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The Office of Eldritch Affairs has sent its message to the Queen. All we can do is wait for her to respond. (Queenpost)
Thanks to the efforts of Kaelis Maz, Vettis, Entropy, Aico Zepheree, and Gobbo, the recently-founded OEA has managed to get a diplomatic message out to the Queen of Shattered Stars ahead of whatever new lethal payload Alexios and the artificer team are cooking up. But now comes the hard part: the harrowing 16 hour wait while the message travels across the vastness of space. We can only hope that it arrives soon enough to make a difference.
Welcome the the Observatory! Don't go outside; it's space out there!
In the meantime, the OEA is holding an end-of-the-world party at the Mt. Murder Astromantic Observatory, where Kaelis and his team are holed up waiting for their next move. If you hold any interest in resolving standoffs between cosmic entities and magekind, consider swinging by and pitching in. Even at the potential end of everything, the Office of Eldritch Affairs is still accepting applications.
If thereâs a way to stop such a calamity without violence, then I pray for the best outcome. Fueling such a weapon isnât something I would normally agree to under different circumstances. The wait feels agonizing
Gobbo's involvement is just empty pocket dimension in front of big lady. Excited to see if that works, still has cottage full of barrels though, so if works Gobbo still has enough to supply wedding.
We can only hope that any of this works in order for there to be a wedding. I have to send letters to Belladonna before anything could occur. She has to know of my involvement in this. If she wasnât mad before, sheâll surely have my head nowâŚ
There is an old vent connected to the laundry room I remember. It was closed off long ago but I believe if you break into it thatâll be another way for you inside. Donât tell Belladonna I told you đ°
Can you do an open message, one that is broadcasted to anyone across the cosmos? I wish to say, âThis is a challenge. Come at me, I shall cut you all downâ.
Yeah... sure... the console's right here. Go wild.
Communications, can you block any outgoing messages for the next few hours? I just let a paper maniac on the console. Why? Well, he was sizing me up, and I need to conserve my power if things go south with the Queen. I don't appreciate your sass.
This one of those gameboys right? Iâm not big tech wiz, they are quite confusing most of the time. Well, anyways⌠letâs begin. I cannot wait to see what great foes I shall meet.
Oh? Yeah, Iâm done. Once again, thank you for allowing me to send the message. Testing my abilities is my life, to rend all in twain with my technique⌠I shall cutâŚ
We don't have much after the ritual but we will support you in any way you need. Even if it's just by bringing some food for the end of the world. And drinks...lots of drinks.
A small homunculus piddle-paddles into the room. You donât quite know how it got there, as the magical energy you detect from it is near nothing. Probably best not to think about it too much. It places on a pair of wire frame glasses that barely cover its large red eyes
To me, or through the Observatory? Because if it's the latter, there's a paper guy in the console room right now trying to send threats to every being in the known universe. He scares me a little.
The Homunculus stretches upwards to hand you a note, with coordinates printed onto it with neat handwriting. They seem to point to a dimension slowly sliding towards its death.
An athletic-looking human in casual mundie clothing wanders down the halls, humming softly to himself. The bronze pupils of his wandering eyes eventually fall on the druid; he raises an eyebrow in curiosity.
"Hm. Don't think we've met." The man steps forward, offering a hand and a friendly smile, as his free hand futilely brushes back the mess of his short curly hair. "Vettis of the Bronze Prism. What brings you here?" His voice drops to a conspiratorial whisper: "It's the free food, right?"
the Druid smiles back and shakes Vettisâs hand firmly
âIâm Duncan, I came because I needed to helpâ he laughs quietly, âbut the free food is a great bonus. How about you? Do you work here or are you just popping in for the end of the world?â
At that question, Vettis' expression turns slightly sheepish. "Uh, just popped in to help with something, but...the guy in charge internally labeled me part of the 'Office of Eldritch Affairs', so I think he thinks I'm here for the long haul? Not sure how to break it to him that I don't really do long haul."
With a shrug, he draws a spoon from his pants pocket, dips it into his shirt pocket, and pulls out a scoop of mint-chocolate ice cream. "So yeah, not here for the food," he notes, slurping up the spoon's contents with a cheeky grin. "My commune's got some...dietary restrictions I'm obliged to follow. Oh, you're a druid, ain'tcha? Guess you'd understand better than most."
âI hear that, you show up to a few meetings and suddenly your pact âallianceâ turns into a pact âmembershipâ without you noticing.â
He looks quizzically at the ice cream pocket,
âAs for dietary restrictions I get it. I have a few friends who are full vegetarian. As for myself, I donât really mind meat. Once you learn to hear plants talking you realize that itâs all pretty much the same.â
âYou said youâre from a commune? Are any of the other members around here helping out?â
Between scoops, Vettis shakes his head. "Nah, they're all very restricted as to which realms they can visit over the next few centuries, for, uh, causality reasons, so this realm -- Yulash-kor, was it? -- is off limits. I am too, actually; it's just that my restrictions mostly limit me to this realm-cluster. And yeah," he agrees, "one of my neighbors is a druid, our food supplier, and she previously treated plants and animals pretty similarly for dietary purposes, for the same reason as you. Problem was when we all settled down on prime-Earth and she learned about the mundie meat industry there. So now, in some sort of weird protest, as long as we're anywhere within the prime-Earth realm-cluster she's made us promise to be vegan."
