Bloodcookie
Explorer
Rolzup said:
If Abraxis were transcribing, this would doubtless have been followed by: THAT IS WITHOUT QUESTION.
Great updates
The Chronicle of Burne, and Some Others of Lesser Importance *Updated May 17th, 2009*
If Abraxis were transcribing, this would doubtless have been followed by: THAT IS WITHOUT QUESTION.
Great updates
Glad you liked them 'cause there's more where they came from...Bloodcookie said:Great updates
We had a blast playing out the 'Eve Monologues'. Most of what you're reading was lifted verbatim from our email exchanges. I should warn you all, it goes on for some time. Eve is what my players get instead in lieu of handouts.
While I was editing these, I remembered that Eve was, in part, inspired by the character Soneillon from Sepulchrave's fantastic "Wyre" Story Hour. I was reading it at the time and was so impressed with Sep's writing of her --well, with his writing in general-- I made a philosophizing magic lady of my own.
Of course what I ended up with was more a 'Cenobite by way of fast-talking screwball comedy dame'. So it goes...
BTW, nice sig.
Bloodcookie
Explorer
Mallus said:
Thanks.
Regarding the Soneillon connection: I don't suppose Eve at some point seduces Burne under pretenses of achieving some kind of metaphysical antinomian synthesis, does she?
shilsen
Adventurer
Bloodcookie said:Regarding the Soneillon connection: I don't suppose Eve at some point seduces Burne under pretenses of achieving some kind of metaphysical antinomian synthesis, does she?
Wouldn't work. She'd have needed a metaphysical antinomian synthesis which also blows lots of crap up.
Meiji, on the other hand, she had at "Hello."
Rolzup
First Post
Interlude: “All About Eve”
Eve smiles widely and turns to Burne.
"I like your hat. I must say, I've been sized up by quite a few men in my day, but never so...precisely as you're doing right now. Which is exactly my point. You're getting it all wrong." She flashes Meiji a timeless smile.
"I....", he begins, affronted.
"You're a learned man. An Erisian alchemist, from your..." she pauses to drink from her newly-filled cup, "Aristocratic bearing and sulfurous aroma. But what do you really know?"
"Well, in point of fact...."
“You put everything into little jars, then label each one in a meticulous script, so you call tell one thing is not like another and somewhat like something else. Sometimes you mix them together and there's a flash of colored smoke, and occasionally, from what I've heard, there's one less alchemist.”
"Yes, but..."
“Or you play the naming game, thinking that names have power, especially if they're hard to pronounce. You pick a flower and call it a flame, and soon you're holding nothing but ash. That's just a petty trick, a kind of power which is ultimately self-limiting.”
"That's not entirely..."
“Do you really suppose that gets to the essence of things?
"In my vast experience, I...."
“Have you been to the Museum of Defeated Cultures in Eris? Are you familiar with Hannek's "A Gentleman from Gallina in Two Incomplete Symbolic Systems”? It’s a painting of a bum urinating into a canal mounted behind a statue of a bum urinating into a canal. It's
spectacularly ugly, but it contains a valuable truth. Neither is the bum."
She then says, largely to herself, "You think you're building a library when you're actually building a prison." Turning to Meiji, Eve inquires, "So my young Imperial scholar, are you building something else?"
Burne blinks, dazedly, and raises a finger to emphasize his point. "Um," he declares. "Ah," he
clarifies. "You," he adds. "Fire," he explains. "If," he continues. "Well," he concludes. Now staring into space, he absently lowers the finger, and takes a sip of his now tepid drink.
Abraxis snickers, an almost musical sort of rasping sound.
The Lady Eve’s attention switches back to Burne. "You were right about one thing though, philosophy is entirely irrelevant. Experience is the only teacher, which is why my lessons can get so… messy, and often go awry."
Burne smiles, albeit tentatively. "Practical matters are a specialty of mine," he declares.
Meiji gives Burne a dirty look, which is quickly expanded to include Abraxas. He leans forward, his brow furrowing, as sparks dance around his fingertips, and mutters, “If your mechanical cat isn’t shock-proof, maybe it should be….”
