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Shanderaa rolled 1 20-sided dice:
5
Total: 5 (1-20)
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 Posted: Mon May 26, 2014 3:29 am
(Rollin to see if this load of crap clever ruse is at all convincing!)
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Matasoga rolled 1 20-sided dice:
17
Total: 17 (1-20)
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Posted: Mon May 26, 2014 3:30 am
(Sense motive check.)
It was really clear to Kromli that something was wrong. The Guild Queen was acting most strange, rather unlike he had ever seen acting before. She seemed rather awkward and ill at ease... He should know, after all. That was his default setting.
"Hey, um..." he said, hesitating. "Is um... Something wrong?" he said, having no idea how he might go about broaching the topic more delicately.
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Posted: Mon May 26, 2014 3:48 am
OHNONONONONO. BUSTED ALREADY. Less than a dozen damned sentences was all it took? REALLY?! DAMN IT ALL!
...Okay, let's not panic, Shandy. You can pull this around! Just play it cool as a fair number of cucumbers and everything will be okay! Everything will be okay! Ahahahaaaa...
"N-nothing! I'm just peachy keen! The bee's pajamas! The cat's knees! Everything is just as it should be! Ahahahaa! Hahah... haa..."
Her defensive laughter ended in a deep, stress-filled sigh. If royally screwing up two old-timey expressions wasn't the definition of rock bottom in the situation of playing it cool, she had no clue what was. Yep... it was time, whether she liked it or not.
She continued on, barely audibly. "...Except..."
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Posted: Mon May 26, 2014 3:55 am
Kromli picked up a pair of stools typically reserved for catching one's breath after a strenuous training drill and put one before where she was standing and put one next to it, taking his seat on it.
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Posted: Mon May 26, 2014 4:03 am
Shanderaa sat down slowly, her movements rather stiff in doing so.
"Um. Well. I really don't know how to say this, sooo... I'mma just come out and say it. Have you maybe noticed that Matasoga's been... different, lately?" she asked.
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Posted: Mon May 26, 2014 4:08 am
"Well... I'd like to be able to answer your question, but I haven't seen much of him the past few months. I'd think it's been busier and shrug it off, but the guildhouse feels so... Deserted. Maybe that's bothering him?" he said.
"Then again," he said, changing tone, "Ever since I found him here, even during the slow periods, he's always made time for me, so... Maybe he does seem different somehow. I was just willing to wait it out, but if he's treating you differently, maybe it is serious... How's he acting differently, if you don't mind my asking?" he questioned.
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Posted: Thu May 29, 2014 1:09 pm
"...Oh no. This... is WAY more serious than I thought! Yeah, he has been a LOT more cold and distant lately. At first I just figured he was disappointed in me because I've failed the guild and, by extension, him. And that would be completely understandable! But to be like that with you, too... I mean, you're one of the closest people to him! He's definitely changed. And not just like that, either. In... uh... some other ways too..."
She shifted about uncomfortably as she spoke that last sentence. For a moment afterward, she was silent. What she was thinking now had entered her mind some time ago, but this was the first time she had ever put it into words. At first it was easy enough to shoo away as one of her usual paranoid overreactions, but as more and more time passed it had morphed from a random crazy idea into a very real possibility, and then again into an ugly, horrifying truth.
"...I ruined him."
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Posted: Thu May 29, 2014 1:59 pm
"No, no," Kromli said sympathetically. He understood quickness to blame oneself. "I'm sure that it isn't your fault."
"This must be something else. Something bigger. I don't know what, but I've never really seen him get like this, before," he said. "I'd like to address it with him, but I just don't know how to approach it."
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Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2014 6:37 pm
"But it is!! It's totally my fault!" Shanderaa exclaimed, an undercurrent of pain noticeable throughout. She paused, calming herself a bit before elaborating. "I... think I kind of have some idea of what's happened to Matasoga, now. Y'see, I've been doing a bit of research in the library, and it all really adds up..."
She glanced to one side, then the other, as if she was afraid that someone was listening in. Very quietly, she continued. "It's the wings. I'm almost positive. After the first upgrade there was a definite change in him. It was very obvious in the time immediately after it happened, but that faded out and stabilized fairly quickly. But this time, with the final form... it's much, much stronger. And not going away."
Her gaze shifted toward the ground. "I don't know if we should even be bringing this up with him or not. He... kind of scares me now, honestly." she admitted, trying not to cry as she did.
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Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2014 2:56 am
"Do you think that could be it?" he said, putting a hand to his chin, thoughtfully. "I've studied a little about the arcane as it pertains to dragons, but I really don't know anything about the planes or alchemy that deals with infernal matter. It was around the time that the wings were finished that I noticed a change..."
He considered for a moment before continuing "So you're saying that you don't think those wings just bear a resemblance to devil wings but are devilish themselves in some way and you think they're having and effect on his personality?"
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Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2014 3:05 am
"Yes! Exactly right!" she said, perking back up. "And... I really don't know what to do about it. Part of my research involved reading up on devils, and the parallels with them are really hard to ignore. And from what I've read, what we might -not- be seeing may be even worse than what he lets show through. He's a master of emotional control, after all... maybe this is only just scratching the surface."
She looked back down, the guilt of unintentionally corrupting her beloved master resurfacing with a vengeance. "... I wish I had never found that formula, Kromli..."
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Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2014 9:09 pm
"Well, let's not give up hope," he said. "There must be some way of undoing it... RIght? Did your reading turn up any indication of that?"
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Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2014 12:57 am
"...Well. Closest thing I could find was a reference to a study where an orc was somehow infused with demonic flesh. It described a sort of shift in demeanor not unlike what we're seeing here. ...But that was orcs and demons, not dragons and devils. So, not quite the same thing. And there was no mention of any form of reversal. So... short answer, no..." she concluded.
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Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2014 1:06 am
"Well... I think we have to talk to Matasoga about this first," Kromli said, after a moment's thought. "We both know how smart he is. I'm sure that he's noticed a change, if we have. Maybe he'll want to help us reverse it."
"But first, I think it would be best if we focused on today's lesson. We do still have our standing orders to continue. After that, we'll get to work on sorting out Matasoga and how to approach him," he said. "Are you up for it?"
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Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2014 2:51 am
"Well uh. M-maybe..." She glanced off to the side again, her mind instantly going to the trillion horrible outcomes that could potentially arise from confronting him. "But! But I want you to do it with me! Okay? I can't do this alone..." she trailed off.
"So! Um. But anyway. Training! Yes. That'd be good. But um. Maybe we should take it easy today? I'm kind of um... ... not feeling so great. Yeah..."
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