[X] Go to Abzu's tower.
--[X] Take all your magic items and figuratively dump them on Abzu's table. They seem to thrive on things to do, so why not bond over a mutual love of absurd magical trinkets and gizmos?
Plus, Abzu gets to see us hork up tons of treasure again.
[X] Go visit the Beyond. There's plenty to do and see there - by definition there always is - and you recall a few unclaimed dungeons from your meeting with Ilyana you could suggest.
--[X] The Infinite Cloud Maze. It's probably fine, and you know for certain no one will disturb you there.
[x] Go visit the Beyond. There's plenty to do and see there - by definition there always is - and you recall a few unclaimed dungeons from your meeting with Ilyana you could suggest.
--[x] Visit the Looking-Glass Glacier, a towering monument of ice far to the frozen north that becomes as crystal-clear as glass in the right lighting. You may need to more more carefully than usual.
[X] Go visit the Beyond. There's plenty to do and see there - by definition there always is - and you recall a few unclaimed dungeons from your meeting with Ilyana you could suggest.
--[X] Visit the Forest of Twelve Seasons, buried deep in the endless woods far to the west, where time flows so quickly for the trees that leaves will grow and die and grow again in the span of a minute.
[X] Go to Abzu's tower.
--[X] Take all your magic items and figuratively dump them on Abzu's table. They seem to thrive on things to do, so why not bond over a mutual love of absurd magical trinkets and gizmos?
[X] Go to Söfnun. The minute you lack the ability to fly off whenever you please is the minute you start going crazy thinking of everything you could be doing there, so this is as good a compromise as any.
--[X] Take them for a general tour of the city. Show them as many points of interest you can think of, examining whatever they wish - if they've been shut up in that tower for so long, surely sightseeing alone will hold some novelty?
[X] Go visit the Beyond. There's plenty to do and see there - by definition there always is - and you recall a few unclaimed dungeons from your meeting with Ilyana you could suggest.
--[X] Visit the Forest of Twelve Seasons, buried deep in the endless woods far to the west, where time flows so quickly for the trees that leaves will grow and die and grow again in the span of a minute.
Zerban you have to stop doing this, my face can only smile so much. /jk
[X] Go visit the Beyond. There's plenty to do and see there - by definition there always is - and you recall a few unclaimed dungeons from your meeting with Ilyana you could suggest.
--[X] The Infinite Cloud Maze. It's probably fine, and you know for certain no one will disturb you there.
Having drained the local vein of quality husbandos, now the dragon moves on to alternate dimensions to expand his manhoard.
Clouds mean wings and wings definitely mean that we'll get a cute birdmate here! Trust me, my uncle works at Zerbancorp.
[X] Go visit the Beyond. There's plenty to do and see there - by definition there always is - and you recall a few unclaimed dungeons from your meeting with Ilyana you could suggest.
--[X] Visit the Forest of Twelve Seasons, buried deep in the endless woods far to the west, where time flows so quickly for the trees that leaves will grow and die and grow again in the span of a minute.
They stare silently at you for a long while, long enough that a slow blink is the only evidence they heard you at all. [I mean I assume a while] they finally answer. [But some of the stuff in the pantry's still good so it can't be too long!]
Abzu: [Like the honey!]
Eldingar: "Abzu, honey never goes bad."
Abzu: [O-oh...]
Honestly I don't- I don't think Makram's mistaken exactly so much as...if there's deeply weird shit about Abzu I don't think Abzu really knows about it either, they've kinda welded themselves into this role and have a pretty well defined self-image/personality. Which is kinda funny for something that's inherently amorphous but understandable I guess, if your own body is so fluid it's more like liquid than anything and you're seeking some kind of stability you'd hold really hard onto stuff like- well stuff that anchors you. Like the wizard hat, the clothes, the idea that they're the apprentice and their master will be back eventually honest.
But that presents its own problems, how do you dig into a secret that the person in question doesn't, like, even know they're keeping secret?
i don't know what emotion this expresses but it feels appropriate
[X] Go visit the Beyond. There's plenty to do and see there - by definition there always is - and you recall a few unclaimed dungeons from your meeting with Ilyana you could suggest.
