AbyssalRoadTrip posts
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Abyssal Road Trip - 319 - Some sin for nothing
Amdirlain’s PoV - Material Plane - Quil TrisWhen Pal’tran and Jal’krin returned loaded with drinks and food, they found Amdirlain still reviewing the contract options with Jan’era. Throughout the discussion, Amdirlain followed the threads in Jan’era’s thoughts. They were a flurry of mental calculations and projections that balanced the need to cover overheads with her desire to give Amdirlain an arrangement to ensure she’d stay on as long as possible. As Jan’era said from the start, a draw card to bring in other high-quality per...
Abyssal Road Trip - 318 - Wild reputation
Amdirlain’s PoV - Material Plane - Quil TrisWith Jal’krin starting to stir, Amdirlain used the washroom and changed into clothes she’d made a few days prior. The bright green summer dress swirled around her knees as she tested her legs' responses swaying before the stove filling pans with thin slices of steak and eggs. Not finding a toaster or anything like it, she threw the local butter in a third pan and added halved rolls but held off trying to duplicate French toast.When Jal’krin woke up, he bounced out of bed and found a wobbly...
Abyssal Road Trip - 317 - Burning alive
Amdirlain’s PoV - Material Plane - Qil TrisKadaklan’s gaze twinkled in amusement, but Amdirlain had had enough of the games.“I know there is a lot you’d like to know about me, but really I’m just not going to share it unless it's needed. So please ask questions directly related to restoring my legs, and you’ll get information. You seem on a fishing expedition at the moment,” observed Amdirlain.“I’ll admit I’m procrastinating. My Third Eye caused you actual injury and a lot more pain than I expected. This will not be plea...
A possible Catfolk form for Amdirlain.
Ravenshard posted this on Discord, but I'm aware not everyone looks at it.While Amdirlain's blue fur is darker, and it's a different instrument., I've got this as my mental image presently for Amdirlain's Catfolk appearance
Abyssal Road Trip - 316 - Caught with your pants down.
Amdirlain’s PoV - Material Plane - Quil TrisTrue Song shifted Amdirlain’s body into an incorporeal state similar to the spectres she’d seen. It was also a condition that put her uncomfortably close to the warped dimensional shift the Eldritch attack had caused. In it, Amdirlain could see the infestation of alien energy drawing close to her torso. The upper wounds on her torso showed no signs of infection, but the ghostly outlines of veins and unsheathed nerves darkened as she watched. She could see her sigil’s nodes glowing brightly out...
Abyssal Road Trip - 315 - Baptism by Fire
Amdirlain’s PoV - Material Plane - Quil TrisDinner had proved easy to prepare between them, and afterwards, a still emotionally exhausted Jal’krin had gone to bed early. Once he fell into a deep slumber, Amdirlain set up the crystal to project an illusion of her sleeping on the living room bench and headed out.Tracking some songs gathered from among the retreat’s staff, Amdirlain slipped into a city hospital’s side entrance. Wandering along the corridors, she listened to the enchanted devices that checked mundane vitals and Mana levels....
Abyssal Road Trip - 314 - Rock the house
Amdirlain’s PoV - Material Plane - Quil TrisAmdirlain polished off the roast before she headed off. Though she intended to pick some things up, it wasn’t from any store. Out among the alleyways, new concealments wrapped around her, cloaking her auras, and blocking her presence to sight, hearing, and smell. Creating a few changes of clothing that would fit into her travel pack, Amdirlain placed it in Inventory and moved to the boundary of the retreat.Down among the tunnels, she could hear law keepers and others investigating. Other teams wer...
Abyssal Road Trip - 313 - Chase the ace
Amdirlain’s PoV - Material Plane - Quil TrisAmdirlain paid, left the cafe, and caught the waiting observers slip in among those who fixated on her flowing steps. Slipping through the still very early morning crowds, she made the observers work to keep track of her, shifting in and out of shops. She made purchases, sold mithril to a jeweller, and moved amidst groups to obstruct their view. Her hat and bag gave them a constant reference, and she kept them following for an hour to increase the challenge for herself.At last, when their confidence...
