117th moon [audio]

[paladinlost]

...You'd think finally seeing my loved ones after so long and recalling precious memories of my comrades would lessen the pain of our separation, yet it somehow feels stronger than ever.

[Cecil's voice has been left rough by a week of disuse, filled with wistfulness by what occured during said week, but there's happiness there that only grows when he speaks again.]

Still, my world is in one mostly intact piece and my kingdom has avoided burning to ashes, freezing solid or worse. That calls for a celebration! Thus, for the next three days I will be paying for everyone's drinks and meals at the Merry Medicham. Please do not hesitate to come and partake to your stomach's content. I'll take care of the tab.

[Limited time offer only. This paladin is not responsible for any stomachache or illness incurred by overeating.]

Comments

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[dreamsofahero]

*oh, does he need to come make you possibly regret offering to pay for drinks....?*

That's quite the generous offer.

*then again, he was planning on dropping in on the gym anyway...*

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[paladinlost]

[He has a Persian, he can take it.]

The continued safety of my home deserves no lesser celebration! ...Other than a bottle of wine or two for my own consumption, of course.

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[dreamsofahero]

*not to mention a gym leader's salary!*

That's one way to look at it.

*a pity Sion doesn't know when (or if) he'll ever be able to say that about his own world, really, but let's not dwell on that*

And I do still owe you a match, don't I?

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[paladinlost]

[Well, now. That might be even better than the wine.]

Why yes, you do. After these long days of sleep, I'll need to scrape the rust off my battling skills, after all.

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[dreamsofahero]

I'll have to make arrangements with Ryner for managing the gym, if he doesn't want to come, but I imagine I can work something out.

*mostly just coordinating transfering 'mons to and from the PCs so that Sion can use certain of his team that also participate in gym duty...*

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[paladinlost]

How wonderful it is to have a partner who can take care of the Gym while you travel! Though he'll be dearly missed if he does not visit.

[So few people can properly appreciate the Gym's delicate decorations and misleading hints, after all.]

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[dreamsofahero]

Well, perhaps you should extent a personal invitation sometime, I doubt he could refuse that.

*by which Sion means he won't let Ryner refuse... but in this case, well, let's just say Ryner isn't always a fan of trying to keep up with Sion's level of drinking*

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[paladinlost]

Should I sweeten the deal by paying for all the dango Rose can eat, perhaps? She'd surely convince him to come.

[He has complete faith in her ability to drag an unconcious human along if needed.]

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[dreamsofahero]

In that case, I doubt he'd even be able to think of refusing.

*which is to say, Sion approves of this plan*

Though perhaps that's best saved for a time when we could try to make him stay for more than a day or two...

*Sion's not planning to be away too long in this case, himself*

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[seeingeyesteward]

It's good to see you've returned. It has been a long week without your presence in this world.

[ As if they talked all that much but it was still a joy to know a friend had returned and all was well in his own world. ]

I'm glad things are well with friends and family, as well as your kingdom.

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[paladinlost]

Thank you very much. I found that week quite long myself, though I did not recall this world.

[Mostly because his week was somewhat longer than a week.]

We've all still a few wounds, but I've no doubt we'll successfully rebuild everything that was destroyed. It'd hardly be the first time, after all.

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[seeingeyesteward]

Unfortunate to not recall such a length of time but it is good that your world is recovering well enough. I hope returning here will not be too hard on you.

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[paladinlost]

As this land is currently not dealing with warring gods or falling moons, I should adapt once more to it quickly enough. Though I must admit that waking up to a wet dog nose was a very unpleasant surprise, under these circumstances.

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[seeingeyesteward]

Understandable. Mine involves eternal darkness and rampant daemons. I am happy to take a dog nose over any of these options.

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[paladinlost]

Eternal darkness and rampant daemons...? That's hardly optimal circumstances for people to thrive. Or overly-friendly dogs with cold noses, for that matter. Can they be dispelled and slain?

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[seeingeyesteward]

People are doing the opposite of thriving unfortunately. We are only trying to make it until ... things can be resolved.

For the time being, I and a few others work to slay what we can.

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[paladinlost]

...If only the power that draws people to this world or to the gods' land could be reversed and allow us to offer assistance...

[He might not be able to dispel eternal darkness, but he could at least bring supplies. Blades, and warriors to wield them.]

Since you believe things can be resolved, then surely your planet is not condemned to destruction. But what are your options, at this point?

[islandshore]

Oh, so you finally got to go home, huh?

[Riku's not sure if he's envious or not. On one hand, a brief trip home would allow him a similar reunion, only for him to return without those he cherishes...

Hm. Well, this isn't about him, so no need to dwell.]

I'd say it's good that everything's stable, but saying your home's "mostly" intact still sounds kinda ominous.

[paladinlost]

In a fashion. I spent most of it on the True Moon, and recalling long-forgotten memories of another world entirely.

[Look, he's had a weird life. A weird life with moons, warring gods snatching people left and right, and divine llamas snatching people left and right.]

We've managed to avert the worst of it, but those meteors have caused serious damage, even if they've stopped eroding the soil. And that's without considering the effects the moon's quick approach had on the planet...

[islandshore]

So what makes this True Moon any different from a regular moon?

[That's... confusing. Intriguing, but confusing. He takes a few moments to try and puzzle over this before ultimately failing.]

And, sheesh, meteors, too? And the moon... okay, what the heck even happened to start all that?

[paladinlost]

Unlike a regular moon it doubles as a spaceship, and unlike the Red Moon it was inhabited by a being of somewhat godlike power.

[Or a very advanced scientist. Or both, all things considered.]

Said being has apparently been seeding worlds with crystals to see how their people develop and using the moon itself to consume those it considered unworthy. We were next on its list.

[islandshore]

A moon. Ship. What?

[That's, uh. Dude, that's pretty trippy, even by this place's standards.]

Okay, so, magic crystals to spy on people? And when you say the moon consumed worlds... are we talking death beams? Black holes? Suddenly sprouting teeth or something?

[This is a lot lot to take in.]

[paladinlost]

It's not such an outlandish idea. Even the Lunarians built their own when their original planet was destroyed.

[...Which, in retrospect, might have been a clue to the crystals' nature.]

I cannot be certain of the exact technique used, considering we stopped it, but as it was on a collision course with the Earth and close enough to disturb its weather patterns I doubt there were death beams involved. Teeth, however...

[islandshore]

Heh. Maybe it's just outlandish to me because my world's so plain. No magical moonships there.

[But he shrugs. By now, he should know better than to look at things with such a limited viewpoint.]

...Moon teeth. That's, uh. Giving me this mental image of the moon with a scary face. If it wasn't a legitimate threat to your world, I'd almost find that funny.

[paladinlost]

It's such a shame, too. Such moons may usually be dangerous and filled with monsters, but they're also beautiful to behold. With crystal chanbers hidden within their depths, air so pure not even the tallest mountain lets you breathe so easily...

[He stops himself before he starts remembering the monsters fondly, too.]

Oh, it could also simply have rotted and dismantled the whole planet after making contact, since its meteors had that property. But a toothy moon is an amusing image indeed.