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Smooth Climber
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You decide to go with a form that complements Ivet's. There are certain tells that would make her identifiable if they know she can adjust her appearance, the greatest of which is what superficially appears to be hair, but is actually more papery. You start to sculpt a new form to match hers while you're still too far out of sight for anyone to see your tentacles, and you add prominent white hair, which should help people fill in the details with what they think is under Ivet's hood. You copy the grey-blue skin coloration and make a similarly-designed robe, and tuck your scroll into the back of what passes for your belt. You don't match any creature you recognize from the books you read, but Thoth and a few others you've seen don't seem to fit into descriptions of any races you're aware of, either. You also give yourself a scar across your right eye, just to add more superficial detail. You hold your arms out and ask Ivet for an opinion.
"Looks fine," she says, and starts to walk out from the concealment of the tree root. "Reminds me of some sort of eastern hero. And, we match, so that should help with the disguise."
You nod, and shift your voice to one you think matches your new form better. "So I neglected to mention some things while Davin and Lothar were here. First, I did some research on ancient Ungolan religions. I found a god named Teyu, who was represented by a three-eyed face with horns and tentacles. I think I and the Singer are related to him in some way." It's frustratingly difficult for you to tell Ivet's reaction; the hood is obscuring her face from your angle. "We might even be fragments of him."
She turns to look at you with a mix of concern and surprise. "That sounds...well, crazy, to be honest." She raises an eyebrow. "But, I believe you. It fits, and I've seen you do some crazy things." She turns back the way she was facing.
"Yes, speaking of which, I can do more crazy things," you reply. "I didn't so much escape prison as eat my way out. I grew a lot and I gained some supernatural powers."
"Ooh! Like what?"
"Well, so far all I can do is shoot beams of magic and make water hover around myself. Oh, and I can see living things through solid objects." You make sure you're not missing anything. "Oh, right, and I can make myself weigh less."
"Good," she says, "then we can take the scenic route." She points to a long suspended rope bridge from a ways further down the ledge you're on to a tree further into the center.
You look around the surrounding area and see a path winding its way around the trunk of the tree, with several larger platforms built into the side of the tree. Your distant gaze catches the birch tree and you're reminded of something else. "Oh right, I also ran into someone I think is the dryad of the tree from last night. I think she was affected by the insanity spell. She also gave me a scroll. I think it is the same spell the Singer used last night, it makes a symbol that causes insanity when it gets triggered." Ivet doesn't seem to react, so you elaborate. "She was reanimating the dead from the party."
Ivet turns to look at you. "Yeah I...am not sure that was the spell. She's always been a little, well, let's say eccentric. Did she tell you anything else?"
"I think she mentioned the Singer. She wasn't making much sense, though. Other than that, and telling me you left as a vulture, not anything important. Do you know her?"
Ivet turns away. "Not that well, really. It's not our problem, in any case." The two of you have reached the rope bridge, swaying gently from side to side. She gestures to it. "After you."
Something about this whole situation bothers you. "How does this city continue to exist? It seems to be on the brink of war from the inside. The Singer is showing up and eating people, Mother Oasis is capturing and brainwashing the citizens, and everyone goes to party at the local necromancer's. It all seems unstable."
Ivet shrugs. "Most of those problems are new. From what I understand, people out here have always had a problem with the government, but it only became serious during my lifetime. But it's only during that time that Mother Oasis really even made herself visible as a public figure, too. I mean, she was always running things, but there are all these guilds and agencies...I guess you don't stay in charge of the same city for centuries if you put your face on everything, though. I think it started when there was this group, maybe twenty years ago? I was barely old enough to remember. Anyway, this group was trying to revere Mother Oasis like a goddess or something. She refused them, though, forced them to break up. Apparently, since then, she's been more visible to the public, and things got bad, and then they just kept getting worse. Last night was the most arrests at once that I can remember." She shakes her head. "Anyway, yeah. It IS unstable. It just turned unstable, and I still don't know how things will settle. Remember, you just got here. This has been building up for...well, a long time."
"Davin seemed to think Mother Oasis was responsible for the Singer," you say. "But I thought you and Avara were supposed to be doing some sort of diplomacy thing with him? I'm assuming he's the one the Talpids worship."
Ivet sighs. "Avara was. I was tagging along because I know my way around the underground better than she did. Though, I think she just wanted company, really. But they collapsed the tunnels and sealed us in with them..."
You don't want to upset her, but you feel like you need to figure this out. "What was the plan supposed to be, though? What was supposed to happen?"
You can see Ivet tense up a little bit. "I...I don't actually know. I'm sure Avara trusted me, she just... she said she wasn't allowed to tell anybody. It wasn't because she didn't trust me enough." You think you hear her voice crack at the word "trust".
Speaking of trust, you really want to earn it back from Ivet, but now you feel like you've gotten yourself involved in some sort of emotional landmine. You might want to comfort her somehow, or get her mind off the subject, or something. And you're starting to think that pretending the whole library thing didn't happen isn't going to do you any favors, but you know enough to recognize that you probably shouldn't bring it up right this second. You really wish you were better at this.
What do you do?
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