Always Ascending

[Nihtgenga]

"Oh yeah... here."
Retiaria dug around in her satchel, pulling a few things out before finally grabbing her backpack and handing it over to Duran. "Seeing as you lost yours."

She then repacked the various stuff she'd had to pull out to get to it.

[Ordos]

"We... we can't be doing this.  This is a terrible, terrible idea.  Last time, every instant was an uphill battle to hold onto who we were.  And we didn't all get through that unscathed."  She cast a glance at Lou, trying to remember what she looked like as a man. 

She turned her gaze to Oric.  "Oric, we've known each other for about three days now.  In that time, I've seen you as a chair, a blanket, and as panties.  I've known you longer as an inanimate object than as a male.  We're not just fighting some goblins, or a big gnoll.  We're fighting all of this!" she waved her hands broadly, at the forest around them, "and bit by bit, it's trying to take us apart.  She's trying to strip away everything we were.  And she's winning. There's less and less of who we were every day.  The last time... would the Oric of four days ago be so eager to embrace a plan where he became a helpless, inanimate thing so he could be snuck into an offensive ambush, in an unknown location against an unknown number of foes, all through the magic of someone he'd met mere hours ago?  Someone who's magic, and I mean no offense Eve, turned a woman into a squirrel by accident."

Naethra paused for a second.  She took a deep breath.  She realized she was getting worked up over this.  To be truthful, her biggest concern about this whole plan was Eve.  The gnoll shouldn't be trusted with something so big... but at the same time, she didn't want to say that aloud where Eve could hear it.  Just in case she really was cooperative, she didn't want to antagonize her... or give her ideas about betrayal.  But... she was a gnoll on the low end of the pack.  How high would her star rise if she returned to her queen, not only the sole survivor of an ambush, but also bearing the warriors who had so agitated her, who had destroyed over a dozen of her minions, already incapacitated and utterly helpless? 

"This isn't a smart move.  This isn't something we'll emerge from, stronger and more resolute.  This is another chip away at who we are.  Another inch closer to madness.  And I don't believe the Oric who lectured us on tactics and caution three days ago would approve of this.  This magic changes you, and when it changes something vital... would you even know it?" 

[Ryuforce]

Duran takes the bag and smiles. "You sure Red? Thank you. We'll get you a good backpack next chance we can... and um sorry bout before. I was indeed worried bout Gwen but well figured the web just made it worse." Still she gathers her things quickly that's been laying about, making sure it won't get lost. Though she starts to wonder where Gwen even got those nuts to begin with. Afterwards, she's quite ready.

[darlingng01]

Oric:

I look Naethra and scowl "Now listen here you pitiful excuse for an adventurer. Shit happens when you leave the safety of your home. People die, people lose arms and legs and pieces of their minds. This`" I wave my hands at the group "Is nothing new to me. Drugs, addiction, infection, corruption, pain, suffering. I saw a man stuck between a black dragons teeth begging for help as he was digested by its breath without it even realizing he was there. People change when shit happens. Here it's just a bit more literal. So yes, the Oric from four days ago would be fine with this. All of us are alive, that's a damn good record from my experience. You may not trust her, but I do. I spent three hours with her, working her mind with magic she didn't resist. She let me do whatever I wanted to her mind, so yes, I trust her."

I take a deep breath "Have you ever lost an arm? I have. Twice. That changes you. Have you ever been infected by wartflies? I have. That changes you. Have you ever gone to the store and been told they were out of bread? That changes you! Everything we do changes who we are! The Oric from four days ago was ready for death because he didn't care about life. Now I'm fighting to keep going forward. So yes I've changed, and I'm not complaining."

I step up to her, poking her in the stomach as I look her in the eyes "I know what the tactically sound plan is, and I also know it would lead to a rapid and thorough smiting. So I'm going with the best plan I can think of that also keeps the person in charge happy. I know gnolls, they aren't inherently violent, and for the most part act as scavengers. This isn't in their nature, they're being encouraged by their leader. If we take her out we can appeal to their basic nature: don't fight someone stronger than you. Even if they have the advantage, individuals gnolls look out for themselves."

I return to Eve, taking her hand with a huff. Unbeknownst to Naethra she had just stepped on a major emotional landmine by bringing up how I used to be. She may have only meant a couple days ago, but for me it was an entire lifetime of regret.

[Ordos]

Naethra had hoped for a more... measured response.  Oric's accusations weren't off; she was painfully aware of her own inexperience outside the city walls.  But the dwarf's words, impassioned as they were, still rang hollow.

"No.  I've never seen a man dissolved by dragon's breath.  I've never lost a limb.  But I've seen people give up.  I've seen them abandon their hopes, their passions, their will.  Traditionally, they drink themselves to oblivion, leisurely strolling into the void one bottle at a time.  It's a sad, slow, wasting doom, by inches over years."  Memories of her eldest brother sprung, unbidden.  She didn't like to think of him.

