sorry for your loss

[cuteandinnocentpet]

[When people are returned to the main floor, they will find a trail of cupcakes from the elevator to the dining room. There is a table of drinks, pills, and cupcakes and cakes from the automat.

And on the table, in the center, is this asshole, with a party horn in its mouth. Despite that, it talks into everyone's mind.]

As you strangers tend to have a tradition of parties after an execution, I took the liberty. The plates and cups are over there.

[. . .

be merry I guess]

Comments

[katzenpfote]

Oh, everyone messes it up at first. Even with natural talent, do you think I didn't blind myself with Dancing Lights at first?

[unwittingking]

[Okay, that does get a bit of a snicker out of him.]

Alright, I guess I can give it a bit of a try. Though just starting with the dome and alarm spells. They'd be useful if we decided to go camping back home.

[…now he wants to go camping. Just a little bit.]

[katzenpfote]

The dome takes a bit of training to get up to it, but Alarm is relatively useful. All it needs is a line of silver thread around what you want to mark as a boundary.

You can also learn to send messages to someone a hundred feet away as if you were right next to them, which is good both for sneaking around with someone else and fucking with people.

[unwittingking]

Eh, I could probably do some training. Though if that thread needs to be real silver...we might be able to afford that, but it'd probably get us some looks back home.

And that'd definitely be useful for when Bailey and I are trying to put the pups to sleep. And for stuff like what you said.

[He's got a bit of a smirk as he says that last part. He may already have some plans for that...]

[katzenpfote]

Oh no, no, just silver colored. I would have never been able to afford that for a long time.

But it looks like you've got some ideas.

[unwittingking]

Okay, that should be much easier. To the point that, if you ever need some, and it's possible to travel through worlds, come over to ours. There's lots of stores that sell the stuff.

[One stop to Jo-Ann's and he's got a lifetime supply of the stuff.]

Maybe a little. Just messing with someone a little bit. Maybe making him look crazy in front of some of his friends.

[Bino is in for a reckoning when he gets home...]

[katzenpfote]

There are tailors that sell it... that is where I usually get mine.

... Well. Just be careful. I've known many a young wizard who used that one too much and got punched for it.

[unwittingking]

There are craft stores that sell thread in lots of different colors. I'm pretty sure at least one of them is silver.

And I wouldn't do it too much. Once, maybe a second time. I'd mostly just use it for actually useful reasons.

[Again, talking with Bailey when putting the pups to sleep.]

[katzenpfote]

Oh, if it has many kinds of thread, than probably.

The copper wire is a little harder to get your hands on... ours was a piece of a small sculpture that Nott grabbed when she had 'the itch'...

[unwittingking]

We might be in more luck, then. I'm pretty sure copper is one of the main things needed to make electrical wires, and so basically anything electric.

Anything else needed? Or is that all?

[Seems like this stuff isn't too hard once you know how it works...and you're in modern day, when all you need is more or less at your finger tips.]

[katzenpfote]

No, for those two spells it's about it. Alarm can only be used so many times, but you can use Message however many times you'd like. Dancing Lights takes a little bit of phosphorus which isn't all that hard to come by at an apothecary. I am not teaching you Fire Bolt. Probably not safe, especially around people with fur.

[unwittingking]

Yeah, no combat spells or anything. I'm up for anything that isn't that.

[Just small, not dangerous spells for him, thanks.]

I think I could get phosphorus back home. I...think it's sometimes used in store signs that light up. I don't think they're that expensive.

[Though he's also not sure about the practical uses for it, other than entertaining the pups sometimes.]

[katzenpfote]

I have some if you don't, we can find it if we show someone a sample, I bet. It's a white, red, or black powder. I have red, but... well. Theming, I suppose.

[unwittingking]

Right, powder. Thought it was a gas, but at least I knew it was some element.

We might be able to find it, but it'll probably be easier to get it in your world. Not sure how often they sell that sort of stuff.

[…is it flammable? He can't remember if it's flammable or not. It's probably harder to find if it is.]

[katzenpfote]

Probably. I do not entirely know what sort of stores you have in your world.

... That toy store makes me miss Hupperdook.

[unwittingking]

Lots of different types, but the more dangerous the product, it's usually harder to obtain. Most people aren't going to get their hands on a tank or poisonous gas anytime soon.

Is that a toy store too? Because it kind of makes me think of Toys 'R' Us.

[katzenpfote]

Oh, no. It's a largely gnome city, with some dwarves and the rare half-elf. But we helped out the Tinkertops, and Cleff's store has a variety of mechanical toys and wind up music boxes and things. He's the one who made the crossbow Nott uses. ... It misfires occasionally, but overall it's very good.

