Always Ascending

[Dichotomy]

I reply to her, again blinking quickly, not really hearing any of the other conversation going on- I didn't even properly register the bells. "Certainly I do not mean to imply that it is impossible, it's entirely possible with the proper magical power- more likely delicately applied and held over time rather than simply a tremendous amount, but either way, certainly possible. What I am saying is that if an underlying matrix has been warped into the shape of, say, a tree, it is no longer really sensible, or perhaps it may be better to say no longer meaningful, that it is a person, rather than a tree..." my voice trails off as I parse that last question "...did you not start off that way, my dear? It's... certainly difficult to say when it may revert, if the caster is maintaining focus on you, then it could be indefinite..." I adjust my spectacles, looking her up and down carefully "I'd need to know more about the specifics of the spell... I suppose I could try to identify it? I have the spell prepared."

[darlingng01]

I don't even ask if it's a good idea before I start pulling out a bar wench uniform to change into. A bit of extra safety can't hurt, and I don't lose anything by doing it thanks to my armor being transformed. I find the one most appropriate for my body and begin to change, stripping down once our host has left to begin cooking.

I give the store room a quick once over before settling in by the window. As I do I realize the uniform I put on, the only one appropriately sized for me, isn't particularly clean. I try and activate the magic of Violets emblem only to remember I'd already used all its magic for the day. With a small pout I tell myself it's not that bad. It had obviously been washed after its last use... just not with any particular care. Maybe it no longer had an owner so they figured they would have the next person clean it more thoroughly?

[Roselli]

Gwyn feels concerned about time running out on her temporary shirt. She follows Oric's lead to take one of the uniforms. She pulls her shift off and strips down to her bodice. She pulled out an outfit from the pile that she thought might be her size. She sighed a bit. She had a soft spot for a busty bar maid. She just never thought she'd be one. This was making her actually want to keep the royalty look. Stupid ruined clothes. Ok, ruined clothes was related to saving everyone. Couldn't be that bad.

The redhead got dressed in the outfit and tightened up the corset vest pushing her breasts even more up, which was not something she needed. She slipping into a pair of shoes and adjusted her tiara. She took it off and looked it over. The dull metal, looked like a basic accessory. Wasn't out of line with the rest of her outfit. She put it back on and waiting and looked out the window.

[Dichotomy]

I was pulled from my private calculations somewhat as buxom women began stripping all about me and dressing again in somewhat... suggestive outfits. "I erm..." I clear my throat, feeling somewhat.... well, it's not that conducive a state to diligent study, shall we say... and I speak up "Do you erm... need assistance with any of those straps, ladies?"

No reason I can't be a gentleman, and I can hardly help but look, given my observant... "Oh! How curious, I didn't expect a dwarf to speak goblin..." I adjust my glasses to look at a mark on Oric's underwear, and my eyebrows shoot up "...curiouser and curiouser..." now hardly seems like the moment to avail myself of the offer, but, given the naked flesh around me, it was good to know.

[darlingng01]

I look at the wizard with a quirked eyebrow, then suddenly realize what he's talking about "Hmm? Oh! No, I don't. I just had to take these from some goblins. No clue what it means. You can read it right?"

[Dichotomy]

My eyes sparkle and I lean back "Why, yes- I'm not quite fluent in goblin, better at the spoken tongue, but their writing system isn't... I don't mean to say it is simplistic, but it is more... contextual, and thus simple, short messages are quite easy to parse, even if they can be a bit vague. The mark there is one of ownership" I explain "Denoting that the marked object belongs to the indicated individual or group, in this case, it notes you as belonging to everyone, with... yes this underscore here-" I poke at the relevant line "acts as an intensifier, denoting a disposable nature... the BEST translation I could give is 'free ride, have fun, no need to be gentle, highly replaceable'" I smile, happy to have been able to help.

[darlingng01]

I blush deeply at his comments, pressing back further into my chair "Well I assure you that wasn't intentional! As soon as I find some other underwear that fits I'll be sure to dispose of these."