Abyssal Road Trip - 312 - Black Ice
Amdirlain’s PoV - Material Plane - Quil TrisWith the surrounding distortion dramatically lessened, Amdirlain reactivated True Sight. Examining the vault’s controls, she heard the residue of four people operating the controls spread across its surface. The knobs and curved impression seemed more suitable for tentacled beings than any Catfolk, but traces of those who’d used them were present. The interactions left impressions and energies that advised Amdirlain what they’d touched. Despite the vastness of the door, neither True Sight nor ...
Abyssal Road Trip - 311 - Whispers in the mist
Amdirlain’s PoV - Material Plane - Quil TrisWrapping herself in more concealments, Teleport placed her near the wooded edge of the first estate. Searching for distortions wasn’t a problem as she immediately heard the fractured notes within the main building. The owners had laid out four hexagonal structures in a lopsided Y-shape with an open mouth towards the driveway. The smaller wings and tail were each a modest two stories and fifteen metres across. Positioned against sides one, three and five of a middle hexagon, fifty metres across and...
Abyssal Road Trip - 310 - Show business
Amdirlain’s PoV - Material Plane - Qil TrisThe door with the sign for the sound booths let her into a corridor with doors marked to indicate three sound booths, the lavatories, and a flight of stairs to the roof. Letting herself into the first booth, Amdirlain found the area split into two sections, similar to a recording studio in miniature. Despite the soundproof panelling, it was still lit with the same soft white illumination she’d seen elsewhere. Amdirlain examined the sound technician's enchantments and entered the performer's...
Abyssal Road Trip - 309 - Bright lights bigger city
Amdirlain’s PoV - Material Plane - Qil TrisThough the cashier at the steps tried to talk Amdirlain into a more expensive option, she took the cheapest ticket for the next trip and headed up. Taking the stairs to the platform on the ticket, she found herself on a stone platform of more hexagonal blocks. They’d marked carriage numbers along the platform’s edge, and Amdirlain followed her ticket.As the skyline carriages glided towards the platform, Amdirlain took in the Catfolk around her. People with different attire and fur colouration str...
Abyssal Road Trip - 308 - New in town
Amdirlain’s PoV - Outlands - XaosWhen Amdirlain arrived in the suite’s living area, she found Livia, Rana, and Goxashru looking over the surveyor’s images.After exchanging their greetings, Livia jumped straight in. “Did things go well?”“They’ve retrieved and opened the royal tower. Gideon gave an achievement for it, but I think the main reason was to let us know not everyone in it was trustworthy. Gail, Isa, and I left the Lómë to sort out their mess,” advised Amdirlain.“Are they going to be okay?” asked Livia.The smile Am...
Fluid - 48
The morning is a rush of activity preparing for the evening feast. Ellother and I purchase extra materials from stores to distribute some coins rather than me simply creating more. Irene and some ladies I’ve seen at the Temple services join the gathering.Ellother breaks the ice when she rolls up her sleeves and joins me in helping a group of village women knead the dough. Some ladies I’d seen salt harvesting come into the square, and I occasionally catch one of Selene's granddaughters looking my way. Androkles’s ancestry is clearer in...
Abyssal Road Trip - 307 - Used to know me
Amdirlain’s PoV - OutlandsAmdirlain paused with her mind outstretched to turn the time-lapse image of Quil Tris. The city's ruins sat far from other occupied lands, cracked stonework peeking up beneath the layers of snow. The surveyor's perspective had drawn Amdirlain’s attention to the regular formation beneath the snow. Yet it had only been at the end of the recording loop that a gust had cleared snow from a broken turret.Isolating the song within the crystal took some effort to tweak; the music of old worked stone blended in almo...
