

"Right where ye need to fuckin' be," he murmured, repeating her sentiments. With a shake of his head, he turned fully and announced himself as he headed back to the White Widow, as the voices and sounds reached his ears once more.

"Get ready to make way, men! We're leavin' within the hour, repairs done or not!"

Part I | Part II | Part III

@thesunguardmg | @stormandozone

#my writing #roleplay #karsteth #esme #dmtnt

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swanqueeneverafter · 6 years

Text

59. Homecoming, Pt.4

Storybrooke. Fiona’s Car. (Fiona hands Mr. Gold several photographs depicting Belle on her travels around the world.) Fiona: “So, yes. I haven't been completely honest. The police did find evidence of what happened to Belle. I just wanted to save you and Gideon the heartbreak.” Mr. Gold: (Sighs:) “Well she wanted to see the world.” Fiona: “Just not with you, it would appear. Look, I must be frank with you, for your sake as well as Gideon's. You're the one that caused him all this pain, not Belle. She left because you could never be the man she wanted you to be. But you can still be the man your son needs you to be by accepting that and moving on.” Mr. Gold: “Thank you. This was, uh... illuminating.” (Mr. Gold exits the car. Watching him walk away, Fiona smiles. Picking up the storybook, she opens it to find the page Henry wrote the symbols on.) Fiona: “Oh, Henry. What do you know?” Storybrooke General Hospital. (David walks down the halls and spots Leroy mopping the floors.) David: “Grumpy. We need your help.” Leroy: “Who you calling grumpy?” David: “No, we don't have time for this. Round up the other Dwarfs.” Leroy: “Now you're making this about my height?” Snow White: “I'm sorry, Leroy. I accidentally let this patient out of (Whispering:) the psych ward.” (Snow pushes David into another room.) David: “What's wrong with him?” Snow White: “It's called a curse for a reason. I think we're the only ones awake. It happened the moment I put this by your bed.” David: “A Pixie flower. Of course.” Snow White: (Finds David some clothes:) “Put these on. You need to blend in.” David: “You mean you've been living here since the Dark Curse struck?” Snow White: “Well, Mary Margaret has, but I remember every terrible minute of it.” David: “Wait. Where’s Neal? Where's Emma?” Snow White: “I-I think the curse sent us back in time. I don’t think Neal exists yet. As for Emma, she’s on a date with Hook.” David: “Hook? How is that possible?” Snow White: “Oh, David, it’s awful. It’s like being with Hook has drained Emma of everything that makes her... Emma. She clings to him and constantly makes excuses for his behavior.” David: “I knew I was right about that damn pirate. Where’s Regina?” Snow White: (Shakes her head:) “Regina isn’t Regina here... it’s complicated.”

(They hear a commotion outside and peer through the window to see Henry being wheeled into the emergency room.) David: “That’s Henry!” Snow White: (Holding him back:) “No, David, you can’t be seen here. (Thinks:) Get to Rumple. He's our best chance. If anyone else is awake, it's going to be him. He’ll be at his store on Main Street. But now it’s called Mr. Gold & Son's Pawn Shop. (Takes out her phone:) Here, take my phone, I’ll get my old one from home so we can talk if we need to.” David: “What are you gonna do?” Snow White: “I’m gonna find Emma and tell her what’s happened to Henry. Zelena’s farmhouse is abandoned. We can meet there when we need to.” The Rabbit Hole. (Roni stands sullenly behind the bar watching as the date continues, when Snow White enters.) Snow White: (Rushing over to Emma:) "Oh, Emma, thank goodness I found you." Emma: "Mary Margaret, is everything all right?" Snow White: "No, no it's not, it's Henry." Killian: (Slamming his hand on the table:) "I don't believe this!" Emma: (Ignoring him:) "What is it?" Snow White: "I don't know, I was at the hospital when I saw him being wheeled in." Killian: (Grabbing Emma's arm:) "Leave it, Swan. There's nothing you can do for him, the doctors know what they're doing." Emma: "I'm not gonna just sit here and indulge your fantasies while my son is lying in the hospital." Killian: "Damn it, Emma, I forbid this!" Snow White: "Oh! (Picks up a glass of wine and throws it in Killian's face:) Cram it, Sheriff! (Taking Emma's hand, Snow pulls her away from the table as Roni looks on, beaming. As they pass by, Snow grabs Roni’s hand as well:) You’re coming, too.” Roni: “What? Wait a minute.” Snow White: “Trust me, you’re gonna want to be there.” Roni: (Grabbing her coat:) “Is it bad?” Snow White: “We won’t know till we get there. I’ll drive.” Emma: “No, I don’t think any of us need that. I’ll drive. (At Roni’s look:) I’ve been dumping my drinks all night.”

Hangman’s Island. Ariel’s Cabin. Ariel: (Holding up a gold vase:) “This is the only thing in my collection that looks remotely Agraban. Is it any help?” Will: (Looking down at the compass that points towards the vase:) “Well, either Jafar is in there, or that bottle has its own score to settle.” Ariel: “He's a Genie now? Wow.” Aladdin: “If he is a Genie, he's under the control of whomever summons him, which means finally some good luck.” Will: “Fine. We'll tell him we'll set him free if he gives us what we want. He can restore your city and send me where I need to be, too.” Jasmine: “All right. That sounds good, I suppose. (Takes the vase from Ariel:) I can't believe I'm gonna face Jafar on purpose, but this is my duty. And how can I lose, facing him with you all at my side?” (Jasmine rubs the vase and Jafar emerges from within.) Jafar: “Master, your wish is my- (Spots them:) Oh, no. (Shrugs the cuffs of the genie from his wrists:) Never mind.” Ariel: “Son of a fish. You broke the Genie spell.” Jafar: “That I did, although I was imprisoned. Thank you all for my freedom. It's what allows me to do this. (Jafar snaps his fingers and Aladdin, Will, Ariel and Robin fall onto the bed, unconscious:) Alone again, Princess. I wonder if things will work out as badly for you as they did last time.”

Agrabah. Past. Jasmine: “Any one of these tents could have a soldier in it, or a strong peasant with the heart of a hero. If only I had more time.” Ariel: “Jasmine, we can do this together. You just have to have the courage to say no. (Produces a vial from her pocket:) Look. I stole it from the tent. I don't know what it is, but he had it, so I'm guessing it's magic.” Jasmine: “Ariel this is a weapon. I've seen how it works. It's terrible.” Ariel: “Yes, terrible is good. We can do this. You can do this.” Jasmine: “But I don't know if I can.” Jafar: (Exiting the tent:) “It's time, Princess! I need an answer.” Ariel: “Yeah? Well, why don't-” (Jafar uses his staff to make Ariel disappear.) Jafar: “Your friend is back in the sea where she belongs. And since you won't marry me, I have no choice but to destroy Agrabah.” Jasmine: “Wait! I'll marry you. (Holds out the ring:) For the good of Agrabah, I will be your wife.” Jafar: “Well how unexpected. (Takes the ring:) The crown jewel of Agrabah, freely given. Remember this, Princess, for this is the moment you truly failed your people.” Jasmine: “What are you talking about?” Jafar: “You vain woman. I never wanted to marry you. And I never wanted to rule that grimy place. The people of Agrabah loathe me. They spit my name, call me bastard. And so, I will wipe them off this Earth.” Jasmine: “But I gave you that ring so you wouldn't harm Agrabah. That was the arrangement.” Jafar: “Yes. But a true ruler knows when the other side is bluffing. If you had stayed strong, I never could have hurt Agrabah. It's protected by an ancient magic directly tied to this very jewel. I could never breach it. Now, thanks to your weakness, I can.” Jasmine: “No. Please! Don't destroy my home!” Jafar: “Oh, it's not being destroyed, just taken beyond mankind's grasp.” (Jafar raises his staff and Agrabah vanishes.)

