Surprisingly, Nereus' shade reacted by releasing Anton partially, some of its arm tentacles looping around Meris' arms and forcing them apart and away from him.
"Others have worn her face before," it slurred, looking seemingly right through the Archmage. "Only her would know what she sang to heal me."
A pause.
"Prove to me that you are Meris."
Azardad coughed, sputtered and went over to where Archie was disappearing into the wall and floor. He gripped the Automaton's hand and, doing his best to keep his Black Speech internalized, pulled with both mind and body. Slowly, as he never had an Augur's power, he managed to pull Holden's partially-immersed head free. The Clank gasped for air and gripped Azardad's hand with both of his, doing his best to pull himself forward as well.
From further up the stairwell, both Bucky and Hiram could be heard panicking. "NOT MY SON, NO!" was Hiram's understandable shriek of terror, all the while Shamus did what he could to try and keep him back. "Stay back, sir! Stay back - Goddamn, if only this place weren't as packed as a can o' sardines, I'd be down there already, layin' a wallop on that thing!"
Still, Three managed to right his spirits with a shake of his head and a slow, labored effort to stand up. "This is... good news!" he screamed hoarsely at Meris. "Nereus' security grid was tight enough to repel other invaders! We know the clue's safe, now!"
He focused and brought his Fae sword into being. "Sing, Meris!"
As he did, he used the Lexicon to enable a supernaturally effective slam that ended with the flat of his blade smacking across Nererus' face. Skin was grazed off, only to immediately reform. The Augur didn't so much as respond to Drake's attempts to serve as a deterrent without inflicting obvious physical harm. He did, however, raised his free arm against what was now a slicing strike. Facial tendrils moving, he sent his willpower coursing along his arm. Words coursing along the limb changed its properties, Three being barely able to alter his course before his full momentum slammed into what effectively fabric-covered concrete. He felt his right shoulder protest and couldn't stifle a pained shout.
"We can't stop him!" he shouted. "You have to sing!"
Chapter V - Brimstone
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IamLEAM1983
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IamLEAM1983
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Re: Chapter V - Brimstone
Surprisingly, Nereus' shade reacted by releasing Anton partially, some of its arm tentacles looping around Meris' arms and forcing them apart and away from him.
"Others have worn her face before," it slurred, looking seemingly right through the Archmage. "Only her would know what she sang to heal me."
A pause.
"Prove to me that you are Meris."
Azardad coughed, sputtered and went over to where Archie was disappearing into the wall and floor. He gripped the Automaton's hand and, doing his best to keep his Black Speech internalized, pulled with both mind and body. Slowly, as he never had an Augur's power, he managed to pull Holden's partially-immersed head free. The Clank gasped for air and gripped Azardad's hand with both of his, doing his best to pull himself forward as well.
From further up the stairwell, both Bucky and Hiram could be heard panicking. "NOT MY SON, NO!" was Hiram's understandable shriek of terror, all the while Shamus did what he could to try and keep him back. "Stay back, sir! Stay back - Goddamn, if only this place weren't as packed as a can o' sardines, I'd be down there already, layin' a wallop on that thing!"
Still, Three managed to right his spirits with a shake of his head and a slow, labored effort to stand up. "This is... good news!" he screamed hoarsely at Meris. "Nereus' security grid was tight enough to repel other invaders! We know the clue's safe, now!"
He focused and brought his Fae sword into being. "Sing, Meris!"
As he did, he used the Lexicon to enable a supernaturally effective slam that ended with the flat of his blade smacking across Nererus' face. Skin was grazed off, only to immediately reform. The Augur didn't so much as respond to Drake's attempts to serve as a deterrent without inflicting obvious physical harm. He did, however, raised his free arm against what was now a slicing strike. Facial tendrils moving, he sent his willpower coursing along his arm. Words coursing along the limb changed its properties, Three being barely able to alter his course before his full momentum slammed into what effectively fabric-covered concrete. He felt his right shoulder protest and couldn't stifle a pained shout.
"We can't stop him!" he shouted. "You have to sing!"
"Others have worn her face before," it slurred, looking seemingly right through the Archmage. "Only her would know what she sang to heal me."
A pause.
"Prove to me that you are Meris."
Azardad coughed, sputtered and went over to where Archie was disappearing into the wall and floor. He gripped the Automaton's hand and, doing his best to keep his Black Speech internalized, pulled with both mind and body. Slowly, as he never had an Augur's power, he managed to pull Holden's partially-immersed head free. The Clank gasped for air and gripped Azardad's hand with both of his, doing his best to pull himself forward as well.
From further up the stairwell, both Bucky and Hiram could be heard panicking. "NOT MY SON, NO!" was Hiram's understandable shriek of terror, all the while Shamus did what he could to try and keep him back. "Stay back, sir! Stay back - Goddamn, if only this place weren't as packed as a can o' sardines, I'd be down there already, layin' a wallop on that thing!"
Still, Three managed to right his spirits with a shake of his head and a slow, labored effort to stand up. "This is... good news!" he screamed hoarsely at Meris. "Nereus' security grid was tight enough to repel other invaders! We know the clue's safe, now!"
He focused and brought his Fae sword into being. "Sing, Meris!"
As he did, he used the Lexicon to enable a supernaturally effective slam that ended with the flat of his blade smacking across Nererus' face. Skin was grazed off, only to immediately reform. The Augur didn't so much as respond to Drake's attempts to serve as a deterrent without inflicting obvious physical harm. He did, however, raised his free arm against what was now a slicing strike. Facial tendrils moving, he sent his willpower coursing along his arm. Words coursing along the limb changed its properties, Three being barely able to alter his course before his full momentum slammed into what effectively fabric-covered concrete. He felt his right shoulder protest and couldn't stifle a pained shout.
"We can't stop him!" he shouted. "You have to sing!"
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TennyoCeres84
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Re: Chapter V - Brimstone
The shade's request partially relieved the selkie, as it was a solid memory she could recall and perform easily. Meris had to push her nervousness for her friends aside and focus on the task at hand. Clearing her throat, her eyes went half-lidded as she focused her power. The first hummed bars seamlessly slid into the familiar, silvery tone as they wove her native tongue into a healing spell. Undulating tones reached for the sentry's ears, bringing with them the remembered removal of pain and the seeming regeneration of flesh. At the same time, the melody carried with it all of the love she had for the man she had named Nereus, the Augur who wished to be an architect and not the villain the Others pushed him to be.
