Realm of Gadigan

This post is here so that people can see a non-administrator post at the end for pending Quest processing.

Smiling at the group's antics, Ryuutarou turns the page, anticipating further egg-recipes.
The words look oddly fuzzy and out-of focus. How peculiar.
-krzt-
Smiling at the group's antics, Ryuutarou turns the page, anticipating further egg-recipes.
The words are sliding off the page. How peculiar.
-krzt-
Smiling at the group's antics, Ryuutarou turns the page, anticipating further egg-recipes.
The words are words are words are words are words
-krzt-
Smiling at the group's antics, Ryuutarou turns the page, anticipating further egg-recipes.
-krzt-
Smiling at the group's antics, Ryuutarou turns the page
-krzt-
Ryuutarou turns the page
-krzt-
Ryuutarou t u r n s t h e p a g e
-͏̛̹͔̹k̴̺̱͉̮̖͎̀͘r̴̨̲͕̼z̝͚̹͍̩̙͠s̢҉̲̦̪͙̀c̙̱͓̹͉͖̱͉͞ͅh͓̻͓͇̝̝t҉̴̺̕-̗


Dulcinea picks up the amulet, and moves into the back room to investigate the storage area.
-krzt-
Dulcinea picks up the amulet, and moves into the back room to investigate the lack of storage area.
-krzt-
Dulcinea picks up the amulet, and moves out of the non-room to desperately find a room that exists.
-krzt-
Dulcinea picks up [undefined item] and moves [direction not found]
-krzt-
Dulcinea picks up
-krzt-
Dulcinea
-krzt-
[ENTITY NOT FOUND]
-͏̛̹͔̹k̴̺̱͉̮̖͎̀͘r̴̨̲͕̼z̝͚̹͍̩̙͠s̢҉̲̦̪͙̀c̙̱͓̹͉͖̱͉͞ͅh͓̻͓͇̝̝t҉̴̺̕-̗


The world skews, inverts, collapses on itself, off itself, of itself, from itself
Violet is torn sideways from reality, vanishing into multiple static-hued flat silhouettes with a scream
The cards are gone.
The group is gone.
The world is gone.
Ryuutarou is gone.
Dulcinea is gone.

-͏̛̹͔̹k̴̺̱͉̮̖͎̀͘r̴̨̲͕̼z̝͚̹͍̩̙͠s̢҉̲̦̪͙̀c̙̱͓̹͉͖̱͉͞ͅh͓̻͓͇̝̝t҉̴̺̕-̗


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[UNIVERSAL EXISTENCE FAILURE]

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ryuutarou turns the page. Things seem... different. He looks up. The group has stopped playing cards. They look confused.

Violet is back.

Wait, was she ever gone? What just happened?
She's wearing a different outfit, now. Instead of her maroon clerk-ish suit, she now wears a smart dark-green tweed suit with a metal sunflower-badge on it bearing an infinity-symbol, with a sturdy pair of boots and gloves bearing a similar mark and a wide-brimmed gardener's hat made of shimmering golden straw with an identical infinity-sunflower badge decorating the band.
She certainly looks a lot less tired than he remembers her being. In fact, she looks rather well. And moves rather faster.
...somehow, she's gone from the typical speed he'd associate with people a level band below him to something considerably more on-par with his current circle of friends.

"Ah."
Violet blinks, fumbles with the trowel and basket of plants she was carrying, and examines her surroundings.
"I'm back again. You're back again. We're back again. Did you leave as... wait, no, let me check how things were when I got displaced. Memo!"

A shining document abruptly pops into reality in front of her, floating in midair.


Ryuu's attention is drawn from Violet's new appearance and floating stationery to the sky above. Wasn't it really, really bright before? And there was that burning moon, he's pretty sure.
Instead, the sky is currently a peaceful, gently-shifting gradient of lavender hues, with faintly-glowing clouds lazily drifting overhead. More obviously-different is the moon itself, now a huge sphere of drifting purple energies, calmly flowing around its surface in intricate, carefully-balanced patterns and eddies.


"Right, I see."
The dragon-chef's attention is once again drawn to the fancy-gardener-attired Violet, whose shining document has vanished.
"It looks like things haven't changed since I got ripped out of the world and into Evergarden. I mean, no, things have changed, but they haven't changed regarding you guys. Probably? I mean... Is everyone okay? Are you hurt? Wait, no."
She ponders.
"Does anyone even know that anything happened since I was gone?"


Stabs blinks, squinting and rubbing his head as if suffering from a migraine. "Uh. Whuzza- what just- when'd you change clothes?"



---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dulcinea's consciousness is once more torn, this time back into reality. Stange recollections hit her of a place that wasn't a place because places, and even the concept of places no longer existed, along with anything else. Also she wasn't herself, until she was, but she wasn't actually herself because she wasn't controlling herself even though she got made to maybe be herself? And then she put things in herself from... nothing? Something?

She feels different. She is different.

She knows she has gained new elements. Atomic, Water, Darkness, and Light are all part of her, now.
She feels like she's gained weeks' worth of knowledge-in-potentia.
She feels she knows more of Progress, more of Water, and suddenly understands about the basics of Miracle Engines.

Which is probably a good thing, because she's now got one as a heart.
Seriously, what is with her getting random weird stuff where her heart should be?
She feels a great deal more powerful, though.
A great deal.
Positively deific, in fact.


She looks around the storeroom. It's... completely bare. It's just a room. No furniture, no shelves, nothing. It's like something just came in and scooped everything out, leaving the walls, floor and ceiling to occasionally sputter-glitch into different materials out of the corner of her eye. The air feels oddly heavy. Oddly still. Like it's being deliberately suppressed. Like there's a hair-thin membrane separating a vast, incalculably great weight from reality in this place that might break through at any given moment.

Wait, no. It isn't completely empty. Something else is there.

Something very obviously there, too. A grand throne sits in the centre of the room.
The throne is...
It's...
It is...

She can't seem to properly grasp its form, for some reason. How? It's a throne. It is so much greater than that. It's just a piece of furniture. It is so much greater than that. It's...

Well. Perhaps she should start off a bit at a time. It's made of Dead-Reality Meta-Golemstone.
It's made from Flawlessly-Petrified Numinous Hyperplatinum Golemstone.
It's made from Ascended Quintessence-Golemstone.
It's made from Absolute Oblivion-Obsidian Golemstone.
It's made from Metatemporal Pan-Universal Superposition Pluricite Golemstone.
It's made from Purified Deific Meta-Gigas Golemstone.
It's made from [ ̪͍͈̘̤̩̆̔̈ͯͬ̀̑̽ͮ͢͝ ̨͕̥̪͉͇̱̘͊͊̀ͥ̕ ̶̢͎̜͉̦͚ͩ̑̂̌ͯ͝ ̡͎̝̝̹̠̳̞͌͢͜ ̴̭͎͇̯͙ͪ̆̄ ̷̦̫̮̤́̓͋].

Her head hurts. Her heart hurts. Her pattern hurts.

Well, that's enough looking at the throne. It's hers. She somehow knows this. That's the important thing.

It has a huge, beautifully-crafted pennant draped over its seat, made of some fine, shimmering material that glimmers like scales. There's a diamond emblem on it with a fancy 'B' in its centre.
Also on the seat is a book.
The book, while exerting nowhere near the pressure of the throne (or perhaps being overwhelmed by such), is giving the impression of serious conceptual weight behind it. The front cover has a picture of Colonel Wilson Jonas reclining naked in a seductive pose on a rose-strewn bed, a rose between his teeth.

There is also a baseball on the floor nearby. Dulcinea feels a cold chill race up her spine.

She's somewhat distracted by this, however, at the sudden appearance of a floating, glowing kitten abruptly popping into existence in front of her.


She looks at the floating kitten.

The floating kitten looks at her.

Both, unbidden, abruptly burst into a yell.

"EXCELSIOR!"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

An echo of what happened catches back up to its participants. Dulcinea and Willoughby feel an odd connection.

Dulcinea gets:

4 Fame

Basic Lunar Element Attunement: Victoria Sanctorum- (Passive Ability, Moongazer) If Victoria Sanctorum is the current Governing Lunar Body, possessor may choose to treat Moon as said Governing Lunar Body's Associated Element.

