[And not really the kind of person you should be sending teenagers after, but Mando digresses. He sets a plate of warmed up breakfast beans in front of Riz.]
Here. Bacon is coming next.
[Veggie bacon, of course, since Boober does all the shopping.]
[Sorry, Mando. He is still a teen and he must sass.]
Forest of the Nightmare King, believe it or not. [he sighs for a moment.] Obviously, we tried getting it before it got that far but... well, there was a lot we were dealing with.
[Adaine getting kidnapped had waylaid them to Fallinel, and then Fig getting subpoenaed had waylaid them to Hell. And Riz had had a little Heaven trip, but time had been mostly frozen for that, so it wasn't such a large interruption. Plus! His dad and him had put the case together there. It had been a very important Heaven trip.]
[Sorry, Mando, he's gonna need to talk magic at you.]
It's pretty complicated, but the Nightmare King is not a creature native to our plane -- I guess you would call it our world? If you are extraplanar, you are always pretty susceptible to getting banished back to your own plane, so the crown was a talisman that kept it anchored to our plane.
The last time an adventuring party dealt with him, they managed to get the crown and banish him, which sorta sent him back to his own realm, but he was also still kinda connected to the forest through the curse he put on it. He just couldn't leave or do anything.
That's why Kalina was trying to bring the crown to the forest. Cause if they could do a ritual there, they could reestablish the connection and summon the Nightmare King back to his full power and abilities. And that would've been so bad.
[Maybe Mando is smarter than we give him galactic credit for.]
Yeah! Cause, we are good, but we aren't fighting an evil god good. Not yet, anyway. That's a little above our pay grade. So we had to try and get it before it got that far.
[Riz puffs out a breath before shoveling more food into his mouth.]
We... didn't, really. So I guess we were good enough to fight an evil god. Sorta. It's--
[He runs one hand through his messy curls.]
I need to pull back a little. None of this is going to make sense. The report I'm gonna write on this is going to be insane.
Lets start... I guess let's start at the actual beginning. We were heading into Spring Break, we were helping Fig, Kristen and Adaine move into Mordred Manor and Aguefort shows up. Tells us that they've finally lifted the border restrictions that went up after last year's 'diplomatic incident' [yes, finger quotes and all.] and we could finally leave and collect the crown. Oh, and by the way, this project is going to be 60% of our grade, which is... insane? I guess it isn't a big deal if you don't actually go to your classes like some folks, but I'd been working really hard keeping my grades up, and now Aguefort just shows up and tells us, oh yeah, this project is 60% of your grade? That was nowhere on the grading rubric!
[Somehow, this is more of a cause of complaint to Riz than the whole 'sending some teenagers out to get a powerful magical artefact back lest his servants use it to summon an evil god back into the world']
[Mando didn't go to Space University, so he's unfamiliar with syllabi and unfair grading practices, but he can tell it upsets Riz, so he simply nods and plays along.]
That seems like a lot.
[Nailed it.]
So now the pressure is really on, right? Both because of the evil god returning thing, and also for your grade.
Yeah. Not that I want an evil god to come back or anything, but just. I got plans, you know! I can't just repeat the year.
[University, maybe? Detective office, definitely. And then hopefully making more than enough money that his mother will live in comfort. Maybe he could buy her a house. That'd be nice.]
Anyway, we broke up, went home and we were gonna leave the next day. Gorgug's parents sold him their old van and we were gonna drive in that.
[It is about as glorious and fashionable as the Razorcrest.]
But uh. [Riz's nail finds a groove in the table, worrying at it.] I got kidnapped.
[Mando is not the guy to talk to about career moves which allow you to buy a house. Maybe Bo would have better advice about that? It took him until middle age and working at a laser tag place to get into the housing market.]
A road trip!
[That is a concept Mando understands completely, and he brightens at the idea. Only to immediately get serious again when Riz reveals he was kidnapped.]
So, let me guess: you weren't stuck in there with them, they were stuck in there with you?
[He has confidence in you, kid! He hopes you ruined those kidnappers' day!]
[Riz hates to ruins that confidence, but he must.]
I wish. One moment Baron was in my office and then the next I remember, Fig is standing over me with a knife ready to sacrifice me.
[And then very quickly and firmly added, cause he doesn't want Mando to think badly of Fig in this case.]
She got taken too. Different way than me, but same folks. They did something to her mind and had her completely under their control. It was not her fault.
