Tegan Date 2, Part 4: Time For A Rescue!?!?!?!?!?

Tegan

Tegan skis her way to the edge of the treeline, then takes the time to detach herself from them and nock her bow. A cave is before her, with remnants of Mona’s coat left outside, as if she was dragged inside by someone not caring about her condition when she got inside. Tegan snarls, as she often does. Mona is MINE!

Before she leaves the safety of the trees, she observes the entrance. A couple of... creatures guard the opening. Maybe three foot tall, scaled, meaty tail, lizard like muzzle. One is stroking a pair of penises? Why does the thing have two of them?

“We get to go breed slave yet?” one asks the other, squeakily.

“Like I say last time, dunno. They tell us when we can breed. They the smart dragons!”

Tegan quickly uses her Hunter’s Mark on one of the bastards, then fires off a shot at each. Her first arrow slams into the Marked target right in the throat; it slumps down, starting to drown in its green blood. The second arrow goes straight through the other bastard’s eye socket. The thing cracks the back of its head open as the force of the arrow slams it into the cave entrance wall. She’s MINE!

Fortunately, Tegan is able to get to the cave’s mouth without setting off an alarm. Unfortunately, she slips on some lizard guy viscera and slides her way into a skid deep enough into the cave to be caught. Three more of those lizard bastards are sitting around a campfire. They instantly jump up, alert.

“Intruder! Kitsune breeder intruder! Get her! Fill her with baby dragons!”

From deeper in the cave, Tegan hears Mona’s voice, enhanced with Thaumaturgy, “I am the dreaded Queen Tyalangan! I am here for the human! Let her gooooooo!”

“EEEEEEK! The butcher of Ffau’r Llewod? HERE?!?!?!?!”

Tegan takes advantage of their stupid, stupid panic. She gets up on her feet and moves her Hunter’s Mark. She aims. She fires. Three lizard man things down to two, with one heavily bleeding. Still, the bastards start to react by running towards the angry archer. They think Mona is the blue freak? Great.

Tegan starts backpedaling, giving herself enough space to get her shots in. She moves her Mark over to the lizard bastard thing without an arrow stuck inside its gut. Then she fires: two arrows sent down field, two arrows strike, two lizard things dead. The angry archer pants. Now to reclaim my girl.

Tegan: +1 XP (Killed 5 Level 1 monsters, x0.2 penalty [overleveled])

Tegan: +5 XP (Rescued Mistress)

The vicious vixen keeps her bow out, just in case, arrow nocked but not fully drawn. She stalks her way to where she heard Mona bellow. The sight does something to the Tegan. Mona, tied up, nude, hung upside down. She uses the rope to lower Mona to the ground and plans to keep her tied up.

“Thanks, Tegan! That set-up was pretty scary, but I knew you can do it!”

“Set-up?”

Mona beams, “Oh, I was told that there are these ‘damsel in distress’ scenarios in the dates. This was that, right?”

Tegan blinks, then answers, “No.”

Mona stands there, stunned, for a few seconds, then curls up into a ball. “I want to go home...”

Winter

Winter would be the first to admit that he is not the most devoted of Her followers. Not the most dedicated in the castle, in the District he is standing in. Heck, assuming the acolyte is still behind him, not even the most devout in the room.

Still, he knows his duty here.

He doesn’t know if he can even think about what happened without angering some distant network bureaucrat. Nor, frankly, does he care.

He knows his duty.

The Goddess, that woman that would show up unannounced, tease his mothers, and act like a weird great-aunt that no one had the nerve to tell her that she needed to mind her own business, that sporadic presence in his life, sitting on top of the family copse’s gazebo like that is where she belongs, saved him from a fate worse than death. He... died. Actually died. After watching his boyfriend fall, dying. He felt his soul leave his body and pulled toward the thing that killed him. The Goddess pulled harder. Let him ride on her shoulder. Smashed the thing like a bug. Put him back inside himself. Let him live again.

He knows his duty.

Blade drawn, naked, he begins. He knows the steps, the strokes, the songs, all by heart and decades of repetition. His baritone voice rings in the little alcove. A voice that, for the longest time, was not really his. His transformation fixed that, provided him with something more than a reedy little castrato voice. He was surprised by how deep his singing voice can now go. This is the first time he has used it in its proper context. It feels right.

He starts with the usual formula, the expected words for a paean of praise and thanksgiving. Andromeda, in his peripheral vision, stands and watches. The girl barely registers to Winter right now. His tone shifts, as do the words. Still in Elvish, he starts to improvise, skipping the formality and singing from the heart. He conveys his gratitude: for his body restored, for his boyfriend, for a chance to love and be loved, for the simple matter that he is still breathing, despite how he stopped for a few moments, not 24 hours ago, by his perspective. Queen Mama called it prayer like jazz: the idea of riffing on feelings and putting them into phrases and melodies.