But before Burne can stutter any more monosyllables about the nature of knowledge and the universe, or, worse, begin to consciously flirt with the Lady Eve, Meiji clears his throat and says loudly, “Well, Eve - if I may venture to call you that – that’s half the fun with experience, isn’t it? You never really know what it’s going to get you. Sometimes you make a choice and end up running out of town with a mob behind you, and sometimes you end up drinking wine with a man whose hat is on fire, a man who recently had sex with a priestess while he was dead, a man wearing a dress, and a particularly inscrutable lady.
"To answer your previous question, however rhetorical - unlike my esteemed and inflammable companion, I’m not building much of anything. Other than myself, perhaps. You could say I’m a votary at the temple of experience too. Which - to link our current subjects - is why I’ve been more than a little curious about The Hunger and half-tempted to go mess with it and see what happens. He raises a hand quickly, before anyone can comment, and says,”Not to worry – I’m just a little tempted. I’m not stupid - or, I admit, brave - enough to act on it.
"Nadir, unfortunately, it seems is both, so I’m all for nipping him in the bud.”
Meiji’s eyes sparkle and his grin becomes a little wicked, as he says to Eve. “Speaking of stupidity and bravery and possibly being nipped in the bud, once we've done what we need to, would you happen to be free for dinner tomorrow? It might be a fun experience and ending up messy or awry would be a consummation devoutly to be wished." He raises his glass and gives her a mock-salute.
Eve slowly shifts her gaze from face to face while taking in Meiji's laundry list of vulgar wonders and improbabilities. When he finishes, she says "Just...wow."
Meiji grins like the panda that ate the imperial songbird.
"Why do I get the feeling you just might survive The Hunger? Of course the Three Sisters are another story. And yes, Meiji, tomorrow night, 8:00PM.. Pick somewhere nice. You can meet me at Pier Four, Quai Central. I like the watch the ships come in."
Meiji’s grin broadens enough to make him look like the last man who displeased Lord Kenji. "Excellent! I'll look forward to it."
Apparently not satisfied with captivating two men simultaneously, Eve glances back at Lord Kenji, although, perhaps, only to admire the fine embroidery of his dress.
Eve smiles widely and turns to Burne.
"I like your hat. I must say, I've been sized up by quite a few men in my day, but never so...precisely as you're doing right now. Which is exactly my point. You're getting it all wrong." She flashes Meiji a timeless smile.
"I....", he begins, affronted.
"You're a learned man. An Erisian alchemist, from your..." she pauses to drink from her newly-filled cup, "Aristocratic bearing and sulfurous aroma. But what do you really know?"
"Well, in point of fact...."
“You put everything into little jars, then label each one in a meticulous script, so you call tell one thing is not like another and somewhat like something else. Sometimes you mix them together and there's a flash of colored smoke, and occasionally, from what I've heard, there's one less alchemist.”
"Yes, but..."
“Or you play the naming game, thinking that names have power, especially if they're hard to pronounce. You pick a flower and call it a flame, and soon you're holding nothing but ash. That's just a petty trick, a kind of power which is ultimately self-limiting.”
"That's not entirely..."
“Do you really suppose that gets to the essence of things?
"In my vast experience, I...."
“Have you been to the Museum of Defeated Cultures in Eris? Are you familiar with Hannek's "A Gentleman from Gallina in Two Incomplete Symbolic Systems”? It’s a painting of a bum urinating into a canal mounted behind a statue of a bum urinating into a canal. It's
spectacularly ugly, but it contains a valuable truth. Neither is the bum."
She then says, largely to herself, "You think you're building a library when you're actually building a prison." Turning to Meiji, Eve inquires, "So my young Imperial scholar, are you building something else?"
Burne blinks, dazedly, and raises a finger to emphasize his point. "Um," he declares. "Ah," he
clarifies. "You," he adds. "Fire," he explains. "If," he continues. "Well," he concludes. Now staring into space, he absently lowers the finger, and takes a sip of his now tepid drink.
Abraxis snickers, an almost musical sort of rasping sound.
The Lady Eve’s attention switches back to Burne. "You were right about one thing though, philosophy is entirely irrelevant. Experience is the only teacher, which is why my lessons can get so… messy, and often go awry."
Burne smiles, albeit tentatively. "Practical matters are a specialty of mine," he declares.