The Nereus construct would feel her sincerity and compassion, the very traits that had struck his heart centuries ago. Her song was unique, its exact pitches and tones decidedly hers.
The Nereus construct would feel her sincerity and compassion, the very traits that had struck his heart centuries ago. Her song was unique, its exact pitches and tones decidedly hers.
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IamLEAM1983
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Re: Chapter V - Brimstone
Nereus' shade paused and blinked, something more complex than Hiram's earlier half-sentience seemingly taking root behind his eyes. It had airs of empathy or regret, but was quickly swallowed up by the shade's businesslike manner of retracting its added tendrils and dispelling the room's hazards with one dismissive sweep of his right arm. The ground seemingly spat out Archie just as his mouth had begun to disappear below it, his wrenched-out foot seemingly rendered whole and unbroken in the process.
He then looked back at Meris, smiling behind his tendrils. "Would that I were Nereus' actual mind, I would undoubtedly have an immense amount of gratitude and relief to express. Nereus placed me here close to two centuries ago, once he sensed his own resolve would be weakened by the Chamberlain's constant pressure. I'm glad you knew to come with allies, Meris."
Three grunted as he tested his sore shoulder and sheathed his sword. "So you aren't Nereus' full projection?"
The shade nodded in the negative. "Being a creation of the Augur's, I'm a little different. I'm coded, as it were, to be aware of the fact that I'm a projection and to be at peace with my own temporary existence in a way that most sapient beings couldn't understand. If the real Nereus were in my position, he would be entirely aware that his purpose fulfilled, he'd be consigned to non-existence. It would eat at him, and it might corrupt him over time. Desperation makes us commit horrible acts, after all."
Back again at Meris. "I'm aware he loves you, for instance, but he assumed the shade of his resolve would be better served if it wasn't compromised by the full extent of that love. You could say I'm that part of him from the early days, too. The part of him that was fond of you but hadn't quite made the jump to love. I wouldn't have been able to dispatch the intruders that preceded you if I'd had complex attachments or a clear sense of my own humanity. I'm mnemonic software, more or less - and I was left here to protect something you needed to find."
Three blinked. "Others came here before?
- Several Loyalists, yes, over the last forty years, real-time. Most never made it down here, never knew to summon Cailean into existence, as private a concept as the dog was between Meris and I. Those very few that did didn't live to tell the tale."
Around them, bluish, transparent holograms of a sort appeared, distant sound ringing in the alcove. Cailean, in the past, angrily barking at a Void Weaver, even as the shade's sleepwalking defenses had it tear off the intruder's facial tendrils with one determined pulling gesture. Other holographic corpses and patches of gore littered the alcove, a dozen or so gurgling shrieks of agony distantly ringing.
Archie gasped as he stood up. "By George! That would imply that we've gotten off easy - and you almost killed us!
- I did," nodded the shade, placidly stating that fact. "I've met with doppelgangers of yourselves before; Loyalists who used obtained biographical or physical information to pass for your group in the Darkhallow. Nereus didn't want to allow for any compromise so early on in your efforts to free his people. If Meris was the only one of your group to wake up today, he would have considered it a regrettable, if acceptable sacrifice."
He shrugged. "Or at least, that was his assumption two hundred years ago. If his predictions and my conditioning are correct, then chances are the Chamberlain managed to weaken him considerably. He wouldn't have accepted it, by today's standards."
Three worked his sore shoulder, grimacing. "So what's in the box?
- The first stepping stone leading to California," replied the Augur's recording. "I'm also part of your solution. You need something to point you to Nereus, and I'm very close to being a substitute for the man. If you do to me what you did to Hiram's shade, I should reach complete synchronization with his contemporary spirit. The one difference is I won't become Nereus. There's obvious ethical hurdles associated with there being two Augurs of Dalarath active at once. For that reason, I was designed to never lose sight of my artificial and transitory nature. He designed me to reach a certain threshold in your journey here, and then transition into a psychic packet of sorts."
Cuthbert nodded. "You're psychic software, so you want us to install you into Nereus, from the Darkhallow. You're a copy of his past resolve...
- An intact one, at least. He won't be able to counter me with negative thoughts or depressive mindsets. I was designed back when he still knew how to push past the Chamberlain's attacks. Threats don't scare me. They'll lose his grip on him once I join his mind."
The Augur then stepped back, recovered his box and opened it, turning around for the others to see what was inside. A removable data drive compatible with the light table upstairs waited inside, along with a postcard and a sticky note. The postcard was a shot of Renewal's native Malibu compound, near Point Dume, complete with its massive concrete archways and pillars that were dug deep inside the cliff face. Greetings from California! was written in a fairly cheesy Googie Raygun font.
Three picked up the postcard and frowned. "Renewal hasn't used Point Dume or Malibu as an HQ for decades, now. Nereus' home on the West Coast is Napa Valley."
The shade nodded. "That's true in the waking world. In here, Nereus kept Point Dume as his home away from home, until Chambers found out. He forced Nereus to deploy a small army's worth of shades in and around it - but couldn't stop him from memorizing what should've been just another data point on Chambers' side of the simulation..."
It looked back at Meris. "This is a code. Dume Point's least-secured access point was the Deliveries entrance. Nereus managed to make that sanctum look sufficiently defunct so as to discourage Chambers from rooting around - but he returns to it on occasion, in secret. This is as much as I know - the rest is probably on that drive."
He then looked back at Meris, smiling behind his tendrils. "Would that I were Nereus' actual mind, I would undoubtedly have an immense amount of gratitude and relief to express. Nereus placed me here close to two centuries ago, once he sensed his own resolve would be weakened by the Chamberlain's constant pressure. I'm glad you knew to come with allies, Meris."
Three grunted as he tested his sore shoulder and sheathed his sword. "So you aren't Nereus' full projection?"
