110114 Merrow Miloko

 AA: Merrow, still tiny, wanders over toward Miloko.

 AA: "Are you hanging in there? What with all these scare-traps and everything I mean?"

 TT: "y-yeah, b-barely?"

 AA: "That's good. Honestly I suspect this all of being trickery."

 TT: she positions herself so her head is about Merrow's level "how are you d-doing? b-being all s-small and s-stuff?"

 AA: Merrow folds his arms and looks a little pouty. "Whale it is CERTAINLY unbecoming of an emperor. I will find a way to get it fixed. Find the person responsible and get them to undo it."

 AA: "But I suppose it's not that big a handicap. Even if we get into any fights in here, I am not much of a frontline fighter. And I can strategize just as whale being a small fry as I could if I were a leviathan."

 TT: "h-how'd you e-even end up l-like t-this?"

 AA: "I am not entirely certain myself."

 TT: "s-start f-from a-after we got s-split up p-perhaps?"

 AA: "Whale we transported into a smoking room. Investigated a bit and discovered that Bothwell was apparently just....the trashiest."

 AA: "We found a secret door labeled '1' and went down the hallway. We saw your reflections in the mirrors, but apparently you couldn't see us."

 AA: "I had a sudden flash of insight that might have been my Time powers kicking in, but then everything shut down....which reminds me. I think it's not just the fog that's fighting us back if we try to use our powers here."

 AA: "I know most of us don't even knowhow to use them anyway, but I think we only get one chance and then whatever it is learns to block us out."

 TT: "t-that's o-ominous? but no c-concern to me?"

 AA: "I don't now. I wasn't even consciously trying to use my powers, and it happened."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> AA: (( I don't KNOW, rather ))

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> AA: (( also, CONCHsciously ))

