[ Ada finds her mother, in the late afternoon, baking in the kitchen again. Apparenthy, there are some things that mothers just do no matter what. Whatever she's making this time smells awful good. :9 ] [ Sideminiothersession Start! ] * Ada pokes her head in, then heads over to the pump to get some water. She gets some in her cup, chilling and purifying it without a second thought. (Because prestidigitation is a level zero spell.) [ Adamom seems to almost jump when Ada uses her newfangled Elven magic, but then she calms herself. "Ah, hello, Ada. I hope you're doing well. Do you like cake?" ] * Ada swirls her pinky in it for a second before having a sip, then says, "Hello." * Ada nods. "Well enough." She looks about to say more, but stops herself. ( What's cake? Is it tasty? ) (She's not Maria. >.>) ( Unfortunately for her, yeah. ) ( But we can't all be perfect. No, you can't. Only I can. *preen* Shush. Both of you. ) [ Ada's mother continues baking in the silence. Bake bake bake. She fidgets a bit, and seems nervous about something. ] (Gee, you never could tell they're related.) * Ada toys with the frosted glass. "So... I suppose I should talk to you." [ "That would be... nice, yes." ] * Ada has another sip. She seems about to start, then stops again. She tries again, changing what she was going to say. "Ethan. He has a problem." [ "Yes, his curse. That is why you came, isn't it?" She sounds a little sad at that last, for some reason. ] * Ada nods. "Originally. Yes. I didn't know about any of this." * Ada says, matter of factly, "He tried to kill me last night, too, under some sort of magic." [ "Of course not. You couldn't have known I was he... he what?" ] He tried to kill me. He thought I was hurting him, or something... strange. He's a bodyguard, so he was imagining he was protecting him, and then he thought I attacked him with magic. * Ada sounds much more sure of herself now. "And when I showed up, well. He was growing, too. Gaining muscle." [ The witch frowns, a worried look on her face. "That's... bizarre. And it doesn't go with the origional curse, either." ] I've never encountered anything like that before. [ "...nor have I. Generally a growth spell would require that the gained mass come from somewh... but then, the weapon makes food from nothing." ] * Ada nods. So, I was hoping you would know why. * Ada runs a hand through her hair. "Though apparently not." [ She shakes her head. "No. I don't know what could have done that. This forest does strange things, but never like... that." ] * Ada nods. She finishes her water and sets the glass down, then holds one arm with her hand, looking away from the witch. "So... um." [ "Er... yes." She sighs. ] I... guess... * Ada takes a deep breath. "What's your name?" [ "My name?" The question seems odd to her, for some reason. She has to think about the answer. "Sharwyn. It's a Fenarian name, so it probably sounds odd to you." ] * Ada nods. "Sharwyn. Odd, but not unpleasant." [ Sharwyn smiles. "I am glad you think so." ] ( Meanwhile, Ada needs a Mind roll, +3. ) 2d6+3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ada (2d6+3) and gets 10. [ Ada notices nothing odd about anything at all. No sir. ] So... I'm Fenarian? There's a chef at Black Peak who is, too, come to think of it. [ Ada thinks about that, and it gives her another roll, this time without penalty. ] 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ada (2d6) and gets 8. [ Ada thinks about said chef's name. And of a certain assassin's name, which Sei said was Fenarian. And of other Fenarian names Sei mentioned in the same conversation. None of which sounded anything like 'Sharwyn'. ] (Yeah, Fenarian == Italian. ^^) * Ada frowns. "Though... that doesn't sound like any other Fenarian name I've heard." She eyes her 'mother'. [ Sharwyn, meanwhile, smiles. "Not surprising. We do make the best chefs around. Not to brag, or anything." She smirks. "And elves don't know how to cook, either." ] * Ada shakes her head. "They don't. But I don't think you're Fenarian." [ Sharwyn frowns. "But I am. I'm from a small, traditional tribe in Fenario, but I'm Fenarian nonetheless." ] * Ada still looks skeptical, but sighs. "Fine." She goes and has a seat. [ Sharwyn signs as well, checks the cake one more time; it's just starting to rise, but still smells great. She then turns and says, "Ada, there is something I would like you to see. Will you come with me for a moment?" ] * Ada looks up. She hesitates, then stands. "All right." [ Sharwyn smiles warmly. "Very well. The cake should be alright on it's own for a while, and we shouldn't be gone too long." She leads you out of the stump and off into the woods! Oddly enough, she takes you in the same direction you went to find Ethan. ] * Ada frowns, but walks along anyway. [ Soon (not counting the long pause from the distracted GM), you arrive at the spot where Ethan was training yesterday. Adamom glances around oddly, as if noticing something that wasn't there before, then shrugs and walks up a set of partially concealed stone steps leading to behind the nearby waterfall. ] * Ada doesn't lose the frown. She just walks after her. "This is where Ethan was training." [ "Is it? I thought there was something strange lingering... when we're done here, remind me to come back with the proper reagents and look into it, please?" ] * Ada nods. "Certainly." [ Adamom leads inside, into a strangely warm cave. She leads far into it, until she's in a room lined with massive crystals shining a bright red, and, apparently, giving off heat. ] * Ada looks around. "What... are they?" [ "They are magic. This, Ada, is where you were born." She walks over and embraces you, and suddenly a multitude of voices, none of them kind, speak, saying "And this is where you shall die." ] * Ada doesn't, to her credit, move away. But she does stiffen at the sound of the voices. [ Sharwyn's grip grows stronger, constricting and crushing you, and her flesh distends and