Storybrooke General Hospital. (Henry lies on his hospital bed as Emma enters.) Emma: “Henry! What happened? Are you okay?” Henry: “Mom?” Fiona: (Enters the room holding the storybook:) “He was trying to steal this. Then he tried to escape and had a nasty fall.” Emma: “You lied to me. You said you were done with all this.” Henry: “No. She's the one that's lying. I didn't fall. She pushed me. She wants to destroy your belief.” Fiona: “He's confused. Concussed, according to the doctor. (Pulls out her phone and shows Emma a video:) Look, I pulled this from the security camera. (The video shows Henry falling down the stairs:) Put aside the fact that he's my own son, how could I push him if I wasn't even touching him?” Henry: “She used magic.” Emma: “Kid, there's no such thing as magic.” Henry: “True belief is believing even if you can't see. Here, just look at the book.” Emma: “Henry.” Henry: “Just touch it.” Emma: “Henry, enough.” Henry: “Touch it!” Emma: “Okay, fine. All right, Henry. (Taking the book from Fiona:) I'm touching the book.” (Henry waits but nothing happens.) Henry: “It... it didn't work.” Emma: “I'm sorry, but you're not a kid anymore. This isn't some daring rescue operation. It's real life.” Henry: “Mom, please.” Fiona: “He’s broken his arm and his leg. What if next time it's his neck or worse? This is the apple turnover all over again. He's hurting himself to make you believe his delusions.” Emma: “This is all my fault. It has to stop.” Fiona: “Then you know what you have to do.” Henry: “No. Mom, you can't destroy it. You just have to believe in me.” Emma: “Kid, just 'cause you believe something doesn't make it true.” Henry: “That's exactly what makes it true. Deep down, you know that.” Emma: “What I know, Henry, is that I love you. And that's why I have to do this.” Henry: “Mom. No. Don't go. This is it. This is the Final Battle.” Emma: “Henry, I'm sorry.” (Emma leaves the room with Fiona and the storybook.) Henry: “Mom!” Outside Henry's Room. (Snow White talks with Roni.) Snow White: "You cannot let Emma destroy that book." Roni: "Well, I admit it’s a little extreme but maybe, in the end, it'll be for the best?" Snow White: "No, listen to me. If Emma destroys that book then all hope is lost." Roni: "That's a little melodramatic, don't you think?" Snow White: "Regi- (Stops herself, takes a deep breath:) I know what people think of me in this town. That I'm the eternal optimist and Ms. Goody-two shoes. Which is why you need to be the one to talk with Emma." Roni: "Me? Why me?" Snow White: "Because you're her friend... and because you love her." Roni: (Scoffs:) "Now wait a minute-" Snow White: "I've seen how you are when Emma enters a room, I know that look. (Smiles reassuringly:) And I know you’ve noticed how much she's retreated inside herself since the accident." Roni: "Is it that obvious? (Snow nods. Sighs:) Well her taste in men leaves a lot to be desired, that's for sure." Snow White: "Agreed. Look, I'd talk to Emma myself but deep down, I think a part of her believes that I'm responsible for setting Henry down this fairy tale path. I just know if she hears it from you, it’ll make all the difference.”

Hangman’s Island. (Jasmine stands face to face with Jafar.) Jasmine: “What more can you do to me? You've already taken everything from me.” Jafar: “You have a point there. I have no more business with you. But, I do have a score to settle with those who trapped me. Well, farewell then, Princess. Oh, next time, do bring better champions than (Chuckling:) these. A fish out of water? An ex-Savior? Did you really think you loved him? Oh, you should've seen him the way I did, battle-broken and weeping.” Jasmine: “He's a hero. They all are. And they think I'm one, too. So tell me, where's Agrabah?!” Jafar: “Fine. But only because the answer amuses me so. Really how could you not see that it's practically at your fingertips?” Jasmine: “The ring.” (Fishes the ring out of her pocket.) Jafar: “Look close, Princess.” Jasmine: “The first wish did work. (Looks closely at the ring to see Agrabah hidden inside it:) It took me to Agrabah after all.” Jafar: “And it is just as you left it, albeit rather smaller than is ideal for trade agreements. Now, did your father never tell you your duties to your people? Because you have failed spectacularly to carry it out, and thus deserve nothing. Not the paltry love of an ex-Savior, nor the teeny-tiny prison of your people. Now, give me the ring.” Jasmine: “No. I deserve many things, and I will not let you keep any of them from me! (Holds up the vial:) Look familiar?” (Throws the vial at Jafar’s feet.) Jafar: (Gasps, then laughs as the vial does not break:) “Pathetic! Now, I'm going to take that ring, if you don't mind.” (Jasmine stoops down and picks up the vial, smashing it across Jafar’s face. As the sorcerer disappears, Aladdin, Ariel, Will & Robin reawaken.) Aladdin: “Are you all right? Where's Jafar?” Jafar: (Picking up a wooden staff from the floor:) “Right here. It's like you said. I'm Jasmine of Agrabah, and now I know how to get my city back.” Storybrooke General Hospital. Basement. (Fiona leads Emma into the hospital basement, opening the furnace as Emma clutches the storybook to her chest.) Fiona: (Places a hand on her shoulder:) "Go on, dear. Only you can save our son now, Emma." (As Emma takes a step closer to the furnace, Fiona smiles and walks away. Looking down at the storybook, Emma makes her decision, raising the book towards the flames.) Roni: (Entering:) "Emma, wait."

#sq #swanqueen #swan queen

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zombiiesque · 3 years

Text

A Month of Nocturne Alchemy Samples: Week One

Originally published 3/18/2019

Hey y'all. I'm going to open myself up for a little judgment here, and show you my sample box. Hah! I've got a thinner box, different than the ones I use to store my full bottles, the photo on the right is the top of it. Pretty decorated box, and I bought it years back to store my samples/decants. Well, I'm not the best at organizing it - they usually just get tossed in there, and whenever I do organize it, it never stays the way it's meant to. Ah well, I love my box. I've got a smaller box that's shaped like a little coffin, that I picked up from the Dollar Tree during Halloween one year. It holds overflow, when I have it, or the scents I'm trying to remember to work with at that moment. Unfortunately, with these little treasures, out of sight is out of mind, and also, I have a tendency to hoard stuff that I know is discontinued or won't be coming back - I'm looking at you, Plumeria Sapphire and Kiskah Kashmir. Sigh. I really should just wear them. My friend Siri says the late, wonderful, perfumer of Possets, Fabienne, told folks to wear them and enjoy, and so, I am trying to do this more. Another Tent member, Thyra, mentioned she was doing a "Mini March", using her samples and minis because they get neglected. Yes, I had been trying to do this myself for a while now, so it gave me the inspiration I needed to get started. I'm going to try to be on top of this, and post once a week my thoughts on the samples I've used. Week One, here we go!

Vanilla Pumpkin: Pumpkin Accord, Pumpkin skin, Black Fig, Nutmeg, Clove, NA Crystalline Vanilla Absolute, Bourbon Vanilla Absolute, French Vanilla, Tahitian Vanilla, Ember Vanilla, Ember Burning Woods accord. This is one of two from a Chris Raimo Kickstarter project, and my friend Ld was kind enough to send me samples of these! This is a little reminiscent of a favorite I've been hoarding. Bastet made a Crystalline Burning Jack, based off the PC Burning Jack, and gave it out with NAlloween orders a few years back. Absolutely adore that! This is a little like that, but with fig. The spice is tempered with the vanillas, and the pumpkin and fig are really good together. This feels so fall, it has me longing for cooler weather and for summer to be behind me already. The drydown is so cozy.

Incense Pumpkin: Pumpkin Accord, Pumpkin skin, Black Fig, Nutmeg, Clove, Butter accord, NA Kashmir Incense, Frankincense, Myrrh, Amber, Nag Champa Incense and Black Amber. Ooo. This is the second Chris Raimo pumpkin, and I really like this one, too. My first impression is of incense and buttery pumpkin. It doesn't end up significantly foodie, however. How do they make that work so well together? I don't have Pumpkin number 31, the OP pumpkin blend, but this makes me think of that. This is a little similar to Vanilla Pumpkin, but the incense is a little more intense, and I really like it. I've worn this a few times, and I forget what I have on, and have to huff my wrist, I find it enchanting. Not that it matters all that much to me, but this could be considered more of an evening scent than its sister. I don't mark this one as overwhelmingly nag champa, either. It's a more complex incense.

