2021-05-08 - Dungeons and Dreamers #3

Joey has spoken to Mercy, but she is no longer there. Gone, in the blink of an eye...odd indeed.

Well at least Joey's familiar can fly. August...doesn't appear to have one. Yet. Who knows what governs such things. He flashes his teeth at Joey in a brief, almost feral smile. Those years are long behind him, but not so easily forgotten.

He shakes his head at Diana. "It's not telekinesis. It's shaping. Kind of, convincing the bridge to remake itself." He thinks over that description. "Or reminding it what it was like to be a whole bridge." Having thus explained what he's going to attempt, he gives it a try, setting a hand on the support and focusing on the ragged stones on either end, trying to fill the gap.

There's a half second where some of the stonework trembles. That's it, though; despite how hard August pushes at the bridge, it won't give. He sags after a second, panting like he's been holding his breath for hours. "Fucking...fuck." He kneels down, wipes tears from his eyes. "That sure didn't work."

At Diana's concern, Everett's eyes brighten. "I'll throw ya? You'll make it no problem." He even adds enticing pec twitching, no more than the last time before he picks up his sword in both hands and sways it to and fro. Presumably like he would fling her. Then he suddenly stops and puts the sword tip down on the bridgework with an audible metallic ting. A faint amused and confused frown originates from his brows while he asks Diana, "What do you mean, 'Of course?'"

Spoken to by Joey, Everett's attention turns that way, "Spoilsport." As it seems, though, that he and his barbaric nipples have stopped being the center of attention, and he doesn't fancy himself the cerebral type, Everett's watching the horizon, more then likely for signs of trouble. Childed by Kailey and familiar returns his attention to them both, "What if we just," and he doesn't say it, but pantomimes the action with both hands again. Twice, before he starts grinning.

For Kailey's attempt, and August's less than successful attempt, Everett watches on, nonplussed. Muttering under his breath something about finger wigglers.

"Ooh, good catch, Kailey!" Diana says, then looks to Everett and snorts. "You're not tough enough for that, sport." She grins, and then starts pacing in between the arrows seen, at least on the spots where it's near the platform, or the bridge shows it's safe to walk. She frowns, looking up at the 'hangman' style puzzle, and then tilts her head. "Okay, so this is just a theory, but... G is the first missing letter in that whole thing, right? And it's the seventh letter of the alphabet. Well, if we go forward and onto the bridge, and then go... well, the next arrow's pointing right, so we go right 7 paces? It's just a theory, but we could test it via poking Everett's phallic symbol at the void?"

"I can sort of see a shimmering where things should be...but that does seem to be a good start," Kailey says to Diana with a nod. Glancing at Everett she looks uncertain about having him go poking at the void. "I...mmm..." She begins to pat her robes down, hand coming down on a pouch at her side. Letting instinct guide her that hand dips inside. More than a hand should be able to dip into a pouch that big. Then her arm goes in. And in to the elbow and she frowns, clearly feeling around.

From the pouch she pulls an actual quarterstaff with a triumphant, "Aha!" Like some weird modern Mary Poppins. "I have a big stick if it helps?" She turns to show it off to the others. She moves out carefully onto the tiles, using the staff to tap at each one just to be safe.

Joey turns to August and while Joey is NOT the caregiver sort his hand goes to Roen's shoulder to make sure the old dude doesn't fall over. "Well if this doesn't abate we can run and jump and if we go splat then it is not our problem anymore I guess." He pauses and points to Kailey. "Cept you. You're a mom." He pauses and looks at the others. "I shouldn't assume. That shit's on me." Close to an apology as the crime boss is apt to give. "Two can fly but they can't talk and I'm willing to jump. What the shit why not?"

August glances up at Joey, pulls a face. It's less a thank you than a reassurance he's not going to pass out. Not just yet.

He slowly rises to his feet, looking from Diana to the letters to the arrow. "Right. Okay, so, G, A, C, A, C, A,...A, D. Seven, one, three, one, three, one, one, four?" He frowns, turning the numbers over in his head. "Four and three is seven, and three ones is three. Or four and three ones." He shrugs, unable to put anything else together. Instead, he watches Kailey's experiment, ready to grab her clothes with Glimmer if needed. She should be fine tapping with her quarterstaff, right?