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> TT: "I'd be h-happy if s-something b-blocked my p-powers?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> AA: "Oh, I see. You are not frond of what your title implies?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> TT: "not at all? u-uncontrolled r-rage d-does not s-sound h-helpful? e-even in the s-slightest?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> AA: "Who says it has to be uncontrolled? If anything I would think the fact that it's a power implies you WOULD have control."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> TT: "I m-mean r-right now? I w-wouldn't h-have m-much, if any c-control r-right now?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> TT: "l-like M-Mari and D-Doir w-were f-fighting e-earlier and I j-just y-yelled at the b-both of t-them? t-that's not who I am?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> AA: "I wasn't there for it. But sometimes such forcefulness is important. Especially in a leader."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> AA: "But I suppose you never did have ambitions for leadership, did you?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> TT: she shakes her head "I d-don't w-want to be f-forceful? I w-want p-people to not h-hate me?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> AA: "I doubt you are in much danger of that simply from asserting yourself. But I won't push the matter."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> TT: "so w-what h-happened a-after you t-tried u-using y-your p-powers?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> AA: "Not much. I became aware that I was witnessing a scene taking place in the present rather than a recording. Sort of a waste for my only chance to use Time."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> AA: "But you were unable to hear us."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> AA: "So we kept moving on. Went through a door, then we ran into all of you."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> TT: "w-well, we e-ended up in a r-room w-with a 't-talking' d-door? t-through the d-door was a h-hallway w-with m-mirror and s-some s-sort of g-ghost h-host?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> TT: "t-then we e-ended up in I t-think the s-same s-smokeroom you t-talked a-about, we f-found a c-couple of d-doors w-with n-numbers on t-them, p-picked one and e-ended up in h-here?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> AA: "Hmm. I wonder what would happen if we were to go back through the door we came in from and returned through Door" #1. Would we come out from behind the curtains our normal sizes?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> TT: "m-maybe? d-door one was the one we e-entered the s-smokeroom f-from?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> AA: "Was it? That's odd." Merrow thinks about it for a second. "Perhaps we should carry a string or rope with us, if one of us goes to check it out. To make sure there is not some sort of....I don't know, portal or something, overwriting the actual destinations of these doors."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> TT: "w-who'd c-carry r-rope a-around w-with t-them?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> AA: Merrow blinks. "Does none of us have rope? I did not have any I could grab when we set out, but I assumed someone would have....every party seams to have rope, a ten foot pole, torches and the like when I seed for FLA--" Merrow stops short. "Which is to say, when you sea movies about adventurers."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> TT: "y-yeah, but we r-really d-don't q-qualify as a-adventurers, do we?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> AA: Merrow shrugs. "We are being asked to explore spooky towers by royalty, and learning to wield fantastic powers in the pursuit of a goal while fulfilling quests for helpless townsfolk across multiple worlds."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> TT: "p-point t-taken?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> AA: "I finally spoke to mother by the way. That is to say, Maenam. The one who joined your team."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> TT: "ohh, w-what'd you t-think?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> AA: Merrow chews on his lip. "I am not entirely shore WHAT to think. She was....not what I expected. At all."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> TT: "I t-told you?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> AA: "Yes. I suppose you did."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> TT: "was it a g-good t-thing she w-wasn't as you e-expected? or bad?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> AA: "I'm not sure if I've decided yet."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> AA: "I don't think she's a huge fan of this Doir / Dina who is chaperoning us right now though."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> TT: "I w-wonder why? I l-like her t-though? I m-mean, she did g-give me t-this s-scarf?" she gestures to a purple and brown affair wrapped around her neck "and she s-seemed h-happy to see me?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> AA: "You are referring to Maenam here, or Dina?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> TT: "M-Maenam?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> AA: "Ah. Yes, she seemed rather please to meet me, too."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> AA: "She is much more warm and welcoming than I could imagine the Condesce being."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> TT: "y-yeah, her and the y-younger c-colonel H-Heston are s-surprisingly n-nice?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> AA: "The Horntaker is nice in this instance, too. At least outwardly. I am still not shore what her game reelly is though."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> TT: "y-yeah, but s-she's s-super n-nice, l-like, t-trying to t-take c-care of us, all of us, e-even t-though D-Darmok is her o-only o-offspring on our t-team?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> AA: "Hmm. Come to think of it, I have not sean her other child in a whale."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> AA: "Even though he is on the same team as I am."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> TT: "t-that's not g-good? you b-better l-look for him? I d-don't w-want to see her u-upset?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> AA: "Yes, I will check with Fate when I get back to sea if he has checked in recently. If not I will suggest a search party. It would not do to lose another teammate so soon."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> AA: "Our veterans have not been quite so warm as yours it sounds like. Nate is very no-nonsense and does not appear all that interested in his offspring, and Rilset outright attacked one of our teammates upon arrival."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> AA: "Seriad was somewhat more approachable. She is apparently some sort of healer."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> AA: "Rilset and Nate did display impressive powers though. If the Horntaker and Maenam are half as powerful as them, I shudder to think how their team could have failed to succeed in their own session."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> TT: "I t-think S-Sami t-told me t-that t-they had s-some i-interference t-that m-might e-explain t-their f-failure? not t-that I m-mind t-them f-failing t-though?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> AA: "Yes. I suppose we wouldn't exist if they hadn't."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> TT: "I w-wonder how m-many of t-them are l-left? at l-least s-seven?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> AA: "Probably. There are three on my team, and two on your team, plus this Doir."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> AA: "I have not heard of any others, but then again I have not checked in with Tethys on the status of her team."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> TT: "S-Sami m-mentioned a M-Meouet, who is a-also a r-rage p-player?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> AA: "Ah, I see. Perhaps, then."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> AA: "Logistically speaking, it would make sense to have roughly the same number of people of their power on each team. If I were planning things out, I would probably only put three on my team and two on your team if there was another team of two or three on the last team."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> TT: "t-that m-makes s-sense? I h-haven't h-heard of a t-time p-player a-amongst the v-veterans, but you s-should see if t-there is one?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> AA: "Yes, that would likely be a good idea. Perhaps they could teach me how to make use of my powers. It could help in completing Acenia's primer."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> TT: "e-everything o-okay b-between you two?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> AA: "Oh, yeah. Great. I miss her, being in Team C though."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> TT: "if we can c-change t-teams, I'll m-make s-sure the two of you are t-together?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> TT: "w-well, I'm g-gonna go and see if I can get my h-heart r-rate d-down a bit b-before we set off a-again? d-don't w-wanna get s-spooked and j-just f-fall o-over d-dead or a-anything?" Miloko gives a nervous laugh (well, nervous for her standards, which is pretty damn nervous)

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> AA: "Okay. And hey, don't worry about it. I chose not to be on Acenia's team because I wanted to make sure you and Darmok, and you and Rubi were together. And because I make reckless decisions when I'm around Acenia, I think."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> AA: "So it's probably for the best we're not on a team."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> TT: "w-well, if y-you're g-going to be e-emperor s-someday, you s-should p-probably get t-that u-under c-control? d-don't w-want to c-cause the d-deaths of m-millions or a-anything?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> AA: Merrow gives a rueful laugh. "Yeah. Yeah, you might have a point."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> TT: "d-don't I a-always?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> AA: "Fair enough."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> AA: "But yeah, go steel your resolve if you need to. And don't worry. Acenia and I still have your back."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> TT: "t-thanks, o-once I'm d-done, w-we'll see a-about g-getting you b-back to n-normal s-size?"

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> AA: "All right. Thanks."

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> TT: "I'll be b-back in a few m-minutes, l-little b-brother?" she walks away giggling to herself, feeling a little less scared already

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"> AA: Merrow groans at her little joke. Seriously, who makes PUNS? He is offishally over puns.