"I suspect you're substituting the ass for the bottle, but it looks the same from here.  Maybe you've given up on who you were.  Maybe you're right to do so.  But I'm not going to surrender myself here.  I'm still determined to make it through this with my mind and what's left of my soul intact.  And I'd much prefer not dancing on the edge of oblivion again for a wild stab at an ambush."

She took a deep breath.  "Maybe we could hedge our bets.  Can we work any illusions?"

[Alice]

Eve throws up her hands, "Fine... I'll talk them into opening the front gates and you can all go charging in."

She turns and starts to walk down one of the paths.

[Nihtgenga]

"You sure Red? Thank you. We'll get you a good backpack next chance we can... and um sorry bout before. I was indeed worried bout Gwen but well figured the web just made it worse."

"No need, I got this." Retiaria patted the satchel. "And don't worry about it, we're cool."

Listening to Naethra and Oric argue over the plan, she muttered "...Yikes."
Then, when it seemed they were done, she spoke up. "Look, Naethra. This plan is risky and I sure as hell don't like it. I still don't want to get turned into something. But I don't see any better plan. Either we do this, and get past almost all the gnoll queen's troops- take out their leader before they get a chance to react- or we charge in and have to fight our way past an entire frigging army. I'm a damn badass. The rest of you are... okay too, I guess. But there's no way we can win a straight up fight against that many enemies."
She gestured to Gwen. "Illusions we can do. But unless I misunderstood, we can't do enough for everybody. So Gwen makes herself look like a goblin, plus anyone else we can do that to. And... the rest of us get carried in as stuff. I don't like that either, but it's better than not going in at all."

[Dichotomy]

I had held back while the others questioned the gnoll, waiting my turn because I have MANY questions for her, and there seemed to be more pressing matters but "Wait!" I shout after her "Come back, I- those pills you made... I too am a transmutational specialist, but your, erm... pills, they wore off for everyone else... more or less, the ambient energies about this place seem to cause some lingering effects but they didn't wear off of me at all!"

I do note to the others as I go after her "I can be a goblin, under my own power if need be."

[Ryuforce]

The dragonborn was almost spellbound. having not expected both Oric and Naethra to fight and argue over this plan so passionately, both having huge issues over the actions or thought process of the other one. They'll need time to talk this out. But Duran snapped out of it when she heard the Gnoll grumble and start to walk away with suggesting doing the more direct plan. The one Duran would want to do herself actually but didn't want to take that choice from the rest of the group. "Can we save the fighting for the gnoll queen? Look, I got no experience with anything you just said bout losing arms or dragon's breathe that isn't mine on a bad day, but we do Need to think of something to do before we bumble in there right? I mean charging in least is more plan then just arguing up until the goblins notice us... but sneaking in could make this battle quicker and lead to less people having to get hurt..."

Having said her two cents she hopes something can be come up with. Charging in, hiding as objects, so long as things don't go down poorly it has to be an alright plan. Still she moves to the gnoll, letting Lou ask her questions which made the dragonborn ponder just why that is the case. "Um.. please, Miss Eve, just give us like one more minute to decide before we go?" She asked, having want to make sure not to loose track of the helpful gnoll.

[Alice]

Eve stops looking at both Duran and Lou, "Alright.. I'll give it time.. I just.. don't want to lose my nerve ya know?"

She ponders Lou.. Walks around her.. Reaches out and gropes her rear and chest sniffs her... "Hmm... my magic should have broken when you got the antidote. and I don't smell it on you.." She shrugs, "The Lady works in odd ways. It could be that the notion of you being cute and curvy touched her fancy.. Tell me what did you visualize when you took the potion?"

[Dichotomy]

I grind my teeth and grumble something about 'the lady'

"I've since changed forms, as you've seen, but this is the one I returned to... hey!" I jump as she gropes me, crossing my arms defensively. The sensitivity was... surprising. "We were trying to hide, and so we were told to think of something inconspicuous. I just imagined someone who would blend into the background, a tavern girl, someone unimportant. I came back to myself from that... borrowed persona some time later, but my form did not follow suit."

[Alice]

Eve stops after licking your neck listening to your story. "What?"

She takes a step back, "You've come out great.. but.. I'm not sure how much I can brag about that..Those pills aren't supposed to do people.."

[Dichotomy]

I snort, though try to minimize the derisive quality of it, even as I wipe my neck where she licked it. "Well, clearly it did, one way or another. As to how I turned out, that is an entirely subjective assessment, varying widely by your standards. Personally, while my form is currently well up to the standards of someone I would be happy to spend time with, what I desire in my own form is altogether different in nature. Suffice it to say I find myself entirely too... how do I put this delicately... shall we simply say curvaceous and leave the rest to implication? I can't seem to get my hands properly around the curves for the way I prefer to enjoy such things. Can you aid me in a remedy, or not?"

[Alice]

Eve takes a step back, "You took a pill designed to turn you into a shoe or a beer mug.. and you turned into a girl.." She shakes her head, "Thats will of the goddess territory. I'm not going to fight on that battle field."

"As far as getting your hands around the curves you want to... Lesbians.. There are a lot of them around.."

[Nihtgenga]

Retiaria raised a hand. "Yo."