[Alice]

Through the window you can see the three approach the incoming squad of goblins.. At their head is a gnoll.. her head appears to be a feral timber wolf and she does not look happy.. From this distance you can't make out what they are saying, but the man leaps through the air and connects with the ax! The gnoll is knocked off the biggest damn wolf you've ever seen. The other two fan out only to stand shocked for long moments starring at two goblins in dancing silks.. it's like they are utterly mesmerized..

Two arrows strike the ax man ropes spiraling out and the gnoll approaches the bound man. Then.. She licks his face.. Once.. Twice... Three times... Each time his muscles seem to soften..something glowing flows out of him to coalesce in the gnolls hands.. a sparkle shows it to be a crystal.. and the man simply falls down unconscious..

The dancers change their dance and ribbons wrap around the other two.. They are drug to their knees helpless.. as another goblin lays a hand on each forehead.. A flash happens.. and then each one is kissing the feet of the dancer who had them enthralled.

Then the group starts to head into the town after putting collars on the two women.. The gnoll sniffs at the air.. The group approaches the inn. You hear them out in the open air area, "A group of six missfits from the below hurt one of our girls, took her crystal.. We want it back and we want them.. These there were dumb enough.. but he injured me.. made me look bad in front of my girls.. You'll need to make up for this.."

You hear Gavin, "Of course Food and Drink is as always on the house for your brave warriors."

"Stop it human.. where are the other three?"

"I really have no idea what you are talking about, That was the whole group, and to be honest, I think you've done us a favor on this one."

"Me and my girls will be searching this little village of yours.. starting with your little inn.."

"Of course you are welcome anywhere, my home is your home.. Let me fetch some of the special reserve for you so that you can do your searching well refreshed."

You can hear the wolfish snarl, "Be quick about it.."

Foot steps come upon the back room and Gavin comes in to see some of you dressed as bar wenches, "I'm not even going to ask. We have to take deeper measures.. those fools have gotten her anger up and she's not gonna be satisfied till she turns this place upside down. I've got one more trick up my sleeve." She reaches into her dress and pulls out a small bag, "Or rather up my bodice." She shakes out a half dozen green and brown pellets, "She can smell power.. She craves it.This is an alchemical disguise. She won't be able find you while you are under it's effects.. Just swallow it and think of something commonplace." She quickly fixes the disorder done to the uniform ward robe making sure that every pantie, shoe and dress was in the right place before getting a small wooden cask. She sets it on a chair for a moment before handing you a water skin, "Hurry.. I won't be able to distract them for long!"

She walks out of the back holding the cask, "Are you ready for the really good stuff!?"

(each member of the party holds a pellet..if you take it please report what commonplace thing you are thinking of when you consume it.  They can hear foot steps approaching the doors.. a short gait.. possibly a goblin..

[Roselli]

Gwyn watches and is annoyed when some people get collared. She whispers, "are they just going to take people? I look forward to being rested up and killing these people.  At least leaving them is mindless lustful bliss."

Gwyn got the directions. She wasn't sire what the items did. Was it going to make them appear as an item? Gwyn assumed it covered smell based on almost nothing. She thought about beer. She may have had beer on the brain.but that was her thought while she consumes it.

[Nihtgenga]

"Well I assure you that wasn't intentional! As soon as I find some other underwear that fits I'll be sure to dispose of these."

"Why bother with underwear?" Retiaria asked. "Never saw the point of it myself."

Peering out at the fight, Retiaria muttered "Damn... okay, fair enough. Maybe hiding was a good call..."
Thinking quickly, she stowed most of her weapons in her bag of holding, leaving herself armed with just the easily concealed dagger. If they had to hide, a nice big, pointy stick would make things awkward.

"She can smell power.. She craves it.This is an alchemical disguise. She won't be able find you while you are under it's effects.. Just swallow it and think of something commonplace."

"Commonplace thing like what?"

Retiaria's mind was blank, panicking as she heard the goblin's footsteps approaching the door to their room. And into that blankness came Orin's last words.

As soon as I find some other underwear that fits I'll be sure to dispose of these.

As soon as I find some other underwear that fits...

Underwear...

