Dominic Deegan

Meme! (stolen from elsegame)

2009-03-04T23:58:53Z

1.) Go here to generate 10 random numbers between 1 and 100.
2.) Then I will answer the corresponding questions from here.

grumpyseer @ 2008-05-13T20:53:00

2008-05-14T04:19:23Z

"Barnet Travoria. Wake up. Right now."

Barnet's eyes flicker open. "Ugh... what the...? Where am I?" She's in a windowless six-by-six prison cell. There's nothing here except for the cot, a chamber pot, and the seer standing in the opposite corner.

Dominic Deegan gazes levelly at her. "This is your interrogation, Barnet... and I am your inquisitor. Listen to me very closely. You're going to answer my questions honestly and clearly because I am trying to save your life. Understood?"

Barnet scowls. "Ha. What makes you think I'll just be so cooperative? What makes you think I won't just snap your--"

snap

For a heartbeat, everything's gone. The walls fall away, the very air shatters--there's nothing but an empty white void into which you could fall forever.

And then, in the next heartbeat, everything's back. Same walls, same floor, same Dominic Deegan.

Barnet opens and closes her mouth several times before she manages to get any words out. "What--? How did you do that? Who... what are you?"

"I am your inquisitor and I am in charge," he replies, speaking in the same even tone as before. "Any questions?"

Barnet has recovered enough to scowl again. "So you're going to bully me until I talk? You're sick... 'brother.'"

"You walked up to my front door and stabbed me on my front porch. You've killed three people. Don't talk to me about what's sick... 'sis.' Now, then, let's start off this interrogation with the big question. Why are you hunting seers?"

"I'll tell you why," says Barnet, stepping forward to thrust a finger in Dominic's face. "It's because you arrogant bastards are peeking at God's plan and altering it to suit your own needs. God's plan for us, for the whole world, is perfect, and jerks like you can't make changes just because you skipped ahead and didn't like the ending."

"So this is all because you think seers shouldn't be making revisions, huh?"

Barnet rolls her eyes. "Oh, have mercy. That was awful."

Abruptly, the back wall of the cell is gone. It's become a window into another space--one in which another Barnet, cloaked and beweaponed, is talking to a man in a suit. "My client would like to pay you a lot of money to neutralize as many seers as possible," says the man.

Then it's just the wall again, and Dominic is giving Barnet a Look.

"...okay, fine," says Barnet. "I was just paid to do it."

"Oh, have mercynary. Who hired you to go after seers, Barnet?"

"Don't know. Don't care. I was getting a lot of money for it."

Now it's Dominic's turn to scowl. "Spoken like a Travoria. You don't care who gets hurt as long as you get your precious money. It's a miracle Luna didn't turn out like her sisters."

"Watch your mouth. I could have killed you."

"Then why didn't you?" Dominic counters. "Why did you let some of the seers live?"

"You were the only one I meant to spare," says Barnet. "One had a tricky alarm I didn't catch and the other faked her own death. That ditzy assistant has Sturtz to thank for saving her life. Why you? Because, believe it or not, I love my little sister and it's about time she got herself a boyfriend."

Again, the back wall vanishes. Now they're looking at Barnet from two days ago, when she found Dominic and Luna's wedding announcement in the Barthis Bugle. The apparition doesn't speak, but her thoughts are broadcast aloud into the cell: Luna's marrying that seer? What a bitch. I'll gut him and let her keep whatever's left over.

"STOP DOING THAT!" shouts Barnet in the here and now.

"Doing what? Oh, you mean this."

Past!Barnet's train of thought continues. But still... Luna's getting married before me. Luna. It may be time to retire my vagi--

"HEY!" The vision abruptly fades, which does nothing to improve Barent's mood. "Any other private thoughts of mine you'd like to broadcast?"

"I'd like to, but I won't. I'm trying to stay focused. The gear you've been using was used by the Blinders. Where did you get it?"

"From a blind guy on a street corner."

Once again, the back wall vanishes, revealing Barnet dancing around in a pink flowered silk dress. "La la la, I love pretty dresses!" she sings.

"Okay, fine!" the real Barnet snaps. "I got it from some woman who used to be in that cult! Paid her good money for it! The people who hired me told me where to find her. Didn't ask her name. She didn't talk much. That's all I know."

Dominic nods. "Very well. One last thing... why did you go out of your way to call me 'brother' in front of my family?"