--[X] The Infinite Cloud Maze. It's probably fine, and you know for certain no one will disturb you there.
[X] Go visit the Beyond. There's plenty to do and see there - by definition there always is - and you recall a few unclaimed dungeons from your meeting with Ilyana you could suggest.
--[X] The Infinite Cloud Maze. It's probably fine, and you know for certain no one will disturb you there.
[X] Go visit the Beyond. There's plenty to do and see there - by definition there always is - and you recall a few unclaimed dungeons from your meeting with Ilyana you could suggest.
--[X] The Infinite Cloud Maze. It's probably fine, and you know for certain no one will disturb you there.
[Aww, can't it be a little later?] Abzu asks, hopping up and down to try and see past you - they're something like a foot shorter than you and you can't deny how adorable it- no focus. [I'll only be a minute!]
[Oh! Oh I'm so sorry! D:] [I swear I don't even notice I'm doing it half the time] [I just... get excited very easily] Abzu signs apologetically, their eyes becoming '>>' arrows of contrition. [I blame the tower] [I'm so used to having to fixate on things] [y'know, to keep my mind active and stuff] [that new people and things put me in a bit of sensory overload.]
They stare silently at you for a long while, long enough that a slow blink is the only evidence they heard you at all. [I mean I assume a while] they finally answer. [But some of the stuff in the pantry's still good so it can't be too long!]
[I suppose we've both been a bit too busy to talk about it huh?] Abzu replies. [I suppose part of it is I've never been in a relationship before] [So when one just waltzes up to me in my solitude and says hi] [Well how could I say no?]
"It tends to get difficult when it reaches that point, yes," you agree.
"D-don't just blurt out things like that without giving any warning!" you stammer, as if they had reached up and smacked you. Abzu's eyes curve up in obvious mirth - you swear their head is even bobbing in a silent imitation of giggling.
[You aaaaare and even the way you react to being told that is cute]
[<3] Abzu signs, and you avert your eyes because it makes you feel funny butterflies deep in the pit of your stomach. You feel a gentle pressure around your claws, and look down to find their gloved hand squeezing yours.
But what about being a good host for Lyrros? Abzu what have you done! See! See! Abzu confirmed for dread beast of adorableness! Cower in fear of their terrible cutesiness!
Votes... Uh.
[X] Go visit the Beyond. There's plenty to do and see there - by definition there always is - and you recall a few unclaimed dungeons from your meeting with Ilyana you could suggest.
--[X] The Infinite Cloud Maze. It's probably fine, and you know for certain no one will disturb you there.
Fffffine Abzu's enthusiastic about the Beyond anyway and I'd like to know more about it.
[X] Go visit the Beyond. There's plenty to do and see there - by definition there always is - and you recall a few unclaimed dungeons from your meeting with Ilyana you could suggest.
--[X] The Infinite Cloud Maze. It's probably fine, and you know for certain no one will disturb you there.
[X] Go visit the Beyond. There's plenty to do and see there - by definition there always is - and you recall a few unclaimed dungeons from your meeting with Ilyana you could suggest.
--[X] The Infinite Cloud Maze. It's probably fine, and you know for certain no one will disturb you there.
[X] Go visit the Beyond. There's plenty to do and see there - by definition there always is - and you recall a few unclaimed dungeons from your meeting with Ilyana you could suggest.
--[X] The Infinite Cloud Maze. It's probably fine, and you know for certain no one will disturb you there.
[X] Go to Abzu's tower.
--[X] Take all your magic items and figuratively dump them on Abzu's table. They seem to thrive on things to do, so why not bond over a mutual love of absurd magical trinkets and gizmos?
We just got back! One long rest is not enough to recover from having our butts handed to us, we can't fight, and an infinite maze will test our non-existent stamina.
I vote no more dungeon crawling until we can kill some monsters, and protect the goo from any of the inevitable magic-resilient or mana draining beasties.
man i really thought i'd actually voted but turns out i forgot to hit the button
[X] Go visit the Beyond. There's plenty to do and see there - by definition there always is - and you recall a few unclaimed dungeons from your meeting with Ilyana you could suggest.