...right. He braces himself, waiting. Nothing drastic, just a confirmation there's...invisible? stairs. "Anyone got anything we can toss on them, make them easier to see? Some dust or, something?"

Everett's brows lift with surprise with Diana's assertion as to his toughness. His momentary surprise, replaced by a smirk while he listens to the remainder of what she has to add, chuckling at the end. "While it's true that my phallic symbol is long enough to reach, are you going to reach into this," he looks down, gesturing with his empty hand that the black furry loincloth, "to get it?" And he's not finished, "Because I think some of this isn't fur."

Yup. Gross. I'm so gross. And I'm sorry I wrote that, but no take-backs.

When Kailey looks at him thoughtfully, he shrugs a shoulder and offers, "You know how much I like to poke things. Bears. Uh. Stuff. Say, nice stick." Joey points Kailey out as a Mom, and Everett smirks proudly. "Yeah, me too. Just so long as it gets us closer to me putting my phallic symbol through something. I'm starting to get bored." For the moment, Kailey gets the blunt of that boredom. Cat around her shoulders or not, the barbarian leans against the sorcerer and murmurs something sweet and yet revolting into her hood with the wrapping of a large arm around her waist. Doesn't matter to him that she's preoccupied with something else.

"You wish," Diana snorts at Everett, and then just about dies laughing at the assertion about the fur. "Okay, okay, you win this one," she laughs, and then looks on in surprise as Kailey pulls the quarterstaff out of nowhere. "Ooh, try that on his loincloth next!" she teases, and gives Kailey a wink. She watches as Kailey taps the first tile and-- success! She pumps a fist. "Awesome! She queues up behind Everett, though she admits, "I wish I had something to write down the sequence of letters-slash-numbers. I'd hate to plummet to my doom just because I misplaced a number." She smirks, and then says to August, "I have nothing to spread. I wish this platform were dirt, instead of rock. ...though maybe someone can slightly unmake it, enough to get some pebbles? I'm not very good at that sort of thing, or certain if it's even an option."

Follow the tile laid road. Kailey is careful of her steps and continuing along the suggested path. Focusing until Everett is whispering dirty things in her ear. There is an eyeroll as she stands up and looks at the sky. Uncat makes a disgusted sound and says, "Ugh. Humans..."

"Ev, I love you, but this is the worst time for that," Kailey tells the big brute kindly, even reaching up to pat him on the cheek absently, eyes forward. Then that patting hand reaches into the endless pouch and fishes around. Does she have some sand or something in here? She comes up with a bottle of...glitter. Shrugging she pops it open to begin dispensing on invisible areas. And everything else in purple sparkles. Including loincloth fur.

Joey watches this all with a total lack of fascination. he's the one that got his GED in Prison and barely. That said he did finish and is able to point out, "What if the numbers are the letters. A is one. G is 7. And R and N are 18 and 14 and the like. Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 album said so. I'm not gonna say she's wrong but...it seems to hold."

August watches the glitter land, nods and moves to join Kailey on the glittery 'steps'. He pauses, looks back at Joey. "Is that what the 1814 meant?" He sounds honestly surprised. "Huh." And then he trying to pay attention to where he walks. No clue what his weird getup is about, though perhaps that'll come in time.

"There are worst times. Church, for one," replies Everett to Kailey, but behave he does. There could be a comment about who wears the pants, but she's wearing robes, and he's got a loincloth. His attention drifts down to the lit tilts and, as one might expect, he uses his unoccupied hand to count. "If it is seven, one, three, one, three, whatever, it doesn't seem to be following that pattern." He points to the last arrow to be light, since it's in the fourth position.

Then he points to the first tile lit, "Seven plus one," he moves to the second row, "plus three," and moves to the newly lit tile. But it sounds more like a question then an answer. "So, plus one would be," he points to the title next to the one that was just lit, "There? Is that maybe right?" he asks Kailey's hood.

"It's... not? But the first part was seven, right? Or... well, crap." Diana frowns, then closes her eyes tightly. "Let me think about this," she mutters, biting at her lower lip.

"I dunno about the numbers. But I do know the glitter and staff are helping..." Kailey says with a glance back at Everett. A smirk twisting her lips as she reaches back and up to boop him on the nose. "Okay...let's see..." And she taps at the ground before her carefully again, sprinkling more glitter as she goes. Sorry everyone, you'll be finding it still 10 years later.

