Ch.5K: "Lost Souls" / Kell at Fairy Spring

[Legendary Sidekick]

Only one bed could fit Kell-Pi's body. The other bed would fit a fairy, but would be cold and uncomfortable unless the fairy was made of metal.

As for the books, one has poems like:

What is a star?
Fire or lightning?
Dimming or brightening?
How big and how far?
How pretty they are!

Another is a story of creatures who dwell on a planet mostly submerged in water. The creatures explore land and try to befriend land-dwellers, but the Terrestrials see the creatures as Things. Things can be studied and enslaved. Thing 60053 (a.k.a. Goose) risks her life to free her people.

None of the books are journals. Just poetry and fiction. All share similar themes of exploration, and protagonists tend to be heroic while antagonists tend to use people for their own purposes. There are no titles on the books, nor are there author names. Only zip on one, Pi and a number on others. Pi^47 is unfinished. You don't know how the words are written, but the penmanship is so neat that any two of the same letter are perfectly identical.

 

[tbgg]

She wonders, Could the other bed have been made for Penni?

She next searches the larger of the two beds. Is anything under the bed or mattress (if there is a mattress)? Are there any apparent compartments or drawers where something might be stored? Are there any knobs or levers or raised areas that might be used to trigger an opening mechanism? Does anything stand out about the bed aside from its size?

She also moves each piece of fairy-sized furniture to see if doing so triggers any kind of opening mechanism. Assuming it doesn't, she tries as best she can to put each piece back exactly where she found it.

Finally she searches the walls, looking for indentations or anything out of the ordinary.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

The bed is a solid slab, and there aren't any hidden compartments.

Steph flutters in and says, "Um... can I help you?"

 

[tbgg]

Kell turns around and says, "Oh, hi Steph. I was mostly just wondering if Kell-Pi kept any journals or notes here. Or does she only read and entertain fairy-sized guests here?"


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[Legendary Sidekick]

Steph says, "Kell-Pi likes to write stories about places she invents in her mind. She reads them to us! This entire library is het own work. I can't wait for the mission to be over so she can get back to writing.

"She will, right? I mean... you having her body doesn't mean she's gonna die, right? You'll both have your own bodies back as soon as they fix your Nymph body. I guess that's the plan.

"Shelly filled me in while you were checking the place out. She didn't know if the change is permanent or temporary. She doesn't think you know, but someone must've explained, right?"

 

[tbgg]

Kell blinks in astonishment. She had no idea all of the books were written by Kell-Pi!

She thinks, 'I sure hope I can have a conversation with her about this some day!'

She tells Steph soberly, "I appreciate that you want to think positively, but very little was explained to me about switching back into our correct bodies. Though in part, I did run out of there rather quickly after I learned the change wasn't an accident, so maybe they didn't have time. I do think they are wanting to heal my nymph body more before switching us back. And they implied that changing us back will be risky, but whether that means it will be riskier for Kell-Pi or for me or the same for both of us, I truly don't know."

She begins scanning through the one unfinished book. What is it about? Do secret missions or body-swapping figure into the story line at all? Are there any hints as to what may have been on Kell-Pi's mind as she was writing?

If she doesn't find anything like that in the unfinished book, she asks Steph, "What was the last story she told you about?"


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[Legendary Sidekick]

When you scan a book, you find you can read extremely fast. You're not even sure how you're doing it. Are you accessing Kell-Pi's memory (seeing how she wrote the books) or is the machine brain really this fast at processing information. You must be speed-reading a hundred times faster than usual, or maybe a thousand…?

When you get to the 17th book, it's a romance novel called The Maiden and Her Mistress. The Maiden is an Iron Maiden who was built to look exactly like her mistress. There are several machines, both male and female, who are built to resemble their masters and mistresses.

"Irene" practically worships Miss Eileen. Whatever romantic feelings she seems to have go unfulfilled (so the Iron Maiden remains a maiden in that sense), but Irene and Eileen remain friends throughout Eileen's marriage, the loss of her son when dies as a soldier, the eventual separation of her cheating husband, and old age taking its toll. In the end, Irene gives Eileen her body, sacrificing herself for her true love.

Steph says book 17 would have been one of Kell-Pi's earlier works, likely written four or five years ago. So it's not about you, but the description of the machine that allows souls to switch bodies reminds you of the machine at Heph's.



((In case you do ask Steph, Kell-Pi read poetry to the honeymooners.))

 

[tbgg]

Kell continues reading the rest of Kell-Pi's books, looking for the same themes. If she can read this fast, she might as well make use of it!


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[Legendary Sidekick]

((I can't write as fast as Kell-Pi, so…))

You read everything in about two to three hours. While the themes are similar, the soul-switching plot device was never repeated. There were a couple of other tragic heroines whose endings involved self-sacrifice. And that is a common thread shared by all of the heroines: they made bold choices, but the choices were theirs, even in death.

 

[tbgg]

((If Kell-Pi's lights change colors or flash rapidly when she's agitated, then consider them to be flashing in agitation.))

Dammit, dammit, dammit, DAMMIT, Kell-Pi! Your generosity of spirit is making me feel like a selfish jerk for wanting to have a say in decisions that affect me.