--[X] The Infinite Cloud Maze. It's probably fine, and you know for certain no one will disturb you there.
I don't know if she is in this world, but Astilabor from Dnd is the most dragony of dragons who basically made dragons want to have a large hoard. She isn't even in it about the greed, just literally having a hoard and making it bigger. Those who worshipper pray when they cound their wealth, basically saying "All this gold belongs to me. May I add to my riches tenfold, tenfold times."
I bet even as a god, she would do just as Eldingar does with treasure.
Edit: Wait... tenfold by tenfold times? how did I not see that till now?
Chapter Forty-Two: You Want To Make A Witty Observation About Abzu's Head Being In The Clouds But Try As You Might You Can't Satisfactorily Piece It Together
"Iiiiii do know of one place I think you might like," you say at last, after some desperate brain-wracking because being around Abzu has a way of derailing your train of thought. "I happened to visit the local Adventurer's Guild branch the other day to organise a job and the guildmaster happened to show me the coordinates to something they dubbed the Infinite Cloud Maze. It's up in the northern Beyond and I figured, well, you seem to-"
[That sounds great!] [Let's go let's go I wanna see!]
"-well alright then that makes that easy."
The message you leave for the others via the familiar is something along the lines of needing to take Abzu for a walk like they were a dog going stir-crazy and gnawing the furniture, which you both agree is at least a little true, and make ready to leave. You direct Abzu to a room that can be 'theirs' for the time being (albeit you should really get the decorators to differentiate them more) and recite the coordinates from memory as they draw up a teleportation circle, scratching the design into the stone floor with the butt of their staff like a giant novelty pen full of luminous golden ink. You watch silently with more than a little interest and curiosity as Abzu puts the finishing touches on the design, takes a few steps back, and brings their staff down in both hands with a sharp crack. The world rips like a blanket in response, a tear tall enough for either of you steadily widening in a sudden rush of freezing air. Snowflakes dance merrily into the room through the dimensional window Abzu just opened as you catch sight of sunlit snow and towering peaks beyond.
[There we are!] [I'll set it to close again in a few minutes so you don't get monsters in your lair.] Abzu turns and offers their hand. [Shall we?]
You delicately take their hand. Whatever you may have expected from their grip it's... on the whole fairly normal. There's a certain softness to it, a sense of fragility, but then they squeeze tight and yank on your arm and you realise you're probably overthinking this. You hurry forward to catch up to the eager wizard and drop down on the other side of the portal, sinking calf-deep in snow as you're suddenly bathed in midmorning light and a high-altitude chill that threatens to seep through even your scales. You've landed deep enough in the Beyond that you can't even see the shore, just a few scraps of blue sea faintly visible between the lower peaks as the endless mountain range slowly rises higher and higher. You barely have to lift your head to see the cloud layer, close enough for you to reach with a particularly enthusiastic jump, but the mountain you're standing on extends far beyond that. Snow whirls and dances before you, falling fresh from the clouds above and cascading down from the mountainside, a slow-rolling wave that creeps its way back to shore. You can only imagine how excited a white dragon would be in your place, every breath cold enough to chill the lungs, nothing but stark white and grey-black stone and brilliant blue ice all around. Even you can see at least a little of the charm.
And all the while Abzu has been trying to figure out how to 'talk' to you with your hand in one hand and their staff in the other. You notice a certain amount of consternation on their simple features, seamlessly shifting into a silent 'sigh' of resignation as they slip their gloved hand free of yours. A moment later it's like nothing ever happened.
[Know anything about where we are?] they ask.
"This iiiiis... quite close to the Achebe Line, isn't it?" you reply after another quick look around. "Just over this set of peaks should be- well everything changes a bit obviously but generally speaking we're close to the furthest point anybody's ever made it into the northern Beyond right?"
[Correct! The Northern Beyond is considered the most inhospitable of the regions.] [Pioneer Achebe's record hasn't been beaten to my knowledge in about sixty years, but in terms of as-the-crow-flies distance it's almost nothing.] [Of course all four have their own inherent problems but...] [Past a certain point it's not even the cold so much as being able to breathe.] They pause, looking back at you. [Actually a dragon could probably handle that alright, couldn't they?]
