"Do those glasses show you the past? Show you who healed me?" Sam asks. "Do they show you the future of how the pendant will affect me?"
"I'm not looking to stay this way. I want this thing removed. Tried cutting it out of my own chest, if you didn't notice... But you're not sure that killing me will remove the pendant, are you? You seemed certain a priest or holy person with the right spell definitely would," Sam explains. "I'm not saying let's let the thing stay in me forever, just saying let's find someone qualified to removed it once we can. In the meantime I'll be fine..."
"The glasses did show me that they do indeed you heal you a little bit at a time....so to answer that question, yes it was the pendent. You can choose to do what you wish, I simply wanted you to consider what could happen. Since you have made up your mind, let us head back in so I can tell Morris, you are not an turning into an agent for Nectyran....just simply an undead Sam."
"It may have healed me as well but... Well, the point is moo. But no, I'll wait here. Morris was uncomfortable with me inside so best I chill here," Sam says.
At Vins request Morris invites the boy behind the bar and shows him a door into another room for private discussion, as Vin enters Morris does too, and then a second Morris peels off from the first and re-enters the bar, serving another drink for those remaining.
Once the door is closed Neferox senses the connection between the two lost, and her ears prick up instantly, and she hurries to the door, growling and scratching at it. Morris backs up slightly as his bar is invaded "oh! No no no, it's another space, a dimensional fold, he's not gone don't worry!" Nef just growls back at him in warning, as Morris continues trying to explain and calm the hound. "listen! Ratosk made the library for me, it potentially stretches in forever and therefore cannot exist in the same dimensional space as the tavern... Imagine a circle and from that circle a spiral arches out, ok? You can jump in and out of the circle at will but the circle cannot be connected to the spiral or the entire thing becomes too big. He's safe, he'll be back in a moment... RATOSK! Can you help translate, we've enough with one irate demon in this bar.!"
Muir stops at the door to the tree "Morris was uneasy with you being there not because you were cursed but because the curse could be of Nectyran's doing making you a spy. There is no indication of that. This curse is a "normal" undead curse, meaning it is not under Nectyran's influence. You are safe to come back in"
(There is no way I can respond to all this, just gonna ease my way back in…)
As Sam starts turning blue and things go obviously wrong, Elthana wants to reach for him, fix him, do whatever she can, she must…. But all his words for Molly make her hesitate. She has never known love like that and she can only imagine the heartache he has for her and she doesn’t want to intervene.
But she can’t deny what is happening to him, this isn’t good. When Muir and Sam head outside and Vin takes a section? of Morris to another room, she walks up to the new one and asks, “You said I wasn’t ready before, am I now?” Mission she knew… mission was what it was all about.
"Morris is... like a god, right? Or part of a god? An aspect of a god? God-adjacent?" Sam answers with obvious reluctance. "He said an undead near his library could be bad. Dire consequences, I think was his words. No matter my intentions... I want to go back in. I want to see if he'll tell me how Molly died. But I don't want to quibble with a god or nitpick precisely what he means, yeah?"
Sam all but kicks rocks for a moment as he mulls things over. "You go ahead. If he wants me back inside it's easy enough for one of you to stick a head out and let me know..."
((And if someone does then Sam will indeed wander slowly back in so if DM has Morris saying it's ok then it can be assumed Sam is back in without further say from me...))
To Elthana, the fragment of Morris takes a good look at her and gives a smile, "that is what I hope to help you achieve. But I cannot tell you exactly when the tine is right. One thing is certain though, whether you succeed in ending her, or she success in ending you, the one who remains will never be the same again. Are you prepared for that?"
As Muir comes back in and explains the situation with the pendant discovered merging with Sam's body Morris sighs, "it was as I expected but I could not take any chances... if the curse is a product of a cursed item then it is highly unlikely that the direct influence of nectyran is present within Sam. He has all his faculties too which is always a positive. Ratosk could you let our half corpse friend back in?" Morris takes the goggles back from Sam and stows them away under the bar.
As Sam enters once more serafina gives a tut of disappointment, "what were you thinking..." She scowls. Griff couldn't give less of a shit as he seems to have found a booth to fall asleep in.