The alcove lights up in moonlight. He must be doing something right. He keeps it up, pouring out his gratefulness as if it were an offering.

When he finishes, body sore and voice raspy, he looks up to Andromeda. He smiles.

“What... was all of that?”

“A prayer. Like I said, I owed The Lady some thanks,” Winter manages to whisper. He might have overdone it.

“The room, it lit up. Was that magic embedded in the walls? I don’t...”

“The gods abandoned your world. They are active here. When you pray hard enough, the divine might bless you with a sign that you are being heard. Moonlight is one of The Lady’s manifestations.”

Andromeda gives him a look, like the idea that prayers can be heard is ridiculous. “Would it have happened if you did the same thing elsewhere?”

“Maybe? Depends on The Lady’s mood. She could have popped into the atrium to say ‘Hi’ and it would not surprise me.”

“You say that like it is a regular occurrence.”

Winter smirks, retorting, “That is because it kind of is. My mamas have a little grove made on the castle grounds. Mama Skye did the ceremony to consecrate it to The Lady herself, before I was born. Every full moon, just about, we would gather and worship. The Lady would show up, more often than not. Mama Skye would always bake a whole extra cake, just for Her.”

“If that is the case, why isn’t she here?”

Winter recognizes the voice that answers. Andromeda does not; she jumps from the shock of a melodic soprano singing to them from nowhere. “Who says that I am not?”

The world shifts, temporarily, into a clearing of trees in what Winter assumes is Svartlheim. The ground is soft underneath his bare feet. The cave walls glitter in the distance. And, looming over them, is The Lady herself. She leans down to pinch Winter’s cheek, cooing, “And how is my sweet little cinnamon roll of a champion?”

“She’s fine, Ma’am, from what I can tell. I presume You know better than I do.”

Eilistraee sticks Her tongue out teasingly, then turns to the still stunned arcanist android, “Eilistraee, drow’s goddess of freedom, the surface, the moon, music, art, dancing, swordplay, beauty, love, lust, and a dozen other things. What, pray tell, can I do for you, young lady?”

Andromeda looks like she is drinking in The Lady’s beauty a little too lustfully. The Goddess confirms that conclusion when She adds, “You know I can read your mind, right? You are almost as bad as your horny little gremlin of a future wife.”

Andromeda’s cheeks light up in embarrassment as she blinks. “Sorry, ma’am? I just had essentially a sexual awakening a few hours ago and it is hard for me to keep my eyes from wandering. Also, future wife?”

“I do not like the usual terms the show uses. Or, for that matter, most iterations of the show. Now, about your actual problem, I can help!”

“I am not sure that reversing the transformation is possible...”

“Oh, not helping like THAT! Helping you learn how to not be so distracted by all the sexy bodies that you now realize surround you!”

Thus began quite possibly the strangest “birds and bees” talk Winter has ever heard. Simultaneously, he hears Her voice in his head, “It was no trouble at all to save you, little brother. I am glad that you are relatively unharmed by last night’s ordeal, especially since you have every reason to be curled up on the floor and screaming. Thank you for handling this with grace; your mothers are mortified that even one of them slipped past.”

Knowing that She’ll hear, he prays in his head, My mamas aren’t in trouble, are they?

A mental answer back, “Nah, I heard that your mama’s totally adorable producer is fine with the dramatic results. What’s a season of the Hotel without a brutal murder?”

Winter stares agape at The Lady. Helpfully, She was just telling Andromeda about her flirting technique of throwing horse apples at cute boys. That made excellent cover.

The Lady gives Winter a mental wink, then continues, still telepathically, “Who is not taking things well right now is your future wife. The last few days have been traumatic. And tonight’s date isn’t helping. Do look out for her, would you?”

Between Craig, the Hollow Garden, and whatever nightmare date Tegan cooked up, I can imagine. Kevin and I will try.

The Goddess smiles. She wraps up with Andromeda and the room fades back into the alcove. They start to walk back to the after Winter gets dressed. Once they are a good distance away from the temple, Andromeda sighs, “Well, that was a lot.”

“Yeah, The Lady tends to be a lot.”

“She isn’t expecting...”

Winter can guess at the rest of the question and quickly reassures her, “Nah, She’s cool if you don’t commit to Her, so long as you don’t go worshiping an asshole over Her.”

Andromeda nods, accepting the answer. They walk in silence for a couple dozen paces, which shows Winter’s remarkable restraint to not tease the arcanist android about checking him out. Instead, he breaks the silence by asking about her day. When she gets to summarizing her time with Mona, Winter starts taking mental notes. Something to keep in mind for later.

Jenny

The fake NPC mermaid asked them to activate the device outside, saying something about “maximizing sky exposure” or some such nonsense. Mineko, tails waggling with excitement, nods in agreement and scurries outside. The rest follow the cat down the walkway and into the snow. Mineko scampers to each of them, asking, “Ready? Ready? Ready? Ready?”