Joey looks to August and nods. "Yeah man. It's in the liner notes." Sure THAT he remembers! He watches the glitter scatter and waits to be told where to go. He's not cerebral. He and Everett are effectively meat on a mission. That's what they do and it works out great. For now he's keeping an eye on August to make sure he doesn't pass out off a goddamn bridge. "Hey you're um....you guys are doing great at this and manages to make the words, "Don't think about falling off this bridge. You gonna make this bridge owe you money by the time we are through. Ya doin good. Also maybe don't look down." How he can say that like he's encouraging his dog to get out there and take a piddle in a rainstorm like everyone's gonna get a cookie after this? Who the fuck knows but he musters it from somewhere.

"G, A, C, A, C, A, A, D," August repeats. "Those were the missing letters in order." He half turns to double check. "I think," he adds. 'I hope,' he means. "Just, ah...be ready, with the moving Art, if anyone falls." He can hold up himself, of course, but what about the rest of them?

He looks among the group, reminding himself of what everyone can (or can't) do. A grimace for Diana and Everett, though maybe Joey and Kailey could keep them up between the two of them... "So--" He starts as a book tucked in a vest pocket starts to flow. Slowly, like it might be bite him or explode, he tugs it out and flips it open. "...huh." He flips through the pages, frowning. "This is some kind of book of spells. I think." He glances up at the rest of them, eyes moving from one to the next, blinks. "Wait. We're all--we're," he gestures, "we have jobs." Sorry everyone, August is not a tabletop RPGer.

He points, finding it better to just describe what he's seeing. "Everett's a barbarian." Kailey next. "Sorcerer." Then Diana, "Druid," and Joey. "Monk." He sighs, looks down at himself, his book. "And I guess I'm a druid." He tucks the book back into his vest, sighs. "Whatever that means."

And so he proceeds behind the others, walking with care (Joey's not wrong, he's still a bit wobbly after that bridge smacked him around), pausing now and then to make sure no one behind him is having a problem.

Entering a discussion with Diana about the pattern, Everett uses one thick sausage finger to point to the tiles while counting, "Seven, then one more, then three more, and so on. It seems to work out, just like he said," the same finger gestured to August as he repeats the order. Having been subject to Joey's brand of leadership and speeches before, these one gets a double-take and eyebrow raise from the big man. Not a threat or an expletive in the whole speech, how's he supposed to operate effectively.
And yet, still, somehow it works. It's almost enough to make him miss the piss. Yes, I made that rhyme on purpose.

"Not for nothing, but maybe the unseen choir knows a little Mastodon?" Even though he makes a request, his head bobs a little, pausing after the foot maze and letting August let his fingers do the walking. "Jo-- hey!" Everett vocally protests, putting his fist on his hip just over his loincloth, "There's no need for name-calling here." His indignation though, isn't genuine as he hoists the large sword over his armored shoulder, and points with his bare hand, "Bridges?"

"Bridges," Diana agrees with a nod, and then ponders what August had to say. "Druid, hm?" She checks her pockets for a similar spell book, and ends up pulling one out. "Oooooh, neat. Druid means you have nature-y spells, and can turn into like, bears and stuff. We might even be able to turn into something flying, to scout ahead. Depends how powerful we currently are, in this... you know, Dreamscape. Barbarian means-- well, Everett," she smirks at him, "...monk tends to mean you fight with your fists and are hard to hit. Sorcerer is also a spellcasting class-- not as powerful as some, but far easier to cast magic quickly. That's... kinda how it tends to be in games like D&D, anyway. Can't say how much this Dreamscape will hew to that." Belatedly, she looks to Joey with a smile. "Thanks for the encouragement, by the way! I'm almost surprised you're not a bard! ...not a singing kind of guy?"

Kailey turns to look at August curiously as he begins speaking. Surprise at the book, but she just watches and listens. But surprise and some amount of delight cross her face. "OH! It's like Wayfinders," She offers up helpfully. Of course those who don't know tabletop will be clueless. To be fair she has only dabbled and doesn't know a lot. What she does know, though, is this, "So a barbarian gets mad and are super tough. I cast spells. You two cast spells and love plants. Like, duh?" She grins at August and even chuckles slightly. "And Monk is like, martial arts fisticuffs fighter." To be honest Kailey doesn't really know Joey. But she grins at Diana. "We should play sometimes!"