Then vin returns through the door and the second Morris steps into the first merging back into one.
Sam glares back at Serafina and shrugs. "Souvenir," he says but keeps walking past and goes to the bar.
"So a slight hiccup but no big deal," Sam says to the others. "We'll get it fixed up once we come across a proper priest or such..." Sam is taking his undeath in stride.
At Sam's comfort Morris becomes a little more serious "I'm glad you are going to get it fixed at your earliest convenience, but I do want to make one thing abundantly clear Sam, just incase you get too comfortable with your new situation...
With this curse you are beyond the reach of myself and my siblings, if you die, that is it. No decay, no memory, and no soul for the afterlife, if you die like this. You will lose the chance of your soul being reunited with Molly."
Responding to Morris before Sam and Muir rejoin, “How are you going to help me achieve it?” Ignoring the rest, she hopes he has a real answer to this.
She walks over to Sam as he rejoins them, and tentatively reaches out to the pendant. As she touches it, she sucks in air between clenched teeth and recoils quickly from the cold. Looking up into his eyes, “Are you ok Sam?” Her face etches with worry as she hears Morris’s last words to her friend.
Sam smiles and seems to relax as Elthana approaches but still flinches back just a bit as she reaches out to touch the pendant. Not enough to prevent her but it's clear there is some hesitancy in him about her touching the item. "Sorry," he says as she quickly withdraws her hand.
"Yes, yes. I'm fine," he assures her. "Everything is going to be fine. Just a hiccup is all. Would almost be a good thing if not for the whole undead thing." The last is said as a joke and he gives Elthana a wink in the hopes of lightening the mood. Morris, however, is a buzzkill and immediately heavies that shit right back up.
Sam listens to Morris' words and thinks upon them. As he does a soft amber glow with a pink core around Sam grows for the space of an eyeblink and the area is filled with a soft, floral scent that only Sam recognizes as Molly's perfume. Showing no indication that he is even aware of these effects Sam smiles and nods to Morris. "Everything will turn out just as it is supposed to," Sam assures him.
((Unconscious use of Light and Minor Illusion cantrips... Or the presence of Molly surrounding and reassuring Sam. Who's to say?))
Morris gives a nod of acceptance at Sam's words noting the celestial presence around him, (who's to say, Morris definitely knows :D) "I sincerely hope so"
Turning his attention to Elthana and her question, Morris stretches one arm out and gestures to the door that vin has just come back through, "if you'll join me, I'll do just that..."
Elthana hesitates, keeping her eyes on Sam as he answers Morris just as she figured he would. Then softly, “Right, just a hiccup.” She ends up frowning at this, as the situation really starts weighing on her.
She shakes her head and to Vin, “Well, you came back unscathed, must be just fine, right?” And goes through the door Vin just left.
Vin exits the door behind the bar, running straight into Neferox.
"Hey, it's ok. I'm fine", he says as he pushes past the large hound and leads her away. "Better than ok, actually".
As Elthana speaks to him as they cross paths, he nods. "Yeah, don't worry it will be fine", he says with a smile of encouragement.
He sees Sam and Muir back, "So, did you sort out your undead issue Sam? You still look a little off colour, and bloody", he asks.
Neferox nuzzles at him insistently, until he turns back to her, and something passes unsaid between the pair. Neferox gives Vin a last long hard stare, before padding back to fireplace and lying down, not taking her eyes off Vin for a second. Vin turns back to Sam and Muir for their update.
When Sam sees Morris split into two ever so briefly, one returning and one going through the door with Elthana, he does a bit of a doubletake and blinks deliberately to try to clear his eyes. But then when Morris mentions questions Sam turns to Muir and then goes back to focusing on the beer in front of him, sure Muir will take it from there.
"Not exactly sorted yet," Sam answers Vin, "But it will be as soon as we can. Seems my little souvenir is cursed and we need a priest or something to un-curse it. No biggie. Morris just says to not die before it's done." Sam scoffs amusedly at this. "Like I'm not always trying not to die, eh? So how was your little chat back there? Anything important? Or just hush hush between you two?"
"Do those glasses show you the past? Show you who healed me?" Sam asks. "Do they show you the future of how the pendant will affect me?"