"Because I wanted to mess with you." Barnet flinches in anticipation of the inevitable projection...

Which somehow fails to arrive.

"...kinda like that," she sighs. "Touché, seer. You done yet? I don't see how embarrassing me is supposed to 'save my life.'"

"I'm gathering information," Dominic replies. "It's all part of the process."

"So pulling private thoughts out of my head and showing them off is 'part of the process'?"

"I haven't pulled anything out of your head, Barnet. No one else saw a thing."

Barnet blinks in confusion. "But... then how did you do all that?"

"Because this whole interrogation has been in your head." Dominic smiles. "You can wake up for real now."}

Barnet starts awake. She's in a cell, but there's a window with the first rays of sunlight streaming in, and Dominic Deegan is nowhere to be seen.

Touché, seer. Touché.

grumpyseer @ 2008-05-12T21:56:00

2008-05-13T05:11:19Z

She'd planned for everything. She wore a mask to keep that Resistant town sheriff from IDing her. She brought revealer goggles to avoid the wards around the house (cost a small fortune, but a necessary expense in this line of work). She had a bag of sand to throw in the white mage's face to keep him from casting a spell, and her martial arts training made short work of everyone else between her and the home of her quarry. She was prepared for anything.

Finding the seer sprawled on the floor of the living room with no one else in sight? That, she wasn't expecting.

The crippled man tries, weakly, to sit up, his head sagging like a sandbag against his chest. "N-no... get out..." he wheezes, scarcely able to breathe. "The virus h-had a... side effect... get... out... and s-save yourself..."

Oh, she's not about to fall for that old line. "Nice trick, seer. I--" She frowns as she steps closer. "Um, are you all--?"

"No! Don't you see? They weren't protecting me from you..." He lifts his head. "They were protecting everyone from ME."

The seer's face distends, growing massive teeth too large for his jaw to contain, his skin turning a sickly orange... and in a burst of blood, three massive, eyeless, toothed heads erupt from his body to face her with hungry grins.

She jumps back, knives held at the ready. "What the hell?! The virus can't do this to someone! Unless--"

There's a sharp rush of air on either side of her, and the Persi knives are knocked out of her hands. "Oh yes," says a familiar voice--it's that skinny faggot swordsman from Prontus. "I disarmed you from behind. Again."

She scowls. "...unless it's an illusion. You sneaky son of a--"

Out of nowhere, an old woman appears with an even more ferocious scowl on her face. "Bitch."

And something hits her like a tidal wave...

"The spell I used could knock out a dragon," says Miranda as she finishes conjuring the restraints around the huntress's body. "She'll be out for a while."

"Way to sell Luna's illusion, Dominic," says Szark as he helps Dominic back to his feet. (Foot. Whatever.) "For a second there I thought something really had gone wrong."

"I used to be quite the actor in school," says Dominic.

"And Luna, that illusion was spectacular! I--" Szark stops abruptly. "Luna? Are you all right?"

He stares at Luna. So do Gregory, Donovan, and Quilt, who have just returned, nursing their wounds and spitting out sand. Dominic's fiancée is staring at the bound huntress with an expression of pure venom... and now that the fogger spell is gone, the reason for her anger is all too obvious.

"Holy crap!" says Quilt. "She looks just like--"

"Me," says Luna. "The oracle hunter isn't your sister, Dominic. She's my sister." Indeed, aside from the huntress's lack of tusks and the slightly darker hair, the two women could be twins.

Quilt's eyes go even wider. "Oh my God! The woman who's been calling herself Dominic's brother is also Luna's sister! It all makes sense now! Dominic and Luna are related! Call off the wedding!"

"No, Quilt," says Luna. "It means that she was calling him 'brother' because after we get married she'll be his sister-in-law."

"And if Amelia were still alive I'd still be Luna's brother-in-law," says Szark. "I did marry into the Travoria family, after all."

Dominic frowns. "You didn't recognize your ex-wife's sister?"

"Fogger spell aside, I've never met her before."

Luna's expression softens a little as she looks at her unconscious sister. "She ran away from home when we were young. My family never really spoke of her."

"Hey! She's like the Jacob Deegan of the Travoria family!" pipes up Quilt.

Gregory gives him a Look. "Thank you for that, Quilt." To Luna: "What's her name, anyway?"

"Barnet Travoria. She's my oldest sister, and she's got a lot of explaining to do."