Meiji gives Burne a dirty look, which is quickly expanded to include Abraxas. He leans forward, his brow furrowing, as sparks dance around his fingertips, and mutters, “If your mechanical cat isn’t shock-proof, maybe it should be….”
But before Burne can stutter any more monosyllables about the nature of knowledge and the universe, or, worse, begin to consciously flirt with the Lady Eve, Meiji clears his throat and says loudly, “Well, Eve - if I may venture to call you that – that’s half the fun with experience, isn’t it? You never really know what it’s going to get you. Sometimes you make a choice and end up running out of town with a mob behind you, and sometimes you end up drinking wine with a man whose hat is on fire, a man who recently had sex with a priestess while he was dead, a man wearing a dress, and a particularly inscrutable lady.
"To answer your previous question, however rhetorical - unlike my esteemed and inflammable companion, I’m not building much of anything. Other than myself, perhaps. You could say I’m a votary at the temple of experience too. Which - to link our current subjects - is why I’ve been more than a little curious about The Hunger and half-tempted to go mess with it and see what happens. He raises a hand quickly, before anyone can comment, and says,”Not to worry – I’m just a little tempted. I’m not stupid - or, I admit, brave - enough to act on it.
"Nadir, unfortunately, it seems is both, so I’m all for nipping him in the bud.”
Meiji’s eyes sparkle and his grin becomes a little wicked, as he says to Eve. “Speaking of stupidity and bravery and possibly being nipped in the bud, once we've done what we need to, would you happen to be free for dinner tomorrow? It might be a fun experience and ending up messy or awry would be a consummation devoutly to be wished." He raises his glass and gives her a mock-salute.
Eve slowly shifts her gaze from face to face while taking in Meiji's laundry list of vulgar wonders and improbabilities. When he finishes, she says "Just...wow."
Meiji grins like the panda that ate the imperial songbird.
"Why do I get the feeling you just might survive The Hunger? Of course the Three Sisters are another story. And yes, Meiji, tomorrow night, 8:00PM.. Pick somewhere nice. You can meet me at Pier Four, Quai Central. I like the watch the ships come in."
Meiji’s grin broadens enough to make him look like the last man who displeased Lord Kenji. "Excellent! I'll look forward to it."
Apparently not satisfied with captivating two men simultaneously, Eve glances back at Lord Kenji, although, perhaps, only to admire the fine embroidery of his dress.
HalfOrc HalfBiscuit
Adventurer
Rolzup said:
Yup .. happens to me all the time.
I can't rule that out... wait, yes I can.Bloodcookie said:I don't suppose Eve at some point seduces Burne under pretenses of achieving some kind of metaphysical antinomian synthesis, does she?
The funny thing is Eve was supposed to be a potential magical wife for Kenji, since it's one of the things he supposed to be questing after as per his backstory.shilsen said:
Oh well, you know what they say about the 'barely laid plans of mice and men'.
This Story Hour strives for realism!HalfOrc HalfBiscuit said:
Rolzup
First Post
Interlude: “Eve of Destruction”
Meiji looks around at the others and realizes, even with his normally inwardly-focused senses, that they might not be as happy with his social activities, so without missing a beat he says “But right now there are more pressing matters. Not that I’m ruling out more ‘pressing matters’ later on, if you’re game, but…”
Rackhir cuts him off. “What will happen if Nadir gets hold of the Three Sisters?”
“Each one will test him, before they’ll allow him through the Not-Door.
"Salomalle, also known as the Eater of Pain, will measure his freight of suffering, which the Hunger equates with desire, which says a lot about its character, doesn’t it? Malgrazia is the Eater of Memory. She’ll gnaw on his past and by that test his sense of self. Finally, the Eater of Will, Bella Dominatrix, will try her level best to bend him over, metaphysically speaking, of course, for the most part.
"If Nadir survives, the Hunger may just kill him anyway. Or he might transcend to the limits of his kin and kind, which would mean he’ll leave this world entirely. Or become the immortal witch-king of all the Shirac. It's hard to tell."
"Oh, that wouldn't be good at all” says Burne in a rare moment of understatement.
“Will he’ll try to bring down the black barrier and release The Hunger?” asks Rackhir.