Night Thoughts: Gold Santalum, Santalum Absolute, Papyrus accord, Indian Teakwood Essence, Bay Rum, Kobalt and Crystalline with a touch of Japanese White Tangerine Skin. Okay, this is from my first year collecting NA! Some of my first decants, from Art of Love - I got this from Laura, my good friend. Miss you, lady. This one veers into masculine on me, but I think it would smell good on my fiance. Or folks who wear more obviously masculine scents well, I can't quite pull it off, but I can do unisex. I like it, I'll have to try it on him to see if it works. I amped the bay rum, and that's a great note on him - and the teak. But I honestly can't remember the last time I tried this, so I'm glad I did!

The Bower Garden: Black and Red Currant Essence, Dragon's Blood Resin, French Syrah Red Wine Accord, German Lilac, Egyptian Fig and Sandalwood Musk. This decant was actually a gift from my friend Adrienne! She loves fig as much as I do. I really enjoyed this one, I might have to hunt down a full bottle of this. The berry combined with the dragon's blood and sandalwood musk is just so me. And I always love how they do their wine notes. I feel like the lilac adds a wonderful freshness to this blend, I really like it - I love love love lilac, it's one of my favorite flowers, and I've never tried NA's lilac before - I honestly think I will have to try more, now. It's very realistic. All of the notes play beautifully together, and I'm a little swoony over this. It has a very spring feel, and the dragon's blood adds a good grounding note here, it's a tad spicy/incensey. Mmm. Total win. It might be my favorite this week.

Thoth: Nile Ozone, Papyrus, Cream of Strawberry accord, White Incense and Alexandrian Sea Salt accord. This is such a clean, bright scent. It's serene. It was a little powdery on me when I first tried it, but as you know, they change with age. This could be a staple scent for summer. Also, I find it to be very unisex, not overtly masculine nor feminine. I'd try it on Jody, but I'm not sure it's one he would go for, he usually goes for the darker stuff, but he likes these on me. I don't really notice the cream of strawberry, it's probably a supporting note. The incense is soft and not in your face, and provides a really nice balance to keep this from being too clean, if that makes sense I definitely want to upsize this. I bet it would be really awesome with a little Santalum White, too. A very beachy scent, it feels blue. This is from the PC, the Gods, Goddesses and Deity subcollection.

Pakhet Amber: Pakhet Amber is a perfume created from Amber Resin transformed over time in the Studio into a beautiful enhancing Royal Amber oil experience, Amber Resin imported from Alexandria and lit from the truest essential oil of Rare and Exotic Guiacwood and Crystal Benzoin and Crystal Frankincense. Using the base of the Amber described above the resin has been turned into a fossilized perfume resin from ancient recipes and then turned back into perfume oil diluting nothing only the use of Alchemy and inspiring this scent to be made and created for the Goddess Pakhet. Warrior, protector, and huntress. Pakhet Amber infuses rare spices of Blue Peppercorn, White Clove Bud, Virgin Nutmeg Shaving over the warmth of Ambers from Nepal and Egypt and sifted through Sapphire (Amber Musk) to create a spiced amber that changes over time on the skin. So Pakhet Amber is from the PC (Permanent Catalogue), in the Royal Amber section. This is honestly one of my favorite sections, a few years ago I did a good sized PC order with a bunch from this section. I avoided Pakhet Amber though, but someone sent me a sample, and I haven't worn it. Right out of the gate on me, this is all clove. I can wear spices on occasion, even clove - I have and love Polichenelle, also from the PC. But sometimes, I just amp the spice, and all I can smell - or anyone else for that matter - is that. Unfortunately, Pakhet Amber does just that on me. Bahhhh. I get sad when a fan favorite is something I can't do. The clove just went to powering out any of the other notes here. Skinistry is such a crazy thing! It will have to go to the gift pile, hopefully someone else will have better luck than I did with it. It sounds divine, and I really loved what I could smell in the vial. Sadface.

NA Purpose Oil: Strength: Sky Musk, Solar Amber, White Patchouli, Egyptian Dragon Blood Resin, Kobalt Vanilla Resin (Vanilla Orchid of Cairo), Bastet's Blue Incense Accord, Orange Zest and Lavender Buds. I have a full bottle of their Purpose Oil: Protection, and I just love it. It's very special. I haven't actually worn this Purpose Oil before, though. I've been meaning to test them all, so this is a good push for me to do that this month. This starts out with a dose of lavender, citrus, and amber burst. It's fresh, and the lavender feels a little herbal, and not too strong. Ooo, this is really a pretty combination. I've never smelled anything quite like this, it's appealing to me. The lavender is balancing out with the other notes as they appear, so it's still working for me. I love the musk here with the incense, it's so pretty with the lighter, brighter notes. For me, I think this is an excellent oil for Strength - it gives a breezy confidence. I like this quite a lot, I wasn't sure if it would work on me but it definitely does.

So, that wraps up this first week of samples. That was a great motivator, and I should honestly make myself wear them far more than I do, there are a lot of treasures in that box. Have a good Monday, folks!

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madewithonerib · 3 years

Text

Geneva: Miles Coverdale & John Knox, English Baptist [1557] | Revelation 17:1

1] there came one of the 7 angels which had the 7 vials, & talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will show unto [2] thee the [a] judgment of the great whore that sits upon many waters:

2] The state of the Church militant being declared, now follows the state of the Church overcoming & getting victory, as I showed before in the beginning of the CH10.

This state is set forth in 4 chapters.

As in the place before I noted, that in that history the order of time was not always exactly observed so the same is to be understood in this history, that it is distinguished according to the people of which it speaks,

& that the stories of the people are observed in the time of it. For 1st is delivered the story of Babylon destroyed in this & the next chapter

[for this Babylon out of all doubt, shall perish before the 2 beasts & the dragon].

Secondly, is delivered the destruction of both the 2 beasts, CH19 & lastly of the dragon, CH18.

In the story of the Spiritual Babylon, are distinctly set forth the state of it in this chapter, & the overthrow done from the 1st argument, consisting of the particular calling of the prophet [as often before] & a general proposition.

3] That is, that damnable harlot, by a figure of speech called hyppalage. For John as yet had not seen her.

Although another interpretation may be thought of, yet I like this better.

[a] The sentence that is pronounce against this harlot.

Matthew Henry, Nonconformist [1662-1714] | Revelation 17:1-6

Rome clearly appears to be meant in this chapter.

Pagan Rome subdued & ruled with military power, not by art & flatteries. She left the nations in general to their ancient usages & worship.

But it is well known that by crafty & politic management, with all kinds of deceit of unrighteousness, papal Rome has obtained & kept her rule over kings & nations.

Here were allurements of worldly honour & riches, pomp & pride, suited to sensual & worldly minds.

Prosperity, pomp, & splendour, feed the pride & lusts of the human heart, but are no security against the Divine vengeance.

The golden cup represents the allurements, & delusions, by which this mystical Babylon has obtained & kept her influence, & seduced others to join her abominations.

She is named, from her infamous practices, a mother of harlots; training them up to idolatry & all sorts of wickedness.

She filled herself with the blood of the saints & martyrs of JESUS. She intoxicated herself with it; & it was so pleasant to her, that she never was satisfied.

We cannot but wonder at the oceans of Christian blood shed by men called Christians; yet when we consider these prophecies, these awful deeds testify to the truth of the GOSPEL.

And let all beware of a splendid, gainful, or fashionable religion. Let us avoid the mysteries of iniquity, & study diligently the great mystery of godliness, that we may learn humility & gratitude from the example of CHRIST.

The more we seek to resemble HIM, the less we shall be liable to be deceived by antichrist.