So helpful. "So...uhh...I think I can see further connections and ropes to get across from here," Kailey says as she gets out of the way of the path for those that were following her. Pointing out towards the slim bridges. But really she turns back to August and asks, "Can I see the book?"

Joey is following Danger Noodle and the group. There are... riddles... The boxer looks around and sets his jaw, "Whoever is singing? Can it. We're trying to figure this shit out..." He looks to Everett to see if he's got a clue and looks back to August muttering, "These singing people aren't getting to the point. What tower we need to fight to get home, man? They got a kid. My dogs gotta go out."

"Hey," August holds up a hand in his own defense, "I'm just saying what the Art told me about you. Take it up with Glimmer, not me." He narrows his eyes at Diana, even frowns a little. "Bears," he repeats, and peers down at his clothing. Finding nothing illustrative in his getup, he glances at Kailey, nods, offers it over.

He studies the bridges, looks askance at Joey. Jerking his chin towards the distant tower, he says, "Suspect it's that one." He pulls a face about the singing. "Honestly," his expression turns apologetic, "I bet the person who made these puzzles is also in charge of the music."

Whatever he'd been planning to say next is lost in the screeching of the winged thing swooping at them. "Fuck. Get down!" He shouts the last bit, though doesn't heed his own warning, wastes no time in calling up a ball of lavender-tinged fire to lob at the thing.

Everett gasps when Diana calls him a barbarian too. "Calling people names, THAT'S barbaric. Maybe YOU'RE the barbarian now, huh?" And then it's Kailey's turn, that's three out of four. A loud huff follows as he glowers down at Kailey and follows with a biting retort.
"I-i'll. B-barbarian. You!" So there.

Let the filthy book readers read. Everett heads on, undeterred by the wish to explain nerd things that nerds do in their nerd basement while nerding with other nerds. Getting their nerd germs on their nerd things nerding it all up nerdingly. The bully broods on forward a few steps before he turns around to add another cutting jib, pointedly at Diana, "Literacy, THAT'S barbaric!" He turns around again with a soft smirk, happy that he's showed them a thing or three. And then he conjugates, to himself, the verb nerd. Just to make sure he got nerdingly right.
Yeah, that's right.
I nerd, the worst Will Smith movie.

When Joey looks at him, Everett pulls himself from reverie before he shrugs his massive shoulders and looks defensive, "What, I'm not singing, but," he points up with his free hand, "Is that the first time they asked us to sing along?"

Reflexively ducking while taking a step towards Kaily, Everett's arms spread out to protect the woman at August's vocal warning, looking to the skies to follow the fire. "Ah, bugger," he murmurs, and hefts his sword. Against the flying things. Ergo the buggery.

Diana only elbows Everett in response, especially since that bird comes in to ruin their oh so lovely day. Though she does answer him about the singing: "I'm not sure whether it's said that before or not, honestly. It seems semi-random?" She frowns up at the bird, then looks in her book briefly, fumbling with it. A few moments after August hits one, she looks up and points at it menacingly. It's ... kind of anticlimactic, until the lightning comes streaming down toward it.

Kailey picks up the book and frowns at it. Tilting her head and flipping through a few pages. "Huh...well I can't read it," She says as she passes the book back to August. Turning to look up at Everett with a smirk. "What? You mean like you do most nights? In front of everybody?" She teases him as she does her best to ignore the music. But as it is talked about she does find her attention drawn to it.

Then to the screeching harpy in the sky. Her eyes widen and she takes a small step back. Her hands move almost of their own in small little gestures. Something akin to ASL if anyone was paying attention. Except the ASL is in cursive and glowing. She finds herself mumbling under her breath in something that sounds like a combination of Danish and Spanish. A purple shimmer falls down in a dome around everyone, becoming invisible as the shields settle into place. Only sparkling when struck.

Joey responds to Everett honestly. "I live with a six year old. You think I listen to the lyrics to songs? If I did I'd go insane eaten by a baby shark a long time ago, man." There's a pause and he asks, "Why what's it asking?" And then... bird women. with like... well he's not going to get into their manicure situation. Nicole's pulled off soem crazy things with a lady's nails before in a pinch. There's a murmur of "oh screw this." He watches and tracks the woman like a weapon and mumbles, "Roen... just tell Nicole it was my idea. She'll understand." What wa- and there he is running faster than he rightly ought to and leaping like he's gone super sayan reaching out and grabbing the harpy by waist, leg, and using the momentum to pull himself onto her back trying to get her to ground. Have 207# of angry dead weight, lady.