[Riz says that with the certainty level of certainty one might reserve for saying the sun will rise again tomorrow or that fire is hot. He doesn't need to doubt that his friends will come for him; he knows they will.]
Adaine snuck in and dispelled the magic on Fig, and then Fig grabbed me and Dimension Door-ed me somewhere safe. And then we kicked everybody's asses.
[Mando might not understand magic, but he understands ass kicking, and he practically glows with pride. You go get them, Riz and friends! Kick those asses!]
They were part of it. The kidnappers were working with Kalina, who was the one pulling all the strings behind trying to bring the Nightmare King back to live.
You know what picture I have of my dad?
[The one on his wall, the one with Pok's arm stretched out like he's holding someone but there is no one there.]
She is in it. Or at least, it looks like she is in it when you've been infected with her curse. That's how I first got on her tail, cause I could see her in the picture but nobody else could. Or at least, none of my friends could.
Yes. Not here, actually. Here I could see the same as everyone else, but back home, I could see my dad with his arm around a black tabaxi-- a cat woman.
Got it. So your friends back home couldn't see the cat woman, I'm guessing, but you could. Sounds like a valuable piece of intel, if you used it right.
I wish it was that simple. I could only see her when she wanted me to see her. And while I was cursed with her, she could see and hear everything I could hear. She could get into my spine and keep me from moving at all.
[Riz certainly remembers that sensation -- the feeling of Kalina's weight (fake and yet so real) pressing on his chest and his limbs completely unable to move while Fabian was-- out there in danger and he could do nothing to stop it.
[There is a satisfied, vicious edge to Riz's words. Kalina had been a thorn in his side for so long. She had been the cause of Pok dying. Being able to kill her, with the help of Fig and Fabian had felt really good.]
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2023-12-09 05:33 pm (UTC)[And not really the kind of person you should be sending teenagers after, but Mando digresses. He sets a plate of warmed up breakfast beans in front of Riz.]
Here. Bacon is coming next.
[Veggie bacon, of course, since Boober does all the shopping.]
So where was it?
no subject
Date: 2023-12-10 09:14 pm (UTC)[Sorry, Mando. He is still a teen and he must sass.]
Forest of the Nightmare King, believe it or not. [he sighs for a moment.] Obviously, we tried getting it before it got that far but... well, there was a lot we were dealing with.
[Adaine getting kidnapped had waylaid them to Fallinel, and then Fig getting subpoenaed had waylaid them to Hell. And Riz had had a little Heaven trip, but time had been mostly frozen for that, so it wasn't such a large interruption. Plus! His dad and him had put the case together there. It had been a very important Heaven trip.]
no subject
Date: 2023-12-12 05:20 pm (UTC)[Mando is unimpressed! That's the most obvious place!]
What else was going on?
no subject
Date: 2023-12-12 08:28 pm (UTC)[Sorry, Mando, he's gonna need to talk magic at you.]
It's pretty complicated, but the Nightmare King is not a creature native to our plane -- I guess you would call it our world? If you are extraplanar, you are always pretty susceptible to getting banished back to your own plane, so the crown was a talisman that kept it anchored to our plane.
The last time an adventuring party dealt with him, they managed to get the crown and banish him, which sorta sent him back to his own realm, but he was also still kinda connected to the forest through the curse he put on it. He just couldn't leave or do anything.
That's why Kalina was trying to bring the crown to the forest. Cause if they could do a ritual there, they could reestablish the connection and summon the Nightmare King back to his full power and abilities. And that would've been so bad.
no subject
Date: 2023-12-15 04:28 pm (UTC)He could exist in areas you couldn't.
[Like the whales that travel in the hyperspace lanes.]
I see. You needed the crown so you could keep him from returning to your world and causing problems.
no subject
Date: 2023-12-18 10:26 pm (UTC)Yeah! Cause, we are good, but we aren't fighting an evil god good. Not yet, anyway. That's a little above our pay grade. So we had to try and get it before it got that far.
no subject
Date: 2023-12-20 07:45 pm (UTC)And how did you do that?
no subject
Date: 2023-12-21 03:40 am (UTC)We... didn't, really. So I guess we were good enough to fight an evil god. Sorta. It's--
[He runs one hand through his messy curls.]
I need to pull back a little. None of this is going to make sense. The report I'm gonna write on this is going to be insane.