“Release? The Not-Door doesn’t keep The Hunger in; it keeps the riff-raff out. A god doesn’t want to be bothered every minute of the day, especially a mad and starving one. I'm sure all the arcane scribbling on walls the Brotherhood of the Black Worm put there might do something to contain it, or perhaps ‘shape’ is a better word. You should keep in mind that it was the Brotherhood who brought the Hunger to Narayan in the first place. To use, I would imagine.”
Meiji clears his throat and says, “Eve - do you have any idea what Nadir’s next move will be?”
“His next move will be to discover all he can about me and the threat I might pose.”
“I thought you said the two of you knew each other already?” asks the ever-alert Rackhir.
“I never slept with him, if that’s what you’re asking. Wait… I don’t suppose it was, was it? I said we saw each other at social functions.”
“Where might Nadir go to find more information about you? Nothing would please me more than to be able to ambush that bastard, rather than the other way around." Meiji pauses to look at Eve and adds, "Well, few things...."
"He’ll start at the University of Narayan, where he used to teach. Of course, he didn’t leave on the best of terms, what with his attempt to enslave most of the senior faculty when they tried to take the chair of the Department of the Mind's Eye away from him. Magical academic politics is a dirty business.
"From what I've heard, he didn't kill any of them. And I'm sure no one there bears him any malice. Which is a polite way of saying they're all too cowardly to raise a wizened hand against him. Well, not Dr. Mephisophocles. He, at least, has some backbone. And you should see him tango.
"Nadir will busy himself with dry tomes and moldy old books; with any luck he'll find a cryptic reference to some beauty from antiquity that'll send him on a golden goose chase to one of the farther corners of the world. Even if he doesn’t, it’ll take him a while before he starts inquiring among the faculty about a certain stylish lady usually seen at the annual Transubstantiationalists Mixer.”
Meiji says, "I hope you're right, since that would mean we have some more time before we have to worry about him. I've been planning to visit the University too, to do a little reading up on gate magic. Hopefully I won't run into Nadir there, since Burne would probably kill me if I blew him up before he did, and it would just be embarrassing if Nadir blew me up instead."
"Oh, I doubt Nadir could blow you up directly, unless he got control of a grad student from the Department of the Material Physick. Now if he got hold of the captain of the Skulling Team… I shudder to think. Have you even seen the mauls they use to crack open skulls? Absolutely massive. But I'm not so sure he'd even try… he's reluctant to harm his fellow magicians.”
Meiji winces a little at the description and then turns in his chair. "Hey, Rackhir - you know what that reminds me of?" After a couple seconds of meeting the ronin's gaze, he evidently rethinks the benefits of mentioning what happened to him with the Tenor's maul. "Um - I see you do, so never mind.”
Looking back to Eve, Meiji says “Do you think his reluctance is because he doesn't like to take risks? We have noticed that he takes very careful precautions whenever we've encountered him, making sure to be invisible and flying, and at a fair distance. He seems to rely on his familiar a lot, which I'll be very happy to feed to Abraxas at some point."
"I wouldn't say he's averse to risks, no. He broke his oath to the masters of Miir Valley, snuck into the Cabinet of Curiosities then drank from the Goblet of Ire, and threatened a large number of the University’s magical faculty with out-of-bodily harm.”
"That bit I can actually sympathize with him for. We don't exactly have Universities and magical faculty in the Empire, but we have some analogues. And they are a significant pain in the ass."
Meiji looks around at the others and realizes, even with his normally inwardly-focused senses, that they might not be as happy with his social activities, so without missing a beat he says “But right now there are more pressing matters. Not that I’m ruling out more ‘pressing matters’ later on, if you’re game, but…”
Rackhir cuts him off. “What will happen if Nadir gets hold of the Three Sisters?”
“Each one will test him, before they’ll allow him through the Not-Door.
"Salomalle, also known as the Eater of Pain, will measure his freight of suffering, which the Hunger equates with desire, which says a lot about its character, doesn’t it? Malgrazia is the Eater of Memory. She’ll gnaw on his past and by that test his sense of self. Finally, the Eater of Will, Bella Dominatrix, will try her level best to bend him over, metaphysically speaking, of course, for the most part.
