After Journal Entry 34

This is the lab. If there is anything else you need in addition to what is here, Yuclaus should be able to get it for you, Olania finished her telepathic message to the two of us.

“And the living quarters are just up those stairs?” Cain inquired —after taking a brief glance at his new home— pointing at the aforementioned steps.

Yes. We have some spare furniture we put in there. I am not quite sure why. In any case, if anything is not to your liking, Yuclaus can once again help you with that. Yay, even more work. It looks like my first lab partner will take a while to settle in. I was a fool to anticipate an immediate jump in productivity and progress in experiments. On a positive note, I received a multitude of compliments on my robe. It was a nice sandstone color. It was just a classic wizards robe with the uniform color. I didn’t want to be too gaudy of course. No, I only bring out my Archmage Outfit —patent pending— for special occasions. The research needs to be funded somehow; sometimes we have to do less than savory things out of necessity. Luckily, I love spreading proper style to the world!

“...Right Yuclaus?” Cain looked over to me expectantly. Olania likewise was watching me, but her look was a knowing one.

You were thinking about the Archmage Outfit weren't you?

“Reading people’s minds without permission is quite rude Olania, you really need to develop restraint,” I replied, calm nonetheless. I have never truly cared should Olania decide to read my mind. We both know I have nothing to hide. She was the one who helped me with the Reform patent after all. The process had been much faster thanks to the act of a menacing Orthodox. Mind reading also never hurts negotiations. Well, never hurts me at least. I chuckled a little bit, Olania joining me.

It’s hard to stop when we both know you don't care. Plus, I get to hear your jokes that you otherwise keep to yourself. Cain was looking a little left out, so I decided to include him. After a brief discussion of the magnificent work that was the Archmage Outfit, we continued on with the conversation.

“Forgive me for asking, but you never really explained why an Orthodox city is filled with air,” Cain asked. It was a mild surprise for me, I guess I had gotten so used to it, I never truly questioned that as well. Looking back, any other Orthodox outside of the faction had always worn a type of water tank.

As we have made a significant amount of progress already, our faction has various perks already available. One branch of these perks is Mind Over Body. Besides the personalized branches, one of the universal tiers allows all to breathe so long as there is a source of oxygen.

“But if everyone can breathe either water or air, why did you choose air?”

Well, we are quite fond of the other races, and would prefer if they were not killed by the pressure.

“That makes sense, thank you,” Can looked upwards slightly, likely remembering how far under the sea they were. A few moments later he returned his focus on us, “I’ll settle in and keep the two of you updated.”

“Alright. I shall return at a later date to check if you need anything,” I said to the purple eyed gentleman. I turned towards the door. Is that floorboard slightly off? Even though the coral plank looks the same as the rest, I feel like it's different. How strange. I found myself bending over to examine—

Yuclaus, do you have some free time after this? I could really use a bite of food. Olania literally interrupted my train of thought by speaking into my mind. I considered it. It would be nice, I am rather peckish.

“Sure, you got a place in mind.” Heh, in mind.

Of course.

“Hey Sen,” Yuclaus called out to the Environ, dodging a beak, “I know this was my idea, but doesn't it seem… I don't know, a little….” Thin twigs arrayed like a starfish swept towards him.

“Intense? Unfair? Dangerous?” Isencia guessed a few words from above him.

“I was going to say it defeats the whole purpose of my initial idea,” Yuclaus spat out as he leaned back from the sharp branches. It would have been much cooler if he limboed the talon, but it was more like a flinch.

“I think it fulfills the purpose extraordinarily well.” Sen responded, looking up at him.

“Sometimes Sen I wonder, I really d—” Yuclaus somersaulted out of the way of a second Bird of Purgatory, the name he invented for the disturbing birds. “—Uek,” He rolled sideways, still on the ground, to avoid being stepped on by one of the four legs of the bird.

“Yu, I don’t see what’s wrong. You said you wanted to test your… memory ripping, just test it already,” The monotone voice of Isencia called out to the worm-boy. I mean, he’s rolling on the ground, how else am I supposed to describe that? It is by no means elegant.

“How am I supposed to touch a four legged demon bird?! And how come it looks like a Bird of Paradise, why is every creature here neither flora or fauna, but flauna?” Yuclaus resorted to ranting nonsense, a typical coping mechanism. The orange plumed head of the Bird of Purgatory attempted to skewer our hero, while simultaneously using its front two claws to pin him in place.

“Yu can always just, git g—”

“Don't you finish that.” Yuclaus abruptly stood up, surprising the two flightless birds. He stared straight into the upside-down eyes of Isencia. Watching the nymph with an intensity that caused the Birds of Purgatory to stop their assault momentarily. Isencia walked forward on the underside of the branch, root like protrusions keeping her from succumbing to gravity.

“My word play and knowledge was originally yours Yu,” She stopped directly above him, “technically, wouldn’t I just be saying your inner thoughts?” A faint smirk alighted momentarily on the stoic facade. Despite the seemingly dangerous situation Yuclaus was in —and his apparent struggle— he was confident. The two of them were bantering since they both knew he could have finished this long ago.