"I'm not looking to stay this way. I want this thing removed. Tried cutting it out of my own chest, if you didn't notice... But you're not sure that killing me will remove the pendant, are you? You seemed certain a priest or holy person with the right spell definitely would," Sam explains. "I'm not saying let's let the thing stay in me forever, just saying let's find someone qualified to removed it once we can. In the meantime I'll be fine..."
"The glasses did show me that they do indeed you heal you a little bit at a time....so to answer that question, yes it was the pendent. You can choose to do what you wish, I simply wanted you to consider what could happen. Since you have made up your mind, let us head back in so I can tell Morris, you are not an turning into an agent for Nectyran....just simply an undead Sam."
"It may have healed me as well but... Well, the point is moo. But no, I'll wait here. Morris was uncomfortable with me inside so best I chill here," Sam says.
At Vins request Morris invites the boy behind the bar and shows him a door into another room for private discussion, as Vin enters Morris does too, and then a second Morris peels off from the first and re-enters the bar, serving another drink for those remaining.
Vin follows Morris-Prime into the back room...
Once the door is closed Neferox senses the connection between the two lost, and her ears prick up instantly, and she hurries to the door, growling and scratching at it. Morris backs up slightly as his bar is invaded "oh! No no no, it's another space, a dimensional fold, he's not gone don't worry!" Nef just growls back at him in warning, as Morris continues trying to explain and calm the hound. "listen! Ratosk made the library for me, it potentially stretches in forever and therefore cannot exist in the same dimensional space as the tavern... Imagine a circle and from that circle a spiral arches out, ok? You can jump in and out of the circle at will but the circle cannot be connected to the spiral or the entire thing becomes too big. He's safe, he'll be back in a moment... RATOSK! Can you help translate, we've enough with one irate demon in this bar.!"
Muir stops at the door to the tree "Morris was uneasy with you being there not because you were cursed but because the curse could be of Nectyran's doing making you a spy. There is no indication of that. This curse is a "normal" undead curse, meaning it is not under Nectyran's influence. You are safe to come back in"
(There is no way I can respond to all this, just gonna ease my way back in…)
As Sam starts turning blue and things go obviously wrong, Elthana wants to reach for him, fix him, do whatever she can, she must…. But all his words for Molly make her hesitate. She has never known love like that and she can only imagine the heartache he has for her and she doesn’t want to intervene.
But she can’t deny what is happening to him, this isn’t good. When Muir and Sam head outside and Vin takes a section? of Morris to another room, she walks up to the new one and asks, “You said I wasn’t ready before, am I now?” Mission she knew… mission was what it was all about.
"Morris is... like a god, right? Or part of a god? An aspect of a god? God-adjacent?" Sam answers with obvious reluctance. "He said an undead near his library could be bad. Dire consequences, I think was his words. No matter my intentions... I want to go back in. I want to see if he'll tell me how Molly died. But I don't want to quibble with a god or nitpick precisely what he means, yeah?"
Sam all but kicks rocks for a moment as he mulls things over. "You go ahead. If he wants me back inside it's easy enough for one of you to stick a head out and let me know..."
((And if someone does then Sam will indeed wander slowly back in so if DM has Morris saying it's ok then it can be assumed Sam is back in without further say from me...))
To Elthana, the fragment of Morris takes a good look at her and gives a smile, "that is what I hope to help you achieve. But I cannot tell you exactly when the tine is right. One thing is certain though, whether you succeed in ending her, or she success in ending you, the one who remains will never be the same again. Are you prepared for that?"
As Muir comes back in and explains the situation with the pendant discovered merging with Sam's body Morris sighs, "it was as I expected but I could not take any chances... if the curse is a product of a cursed item then it is highly unlikely that the direct influence of nectyran is present within Sam. He has all his faculties too which is always a positive. Ratosk could you let our half corpse friend back in?" Morris takes the goggles back from Sam and stows them away under the bar.
As Sam enters once more serafina gives a tut of disappointment, "what were you thinking..." She scowls. Griff couldn't give less of a shit as he seems to have found a booth to fall asleep in.
Then vin returns through the door and the second Morris steps into the first merging back into one.