Charles John Ellicott, Theologian [1749–1905] | Revelation 17:1

[1] And there came . . .—One of the vial-bearing angels summons the seer, saying, Hither I will show thee the judgment of the great harlot that sitteth upon many waters [or, the many waters—comp. Revelation 17:15]. The kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, & they who inhabit the earth were made drunken [lost their reason & self-control] from the wine, the delicious & delirious draught of her fornication. Before we go further, it is well to make sure of our ground. Babylon was the great city, whose splendour dazzled, & whose power destroyed Jerusalem [Isaiah 39:1-8; Isaiah 13:19; Isaiah 14:4; Isaiah 14:13-14; Isaiah 47:5-8]. Against Babylon the voices of the prophets were lifted up [Isaiah 21:9; Jeremiah 51:25]; she seemed to them the embodiment of splendid vice & resistless power; “the glory of kingdoms,” “the golden city,” “who exalted her throne above the stars of GOD,” “who sat as a lady given to pleasures, & flattering herself that she would see no sorrow.” In her greatness & her hostility to Jerusalem she became a type of later world-powers; and, in John’s vision, Babylon, in her purple & her pomp, in her luxurious ness & her tyranny, takes her place. And it is explained in the vision that Babylon is no longer the literal Babylon, but the power which has taken her place of pride & empire. That power was Rome. Rome was in John’s day just what Babylon had been in the days of the prophets—“the hammer of the whole earth,” the “golden cup that made all the earth drunken” [Jeremiah 50:23; Jeremiah 51:7; comp. Revelation 17:2 of this chapter]. At the same time, the way in which the Evangelist transfers to the Rome of his day the prophetic language which earlier prophets applied to ancient Babylon [compare these chapters, Revelation 17, 18, with Isaiah 47, Jeremiah 51:6-14] ought to be sufficient to warn us against limited & local interpretations, even if the 7-headed wild beast did not show us that the world-power, like the moral principles of which Babylon & Rome were examples, is not confined to1age. If we remember this, we shall see that the Babylon of the Apocalypse, while, undoubtedly, Pagan Rome, cannot be limited to it. Is it, then, the question must be asked, Papal Rome? The answer is: In so far as Papal Rome has wielded tyrant power, turned persecutor, stood between the SPIRITs of men & CHRIST, depraved men’s consciences, withheld the truth, connived at viciousness, sought aggrandisement, & been a political engine rather than a witness for the righteous King, she has inherited the features of Babylon. The recognition of these features led Dante to apply this very passage in the Apocalypse to Rome under the rule of worldly & tyrant popes, when he exclaimed to the shade of Nicholas III. [Il compiuto]:— “Of shepherds like to you the Evangelist

Was ware, when her who sits upon the waves

With kings in filthy whoredom he beheld:

She who with 7 heads tower’d at her birth,

And from ten horns her proof of glory drew

Long as her spouse in virtue took delight.

Of gold & silver you have made your god,

Differing wherein from the idolater,

But that he worships one, a hundred ye!”

—Inferno, Cant, xix., 109-117.

Albert Barnes, American Theologian [1798-1870] | Revelation 17:1

And there came1of the 7 angels which had the 7 vials—See the notes on Revelation 15:1, Revelation 15:7. Reference is again made to these angels in the same manner in Revelation 21:9, where1of them says that he would show to John "the bride, the LAMB's wife." No particular1is specified. The general idea seems to be, that to those 7 angels was entrusted the execution of the last things, or the winding up of affairs introductory to the reign of GOD, & that the communications respecting those last events were properly made through them. It is clearly quite immaterial by which of these it is done. The expression "which had the 7 vials," would seem to imply that though they had emptied the vials in the manner stated in the previous chapter, they still retained them in their hands. And talked with me—Spake to me. The word "talk" would imply a more protracted conversation than occurred here.

Come hither—Greek, de???? deuro—"Here, hither." This is a word merely calling the attention, as we should say now, "Here." It does not imply that John was to leave the place where he was.

I will shew unto thee—Partly by symbols, & partly by express statements; for this is the way in which, in fact, he showed him.

The judgment—The condemnation & calamity that will come upon her.

Of the great whore—It is not uncommon in the SCRIPTURES to represent a city under the image of a woman—a pure & holy city under the image of a virgin or chaste female; a corrupt, idolatrous, & wicked city under the image of an abandoned or lewd woman. See the notes on Isaiah 1:21; "How is the faithful city become an harlot!" Compare the notes on Isaiah 1:8. In Revelation 17:18, it is expressly said that "this woman is that great city which reigneth over the kings of the earth"—that is, as I suppose, papal Rome; & the design here is to represent it as resembling an abandoned female—fit representative of an apostate, corrupt, unfaithful Church. Compare the notes on Revelation 9:21.

That sitteth upon many waters—An image drawn either from Babylon, situated on the Euphrates, & encompassed by the many artificial rivers which had been made to irrigate the country, or Rome, situated on the Tiber. In Revelation 17:15 these waters are said to represent the peoples, multitudes, nations, & tongues over which the government symbolized by the woman ruled. See the notes on that verse. Waters are often used to symbolize nations.

Joseph S. Exell & Henry Spence-Jones, Anglican [1897] | Revelation 17:1

v. 1.—And there came1of the 7 angels which had the 7 vials, & talked with me, saying unto me; & spake with me, saying. Omit "unto me." This & the following chapters [to Revelation 19:21] consist of visions which are really included under the 7th vial, but which, on account of their length & elaboration, may be considered apart from the other judgments of that vial. In the preceding chapters we have had placed before us a conspectus of 3 classes of ungodly people, & the 3 principles of evil in their abstract form, as represented by the world [the 1st beast], the flesh [the 2nd beast], & the devil [the dragon]. The personal final overthrow of the devil is described in Revelation 20:10; Revelation 17. & 18, are devoted to the description of the judgments of the 2 former—the world, in its character of the openly hostile persecutor of the Church of GOD; & the other portion of the ungodly who, while still professing Christianity, find excuses for conforming to the worship of the image of the beast. The 1st beast is, therefore, identical with Babylon, & represents, as we have seen, the openly hostile & persecuting world power of all ages, of which, in John's time, Rome was the foremost embodiment. The 2nd beast is identical with the harlot, & represents faithless Christians, the apostate portion of the Church. The very raison d'etre of the Apocalypse is to deal with these 2 forms of evil; to declare the overthrow of the one, & to warn and, if possible, reclaim those under the influence of the other. In the latter case, the warning consists in setting forth the judgment in store for faithless Christians; & as this is the course pursued with the former also, the 2 merge into one, & indeed are declared to be one. The apostle in substance declares that, though there is a prima facie difference between the 2 forms of ungodliness, there is in reality no distinction to be made, but both are involved in1common final judgment. HE thus twice solemnly asserts that the harlot is Babylon [vers. 5 & 18]. The comments upon the following chapters will be based upon this hypothesis, the reasons for which will be brought out more clearly as we proceed. The opening words of this chapter leave no doubt that the visions which follow are connected with the vial judgments. The "one of the 7 angels" may be the 7th angel, to whom it pertained to unfold the circumstances connected with the last judgment. Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment. Hither, de???, without the verb, as in Revelation 21:9 & John 11:43. Though this particular narration necessarily takes place after the account of the vials, yet we are not to understand that the events here related are subsequent to these related in the concluding verses of the previous chapter. Note the remarkable similarity between these words & these of Revelation 21:9, & the contrast between the bride, the wife of the LAMB, & the harlot who is connected with the beast. Wordsworth carries the comparison even to the form of words, thus -

The harlot & the beast. ? p???? ?a? t? ?????? ? ??µf? ?a? t? ?????? The bride & the LAMB. Of the great whore; harlot [Revised Version]. There seems no doubt that this figure describes the degenerate portion of the Church of GOD.

[1] As we have already seen, this symbolism is made use of by John to portray the faithlessness of those who are professedly servants of GOD [see Revelation 2:20; Revelation 14:4], & in this sense it is applied in the great majority of passages of SCRIPTURE where it occurs [cf. Isaiah 1:21; Jeremiah 2:20; Ezekiel 16; Ezekiel 23; Hosea 2:5; Hosea 3:3; Hosea 4:15; Micah 1:7]. In Isaiah 23, & Nahum 3:14 the term refers to Tyre & Nineveh respectively.

[2] There is an intended contrast between the bride & the LAMB, & the harlot who allies herself with the beast [vide supra].

[3] A contrast is also probably intended between the woman clothed with the sun [Revelation 12.], bringing forth the man child, CHRIST JESUS the Saviour—the representation of the pure Church—and the harlot clothed in scarlet, the mother of harlots & abominations—the representation of the faithless part of the Church.

