"If the encounter turns hostile, my highest priority will be evacuating you."
"Yes, it will."
Given his track record of keeping her safe so far? He'd
better keep that promise...
"You didn't wear that armour when we were going to confront Cottus."
"That was in Tartarus."
Indeed. Her place of power, more or less. While Cottus was soundly bound by its magic...
"Um. Yes?"
She pauses in checking the parts of her armour she can actually reach in order to give me a withering eye roll.
I know, dear.
He's rather thick, even for a
man.
"I'm a goddess and we're inside a titan. Being myself here is easy. I can't manifest my full power in the material world without an external power source, which I don't have."
I frown. "So how-?"
With great difficulty, duh.
"I'm going to have to create a weak avatar and go there as that. Which means I need this armour which cousin Hephaestus made."
"Did he make it recently?"
Just, you know, keeping up with fashions... And material sciences... Would you like some
powered armour?
Her eyes narrow.
"What are you implying?"
...She's taking that as a comment about her figure, isn't she? You
fool, OL!
"That his knowledge of arcane smithing has increased a lot lately and that probably wouldn't be the style he'd use today."
"Oh." She bats Gaudia's hands away. "I suppose that's possible."
Phew, misunderstanding defused. I'm guessing he'd have made a suit more like Wonder Woman's battle armour than the classical
Attican garb of Helm, Breastplate, Bracers and Greaves.
"Not that I think what you've got looks bad- "
"I don't care!"
Indeed, it's not like you care what
he thinks, do you?
No Denying the Tsundere-ness...
"-in any… Okay. Ah, do you want any technological assistance?"
She frowns. "What do you mean?"
I mean, metal plates and leather straps isn't the
peak of military defences
these days...
"A personal force field generator? Defence drones? Extra armour plates?"
"This armour is perfectly alright for a visit. Even if the world is closely connected to the Dream, they'll be under the same restrictions as I am. And I doubt that they'll be stronger than me; we don't keep track of everyone, but if someone powerful went missing we would know about it."
Ooh, big assumptions to make. Who knows what they'll
actually be like?
"A shield generator doesn't need to be very big."
"Do you know that it wouldn't interfere with the enchantments on this armour?"
...That is a
good point.
Some esoteric defences don't stack, after all.
"Based on my general knowledge of thaumaturgy and Hephaestus's techniques, I think it highly unlikely."
"I'd like a force field generator." I look around as the lightly armoured Aporia raises her right hand. "If that's alright?"
...I'm guessing she hasn't even got a
breastplate... Maybe a layered linen vest...
I glance at Gaudia, who nods twice. I raise my left hand and orange light flickers out, creating girdles around their waists with built in reactive kinetic barriers.
"Hm."
Feeling a little
jealous, Melinoë dear?
Melinoë makes a point of looking unimpressed.
"Are we leaving via Themyscira, or via the Dream gate?"
...Is visiting the Dreaming
really such a good idea?
"You can't get there through the Dream without lots of preparation. Have you made lots of preparations?"
"Barely any."
Given it's only a few
hours since he even knew he was
going on this mission? Yes, I'd say so.
"Then there would be 'barely any' chance of you arriving." She looks at her subordinate goddesses. "Any of you."
"But you'd be alright?"
"I'm the Goddess of Nightmares, idiot. I'd be more alright there than in the material universe."
Well, at least you haven't dated the
Oneiromancer...
"Rightoh. So I'm flying us there?"
"Unless you expect us to walk."
...Not exactly a walk to the
corner shop or anything, OL...
"Can you walk there?" I widen my eyes. "Gosh, that's impressive. Most people-"
She scowls. "No, of course-"
Unless one of them has suddenly added Travel to their portfolio...
"-have trouble using magic-"
"-that's not possible, idiot."
Is he trying to distract her from the danger? Because it's working. The only danger now is to
him...
"-away from a thaumically active planet."
I smile as her face goes from 'smile' to a 'blank, I'm totally above it all' expression. Then she vanishes.
Yeah, let's
not piss off the Goddess of Nightmares, OL... Do you
want her cursing you?
I look around-. There she is, heading up the stairs to Themyscira. I turn to Gaudia and Aporia.
"Can I offer you a lift?"
Aporia nods. "I am very interested to experience your orange light for myself."
Oh, are you in for a
treat.
I tag each of them with orange bonds and I get a sudden shock of awareness, an existing contact between them and the Honden. I don't think they had the sort of access that I do, but they were definitely aware of it. That might make them better recruitment prospects than I had assumed.
"Oh. That's interesting."
Oh no, she's getting
ideas, isn't she? Filthy,
filthy ideas?
They feel it, too. Might be worth giving them each an entry-level ring just to see how they function. Though given what Melinoë said, they would be far less powerful in the material universe than they would be here. Maybe they could use their rings to do their jobs faster?
I lift them off the ground and we fly out of Melinoë's dressing room, rising up over the palace and heading for the entrance at speed. I think about making a 'please keep your hands inside the ride' comment, but if they haven't kept up with the surface world they wouldn't understand it.
There goes any idea of them playing webcam temptresses, then...
"So what have you two been doing with yourselves since Greece converted to Christianity?"
Gaudia makes a dismissive gesture with her right hand.
But at least we get to find out
what...
"For a time, we simply stayed in our manors near the main entrance. As we had fewer and fewer souls to vet, we increasingly had to make our own entertainment. Eventually, Lord Hades sent a messenger to dismiss us entirely so that he could keep the interesting evaluations entirely to himself. Then other than hearing the occasional prayer… We didn't have any official functions at all."
Aporia nods. "In the end, we just left. Explored the mortal world, in a variety of roles. We've each had dozens of names at least."
But presumably not bothering too much to
actually study the changing culture, then. About what I'd expect?
"So that thing about understanding desires… You've got practical experience and not just divine magic?"
"Yes?"
"Good to hear."
Thinking of getting their assistance with a bit of spiritual remodelling in some students, OL?