"Even we have altitude limits," you remind them, flicking your head towards the summit and beginning the trudge towards the Guild outpost as you speak. "Besides, I doubt it'd be that easy. I might sooner climb up past the sky itself than break into whatever hidden world you say might lie beyond the Beyond."
[But doesn't that appeal in its own way? ;p] Abzu signs, double-timing it to stay level with you to 'talk'. You obligingly slow to let them catch up. [Just imagine it, the first dragon to ever be among the stars. Staring down at the world from a brand new constellation~]
"Is this your attempt to seduce me?" you ask, half-joking.
[Yeah, is it working? ;3]
You snort despite yourself, and you notice Abzu's paintblotch-white eyes arc up with mirth in kind. Their hand seeks out yours again and you gingerly squeeze, comfortable silence falling as you focus on finding the outpost. The chill doesn't let up, worming its way in through the cracks between your scales, but you have to admit it's doing wonders for your wingjoint. By the time you spy the flapping red pennant that marks the right cave mouth it's practically pain-free. The difference is like night and day once the two of you cross the threshold, wind chill falling off to little more than a fresh breeze a short ways into the tunnel. You shed snow with every step, but Abzu has to retrieve their hand from yours and pat themselves down everywhere they can reach to get all of it.
"Abzu?"
[Hm?]
You point at their hat-brim. "You look like a frosted cake."
[Noooooo not the hat D:] They turn away and doff said pointy wizard-hat to gingerly smack the wide brim free of snow. You hardly expected to find a full head of hair hidden beneath, but what you see out of the corner of your eye makes you double-take. Abzu swiftly dons the impressive hat once more and resumes their enthusiastic pace into the heart of the mountain, but you know what you saw - a crown of curved, backswept horns, glossy and semi-liquid and dripping darkness.
[What's up?] they ask, noticing your expression.
"Did you always have horns or is that a shapeshifting thing?" you ask.
[I have horns?] Almost the second they sign it, Abzu smacks themself in the face with it (it ripples like pudding). [Of course I have horns, stupid me. Forget my own head if it wasn't stuck to my shoulders.] [I've just been wearing my hat so long I kind of forgot myself.]
"You've been wearing your hat for that long?" you repeat incredulously.
[It's a very good hat >:[ ] Abzu signs indignantly. [I mean I also can shapeshift since you brought it up, I'm just saying the horns are default.]
"Oh? In what ways?"
[Eldingar please some secrets must be saved for the bedroom~]
Your eyes go very wide at the implications of what kind of 'shapeshifting' that might mean and it makes you feel very very funny inside. You notice Abzu silently giggling out of the corner of your eye and frown deeply, which only makes them 'laugh' harder. But then they hold your hand again so in your magnanimity you're willing to let this insult pass. For now.
You find the Guild outpost about a minute down the tunnel, where it widens into a more rounded cavern. Orange light flickers and dances across the rough planes of dark stone from the firepit in the centre - smokeless, must been some magic involved. Twin tents are visible on the borderline between the firelight of mortal vision and the twilit grey of your darkvision, open and unoccupied. Abzu stops and kneels by the firepit but you move on, passing between the tents and approaching the door.
It's a grand door, befitting any precursor 'dungeon' worth noting down in the Guild ledgers, a beautifully-worked slab of some dark metal you doubt is steel and gold that seems completely at odds with the rough, unworked stone of the tunnel around it. You'd heard of the theories that 'dungeons' are formerly parts of greater wholes, torn free by whatever cataclysm destroyed the precursors in the first place and violently hurled across all four cardinal directions of Beyond at random, but in your expert opinion this is all the convincing you need. A civilisation with the almost draconic sense of aesthetics the precursors have would most certainly never hide a door like this in some no-name cave.
And then you look left and see a skeleton.