Fluid - 47
Zosime is looking thoughtful when we get back. “I didn’t realise how tight things were getting on the farms. It was nice of you to feed that family, not just the work crew.”“I prefer to be nice, but have I been too nice?” I ask.A glum smile appears on Phile’s face. “You made the nobles apologise to the village council and then gave Selene and the others a tour of your home. I don’t know what Selene thinks, but some people don’t calm down when you give them things. They start to ask why they shouldn’t have more.”Zosime nodd...
Abyssal Road Trip - 306 - One Step Closer
Amdirlain’s PoV - OutlandsThough Amdirlain was pretty sure what would happen, she opened a Gate to Qil Tris and faced a nighttime scene. The view was of a snow-covered hillside with weather-worn boulders and trees covered in long, needle-like leaves. Though she could hear the landscape’s music, the threshold didn’t allow her to cross.Amdirlain wondered if Titan’s world construction was often based on Earth-type norms or if evolution caused it. If not for the array of life she’d seen in The Exchange, the small samplings of worlds she...
Abyssal Road Trip - 305 - Light it up
Amdirlain’s PoV - OutlandsThe Gate opened to the edge of the flattened forest, and the distortion caused the fine hairs on the back of Amdirlain’s neck to lift.With an eager laugh, Mars jumped through, his pilum already ready to throw. “I’ve only heard of these! World maggot, come up and fight us.”As Mars raced forward, he jumped between the decaying tree trunks to avoid the strange-coloured undergrowth. Amdirlain heard him drawing more strength, unobstructed by another pantheon’s claim, and the Avatar grew in power. A Divine aura f...
Fluid - 46
Ipy joins the seven teenagers to form them up in lines of four, and a steady cadence of blades clicking against each other soon fills the air.“Stick to the pace,” Ipy critiques when one gets adventurous and picks up the rhythm. “You need your muscles to get used to the attacks and counters.”When their energy starts to flag, he has them spar in pairs while the others rest, offering advice and corrections throughout each match-up. Though I’m not sparring against them, I often catch the gaze of the other youngsters resting on me and my b...
Abyssal Road Trip - 304 - The key, the secret
Amdirlain’s PoV - OutlandsOpening a scrying window to the coordinates of the key storage, Amdirlain saw an irregular corridor that curved out of sight. The walls appeared rough-hewn but of the same light grey stone as the Spire. Turning the window’s focus, she found the entrance from the Outlands was around a sharp turn. Anyone looking at it from a distance would see a shallow depression in the Spire. From the window it required a sidestep to peer out into the open sky. A few metres above the corridor’s ceiling were the clouds that marked...
Abyssal Road Trip - 303 - Something's off
Amdirlain’s PoV - Outlands - XaosAt first, toying with the harp, Amdirlain only felt a sense of déjà vu until an expected rush of memories showed her Ólneth’s harp instruction from Hirindo. Orhêthurin's recollections of her family were powerful; ironically, they left Amdirlain feeling like she had intruded, despite them overtaking her. After a few hours of struggling with the memories and harp, Amdirlain’s Skill gained a few more levels.Settling her auras’ concealments, Amdirlain rose and started towards Xaos. In the first steps...
Fluid - 45
After getting a few kilometres beyond Cendëróme’s northernmost scouts, I shift directly back to Sanctuary’s foyer. Within the hall, Sarah has stretched out on the dance floor in a restrained version of her Dragon form, giving Ellother and an elderly Human male a chance to examine her scales. As I walk forward quietly, taking in the man’s melody, Sarah lifts her head to peer over them. The motion prompts the pair to look my way, and Sarah takes on a Human form with a diaphanous red dress that comes down to her ankles, enfolding her.The m...
Abyssal Road Trip - 302 - Rainmaker
Amdirlain’s PoV - Outlands - XaosWhen Amdirlain arrived at Xaos, she appeared beside a teenage Ratkin with honey-hued fur. Before he started to react, Amdirlain projected calmness to moderate his reaction. The young male still pulled the satchel closer, his nose twitching and fur rippling with the air displaced by Amdirlain’s arrival. Instinctively, he gave an outraged squeak and jumped away.The Power stops me from appearing inside someone, but not giving them a heart attack is another matter.“My apologies,” offered Amdirlain.“Were yo...