[Ryuforce]

Duran nod to the plant to hide in the back room. Hearing a bit of refusal, she chimed in. "Trust me, I want to stop them badly too, but I'm worn out... we live today, fight hern ext time." The dragonborn said, sounding  a bit disappointed in her own words. Still with them all slipping in the back, she watched for a moment as a few of time try to go for the bar maiden outfits, which does get Duran curious enough to look as well but deciding it naught be something she can really or want to get away with wearing. That and she needs time to slap this armor off of her anyway. Then there's the reveal that what Oric was wearing was a tad bit mocking to her according to Lucious. Leading to the dragonborn snickering just abit before looking out.

Spying the battle in the distance the dragonborn couldn't help but watch it unfurl. They didn't stand a chance and while it went down the dragonborn find herself blushing abit at a bit of the fight. Something bout what happen to the two woman made her feel strange. A bit flushed with excitement for some reason. That sensation however died almost instantly when she saw the collars and knew of their fate. Duran giving a low growl. "Damn... those bastards... this is why they need to be stopped." When the Gnoll started to turn to the inn, Duran ducked out of sight, listening as the creature got closer, demanding three more adventurers. Does she think those three people was part of their group? Or did another group cross the Gnoll?

It sounded like they are bound to be found when Gavin gives them each a special item to save their skins. "Commonplace?" Duran asked, not sure what she meant but having little she could consider that would fit. Her mind tried to race on what that could mean. Look common? Like one of the other woman. She knew little of what they do or wear. But the outfits of the other woman of the town started to remind her of the Temple. The raggedy outfits that she wore on days of cleaning. Course he had better cloths to wear, but those were reserved for days of prayer and events. Those cleaning cloths, raggedy, cheap, worn, were more ideal for cleaning and scrubbing down the building. Making sure it was something easy to dispose of when it got torn up by manual labor. "Yeah.. that'll work." she mutters to herself before taking her turn to swallow the pill with a bit of water to help it go down.

[Ordos]

"Hells..." Naethra murmured as she watched the other adventurers fail.  Spectacularly so. 

There were far too many.  They were far too tough.  Taking them all on would only end one way, even if they were rested.  She was trying to think of a way the whole thing could work when Gavin returned to the room.  Sh left before Naethra could ask about long-term side effects.

She stared at one of the pills, with a sinking suspicion of what it would do.  Nothing for it, though.  They were still looking for three more adventurers.  They didn't realize that those three weren't part of the party, despite looking nothing like any of them, so apparently the dancer didn't relay the best intelligence.  No... they were searching on the basis of power, on potential ability to fight.

Maybe she could just disguise herself as a bar maid?  Stash her focus and weapons somewhere, toss off the armor, and put on a uniform... she certainly didn't look like a plant last time the goblins saw her, and without her focus there'd be nothing to make look like a fighter.  She certainly didn't have the figure for it.  But... what if they weren't working off of appearances?  Something she said, about power, and that... thing with the crystal, made her doubt that the disguise would work.  And time was of the essence.

With a groan, she tossed one of the pills into her mouth and tried to think of something commonplace.  There were always books strewn around back home, but those seemed a tad incongruous here.  No, best to think of something that belongs in an inn... her mind drifted to the tankard she'd been drinking from.  One of many, certainly.

[Dichotomy]

I watch the proceedings at the edge of town with a bemused interest. Three people with sticks and sharps bits of metal attacking five times their number of the same? The math there wasn't too difficult to parse. The magic the larger group displayed however, quite intriguing... Just what sort of Crystal was that? It seemed some sort of distillation...

I'm also befuddled when I'm handed a small pill. I'm WELL sure that it's very unwise to consume anything alchemical when one doesn't know precisely what it does, and I'm not sure why the handed it to me anyway. I'm not who the gnoll is looking for, I just arrived, so why should I fear? Still...  no, wait, that crystal WAS a distillation, but I have enough familiarity with magic to see just WHAT sort of distillation, now that I think about it. He somehow pulled out the man's essence... it makes sense I suppose, spoils of war from someone who attacked you and yours, gnolls and goblins tend to be a bit tribal, but still... if he's interested in power, well... I mean /I/ have power... just robbing me because I am here would be barbaric but... well, gnolls aren't the most community oriented and honor-driven group I've ever interacted with...

So it's a risk either way. A large risk, and I don't much like it, to be honest I don't like much that has happened since my teleportation spell went off course, but... well...