"If Nadir survives, the Hunger may just kill him anyway. Or he might transcend to the limits of his kin and kind, which would mean he’ll leave this world entirely. Or become the immortal witch-king of all the Shirac. It's hard to tell."
"Oh, that wouldn't be good at all” says Burne in a rare moment of understatement.
“Will he’ll try to bring down the black barrier and release The Hunger?” asks Rackhir.
“Release? The Not-Door doesn’t keep The Hunger in; it keeps the riff-raff out. A god doesn’t want to be bothered every minute of the day, especially a mad and starving one. I'm sure all the arcane scribbling on walls the Brotherhood of the Black Worm put there might do something to contain it, or perhaps ‘shape’ is a better word. You should keep in mind that it was the Brotherhood who brought the Hunger to Narayan in the first place. To use, I would imagine.”
Meiji clears his throat and says, “Eve - do you have any idea what Nadir’s next move will be?”
“His next move will be to discover all he can about me and the threat I might pose.”
“I thought you said the two of you knew each other already?” asks the ever-alert Rackhir.
“I never slept with him, if that’s what you’re asking. Wait… I don’t suppose it was, was it? I said we saw each other at social functions.”
“Where might Nadir go to find more information about you? Nothing would please me more than to be able to ambush that bastard, rather than the other way around." Meiji pauses to look at Eve and adds, "Well, few things...."
"He’ll start at the University of Narayan, where he used to teach. Of course, he didn’t leave on the best of terms, what with his attempt to enslave most of the senior faculty when they tried to take the chair of the Department of the Mind's Eye away from him. Magical academic politics is a dirty business.
"From what I've heard, he didn't kill any of them. And I'm sure no one there bears him any malice. Which is a polite way of saying they're all too cowardly to raise a wizened hand against him. Well, not Dr. Mephisophocles. He, at least, has some backbone. And you should see him tango.
"Nadir will busy himself with dry tomes and moldy old books; with any luck he'll find a cryptic reference to some beauty from antiquity that'll send him on a golden goose chase to one of the farther corners of the world. Even if he doesn’t, it’ll take him a while before he starts inquiring among the faculty about a certain stylish lady usually seen at the annual Transubstantiationalists Mixer.”
Meiji says, "I hope you're right, since that would mean we have some more time before we have to worry about him. I've been planning to visit the University too, to do a little reading up on gate magic. Hopefully I won't run into Nadir there, since Burne would probably kill me if I blew him up before he did, and it would just be embarrassing if Nadir blew me up instead."
"Oh, I doubt Nadir could blow you up directly, unless he got control of a grad student from the Department of the Material Physick. Now if he got hold of the captain of the Skulling Team… I shudder to think. Have you even seen the mauls they use to crack open skulls? Absolutely massive. But I'm not so sure he'd even try… he's reluctant to harm his fellow magicians.”
Meiji winces a little at the description and then turns in his chair. "Hey, Rackhir - you know what that reminds me of?" After a couple seconds of meeting the ronin's gaze, he evidently rethinks the benefits of mentioning what happened to him with the Tenor's maul. "Um - I see you do, so never mind.”
Looking back to Eve, Meiji says “Do you think his reluctance is because he doesn't like to take risks? We have noticed that he takes very careful precautions whenever we've encountered him, making sure to be invisible and flying, and at a fair distance. He seems to rely on his familiar a lot, which I'll be very happy to feed to Abraxas at some point."
"I wouldn't say he's averse to risks, no. He broke his oath to the masters of Miir Valley, snuck into the Cabinet of Curiosities then drank from the Goblet of Ire, and threatened a large number of the University’s magical faculty with out-of-bodily harm.”
"That bit I can actually sympathize with him for. We don't exactly have Universities and magical faculty in the Empire, but we have some analogues. And they are a significant pain in the ass."
Rolzup
First Post
Interlude: “Eve of Instruction”
"I should tell you a little something about the Miir Valley School. It is the most prestigious, well, the only formal training site for the Shirac mystical arts. At Miir they teach the pursuit of enlightenment is the noblest cause. And that all paths may lead to wisdom. Even the ones littered with corpses. So they are reluctant to kill fellow seekers. Which is handy in a profession where your colleagues can make stones burn and drop mountains on your head."