Envoy of Aeonaut- (Passive Ability, Moongazer) Possessor may choose to have their spells, abilities, and items respond as though Aeonaut is the current Governing Lunar Body as an effect that does not stack with other Moongazer abilities whose names include 'Envoy of'

Envoy of Belzwroth- (Passive Ability, Moongazer) Possessor may choose to have their spells, abilities, and items respond as though Belzwroth is the current Governing Lunar Body as an effect that does not stack with other Moongazer abilities whose names include 'Envoy of'

Envoy of Cruore- (Passive Ability, Moongazer) Possessor may choose to have their spells, abilities, and items respond as though Cruore is the current Governing Lunar Body as an effect that does not stack with other Moongazer abilities whose names include 'Envoy of'

Envoy of Victoria Sanctorum- (Passive Ability, Moongazer) Possessor may choose to have their spells, abilities, and items respond as though Victoria Sanctorum is the current Governing Lunar Body as an effect that does not stack with other Moongazer abilities whose names include 'Envoy of'

'Involved in the Creation of the Moon Aeonaut during [UNIVERSAL EXISTENCE FAILURE] on Seirei'
'Involved in the Creation of the Moon Belzwroth during [UNIVERSAL EXISTENCE FAILURE] on Seirei'
'Involved in the Creation of the Moon Cruore during [UNIVERSAL EXISTENCE FAILURE] on Seirei'
'Involved in the Creation of the Moon Victoria Sanctorum during [UNIVERSAL EXISTENCE FAILURE] on Seirei'



Willoughby gets:

2 Fame

Basic Lunar Element Attunement: Victoria Sanctorum- (Passive Ability, Moongazer) If Victoria Sanctorum is the current Governing Lunar Body, possessor may choose to treat Moon as said Governing Lunar Body's Associated Element.

Envoy of Cruore- (Passive Ability, Moongazer) Possessor may choose to have their spells, abilities, and items respond as though Cruore is the current Governing Lunar Body as an effect that does not stack with other Moongazer abilities whose names include 'Envoy of'

Envoy of Victoria Sanctorum- (Passive Ability, Moongazer) Possessor may choose to have their spells, abilities, and items respond as though Victoria Sanctorum is the current Governing Lunar Body as an effect that does not stack with other Moongazer abilities whose names include 'Envoy of'

'Involved in the Creation of the Moon Cruore during [UNIVERSAL EXISTENCE FAILURE] on Seirei'
'Involved in the Creation of the Moon Victoria Sanctorum during [UNIVERSAL EXISTENCE FAILURE] on Seirei'

Willoughby the Atomikitty has joined the thread!

Stats wrote: Willoughby the Atomikitty (The Nottest of Daves)
Level 19 BA Member
Exalted Wishkin & Familiar, Atomic
HP: 4,750
MP: 2,375
STR: 135 (5) +40
AGI: 285 (15)
CON: 240 (10) +50
MIN: 185 (5) +90
SPI: 285 (15)
SAN: 190 (10)
INF: 380 (20)
RES: 285 (15)
XP- 0
XP Required- 70,000, Holy Imperial Seal of Worth
Fame- 1
Gold- 200,000,200
Bonus Weeks: 19
Weeks: 20 Mahou Shoujo Weeks, 20 Wishmaker Weeks


Abilities-
Melee Attack
Magical Attack
Ranged Attack
Elemental Attack
Defend
Counter
Change Stance
Guard Back Rank
Use an Item
Cast a Spell
Switch Rows
Unequip
Re-equip
Trade
Transform
Overdrive
Melee Overdrive
Mental Overdrive


Blessings:
<NONE>

Clearances:
<NONE>

Curses:
<NONE>

Friendship:
Compelled to Shout EXCELSIOR When Near Certain Allies- (Passive Ability, Friendship) If possessor is on the same side of battle as two other individuals with an ability named 'Compelled to Shout EXCELSIOR When Near Certain Allies', each, once, announces the message 'EXCELSIOR', all three become solely the elements Atomic & Technology, each may convert any instance of Damage they deal into solely Atomic & Technology element Damage, and count as being in a guild named 'EXCELSIOR'



Auramancer:
Basic Aura Mastery- (Passive Ability, Auramancer) All Auras equipped by possessor provide +10 additional Defense

Beastmaster:
Basic Beastmaster Knowledge- (Passive Ability, Beastmaster) Possessor's Animal pets and summons gain +100 HP, +100 MP, +10 to damage dealt, and +10 to all stats

Combatant:
Basic Fist Weapon Training- (Passive Ability, Combatant) Possessor gains +6 Melee Attack and +5 CON when a Fist Weapon is equipped.

Wizard:
Basic Wizard Magic Attunement- (Passive Ability, Wizard) All Wizard Magic spells gain +10 Magical Attack and cost 10 less MP



Other: Mahou Shoujou
Apprentice Mahou Shoujou Knowledge- (Passive Ability, Other: Mahou Shoujou) Possessor's Familiar pets and summons gain +500 HP, +500 MP, +50 to damage dealt, and +50 to all stats; Possessor gains +500 Magical Attack if possessor has a Wand equipped
Basic Mahou Shoujou Knowledge- (Passive Ability, Other: Mahou Shoujou) Possessor's Familiar pets and summons gain +100 HP, +100 MP, +10 to damage dealt, and +10 to all stats
Mahou Shoujou- (Passive Ability, Other: Mahou Shoujou) Possessor's Familiar pets and summons gain +5,000 HP, +5,000 MP, +500 to damage dealt, and +500 to all stats; Possessor gains +5,000 Magical Attack, +5,000 SPI, and +50,000 MP

Other: Wishmaker
Apprentice Wishmaker Knowledge- (Passive Ability, Other: Wishmaker) Possessor's Wishkin pets and summons gain +500 HP, +500 MP, +100 to damage dealt, and +50 to all stats
Basic Wishmaker Knowledge- (Passive Ability, Other: Wishmaker) Possessor's Wishkin pets and summons gain +100 HP, +100 MP, +10 to damage dealt, and +10 to all stats
Wishmaker- (Passive Ability, Other: Wishmaker) Possessor may forfeit one Accessory slot or Spell slot at the start of a thread to gain a Pet slot that may contain a Wishkin pet only, This ability provides +50 HP and +10 to all stats of possessor's Wishkin pets and summons per Level of possessor

Other: Wishmaster
Basic Wishmaster Knowledge- (Passive Ability, Other: Wishmaster) Possessor's Exalted-Wishkin pets and summons gain +1,000 HP, +1,000 MP, +100 to Damage dealt, and +100 to all stats
Exalted Domain: Things that are Cute but Dangerous- (Passive Ability, Other: Wishmaster) Possessor's Charm infliction chances are increased by 50%, Possessor's first hit of possessor's first attack of each battle deals 50,000 additional Damage, Possessor has RP powers connected to this divine domain
Wishborn Demigod- (Passive Ability, Other: Wishmaster) Possessor is a deity and possesses a deity profile.

Equipment-

Weapons-
Alzarian Heartfire- (Weapon, Force, Fire & Psychic, 5,000,000 Gold) +5,000 Melee Attack, +5,000 Ranged Attack, +5,000 Magical Attack, 60% inflicts Charm or Charm: Lovestruck, Instances of Charm inflicted by wielder must be removed twice by sources below Level 60 to actually be removed
Apple of Discord- (Weapon, Deadly Item, Chaos & Magic & Glory & Wood, 60,000,000 Gold) +60,000 Magical Attack, 100% inflicts Charm, 100% inflicts Confusion, 15% inflicts Dominion, 15% inflicts Insanity, Wielder must be Level 40 or greater or a Deity

Armor-
Aura of Flaming Butterflies- (Armor, Aura, Fire, 1,000,000 Gold) +1,000 Defense, 30% Fire Resistance, Wielder may deal 10,000 Flat Fire element Damage to all opponents at the start of each round, Wielder may deal 10,000 Flat Fire element Damage to each individual who targets wielder with an action at the end of each such action

Accessories-
Flame Dragon Mantle- (Accessory, Cloak, Fire, 7,000,000 Gold) +7,400 Magical Attack, +6,900 SPI, +5,550 MIN, 30% Fire Resistance, 30% Critical for Magical Attacks
Legs That Just Don't Quit- (Accessory, Bioaugmentation, Physical, 7,000,000 Gold) Wielder's Charm infliction chances increase by 15% as a non-stacking effect, Wielder gains Fatigued Immunity
Volcano Dragon's Gem- (Accessory, Crystal, Fire, 9,000,000 Gold) +9,000 Magical Attack, +8,500 to all stats, +50,000 Damage to all of possessor's damage-dealing actions that are Fire element as a non-stacking effect
Global Shielding System- (Accessory, Gadget, Technology & Warding, 200,000,000 Gold) +200,000 Defense, Wielder's allies obtain +20,000 Defense as a buff that stacks 5 times
Armband of Purity- (Accessory, Wristwear, Light, 2,700,000 Gold) +2,200 Magical Attack, +2,600 Defense, 20% Resilience, Individuals below Level 30 cannot inflict status effects on possessor