I swallow the pill, thinking of the most common thing I can on short notice: a common farmer. Noble in his humble profession, tending the crops that keep society running... given those trees outside, probably someone with an orchard rather than corn or wheat fields.

[darlingng01]

I don't like taking these pills without knowing the details, but I know there's no other option. I swallow down the pill and try and think of something simple...  my mind jumps to the goblins, a small joke at their expense, before re-focusing myself. I do my best to think of a comfortable chair, as the back room is sorely lacking one and my ass is starting to hurt.

[Alice]

The effects of the pills start to wash through your bodies almost moments after taking them.

Lucious pressing against the window still somewhat aghast at seeing the extraction.. Then the warmth floods his body as he looks out at the fields thinking of the farmers, watching women in the orchard he loses his balance for just a moment tumbling out.. but landing on her feet. Her clothing is adapted looking just like the women in orchard.. She shakes her head.. Layla the farmer knows she's needed in the field and her feet put her on that path without thinking about it.. Lucious the wizard fades to the back ground.. Layla the farmer is in the driver seat for the moment.

Naethra looks at the tankards.. leaning against a shelf for a moment as the warmth of the pill flows through her body. Then she feels the room growing around her. Her body stiffens turning wooden. Hollowing as she settles on the self. A wooden tankard ready and eager to be filled with beer.

Gwyn feels her body bloating getting round becoming squat. She looks at her skin as it darkens into wooden brownness. She lets out a quiet hollow thump as she hits the ground her body shrunken and bloated into a wooden keg. Then she feels her hollow body filling. Truly excellent beer fills her leave her proudly holding her prize.

Duran focuses on the cleaning that was once done in the temple the simple cleaning cloths that he and other novoices used. She feels weak at the knees and leans onto the table.. Her body folds and falls crumpling in place  as she falls on the table with barely a whisp of sound. She rustles once before the rag sits on the table excited for the messes it will clean.

Retria feels the warmth and her legs going wobbly as she sits down in the open wardrobe. Her body seems to collapse in on itself growing redder and redder as it does softening till she flops into a pile of underthings. They all seem the same size as her.. as her body finishes reforming.. The red panties await the time they can cover and cling to one of the working girls of this inn.

Oric's thoughts are quickly drawn to the chairs in the room but thinking of one a bit more comfortable. She shudders as her body starts to feel puffy.. softer...then her legs get stiff. She settles next to the table as she feels her body touching the floor in four points. Something seems to rise from her back. Her body seems just slump she finds herself looking upward at the back of a chair as her body softens and sinks looseing all its definition. The comfortably padded seat chair awaits the chance to prove it's worth by supporting and comforting the rears that set upon it.

The room goes quiet. Then the goblin opens the door and looks around. She starts to poke around. Lifting the cleaning rag, sniffing it.. then dropping it back on the table where it starts to soak up a bit of water. She looks at the chair, “ooo.. a nice one....” She pats the Keg.. “oh.. and some more good stuff!” She calls out, “Hey boss Gav was holdin out.. there's another Keg of primo and the girls were hiding the nice chair!”

The voice of the Gnoll sounds from the next room, “Bring them out then!” the sound a tankard hitting the floor can be heard, “clumsy fool!” a splash is heard.

The goblin grabs the Keg and pushes the chair out. The Keg is set into a stand to hold it and a tap is twisted in. Pleasure floods through the wooden body as she is made ready to fuel the party. The Gnoll looks at the chair, “Oh much nicer!”

An unfortunate serving girl enters the room after the goblin leaves. She strips out of a filthy uniform and piles it into a box in the corner grabbing a new one. She quickly snatches the red slightly warm panties and puts them on wigging her rear into them as they are flooded with feelings of pleasure and content doing their duty. She slips into the rest of the uniform and tucks the rag into her belt and grabs the misplaced tankard on her way back out to the common room....

Layla the farmer makes it out to the orchard and is greeted by two others, “Hey.. I'm Alma, and this is Alexander.” The two women have welcoming smiles, “You must be new. Hope you know how to fertilize and determine ripeness.” Layla is an old hand and knows all about keeping an orchard going. She plucks the first fruit feeling a sense of rightness and satisfaction at keeping the town fed another day.