Sheriff Dex Garrit confiscated all of Barnet's seer-slaying gear (all of it illegal, and no way to trace its purchase), but the huntress herself has yet to regain consciousness. She does, indeed, have a lot of explaining to do, and Dominic intends to make sure she does it all.

Not tonight, though. Tonight is time to rest.

Luna sags onto the bed. "What a day. What an awful, awful day."

"Hey, let's not even talk about it, okay?" Dominic murmurs. "Let's just get some rest and deal with whatever tomorrow throws at us."

She leans over the bed toward him. "You still love me even though all my sisters are maniacs?"

Dominic manages a small smile. "You agreed to marry me even though I've got a maniac brother."

"I love you so much. You know that."

"I love you, too. And I know everything." Dominic smiles down at his fiancée snuggled against him.

{And then the view gives way to that of a very similar-looking girl--Barnet Travoria. She's awake and battle-ready, her Persi knives pointed at some unseen target...

And then she drops them with a cry of shock and pain. Her body is distending, bulging with a thousand tumorous growths that have appeared out of nowhere. She drops to the ground, curled up in pain, even as her form becomes less and less recognizable as human or even a living creature.

Dominic has seen this before. He knows the cause, even before the figure steps into view--a lean, bespectacled man with bleached-blond hair and a cold, calculating stare...}

Oh God... there's one more seer she's going to go after. Celesto. And he's going to kill her.

grumpyseer @ 2008-05-05T09:32:00

2008-05-05T16:47:17Z

[from here]

Luna's sitting alone by her fiancée's bed when he suddenly gasps and jerks forward.

"Dominic!" Luna starts in surprise. "You're awake! You're--! What's wrong? What is it?"

The seer is doubled over, clutching his stomach. "Rrrjc jrr!" he grunts without opening his mouth. "Rrrjc jrr!"

"Magic... magic bar? You're out of a coma and you want to go to Milliways?"

Dominic shakes his head. "Mrrjck jrr!"

"Oh, a magic jar!" Luna quickly conjures a transparent jug out of thin air in Dominic's lap. "Why didn't you just say so?"

In lieu of an answer, Dominic grabs the jar and empties the contents of his stomach into it in one go.

"Okay," he says once the flow has subsided. "Now I could go for some booze." He sags against the pile of pillows, alternately gasping and swallowing to get the taste out of his mouth.

"I'm glad you're awake, but why did you need to puke into a magic jar? Why not just a, you know, regular one?"

"Because only a magic jar can contain what's in all this vomit," says Dominic. And sure enough, there's something writhing inside the jar, beating its hands and tentacles against the walls trying to get out. (It seems so tiny, now--scarcely bigger than his hand.)

"Oh, yuck." Luna grimaces. "Is that... the virus spell?"

"Yes, and it's going to tell us everything we need to know about this oracle hunter."

"Don't you think we should wait for Gregory to make sure you're all right?"

"No time. This virus won't last much longer. Cast a Trace spell on it. The trail will lead us right to the oracle hunter."

Luna nods and sets to work tracing the lines of the spell. The creature in the jar starts to glow... a glow which abruptly brightens to an almost blinding intensity.

"What the--?" Dominic's eyes go wide. "Oh crap! It's got a ward against trace spells!"

PFOOOM. The jar explodes, covering the room and its two occupants with vomit and spell guts. "GLAAAUGH!!" Dominic coughs and sputters.

The door bursts open to reveal a very distressed Szark. "Dominc! Luna! Are you all OH MY GOD!" His already-pale face goes virtually colorless as he takes in the mess. "...I'll, um, just leave you two alone to, um, yeah... Igottago." And he's out the door as quickly as he came.

Gregory steps back. "Despite some fatigue and making a complete mess of yourself, you seem fine to me, bro. But we've lost our only lead to this oracle hunter, who may or may not be a relative."

"Not exactly." Dominic looks grim. "Trace wards warn the caster when a spell has been tampered with or destroyed."

"So you're saying that she knows the virus spell didn't work on you?" says Luna.

"Precisely... which means she may be coming back to try again."

grumpyseer @ 2008-05-03T20:34:00

2008-05-04T03:36:42Z

"Well, the good news is that he's going to be fine," says Gregory to the anxious crowd assembled outside of Dominic's bedroom. "The wound was deep but I managed to heal it in time. The bad news is that he's in some sort of trance and I can't snap him out of it."