August is satisfied to see that at least injured the thing; less so when two more of the things arrive on the scene. "Great." Joey, Diana, and Kailey have it in hand, though he's forced to drop when the one he tried to fry bounces off the shield Kailey's put on him. He winces in relief. "Thanks," he says to Kailey, rolling to his feet.

He eyes the bridge, begins looking around them--stills when his eyes land on the bell. "Sound," he says. "We need to ring the bell. It'll--hold their attention. Or maybe drive them off." He shakes his head. "Whatever."

He's about to simply shove it using his movement Glimmer, but having seen Kailey and Diana both use their books, he hesitates, glances down at his own. "Okay, let's just see what's in here..." He stops, bites his lip, nods. "Okay. Sure."

It's not unlike what he can already do with shaping, except there are no thorns around here to animate. He's...making one, essentially. Well, he hopes he is.

The heavy length of blackberry vine coalesces in his hand, coiling and writhing like a snake preparing to strike. He mutters, "Here goes nothing," and sends it flying at the bell, coiling around it, and yanks hard.

As Joey responds and provides a glimpse of Everett's life in, well, precious few time, the man that got the tattoo on Everett's back develops a facial tick and whispers doubts about the gorilla's impending freedoms. Where Joey is, soon too shall go Everett. And when Joey flings himself into the arms of another woman-ish, Everett turns his gaze down, to Kailey. "Uhhh."

The combat wasn't long latest, long enough for Everett to have some internal doubts and then point upwards as he turns his gaze from Kailey to the remainder of the group, "Uh. Yeah, there it is again, isn't it? Asking us to join in? 'Sing along.' Wear a thong." He shrugs then notices Joey's got a date.

And in so noticing, perks. Something to stab! Without a further delay, Everett hefts the large sword with two hands and leaves Kailey for another woman. A bird woman, bringing the blade down on her just as soon as there's an opening.
Dark meat or white?

Way to go, August! Diana claps softly for his success, not wanting to bring the harpies back this way. And while she's at it, she aims a soft clap for Joey as well. Everett, though, gets a soft frown, thoughtful rather than disapproving. "Except we don't even know the lyrics," she frowns, "... unless that's in our books. Awww, screw it!" She starts to hum along in general with the tune while rapidly starting to flip through her book just in case there's a page for harpy lyrics. And, dangerously enough, she follows the others across while still looking down occasionally at her book, if any should try it.

"You guys got that thing?" Kailey asks as she pauses to watch the harpy wrestling. Only when she is sure the two toughs have the thing in hand does she turn to address the bridges. It is almost comical the way Kailey carefully picks her way across the bridges. Stumbling once while the others have less trouble with the bridges. It is quite clear that Kailey is not a very athletic young woman. She tries though and gets across the first bridge. "Wait for me!" She calls after the others as she holds her robes up to help avoid tripping on them.

Joey spirals into the ground with the Harpy flapping around like a turkey on a rampage. "Lady, I'm also the wrestling coach. You're gonna have to think up a new game. Now you gonna tell me what the shit you're doing or you gonna make me pull your feathers out and send you home with em?"

August startles; he'd expected one bell to ring, not every bell in creation. But it's worked, so he can't complain (even though his left ear is now ringing like a bastard). He turns to head across the bridge, waiting for the others to be off it before going. Oh, except Joey's still got this friend of his.

There's a half a second where he hesitates, because this is a harpy, and--

No. They have to go.

He's quick, snapping its neck in an afterthought, tells himself he's not going to need to throw up about that later (he is). "I'll hold it together," he calls to Kailey. Moving to the bridge, he says, "Come on, Kelly, let's go. We have to get out of here."

Presumably whatever he is--a druid?--can do that, fix things. Fix plant living things, or things made of living things, that seems right. Rope would be animal hair or plant fiber in this kind of setting, wouldn't it? (He needs to read some of those books Itzhak and Joe are always on him to read...)