The shade nodded in the negative. "Being a creation of the Augur's, I'm a little different. I'm coded, as it were, to be aware of the fact that I'm a projection and to be at peace with my own temporary existence in a way that most sapient beings couldn't understand. If the real Nereus were in my position, he would be entirely aware that his purpose fulfilled, he'd be consigned to non-existence. It would eat at him, and it might corrupt him over time. Desperation makes us commit horrible acts, after all."
Back again at Meris. "I'm aware he loves you, for instance, but he assumed the shade of his resolve would be better served if it wasn't compromised by the full extent of that love. You could say I'm that part of him from the early days, too. The part of him that was fond of you but hadn't quite made the jump to love. I wouldn't have been able to dispatch the intruders that preceded you if I'd had complex attachments or a clear sense of my own humanity. I'm mnemonic software, more or less - and I was left here to protect something you needed to find."
Three blinked. "Others came here before?
- Several Loyalists, yes, over the last forty years, real-time. Most never made it down here, never knew to summon Cailean into existence, as private a concept as the dog was between Meris and I. Those very few that did didn't live to tell the tale."
Around them, bluish, transparent holograms of a sort appeared, distant sound ringing in the alcove. Cailean, in the past, angrily barking at a Void Weaver, even as the shade's sleepwalking defenses had it tear off the intruder's facial tendrils with one determined pulling gesture. Other holographic corpses and patches of gore littered the alcove, a dozen or so gurgling shrieks of agony distantly ringing.
Archie gasped as he stood up. "By George! That would imply that we've gotten off easy - and you almost killed us!
- I did," nodded the shade, placidly stating that fact. "I've met with doppelgangers of yourselves before; Loyalists who used obtained biographical or physical information to pass for your group in the Darkhallow. Nereus didn't want to allow for any compromise so early on in your efforts to free his people. If Meris was the only one of your group to wake up today, he would have considered it a regrettable, if acceptable sacrifice."
He shrugged. "Or at least, that was his assumption two hundred years ago. If his predictions and my conditioning are correct, then chances are the Chamberlain managed to weaken him considerably. He wouldn't have accepted it, by today's standards."
Three worked his sore shoulder, grimacing. "So what's in the box?
- The first stepping stone leading to California," replied the Augur's recording. "I'm also part of your solution. You need something to point you to Nereus, and I'm very close to being a substitute for the man. If you do to me what you did to Hiram's shade, I should reach complete synchronization with his contemporary spirit. The one difference is I won't become Nereus. There's obvious ethical hurdles associated with there being two Augurs of Dalarath active at once. For that reason, I was designed to never lose sight of my artificial and transitory nature. He designed me to reach a certain threshold in your journey here, and then transition into a psychic packet of sorts."
Cuthbert nodded. "You're psychic software, so you want us to install you into Nereus, from the Darkhallow. You're a copy of his past resolve...
- An intact one, at least. He won't be able to counter me with negative thoughts or depressive mindsets. I was designed back when he still knew how to push past the Chamberlain's attacks. Threats don't scare me. They'll lose his grip on him once I join his mind."
The Augur then stepped back, recovered his box and opened it, turning around for the others to see what was inside. A removable data drive compatible with the light table upstairs waited inside, along with a postcard and a sticky note. The postcard was a shot of Renewal's native Malibu compound, near Point Dume, complete with its massive concrete archways and pillars that were dug deep inside the cliff face. Greetings from California! was written in a fairly cheesy Googie Raygun font.
Three picked up the postcard and frowned. "Renewal hasn't used Point Dume or Malibu as an HQ for decades, now. Nereus' home on the West Coast is Napa Valley."
The shade nodded. "That's true in the waking world. In here, Nereus kept Point Dume as his home away from home, until Chambers found out. He forced Nereus to deploy a small army's worth of shades in and around it - but couldn't stop him from memorizing what should've been just another data point on Chambers' side of the simulation..."
It looked back at Meris. "This is a code. Dume Point's least-secured access point was the Deliveries entrance. Nereus managed to make that sanctum look sufficiently defunct so as to discourage Chambers from rooting around - but he returns to it on occasion, in secret. This is as much as I know - the rest is probably on that drive."
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TennyoCeres84
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Re: Chapter V - Brimstone
Gingerly taking the box and its contents, Meris studied the back of the postcard and the post-it note to see what had been added there. "I'm not surprised. Whatever is on the data drive perhaps felt too personal to originally instill to you," she mused, turning to head back up the staircase.
Having followed them down there, Neasa frowned thoughtfully. "Would you have behaved differently had we not tried to take the box or otherwise rouse you forcefully?" she asked, thinking back to Archibald, Aidan, and Anton's actions.
"She has a point. Acting as one would in Dalarath might've not been the wisest choice, but all three of you went with the choices that felt right at the time. So, what's done is done, and thankfully it turned out for the best with all of us," the Archmage opined. "Then again, surface dwellers can act in similar ways to Void Weavers, so it's neither here nor there."
Having remained with Bucky and Hiram, a distraught Crystal met them halfway on the steps. "Thank God you're all okay! With all the noise, we didn't know what happened! I take it this version of Nereus doesn't mean us harm, then?..." she asked.
The older selkie shook her head. "No, he was there to check for imposters, and we passed the test. We just need to get this data drive re-installed into the light table upstairs and see what's on it," she explained.
Having followed them down there, Neasa frowned thoughtfully. "Would you have behaved differently had we not tried to take the box or otherwise rouse you forcefully?" she asked, thinking back to Archibald, Aidan, and Anton's actions.
"She has a point. Acting as one would in Dalarath might've not been the wisest choice, but all three of you went with the choices that felt right at the time. So, what's done is done, and thankfully it turned out for the best with all of us," the Archmage opined. "Then again, surface dwellers can act in similar ways to Void Weavers, so it's neither here nor there."
Having remained with Bucky and Hiram, a distraught Crystal met them halfway on the steps. "Thank God you're all okay! With all the noise, we didn't know what happened! I take it this version of Nereus doesn't mean us harm, then?..." she asked.
The older selkie shook her head. "No, he was there to check for imposters, and we passed the test. We just need to get this data drive re-installed into the light table upstairs and see what's on it," she explained.