Spells-
Mage Blades- (Spell, Wizard Magic, Air, 55 MP, 61,000 Gold) +65 Magical Attack, 10% inflicts Wounded
Mass Confuse- (Spell, Wizard Magic, Magic, 70 MP, 20,000 Gold) +2 Magical Attack, 15% Confusion, 1 hit against 19
w/ Unbreakable- This item cannot be Broken or destroyed except by the most exceptional measures, This treatment does not prevent pets or summons it is applied to from being killed, This item cannot be stolen outside of Official Quests and Player Quests, This does not count as a Mystic Treatment for number of Mystic Treatments that can be applied to this item if this item is unique, Affects any type of possession, Mystic Treatment
War Mage's Flame Aura- (Spell, Other: War Magic, Fire, 6,000 MP, 6,000,000 Gold) Caster gains a buff that stacks 3 times and deals 60,000 Flat Fire element Damage to any individual who conducts an offensive action that targets its possessor, with said Damage being doubled (to a max of 200,000 additional Damage) against Units

Dulcinea is pleased by the return of her [FRIEND|CAT|FELLOW DEITY|PARTICIPANT IN UNDEFINED], though she really must satisfy her curiosity regarding these sudden new [ITEMS|LOCATIONS|ENTITIES] that appeared here with her. She attempts to scan them, starting with her standard BA-granted assessment mode, followed by Detective's Eye if that doesn't work. She will scan items in the order of Willoughby, the banner, the book, the baseball, and then finally the Throne.

---~===~---

Willoughby meows curiously at the strange newness around her, before prancing across the air and stretching out across Dulcinea's shoulders to settle in for a catnap. Rest is important for making good decisions!

---~===~---

Ryuutarou is filled with a sense of confusion and great unease. This is a familiar feeling, given his other attempts at questing since becoming a Battle Arena member, though still an unpleasant one. "I don't really remember anything happening between you wearing your old clothes and you wearing new clothes, but obviously something's happened because the moon is purple now and that's definitely new."

-͏̛̹͔̹k̴̺̱͉̮̖͎̀͘r̴̨̲͕̼z̝͚̹͍̩̙͠s̢҉̲̦̪͙̀c̙̱͓̹͉͖̱͉͞ͅh͓̻͓͇̝̝t҉̴̺̕-̗

Dulcinea is pleased by the return of her [FRIEND|CAT|FELLOW DEITY|PARTICIPANT IN UNDEFINED], though she really must satisfy her curiosity regarding these sudden new [ITEMS|LOCATIONS|ENTITIES] that appeared here with her. She attempts to scan them, starting with her standard BA-granted assessment mode, followed by Detective's Eye if that doesn't work. She will scan items in the order of Willoughby, the banner, the book, the baseball, and then finally the Throne.

Dulcinea, satisfied by the wording, hits 'Sumbit' on her post and leans back into her chair, stretching. Now all she has to do is wait for ̴̵̴̶̸̸̷̸̵̴̴̸̵̶̶̶̵̷̸̶̸̶̵̴̴̶̸̷̴̵̵̴̷̵̷̨̢̮͈͉̩͔͓̹̖̠̫̝̦̜̙͕̯͉̙͉̅̅̐̒̏͐͂̉͘͜͝̷̴̷̸̷̶̶̵̸̶̴̴̵̵̷̵̴̵̶̵̸̷̶̸̴̸̵̷̴̵̵̴̸̷̷̷̵̷̴̷̸̷̸̸̵̷̴̵̵̶̵̵̵̷̴̵̵̷̴̶̡̜̝̺͎̫̜̫̹̙͇̥̺̝͕̯͎̝̯̼̹̞̬͚͎̲͔̯͊̓́́̓̉̂͒̈́̂̾̏̋̀́͑̈́̋͐̀̄̋͗̒̕͘͘͝ͅ̴̷̶̴̴̸̵̶̷̵̵̶̶̸̶̴̷̷̷̵̵̶̷̶̶̸̶̛̯̲̫̳̭̼̳̯͉͎̘̇̽̏̿̌̅̀̌̕̕̕͝̷̵̷̵̷̴̷̴̴̶̵̸̷̷̶̵̶̸̷̵̶̸̸̸̴̷̴̶̷̴̵̷̶̸̴̴̸̶̶̸̨̗̬̱̦̳̠̖̝̭̫̘͍͍̰͍̟̫̬̤͓͙̈́̓̑̿̇̓̔̐̀͌̽͛͜͜ͅ̵̴̷̴̵̷̴̷̵̵̸̸̷̨̯̬͖͒͊̋̊͌͠̴̷̸̵̵̷̶̴̵̴̶̴̵̵̶̷̶̵̶̵̴̷̶̶̵̵̶̶̸̵̵̵̶̴̶̵̵̶̸̸̶̶̷̢̛̲̗͚̩͖̬̗̗̹̈͂̋̇͛̇̿̈́̂͆̀̂̈́̇̾̿͑̅́̎̍̌͒̄̀͒̓͜͠̸̴̶̷̶̴̶̵̴̵̴̶̸̵̴̸̷̴̷̸̶̴̵̸̸̸̸̶̵̸̸̴̷̸͉̗̘͓̣̘͈͖̭͕̪̝̱̗̯͔̬͉̗͂͗̓̆̎̋̈̉͜͜͜͜̶̴̶̴̶̶̷̸̶̶̴̵̶̶̸̷̸̴̷̴̷̴̶̶̷̷̸̵̵̴̸̵̵̴̷̶̸̴̵̵̸̶̸̨̛̫̤̳̘͎͉̠͓͕̤͔͚̲̂͋͛̇͒̅̏̅͊̍̏͗̅̈̇̈́̈́̈̑̽̋̀́́͛ to respond.

A small red icon next to her username catches her attention. A new private message. Curious, she clicks on it.

Forgotten Random Dungeon?

Sent: Sat ̵̧̛̺͈̟͎̭̹͊̅͊͗̿̆͊̂͐̀̉̃̃͝̷̙̰͈̹̗̞͚̦͚̇͂̓̌̓͘̕͜̴͓͖̬̫̩̞͊͝̷̡̯͚̲̝̬͈͈̞̯̙̙̀̚20̷̡̛͙͔̘͓͔́̏͆̑̒̕͜͝,̸͎̘̤̙̔̃́̏̆͆͒̄͑̚͝ ̵̨̡̨̛͉̙̮͈̟̺̠͉͍̜̹͋͆̀͋̚͝ͅ̸̨̻̪͗̃̀̀͑̈́̾͘0̸̖̹̐̆́̋̈́̇̂͂͋͐̿́̚2̴̦̟̮̙̺̠̯̦̳̪͗̂̐̸̻̰̱͖͋͐̔͐͂̓̚ ̸̲͉̞̪̒͋͋̄͋̈́1:52 pm
From: hazez̶̵̸̵̵̵̶̸̴̷̶̴̷̶̶̷̷̶̸̶̵̨̢̢̛͕̳͓̹̘̭̭̜̲̲͚̯̦̞̲̳̦͓̈́̍̀̋̌͌͌̉͋̿̉̑̚̚̚̚̚͝͝͝ȩ̵̷̶̴̶̶̸̶̵̵̶̴̶̸̶̸̶̸̴̴̷̙͎͉͚͖͎̹̻͈̩͚͙̜̣̩̠̺̜͗́̈́̃̏̑̒̋̾̓̈̂̒̂̐̍͂̕̕̚͘͜ͅr̴̶̷̷̴̷̸̸̶̵̸̶̸̶̷̸̴̴̶̵̷̢̡̢̡̩̣̫̪̲̠͚̘͉̤̫̦͍̠̹̺̲̎͛͂̃̏͐̈͐͒̀̋̈́͐̋͗͌͌̅̚͝͝0̸̶̷̶̵̷̸̸̶̴̵̷̷̷̴̵̸̵̵̶̶̢̡̮̱͉͕͍͈̱̪̼͚̭̱̗͕̹̲̭̥̼̉̏̋̄͒̇̈̈́̿̓̓̒̉̾͌̒͊̋̕͠͝ķ̸̴̴̷̴̵̵̷̶̶̴̶̶̸̶̴̷̷̸̵̸̧̧̨̨̧̥̥̯̟̜̯̲͚̮͖͓̗̗̙͚̏̏́͊̾̄͆̓̃̈́̈́́̇̿̅̄̏̈͛̓̿ì̴̸̴̴̸̸̷̸̷̶̶̷̵̶̷̵̷̶̸̷̴̧̨̡̛̝̝̙̥͈̱̤͖̭̘͙̺͓̗͙̝̗͑̿̈́͋̊̀̎̈́̀̿̋͊̃͌̊̓̕̚͝ͅṋ̴̶̵̷̶̶̵̶̶̵̶̸̶̴̸̴̸̵̸̵̶̯͍͔͇͇̜͕͙̥̺̲̬̫̣͈̻̼̤̼̔̀̍̾̈́͑͗̿̃͛̏͗̿̆̎̈́̌̇̾̇͜͝g
Recipient: Dulcinea

Hey, I found something pretty interesting when digging up the old forum archives. Did you know there's an old random dungeon that's still technically open? It never got officially closed. And I don't think it ever got cleared. Want to help me take it on? It'll be easy, it's so low level. I'm pretty sure there's some uniques left in it, too.