You make a noise of surprise, something like a half-strangled "nyeurgh", that draws Abzu almost immediately. They hurry to your side, the [What, what is it?] sign already upheld, before they follow your eyeline and catch sight of the skeleton lying in a vaguely person-shaped jumble in a shadowed alcove. They, conversely, jump in excitement and scramble over to its side immediately. Their staff lands on the floor beside them with a dull wooden clatter as they sink to their knees and start touching absolutely everything.
"Ah... well... I suppose that's a big clue as to why the outpost is deserted," you say eventually, once you've sufficiently gathered yourself. "Although it seems strange. Guild pioneers never explore alone, so the partner must be dead too for that one to have been left to rot, but in that case why hasn't the Beyond shifted yet?"
[Because this man hasn't decomposed] Abzu signs, straightening up and retrieving their staff. They point at the firepit. [See there? Still going strong. No Powder of Smokeless Fire is that good.] [No, this dwarf was killed.] [Devoured, in fact. Stripped to the bone by a swarm of things with very sharp teeth.] [Isn't that incredible?]
"Wha- why?"
[The things that killed him might be something completely undiscovered]
Even though you know rationally that your scales are better than any suit of armour and whatever it is that got the dwarf would sooner blunt its teeth on you than do any real harm, the thought still fills you with a sense of visceral dread. It may have something to do with the alternate name Ilyana mentioned.
"There aren't any signs of... clown-related injury, are there?" you ask as casually as possible, as if such words arranged in that order were even capable of being uttered casually. Abzu shoots you a deeply puzzled look.
"It's... no, no you're right," you say haltingly, letting out a sigh of relief. "That's ridiculous. There's no way that-"honk"-WHAT WAS THAT!?"
You whirl around but all you see is the grand door, still securely shut. There are most definitely no small cracks or alcoves through which a carnivorous clown could have crept. Still, you give it another suspicious once-over before Abzu makes it to your side and taps your shoulder.
[What's wrong?]
"Nothing's wrong!" you protest immediately. "Just that when Ilyana explained- nothing, I'm sure it's nothing. Shall we proceed?"
[Well, you're the strong one] Abzu observes, gesturing towards the door. [Let's see those big strong dragon muscles in action!]
You know they're just buttering you up, but it's working. It's working very well. All thoughts of potential packs of carnivorous clowns forgotten for a moment you stride up to the door, set your palms against the steel and push with your considerable 'big strong dragon muscles'. It's slow going for just a moment, slow enough that you're almost concerned, but a moment later you feel a subtle tingle of energy flowing through the slab beneath your claws, and it suddenly budges with a gentle hiss of releasing pressure. You force your way through, biceps and triceps rippling impressively beneath the scales as you flex and spread your arms wide, throwing the doors open and revealing the long-hidden dungeon beyond. A maze lies beyond, made of brilliant white cloud as soft and fluffy as cotton and soaked in sunlight from the clear blue sky above. It gives slightly as you step inside, dipping beneath your foot-talons yet holding your weight all the same. You take a deep, relieved breath - Infinite Cloud Maze after all. You must have just imagined that honk.
"So!" you say, all at once re-energised as if hit by a fresh bolt of lightning, turning to face Abzu. "Shall we?"
[We shall!]
Abzu quickens their pace to draw level with you, and the two of you set off into the meteorological maze. You go for the oldest trick in the book, trailing your talons across the fluffy white wall to your left and following that. It even feels a little like cotton fluff for some strange reason, little white wisps of it coming free around your clawtips, yet when you experimentally try to reach through the wall you find it growing exponentially denser until your hand simply gets stuck halfway through. Abzu enthusiastically notes that down while you grumble and worry your arm free of its fluffy confines.
[So on the subject of shapeshifting from a little while ago] Abzu signs after a few more turns. [Mind if I ask you about yours? I've never had a dragon to question before and it's really fascinating.]
"It would be my pleasure," you reply. And you mean it too - what dragon's favourite subject isn't themselves?
[So in your mortal form where do your clothes come from?] [Can you make other things as part of a disguise?]
You raise one talon and inhale, only to freeze a moment later. "I... I don't know."
[Since you don't have scales in that form does that mean you can be killed without magic?]