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IamLEAM1983
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Re: Chapter V - Brimstone
The shade followed along, rock grinding forward and seemingly reclaiming the alcove's empty space as he advanced.
"Why are you deleting this space?" asked Three.
The shade shrugged. "We'd better not leave obvious clues. Other enemies are likely to come looking for this place, to try and get to you. We'd best kill their attempts in the egg."
The soldier was silent for a few moments as they climbed back up. "Nereus has always seemed more agitated in the letters we shared. You're awfully calm, considering...
- That's because I'm the part of him that's confident. He's always been the garrulous sort, but he needs me to balance out his emotions. All he's got left now is horse laughter or wracked sobs - I'm the part of him that could work through the misfortune of his and Meris' situation in Dalarath. I'm the part of him that planned our attempted rebellion. Without me, chances are the Augur is at his wits' end, a few months from finally giving in to Amaxi's wiles. Luckily for us all, with misfortune comes opportunity!"
Vernon frowned but didn't look back, as the group single-filed back upstairs. "I fail to see how our current predicament is of any use to us...
- We're poised on the brink of an Infernal invasion, and Sharpe's separatists are going to try and use the aftermath in their favor," explained the shade. "Rendell is plotting because that's what he does, and Vlastos' failures in Norway have undoubtedly sent ripples. Someone else is bound to have a grudge against the Vienna Council... If Chambers moves too quickly, he'll only have ashes and embers to hand over to his mistress," explained the shade with some bitterness inching its way into his voice.
Eir nodded. "So he's keeping the real you on emotional and psychological life support.
- It seems likely," agreed the shade. "Distractions, fresh air, socialization... They'll all keep Nereus' more piteous episodes of despair nicely spaced apart. Compassion is exactly what's keeping the Augur in a malleable state under Chambers' influence.
Once back upstairs, Three headed for the workstation. The shade connected the drive and then navigated to its contents, without actually opening the Meris.scr file. He looked back to the Archmage, instead.
"I'll leave you the honors," he said. "I can only imagine he would've wanted to have some space when recording something that's this important. The rest of us will be right outside."
"Why are you deleting this space?" asked Three.
The shade shrugged. "We'd better not leave obvious clues. Other enemies are likely to come looking for this place, to try and get to you. We'd best kill their attempts in the egg."
The soldier was silent for a few moments as they climbed back up. "Nereus has always seemed more agitated in the letters we shared. You're awfully calm, considering...
- That's because I'm the part of him that's confident. He's always been the garrulous sort, but he needs me to balance out his emotions. All he's got left now is horse laughter or wracked sobs - I'm the part of him that could work through the misfortune of his and Meris' situation in Dalarath. I'm the part of him that planned our attempted rebellion. Without me, chances are the Augur is at his wits' end, a few months from finally giving in to Amaxi's wiles. Luckily for us all, with misfortune comes opportunity!"
Vernon frowned but didn't look back, as the group single-filed back upstairs. "I fail to see how our current predicament is of any use to us...
- We're poised on the brink of an Infernal invasion, and Sharpe's separatists are going to try and use the aftermath in their favor," explained the shade. "Rendell is plotting because that's what he does, and Vlastos' failures in Norway have undoubtedly sent ripples. Someone else is bound to have a grudge against the Vienna Council... If Chambers moves too quickly, he'll only have ashes and embers to hand over to his mistress," explained the shade with some bitterness inching its way into his voice.
Eir nodded. "So he's keeping the real you on emotional and psychological life support.
- It seems likely," agreed the shade. "Distractions, fresh air, socialization... They'll all keep Nereus' more piteous episodes of despair nicely spaced apart. Compassion is exactly what's keeping the Augur in a malleable state under Chambers' influence.
Once back upstairs, Three headed for the workstation. The shade connected the drive and then navigated to its contents, without actually opening the Meris.scr file. He looked back to the Archmage, instead.
"I'll leave you the honors," he said. "I can only imagine he would've wanted to have some space when recording something that's this important. The rest of us will be right outside."
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TennyoCeres84
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Re: Chapter V - Brimstone
When by herself, the roane felt some anticipation creep up on her. However, with a calming breath, she pushed it back. Meris then casually tapped on the Meris.scr file and waited for the content to load over the next few seconds.
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IamLEAM1983
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Re: Chapter V - Brimstone
A loading bar appeared and then filled up, the light tables interior fans revved up, and points of light began to quickly wink into existence in what began as a seemingly random pattern, the dots' distance between each other creating shaded areas over the next several seconds. From those shaded and lit areas emerged a picture, like a blue-shifted monochrome shot of Nereus sitting a ways away, staring at what had probably had been that same table's recording apparatus. A recording of Nereus' now fully aware and conflicted stare looked at Meris in seeming indecision, elbow on one knee, slightly hunched down in his office chair. Objects that stood behind and around Meris were also rendered around Nereus. Details crept in: Nereus had recorded this just as the Chamberlain's efforts had begun to test his resolve, as he looked dumpier than the shade waiting outside, and markedly more exhausted. Still, despair hadn't crept into his eyes yet. Mirth briefly flashed in them, a smile etching itself behind the facial tendrils.
Speakers popped to life behind Meris, with that characteristic bubble-like popping sound some Void Weavers made when thoughtful. The recording looked away, as if to reorder its thoughts before speaking, and then looked back at Meris.
"Meris, I-"
He paused and scoffed lightly, shaking his head. "Coming here feels strange, at the time of my recording this. If I will myself awake as of now, I'll find myself in 1825, in Akrotiri, Greece. I wonder; did you come back here on your own, in the interval between your escaping Dalarath and you watching this? Turn the radio on in here, and everything says it's sunny and hopeful 2025 in America. I used to think my people's nature would make it easier to live with one foot in the birth thrashings of the Age of Steam and the Industrial Era and another in the glory days of cloud computing and cybernetics - but it really isn't that easy, when you think about it."