[4] Both the woman of Revelation 12. & the harlot of this chapter reside in the wilderness, that is, this world [see on Revelation 12:14]; indeed, they are to men sometimes indistinguishable [cf. the parable of the wheat & tares].

[5] The faithful Church, the bride, is called a city [Revelation 21:2, 9, 10]; so the faithless portion of the Church, the harlot, is identified with the city Babylon [Revelation 11:8; Revelation 17:4, 5]. Other coincidences will be noted as we proceed. But it seems equally impossible to accept the view that this faithless portion of the Church refers to papal Rome, & none other. We must include all the faithless of GOD's Church in all time. If the fulfilment is to be limited at all, it seems more reasonable to suppose that the 1st reference of John was to the faithless members of the 7 Churches to which he addresses the Apocalypse. But we are, no doubt, intended to see here a picture of the position of the unfaithful part of the Church wherever it exists, at any time, & which men are certainly not able always to specify & judge. On this point see Professor Milligan's 'Baird Lectures' for 1885, on "The Revelation of John." In lect. 5. he says, "But Babylon is not the Church of Rome in particular. Deeply, no doubt, that Church has sinned. ... Yet the interpretation is false .... Babylon cannot be Christian Rome; & nothing has been more injurious to the Protestant Churches than the impression that the 2 were identical, & that, by withdrawing from communion with the pope, they wholly freed themselves from alliance with the Spiritual harlot. Babylon embraces much more than Rome, & illustrations of what she is lie nearer our own door. Wherever professedly Christian men have thought the world's favour better than its reproach; wherever they have esteemed its honours a more desirable possession than its shame; wherever they have courted ease rather than welcomed suffering, have loved self indulgence rather than self sacrifice, & have substituted covetousness in grasping for generosity in distributing what they had,—there the SPIRIT of Babylon has been manifested. In short, we have in the great harlot city neither the Christian Church as a whole, nor the Romish Church in particular, but all who anywhere within the Church profess to be CHRIST's 'little flock' & are not, denying in their lives the main characteristic by which they ought to be distinguished—that they 'follow' CHRIST." [For the distinction between the harlot & Babylon, see above.] That sitteth upon many waters. "The" is inserted in B & other manuscripts, probably on account of the reference in ver. 15, but is omitted in ?, A, P, & others. This is the description of Babylon in Jeremiah 51:13, whence, doubtless, the expression is derived. In the place quoted, the sentence refers to the many canals of Babylon; but the interpretation of this passage is given in ver. 15, where the waters are stated to be "peoples." This fact sufficiently demonstrates that, though the imagery of the Apocalypse be taken from the OT, it is not always safe to insist on an exactly similar interpretation; the symbols employed may be applied in an independent manner. That the harlot sits on many waters therefore shows us that the faithless portion of the Church is to be found distributed amongst "peoples, & multitudes, & nations, & tongues." Revelation 17:1

#Matthew Henry #blood of martyrs #papal Rome #deceit #war against GOD #Revelation 17

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godsmysteriesrevealed · 4 years

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THE CHURCH: DON’T KNOW GOD, SAYS GOD

Jer 4:22 For my people isfoolish, they have not known me; they aresottish children, and they have none understanding: they arewise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.JOH4:22 Ye worship ye know not what: (THE IMAGE OF SALVADOR MUNDI/ JESUS / CESAR)we know what we worship:(GOD ALL MIGHTY)for salvation is of the Jews.HOS5:4 They will not frame their doings to turn unto their God: for the spirit of whoredoms isin the midst of them, and they have not known the LORD.Rom 3:11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.HOS4:1 Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: (WHOLE WORLD)for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.Jer 5:4 Therefore I said, Surely these arepoor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the LORD, northe judgment of their God.HOS4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.WHAT! ??? FOR NOT KNOWING HIM, HE WILL FORGET EVERYONE INCLUDING THE CHILDRENand the people will perish for lack of knowledge, this matter is extremely serious, what happened? How did we get to this? Church, people, who do not know their God?LET'S START WITH THE VISIONS OF THE PROPHET ZACHARIAH:Zac 5:5 Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see what isthis that goeth forth.Zac 5:6 And I said, What isit? And he said, This isan ephah (CONTAINER) that goeth forth. He said moreover, This istheir evilthrough all the earth.Zac 5:7 And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead: and this isa woman that sitteth(ANCIENT BABYLON)in the midst of the ephah.Zac 5:8 And he said, This iswickedness. And he cast it into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof.Zac 5:9 Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two women, (ANCIENT BABYLON AND GREAT BABYLON)and the wind wasin their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven. (THE PASTORS AND THE CHURCHES THINK THESE ARE FEMALE ANGELS, WHAT A MISTAKE)Zac 5:10 Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah?Zac 5:11 And he said unto me, To build it an house in the land of Shinar: (MESOPOTAMIA /IRAK)and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base. ( REMAINING ASBABYLON THE GREAT)WHO IS SHE ?SHE IS THE SPIRIT OF PROSTITUTIONHOS4:12 My people ask counsel at their wood{JESUS), and their staff declareth unto them: for the spirit of whoredoms (BABYLON/THE CHURCH)hath caused themto err, and they have gone a whoring from under their God.BUT HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN ?LETS ASK THE APOSTLE YAHANAN (JOHN)REV17:1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters(PEOPLE):REV17:2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.REV17:3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy (CHRUCH NAMES), having seven heads and ten horns.REV17:4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup (THE BIBLE) in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication(CORRUPT DOCTRINES/GOSPEL):REV17:5 And upon her forehead wasa name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS (ALL CHRUCHES AND DENOMINATIONS) AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.REV17:6 And I saw the woman (ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH) drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of YASHUWAH: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. (BECAUSE SHE CHASED THEM, SHE KILLED THEM)THIS CHURCH THE GREAT BABYLON THE GREAT HARLOT IS THE ONE THAT HAS SEPARATED THE PEOPLE FROM THEIR GOD, INTRODUCING HIS SON THE PRINCE OF THIS WORLD, (Joh 14:30) CESAR BORGIA AS MASTER AND LORD OF THE CHURCH AND ALL THE PEOPLE SAID AMEN AND THEY GLORIFY HIM WITH THE NAME JESUS CHRIST SUBSTITUTING THE TRUE LAMB “” YASHUWAH ”” AND WORSHIPING THE ANTI-CHRIST-JESUS CHRISTWE RECOMMEND THE FULL READING OF APOCALYPSE 17

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funkymeihem-fiction · 7 years

Text

My Lovely Assistant- Chapter 3 (Junkenstein Meihem)

“A handshake, mate! A bloody handshake!” Junkenstein dragged his fingers down his face, digging them into the sallow flesh of his cheeks. “What was I thinking? I’ll tell you what I was thinking! I wasn’t thinking! I wasn’t thinking and she’s probably halfway back to China by now to tell everyone about how I had a lady literally on top of my lap and I gave her a handshake!” The Monster responded with a low ‘ghhrrmm’ and that was all. “Do you think I don’t know that?! I’m blowing a bloody brain gasket over here. She looked real sad, said something in her gobbledygook, and then hopped off. Because who could blame her! A handshake?!” He howled and brought his forehead down into the table with a thunk. Scarecrow looked around unsurely, its lenses whirring with each little adjustment, before bringing a long and lanky arm up to pat its master’s hunched back in a poor pantomime of comfort. Junkenstein pushed it away brusquely, sending it tipping over to the floor with a straw-filled crash. “What do you know about fine ladies like her?! Nothing! And apparently I don’t either!” he snarled, gritting his teeth before trying to smooth back his wild head of shocked gray hair. Nearly falling to his death hadn’t phased him very much, but his panicked handshake and her reaction thereof had nearly shattered his world. In desperation, he turned to the larger figure across the table, oozing wisps of shadow as its jack-o-lantern head flickered eerily in the dim candlelight. “What about you? You’re a keen sort, I bet you got all sorts of advice for this sort of thing. You ever made it with a lady before you turned into a pumpkin? Or, were you always a pumpkin? I mean, not that a pumpkin couldn’t make it with a lady…Wait, could they? Could you? Did you?” “I don’t even want to be here,” The Reaper replied dryly. “Just give me the new schematics so I can leave.”