Caoimhe, for her part, just pets Mineko and tells her, “Whenever you are...” Jenny nods to the nekomata, which seems to be enough. Mineko bounds over to Tessa and Harith.

The two hang back; the sometimes drow asks, “You going to be okay?”

She was just as jumpy about the ghost as I was... Jenny replies back, “Are you?”

Caoimhe doesn’t exactly answer the question (though the gag order from the Host probably is a part of it), deflecting, “I didn’t decide to go lady for the delve JUST because of what happened last night, but it did factor into my decision. Let me know if I can help you.”

Jenny nods. They watch the nekomata work, poking and prodding the Summer Star device. The rings on the device start to spin, then the core begins to glow. The snow around the cat starts to melt and what feels like a warm summer’s mid-day heat envelop the area, then dissipates. The device’s power fades and Mineko pouts, “I thought I fixed it!”

Tessa gives Mineko a quick head pat. “Maybe the device was just supposed to work for a little bit?”

“That’s dumb. I’ll make it better next time.”

“Ahem,” the mermaid interrupts from the sky, “I have another part to play in this dumb dungeon nerd shit. How dare you adventurers ruin my forever night sky with even some temporary brightness? For that, you must die! Oh, this is the Frostmaiden, by the way. I’m totally super duper scary. Bye!”

Then, a voice from a more perceptible direction breaks out in... that laugh. The one that Bob enjoyed so much. His favorite Host... Yuki! A statue of Yuki is moving towards them, as is a bunch of what looks to be hovering little girl statues in penguin onesies, each wearing a crown of black thorns and a propeller backpack?

“Finally, something to hit!” Harith bellows.

The floating girl statues all declare, “My name is Ora!” and the area around them is a misty fog. That’s not good. Tessa’s Elvish chanting seems to thin it up a little, but not much. Jenny hears Caoimhe draw her sword and start chanting in Elvish herself. A squawk erupts from one of the statues, which is now glowing through the fog.

That’s as good of a target as I got. Jenny aims and fires off both Eldritch Blast beams at the glowing target. The statue crumbles; the fog doesn’t lift.

From past the fog, Jenny hears Harith shout, “Hoar curse you, benitoite bitch!” The hits sound good.

“KITTEEEEEEEEEEH DAAAAARTS!!!!!!!!!!”

That must be Mineko doing... something. Still the fog remains.

Then the sound of bone-shattering crunches echo in the snow. A body falls. The screeching of a girl mimicking a penguin ring out, then a messy sounding slash. No! Not again!

“Caoimhe, Harith is down! I’m going to cover him!”

No! Not again! Jenny panics, at least until she hears the sometimes drow speak a word and Harith lets out a haggard first breath. The dryad steps out of the fog to see Tessa, standing between the prone Harith and the statuary. Can’t miss. Gotta make my shots count. She fires the beams, crumbling the girl statue by her (maybe) girlfriend and dealing some decent damage to one of the ones hovering out of melee range.

Harith stumbles his way up, then lashes out against the big statue. It looks chipped, but not down. Harith coughs out some blood; he is not doing great.

“KITTEEEEEEEH… break stuff?” Mineko shouts, then the world explodes in a cacophonous sound, behind the Yuki statue. The air vibrates from the force and it slams into the foe. Cracks form, more and more, until the thing falls apart. In it’s place, is some pink armor in Mineko’s size?

The last two girl statues zoom down to claw at the weakened Harith and excited Mineko. The one on Harith gives him another hard hit; Jenny is surprised the demon can take that much abuse. Tessa handles it. The other one goes for a headbutt, missing Mineko entirely, and bounces into the air. Caoimhe fires off a shot, and it splits in two.

Harith: Weekly Task Complete! Complete a Delve +20 BP

Jenny: +1 XP (Killed 2 Level 1 Monster, x0.2 penalty [overleveled], pity point)

Kevin: +1 XP (Killed 1 Level 1 Monster, x0.2 penalty [overleveled], pity point)

Mineko: +5 XP (Killed 1 Level 5 Monster)

Mona: Weekly Task Complete! Ensure that each contestant successfully completes a delve +100 BP

Tessa: +1 XP (Killed 1 Level 1 Monster, x0.2 penalty [overleveled], pity point)

Jenny checks for the danger to be over, and then gives Tessa a hug. The sea elf places a hand between the dryad’s shoulder blades and holds her. Mineko scampers off with her armor.

“Well,” Caoimhe states deadpan, “This was certainly a delve.”

“After last night, I needed a light one, even if I probably didn’t get a bunch of XP for it.”

Tessa leans down. “We got 90 BP to split.”

“Just hand it all to Harith,” Caoimhe states, “Did you even get any BP to start?”

“I didn’t. Appreciate it. Anyone wanna show me where the Spring Room is?”

So, everyone heads upstairs. It is time for bed.