Nereus smiled. "There's a kind of impatience that takes hold of you, you know? I can't wait to speak to you in these inflections, with that accent, to sit around with you because we'll have grown too contented to stick to our first years' desperate chivalry. I can't wait for our love to feel safe, like it won't be something we'll have to fight for anymore. I have to sit around my villa and drink ouzo while pretending I'm the ringleader, when I'm starting to have a sense of what the Chamberlain's planning. The Spanish Flu hasn't so much as swept a toe across Europe that I already know how many dead London's going to be counting. I already know about Kaiser Wilhelm's foolish crusade, I already know about one particularly angry and failed Austrian artist that's going to jump into politics a century from now and seal the fate of six million people…"
He shook his head. "I wish I could ask you, here and now. How are you handling all this, my love? Do you need help? Are you safe? There's just… so many ways I wish I could assist you; I'm lucky if I've managed to counter the Chamberlain's enthralling of a few people, anything too overt would doom our friends in England. My favorite ball-and-chain fumes and paces when he hears about this English spiritualist, one Lucian Rothchild…"
The Augur chuckled bitterly. "Insofar, coping's been easy enough. It's simple, really: what's bad news for him and Her is good news for me. Things get a little hard on occasion, and I find myself reaching for my cook's spits of beef or chicken, with garlic-roasted vegetables and scallops… Displeasure eats at me, and I eat it right back, I suppose. It's… distinct from Harrogath's imposed eating binges in that it feels right, as insidious as it might sound. It's dangerous, I know, but there's nights where I honestly feel I'm better off forced asleep from wine and digestion than forced to listen to another minute of his sickeningly casual sociopathy.
Besides, I think it helps the cause. I'm the Chamberlain's fat and foolish patsy, and that line of reasoning keeps him predictable. As long as I act like it, I can still squeeze a few things past the proverbial gate's meshes. He forgets I'm the Augur, and that as Augur, I can direct my dreams to those I deem worthy… I've retraced the McConmaras and made Cole and Sedna's respective grandparents dream of meeting - of falling in love with each other. I've tracked down the Drakes and made the Irish branch of the family settle in America after showing them Gavin Drake's prosperous business. I prodded Nigel Griffin into starting to consider America as a worthy place to call home… Those were some suspiciously long power naps, but it helps that watching the Chamberlain pretend he cares about these poor innocents is exhausting."
He then sighed. "Which brings me to the object of this video… I probably won't be as lucid as I am now, by the time you'll find me. Our plans have a way of requiring weeks of travel, and pretending to care for weeks on end is draining. There's days where I forget. I forget to think about you, forget to think about our friends who aren't so much as born yet… It gets easier to surf along the endless sunlight, the unending procession of plates covered in baklavas and loukoums, the sound of the crashing waves, pleasant laughter, all the cigars I could ever want, more alcohol than I know what to do with… Almost like in Dalarath, before you came along. The Chamberlain probably thinks I'm ripe for another dagger in the intercostal."
Nereus looked off to the side. "That's why I'm doing this. I'm slipping, Meris. Luckily, I know enough to know it's happening. I want to help you while I still can, considering. He knows I'm not onboard with anything he has planned, but I know he's somehow managed to train a private militia made out of enthralled locals and particularly zealous visitors of ours. I'm still a spice merchant and an import-export mogul on paper, but our final battlefield's chasing our tail with conviction. I've seen papers in Demetrios' office - that's the Chamberlain as of 1825, although I suppose I don't have to tell you - and he's begun working on Renewal. We're due for a trip to Kolkat- I mean, Calcutta - in two weeks, for some intense studies. He's finally latched onto the notion that he won't make a callous despot out of me, but that he might be able to have me kill and corrupt out of kindness. I've got two ashrams and six yogis lined up for the next month, the boat's leaving tomorrow."
The Augur's clicked his tongue. "And he thinks I haven't gone over his plans for Point Dume, near Malibu. He thinks his blueprinted version is still largely unconnected to the Darkhallow's greater expanse. The fact is, I bridged a connection that's too obvious for him to think of."
The hologram leaned in conspiratorially. "The Black Library, where Delmar took you so you'd learn of our future. Where we store all of our genius and madness - find the disembodied spirit that haunts it; the younger ones have been calling it the Curator; they think it's just some decaying shade, some half-mad remnant of an old librarian in Dalarath. All I know is that it's showed up recently, and it's proven to be dependable. I've hidden an ingress point through to Chambers' version of Point Dume there - remember to drape your appearance in the Darkhallow in the shape of a Void Weaver. Conceal all your allies in the same way. Once there, find the Curator and ask for books on the Tenth House of Dawn. He'll know by that that you're not an impostor. He'll take you somewhere safe, where you'll be able to return to your normal appearance - and from there, he'll take you through to Point Dume."
Nereus' eyes were close, now, big and pleading, rife with a sense of urgency. "If you still love me at all - if you still remember me like I remember you - you'll figure out where I've hidden a key you'll need. You'll also know which door to unlock, in the last place I'd know to look if I ever did lose all hope. If I'm there and I'm desperate, I might try and stop you, for fear that you'd put yourself in greater danger. Don't listen to me. Take the shade's essence - take my old resolve - and bury it deep inside Dume Point. By doing that, you'll return to me what the Chamberlain's trying to whittle away. Take Cailean, he'll help you narrow down your canvassed area. Point Dume is a massive estate, you won't be able to cover it all on your own, even with your friends."
Another pause. "If I slip, Meris... If I ever fall so far as to you the Black Speech against you out of my own volition... Please forgive me. If you can't find a way to save me in any shape or form, then you have my permission to end the threat I'll be posing. I love you too much to allow myself to destroy what we've come to care for together. If I can't stop myself, then you'll have to stop me."
The recording seemingly managed to find Meris' eyes and intensely stared at her. "I love you, little seal. My songstress, weaver of magic..."
It shyly, awkwardly blew a kiss at her. "I - heh - I have no idea if I was aiming at your face," he said, chuckling, then sobering up, opting for a frank smile.
"Good luck, Meris. One day, we'll be clinking wine glasses over this, Architect and God willing."
Speakers popped to life behind Meris, with that characteristic bubble-like popping sound some Void Weavers made when thoughtful. The recording looked away, as if to reorder its thoughts before speaking, and then looked back at Meris.