“Do you think…erm…Maybe the Witch has any advice about-” “NO,” The Reaper snarled. “You are to focus on the tasks at hand. Pray that you have a better handle on your army than you do on your pathetic love life.” Dr. Junkenstein shot him an offended glare behind his goggles, rummaging through his papers before rolling them up and slamming the bundle into the Reaper’s outstretched claw. “Well howdoyado to you too, then. Hope you were nicer as a person than you are as a pumpkin, dipstick.” The Reaper didn’t bother with an answer, having listened to Junkenstein’s lovelorn rantings for the past twenty minutes before finally receiving the papers. Tucking them into the darkness of his cloak, he finally turned to go, heavy spiked bloods clunking to the door. For a moment he paused, before the jack-o-lantern turned to set its flickering eyes back on the scrawny figure of the doctor, who was now sprawled out across the entire paper-strewn table, spread-eagled and staring listlessly at the ceiling as if waiting for the end to finally come and claim him. The Reaper had never been fond of the Doctor and had always made that very clear…but no matter the insults or troubles sent his way, he had never him like this. Usually the Doctor was in some manic state or other; found halfway in or out of the guts of whatever robot or monstrosity he was building, tinkering with dangerous sciences and magics never meant for human hands, laughing, screaming, or a combo of the two, and chattering to himself and his handmade ‘friends’ nonstop. He didn’t even know the Doctor was capable of being sad. Especially over something like a fumbled encounter with a girl. Sighing, the Reaper shook his head and waved a hand. “Look…” Junkenstein didn’t look at him, and sighed like his world was ending instead. The Reaper grumbled. Why did people always come to someone like him with their problems? “Laying around and moping over them won’t help. If you care about this woman, show them. Figure out a way to get her to understand that you are sorry. Just don’t bother me or Our Lady about it any further. Do something useful, for once. Go apologize to your jiangshi…” “How am I s’posed to apologize to someone who don’t understand a word I tell ‘er?” Junkenstein whined aloud. He received no answer, and when he turned to look, the Reaper was already long gone. The Doctor lay there for a few minutes longer, sighing loudly and frequently for attention. Scarecrow, at a loss as to what to do, went limp and fell onto the table beside him, sighing as well. Eventually the Monster became tired of it, lifted one enormous arm, and with one sweep he pushed them both off the table and onto the floor. They both landed with a crash and after a few moments of silence from under the furniture, Junkenstein suddenly leapt upward with an energetic hop, hands on his hips as he faced down his creations. “You’re right!” he said, pointing to the uninterested Monster. “Brilliant idea, mate! Rally! Imagine, the great Dr. Jamison Junkenstein being defeated so easily! Oh-ho, I don’t think so, my friend! So the handshake thing was a bit of a blunder, yes, and I’m pretty sure she looked ready to cry when she ran out of there…but if she hasn’t left back for China, I still got time. What I need is a gesture. I need a grand gesture, just for her, just for my lovely assistant. So what if…” He trailed off for a moment, waving both hands as it to try and physically tie his thoughts together, snagging whatever spilled out of his brain and cobbling them together for coherence. Or at least a semblance of it. “So…what if I made her an assistant? Everyone likes assistants, don’t they? All right, get the shovels, boys, we’re going to need a few fresh bodies, some new electric coils, new clothes, probably a wig and some dentures-” The Monster snorted. “Hm, maybe not,” Junkenstein agreed. “Not enough time to make one of those. What else does she like? Not like she’s been able to tell me what she likes. What do lady sorts like? Chocolate candies? Expensive wines and teas? Sparkly jewelry?…Wait, aren’t those just things I like? Hrrmmm… What does a Jiangshi like?” He thought for a moment, tapping his pointed chin with a ‘hrrrmmm’, before his grin lit up. With a fabulous skipping motion, he made for the shelves of his study, leaping onto the rolling ladder and starting to rifle through his collections of books like a mad thing, sending them flying in all directions as he dug through them. Finally finding the ones he wanted, he gathered them into his arms and headed back for his table, dumping them open and searching through them frantically. “Hrmmm…Ji’an, Jiao, Jianbing, Jiujitsu…Jiangshi!” His mind racing, Junkenstein flipped open his book of Chinese characters and began sifting through them as well, snatching up a quill and ink as he began scribbling frantically. “Well, this makes about as much sense as she does, s’mostly in foreign text. All right, Jiangshi, the hopping ‘stiff corpse’ monster. Uh…something about ancient powers of evil, something something, absorbing power, flying…turning into wolves? Never seen her do that before, need to ask her about that one later. Here’s something about…Oh!” He tapped at his book, scribbling so hard that the quill bent and ink splattered over his freshly laundered labcoat. “Here’s a list of something; sticky rice, duck eggs, blessed chicken, and the…blood of a black dog?” He thought for a moment. “Huh. Well, I’ve heard the Chinese have some strange tastes. Sounds like a recipe, don’t you think? You know, come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve seen her eat anything yet. And she always looks so happy when I mention food, gets all…snuggly, and whatnot. Bet our cuisine must be awfully bland compared to all this, and she’s been so worried about me eating well, she hasn’t had the time to cook for herself. Poor dear, she must be starvin’ for something good. This is it, boys! Here’s our gesture!” He turned and shoved the open book into the Monster’s face with an audible smack, smashing the creature’s snout up. “This recipe! This one here! Let’s get to the kitchens! We’re gonna make something nice for Miss Mei!” ***

“No. Yes. No. No. No. Yes.” Some time later, Dr. Junkenstein was rooting through his kitchen cupboards, flinging out pieces of equipment and generally making a mess. “Where’s the colander?! Wait, didn’t I use that for a generator bit? Er…Here, use this spoon thing with the holes in it instead. Where’s the pan I had?” Scarecrow, who was wearing the pan as a helmet, scrambled away with a guilty hunch, heading into the pantry. The Monster held an armload of cooking utensils and ingredients, spreading them all out on the crowded tabletops as his creator sent a bag of rice hurtling his way. The burners were already flaming hot, as the Monster dutifully emptied out the entire sack of rice into the cookpot, spilling out over the top and all over the floor. Junkenstein didn’t even notice, ripping up pages from every copy of every holy text he could find, scattering the pieces into a boiling pot with a still-raw pink chicken inside. “We’re gonna bless this chicken, we’re gonna bless the hell outta this chicken! Yeah! Get! Blessed!” He flung the covers of a book in with it before slamming the lid down, rubbing his hands together as the kitchen descended into further chaos. “Make sure the rice is good and sticky, it said it needs to be sticky! Now where did I put the…ah-ha!” He rummaged noisily through the cupboards before pulling out a small vial. “The blood of a black dog!” For once, this gave the Monster pause. He lifted his head, then turned and jabbed a thumb in a questioning way towards the tiny bottle. “Hrrmnn?” “Because it pays to be prepared, that’s why. You never know when you might need something,” Junkenstein replied, upending the vial into the pot with the chicken. “You know, I’m pretty sure it said something about adding a virgin’s piss. But…ya know, probably a mistranslation and all, let’s not put that in. Besides! Hehe, who’s…who’s gonna find a virgin at this hour, right?!” The Monster looked at him. “RIGHT, MATE?!” Junkenstein shrilled. The Monster looked away again. Scowling, Junkenstein stirred at the thoroughly blessed chicken with a wooden spoon, turning as the kitchen door slammed. Scarecrow, still wearing its cooking pot askew on its head, had returned, holding an extremely angry duck in both hands and holding it out in offering. Junkenstein bared his teeth, pointing his sticky spoon at them both as the duck flailed its webbed feet and quacked madly. “Qwok qwok qwok qwoooook.” “I said duck eggs! Duck EGGS, you literally brainless cretin!” Scarecrow paused, then turned and threw the duck out the window, reaching into its tattered overalls pocket and offering a handful of eggs it had pilfered from the village pond. Junkenstein snatched them up greedily, finagling them between the fingers of his mechanical hand and cracking them one by one in rapid-fire succession, dumping them all at once into the slurry in the big cookpot. The golden yolks covered the red-spattered chicken, already boiling in its paper-scattered broth. “All right, boys. Everything’s coming along nicely. Yeah, get everything nice and hot. Make it strong, and make a lot of it!” He tasted the spoon, promptly spat it out onto the floor, and went back to stirring. “Aaachbt! Pleh! Well, so long as this makes her happy, eh? I really am a genius. I promised I’d take her out for dinner. Still am, mind you, once I’ve taken over the village and executed my enemies, gotten my to-do list to a more manageable level… Still going to take her out, but for now, what’s more romantic than a proper homecooked meal from yours truly, made specifically to her exquisite tastes?” He dumped in the rest of the dog’s blood as the rice started burning beside him, still stirring madly. “She’s gonna love this!"