How interesting. Perhaps that would be worth looking into. Dulcinea reaches for her mouse-

-͏̛̹͔̹k̴̺̱͉̮̖͎̀͘r̴̨̲͕̼z̝͚̹͍̩̙͠s̢҉̲̦̪͙̀c̙̱͓̹͉͖̱͉͞ͅh͓̻͓͇̝̝t҉̴̺̕-̗



Dulcinea blinks. What was she just doing? She could have sworn she was sitting down and watching... herself?
Oh, right. Scanning! That's what she was doing.
Shaking off the weird sense of dissociation, the Nightmare Scientist sets to examining her new companion and gains.

The kitten is Willoughby the Atomikitty! She's a Level 19 BA Member, and an Exalted Wishkin & Familiar. She doesn't have a whole lot of abilities that Dulcinea can see right now. Clearly, she's only just popped into reality with an Apprentice-level grounding in the Familiar, Wishkin and Exalted Wishkin trees, and a few scattered Basics. Oh, and she's a deity. That's a thing.
Dulcinea gets vague, headache-inducing echoes of a [non]time and [non]place where they [met/formed/were created/ascended (haha)/never were].

The banner scans as Giant Fish Challenge Clear Pennant: Brimmenhoff Brand Diamond- (Item, Antiquity, Null & Earth & Water, 70,400,000 Gold).
It's not entirely clear as to whether it's commemorating clearing a giant fish's challenge, defeating a giant fish, made of a giant fish, celebrating the achievement of gaining a diamond, or if it's sponsered by whatever Brimmenhoff (or Brimmenhoff Brand, or Brimmenhoff Brand Diamond) is.

The book scans as Pornograph of a Photograph of Colonel Wilson Jonas Looking Textbook- (Item, Antiquity, Null & Technology, 60,100,040,000 Gold).
It's a book with that naked photograph of Colonel Wilson Jonas on the cover. Flipping through the pages, it appears to be some bizarre combination of pornography collection (of Colonel Wilson Jonas), flipbook-photograph-montage-pornography-movie (complete with appropriate soundtrack) of the same, and textbook going into great detail about Colonel Wilson Jonas' highly successful career as an adult movie star, erotic photo model, and gentleman pornographer, complete with highly-detailed and informative sections relating to the man's life and the adult film/photography industry in general. Flipping through the pages in a different way turns the movie experience into some sort of documentary/pornography hybrid narrated by a cultered-sounding man in a soothing voice, which is decidedly at odds with the considerably spicy content and soundtrack.

She gazes at the baseball. The baseball, which isn't in the position she last saw it, gazes back into her.

I'm a Nearby Baseball- (Pet, Hollow-Soul, Null, Lv. 59, X Gold)
HP- #
MP- #
STR- #
AGI- #
CON- #
MIN- #
SPI- #
XP- 0
XP Needed- # (Standard Multiplier x4, Raised to x80 to bypass Level 59)
Minimum Level- 59
Defense- #, +# Against MP Damage
Defense against Stat Damage- #
Critical Chance- #%
Resilience- #%
To Hit- #%
Dodge- #%
Resistances and Immunities- Absorbs Null, 100% Acid Resistance, 50% Spatial Resistance, 30% Base Element Resistance, Reflects Instant Death, Minor Status Effect Immunity, 60% Moderate Status Effect Resistance, 30% Major Status Effect Resistance
Prime Attribute: (Constitution + Spirit)/2
Constant Effects-
Spawned From [UNDEFINED] During [UNIVERSAL EXISTENCE FAILURE]- Possessor's Resistances and Immunities, Constant Effects and Abilities may not be altered, removed, copied or otherwise used by non-possessor sources below Level 404; possessor may not be copied or cloned by sources below Level 404; any ability, constant effect, spell or effect that would otherwise attempt to perform this forbidden effect instead fails and its text is removed for the duration of the rest of the thread as an effect that does not count as being a debuff, Constant Effect
Granted Endbringer Status During [UNDEFINED], Unhinged From The Endbringer Cycle Due To Its Status As A Reality Glitch- Possessor gains the subtype Endbringer, +# to all stats, +# HP, +# MP, +#% Critical, + #% To Hit, gains 'Absorbs Devastation' and 'Destruction Immunity', damage and stat damage caused by possessor may not be healed by sources below Level 60, entities below (possessor's Level +10) may not be resurrected if they died in the same battlespace as possessor, Constant Effect
Is Always Nearby- Possessor counts as being in the same zones, terrains, phantom terrains and battlespaces possessor's controller is in, possessor may affect things in the same zones, terrains, phantom terrains and battlespaces possessor's controller is in, regardless as to whether or not possessor is actually in said zones, terrains, phantom terrains or battlespaces, possessor counts as 0 entities for row-order purposes, Constant Effect
Hollow Ball That Contains The End- Possessor does not die when possessor's HP reaches 0, instead dying when possessor's MP reaches 0, possessor may choose to use HP in place of MP when using possessor's Abilities, possessor may choose to apply possessor's defense against attacks that would otherwise ignore such; when possessor dies, possessor's controller may choose to end the current battle or exit the thread, with all gains, losses and drops/treasures currently obtained to that point, and non-defeated enemies or entities in the same thread not counting as being defeated or dropping any treasure, gold or XP if this option is taken, Constant Effect
Abilities-
Sit There, Menacingly- Inflicts any combination of Confusion: Fear, Confusion: Fear: Disconcerted and Confusion: Fear: Shaken, with said status effects counting as Major status effects for the purpose of infliction and recovery, and ignoring target's Confusion Immunity, Absorption or Reflection (but not Immunity, Absorption or Reflection against the specific sub-status effects in question), Null, 0 MP
Proclaimation of The End- Possessor's controller's next action gains '50% Inflicts Instant Death', or 'Inflicts Instant Death against non-unique entities below Level 40' (provided said entities are are lower Level than possessor's controller), Devastation & Null, # MP
The Brindlesmith Thunder Kick- # Damage, # MP Damage, # Max HP Damage, # Damage to all stats, ignores the Resistances, Immunities and Absorptions of entities below (possessor's Level +10; if this ability would be Reflected, it instead targets a different opponent of possessor's choice on the opposing side of battle, with this action failing if no other such opponent exists, this ability requires possessor's controller to use an action to activate, Electrical & Null, # MP
Omens of the Iron Vhans'Organth- Target gains a buff or debuff (caster's choice) that may provide one of the following effects- possessor's actions that inflict Instant Death have a +5% greater chance of infliction; +5% Instant Death Weakness; possessor, at the start of each round, takes # Flat Devastation Damage for every Terrain or Phantom Terrain possessor is in; the first time possessor would use an item or replicate the use of an item each round, the effect fails and instead Inflicts Instant Death: Doomed on possessor; possessor may choose for possessor's Ice or Technology Element actions to gain an additional # Devastation Element damage or deal an additional # stat damage to all stats; possessor's Elemental, Minor and Moderate Resistances are lowered by 10% for every debuff applied to possessor, with Major Resistances being lowered by 5% for every debuff applied; possessor, if afflicted with 5 stacks of a debuff from an ability named 'Omens of the Iron Vhans'Organth' and is equal or lower level to the source of said debuff-infliction, is automatically Defeated; stacks 5 times, Devastation & Null, #MP

This is likely going to need review.