This situation had occurred as per Yuclaus’ request. After their usual daytime travel, the two had found a nice non-clearing area. This was as per Isencia’s request, as the nymph wanted to test something as Yuclaus was likewise experimenting. When they had arrived at the area —you could call it a miniscule glade— Sen had immediately sat down in a type of meditation. A mediation in where a plush vine chair was helping her focus. How could you focus if you were sitting on rocks and sticks? That seems counterproductive.

Yuclaus, confused at what was going on, decided to find a nice place for his spore to settle. Yes, the very spore he completely forgot about until that moment. Oh, oh no, the failed parent said to himself. He had completely forgotten his child. He paced back and forth between two trees. Should he mention it to Isencia? She had to have noticed and purposefully not reminded him. That was either a way for her to mess with him, a way to test him, or she knew a method to remedy it within seconds. He leaned towards the last one. Sen could be… not mean persay, but harsh. She would never do something harmful to him though.

Should he bring it up? Wait, couldn’t he somewhat mentally command Gourami? What if he just told Gourami to come? Would it return to him? Hmmmmm. Gourami? He mentally called out. Obviously, a plant wasn’t going to respond. Gourami, come. Cause waited a few moments. He received no feedback. Shrugging, he decided to say nothing. If Gourami was still absent after a few days, he would bring it up to Sen. It would probably take the tumbleweed about that long to catch up to the two.

They moved quite fast when they traveled. Luckily Cause —perhaps embarrassingly— was usually on Sen’s back, so he never really got his eyeballs pierced by the wind resistance. Rather than have his much larger body sticking up above the nymph, she decided to have his legs dangle. It truly was an awkward way to travel. Though he knew Isencia never meant to, sometimes the back of his thighs would get kicked. Luckily, she was too short to hit the back of his knee, that would suck.

He sat down across from Isencia, going into his mindscape. Isencia said it should have changed or had a representation of his Spore. It looked almost exactly the same. Well, besides the small puddle where the glowing green light used to be. Perhaps puddle was misleading. It had the depth of a puddle. The circumference was more apt to be described as a pond. At least, this is what Cause assumed. After seeing the magnificent puddle —puddle is fun to say, leave me alone—, observing the blue screen of doom, and noticing the purple gem, Yuclaus decided it would be wise to investigate the arm of water. Calling it a body of water would be an overstatement.

Yuclaus stopped at the edge. Looking down, it truly looked as if there was just a thin cover of water over rich soil. He stepped forward into it, and immediately fell to his waist in the deep puddle. Yuclaus lowered his arms, his surprise at the drop caused them to shoot up, making him look like a sad Y. As his hands touched the water, he recoiled. Not because the water was cold, not that he could feel cold, but because the water seemed to repel him.

He dipped his hands in and out, like a child playing with a non-newtonian fluid. He idly remembered playing with oobleck. He also heard somewhere that ketchup was a non-newtonian fluid, but he was understandably reluctant to try punching ketchup. Grabbing the edge of the puddle, Cause pushed himself out, noticing his clothes were not only dry, but impeccable. Oh right, I'm in my mind. It makes sense that I wouldn’t get wet and that my clothes are looking quite on fleek if I say so myself. His clothes looked exactly the same as they did in reality. An awkward ranger cosplay. Luckily, that awkward ranger cosplay was quite popular in the Reform cities. The enchantment of leather had really kicked off in recent years. Ah, but that's beside the point.

Yuclaus hopped back in the puddle, and waded to the other side. At least, he attempted to. After a minute of seemingly not moving, he turned around. A fair distance away was a shore, a faint figure standing on its edge. He squinted at the distance. He must’ve imagined it, but the figure gave off a faint blue light. Well, this is intriguing. He turned about face once more, expecting to see the familiar sight of a ledge within reach. No. He was stranded in the middle of a lake. One with uniform depth, and soil that was reluctant to be pressed down by his steps. Cause bent down, submerging himself in the water. He touched the ground, noticing the soil felt soft, like a sheep. At least, how he imagined a sheep would feel.

Yuclaus whipped his new locks of hair backwards as he exited the water. Droplets fell around him as his hair flowed, and he emerged from the water as elegantly as a mermaid. If he had a bottle of shampoo in his hand, he would complete the image. It was interesting to note, from a third perspective, that his hair whipped back like that not because it was wet, but because he wanted it to. Being in your own mindscape allows one to indulge themselves how they wish.

“What are you doing?” Yuclaus visibly flinched. He always had to be caught at the most embarrassing moments. He slowly turned around, to see a floating Isencia.

“Sen?”

“Mhm?”

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” The nymph tilted her head to the side at his question. Though it felt forced, it achieved its goal. Yuclaus was irked. “Don't just tilt your head at me! Sen, you're literally in my mind!”

“I don't understand why you're stating the obvious,” Isencia said.

“I mean, I don’t actually mind, but I would have preferred if you asked first. Take me out to a nice dinner first Sen.”

“What does dinner have to do wi—”

“Want to come in the lake?” Yuclaus cut off her train of thought. He did not feel like explaining that joke. Note to self: don’t. Just don’t. “It's fun! The water doesn’t stick to you.”