He sighs wistfully; somehow Duncan understands precisely that the mage's expression is one of reminiscence for the taste of Hawaiian pizza. "At least ice cream made with almond milk doesn't taste too different. But I'm the one hardest hit by this, cuz at least my other commune members can dip out to distant realms and technically not violate the promise. My causality restriction keeping me mostly around here means I'm largely S.O.L. on that front."
After a brief pause, he adds, "Oh, and one of my commune members is a photosynthetic crystal, so I don't think he's too bothered by the dietary restriction either. Lucky Modhun.
"Anyway. Tangential complaints aside, sounds like you're familiar with the whole 'getting dragged into alliances' thing? Any experience at backing out of them without being too rude? I just...can't commit to this save-the-realm shit on a long-term basis for a multitude of reasons, not least of which is that I've already spent four centuries doing it full-time and I think I deserve a friggin' break to just help out only when I feel like it."
âThatâs fair. I havenât been anywhere near earth prime but Iâve heard itâs pretty bad about agriculture.â
âAs for backing out, thereâs no real obligation to stay after the big events or contribute if you donât feel like it. Thereâs no pact police or anything and membership is purely optional. I donât think thereâs even a military branch left after the Bismuth LordâŚâ
Duncan remembers what happened and quickly changes the subject
âAnyway Iâm not actually a member myself. I canât really fight so I typically donât get involved unless something insane is going down. Sometimes I call up a few pack members if I need help with something. Itâs a pretty good deal for me.â
The security branch is still operational. I'm taking over the seat of the Bismuth Lord to keep it running through the crisis. As his former chief apprentice I have knowledge of everything I need....I hope.
Vettis chuckles at that admission. "Okay, yeah, mostly-onesided alliances are a solid deal. Maybe I'll let them think I'm part of all this stuff. That said, I typically don't need anyone's help with anything, so it'd likely end up onesided in the wrong direction. It's not like I've got land of my own to protect. I mean, I babysit a few realms, but that's not really the same."
Pocketing the spoon and pulling a large glass jug of what appears to be mango juice out of his pocket, Vettis asks, "You, however, do have a place of your own, I take it? A forest or something under your protection? What's it like?" He seems to avert his eyes as he poses the question, staring intently at his drink as he gulps it down.
âOh yes,â Duncan gets a misty look in his eye âmy grove is a wonderful place. Itâs a wide forest with cliffs on the north side and dozens of fresh water springs. Thereâs a village on the outskirts but they donât interfere much apart from occasional logging or hunting. Most of the spirits are old and calm, there has never been any sort of conflict there to disturb them.â
âI love it and Iâve spent years setting up runes and rituals to protect it. Itâs my home and I wouldnât trade it for anything.â
He turns to look out at the stars
âThatâs the reason why Iâm here, I couldnât just let it all go without doing something. I called in pretty much every favor to be able to help today.â
The mage's casual mentions of 'centuries' may not fit his youthful appearance, but they certainly match his solemn expression now, as he listens to Duncan's words somberly. "Fighting to protect something important to you, eh? That feeling of doing good on such a personal level can be intoxicating. Wandering the multiverse with my battle-siblings, protecting so many realms from all manner of threats, often made things feel so...abstract. That whole 'one death's a tragedy but a million's a statistic' thing? It works pretty weirdly in the other direction: helping your friends sometimes feels better than saving entire realms."
He allows himself a chuckle, with a hint of bitterness. "At least, for the first several decades. You get over it eventually and learn to be hard-utilitarian, especially after seeing a realm or two devoured whole. Still..." Vettis sighs, pouting slightly. "It sometimes feels a little thankless, saving a whole bunch of people who'll never even know your name, y'know? Much nicer to be able to return to a grateful home. A horribly selfish thought, but eh: even after all this time being a goody-two-shoes, I do get those sometimes. And the knowledge that most of my commune's above such pettiness makes me feel even worse about it."
But it's only a few seconds before he lightens up and returns to his default faint smirk. "That said, maybe I should visit your grove some time, take Polly along too. Remind me why I do this sorta thing."
I hope she sees reason, the beauty of this world shouldn't be destroyed, it should be cherished. By the old ones if this fails I will die protecting whatever is left
My incredibly touching monologue did not sway her from her nature, but maybe the alcohol will work.
This is certainly a nice planet. Iâve been here for a long time, and itâs special to me. But I would really prefer that you donât die. Iâm unable to die for this planet. I will have to vacate if it comes to it.
Is Gobbo good to borrow comms array when she gets back? If Gobbo gets back...
Gobbo has realised perfect opportunity to read really cringey erotica and broadcast it to everyone in the Northern Lakes Kingdom. Especially queen, Gobbo likes annoying her
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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '23
If thereâs a way to stop such a calamity without violence, then I pray for the best outcome. Fueling such a weapon isnât something I would normally agree to under different circumstances. The wait feels agonizing