Sam glares back at Serafina and shrugs. "Souvenir," he says but keeps walking past and goes to the bar.
"So a slight hiccup but no big deal," Sam says to the others. "We'll get it fixed up once we come across a proper priest or such..." Sam is taking his undeath in stride.
At Sam's comfort Morris becomes a little more serious "I'm glad you are going to get it fixed at your earliest convenience, but I do want to make one thing abundantly clear Sam, just incase you get too comfortable with your new situation...
With this curse you are beyond the reach of myself and my siblings, if you die, that is it. No decay, no memory, and no soul for the afterlife, if you die like this. You will lose the chance of your soul being reunited with Molly."
Responding to Morris before Sam and Muir rejoin, “How are you going to help me achieve it?” Ignoring the rest, she hopes he has a real answer to this.
She walks over to Sam as he rejoins them, and tentatively reaches out to the pendant. As she touches it, she sucks in air between clenched teeth and recoils quickly from the cold. Looking up into his eyes, “Are you ok Sam?” Her face etches with worry as she hears Morris’s last words to her friend.
Sam smiles and seems to relax as Elthana approaches but still flinches back just a bit as she reaches out to touch the pendant. Not enough to prevent her but it's clear there is some hesitancy in him about her touching the item. "Sorry," he says as she quickly withdraws her hand.
"Yes, yes. I'm fine," he assures her. "Everything is going to be fine. Just a hiccup is all. Would almost be a good thing if not for the whole undead thing." The last is said as a joke and he gives Elthana a wink in the hopes of lightening the mood. Morris, however, is a buzzkill and immediately heavies that shit right back up.
Sam listens to Morris' words and thinks upon them. As he does a soft amber glow with a pink core around Sam grows for the space of an eyeblink and the area is filled with a soft, floral scent that only Sam recognizes as Molly's perfume. Showing no indication that he is even aware of these effects Sam smiles and nods to Morris. "Everything will turn out just as it is supposed to," Sam assures him.
((Unconscious use of Light and Minor Illusion cantrips... Or the presence of Molly surrounding and reassuring Sam. Who's to say?))
Morris gives a nod of acceptance at Sam's words noting the celestial presence around him, (who's to say, Morris definitely knows :D) "I sincerely hope so"
Turning his attention to Elthana and her question, Morris stretches one arm out and gestures to the door that vin has just come back through, "if you'll join me, I'll do just that..."
Elthana hesitates, keeping her eyes on Sam as he answers Morris just as she figured he would. Then softly, “Right, just a hiccup.” She ends up frowning at this, as the situation really starts weighing on her.
She shakes her head and to Vin, “Well, you came back unscathed, must be just fine, right?” And goes through the door Vin just left.
Same as before Morris follows Elthana and a duplicate of him peels off to close the door and return to the group, "so you had more questions for me?"
Vin exits the door behind the bar, running straight into Neferox.
"Hey, it's ok. I'm fine", he says as he pushes past the large hound and leads her away. "Better than ok, actually".
As Elthana speaks to him as they cross paths, he nods. "Yeah, don't worry it will be fine", he says with a smile of encouragement.
He sees Sam and Muir back, "So, did you sort out your undead issue Sam? You still look a little off colour, and bloody", he asks.
Neferox nuzzles at him insistently, until he turns back to her, and something passes unsaid between the pair. Neferox gives Vin a last long hard stare, before padding back to fireplace and lying down, not taking her eyes off Vin for a second. Vin turns back to Sam and Muir for their update.
When Sam sees Morris split into two ever so briefly, one returning and one going through the door with Elthana, he does a bit of a doubletake and blinks deliberately to try to clear his eyes. But then when Morris mentions questions Sam turns to Muir and then goes back to focusing on the beer in front of him, sure Muir will take it from there.
"Not exactly sorted yet," Sam answers Vin, "But it will be as soon as we can. Seems my little souvenir is cursed and we need a priest or something to un-curse it. No biggie. Morris just says to not die before it's done." Sam scoffs amusedly at this. "Like I'm not always trying not to die, eh? So how was your little chat back there? Anything important? Or just hush hush between you two?"
Muir sits by the demon on the couch and relaxes a bit while the others seek the answers they're looking for.