“I don't think water stick—”

“Sen, just hop in. The water is —quite— fine.” The nymph floated into the water. She sunk past her knees. She sunk past her waist. She sunk past her shoulders. Finally, only her neck and head were sticking out of the water. Yuclaus couldn’t help himself. He laughed. Isencia, never needing to be self-conscious about her height before, did not know how to react. An instinct caused her to splash him with the water, Isencia style. A wave of water humbled Yuclaus. As he tumbled beneath the wave, he remembered his first ride or die with Gourami. The stupid lug, where is it?

Once the impromptu wipeout ended, Yuclaus popped out of the water to an emotionless Sen.

“How did you do that?” He asked eagerly.

“I just willed it.” She responded.

“Sen, I have a brilliant idea.”

“Hm?”

“Have you ever played battleboat?” What commenced was an epic game of tag. One where a giant opaque wall of water separated the two, and they shot orbs of water at one another attempting to “sink” the other. That then escalated to an epic battle of various water creatures. Yuclaus conjured an array of plant-salamanders —his submarine unit— and sent them to infiltrate enemy lines. Isencia had prepared. There were geyser mines. As high pressure water shredded the salamanders, Isencia sent a massive winged-fish airstrike. Water bombs went off around Yuclaus, but he prepared for this.

“WATER GOURAMI, TAKE THEM OUT!” A replica of a mangrove superimposed itself over Yuclaus. Spears of water knocked water fish out of the sky. When the last one was all but destroyed, the general herself appeared. Isencia shot over the water, a wake formed behind her. “HAHA YOU FORGET SEN, IN HERE, I HAVE ABSOLUTE POWER!”

Raising his hand, a prison of water captured Isencia. She attempted to conjure more, but Yuclaus mentally put a stop to that. He raised his hand, ready to drop it along with his trapped nemesis.

“It's time to end this.”

“Yes, yes it is.” Yuclaus spun to face her, but it was too late. Isencia had switched her location with her last remaining fish. An explosion of water separated the two. Yucalus found himself sprawled next to the obelisk, a stupid smile on his face. Soon a familiar nymph stared down at him.

“Why are you smiling? You lost.”

“Yes, but Sen, that was so much fun. That last move you pulled was genius.”

“Technically we had no rules, so it could be argued it was illegal.”

“So could the water prison. I have an unfair advantage here.”

“You were going easy on me.”

“As were you.” Yuclaus’ smile never dimmed in the slightest. He raised his hand. Isencia glanced at it for a second before she grabbed it, hauling him to his feet.

“That was fun, we should get going though, I still want you to test your memory stealing.” Isencia turned, and was about to leave Yuclaus’ mindscape when she noticed a familiar purple gem sitting beside his pedestal.

“I told you it was broken. I can’t do a thing with it,” Cause responded, thinking Sen was looking at the obelisk.

“So it is,” she forced herself to look away from the faceted orb. “We can look at it in depth tonight.”

“Can I see your mindscape?” Isencia faltered at his question.

“Yes, but you cannot look at my obelisk.”

“Why? Sen that's not fair, you already saw my obelisk. So you can see mine, and I can’t see yours?” The two bickered. Rather, Yuclaus pestered Isencia, and the nymph refused to answer any of his questions. Eventually the two exited. Yuclaus opened his eyes to see a small hand pressed against his forehead and Isencia standing in front of him.

“I had a suspicion,” She said preemptively, “it worked. So did my other idea. Look at this.” She walked over to a nearby tree. Then she kept walking, sideways on the trunk. “I put the small orb from the salamanders into the foot slot, and a flood of information filled my mind. They are like skills. The bigger they are the more powerful. There are other criteria, but I believe we have to figure that out on our own.”

“NO WAY! Why does my obelisk have to be broken! We have two right? Give me back the one I grabbed.”

“I’m using the one you grabbed.”

“Why? I mean, you did kill it, and it is bigger, so that makes sense. I feel like you have another reason.”

“Yes. When I use the other ones I also get the memories of the creature. It can cause me to have unsavory recollections. Unsavory instincts.”

“That's strange. Think it has to do with how I pulled it out?”:

“I am inclined to believe it.” The two almost boarded the train that was their thoughts. Luckily, Isencia had planned on her spore leading two massive four legged birds into the vicinity. Isencia retreated to the underside of a branch, testing the limits of her gem, while Yuclaus dueled the Birds of Purgatory. Like their name, the birds resembled the plant Bird of Paradise. Except it was a quadrupedal, eyeless monstrosity. Later, Yuclaus would learn they had an incredible regeneration ability. Utterly ridiculous as the plant their nickname stemmed from had no such properties. The afternoon continued, Yuclaus eventually deciding to practice ripping out memories from the birds.

After a few minutes, two twitching plants remained of the intimidating beasts. A plethora of small circular crystals surrounding Yuclaus. The man had a surprisingly good instinct to the flow of battle, and seemed to know exactly where to go to touch his opponent. His fighting skills were pathetic, but he didn't need to fight. He just needed to touch their heads. Isencia put them out of their misery, and the two returned to their verbal jousting.