[Walkabout] Mid-morning of the 4th Day

[scarsolderthanyou]

Looks like that lich-thing of Barry's found me. I can't actually do anything except this, talk on the network. It's making me walk around outside and avoid people, but I can tell anyone who wants to know where it is. Where I am. Whatever.

[This is awkward, okay.]

So if you people want to coordinate something to capture me and maybe get this thing contained, today might be a good time to try it, before it either kills me or jumps to someone who isn't on the network.

[He sounds grumpy and unimpressed, as usual, but anyone who knows him well enough can probably pick out how disturbed and unhappy he is with this development.]

Comments

[failgoyle]

[There's screaming at this news.

...probably surprising no one, but there it is.]

[scarsolderthanyou]

Oh, shut up, Jules. It's not like I'm going to come eat you or anything. All this thing seems to want is to escape, right now.

[failgoyle]

But what happens if it can't escape and gets hungry?! Because no one can escape and Gil said I taste like chicken!

[grimjeaper]

...wait, aren't you that purple tiefling no one's freaking out about? What the hell?

[this is super not fair]

[scarsolderthanyou]

Don't know what a tiefling is, but not everyone can see what Jules really looks like. You need some kind of true seeing thing, or else he just looks like a human with scruffy hair.

[grimjeaper]

Oh, uh- well, it's a demonic race from my universe, looks like him. Fancy skin colours, big ol' horns and a tail. The wings are unexpected, though.

...okay, actually, yeah, that makes sense. I have True Seeing like this. Huh.

[failgoyle]

Tiefling? Excuse me, I am a lurkglider.

[There's a long pause wherein he does not deny being purple.]

Wait, wait, wait, you can see me as that?!

[grimjeaper]

I couldn't when I was in my body. But, hey, turns out my True Seeing works on y'all. Go figure.

[changeitall]

[Oh ... wow. Did she jinx this? Nah it was only a matter of time in a closed space like this.]

Thank you for telling us... Let's umm... try to capture you and get it out without you ending up like the first body. Though personally I'm only good for the first part of that. [But that's what teamwork is for, yes/no/maybe?]

[helborn]

I might be able to help with that, I'm not sure. I can try, at least - Barry might have a better idea.

[grimjeaper]

Uh.

Well, from experience, uh. There doesn't seem to be a way to expel a parasitic supernatural force in this universe without severely injuring the host. U-unless you can convince the thing to leave of its own free will. Which, uh. As we've seen, is... yeah. Unlikely.

[scarsolderthanyou]

[There's a pause, then a sigh.]

Well, better it be me than some poor idiot in the inn. I've survived a lot of shit, and if I don't survive this, at least the Arcana bring us back.

[changeitall]

Okay this may sound totally crazy but when you say you can't do anything except talk to us on the network... There's no way for you to talk to that .... thing? Like through a mirror or something if it happens to walk past one? [Hello logic by a Snow White based character from a world of fairytales, where this makes perfect sense.... and her character songs happen to be a lot about (talking to) mirrors.]

[helborn]

What sort of thing might convince it? Any ideas?

[grimjeaper]

Hoo boy, uh. Not much, off the top of my head. A guarantee that we wouldn't kill it? Sanctuary from Shadwell, a better host somehow.

More, uh-- more power and security, basically. Which are not things we should give it.

[vorenado]

It's possible that I could draw it out of you.

[scarsolderthanyou]

If you can corner me, I'm willing to give it a shot. We might want to wait until everyone's cornered me, though, in case it doesn't work and we want to try another plan.

The lich-thing might be able to make me shift.

[Which Stone thinks would end badly for just about everyone.]

[vorenado]

-=that would be horrible=-

If we can get it into me, I should be able to trap it within my own mind.

[scarsolderthanyou]

No. Absolutely not. We're not putting this thing into you.

[The denial and alarm is visceral. It takes him a beat later to put a logical reason behind it.]

If it can make me shift, it can make you shift. And you're more dangerous than I am.

[vorenado]

-=while he understands stone's response, he's sometimes too logical minded for his own good=-

I am also capable of creating a place in my mind to trap to tap it. A labyrinth perhaps. I may even be able to partition it into a separate place in my mind, keeping it separate from myself.

Avoiding FFXV Spoilers

[keepcalmcookon]

Perhaps we can contain it within a warded room. I can crowd control the locals that aren't involved in the effort. I can also help with strategy.

[He doesn't have the pre-requisite psychic skills for directly helping with capture.]

Alternatively, if it'll work—drugging the food. If you had an obvious favorite, we could pretend you asked about it some time earlier. My poker face is exceptional.

[scarsolderthanyou]

We have to get me inside first before I can eat anything or get herded into a room. It's keeping me outside.

[keepcalmcookon]

Manufacturing a threat may be a possibility. Or simply somehow making it too miserable to stay outside.

Another possibility is if wards don't need to be tied to a structure, then outdoors may be a safer place for a confrontation.

[scarsolderthanyou]

Maybe. Then if it makes me shift, I won't destroy half the inn. I don't think this thing knows better than to not shift inside a building. I get pretty big.

[keepcalmcookon]

Outdoors, then. It'll keep the locals safe. If we can aim for near a mealtime, I can keep those we don't want involved inside the inn....