***

Some time later, he limped across the stone ramparts, holding the huge pot by both handles and a carrot-embroidered kitchen towel. His metal peg leg clacked noisily on each step, the blue glass of his goggles shining in the moonlight. Lifting his voice, he wheedled aloud. “Mei? Meeeiiiiii, darl, you around here? Come on, sugar pea, let’s not avoid each other? I know what happened was…er….less than ideal, but-” He heard the familiar sound of hopping, and the jiangshi woman appeared from the shadow of the doorway up ahead. She still looked a little hurt, he thought, with those big dark eyes of hers shining behind her glasses, and only the tips of her little fangs appearing as white dots on her lower lip. Well, if he had his way of things, and he would, those eyes would be bright and happy, and she’d smile at him with all her teeth, even the sharp ones. He offered his own sharp grin, hefting the pot in hopeful offering. “Now, um…I’m aware that there may have been a slight miscommunication earlier. Language barrier and all, it’s completely understandable. But, being the upstanding gent that I am, I want to make it up to you.” “下次再谈这个问题吧…” she said, rubbing her arm a little with one claw and looking away from his pot. “Now now, let’s not write it all off yet, huh? Put a lot of hard work into the apology, I did. It’s an apology in physical form. Not that it tastes like sorrow, mind you, not like that. I did my research, found out that…well…you were probably just hungry, right?” She blinked and looked at him at that, seemingly recognizing at least a few words. Especially ‘hungry’. She hesitated, gazing at the man and pursing her lips before looking down bashfully, mumbling in her native tongue again. “Yeah! Yeah, you were just hungry, weren’t you? This is all just a little error, that’s all. Don’t worry, love, everyone makes mistakes. So…we can go back to the way things were, can’t we? You can be my lovely assistant, and I promise you, I promise you I will be more attentive to your needs!” he smiled. She eyed him a bit more, but he could see she was smiling a little. Hope fluttered in his heart valves, then practically blew up in his chest when she looked up and offered him a little nod. She even hopped forward a little, starting to reach for him with that adoring look in her eyes that he liked so much. But, he was still holding the surprise in the cookpot, and he couldn’t stop himself from fidgeting, tapping a bit from leg to peg and biting his lips before giggling and shoving the pot forward at her. “Wait! Wait, before we do all the um…the making-up bits, I want you to have this. I made it especially for you! Did all my research and spent all night on it, it’s something special from your homeland!” She looked a little confused, pointing to herself and the cookpot, sniffing a little before going to inspect it. She leaned forward… Junkenstein seized his chance, whipping the top off the pot as the steam wafted directly into her face. “Surprise!” It hit her full force, and she staggered as if struck. Far from the elated reaction he’d hoped for, his smile faded as she uttered the most horrible noise. It sounded like she was choking and trying to scream through it, her throat closing off as her jaws stretched open. Her fangs lengthened from her gums, still squeaking that awful noise as she grasped onto her neck with both claws. Her eyes rolled up and backward, until the light pink of the veins could be seen against the white sclera…and down she went onto the cold stone of the ramparts, landing in a sad heap of cloth as her spell paper came loose and went fluttering down beside her. Junkenstein stood stunned for a moment, looking down at her. “Um…Mei?” There was no reply. Her eyes remained whited out, her face stuck in an expression of pure agony, and she lay where she had fallen. “Mei? MEI?! MEEEIII!” He threw the cookpot aside, clattering aside and sending the foul-looking slurry mixture all over the ground as he threw himself beside her. He shook her, poked her, pulled her stiff body awkwardly into his arms as he hunched over the seemingly re-dead woman in his lap, rocking her back and forth. “No no no no no…Mei, sweet potato, don’t do this. Don’t do this. Come on, up and at ‘em! I made…I made your favorite…” He looked over at the cooking pot, then down at the blanked face of his lovely assistant. “Your favorite?…” He was gathering her into his arms, preparing to run her back to his lab and to get help, when he heard a different voice from the same direction Mei had come from. “Allo? Mei? Dr. Junkenstein? What’s all this commotion? I did not expect-” The Witch of the Wilds paused as she came into the moonlight, her expression going stern and extremely unhappy as she beheld the sight before her. Placing a hand on her hip, she stared the Doctor down, and he could feel the air around him turn icy and cold as she asked a little too gently. “Good Doctor Junkenstein…What has happened?” He looked down to the unconscious jiangshi with a grimace. “I…I dunno. I made her a stew. Tried to give some to her and she just…she just…” The Witch sniffed, holding a gloved hand elegantly to her nose as she made her way over to the abandoned cookpot and the spilled contents. “A stew? You think you can feed her stew? Goodness me, that stench! Doctor…what did you put in this stew?” “I found the recipe in an old book, written in foreign. Translated it myself, it’s a stew from her homeland made for jiangshis! Um…what was…” His mind raced, trying to recall all the ingredients he’d used. “Um. Sticky gluten rice, duck eggs, blessed chicken, the blood of a black dog…definitely not any virgin piss or anything but, I made her…the stew?…” The Witch clamped a hand over her face, and for a moment Junkenstein couldn’t tell if she was angry or laughing as her shoulders shook. When she turned back to him, he could tell she definitely was not laughing. “That was not a recipe for stew! Do you realize what you have done? You oafish man, don’t you know what those were?” He looked down at Mei. “Um…” The Witch glared at him, gesturing to the other woman’s unresponsive body. “Congratulations, Doctor. You combined everything you ever needed to defeat a jiangshi…”

#meihem #meirat #junkmei #Junkrat #Mei #jamison fawkes #mei-ling zhou #junkenstein #junkenstein au #jiangshi mei #funkymeihem #fanfiction #overwatch #writing

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Roman 36 hours - Holidays - #DeliciousCuisine, #Holidays, #IceCream, #Italian, #ItalianSnacks, #LeonardoDaVinciAirport, #Palazzo, #PalazzoValentini, #Pizza, #Renaissance, #RomanSquare, #Roman, #Rome, #SanGiovanniInLaterano, #TheColiseum, #Tourist, #Vatican, #VaticanCity

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Roman 36 hours - Holidays

a unique lifestyle, delicious cuisine, vibrant nightlife, and fashion that appeals to hosting millions of visitors each year from different corners of the world with majestic Roman square, continues to thrill us. After 36 hours, to be a part of this adventure and if you want to get lost among traces the history of Rome, here it goes.

Benvenuti a Roma 09.00

airline companies in Turkey that are used by two airport in Rome. If like the rest of us from Fiumicino (Leonardo Da Vinci Airport) then you’re going to use, if you can easily reach Termini Railway Station with train or omnibus, and Rome sightseeing from there you can start moving. Simple and straightforward, pretty fun, a metro network, the Colosseum in Rome our first stop of course!

10.30 the iconic beauty of Rome: the Coliseum

made during the flavium dynasty, and therefore known as the flavium Amphitheatre, the Colosseum in Rome to visit one of our top tourist attractions. Rome’s most popular tourist attraction is one of the buildings this structure, which is located right next to the metro station Colosseo and standing since 80 A.D. year. A little later, which was the center of trade and Law of Ancient Rome ancient Roman Forum, the ancient Roman temples and basilicas in the field of one of the Carnival.