"Meris, I-"
He paused and scoffed lightly, shaking his head. "Coming here feels strange, at the time of my recording this. If I will myself awake as of now, I'll find myself in 1825, in Akrotiri, Greece. I wonder; did you come back here on your own, in the interval between your escaping Dalarath and you watching this? Turn the radio on in here, and everything says it's sunny and hopeful 2025 in America. I used to think my people's nature would make it easier to live with one foot in the birth thrashings of the Age of Steam and the Industrial Era and another in the glory days of cloud computing and cybernetics - but it really isn't that easy, when you think about it."
Nereus smiled. "There's a kind of impatience that takes hold of you, you know? I can't wait to speak to you in these inflections, with that accent, to sit around with you because we'll have grown too contented to stick to our first years' desperate chivalry. I can't wait for our love to feel safe, like it won't be something we'll have to fight for anymore. I have to sit around my villa and drink ouzo while pretending I'm the ringleader, when I'm starting to have a sense of what the Chamberlain's planning. The Spanish Flu hasn't so much as swept a toe across Europe that I already know how many dead London's going to be counting. I already know about Kaiser Wilhelm's foolish crusade, I already know about one particularly angry and failed Austrian artist that's going to jump into politics a century from now and seal the fate of six million people…"
He shook his head. "I wish I could ask you, here and now. How are you handling all this, my love? Do you need help? Are you safe? There's just… so many ways I wish I could assist you; I'm lucky if I've managed to counter the Chamberlain's enthralling of a few people, anything too overt would doom our friends in England. My favorite ball-and-chain fumes and paces when he hears about this English spiritualist, one Lucian Rothchild…"
The Augur chuckled bitterly. "Insofar, coping's been easy enough. It's simple, really: what's bad news for him and Her is good news for me. Things get a little hard on occasion, and I find myself reaching for my cook's spits of beef or chicken, with garlic-roasted vegetables and scallops… Displeasure eats at me, and I eat it right back, I suppose. It's… distinct from Harrogath's imposed eating binges in that it feels right, as insidious as it might sound. It's dangerous, I know, but there's nights where I honestly feel I'm better off forced asleep from wine and digestion than forced to listen to another minute of his sickeningly casual sociopathy.
Besides, I think it helps the cause. I'm the Chamberlain's fat and foolish patsy, and that line of reasoning keeps him predictable. As long as I act like it, I can still squeeze a few things past the proverbial gate's meshes. He forgets I'm the Augur, and that as Augur, I can direct my dreams to those I deem worthy… I've retraced the McConmaras and made Cole and Sedna's respective grandparents dream of meeting - of falling in love with each other. I've tracked down the Drakes and made the Irish branch of the family settle in America after showing them Gavin Drake's prosperous business. I prodded Nigel Griffin into starting to consider America as a worthy place to call home… Those were some suspiciously long power naps, but it helps that watching the Chamberlain pretend he cares about these poor innocents is exhausting."
He then sighed. "Which brings me to the object of this video… I probably won't be as lucid as I am now, by the time you'll find me. Our plans have a way of requiring weeks of travel, and pretending to care for weeks on end is draining. There's days where I forget. I forget to think about you, forget to think about our friends who aren't so much as born yet… It gets easier to surf along the endless sunlight, the unending procession of plates covered in baklavas and loukoums, the sound of the crashing waves, pleasant laughter, all the cigars I could ever want, more alcohol than I know what to do with… Almost like in Dalarath, before you came along. The Chamberlain probably thinks I'm ripe for another dagger in the intercostal."
Nereus looked off to the side. "That's why I'm doing this. I'm slipping, Meris. Luckily, I know enough to know it's happening. I want to help you while I still can, considering. He knows I'm not onboard with anything he has planned, but I know he's somehow managed to train a private militia made out of enthralled locals and particularly zealous visitors of ours. I'm still a spice merchant and an import-export mogul on paper, but our final battlefield's chasing our tail with conviction. I've seen papers in Demetrios' office - that's the Chamberlain as of 1825, although I suppose I don't have to tell you - and he's begun working on Renewal. We're due for a trip to Kolkat- I mean, Calcutta - in two weeks, for some intense studies. He's finally latched onto the notion that he won't make a callous despot out of me, but that he might be able to have me kill and corrupt out of kindness. I've got two ashrams and six yogis lined up for the next month, the boat's leaving tomorrow."
The Augur's clicked his tongue. "And he thinks I haven't gone over his plans for Point Dume, near Malibu. He thinks his blueprinted version is still largely unconnected to the Darkhallow's greater expanse. The fact is, I bridged a connection that's too obvious for him to think of."
The hologram leaned in conspiratorially. "The Black Library, where Delmar took you so you'd learn of our future. Where we store all of our genius and madness - find the disembodied spirit that haunts it; the younger ones have been calling it the Curator; they think it's just some decaying shade, some half-mad remnant of an old librarian in Dalarath. All I know is that it's showed up recently, and it's proven to be dependable. I've hidden an ingress point through to Chambers' version of Point Dume there - remember to drape your appearance in the Darkhallow in the shape of a Void Weaver. Conceal all your allies in the same way. Once there, find the Curator and ask for books on the Tenth House of Dawn. He'll know by that that you're not an impostor. He'll take you somewhere safe, where you'll be able to return to your normal appearance - and from there, he'll take you through to Point Dume."
Nereus' eyes were close, now, big and pleading, rife with a sense of urgency. "If you still love me at all - if you still remember me like I remember you - you'll figure out where I've hidden a key you'll need. You'll also know which door to unlock, in the last place I'd know to look if I ever did lose all hope. If I'm there and I'm desperate, I might try and stop you, for fear that you'd put yourself in greater danger. Don't listen to me. Take the shade's essence - take my old resolve - and bury it deep inside Dume Point. By doing that, you'll return to me what the Chamberlain's trying to whittle away. Take Cailean, he'll help you narrow down your canvassed area. Point Dume is a massive estate, you won't be able to cover it all on your own, even with your friends."