Well, that's not at all worrying.

She attempts to scan the Throne.
The Throne is a wall of searing, information-heavy presence in the world, causing her head to feel like it's almost exploding. She can't gain any proper information as to what the thing can *do*, let alone what else it is made of.

Taking a different tack, she attempts to claim ownership of the thing and pick it up, putting it in the Citadel's environs to carry it.

This is an impossibility, as it far outranks her in terms of level, scope, power, everything.

Or it would, if it weren't for the loophole-technicality that she, somehow, already owns it.

The Throne vanishes from the room, and the oppressive, ominous feeling of incalculable, terrible pressure straining against the fabric of reality abruptly vanishes as it does so.
Instead, she's getting that same feeling from the meta-spiritual direction of the Citadel, although she thinks that it's unlikely to go causing anything permanent as of yet. Probably. Hopefully.

Her Arena-granted Appraisal Ability provides her with a statblock. She gets the feeling it might not be entirely accurate.

Golemstone Throne That Rose From [UNIVERSAL EXISTENCE FAILURE]- (Item, Property & Spawn Table & Material & Antiquity, Null & Earth & Glory & Air & Crystal (2) & Water & Light, 5,000,041,000,000,404 Gold)


Dulcinea also gets:

Strange Forum Private Message About An Old Random Dungeon From The Archives- (Permanent Consumable, Permit, Dream & Null, 5,000,000 Gold) Grants the ability 'Permitted to Enter The Hills Of Rain'

Permitted to Enter The Hills Of Rain- (Passive Ability, Clearance) Possessor may enter the Random Dungeon 'The Hills of Rain' with up to 4 allies




---~===~---



Willoughby, oblivious to the ominous things going on to Dulcinea's eyes, settles in for a catnap.




---~===~---

Violet's expression is caught between relief and unease.
"That's good! I think. That you don't remember, I mean. I mean, generally not remembering something is a... bad... thing, but given what happened, what with..."
She stops and takes a breath.
"...I'm not entirely sure where to begin, so I'm just going to start talking and see how it goes. Um. The, uh, multiverse broke."

The assorted Aptim, Glorbuk and the Professor all stare at her in various states of confusion, disbelief and concern. Violet raises her hands, realises one is still holding a trowel, puts the gardening tool into her basket and starts again.
"I know it sounds really... out there, but that's what happened. One minute I was here going through that ledger while you were here reading and playing cards, and then everything just... juddered, and I was somewhere that wasn't even a place and I don't think I even existed, and then I was in a..."

She gestures vaguely at her outfit.

"...well, they told me that Arena Members usually know about the place due to a 'quest' that happened there, so I'll just go ahead. I ended up in the Evergarden, on the Holy Imperial Homeworld. I think it was the only place that escaped what happened in the whole of... well, everything. And even then the world was locking itself down and partitioning itself off. I was pretty understandably scared and confused, but the people who worked there were really nice and helped me. It took a... bit of time to figure out what was going on, but they were able to explain things, and they had a way of learning things using... computers? I think that's what they were called. And something to do with time-compressed academics... Um. Well, that isn't really important right now. I mean, it is, at least to me, but not to you."

Violet clears her throat.

"They basically taught me about the Holy Imperial Homeworld, about the First Holy Empire, about how big the multiverse is, about how it works, and about Nexus, among other things. They told me that the multiverse breaking was due to a demon... no, wait. What's the more powerful version of that? Arch-demon? No, it was a Fiend. That was it. Some Fiend called Tsayikk somehow managed to make reality 'crash', along with another demon called Insiddu. They didn't know how long things would stay like that-- and I don't really know how long I was there, either, definitely months. Over a year, probably. Maybe?"

She shakes her head.

"Either way, I wasn't just going to sit around and do nothing, and they needed the extra help, so I learned how to do gardening and take care of plants, how to grow them really quickly, how to grow, uh, defense sunflowers, and the like. They were nice enough to teach me techniques on how to handle office work more easily, and even taught me magic to deal with it! I never thought I'd get to learn magic!"

She gestures, and a glowing document appears in mid-air again.

"...speaking of which, I should probably tell them reality's back to normal and I'm home again. I mean, they probably know about the reality being back part... although I'm not sure about 'normal' given the moon up there... um. Well, anyway. Interdepartmental Mail, Long-Distance modifier, um, set the priority... ah, and I really should tell the mayor about what happened, and about Nexus... and the town guard... and probably Lady Fina, too, so if I..."

More shining documents appear, some splitting off from the others.

The Professor, being somewhat faster on the uptake than the Aptim bandits or Glorbuk, frowns.
"A universal existence failure? Oh, dear. The potential ramifications could be nothing short of utterly catastrophic, and if the metatemporal fabric of reality was warped enough to change the seasons, or introduce new celestial bodies, I dread to think what else might have happened- to this world, and all others."

Dulcinea ponders the ramifications of I'm A Nearby Baseball's constant nearness while stuffing her newly-acquired pennant and pornographic materials into her bag of holding. Once that is complete, she attempts to pick up said baseball, mostly to see if she can or if it moves away by some means.

---~===~---

Willoughby feels mildly uneasy from the baseball's presence, but with the Throne gone, settles more deeply into slumber.

---~===~---

Ryuutarou is not the quickest Dragon on the uptake, but he knows that Existence Failure is very bad and if it happened to the Multiverse that was very extremely bad. Not really sure how to address this, he attempts to identify if anyone could use the help of his powers of being a Psychiatrist and/or a Bartender.

Dulcinea ponders the Baseball, which continues to observe her. Possibly. Maybe. She isn't really sure what's up with it. Putting the rest of her nebulously-gained gains into her bag, she goes to pick up the baseball, which isn't where it was beforehand.

Dulcinea picks up the baseball. She then realises that the baseball is actually sitting against the wall near her.
She looks at her hand. No baseball.
Dulcinea picks up the baseball again. The baseball is now instead by the door, and not in her hand.
Huh.


---~===~---

Willoughby settles in for a more-comfortable nap, despite ominous baseballs.


---~===~---


Ryuu looks around to see if anyone could use a psychiatrist and/or a drink. He's fairly sure the bandits probably need the former due to their general background and upbringing not exactly being conducive to properly integrating with general society (or in Scary's case, at least some sort of psychiatric help to deal with whatever it is he's so scared of), but that would probably require a somewhat better grasp of the intricacies of social norms and racial dynamics with regards to this world, and a considerable amount of time. With regards to the current situation, they look like they're rather confused and nervous, but don't appear to actually understand what's going on.

Which is probably for the best.

With regards to drinks, the bandits probably all want one, but probably don't need one, in the general-wellbeing sense. Having drunk Aptim bandits on his hands probably isn't going to improve matters. Glorbuk, likewise, looks like he could use a drink, but that's more due to a sense of resignation of the 'here we go again' variety.
Ryuu gets the impression this isn't the first time he's had the rug pulled out from underneath him with regards to reality, so to speak.

The Professor looks considerably concerned by Violet's revelation, although he appears to be handling it well enough. He's also already fixed himself a drink in the form of a steaming cup of dark coffee.

Violet seems to be the least affected of the group, probably because she went through all the panicking she needed when she arrived on the Holy Imperial Homeworld earlier. Presently, she's absorbed in doing something with magical documents, which are variously popping into being or being whisked off into shining envelopes that vanish into the aether, presumably to be sent to whatever recipients she deems fit.


---~===~---

Duclinea, Ryuu, Willoughby and the various others with them have their trains of thought interrupted by a loud, sonorous chime that bypasses the ears and impacts the mind directly.
To Ryuu's senses, it seems to go even further- it seems to be registering directly at the spritual level.

A vision of a figure in black-and-white robes, face obscured by layers of veils hanging from a wide-brimmed flatly-conical hat registers in their mind's eye, speaking in firm, authoritative tones.