Hey, there it is. He snaps his spell book shut, glides a hand along the rope as he goes. "Hang in there, yeah? I don't want to find out if I can turn into a bird big enough to carry everyone, not sure my back can take it."

Without stopping to clean the blood or ichor or motor oil, whatever a Harpy bleeds, from his sword, Everett waits at the apex for the others, for a small moment before the monkey's curiosity gets ahold of him. Of all the colours offered, he suspects he knows which one Kailey will pick when she gets up here. Hopefully he knows her that well, and to the purple door he walks, giving a glance around.

The weeping stone dragon is given an especially long look as the large man gets to the door. Then, when he's within arms reach, he tries to peer into the keyhole without sticking his face against the door. Without touching the door actually, if he can help it.

"Oh shit."
And if anyone asks what he sees, he follows it up with a dismissive, "Nothing." He points at Kailey then the purple door, "That's your door, kitten."

Diana doesn't need therapy; she's already across the first bridge by the time the harpy's neck gets snapped. She has to pause for a moment on the second bridge to catch her breath, and then she's near to going on the third, but-- yegods, this is not a woman who regularly works out, it's clear. Nerds FTW!

Green eyes widen as Kailey catches up and comes upon a scene. Staring at it with a frown and tilting her head to the side. Staring upon a visage of many-colored doors. Each with a keyhole. And then there her attention is drawn to the stone dragon and it's hoard of skeleton keys. "Uhhh...we're gonna probably need those keys...and I don't think the dragon is going to let us take them easily," But hey, from up here she can try and yoink a few with the summoning of a magical hand. To Everett she says, "Be ready babe..."

Once more Kailey begins to mumble and weave her fingers. She's letting the dream move through her right now. And as she mumbles a purple and pink hand shimmers into existence. It moves swiftly to the pot the dragon guards. "Ready?" She shouts to the others before the hand grabs a handful of keys fast. Zooming back to Kailey with it's handful. Dropping all but one along the way back.

Fuck NO Joey Kelly's never seeing a goddamn therapist. He's fucking Irish, he'll deal with something being wrong for the rest of his life.. This though? It's weirdly not that easy to get past this one. He should be moving on but right now he's hugging that harpie til her bloody body goes limp and he's just clutching her to him. Oh...right... dragon. Finally he relents her body to the ground. He's not quick to join the others but looks at his hands, flicks the blood from them and lowers his hands.

Joey looks around working on pulling his shit together and says to the basilisk hovering like ink. "C'mon Danger Noodle. let's... just... go find our peeps."

August pauses in his jog along the bridge, resumes when he sees Joey finally let go of the harpy. (Try not to think about it. Try not to think about what you just did. It's just a Dream. It's not real.)

Rocks fall, everyone dies. That's how these adventures go, right? Well, everyone might still die, but it's not going to be because of those falling stones. Instead, the shaking and shuddering reveals a small indentation in the stone which contains: One (1) James Hecker, blinking owlishly and stumbling out into the chaos. "... the actual fuck?", he mutters, and looks around himself, bewildered. "... I was trying to make a goddamn sandwich. What." He is not dressed in adventure gear, but rather, just his usual jeans and hoodie, though the hoodie does have a 20-sided die with a 1 showing, so, really, he's got no one to blame but himself.

Having told Kailey which one was hers, Everett steps towards her and looks at her collection of keys. His empty hand touches her shoulder before squeezing, and then he turns his head to the key that landed on the ground.
There it is.

Taking a slow step from Kailey, he gestures to her, "The red one, that's what's his names. Auggie," isn't that what Kailey calls the druid at home? Everett, meanwhile, he wants that green key that fell from the mage's hand.

And then the stone dragon moves. Ambush.
Everett's Barbitchian Senses sense danger and his muscles move him mostly out of the way, twirling to bring his sword up from his shoulder. Bare pectoral muscles tense, and bring the blade down on the dragon's story neck.

When it stops moving, when its rubble, Everett looks around, spying Joey taking a quick power nap. August is given the next look. Everett knows what he's capable of. Then Everett, confident in the druid's abilities, goes back to look for that green key.