"Then it's a good thing you brought me here to help." Miranda Deegan, Archmage of the Fifth Circle and headmistress of the Quiral Academy for the Arcane Arts, grins smugly. "The deus ex momina has arrived."

Everyone just stares at her.

She frowns. "Deus ex momchina? Deus... no, wait, deus ex motherna... um, no... mommy ex machina..."

More staring.

"Oh, forget it," she sighs. "I'm his mother and I'm going to fix everything." She elbows her way past Gregory and into the bedroom.

Dominic is on the bed, propped into a sitting position with a pile of pillows. His expression is blank, his glazed-over eyes staring at nothing. He's barely breathing. Miranda sets to work immediately, weaving a complex spell over her son's inert form. Ribbons of light stream from her hands to surround the bed and its occupant.

"This is surprising," she says when the lights finally fade away. "The trance he's in is self-induced. He's gone inward into his own mind. He's actually chasing after the virus spell that he's been infected with. I didn't think he could do that."

"So we can't wake him up until he's done trying to 'cure' himself?" asks Luna.

"I'm afraid not, and he's the only one who saw this 'huntress.'" Miranda frowns. "I want to speak to this Bumper fellow. He heard her call Dominic 'brother.' Where is he?"

"I imagine he's with Dex, being questioned," says Luna.

"No, Sheriff Garrit is with Mayor Chayler right now," says Szark.

"Then who's questioning Bumper?"

Szark looks uncomfortable. "Um... I think Quilt said something about--"

"Oh, for the love of..." Miranda facepalms. "I'm going to go talk to him. Keep an eye on Dominic. What he's attempting is very dangerous."

"Dangerous for Dominic? Or for the virus?"

Miranda hesitates. "...good question." Then she's gone, leaving Szark, Luna, and Dominic alone in the room.

Szark is the one who finally breaks the silence. "You know what? I'm not worried. Dominic is a mental maelstrom. That virus spell doesn't stand a chance."

"But it's still weakened him," says Luna. "Plus he's recovering from a serious stab wound. He's nowhere near full power and that worries me."

"I'm still not worried. Dominic's probably using some genius-level strategy against the virus."

"NECK BITEY ATTACK!"

Tracking down the virus spell had turned out to be the easy part. Actually subduing it--that's something else again. In his mindscape, it manifests as a roughly human-sized orange beastie with no eyes, two angry mouths, and lots of writhing tentacles. And it's not going down easy.

"Still alive, huh?" grunts Dominic as he tries to wring the beast's 'neck.' "Not for long, you nasty son of a bi--"

CHOMP.

Dominic looks up to see the beast's other mouth tear a bleeding hole in his mindscape. "Oh, you did not just do that to me, you little--I KILL YOU!"

Szark grimaces, edging away from the catatonic seer. "Either something's wrong in there or Dominic is just relaxed enough... to wet himself."

The other head takes advantage of the seer's distraction to grab a piece of sky to gnaw on.

"Oh no! No you don't! You stay away from--! DAMMIT!"

*FAAAART*

'Oh God.' Luna cringes, covering her nose to block the fumes.

"You're gonna pay for that, you slimy--! AW, CRAP!!"

Szark edges even further away. "Things are either going well up there or he's just very happy to, um, see us."

This is going nowhere. Every time Dominic forces the virus away from one part of his mind, it attacks another. At this rate, even if he does manage to stop the thing, he'll be in no kind of shape to face down the huntress herself. If only there was a way to--

Wait. There. That opening. It just might be...

"Alright, that does it." Dominc wraps one arm around each of the virus's toothy 'heads.' "You want to fight dirty? You want to play rough? LET'S TAKE IT OUTSIDE!!"

With all of his mental strength, he propels himself upward, dragging the virus to the opening and through to what lies beyond.

Deegan-Travoria residence, Barthis

2008-04-30T21:25:06Z

Dominic and Luna came home from the hospital to find Szark Sturtz already there, being interrogated by 'Detective' Quilt. Not that this is any great surprise--Dominic knew that Szark was a witness to one of the 'oracle hunter's attacks, and Quilt has been grilling anyone who comes within a hundred yards of the house. Dominic's just glad he was able to get Quilt out of his hair for five minutes so he could talk to Szark.