"Attention, residents and visitors of Marefore. I am Fina Clavis, scion of House Clavis and ruler of this city and its environs. The Houses are aware of the sudden appearance of the new moon above us, and wish to relay the following message:
There is no cause for alarm. Due to the recent increase of lunar activity, the emergence of a new moon was an anticipated event, albeit one that has occured earlier than expected. Rather, this is a cause for celebration, as it means our world has been blessed with an increase in scope and possibilities, of new fields of discovery and exploration, of the definitive start of a new era.
"The new moon has been named as Taokage, The Moon of Magic. Its domains have been determined as those of Magic, of a greater element of Mystic, of the spiritual element of Essence, and of a new element known as Ki. Through its power, the Houses shall grow in strength and see off spiritual threats with renewed success and vigor.
"It has been determined that the placement of furniture, objects and buildings may channel and affect the world in accordance to this new moon's power. In addition, the moon's domains may cause the spiritualisation of antiques to occur sooner than otherwise expected. Information regarding this phenomenon, and the steps you all may take to minimise any possible adverse effects on your property and daily lives shall be distributed by the Spiritual Defense Force through the temple and shrines around the city, and through publication in the Clavia Clarion.
As a precautionary measure, it is recommended that any objects of fifty years of age or older should be collected and turned in to the temple for an early Burning Of The Antiquities.
I know that recent times have seen an unprecedented number of trials, borne from factors both within and without. I am keenly aware of the losses we have faced, of the gaps that remain, and of the measures needed to rebuild. Know that I, as the scion of House Clavis for this city, stand with you, and so House Clavis stands with you. All possible measures have been, and will be taken to speed the healing of this city and address the trials it faces.
We will overcome this adversity. We shall rebuild. Through these new opportunities, and through the strength of its people, Marefore will rise again."

The chime fades, and the figure with it, leaving a lingering impression of authority and calm. Dulcinea gets the impression that there was some sort of Spirit Magic attached to that to calm the populace, make them take heed, and prevent any panic or attempts to exploit the uncertainty resulting from the new moon's appearance.

Ryuu, both caught offguard and through his technical-status as a Spirit (even though he's more Dragon at the moment), is rather more deeply affected.
That was the Absolute Authority of this place, and causing any untoward spiritual shenanigans in the area is utterly unthinkable. Clearly, he must do as it instructs, and help with the restoration of Marefore. As well as making sure any suitably-old objects he finds get turned in to the temple, wherever it is.

Well, that seems to be working as expected, then, Dulcinea thinks to herself. Time to head out!

Keeping half an eye on the position of the baseball, and taking care to not shift her shoulders too much in case Willoughby could get jostled off, heads out of Ward & Co. to get the keys from Ryuutarou to lock the place back up. Things are a little too busy right now to keep up with looking through mysterious locked shops. And she should probably go check on Violet, who [WAS|IS|WILL BE] outside and probably has some interesting consequences too!

---~===~---

Willoughby blinks slowly as she feels her perch move under her, then closes her eyes again as Dulcinea walks through this place that she appeared in.

---~===~---

Ryuutarou feels an urgent need to do something to help rebuild the city! Then he remembers that that's actually what he came for to begin with, though he forgives himself for his forgetfulness given the situation at hand. He does feel like he needs to go back to his new house to double-check that nothing is too old- "What is The Burning of The Antiquities, anyway?" he blurts out.

Dulcinea, Willoughby and baseball (somehow) in tow, heads out of the shop.

---~===~---

Violet pauses further in whatever it is she's doing with the floating documents, having already paused for the spiritual announcement.
"What is...? Oh! I keep forgetting you wouldn't know even the biggest events here. Given it's just one world out of countless billions. That... that took me a while to get my head around. Still is, to be honest."

The clerk-dressed-as-a-gardener turns back to the group to face Ryuu.

"Um. Well, in basic terms, any object- or animal, or anything really- that gets old enough starts accumulating spiritual power. If it gathers enough, it can either turn into a spirit, or get possessed by a spirit, or maybe create a spirit inside itself? I don't think there's any one proper answer. Usually it's when things get to be a century old that it happens, so once a year, anything getting up there in age gets taken to your local temple or shrine to be disposed of. Usually they get burnt in a special ritual fire, or if it's something particularly valuable or likely to have an unusual spirit, it's taken away to be dealt with by the Houses. House Relicta is the one that usually steps up for that, and they compensate people based on whatever it is they take. I hear sometimes richer people can keep the items, but they need to have a special sealing ritual performed on them and kept in a certain way so there aren't any spiritual problems, which is... really expensive. It's why all the big art galleries and libraries you hear about are usually property of or sponsered by a Great House. Or filled with copies. If Lady Fina's said to bring in things that are fifty years old, that must mean the Houses think this new moon might... accelerate the process, or something."

She peers up at the celestial body in question, with its serene lavender patterns gently flowing across its surface.

"I hope it's just a precaution. We don't really have the manpower to go searching every empty house in the city. Maybe one of the spells I learned could be used to help with that..."

The door to Ward & Co. opens, interrupting that particular train of thought. From within, Dulcinea emerges, an apparently asleep and glowing kitten wrapped around her shoulders.

Violet looks at Dulcinea.
Dulcinea looks at Violet.
Unbidden, the clerk, Nightmare Scientist and kitten all abruptly burst into a yell.

"EXCELSIOR!"


Some confusion follows as to why they did it, which allows enough time for Dulcinea to retrieve her keys while Violet explains her current appearance and the sequence of events that led up to it.

The Baseball sits on a nearby windowsill, menacingly.

"I've been meaning to look into giving the Evergarden a visit, especially since that incident with the seed rains that Mr. Gramman was so helpful in addressing. I'll be back in a moment, but first, take this!"

Keys successfully gotten, Dulcinea hands the confused Willoughby over to the also-confused Violet and hurries back into the shop to lock all the interior doors up before she locks the outer set. She also takes the opportunity to see if The Baseball can traverse locked doors in the same manner as it moves about open areas.

---~===~---

Willoughby looks up at Violet, blinks slowly, and meows. Then she wiggles a bit if Violet keeps staring at her without petting or repositioning her to a more comfortable spot.

---~===~---

Ryuutarou ponders the information he's been given by Violet. "Um, so, should we go back to the Driscoel Estate and check things there? I'm not really sure how the weird time shenanigans going on in there might have aged things... do you think we should get a specialist?" Ryuutarou is very concerned about making sure the appropriate antiquities meet their appointed end close enough to their appointed time.

Dulcinea sets to handing off kittens and locking up doors! The Baseball, as it turns out, does indeed seem to be able to traverse them. Wherever she goes, there it is. On a nearby table, by a door, on a shelf, always nearby. Always watching(?).


---~===~---

Violet seems somewhat perplexed about the handful of kitten, but does her best to get it comfortable before addressing Ryuu's concerns.
"While I don't know all that much about how the moons work, much less this one... then again, I don't think anyone really knows how it works... I don't think it'll be making things turn into spirits immediately. All the specialists in the area are probably busy with all the..."
She gestures vaguely at the city.
"...but I think I might be able to use that spell I was talking about to take inventory. Um. I mean, check up on things by taking inventory. It's, uh, called 'Take Inventory'. It's meant to be used to figure out the amounts of stationery and levels of ink and the files in an office and their status, but I think it would also be able to tell me the contents of a building and how old they are from outside, if I was looking for that. I'll add that to my To-Do List."

A glowing folder pops into the air with a gesture, etheral paperwork shuffling within to the distant sound of a pen scribbling across a page.

"Either way, I don't think it's as immediately pressing as helping you all look around the places you purchased to work out a plan to help get Marefore back up and running again. Where were we on that...?"

A glowing Memo appears alongside the folder.

"Let's see... we'd entered and inspected Husson's, Ward & Co. and Mr. Drisc- um, I mean the estate that used to belong to Mr. Driscoel.
We also looked at some properties in passing, from the outside... ah. The Lorelei's Launch, the Icemoon Parlour, Prier's Paradise, Bazaar Nauticalia, and that other estate with the library and the paintings.

We haven't looked at Deb's Place, the warehouses, or had a proper look at the cluster of properties inside the Bazaar you were thinking of turning into a district in itself yet, from what I've got written here."

Now satisfied with the state of locking-up and the success(?) of her experiment, Dulcinea departs the shop and locks the outer doors.

She returns to find the Professor, Ryuutarou, and Violet discussing the next target of the Grand Inspection Tour.

"I think it would be best to make Bazaar Nauticalia our next target. I have need of some fishing-related equipment for one of my other tasks in the area, and given the sudden changes that have been undergone, it would probably be best to address this particular one with greater dispatch than initially planned. However, Ryuutarou, you should probably continue the property inspections with Violet, Glorbuk, and the new employees while the Professor, Willoughby, and I take care of that."

Ryuutarou nods in agreement. "Alright, I think we can take care of that, as long as nobody else has their place locked up as tight as Ward & Co. was..."

Dulcinea smiles and nods, then sends a telepathic message to Squishy to keep watching the Bandit Brigade even after the group splits apart once more. Her smile dims as she realizes The Baseball will likely continue to menace her, but hopefully anyone she needs to talk to will fail to notice it's sneaky nearby-ness.