Abyssal Road Trip - 301 - Dark Signal
Amdirlain’s PoV - Outlands - XaosHours later, Livia found Amdirlain in her suite, rolling a memory crystal between her hands. As Livia entered, Amdirlain looked up and patted the couch beside her. “Come sit with me?”“You know I do the same thing when delivering bad news to friends,” commented Livia, but she still sat beside Amdirlain.“Moradin looked over Torm and confirmed the only one likely to help any of them was the Titan. He, Tyr, and I took the three of them to Judgement.”Livia let out a series of slow breaths and stared off...
Abyssal Road Trip - 300 - With her
Amdirlain’s PoV - Outlands - Prison CellsAmdirlain collected the enchanted crystals around the prison and stored them in Inventory. She took apart the four cells before gathering up the spheres that now contained her patients. Considering her options, Amdirlain created the smallest storage ring she could manage and stowed them.As she slipped it on, Moradin raised his brows. “I’ve heard tales about you using a trick called Inventory. I hadn’t expected you to need a storage ring.”“While I’m not sure it's completely the same, ...
Fluid - 44
Nanoĸ, Nikias, and Myrto are heading out the door when Phile comes over and sits beside me. Bumping her knee against mine, Phile holds out a hand and, when I clasp it, she gives me a relieved smile I gladly echo. A knot of tension eases from my stomach, with her not opting to create a distance.“You saying you grew up without other children around makes sense now,” offers Phile.“Yeah. Although I had lots of celestials to keep me company, they were all more like mother-hens than playmates,” I admit.Ipy nods. “Not having someone you can...
Abyssal Road Trip - 299 - Side Effects
Amdirlain’s PoV - Outlands - PrisonAmdirlain sat outside the cells and procrastinated by considering the visit with Phrinhralith’s grandparents. The lengthy protocols of the dragons of Vrantvrak had consumed hours of back and forth; their displays of overflowing reverence throughout had made it an uncomfortable experience for Amdirlain. While she had missed the events, she gathered details in bits and pieces about their moderate course—for dragons—and actions to date.The conclave’s envoy had chastised the formithians about their invas...
Abyssal Road Trip - 298 - Break me down
Amdirlain’s PoV - Material Plane - VotariAfter her return trip to Cemna, Amdirlain progressed through a series of random jumps between Cemna, Votari, and the desolated worlds.The leaps initially battered her mind and caused Pain Eater’s capacity to grow. World Step dampened the impact, and a Journeyman breakthrough strengthened it. It was an outcome that was a long time coming since its progression through the Apprentice ranks had taken hundreds of jumps.The varying trips had crisscrossed the universe leaving a strange star map of songs wit...
Chained - 17
After rejecting my advances, it’s an hour of inscribing before Gaius pauses. “I’m surprised you’re not asking what the runes do.”Shifting my focus from the Mana he’d left in the rune, I snort. “It’s all Draconic; I’m focusing on where you inject the Mana.”“These are Artificer runes,” corrects Gaius.His ignorance draws out bitter laughter, and I point along his carved lines. The growling tones roll off my tongue as I pronounce three different Draconic words. “At the foundation, these three all mean stability in the drag...
Abyssal Road Trip - 297 - Visiting hours
Amdirlain’s PoV - Outlands - XaosWhen Amdirlain returned, Livia was already in the suite, sitting cross-legged on a couch, quietly meditating. “Having an extended training session isn’t a very subtle way to avoid speaking about Uncle Torm.”“We were trying to make up for three missed days,” countered Amdirlain.“Yet you also missed three days Ki cycling with them,” observed Livia. “Why don’t you start by telling me how bad things are?”Amdirlain sighed and sat on the couch across from Livia, only to fiddle with an ornate figu...