Meiji laughs and nods but doesn't comment.
"You see, some day one of these seekers will become the 'Way to Heaven', and lead the Great Ummab of the Shirac off this world and one step closer to God. The thing is, they have no idea which one it will be.
"By the way, that’s the proper name of the Shirac people, 'the Great Ummab'? It means something like ‘mob’ or ‘flock’, use it if want to score brownie points. And should a Shirac mention the 'Way to Heaven' in conversation, say 'Peace be upon them', or they're liable to try and convince you you're a newt.”
"I'll remember that. Not that I'm expecting to be having much in the way of conversation with any Shiracs in the near future, but then stranger things have happened." With a smile, Meiji adds, "I wasn't expecting this conversation either."
A look of consternation crosses the Lady Eve’s flushed and elegant face. "You know, Nadir might have assumed I’m a construct, like one of those fancy mechanical camp followers they tried building at the Acadeum Materia, what did they call them, oh yes, the Whoreforged, in which case he’ll head straight for Gallina. Imagine thinking I’m some kind of alchemical tart…."
"Those contain sulphur," Burne notes, "And must be cooked with great care indeed."
Everyone, except, perhaps, the Lady Eve, realizes that she is beginning to sound slightly intoxicated, after consuming enough wine to stupefy the ronin or send Dr. Wu to Heaven twice over. Meiji, who's been keeping an assiduous - and calculating - eye on her glass, makes a mental note of her capacity and refills it again without touching it.
Eve smiles and nods at Meiji. "Wrongheaded, but certainly useful for impressing the ladies".
Meiji chuckles, looking completely unabashed. "Mostly sheer laziness on my part, actually, but you do have a point." His grin gets a little broader and he says, "It's amazing how many places an extra hand can be helpful."
The Lady Eve gives a short, surprisingly snort-like laugh, "I've heard that one before. Remember, I'm popular at magician parties.”
Nonplussed by banter, Rackhir interrupts, "If I may ask, Lady Eve, how did you know we would be here tonight? Or Nadir? It can’t be a coincidence."
"You could say I foresaw it."
"So you’re an oracle?"
"Would an oracle have shoes like these? I don’t think so. Let me try and explain…
"Since my assignation with Hunger I’m never entirely ‘here’ or ‘there’, which has certain implications. I’m virtually impossible to harm, and sad to say there have been times I tried. More importantly, no barrier can stop me. Not even the one between today and yesterday. A charming and half-mad philosopher called it ‘doing the sidestep', or was it the ‘two-step’? I forget."
Meiji pauses, as a thought strikes him and adds, "Actually, if you can slide back and forth in time, wouldn't that help you find out what is likely to happen to him? Or us?"
"Chancy stuff, that," Burne interjects in an absent tone, "From what I've read, it's deucedly difficult to be sure if you're returning to the same 'when' that you've left. Some nonsense about free will, and temporal constants, and dead cats. Not really my field of study. Except for the cats."
"I wouldn’t know about that, I’m totally ignorant of science. I went to art school. Now have any of you read a Narayan author named Joost? No baser drunk ever picked up a quill. Anyway, he wrote an exceedingly slim novella called Recollections of Things Last. In it, he described both the recalled past and anticipated future as totally different worlds. He was on to something, and not just the best recipe for absinthe.
"When I do the sidestep, I travel to places… just next door. Oh, they’re a lot like here. Sure, the people may look more like birds or Thursday might come directly after Monday, or everyone is the walking dead. Where was I? They’re a lot like here, but time isn't always, sometimes it’s slower, sometimes faster. An observant girl can glean a few things, but remember it’s not precisely the same world I left.
"I suppose I could try stepping straight ahead forward, but, as you said Burne, I can’t sure what world I’d return to when I stepped back."
"In that case," says Meiji, "I'd much rather you didn't try it. We have to judge our priorities, after all. Getting rid of a Shirac mind-witch with delusions of grandeur is all well and good, but we have a date tomorrow."
"I wouldn't miss it for this world." says the Lady Eve.