To the Shop of Boat-things!

Squishy returns an psychic-affirmative-thought response from somewhere nearby. A little probing returns a flash of vision from a nearby rooftop. Perhaps he's in crow-form again?

After some conferring, Violet takes to the streets once more, followed by the considerably diverse group of Nightmare Scientist, Dragon-chef, goblin, plant-man, collection of Aptim bandits and the still-present Sergeant Archer, in addition to the somewhat more subtle presences of crow-form Squishy and the ever-nearby Baseball.

Dulcinea considers how this crowd must look to the average outside observer, and if their wandering around might help or hinder the potentially diverse visitors-to-be to Marefore should her idea of a shopping district of Nexus delights take form.

The group traipses towards the central area of town, winding their way through narrow streets to the outlying areas of the Bazaar, past rows of stalls- some abandoned, some manned by merchants (or people passing themselves off as such) with expressions of varying levels of desperation.

Bazaar Nauticalia hoves into view! Much as Ryuu remembers it, it is a small building absolutely covered in glass fishing-floats, under a sign made from sea glass bearing the shop's name. The windows are, unfortunately, not very see-through on account of the prior owner's choice of decoration involving a lot of sea-glass hanging ornaments and fishing nets getting in the way.
A few battered lobster pots and spools of weathered rope lie propped against the outer walls of the store, along with a small stack of dusty mini-blackboards.

To Dulcinea's peerlessly trained eye as Lord Fisherman, she's fairly sure that this is one of those stores that is more likely to sell nautical-themed souvenirs, using the equipment and trappings of the industry as set dressing, rather than an actual provider of nautical equipment. With that said, however, it's entirely possible it sells something that'd be usable for fishing with- for those rich tourists who want something 'authentic' to put wherever it is the rich put such things- and almost certainly contains fishing rods for the more upmarket crowds.

A flash of colour catches her eye. One of the nearby stalls is manned by a merchant with a purple hat. Something about that nudges at the edges of her memory.

Her attention is dragged away again by Violet pulling open a glowing filing-cabinet drawer from thin air, rummaging around inside with a chorus of jangling noises to retrieve a strangely-shaped key.
"Ah, here it is. With any luck, the shop itself will be open..."
The clerk presses the key flat against the shop's door, the familiar-to-Ryuu trembling in the air and sharp spiritual ping resounding for a moment as the warding effect dissipates.

The handle is tried.
Breaths are held.
The door swings open with a noisy creak and a cheery jingle of bells.

The interior of Bazaar Nauticalia is a dim study of a retail philosophy espousing that 'if the customer can't easily find what they're looking for, they'll look at everything and probably buy more that way'. Daylight filters through the nets and hanging glass decorations at the windows, painting the nearby shelves in various shades of greens and blues and faintly illuminating the wares within.

Dulcinea's initial impression, it seems, was correct. Most of the contents of the place look to be souvenirs of some kind or the other- glass fishing floats- either intact or turned into lamps and ornaments- vie for position with pretty knotwork rope decorations strung with sea glass and small painted model ships and fish with 'Marefore' written on them. Nautical-looking accoutrements are scattered around the place, as well- spyglasses, sextants, hats and shoes that look nautical (but are likely more for fashion than practicality), oilskins and rain-gear and others in that vein. The occasional locked display cabinet contains objects that might be of more practical use- a fancier spyglass, an ornate compass- or possibly just flashy decoration.

Dulcinea's other impression, however, was also on the mark. An entire section of wall is dedicated to fishing rods, reels, lures and wire of various sizes and colours, with a cheery driftwood sign telling prospective customers to ask at the counter if they desire equipment for 'true master fishermen'.

Said counter looks like it was made of a huge chunk of driftwood itself, piled high with small seaside knick-knacks and boxes of pretty shells. Behind it, a door barely-visible under a fishing-net 'curtain' covered in painted wooden starfish leads to what is probably the back room(s) of the establishment.

Dulcinea lets Violet and Ryuutarou know about the door to the back rooms, while she takes a look at the rods, reels, wires, and lures using FANTASTICAL SCAN-O-VISION. She'll grab any that look particularly useful or likely to work well with the Rod of the Lord Fisherman.

She'll take scanning glances at some of the other equipment as she heads back out, particularly the spyglasses, compasses, and nautical outfits, in case any of them would prove useful as well.

Then she will return to the Merchant In The Purple Hat to investigate the mystery of memory.

---~===~---

Ryuutarou spends some time looking around for seafood cookbooks before Dulcinea points out the back room for perusal.

---~===~---

Willoughby gets thoroughly distracted climbing some nets to reach a spectacularly shiny bobbin in the window that she proceeds to bat around.

Dulcinea scans!
Most of the stuff here seems to be fairly ordinary, as far as things go. Given the notice, perhaps the more valuable things are kept behind the counter somewhere?

Nevertheless, a few things might be able to open up more avenues for the Rod of the Lord Fisherman. She finds:

Cintho-Lite Fishing Rod: Mass Market Edition- (Weapon, Staff, Water, 200,000 Gold) +200 Ranged Attack, +200 Additional Ranged Attack in a Zone of Water, +5% To Hit in a Zone of Water

'Dancing Angler' Lightweight Rod- (Weapon, Staff, Air & Water, 300,000 Gold) +300 Ranged Attack, +300 AGI, 30% Dodge, Wielder may move from the Front Row to the Back Row after performing a 'Ranged Attack' action or vice versa, provided there is space in the row-order formation

Strongline Sure-Reel Rod- (Weapon, Staff, Water & Physical, 500,000 Gold) +500 Ranged Attack, +500 AGI, +500 STR, Wielder's 'Ranged Attack' actions may move a single one of their targets that is below Level 40 that has a lower Strength than wielder from the back row to the front row

Rapid Reel- (Accessory, Gadget, Air & Water, 450,000 Gold) +450 AGI, If wielder has a weapon with 'Rod' in its name equipped, wielder gains +450 to wielder's turn-order-determining stat sum for turn-order-determining purposes, Wielder's 'Ranged Attack' actions may not be countered by individuals below Level 30

'Lorelei's Locks' Fishing Wire- (Accessory, Magic Item, Water, 400,000 Gold) Wielder's weapons with 'Rod' in their name gain +400 AGI, +400 Ranged Attack, 10% Inflicts Charm and +20% Inflicts Charm against Aquatics

Excellent Angler's Lure- (Accessory, Trinket, Water, 600,000 Gold) Wielder may choose for Wielder's 'Ranged Attack' actions to additionally cause a randomly-determined Aquatic or Water-Element entity from the current Random Quest, Random Dungeon or Encounter Area's encounter tables to join the opposing side of battle, to a maximum of once per battle or encounter, wielder's actions that have a chance to summon Aquatics or Water-Element entities have a 10% greater chance of doing so


Most of the rest of the pieces of equipment on display are either not likely to help, purely decorative, or useless. One of the display cases contains something a little more interesting, however:

Compass That Points Towards Atomic- (Accessory, Trinket, Atomic, 6,000,000 Gold) Wielder is informed at the start of each round of any individuals on the opposing side of battle that possess the element Atomic, possess an Ability with the element Atomic, or are afflicted with Poison: Irradiated, Antimatter: Atomic Meltdown or Overload: Thermonuclear Meltdown, Wielder is informed at the start of each round of the number of Zones of Atomic in battle, 180% To Hit against Atomic-element targets

Well. This isn't the sort of thing that this place would normally stock. Perhaps it got caught up in the weirdness people keep mentioning lingers around the town and transformed? Its needle is currently twitching and jerking about, mostly pointing to somewhere deeper in the bazaar, but occasionally spinning to judder around back towards the sea.


Inventory grabbed, the Nightmare Scientist heads outside to investigate the Mystery of the Merchant With The Purple Hat.
The man in question is manning a stall selling fishing rods, fishing nets, and buckets of various different kinds of bait. Perhaps he thought he'd be able to make a decent profit by selling to people that came for the Nauticalia shop and found it was shut? He doesn't look too happy that people have opened it up again.

Dulcinea is sure she remembers hearing something about him. When was that? It must've been a while ago. Something about him reminds her of festivals. And... telephones?


---~===~---

Ryuu finds the shop sadly bereft of cookbooks. The only books to be had appear to be picture-books showing various types of fishing vessels, and a rack of pamphlets advertising boating trips.