discolors as it begins to flow over you, threatening to envolop and choke you. ] [ As the creature gradually covers Ada's body, her senses begin to cloud, causing her vision of the deep cave around her to expand and then fade. ] * Ada gasps as the... thing begins to envelop her. She grits her teeth, fighting the urge to scream, and the air around her cools as she tries to literally pull herself out of it. 2d6-4 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ada (2d6-4) and gets 0. [ Ada's attack swiftly forms an almost complete shell of ice around her, which melts just as swiftly, allowing her to get free from the thing's grasp! ] [ The thing makes a strange mess of high-pitched noises as it flows around the ice and then reforms into a featureless, vaguely humanoid form. ] * Ada scrambles away, panicked. "What the hell!" [ "What an odd choice of words," vocalizes the thing as it again takes on the features that supposedly belong to Ada's mother. ] * Ada stares and tries to calm down, but fails miserably. "What are you?" [ "Please, Ada. Who. I'm a who. Although I suppose I'm a what, as well, in which case, *what* I am is a demon. You may call me Yxonumei." It makes an elaborate courtesy. ] * Ada blinks, and seems a bit calmer now. She relaxes slightly, though her hands are still free for whatever she might try. "Yxonumei," she repeats, with minimal difficulty. "All right." [ Yxonumei grins fiendishly. "'All right'? Is that all you have to say for your dear old mother?" ] It's a place to start. If you're through lying, anyway. [ "Oh, come now, my precious little Ada. Would I lie to you?" Yxonumei's lower half becomes fluid and she flows swiftly towards you! ( Defense; unarmed, since you have no weapon out. ) 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ada (2d6) and gets 8. [ Yxonumei wraps her lower half around Ada and constricts like a massive snake. "After all, you are ever so important to me. To me, my goals, my future, my... desires." She grins wider than anyone ought to be able to, showing rows of extremely sharp teeth. ] * Ada grimaces and tries to draw her sword and stab it into the demon. "Why?" [ Sadly, Ada can't reach around Yxonumei's bulk to reach her sword. "Whyyy?" Asks the demon, pretending to look surprised and hurt. "Goodness me, did I not tell you you were going to save these lands from Faerie? Did you not beleive me? Or do you mean the other parts?" She grins again. "You *are* such a fiery young lady, after all. It's no wonder that idiot with the whiskers likes you so." ] So? I don't care about the human lands. Never did, especially not because of some destiny that fucked with my life. I just want to be left alone! [ "Of course you do. You wish to sit and do nothing until you become weak and corpulent. A terrible problem with being human, I understand." She continues wrapping around you again, adding "But that would be *such* a waste. A terrible waste, indeed. Such power as yours musn't be allowed to just sit around. It could lead to trouble!" ] * Ada grimaces, but still doesn't move to stop her. "Do tell." [ "Oh, but isn't it obvious?" it asks, now taking on the likeness of Xivilai - perhaps not perfect, but quite close. "I sent you out for a reason, after all, yes? Clearly, if you don't use your power, someone else will." Then another form, this one unknown to you - you'd probably remember anyone you'd met who had six arms. "Ha! Yes, someone indeed. And considering who is in the running, I may as well use you for myself!" ] * Ada swallows. Who, then? [ Yxonumei laughs at this, and keeps it up for a while, her form still flowing over you. "WHO? You seriously don't know? Have you trully been so careless with your life? HA! No wonder you were so easy to fool!" ] * Ada watches her, completely expressionless and not saying a word. [ She curls around and grins into your face. "A pity. Such potential wasted on an idiot human. Not that *I* mind, of course. It won't matter shortly, anyway." Now that you are almost completely enshrouded, she reaches out with a single wickedly clawed finger and begins carving something into your forehead. She chants in a strange tongue, and you can feel power building around you. ] * Ada still doesn't move, or visibly react, but Elnofec magic begins to build within her. She lets it continue until it's almost more than she can stand, and says, almost casually, "Circle of Pain." 2d6-4 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ada (2d6-4) and gets 4. [ Ada makes go boom. Circular, rune-laced waves of black energy expand from and swirl around her, leaving Yxonumei in a lumpy puddle around her. ] [ "Oh, so you're going to make this interesting after all," it says, reforming itself into the six-armed snake-bottomed thing. "Gooood. You'll taste better that way." ] * Ada gets *out* of the middle of the puddle and backs away, towards the entrance. She doesn't waste time, sweeping one hand around with an icy swirl towards the shifting demon. "I'm not anyone's meal," she snarls. "Chill Needles!" 2d6-4 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ada (2d6-4) and gets 5. [ A shield expands from in front of Yxonumei. "Oh, but you *are* a meal, dear Ada, and little more to me. You musn't delude yourself." Her forearms become swordlike edges and strike out at you from afar! ] 2d6-4 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ada (2d6-4) and gets 5. [ You dodge out of the way! But the hands, now firmly dug into the rock behind you, begin to pull it loose from the wall! Another defense! (No penalty, tho, since this is 1-on-1). ] 2d6-4 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ada (2d6-4) and gets 2. [ Ada continues to stay alive! And then someone else shows up! Whoever could it be? Is it her friends, come to save her? The Jabberwock, gome to burble her into insanity? Or it it a group of bandersnatches, come to make a frumious mess of things? Tune in next time to find out! ] [ Session end. For now. ^.^ ]