It's a city that works extremely hard during the day in workshops and mines - it's the Empire's center for building war machines - and at night they drink and set off fireworks and music and all sorts of celebrations. Every night. It's their way of coping with the conditions, I think.

... It's also the city we left Kiri in.

[There's a small warm smile, one that King will recognize. It's a parental smile.]

[unwittingking]

Heh, sounds kind of crazy, but in the more fun way.

[And he definitely recognizes that smile. That’s a smile he’s made, more than once in his life.]

Can I ask who Kiri is?

[katzenpfote]

Oh... ah. She is a little bird girl we met in the Labenda Swamp. A kenku, specifically - they cannot speak or communicate with words they make themselves, only mimic things in the voice of whoever said it.

She is four. We found her stuck in the mud with crocodiles nearby. she and her family were fleeing the fighting in the valley. She got trapped and her family was forced to leave her. ... We think we found the remains of her sisters, but not her parents.

Ah... anyway, we took her along with us as we cleared out a safehouse for the Gentleman so his network could continue to work smoothly. We kept going and ended up in Hupperdook, and we found some children whose parents were locked up for worshiping unauthorized gods. That was the same dungeon where Cliff's mechanical warden had gone berserk, so in payment for getting rid of it we asked for the Schusters to be released.

... We left Kiri with the kids so she would not be in the fighting, and they got along very well. So once we returned the parents we gave them a good amount of gold to compensate for the new mouth to feed. ... Jester sends her messages from time to time, so I am sure she has learned a variety of new and excitingly inappropriate words.

She was a good bird... I am glad we did what we could for her, since we could not find her parents. But she was... oh, I don't want to say she was our child, though Jester might dispute that, but she was very charming. Very sweet and cute, even if she did stab dead bodies because she was trying to help fight.

[unwittingking]

[He listens, a smile on his face, even through the more concerning parts. Poor girl...he's happy she got a happier ending than expected, but it's still pretty sad. Also a bit off-putting, to hear about a four-year-old stabbing dead bodies. But at that point she was probably already somewhat mentally traumatized, so that might not have been too bad.]

Well, good to hear she got to a good home and is doing alright. It's sad to hear about what happened to her family, but at least she was lucky enough to have met you and your friends.

And even if you wouldn't think of her as your child, I wouldn't blame you if you still considered her as family. Even if you only knew her for a short time, it doesn't sound like something that happens often, and it sounds unforgettable for the most part. She's probably going to be grateful to you all forever for what you did for her.

So don't sell yourself short or anything, okay?

[katzenpfote]

Ah... I'm trying. It's a difficult lesson to put into practice. The rest of the Nein are family to me now... I think Nott still thinks of me as her child, somewhat. I'm significantly older than her actual child though, even if you adjust halfling years and human years to be equivalent.

[unwittingking]

It takes time. You’ll figure it out eventually.

[And that...was a bit of a bombshell to drop. Something to think about, Nott and halfling aging, with dog aging as well, but also...]

Nott...she’s a mother?

[And it sounds like the kid isn’t dead? Hopefully?]

[katzenpfote]

... Right, I didn't tell you, did I? She was... erm. Without going into too much detail about the circumstances, she was originally a halfling with a husband and son and a goblin tribe had her drowned and turned into a goblin. He's five years old.

[unwittingking]

Oh.

[Well, that’s...horribly saddening.]

Has she ever tried to get in contact with them? Or was she afraid they wouldn’t believe her?

[He wouldn’t blame her for either, really.]

[katzenpfote]

... Even I didn't know for a long time, but there were things I hid from her and the group. Still are. Some of them know more than others, but...

I don't think anyone will ever get the full story of all of the training I did.

But she can disguise herself - most of us can. We heard that her home village of Felderwin was hit by an attack from the Dynasty. The village and surrounding area is a major agricultural provider for the Empire, after all. We found her old home burnt, nearly to the ground, and her husband's alchemy lab had some strange devices and a note left by someone that is almost definitely from the Assembly, detailing how her husband had been forced to work with... well. A very important item that was in our possession. Or a similar one, we are not certain.

Her son had run down to find the neighbor, and she spoke to him briefly before she took us aside and explained what had happened to her. We discovered her husband had been taken in the Kryn attack, so we followed the giant worm tunnels down under the mountains, across miles and miles of tunnel and lava before we ended up on the other side. I'll spare you the long story but eventually we ended up in front of the Bright Queen and were about to be attacked before I pulled out that important item and returned it to them. It is a religious relic to them. In return, her husband was freed. We have yet to be able to take him back to his son, but we will do so as soon as possible.