Mind churning, her thoughts finally come together. If I get to talk to Kell-Pi again, I'm going to give her a writing assignment. I'm going to ask her to write about a heroine who has an individual in her life who is always stepping on her right to make her own life choices who then has a different friend make a sacrifice for her without consulting her that she didn't feel like she needed. However the story turns out, it will be a good exercise for Kell-Pi to wrestle with the question of what do with an unexpected sacrifice on one's behalf that steps on one's desire to have a say in things that affect them when the only thing one really wants is just the right to have that say.

Her next needed action now clear to her, she turns to ask Steph, "Do you have any idea where I might be able to find Helix, the blue-green unicorn who usually accompanies me when I'm in my nymph body? I have a rather urgent need to speak with him."

I sure hope Helix knows some form of code that you can clop-communicate, and that I have access to that part of Kell-Pi's mind!

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

There are no telepathic responses.

Steph tells you, "I remember Helix. And so saw him just before sundown. He was in a hurry. Phoebe was riding him, and he was pulling a cart. You were in it--I mean, you were you--Nymph you. And you were asleep. Aphrodite was holding your head in her lap. I didn't catch that, but Shelly saw her."

It turns out Shelly and Steph are both in here now. They were reading poetry together while you were reading.

Shelly says, "It was Aphrodite all right. She was stroking your hair and I heard her say littlest sister. I thought it was sweet... but I thought you were sleeping, not dying. That would explain Helix's haste."

Steph adds, "He hasn't come back since. Maybe he's at the mansion."

 

[tbgg]

Kell's jaw drops and she can only manage a befuddled "Wha-?" before her heart plummets a mile and then her stomach tumbles right after it. She senses the lights around Kell-Pi's face flickering unevenly.

By the first egg, I hope that doesn't mean what I think that means. Plenty of nymphs have hatched after me and are younger than me, not that anyone really knows where nymph eggs come from or who the parents of any given egg are, although I suppose if anyone would know about nymph egg parentage, Aphrodite would. Whatever she said about a sister, please let it be a reference to someone else, maybe some sister of hers who died. PLEASE!

She tells both of them, "Thank both of you so much for all of your help. Kell-Pi is lucky to have friends like you. And now if you'll pardon me, I'll go see if I can find Helix. I may well come back here afterwards - I'm not sure yet."

Waving to them, she heads off into the night, thankful at least that the lights built in to Kell-Pi's body serve to light her path.

As she heads back to Plambot Mansion, she tells herself, I won't go back inside the mansion proper, but I think I can justify finding and talking to Helix. Now, did I see any stables or green pastures around the mansion that might make for a good place for a unicorn to hang out?

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

As you head back, an alarm sounds off at the mansion. Something inside you tells you you​—or Kell-Pi's body—is urgently needed.

 

[tbgg]

Ch.5K: "Lost Souls" / Kell at Fairy Spring

Kell's grinds her jaw - to whatever extent a metal maiden can do so - at the sound of the alarm. It galls her to have to break her word about not stepping back inside the mansion, but she did say she'd come back to be transferred back to her body. If this summons isn't about that and her body is dying, well, she'd like to say a few words privately to Kell-Pi if there's an opportunity. The silver maiden's generous spirit deserves that much respect from her.

Feeling tense all over, she continues her walk back toward PlamBot Mansion. When the Mansion comes into view, she senses a commotion out front. Hurrying her stride, she speeds toward the front lawn, asking the nearest person in a clipped, anxious tone, "What is it? Is Kell-Pi still...?"


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[Legendary Sidekick]

There are some communications among the metal maidens...

P4T-T1: "TRANSFORM? (Y/N)"
H0N-N1: "Y"
C0N-D1: "Y"
M1N-T1: "Y"

You sense the others await your response, which is limited to Y or N. You sense that no other response can be transmitted.

 

[tbgg]

Fuming, Kell very nearly turns around and walks away on the spot. Zeusdammit, they are doing it to me AGAIN! All I have ever wanted from these people is a little communication. Yet can they be bothered to provide it? Only enough to play games with me. Apparently, they think they can use maiden peer pressure to force me to go along with whatever the damn game-du-jour is. Well, if they expect my help and co-operation, they can damn well learn how to communicate without the games. If I ever get my body back, I am NEVER setting foot in this place again. I'll give the maidens themselves the benefit of the doubt for the time being - they're probably programmed to just be obedient. It's the damn Immortals who can't be trusted.

Glaring, Kell replies, "N". And then stalks off to look for the stables and Helix.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

P4T-T1: "Situation urgent. Please return to lab if you do not wish to borrow K3L-L3.14's body. We need K3L-L3.14 now. If the mansion is destroyed, your body will be destroyed as well. Do you under--"

SIGNAL LOST.

H0N-N1: "P4T-T1? Please resp--"

SIGNAL LOST.

The world suddenly becomes brighter as the sun rises from the west. A large flaming shaft shoots toward the mansion, exploding on impact...

 

[tbgg]

It doesn't matter anymore. Life doesn't matter. Relationships don't matter. Nothing matters.

Kell runs pell-mell toward the mansion. She knows that her body is most likely gone. And she doesn't care about living. But maybe she can manage to save someone who's still inside.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

You find your metal body can home in on the lab where your body is. You arrive without any flaming shafts exploding near you.

Once inside, you detect 1 soul in the lab, and 3 in another room nearby.

No matter which way you go, you need to break the wall.


((Choose a direction. Roll power #4X3))

 

[tbgg]

Kell moves for the 3 souls in the nearby room. And she breaks down the wall that will help her get there.