13.00 pizza is famous for, but…

Roman, how about a pizza and ice cream is a legendary place, even though the first meal of the day suggestions we have for you a tasty but lighter: Like (Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, 310). the wife prepared sandwiches with their hands enchanted with our unique gum flavor, in a little shop pretty fast and good quality are offered. If you’re a quick snack at lunchtime, you’re definitely in the right place.

to migrate to another country arbitrary 14.00 on foot: Vatican City

the Vatican, the glory of Rome is located in a unique corner of the world’s smallest state with the facial measurements. But it would be stupid to just leave him and just state it in the air I guess. In the Vatican itself; a tall neck, a museum, an Art Gallery and you need to earn it by waiting in line for hours to see it here. As soon as you step inside the country dating from the Renaissance period to the present day, and pictures, statues, relics and works of art from the Egyptians you can see that it reaches. The Raphael rooms, the Museo Pio Clementino, Pinacoteca necessarily, you should see some of the fascinating sections.

cool off with ice cream 17.00

to eat ice cream in Rome, dozens, hundreds, maybe even thousands of options are there, and to find the best among them is the work of an expert. Well, we ate all the ice cream in Rome ice cream even when we’re not experts, we tell it came extraordinarily delicious to us, we’d been intimate. But still close to the Vatican City, we found the man we can say that the front number one ice-cream: gelateria Old Bridge (5 Viale dei Bastioni di). A lot of small portions which is great l from each otherin our opinion and preparing the Galatians St. location, price/quality balance for an extraordinary ice cream Maker. Worth the wait in the queue!

about Italian cuisine 18.00 Salas?

the kitchen is a kitchen if you really. It’s a tiny shop, even what you said, according to the documentation, there’s not a restaurant, but here there is also sincerity and flavor anywhere else in Rome. Situated in an area which is very close to the Trevi Fountain, Trevi, la prosciutteria, wine and delicious Italian snacks with a great passion for preparing. The wines are spectacular and the prices are affordable; delicious with cheese and meat to die. Mild and definitely one of the best options for a pleasant dinner in Rome. the (Via della Panetteria, 34)

20.00 meet street artists

every moment of the day art in Rome, you can experience every time, but the street offers a visual feast via Nova in the evening to see all of the artists. Calm yourself, spacious and you’ll feel happy, but also a challenge to be nested with art and the artist is here. When you draw your portrait in a few minutes, some just, some singing or dancing. Each one around the narrow streets that connects the Dec this to occur again, or ice cream shops delicious restaurants waiting to be explored. Also in the square is Bernini’s designed, the spectacular Fontana dei quattro fiumi fountain. Roman’s not to you go ahead and see this occur.

the famous stairs 21.00

made to connect the Church of Trinità dei Monti to the Spanish Steps to Rome; the arcs, terraces and a colorful evening with the city’s most striking works. Take a bottle of wine from the grocery store nearby and spend an enjoyable evening with your friends, or if you’re alone, you can make dozens of new friends. If you have the time, which is empty and quiet late at night by the stairs, great spots to take a selfie of just one.

without music it wouldn’t a Roman evening 23.00

this romantic and historic jazz without listening to some Italians go to the city and will not return. Gregory’s, by chance we found a small, but extraordinary for lovers of jazz music bar. I walked through the door himself when not in a bar, you feel at home. If you have incredibly friendly employees, after a while, listening to music together, they become friends. We think you shouldn’t miss if you love jazz and blues.

01:00 Classic experience: the hotel Artemide Rome

for a suitable hotel for accommodation in Rome, close to 10,000 choices and usually a lot of tastes because it is really hard to find it’s full! The Artemide hotel, location and quality for many years, with experience gained in Rome is one of the best. The rooms are very clean and offers everything you on a trip to rest his head. Also the delivery station just 5 minutes ‘ walk is a 4 star hotel. Able to see lots of romantic and honeymoon couples hotel as it is a concept.

11.00 Pantheon-a Roman free, similar to Istanbul without the sea

hidden among the narrow streets of Rome the Dec, but there is a stunning beauty out of your face at a time that fascinates you: Pantheon. If you came to Rome, but returned without seeing the Pantheon, definitely your trip to Rome is incomplete. Architectural style and atmosphere that fascinates with ‘Temple of God’, all within the most Roman structures are well-preserved, and perhaps in the world, the best preserved building of that period. What is interesting about the building on the top of the dome. 43 meters in diameter and made of concrete. As you can imagine, a dome made from concrete on such a large scale with the technology of that day to be today, still a big question mark. Here’s the Pantheon’s what makes it interesting. Must-see cool cool fun living in the areas should be made.

13.00, if you are ready for change, move on to the fountain

Childhood, looking back at the screen, watching as a cool place to throw a coin in a past generation in Italy, this fountain is the fountain of that immediately to mind, the questions are coming, of course. Yes, that is the fountain of this fountain; Trevi Fountain, or the fountain of love in our name. When I saw really closely it’s like to love, what’s worth sacrificing a beautiful fountain in the pocket of the disorder. Even when writing fountain, shaking our hands, beyond the fountain. Roman’s Palace also Poly’s a mixture of classical and Baroque by Nicolo Salvi edge and is made as three separate name has been given to where the Trevi is located at the intersection of the road. Looking at the Trevi Fountain, it is possible to see the dozens of sculpting and detail, but when you look at all this in detail ‘the sea’ theme that was made with you can tell. A shell-shaped carriage, pulling the carriage emerging from the sea, winged horses, and mythological sea God you can see them in the car a few details. It’s a unique architecture! It’s not the statues and tossed a coin to throw into the water when your attention let me remind you.

Note: currently, in the case of the Trevi Fountain, renovations…

now go to have a pizza 14.00

we are picky about pizza, and it’s not the best pizza in the restaurants, a pizzeria (pizza) we know. Therefore, quality for us to sit and eat pizza in a restaurant rather than a quick snack to eat. It’s also the best tasting you can find shabby places mostly. One of them, and in our opinion is most definitely Roman in Rome, pinsere (via Sicilia, 98, 00187 Rome). slices of delicious pizza with dozens of different types of $ if you are denying to eat more. We promise, it will be the most amazing pizza you’ve eaten in your life.

Le Domus Romana di Palazzo Valentini 15.00

Rome is one of the best types of Dec open, presenting a visual feast with an incredibly pleasant and multimedia support. Fee 13,5? but it’s worth every Euro, it’s breathtaking! To provide reservations or tickets via the internet makes sense, because otherwise you may not participate in the tours, the number of participants is limited to 15 people. Closely about ancient Rome and ideal for a different experience.

the papal 17.00 Chair: Arcibasilica di San Giovanni in Laterano

Arcibasilica di San Giovanni Laterano in Rome, a church where the papal chair. Its impressive architecture, this structure are adorned with many paintings and sculptures, in fact, is one of the most important stop of Rome. Recognize and is an ideal place for Christianity to have some idea. Forbidden to wear shorts or a Sleeveless shirt when I walked in, given the need to purchase shawls at the entrance. The church, a place which is known as the Church of the Pope.

get a little lost and shop 18.00

centro storico, the historical old city of Rome is the capital of the beautiful, colorful and well maintained located on a quiet street in the zone known as the. Located here, you can shop from stores historic or modern, in the stylish restaurant you can eat delicious meals. Also ideal for the streets to get lost in. By turning off your map, you could turn in to himself to Rome and their unique beauty. You eventually get to one of the sites visited until now because of all the streets!

a tap at the bottom of 20.00 salaslig: I Vic Bistrot

imagine this place is a little shop and wine bistro by equipping it with meat and cheese convert. Here’s Bistrot Vic I just (70 Largo di Torre Argentina)! There are only 6 tables in the place and most of the time can be hard to find, but here it is worth everything to make a pleasure! Ham, delicious cheeses, and mozzarella with extraordinary facial susledik delicious dishes, is a great example of creativity. Warm atmosphere, delicious wines and a modest 36 hours of ideal Roman type for terminating the image.

#delicious cuisine #holidays #ice cream #italian #Italian snacks #Leonardo Da Vinci Airport #Palazzo #Palazzo Valentini #pizza #Renaissance #Roman square #Roman'#Rome #San Giovanni in Laterano #the Coliseum #Tourist #Vatican #Vatican City

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