"... I don't know," you say uncertainly, thoughts of all the times you strode around Söfnun bold as brass in your Lord Elding guise when an assassin's knife may have been all that was needed to end you flashing vividly in your mind.
[If you've got a sprained wing why can't you just shapeshift it better?] [Could you just shapeshift it away or into your mortal form so it stops bothering you?]
"I-I don't-" you slow down, brow deeply furrowed as you stare directly ahead in consternation.
[Do you only have set forms or can you selectively shapeshift?]
"Okay that one I know!" you say, a little louder and more triumphantly than you really intended to. You hang another left at a four-way intersection and beckon Abzu to follow. "I've never had cause to do it beyond novelty but I've been able to selectively shift back to draconic form from mortal form before. Mouth, throat, teeth and tongue to breathe lightning, arms to throw bolts, that sort of thing. It's quite easy."
[What's the difference between breathing and throwing?] they ask. [Are they not the same thing?]
You shake your head. "I have these sort of... channels running through my body, you'll probably be able to see them next time I breathe lightning or absorb some. They're most obvious on my wings. All the lightning I absorb or use gets sort of... processed and passed through here-" you tap your chest in the general area of your heart "-sort of like a stomach? Breathing lightning is a direct conduit from there. It's much closer to maximum output, but it can be hard to control and tires me out a lot quicker. If I use my hand-" you let a few crackling arcs leap from talon to talon to illustrate "-it's weaker, but much easier to aim and control."
[Are you locked into your birth sex or can you shapeshift that too?]
"No that can definitely change," you say, glad to be over the initial hurdle of bewilderment at your own body. You reach a dead end and gesture for Abzu to turn around, swapping your claws to the other wall as you retrace your steps. "Some do whether temporarily or permanently out of personal preference. Some do it out of necessity, for breeding purposes."
You suppose you should just be glad that Mother defaulted to finding someone like Jun-ho for you rather than making one of many possible and entirely horrifying suggestions. Thankfully you find a moment of 'silence' as Abzu gets distracted by a corner piece of the fluffy white maze, breaking off a handful to excitably poke and prod. It reminds you a lot of how Jun-ho got when he found the familiar.
"Question for you," you say. Abzu almost jumps, sticking the piece of cloud back on the wall and turning to look at you with those big white eyes. "Why have you been in your tower so long? I mean, you said yourself that you're 'starved for stimulus' and you get so excited over every new thing you get to see. Why not visit the Beyond or go teleporting around the world yourself? Why wait for me?"
[I told you, silly! I'm watching the tower for my master so it's all in order when he gets home!]
"But you keep leaving to visit me," you point out. "So why not leave to visit places for your own sake? There's just as much -infinitesimally small- chance of coming home to find your master just happened to come back while you were out. Just from what I've seen I can't imagine you being happy stuck in one place for that long."
Abzu slows, and you slow to match when you realise. Eventually the two of you come to a complete stop at a T-junction, your hand slowly drifting away from the wall as you turn to face the wizard properly, hunched over a little due to the height difference. They're looking down at the fluffy white floor, mutely lost in thought. You know rationally that they're always quiet but somehow the way they usually are still seems 'loud' in comparison. Enough to make this vaguely disquieting.
[I guess it's just familiar] they sign back at last. They lift their head, white-blob eyes gazing up into yours. [You know what that's like, don't you?]
"Of course I do," you answer readily, not really thinking about it. If anything you're confused - you were happy with the familiar before Mother and the map spoiled all that. Abzu isn't. But any further thoughts or follow-up questions on that particular subject are soon driven from your mind when you hear a sudden, entirely-too-loud HONK from up the main path of the T-junction. You jump up like a spear and lurch around the corner in search of the hideous creature that would make such a noise, already dreading a monstrous clown.
A single pure white goose waddles down the cloudy path, webbed feet silently slapping on the cotton-soft floor. HONK it goes again.
You laugh. "See? I told you there were no clowns. Just an ordinary harmless go-"
HISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS goes the goose as its fanged beak opens impossibly wide, a barb-toothed tongue the length of its entire body unspooling from the glistening depths within liked a spiked proboscis as it takes off in a flurry of feathers and comes screaming down the path straight at you.