The back room is just as disorganised and messy as the shop floor, with overflowing shelves containing everything from glass bottles full of sand to painted oars. One desk crammed into a corner spills over with papers, which Violet immediately heads towards and starts sorting through. It seems she learned a spell for that, too, as crumpled papers and letters flitter and float into the air around her, smoothing themselves out and neatly organising themselves into stacks and magically-created folders.

Part of the middle of the room contains a large workbench on which a half-painted series of colourful wooden starfish are scattered amidst dried pots of pigment, a solitary sandal sitting on the floor beside it, next to an upturned chair.

Perhaps more relevant to Ryuu's interests is the colourfully-painted set of keyhooks containing colourfully-painted keys, and the equally colourful cabinet partitioned off with wire mesh containing a pair of impressive-looking fishing rods.


---~===~---

Willoughby traveses the Great Netting Passage to reach a set of shining, jingling glass windchimes. They wiggle! They jangle! Truly, this is the greatest form of entertainment known to kittenkind!

Ryuutarou grabs the keys, then tries to see if one opens the cabinet! If he succeeds, the contents will be scanned, and if fancy, delivered to Dulcinea for her Fishery Trip!

---~===~---

Willoughby loves this sparkly, jangly, dangly thing. It is the best thing. She stares hard at it, attempting to understand its glorious majesty, but accidentally triggers her new(?) ability to Scan things instead!

---~===~---

"Hail and well met, fair merchant! Someone at a festival told me that you sell good things, so I would like to peruse your wares!" Dulcinea smiles widely at the merchant and hopes that scanning things will help her figure out what she was supposed to buy from this man.

Keys are acquired! Pawing through them, he finds a set that look promising enough, and tests them against the might of the Cabinet of Fishing. One epic battle with a slightly rusted lock later, he finds himself in proud possession of:

Silverline Series Advanced Angler's Rod- (Weapon, Staff, Water & Metal & Spatial, 7,000,000 Gold) +7,000 Ranged Attack, +7,000 AGI, 120% To Hit, Wielder may choose a single target wielder successfully hit with a 'Ranged Attack' offensive action and gain a buff that causes their next 'Ranged Attack' or 'Ranged Overdrive' action to automatically hit said target, said chosen target may not leave battle without wielder's permission if below Level 40

'Ocean's Bounty' Cintho-Moonstone-Set Fishing Rod- (Weapon, Staff, Water, 10,000,000 Gold) +10,000 Ranged Attack, +10,000 Magical Attack, +10,000 MIN, +10,000 SPI, 140% To Hit, +10% To Hit against Aquatics, +10% To Hit against Water-element targets, +10,000 Defense against Aquatics, Wielder's actions may become solely Water element


---~===~---


Willoughby gazes upon the sparkly jangly-dangly whatsit with the full force of kittenish curiousity she can bring to bear.
She is rewarded with a sudden Arena-Member-granted appraisal result!

Seaglass Windchime- (Item, Antiquity, Air & Water, 300 Gold)


---~===~---

"Well, ah, thank you kindly ma'am. Everything I've got's top quality, and that's the honest truth!"

Either he's a poor judge of quality, or a bad liar. Most of the things he has for sale are low-tier fishing goods ranging in value from 100 Gold to, at the most, 10,000.

The bait, though? Now that's somewhat more interesting. There's ordinary ones there, yes, but there's also a few higher-quality ones mixed in with them.

Highly-Attractive Fish Bait- (Consumable, Summoning Stone, Water, 12 Charges, 200,000 Gold) Summons 1 Aquatic from the Enemy List that is below Level 20 and normally fightable for drops

Chum of Summoning- (Consumable, Summoning Stone, Water, 12 Charges, 400,000 Gold) Summons 1 Aquatic from the Enemy List that is below Level 40 and normally fightable for drops

There's also something else, in an identical-looking box to the rest. Dulcinea wouldn't have caught it unless she was looking:

Box Containing Glory-Infused Fish Bait- (Item, Material, Water & Glory, 5,000,000 Gold)


That's where she remembers hearing about him from! Mr. Progression, among other advice he dispensed during the Dreaming Moon Festival, told her of three different merchants that sold things she could use as bait, to varying effects. Apparently, the one with the purple hat sold bait that would give 'good results' when fishing.

Ryuutarou rushes out to give Dulcinea these indeed fancy fishing rods!

---~===~---

Willoughby blinks, confused by this sudden new knowingness. She decides to *look* at a few of the other nearby shinies, to see if they also tell her strange secrets when she stares at them.

---~===~---

Dulcinea rejoices (mentally) in finally remembering what it was she was looking for here! She'll buy

Highly-Attractive Fish Bait- (Consumable, Summoning Stone, Water, 12 Charges, 200,000 Gold) Summons 1 Aquatic from the Enemy List that is below Level 20 and normally fightable for drops
Chum of Summoning- (Consumable, Summoning Stone, Water, 12 Charges, 400,000 Gold) Summons 1 Aquatic from the Enemy List that is below Level 40 and normally fightable for drops
Box Containing Glory-Infused Fish Bait- (Item, Material, Water & Glory, 5,000,000 Gold)

If there are more Baits or Chums, she'll buy multiple (up to 5 of each). She'll also look around to see if she sees someone advertising "Safe Seed Rain Produce". That's a phrase that's bouncing around in her noggin, now that the man in the purple hat has been addressed.

Fishing rods are rushed out, providing the Lord FIsherman even more fishing-potential! Truly, her glorious reign from the throne of angling equipment begins here.

Violet leans around the door as he hands the gear off.
"Their documents were... rather a mess, but I think I managed to get what I need if you wanted to move on. I organised the rest for you to look through later, too. Did you want to? Um. Move on, that is. If you wanted to look through the inventory some more, that's fine too, though."

---~===~---

Willoughby looks around at nearby shinies!
She sees:

Decorative Spyglass- (Item, Antiquity, Air, 1,000 Gold)
Glass Fishing Float- (Item, Antiquity, Air & Water, 300 Gold)
Mother-of-Pearl Seaside Souvenir- (Item, Antiquity, Water & Light, 1,000 Gold)
Ship in a Bottle- (Item, Antiquity, Water, 8,000 Gold)

There's also that strange big human-not-human thing with the shiny metal bands all over him that are catching the light, currently poking at a whimsical statue of a fisherman holding an oversized fish. She can't seem to get any information about him like she could with the other objects.

---~===~---

Dulcinea spends 3,200,000 Gold on the bait (the Glory-Infused Bait being inside an otherwise-ordinary box of Highly-Attractive Fish Bait), gaining:

5 Highly-Attractive Fish Bait- (Consumable, Summoning Stone, Water, 12 Charges, 200,000 Gold) Summons 1 Aquatic from the Enemy List that is below Level 20 and normally fightable for drops

5 Chum of Summoning- (Consumable, Summoning Stone, Water, 12 Charges, 400,000 Gold) Summons 1 Aquatic from the Enemy List that is below Level 40 and normally fightable for drops

Box Containing Glory-Infused Fish Bait- (Item, Material, Water & Glory, 5,000,000 Gold)

The merchant goggles at the amount of money she just dropped on her purchase. Apparently, the higher-quality bait is generally only bought a box at a time by fishing crews.

Dulcinea de Montréal, Nightmares' Angel, has no time for the paltry goggling of mere merchants, however! She has other, potentially less-mere merchants to find!

The particular target of her mercantile search does not seem to be set up in this particular street, however. There's almost certainly more manned stalls in other parts of the bazaar, and perhaps her quarry lies among them.

Ryuutarou ponders this question briefly. "I don't think I need to look at the papers here, just set them aside for when Dulcinea gets the opportunity to come back through everywhere. And yes, I think we should be moving on. Let's head over to the next closest property from here... I'm guessing that's the area deeper in the Bazaar?"

---~===~---

Willoughby is briefly confounded by her inability to scan the big human-not-human, but then she realizes that he's a human-not-human, not a shiny bobbin or a jangly dangly, and obviously self-mobile food-providers are different from toys. On that note, she is hungry, so it is time for big-human-not-human to fulfill his duty to his goddess to provide her with tasty sustenance upon request.

She climbs down from the netting, slinks over to him, and paws at his shins while meowing piteously and giving him very meaningful kitten eyes.

---~===~---

Dulcinea ponders the map of town she has stored in her head from her travels through it thus far. How far out of the way from the docks would it be to go investigating other parts of the bazaar for this potential merchant? If it would add at most half an hour to her preparations, she will do so, otherwise, she will limit her search area and hope that The Ladies Luck are with her.