Playing in the Sandbox

"Welcome back to the land of the wakeful..." Toku noted, looking down at the pixie. "Manaburn? Looked like you lost control of the spell or something, to me...Hrmm..." He was quiet, thinking for a moment. That didn't make any sense...Maybe it was a pixie thing?

"Ah... Don't ask..." The Pixie replies with a blush thinking of the very embarrassing story where she learned that dirty slang...

"Yeah. Er, do psionics eat away at your soul?" Mykaila asks.

Mykaila seemed at first relieved (that psionics don't eat away at you soul), then confused at to what Skaimos was trying to say, then her eyes went wide in alarm and exclaimed, "I thought I was dreaming! Tethe is really a zombie!? But... but... but.... I thought zombies couldn't be friendly. Uhiya told me they don't have minds! Are you using psionics to control her or something? B-Because...that... that would be wrong Terai-san!" Apparently she wasn't quite convinced psionics don't eat away at your soul.

"Oh, ok." Mykaila says, accepting that Skaimos didn't/couldn't do so. Then she asks, clearly worried, "So you don't know what she is? How do you know she isn't dangerous? Did you look in her head or something?"

"...Actually, that might not be a bad idea. I'll go check on her and make sure her head's screwed on right. You just wait here." Skaimos started to walk away from the wagon, stopped, then looked back. "One bit of advice, though, Mykaila-chan. Psionics can't eat at your soul...but power can. It would be wise for you to remember that."

Skaimos walked over to Tethe-san. "Well, Mykaila's a bit tentative about you, but she's not screaming her head off. So, how are you feeling, Tethe-san?" As he asked, Skaimos tried to look into Tethe's mind, just in case her thoughts weren't matching her words.

OOC: Using Detect Thoughts.

"I um... Was trying to kill the Zombie of our fallen friend before I passed out..." The Pixie comments to the kobold, sounding unsure to how things are right this moment.

"Not a zombie, at least not a technical standpoint. Apparently we're using the term lich for now, at least until we can figure out the proper name for what she is. I prefer revenant personally, but eh. Tethe-san is more-or-less still with us, she just left things like a pulse and body heat behind." Toku blinked a bit, nodding, still holding onto her in case she flipped out again.

"Well, it's a start I guess." she says with a smile as she swishes what's left of her jug around and listens. "and I feel fine, same as before." She shrugs lightly as Skaimos peers into Tethe's thoughts. "I wonder if I still need to pee..." she muses in her mind as she stares at the mostly empty jug. "Actually, if I keep drinking, will I just bloat up like a balloon? ....oh...oh gods... my blood isn't moving, can I even get drunk?!"

Cyrta... Just was taking in this new info trying to wrap her mind around it slowly her mind shifting from the fact that there was a Zombie-Tethe, but think more to the happy thoughts that somehow Tethe is back in the realm of the living... Despite having died... But she was going to just need a moment right now to fully come to terms with these facts.

Dr Blight wrote:"Well, it's a start I guess." she says with a smile as she swishes what's left of her jug around and listens. "and I feel fine, same as before." She shrugs lightly as Skaimos peers into Tethe's thoughts. "I wonder if I still need to pee..." she muses in her mind as she stares at the mostly empty jug. "Actually, if I keep drinking, will I just bloat up like a balloon? ....oh...oh gods... my blood isn't moving, can I even get drunk?!"

"...Yes, I suppose you'll be alright," Skaimos said. He then turned around and went back to Mykaila's wagon. "...Yep, still Tethe. She seems as confused about what her condition entails we do, and I didn't hear any hints of "I have a sudden craving for flesh" or "They will never suspect my dark and mysterious intentions". She was...a bit more concerned about whether she could ever become drunk again."

"I... see. Um.... is that supposed to be less worrying?" Mykaila asks a bit confused.

"Take a moment, Cyrta. Took me a while to get used to it as well...And she came stumbling out of the wagon at me, I almost froze her solid...Would that even have worked?" He paused, thinking. He may not have thought his plan all the way through. Then again, he was more upset at an ally having been turned into an enemy at the time. Eh, details...

"And I nearly turned her to ash..." The Pixie realized with horror.

"Trust me, you're not the only one. Between you and me?" Toku dropped his voice. "I think the Raven Queen may well take offense to me having not re-killed her..." He shrugged a bit, trying to comfort her a bit, figuring the pixie probably felt guilty about it...

Ramsus wrote:"I... see. Um.... is that supposed to be less worrying?" Mykaila asks a bit confused.

Skaimos rolled his eyes. "It means she's not a danger to any of us. She's just worried about exactly how being undead will affect her lifestyle. Why don't you try having a chat with her, see how she is for yourself?"

Mykaila nods somewhat timidly and goes out to talk to Tethe.

---

If Caden and Xel are done talking then I'll skip to the next scene some time later. Though you guys probably have at least a couple of hours to get some more posting in this scene if you want to.

While everyone gets acclimated to Tethe's reanimation (she can still get drunk as it turns out), you spend a week traveling past the coast of the sea that covers more and more of the horizon. You spot several seaside villages along the way but, stop at none for Smithe's goal has always been to reach Hanko ahead of most other caravans and having Mykaila along in no way lessens the urgency to arrive before others.

Finally you reach Hanko and the first thing that sticks out to you is how astoundingly green it is. Almost every building you can see is crawling with pale leafed ivy, including the watchtowers you pass on your way in. From what you can see from the outskirts it looks like the buildings go all the way to the sea where you can see tropical trees. Hanko itself resides on more even ground compared to Kabikyo's hills and valleys. The closer you get, the more excited Mykaila becomes.

After you arrive at the building where Smithe keeps his wagons, he calls for the Habertons to take a short rest before unpacking their goods. He then pays Uhiya and Thag what he agreed to plus a bit extra. He turns to the party and says that they're welcome to keep their raptors here for the day until they make arrangements and asks if they would like the Habertons sell their share of the goods they've acquired (meaning the weapons and the spare raptor) for them while they (including himself) take Mykaila home.

Cytra stays on Mykaila's sholder as the group heads to to the Royal Tri-Kreen's home. She tries to keep a sharp eye out for any dangers, regardless of the fact how unlikely such a thing was at this far in their travel.

Toku shrugged a bit, figuring that selling the goods was the choice of those who had earned them...He had mostly spent his time tinkering with his golem and projects to pass the time...He was a bit impressed at the greenery, it was pretty rare...The seaside location seemed to suit them...He was most certainly impressed...That was for sure. "So...How are we going to go about this...Just walk up and announce we have Mykalia? That might...go poorly..." he observed, trying to think.

THe Pixie shrugs, unsure of any other way to return Mykaila to her place.

Skaimos had considered taking part in the bartering, but he felt that getting Mykaila back safely took priority. "If the Habertons would be willing, we'd appreciate that. As for getting Mykaila-chan back to her family, perhaps Smithe-san could show us the way to the palace."

...A part of him...a strange, hurt part in him...had the notion that Smithe wishing to join them was part of some horrid plan by that bastard Nale Mefas. Oh, yes, the first stage was a bit of hit and miss, but he had found some unwitting dupes to escort the princess, just as planned-

Skaimos shook off the dark thought. It was illogical, and distrustful to the friend who had given him and his friends the benefit of the doubt, and had given his support when Thornhill had shown up. This "story" was as much his as anyones, and he deserved to see it to its conclusion.

There may also be the possibility of a reward for him from the daimyo, but that would be an acceptable motive.