"-oooOOOAAAAAAZZZIFUCKINGDAHAKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-!" you scream at the top of your lungs, the scream transforming seamlessly and unintentionally into a sudden torrent of crackling lightning-breath. It bathes the passageway in dancing light and the stink of storm-air, utterly consuming the monstrous goose mid-flight. By the time you manage to snap your jaw shut like a steel trap what lands on the cloudy floor with a wet plop is much closer to a fresh-cooked roast. For a moment the silence just stretches on, unbroken, as if neither of you want to be the first to admit what just happened.
"Th-there, see?" you say, turning to look at Abzu. A fresh-dropped sign dissipates into smoke by their foot. "Everything under con- whatdidthatsay?"
[What did what say?] Abzu signs innocently.
"The sign you just dropped, what did it say?"
[Nothing]
You narrow your eyes. You swear you see Abzu starting to sweat.
Your interrogation is cut short by something far, far more terrifying than whatever it is they had on that sign. The sound, faint but slowly getting closer, just around a few more corners. The hellish, cacophonic chorus of a thousand carnivorous geese, drawn by the commotion in search of their next meal.
"... do you know combat spells?"
[A few]
"Good."
You consider your options as fowl doom draws ever closer. You've been out of the mountains long enough for the chill to wear off, and your sprained wing is starting to grate at you again. You've already got shapeshifting on the mind after Abzu's many questions to boot. You're a dragon, why not flex your abilities in front of your appreciative audience? The only question is how.
[ ] Shift down to mortal form to fight the geese. Theoretically your wing can't bother you if you don't have a wing, and through half-shifting you'll still have full access to your claws and lightning. If anything you'll look even more impressive, transforming on the fly like that. And Abzu's watching.
[ ] Stay in your current form. If it ain't broke don't fix it, and you're 99% sure the geese have no way of harming you when you're all scaly. Aside from your wings. Your injured- okay you'll give shifting them out of existence a shot.
[ ] Shift up to your true form. You are a dragon, dammit, and these geese will learn respect! This whole maze will quake before your might, and Abzu will be suitably impressed by the full force of your draconic power as you sweep the flock away and tear the maze asunder! Presuming it holds under your new weight. Which it will. Probably.
Adhoc vote count started by ZerbanDaGreat on Jul 22, 2018 at 6:32 PM, finished with 2999 posts and 16 votes.
[X] Stay in your current form. If it ain't broke don't fix it, and you're 99% sure the geese have no way of harming you when you're all scaly. Aside from your wings. Your injured- okay you'll give shifting them out of existence a shot.
[X] Shift up to your true form. You are a dragon, dammit, and these geese will learn respect! This whole maze will quake before your might, and Abzu will be suitably impressed by the full force of your draconic power as you sweep the flock away and tear the maze asunder! Presuming it holds under your new weight. Which it will. Probably.
[X] Shift down to mortal form to fight the geese. Theoretically your wing can't bother you if you don't have a wing, and through half-shifting you'll still have full access to your claws and lightning. If anything you'll look even more impressive, transforming on the fly like that. And Abzu's watching.
[X] Shift to your coward form. You have had enough of these goddamn geese in this goddamn maze for one day, thinkyewverymuch. And besides, Abzu will appreciate the ride.
You make a noise of surprise, something like a half-strangled "nyeurgh", that draws Abzu almost immediately. They hurry to your side, the [What, what is it?] sign already upheld, before they follow your eyeline and catch sight of the skeleton lying in a vaguely person-shaped jumble in a shadowed alcove. They, conversely, jump in excitement and scramble over to its side immediately. Their staff lands on the floor beside them with a dull wooden clatter as they sink to their knees and start touching absolutely everything.
For a moment here, I misread things and read the skeleton saying nyeurgh and wondering why did this quest suddenly got crossed with Undertale.
Also I'm somewhat glad I'm refraining from watching It yesterday.
[X] Stay in your current form. If it ain't broke don't fix it, and you're 99% sure the geese have no way of harming you when you're all scaly. Aside from your wings. Your injured- okay you'll give shifting them out of existence a shot.
]