"I should tell you a little something about the Miir Valley School. It is the most prestigious, well, the only formal training site for the Shirac mystical arts. At Miir they teach the pursuit of enlightenment is the noblest cause. And that all paths may lead to wisdom. Even the ones littered with corpses. So they are reluctant to kill fellow seekers. Which is handy in a profession where your colleagues can make stones burn and drop mountains on your head."
Meiji laughs and nods but doesn't comment.
"You see, some day one of these seekers will become the 'Way to Heaven', and lead the Great Ummab of the Shirac off this world and one step closer to God. The thing is, they have no idea which one it will be.
"By the way, that’s the proper name of the Shirac people, 'the Great Ummab'? It means something like ‘mob’ or ‘flock’, use it if want to score brownie points. And should a Shirac mention the 'Way to Heaven' in conversation, say 'Peace be upon them', or they're liable to try and convince you you're a newt.”
"I'll remember that. Not that I'm expecting to be having much in the way of conversation with any Shiracs in the near future, but then stranger things have happened." With a smile, Meiji adds, "I wasn't expecting this conversation either."
A look of consternation crosses the Lady Eve’s flushed and elegant face. "You know, Nadir might have assumed I’m a construct, like one of those fancy mechanical camp followers they tried building at the Acadeum Materia, what did they call them, oh yes, the Whoreforged, in which case he’ll head straight for Gallina. Imagine thinking I’m some kind of alchemical tart…."
"Those contain sulphur," Burne notes, "And must be cooked with great care indeed."
Everyone, except, perhaps, the Lady Eve, realizes that she is beginning to sound slightly intoxicated, after consuming enough wine to stupefy the ronin or send Dr. Wu to Heaven twice over. Meiji, who's been keeping an assiduous - and calculating - eye on her glass, makes a mental note of her capacity and refills it again without touching it.
Eve smiles and nods at Meiji. "Wrongheaded, but certainly useful for impressing the ladies".
Meiji chuckles, looking completely unabashed. "Mostly sheer laziness on my part, actually, but you do have a point." His grin gets a little broader and he says, "It's amazing how many places an extra hand can be helpful."
The Lady Eve gives a short, surprisingly snort-like laugh, "I've heard that one before. Remember, I'm popular at magician parties.”
Nonplussed by banter, Rackhir interrupts, "If I may ask, Lady Eve, how did you know we would be here tonight? Or Nadir? It can’t be a coincidence."
"You could say I foresaw it."
"So you’re an oracle?"
"Would an oracle have shoes like these? I don’t think so. Let me try and explain…
"Since my assignation with Hunger I’m never entirely ‘here’ or ‘there’, which has certain implications. I’m virtually impossible to harm, and sad to say there have been times I tried. More importantly, no barrier can stop me. Not even the one between today and yesterday. A charming and half-mad philosopher called it ‘doing the sidestep', or was it the ‘two-step’? I forget."
Meiji pauses, as a thought strikes him and adds, "Actually, if you can slide back and forth in time, wouldn't that help you find out what is likely to happen to him? Or us?"
"Chancy stuff, that," Burne interjects in an absent tone, "From what I've read, it's deucedly difficult to be sure if you're returning to the same 'when' that you've left. Some nonsense about free will, and temporal constants, and dead cats. Not really my field of study. Except for the cats."
"I wouldn’t know about that, I’m totally ignorant of science. I went to art school. Now have any of you read a Narayan author named Joost? No baser drunk ever picked up a quill. Anyway, he wrote an exceedingly slim novella called Recollections of Things Last. In it, he described both the recalled past and anticipated future as totally different worlds. He was on to something, and not just the best recipe for absinthe.
"When I do the sidestep, I travel to places… just next door. Oh, they’re a lot like here. Sure, the people may look more like birds or Thursday might come directly after Monday, or everyone is the walking dead. Where was I? They’re a lot like here, but time isn't always, sometimes it’s slower, sometimes faster. An observant girl can glean a few things, but remember it’s not precisely the same world I left.
"I suppose I could try stepping straight ahead forward, but, as you said Burne, I can’t sure what world I’d return to when I stepped back."
"In that case," says Meiji, "I'd much rather you didn't try it. We have to judge our priorities, after all. Getting rid of a Shirac mind-witch with delusions of grandeur is all well and good, but we have a date tomorrow."
"I wouldn't miss it for this world." says the Lady Eve.
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