"...and my sword came in contact with her hand when I disarmed her," continues Szark. "The Prontus police had no luck, but I thought you'd be able to find something."

Dominic nods. "This is good. I can check whatever I find with your sword alongside what I found on Zelda Zanzibar. If I'm right, the clues ought to match."

Soon...

"Of course I'm right," says Dominic smugly. "Our Oracle hunter is using an illusion and a Persi knife." He holds up the book so that Szark can see. "She's using a Fogger spell. It clouds memories and crystal balls. It's a very rare spell, and difficult to catch, but I found traces of it on your sword. Equally rare is the Persi knife. It carries a viral sort of spell that targets certain magic and 'cuts' it out of a spellcaster. I caught traces of the 'virus' on Zelda.

"The only known combination of the two is used by the Blinders. They're a sect of extremists who believe that seers are undoing God's 'master plan.' So we're dealing with a fairly invisible religious fanatic, on a crusade against seers, who attacks after knocking on your front door."

Knock knock

Before anyone can react, the door opens to reveal a gray-haired man in a pink shirt. "Hey, Dominic, it's just me," says Donovan Deegan. "Your mother wants to borrow some of your cookbooks--whoa." He blinks at the stacks of tomes on the table. "Looks like you've been hitting the books there, Professor. Find anything interesting?"

"Yeah. I figured out that this oracle hunter belongs to the Blinders."

"The Blinders, eh?" A nostalgic smile crosses Donovan's face. "I dated a girl who was a Blinder a long time ago, before I met your mother. That was back during my 'pious girls are hot' phase. But there's no way that this 'hunter' is a blinder, kiddo."

"Oh really? And how do you know that?"

"Because they're all dead," replies Donovan. "The entire cult committed mass suicide just before the Orc War. I think that book you're using is a little out of date."

"The great Dominic Deegan is wrong about something?" says Luna with a teasing grin. Dominic just scowls, tossing the book into a far corner of the room and picking up another one. Szark leads Donovan off to the kitchen, the two men exchanging quiet gossip about the musician's ex.

"I think Quilt is asking your father about his sex life," remarks Luna after a long moment's silence.

"Yes, I heard his proclamation. I'm just surprised I missed--"

Knock knock

"It's okay," says Dominic, his eyes glazing over for a moment. "Bumper has an appointment to see me. That's him."

"Ooh, let me open the door," Szark pipes up. "The look on his face will be priceless."

Dominic smirks. "Tempting, but no. I'll get the door." He levers himself up with his crutch and limps over to the door.

"Oh, but the look on your face is priceless..."

Dominic stares. Bumper is there, all right... but there's a cloaked woman standing right behind him, a hand clamped over his mouth.

And she just shoved a knife into Dominic's gut.

"It's nice to finally meet you... brother." She yanks the knife back out and vanishes in a flash of light.

Dominic drops like a rock.

"I'm so sorry! It was her!"
"She was here?!"
"Oh God! Get help!"
"Is she still out there?"
"Did anyone see her?"
"Go get Gregory!"

Dominic is barely aware of his friend's panicked shouts, or of Luna's arms around him, or even of the pain in his belly. All of his consciousness is focused on the not-quite-physical something the knife had placed within him... something that's now writhing, seeking, hunting...

Oh God... the virus spell... I can't see.

Darius Bronen Healing House

2008-04-30T20:01:08Z

"Zelda Zanzibar? Her condition is stable. You can see her if you like." The healer leads Dominic and Luna down the corridor to the appropriate room.

"Thank you," replies Dominic. "Is there anything we should be careful about?"

The healer smiles. "Besides her flair for the dramatic? No, she's fine."

"Flair for the--?" Luna trails off as she views the tableau inside the room. "Oh good lord."

The woman on the bed looks up. "Dominic... my old friend... is that you?" She reaches toward Dominic with a trembling hand, her breaths faint and ragged. "Please... I don't have... much time... beware... the huntress... do not a-avenge me, old friend... s-save your... self... save youuuuhhh..." Her eyes flutter closed and she sags against her pillow.

Dominic is unimpressed. "I can see you breathing, Zelda."

"Then quit staring at my chest." Zelda sits back up with a smile. "Thanks for coming to visit me, DeeDee."

"I just wish the circumstances were better, ZeeZee," replies Dominic. "You look great, all things considered. What happened?"

"A woman knocked on my door and stabbed me in broad daylight. I was looking right at her... but dammit, I can't remember what she looks like."