Diana makes it across the third bridge at last, and then there's-- a James?! She blinks, and hisses out, "James! James!" Seems like she's worried about waking that dragon. But no worries, that gets taken care of without her, and she quickly starts thumbing through her spellbook, calling out to James, "Check for a spellbook!" Finding what she's looking for, she then looks it over and closes her eyes, willing herself into another shape. This shape: https://www.peregrineadventures.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Polar_bear_Arctic.jpg Turns out that unlike August, she's a polar bear. The she-bear starts to move toward the dragon, but-- that's also handled! The bear stands on its hind legs and claps, then lumbers over to stand next to Everett, nosing at the keys.

Kailey grabs the key with one hand, from her magical purple hand, and points with the quarterstaff at the dragon. The staff glows purple-white-bright before arcs of vibrant magenta lightning arc out. Only to splash colorfully and harmlessly against the stone dragon. In turn the dragon's fire hits her and it isn't quite so nice. Kailey gives a small scream as her arms come up to protect her face and turns away from it. So that the brunt of it hits her back and sets the robe ablaze.

Quick thinking has her dropping and rolling to put out the fire, but she does so with a cry of pain. Rolling while trying to untie and get out of a garment is hard, but she manages to slip the top part off. Showing that the fire ate a big hole through robe and tunic beneath. Her skin an angry red and blistering in places. Bits of dirt and stone cling to it as she rolls onto her hands and knees with a grown. "What is -with- things trying to roast me lately?" Kailey growls as she climbs painfully to her feet, gritting her teeth as she uses the quarterstaff for help.

"Ow," Says the purple-haired sorceress directly to Ev. Before her eyes move to the pile of rocks that was the dragon. "That was fast...Everyone, grab a key and choose a door. This is our way out near as I can tell," This said to the group at large as she pulls out her skeleton key and holds it up.

There's a giant stone dragon, there are people, some of those people are now bears, and the last thing James remembers is putting a touch of mustard on his sandwich, but, here we all are, and that's what we have to deal with, because things start happening real fast. James, ever the hero, lets out a heroic squeak and runs bravely away from the dragon, instinctively throwing a shower of illusory sparks and smoke behind himself as he flees. The illusion is shoddy at best given the hasty nature of its construction, but lucky for him, the dragon doesn't even notice: it's busy breathing fire or something at other people and getting punched into oblivion. He looks around- was that Diana's voice he heard? But when he looks in that direction, a GODDAMN POLAR BEAR is, I shit you not, clapping. "... what."

There's a fucking dragon, and a dead lady and a lot of rubble and ... he doesn't even know. Joey knows go forward or more ladies and his other favourite old dude are- oh fuck Roen got eaten by a bear?? You do not ride a bear from the inside, ROen! Ugh. "Fuck it." He gets a running start and Fist of the Northstars that shit coming in for a megaton punch.

CRACK!

yeah. That fist is fucking magic , can, and will crack granite. Sadly he was already chewed into pretty hard before this and is spending a moment seeing stars. With help he eventually grunts and shoves the block of concrete that was a dragon jaw OFF his chest and grabs his fucking key- the blue one cause why not.

Fist to earth he works (slowly) to push himself to a very uneasy stand working on his bearings.

Doors. Engravings. Locks. Keys...dragon.

Moving dragon.

August already saw the spell he wants to cast; flipped past it when looking for the one to make some thorns. He recalls it now, think of something very large, with enough bulk to block the dragon should it prove necessary. Something with big teeth and claws--

The second he thinks of it, it just happens, And where he'd been standing is now an enormous bear-thing. It's not, strictly speaking, a bear; there are glowing red spines bristling along its ruff, and huge saber teeth in its mouth. Also, it's much too large.

He doesn't stand on ceremony, just rears up and swings a huge, clawed paw across the dragon's midsection, raking the stones with shaping, shattering them in his wake.

It's over as quick as it's begun, but he doesn't shift back immediately. He has the sense, in the back of his mind, that he can't do this a lot, so shouldn't waste it. Sensing Joey's injuries, he turns towards him, but up Joey is getting. Well, that's just like him. August grunts, starts poking around for those keys. They need six. Are there six?

Oh look, it's Everett's turn again.
Picking up the green key, he gives it a look over and then notices the snout over his shoulder. The polar bear gets a bap with his key before Everett looks around. He grins. Ah, his third favorite red-head. "Hey, James," Everett calls out, far louder than necessary, "Wanna play with my sh-ward?" To which he means the two-handed weapon slung on his shoulder.

