One thing after another

[amadine]

Not to add more shit to the current fire, but I've had a look Backstage, and it's not just the Conductors and the Hecatite indoctrination that are acting like a plague on Questing Country. The Diabolin dreamers, the Starmovers, the Synthetic dreamers - they're all twisting the patterns of this place out of true. There's a pack of unbound Spirit Companions working to quarantine the invasive patterns and bring them into harmony without letting them overwrite everything else, but if the fucking mountain falling in is any indication, it's not going well.

Their method's near enough to Siren Song that I could compose something that would let a chorus help them align the warped lattices, or return them to their original state - which might be our best bet for cleansing any lingering Orthopraxic brain-fucking - but anything that needs to be shut down will have to be shut down on the outside.

...With one possible exception. Deedee, and anyone else who's latched on to a Conductor who actually belongs here, I badly need to speak to the people you're riding.

And on an entirely related note, I'll need a few strong backs willing to work where they're pointed - there's a foothill's worth of rubble I need cleared, and if we're going to put enough of this to rights that Questing Country won't shatter under the weight, I expect we'll need a door other people can use.

Comments

[insidegalra]

[Thace sounds grim]

Does that mean Diabolin, Synthetics and the Starmovers will need to be removed, or is there still a chance to allow them to stay without further harm to Questing Country?

[amadine]

There's a chance, I think. If we can remove the strain caused by the indoctrination and the Conductors spreading, the Spirit Companions could focus on bringing the new Dreamers into harmony. That might be enough to prevent anything else from falling out of the sky.

Or it might be that all three, all at once is too much for Questing Country to bear. We won't know for certain until we've dealt with the most pressing problems - not least because the Synthetics in particular are well and truly entangled with them.

[insidegalra]

That is our focus for the moment, but this is also important. Any way that Thetan and myself can aid your efforts, just tell us. If it involves skills I don't know yet, I'm dedicated to learning.

[notinthecards]

Now, I don't like the sound of that at all.

[insidegalra]

Neither do I. If there's a way to avoid it, that's my clear preference.

Knowing the obstacle is the first step to overcoming it.

[breakaleginhalf]

Oh my fucking god...

Would it surprise you that Grant has half a theory on this too?

[amadine]

It really shouldn't, at this point.

Which part? The Spirit Companions hiding a genuine orgy of disaster Backstage, or the assorted disasters themselves?

[breakaleginhalf]

He knows that Diabolin aren't supposed to be in Questing Country, for one, but he got too distracted by all the shining silver to look into that further.

...fuck, and if the Spirit Companions've been trying to fix Questing Country the whole time he's been here, no wonder they're cagey as shit.

[lightnovelexperiences]

I can relay questions to Leah. It’s probably not a good idea for her to answer directly and she accepts this, but QC saved her life and she won’t let it burn.

Talk to us.

[amadine]

Not here. In the flesh.

[waitatick]

One of the few qualities people seem to find appealing about me is my strong back. I am happy to put it to use wherever it might be of help.

I am also more than able to provide protection of the more physical nature to those who might need it.

[amadine]

Without getting yourself impaled this time, I hope.

[helborn]

I can help both with the Song and with moving the rubble. I can lift about a quarter ton, so it shouldn't be too hard.

[amadine]

That...will definitely speed the removal of the debris along.

Thank you. On both counts.

[levelthreehooligan]

I will be able to provide at least two voices for the Chorus, and I can use Conjury to lift rubble I believe.

I will make myself available whenever you need it.

[amadine]

As soon as possible, for the rubble. Everything else will have to wait for that, at least.

...Wait, two? Who's the second?

[seestheworld]

I can help with moving the rubble., and with fighting off any nightmares that pop up while we're doing it. Not sure if I can help with anything else, but I've still got my old Sealing abilities and my current archetype is Keys, so...

[amadine]

I'm sure something will present itself, before this is all through. If nothing else, we'll probably need to lock the door behind us again on our way out.

[capital_asset]

I guess we know what they haven't told the Oracles yet now.

I can... probably help with the Song, if I don't end up completely mired in the Aratta mess.

[The 'if you'll have me' goes unstated. He feels like things between the two of them are out of balance and have been for a while, but he's not sure how to fix it, if it can be fixed.]

[amadine]

And why.

We'll need a strong chorus. I'd be a fool to turn you away.

[razorblade_empress]

If we could find a way to communicate with Questing Country itself, that might help, but I'm not sure how to do that - its perspective is huge and I don't really speak tectonic shift.

[breakaleginhalf]

Someone could Merge, maybe, but that's risking turning Harbinger and doing even more damage.

I know people were straight-up jacking their brains into QC last time we were here, playing with the oasises-- oases?-- but I don't know how well that'd go for two-way communication.

[amadine]

I think we are communicating with Questing Country itself. It just speaks in nightmares, landscapes, and narrative constructs.

[notinthecards]

I can clear rubble.

None of this sit well in my head.

[amadine]

You think we're missing something?