Lets start... I guess let's start at the actual beginning. We were heading into Spring Break, we were helping Fig, Kristen and Adaine move into Mordred Manor and Aguefort shows up. Tells us that they've finally lifted the border restrictions that went up after last year's 'diplomatic incident' [yes, finger quotes and all.] and we could finally leave and collect the crown. Oh, and by the way, this project is going to be 60% of our grade, which is... insane? I guess it isn't a big deal if you don't actually go to your classes like some folks, but I'd been working really hard keeping my grades up, and now Aguefort just shows up and tells us, oh yeah, this project is 60% of your grade? That was nowhere on the grading rubric!
[Somehow, this is more of a cause of complaint to Riz than the whole 'sending some teenagers out to get a powerful magical artefact back lest his servants use it to summon an evil god back into the world']
no subject
Date: 2023-12-21 02:48 pm (UTC)That seems like a lot.
[Nailed it.]
So now the pressure is really on, right? Both because of the evil god returning thing, and also for your grade.
no subject
Date: 2023-12-22 12:33 am (UTC)[University, maybe? Detective office, definitely. And then hopefully making more than enough money that his mother will live in comfort. Maybe he could buy her a house. That'd be nice.]
Anyway, we broke up, went home and we were gonna leave the next day. Gorgug's parents sold him their old van and we were gonna drive in that.
[It is about as glorious and fashionable as the Razorcrest.]
But uh. [Riz's nail finds a groove in the table, worrying at it.] I got kidnapped.
no subject
Date: 2023-12-22 02:48 pm (UTC)A road trip!
[That is a concept Mando understands completely, and he brightens at the idea. Only to immediately get serious again when Riz reveals he was kidnapped.]
So, let me guess: you weren't stuck in there with them, they were stuck in there with you?
[He has confidence in you, kid! He hopes you ruined those kidnappers' day!]
no subject
Date: 2023-12-22 11:20 pm (UTC)I wish. One moment Baron was in my office and then the next I remember, Fig is standing over me with a knife ready to sacrifice me.
[And then very quickly and firmly added, cause he doesn't want Mando to think badly of Fig in this case.]
She got taken too. Different way than me, but same folks. They did something to her mind and had her completely under their control. It was not her fault.
no subject
Date: 2023-12-26 01:12 pm (UTC)So how'd you get out of it?
no subject
Date: 2023-12-26 11:52 pm (UTC)[Riz says that with the certainty level of certainty one might reserve for saying the sun will rise again tomorrow or that fire is hot. He doesn't need to doubt that his friends will come for him; he knows they will.]
Adaine snuck in and dispelled the magic on Fig, and then Fig grabbed me and Dimension Door-ed me somewhere safe. And then we kicked everybody's asses.
no subject
Date: 2023-12-27 08:12 pm (UTC)[Mando might not understand magic, but he understands ass kicking, and he practically glows with pride. You go get them, Riz and friends! Kick those asses!]
no subject
Date: 2023-12-27 08:21 pm (UTC)Not gonna lie, it felt good. I mean, Gilear kinda died but we fixed that, so it's all good.
[At this point, Gilear has died so often, its something Riz views less with shock and more with a sort of wold wariness.]
no subject
Date: 2023-12-29 03:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-12-29 03:27 pm (UTC)You know what picture I have of my dad?
[The one on his wall, the one with Pok's arm stretched out like he's holding someone but there is no one there.]
She is in it. Or at least, it looks like she is in it when you've been infected with her curse. That's how I first got on her tail, cause I could see her in the picture but nobody else could. Or at least, none of my friends could.
no subject
Date: 2023-12-30 05:04 pm (UTC)So you could see something in that picture that Boober and I couldn't? Because you've been cursed this whole time?
no subject
Date: 2023-12-30 08:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-01-01 04:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-01-06 12:44 am (UTC)[Riz certainly remembers that sensation -- the feeling of Kalina's weight (fake and yet so real) pressing on his chest and his limbs completely unable to move while Fabian was-- out there in danger and he could do nothing to stop it.
Nothing except give up information.]
no subject
Date: 2024-01-07 04:22 pm (UTC)And I'm guessing, since you're talking about her now, you got back at her and made her pay?
no subject
Date: 2024-01-08 12:13 am (UTC)[There is a satisfied, vicious edge to Riz's words. Kalina had been a thorn in his side for so long. She had been the cause of Pok dying. Being able to kill her, with the help of Fig and Fabian had felt really good.]
I even got to say a cool line and everything.
[The line was... probably not that cool at all.]
Oh! And I got to something cool with a mirror!
[That had been pretty damn cool.]
no subject
Date: 2024-01-08 03:13 pm (UTC)What was the line?
[He bets it was so cool.]
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