Another pause. "If I slip, Meris... If I ever fall so far as to you the Black Speech against you out of my own volition... Please forgive me. If you can't find a way to save me in any shape or form, then you have my permission to end the threat I'll be posing. I love you too much to allow myself to destroy what we've come to care for together. If I can't stop myself, then you'll have to stop me."
The recording seemingly managed to find Meris' eyes and intensely stared at her. "I love you, little seal. My songstress, weaver of magic..."
It shyly, awkwardly blew a kiss at her. "I - heh - I have no idea if I was aiming at your face," he said, chuckling, then sobering up, opting for a frank smile.
"Good luck, Meris. One day, we'll be clinking wine glasses over this, Architect and God willing."
-
TennyoCeres84
- Site Admin
- Posts: 2932
- Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2013 4:59 am
Re: Chapter V - Brimstone
By the end of her husband's extended recording, the Augur's wife could no longer hold back the tears that she had been holding back for a long time. It felt like a relief to let the waters flow, so to speak. She clasped a hand over eyes and wiped away what she could.
"I swear I will rescue you, if it is in my power, love. I will stop that bastard and Amaxi. Wait for me, Nereus..."
Once calmed, she rose and deleted the file as much as she could, to cover their tracks. She left the room and returned to her companions.
Understanding that Delmar would know of the place, she declared, "We are going to the Black Library, disgused as Void Weavers. There will be someone who can get us into Point Dume safely. We'll take Cailean with us to find the way."
"I swear I will rescue you, if it is in my power, love. I will stop that bastard and Amaxi. Wait for me, Nereus..."
Once calmed, she rose and deleted the file as much as she could, to cover their tracks. She left the room and returned to her companions.
Understanding that Delmar would know of the place, she declared, "We are going to the Black Library, disgused as Void Weavers. There will be someone who can get us into Point Dume safely. We'll take Cailean with us to find the way."
-
IamLEAM1983
- Site Admin
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Re: Chapter V - Brimstone
Delmar became concerned. "Before we do, we'd better procure lodgings for Hiram. I wouldn't want Archie to lose his father a second time - this time, to the Mad Arts.
- And we'd better arm ourselves," noted Cuthbert. "The Black Library is more frequented than ever, with Nereus' Progressive influence removed. Its influence is spreading like wildfire, and none of these new regular users know to look for Delmar's selection of tomes. They're not looking for insight, they're chasing madness."
Archie gave his father a worried look and then looked intently at the old Speaker. "How do we do this?
- We head outside, first," replied Delmar, "and you focus intently on where you'd like your father's safe place to be - what it should look like. You visualize every detail. Normally, we'd be able to build new constructs brick by brick - but you're not one of us. I can't expect you to remember things like your English garden's artificial ruins and their archways - not in terms of exacting detail."
Three nodded. "Connecting redundant rooms in a Holden Hall construct to the Black Library would be the safest option. If we're followed on our way out, we'll be able to use the old Squid concept of mazes and keep our enemies from retracing our steps."
Once outside, Vernon gave the street a once-over. "So Frosthall could exist in this place, as I perceive it in my mind?
- Fictitious places, too," explained Cuthbert. "221B Baker Street, the Old Benbow Inn, Middle-Earth and all of Arda... That said, the Prelacy doesn't contain much in the way of Tolkien fans.
- You'd be surprised," replied Anton. "I've tortured a few Loyalists who lamented the fact that they couldn't emulate the creation process behind Tolkien's Orcs and the Uruk-Hai. For all of our powers, you'd need millions of dollars and free-range access to Paradise tech to so much as genetically engineer a vat-born Orc. Why bother, when you can stick to presecuting an Earthside Orc long enough and often enough for its hosted demon to take over?"
Archie scoffed lightly. "This is ridiculous - how am I going to will an entire building into being from memory? None of us here who aren't equipped with tentacles have this sort of perfect recall!
- It's not about perfection," supplied Three, "it's about evocation. Let us handle things like texture work and details, you'll focus on the basic layout and feel of the place. Settle Hiram there, and he'll effectively be settled in a corner of your subconscious-"
He stopped and seemed to catch himself. "Wait. Don't you have several spare limbs and parts, Arch? Different looks, head shapes?
- I do, but -"
It was Archie's turn to look like he'd caught onto something, which made him smile conspiratorially. "I see... An astute plan indeed, Aidan - and it should see my father in the flesh - or the wood and brass, as it were - right after this escapade of ours!"
Hiram looked confused. "Whatever do you mean? How am I expected to become an Automaton if I stand right here, in the flesh?
- That's the thing," explained Aidan. "It feels like you're alive, right now, but you're not. We're in the Darkhallow, a mental construct that's common to Delmar, Anton and Cuthbert's people. That's how Archie was able to bring you into being, and why you're so easily adapting to all this. You're the genuine article, as far as we're concerned, but you're noncorporeal. All of us are actually asleep. Archie dreamed you into being, so now you're a part of this place."
Hiram stammered. "I- So everything that happened prior to my meeting you all on the street was... an illusion?!
- No, they're real. You have Hiram Holden's memories because Archie pictured his father into being here. You are Hiram Holden because he had a conflict he needed to resolve with his father. Your perceptions are valid, they simply have their roots in a different source. You're picking up after the version of Hiram that Archie remembers - the Hiram that grew estranged from his sons and that died bitter and filled with regrets. You're a fresh start for a man who wouldn't have accepted one."
Delmar looked pained. "Aidan - the closer a construct comes to sapience or emulation of a deceased person, the more their realizing their nature can have devastating consequences. It's why so many of Dalarath's created Abominations end up mad or cognitively impaired on some degree. You're treading into dangerous waters."
Three nodded. "I know, but we won't abandon him, just like we won't abandon Nereus," he said, then refocusing on Hiram. "You're here, Hiram, you're real, you're wanted among us and more importantly, you're loved by your son. Nothing else matters, understand? You were part of the House of Lords, the Clanks don't have a representative with the local arm of the Vienna Council, so we'll find something fulfilling for you to do."
