Oskar was hesitant to accept the Gambit without more information, but there didn’t seem to be a way to get it. The spirit creature waited patiently, not at all bothered, which was both comforting and a little unsettling.
Is this thing patient, super smart, and fully aware… or so powerful it doesn’t need care what we do?
// I got nothing, boss. I am getting nothing off scans. Does it feel like a danger? //
Not at all, but that just adds a head to the ol’ curiosity hydra. Some of the most dangerous people I know were all smiles. Not everyone who’s dangerous walks around with a smolder.
// Is it smoldering? That could be an entirely different problem… unless of course you meant glower or scowl. //
Yeah, glower. Sorry, I’m a little distracted.
“I got a Gambit to ‘commune’ with the creature. Any idea what that’s about, and did anyone else get it?”
Negatives all around, but Fox’s eyes squinted like she was working hard to remember something. The creature hovered, its tendrils danced slowly back and forth in time with the slow pulsing blue light in its center.
Oskar stared at her a moment and tilted his head like the Kobolds did when they were pondering or questioning something, and Fox sighed.
“I think I remember hearing something about a spirit creature in the area. Something that Benidictus was desperate for information on, but I do not believe he ever got. I do not remember anything more, or if he ever met the creature. He would be fascinated to hear what the creature has to say,” she trailed off at the end, deep in thought for a moment before she shook her head and finished with a decisive “Do it,” as she stared intently at Oskar.
I’m gonna do it.
The steady sound of the wind muted all around Oskar, and he realized he’d reflexively called on Sora. Oskar didn’t like that he’d done it subconsciously, but told himself he’d keep an eye on it in the future.
I need to use this power, not let it use me.
Sora was always a bit wild, and the magic in this particular area had more personality, for lack of a better word, than any place he’d visited but the cave. The loss of Bastet still weighed heavily on him, but he knew that she’d given part of herself to him, and he called on that calm, collected power now.
Talau and Rakiyu responded, and Oskar held it all tight to his body, not wanting to accidentally touch the creature with it without warning.
As Oskar used Willful Synergy to force Rakiyu to obey, the creature turned a happy looking pink, almost like a blush, and spun excitedly in place before slowing and reaching out with a single tendril that floated just within reach of Oskar’s empty hand.
Erik took a step closer and gave him a nod, and his brother’s face told him he was ready for anything. Forcing his hand to obey him, Oskar accepted the Gambit and reached out, telling himself he wasn’t making a huge mistake.
The moment his hand touched the tendril, he felt the knock on his consciousness again, and much like he had with Bastet, he guardedly opened a connection with the creature.
***
For a time, Oskar was in a void of senses. He could not feel the creature- Bluebottle, he reminded himself, but eventually, he felt something. Separated from his body like in some of the dreams he’d had before, but nothing could prepare him of the fear he felt in the nothingness.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
This isn’t nothingness. This is Nod.
The thought occurred to him. It was his own thought, and it took him a few seconds to realize he should wonder where the information came from. The answer was obvious, but he still should have asked it.
I need to be careful, I can’t get sloppy here.
In the darkness, there pulsed a slow, blue light, and he willed it closer. That didn’t work, so he moved his own consciousness, and the blue light moved to meet him. He slowed as he drew close, perfectly in the middle of the void.
It’s not a void. This is Nod.
Okay, okay, “me who knows too much.” Well, for what it’s worth, Nod seems a lot like a void.
The blue light was inches from Oskar now, and he made no move to get closer, but after a few moments, he concluded that getting closer was exactly what was expected of him.
He felt outward with his senses, muted as they were, and realized he was picking up on more than he had the first time. Much more… so he pushed harder and got nothing and instead looked deeper until… there it is.
The blue light in front of him now had a detectable presence, but it was subtle. More likely, it already had a presence, Oskar just didn’t know how to read it, but the presence felt familiar. Not really a part of him, but a mirror. A reflection of his spirit.
Did Bluebottle make something for me using my own, uh… I guess… spiritual signature?
He moved forward the barest amount, and it moved perfectly with him. He moved sideways, and it moved clockwise with him, maintaining the same distance. It felt odd to move here without a body, but it was just a matter of practical application of will. It quickly felt the same as signaling his body to move, but unconstrained by the laws of physics and gravity.
Nervously, Oskar moved forward, and he could feel the blue light pulse brighter than before. Harmony was the word that came to mind, and he wondered if that was the name of the thing.
This is not just a thing. It is a Seed Forge.
Me correcting myself is getting annoying.
He half expected the PUB to say something about self-correction being a good thing, but remembered he was alone here. Well, alone with a Seed Forge, whatever that was.
He closed the final distance and allowed the Seed Forge to touch him, and his world exploded with color, sound and life as he left the dream.
***
Not a dream. Nod.
Oskar had to stop himself from nodding just to see if Bluebottle had a sense of humor as his eyes adjusted, and he realized he’d ruined the joke. Bluebottle had given him a happy, perceptible nod, wiggling his tendrils, and Oskar was late returning it.
The odd shame of messing up a handshake sank into him, and he smiled awkwardly at the giant spirit jellyfish before looking around at the others. Erik was hovering nearby, and both Kobolds were on a knee close and low to the edge of the mesa on lookout.
If the sky was a faithful indicator, very little time had passed. The sky was still a deepening purple, turning into a blue, and the green dancing in the sky was still where it had appeared.
Fox turned a questioning gaze his way, and Oskar nodded encouragingly to her. Off to the side, Bluebottle nodded again, and Oskar got the feeling it was being playful with him.
Anything happen?
// Nope, just your consciousness disappearing from the mortal plane. //
The mortal plane?
// Yeah. Sounded like a metal thing to say. //
“Did your PUB get anything from all that?” he asked Erik, smirking at his own PUB.
“Not a thing. You okay? You spaced out there for a few seconds.”
“Only a few seconds? I felt like it was at least ten minutes. I’m not even sure what happened,” Oskar thought, looking down at his hands and around himself for the Seed Forge. Nothing.
He repeated what he did in the dream and tried to find it with his senses. It was hidden, camouflaged by mimicking his own magic. It was shifting, subtly, becoming more and more his own... or maybe it already was his own, and he was just realizing it.
// Gambit Completed: Commune with Bluebottle.
Reward: Rakiyu Insight and the Seed Forge. //
Sounds pretty metal to me, but what does it do?
Just ahead, Bluebottle spun once and moved away a short distance before turning around and waiting excitedly for Oskar to follow.
“Hey guys… Bluebottle, the spirit jellyfish that only Erik and I can see, wants me to follow it.”
Surprisingly, Fox was the first one to respond, and it wasn’t what he expected to hear.
“Oskar, go! When a magic jellyfish, you called it? When a magic jellyfish asks you to follow it, you follow it. How many chances do you get to do such a thing.”
“Well then. Guess I’m following the giant magic jellyfish.”
Bluebottle nodded excitedly, flashed purple and pink and floated off into the sky toward the green light. Oskar smiled and used Sora to launch himself into the sky after it. He could feel the Seed Forge inside him, humming with something, wanting to be used. The feeling was not uncomfortable, really, just new.
// Gambit Offered: Help Bluebottle.
Objective: Help Bluebottle
Reward: Learn about the Seed Forge
Failure: Unknown
Accept Yes/No //