Wiggling his brow, Everett takes his key to the green door, looks over to Kailey and waits. He nods towards her door, waiting for her to insert and turn first before he will.

Diana snaps her teeth in Everett's direction at the bap, but she's careful not to get TOO close; those teeth are SHARP. She lumbers over to James after a moment, forgoing the keys. Without bothering to shift back into human form, or maybe not really thinking about it too hard, she leans on him. She's HEAVY, James, but at least she doesn't put her full weight on him. ...yet.

Kailey pulls out her key again and glances at the doors. "Everyone grab a key and go to a door," She says before turning to walk over to the purple door. Holding herself in the way people do when simple movements have the potential for serious pain. Glancing back at the others one last time she inserts her key and turns it in the lock.

"... ok who's big idea was it to give Everett a sword?", James mutters, sticking his tongue out at the barbarian. "Go put a shirt oooaaaAAAA BEAR OOOOFF-", he adds, the last bit of it somewhat muffled when a POLAR BEAR comes and leans on him. Now, friends, James is a slight little thing, a mere slip of a man, easily blown away by a stiff breeze, or bruised by a particularly thick patch of air. He is not, you need to understand, built in a way that could provide any kind of support, much less proper support, to a BEAR. Polar, or otherwise. His knees immediately start to buckle. "-halp. Pls. Ack."

I am soooooo glad! Ty for participating!

August snorts at Diana, a bearish warning that she might be forgetting her current size. He tilts his head to examine the keys with one gleaming red eye. He snorts, then speaks, using mindspeach rather than trying to force a bear's mouth to make English words. <<Do we go with instinct? Or is it something more obvious?>>

He watches Kailey announce her intention, watches her march up to the door and simply vanish. The spines on his ruff stand up for half a second, slowly flatten out. Instinct, then.

He looks among the remaining keys, finally hooks a claw into the red one's head. He is red right now, after all. <<Seems likely.>> He moves to the door, dropping the huge bear shape as he goes. "I sure hope this is right," he murmurs, and puts the key in the lock.

Everett grins toothily at James' objections, adding another series of brow wiggling. "You get 'em, Winnie," he says to Diana while looking back at Kailey and when she wisps away, Everett looks back. Spying only Diana and James remaining since Joey TOTALLY left too. The two last keys.

Diana.
James.

Two keys.
"Yoink!" Leaving his key in the door, Everett makes the attempt. The attempt mind you, to steal the last two keys with him, but in so doing, turns the key when he turns. His dispersal is immediate just like Kailey, so immediate that he doesn't even get to cry nooooo.

Dragging himself to the damn lock Joey stuffs the key into the lock with 63% more resentment than other leading B&E attempts. Goddamn his night...

Diana waves a claw lazily in Everett's direction, but then he is gone. The end! Using her mind to communicate rather than growling at poor scared James, she thinks in his direction, <<That's Everett for ya. And lookit! I'mma BEAR.>> She stands up on her hind legs again, releasing weight off James' poor knees. She grabs at her key-- yellow, apparently, before communicating to James, <<Glad you're okay and didn't get hurt. I think we're supposed to use these keys in the matching doors.>>

James would tell Ev to suck it, but, covered as he is in BEAR when the criminal tries to crime at them, he doesn't even notice. Then- Diana-voice in his head. Coming from the bear. "... what.", he says, stumbling back a bit. "Wait. Wait. Start over again. What? You're... why? Why are you a bear? Why are there key-", he starts, but then stops, and shakes his head. "Y'know, you'd think by now I'd know better than to ask that kind of question. Give me my key. I left my sandwich back at the bunker.", he grouses, but then, as he scoops up the orange key and takes a step towards the door, he looks over at his girlfriend, the BEAR, and calls out in a more fond tone, "Call me when you get out? I think I'm almost finished with the first draft!" And then, the door and the key do what doors and keys do, if you catch my drift, and this Dream is, once again, mostly James-free.

Diana doesn't even shift out of bear form for poor James' benefit. Nope, she just replies, <<REALLY?>> He can definitely feel the excitement. <<Love you!>> And then he's whisked away, and she lumbers over to scoop up the yellow key in her paw. Is she EVER planning to go human again? James, maybe you're just ... dating a bear now?? But no, when she lumbers up to the door, she shifts into human form at the last moment, turning the yellow key in the lock.