The old man looked like he was reeling, his eyes focused on nothing, one hand fiercely clasping Archie's shoulder and the other almost desperately clamping down on his cane's pommel. "The very thought that I did not exist prior to-"
Archie scoffed weakly. "This is quite the role reversal, eh? For once, I get to tell you to keep a stiff upper lip! We've helped others in similar situations before, Father, and they've recovered nicely. Trust me when I say that I will drag you kicking and screaming into satisfaction, sanity and productivity if I must! You'll meet Hope's own Judge Mantus, and then wonder what it was that you were so afraid of!"
Hiram chuckled weakly. "Such character, such aplomb - and such dependable friends! Maybe it isn't that much of a bad thing that I've died and exist now as some... sapient rememberance of the real thing - maybe I can make amends. Be a better father, a better politician..."
Delmar looked shocked, once again, and reached for Meris telepathically. "I think Anton doesn't understand what he's created. Aidan isn't merely a weapon - he's a salve for the festering wounds of Dalarath's collective unconsciousness! No Prelate would've known to bring a shade from the brink like he just did, no Prelate would've cared!"
He hesitated. "Are you sure you don't have human or non-selkie relatives, somewhere in your family tree? I'm starting to think he takes after you..."
- And we'd better arm ourselves," noted Cuthbert. "The Black Library is more frequented than ever, with Nereus' Progressive influence removed. Its influence is spreading like wildfire, and none of these new regular users know to look for Delmar's selection of tomes. They're not looking for insight, they're chasing madness."
Archie gave his father a worried look and then looked intently at the old Speaker. "How do we do this?
- We head outside, first," replied Delmar, "and you focus intently on where you'd like your father's safe place to be - what it should look like. You visualize every detail. Normally, we'd be able to build new constructs brick by brick - but you're not one of us. I can't expect you to remember things like your English garden's artificial ruins and their archways - not in terms of exacting detail."
Three nodded. "Connecting redundant rooms in a Holden Hall construct to the Black Library would be the safest option. If we're followed on our way out, we'll be able to use the old Squid concept of mazes and keep our enemies from retracing our steps."
Once outside, Vernon gave the street a once-over. "So Frosthall could exist in this place, as I perceive it in my mind?
- Fictitious places, too," explained Cuthbert. "221B Baker Street, the Old Benbow Inn, Middle-Earth and all of Arda... That said, the Prelacy doesn't contain much in the way of Tolkien fans.
- You'd be surprised," replied Anton. "I've tortured a few Loyalists who lamented the fact that they couldn't emulate the creation process behind Tolkien's Orcs and the Uruk-Hai. For all of our powers, you'd need millions of dollars and free-range access to Paradise tech to so much as genetically engineer a vat-born Orc. Why bother, when you can stick to presecuting an Earthside Orc long enough and often enough for its hosted demon to take over?"
Archie scoffed lightly. "This is ridiculous - how am I going to will an entire building into being from memory? None of us here who aren't equipped with tentacles have this sort of perfect recall!
- It's not about perfection," supplied Three, "it's about evocation. Let us handle things like texture work and details, you'll focus on the basic layout and feel of the place. Settle Hiram there, and he'll effectively be settled in a corner of your subconscious-"
He stopped and seemed to catch himself. "Wait. Don't you have several spare limbs and parts, Arch? Different looks, head shapes?
- I do, but -"
It was Archie's turn to look like he'd caught onto something, which made him smile conspiratorially. "I see... An astute plan indeed, Aidan - and it should see my father in the flesh - or the wood and brass, as it were - right after this escapade of ours!"
Hiram looked confused. "Whatever do you mean? How am I expected to become an Automaton if I stand right here, in the flesh?
- That's the thing," explained Aidan. "It feels like you're alive, right now, but you're not. We're in the Darkhallow, a mental construct that's common to Delmar, Anton and Cuthbert's people. That's how Archie was able to bring you into being, and why you're so easily adapting to all this. You're the genuine article, as far as we're concerned, but you're noncorporeal. All of us are actually asleep. Archie dreamed you into being, so now you're a part of this place."
Hiram stammered. "I- So everything that happened prior to my meeting you all on the street was... an illusion?!
- No, they're real. You have Hiram Holden's memories because Archie pictured his father into being here. You are Hiram Holden because he had a conflict he needed to resolve with his father. Your perceptions are valid, they simply have their roots in a different source. You're picking up after the version of Hiram that Archie remembers - the Hiram that grew estranged from his sons and that died bitter and filled with regrets. You're a fresh start for a man who wouldn't have accepted one."
Delmar looked pained. "Aidan - the closer a construct comes to sapience or emulation of a deceased person, the more their realizing their nature can have devastating consequences. It's why so many of Dalarath's created Abominations end up mad or cognitively impaired on some degree. You're treading into dangerous waters."
Three nodded. "I know, but we won't abandon him, just like we won't abandon Nereus," he said, then refocusing on Hiram. "You're here, Hiram, you're real, you're wanted among us and more importantly, you're loved by your son. Nothing else matters, understand? You were part of the House of Lords, the Clanks don't have a representative with the local arm of the Vienna Council, so we'll find something fulfilling for you to do."
The old man looked like he was reeling, his eyes focused on nothing, one hand fiercely clasping Archie's shoulder and the other almost desperately clamping down on his cane's pommel. "The very thought that I did not exist prior to-"
Archie scoffed weakly. "This is quite the role reversal, eh? For once, I get to tell you to keep a stiff upper lip! We've helped others in similar situations before, Father, and they've recovered nicely. Trust me when I say that I will drag you kicking and screaming into satisfaction, sanity and productivity if I must! You'll meet Hope's own Judge Mantus, and then wonder what it was that you were so afraid of!"
Hiram chuckled weakly. "Such character, such aplomb - and such dependable friends! Maybe it isn't that much of a bad thing that I've died and exist now as some... sapient rememberance of the real thing - maybe I can make amends. Be a better father, a better politician..."
Delmar looked shocked, once again, and reached for Meris telepathically. "I think Anton doesn't understand what he's created. Aidan isn't merely a weapon - he's a salve for the festering wounds of Dalarath's collective unconsciousness! No Prelate would've known to bring a shade from the brink like he just did, no Prelate would've cared!"
He hesitated. "Are you sure you don't have human or non-selkie relatives, somewhere in your family tree? I'm starting to think he takes after you..."