"You haven't tried scrying her?"

"I can't," says Zelda. "Not her or anyone else. My second sight is gone. It's like she cut it out of me... and with it, a piece of my heart."

Dominic quirks an eyebrow. "Alright, ZeeZee, let's give it a rest so we can--"

"Oh!" Zelda gasps, clutching at her chest theatrically. "The huntress hath cut my heart indeed! The wound, it bleeds! Alas, alas, I expire... slain... dead of a b-broken... heart..."

Dominic rolls his eyes. "Zelda, you were stabbed in the stomach."

"She used a very long knife. Now shut up and respect the dead."

"Is she going to do that every five minutes?" says Luna, looking even more annoyed than Dominic. "If Szark was straight he'd get a real kick out of her."

"Aww, Luna, be nice," says Dominic with a smile. "Zelda's always dealt with stress by overacting."

"Over-acting?" Zelda retorts indignantly. "I was voted 'Best Death Scene' in our acting class!"

"I'm sure that's..." Luna blinks. "Wait. Did you say 'our acting class'?"

"Oh, you didn't know? Dominic was quite the actor in school."

"Look, this isn't really important. We should be trying to figure out--"

"He was good, too!" Zelda continues. "He loved the classics and the melodramas. You should've seen him when we did The Semashi Soldier. He played 'Zachary the Wicked' like a natural." She reaches out to playfully ruffle Dominic's hair. "The sons of Donovan Deegan all have some bard in them. Little Gregory is a musician, moody Jacob is a writer, and smug Dominic can act and--"

"Enough!" In a sudden flash of movement, Dominic grabs one of the bed pillows and slams it down against Zelda's face. "You shall not reveal my secrets, foul witch!"

Luna blanches. "Dominic! My God! What are you doing?!"

"The death scene from The Semashi Soldier. It's ZeeZee's favorite."

Zelda pauses in her feigned struggles for air to give Luna a thumbs-up. "Told you he was good."

"That woman is a loon," grumbles Luna as she and Dominic leave the hospital. "She put us through twenty of her death scenes, and you helped!"

"It actually worked out well," replies Dominic. "I was able to get a read on what happened to her second sight while I had my hands around her neck. I just need to go over my notes back home."

"I wish you would've let me put my hands around her neck."

Dominic smirks. "I'll brew some tea once we get back to Barthis. We can relax and we won't have to think about death anymore..."

grumpyseer @ 2008-04-25T08:46:00

2008-04-25T16:04:42Z

It's not a large shop, nor a particularly lavish one--seers are not known for their great financial success. Still, it's been lovingly decorated, with beaded purple curtains in the front window and gold paint on the wood frames of the window and door. A stand-up placard next to the door reads:

MADAM
ZANZIBAR
Oracle for Hire
Fortunes Told!
Mysteries Solved!
All For A Low,
Low Price!
"Ah, hello!" A tall, voluptuous woman dressed in elaborate furs and silks steps forward with a smile, gesturing with a well-manicured hand at a row of crystal balls set against the back wall of the shop. "You've come to see the great Madam Zanzibar! You wish to see your future in my balls, yes?"

The smile fades rapidly from her face as she sees her 'customer.'

"...oh my God."

And then the sword comes down...

grumpyseer @ 2008-03-17T11:27:00

2008-03-17T18:31:48Z

Tap. Tap tap.

Dominic's got a project he's been working on in his free time.

Tap. Tap tap tap.

Not that he's had much free time, of course. Between finals and community service, he and Luna have barely had an hour to themselves in the past two weeks.

Tap tap tap. Tap tap.

And when he does have spare time, Dominic spends it standing in the front yard tapping rocks together, and he won't tell Luna why he's doing it.

Tap. Tap.

Well, it's all going to end today, one way or another.

Luna storms out with the look of someone who is well and truly Fed Up With This Bullshit. "Alright, I've had it. What the hell are you doing out here?"

"Talking to Rocky," says Dominic absently, without looking up from the two stones in his hands--which he drops abruptly as the ground beneath him starts to vibrate. A faint, staccato rhythm of taps can be heard from somewhere underground, then the earth in front of Dominic starts to swell and--ka-ping!--disgorges something small and shining, which Dominic grabs out of midair.

Luna stares for a long moment, then: "You know what? Screw you and your secrets. I don't want to know." She turns to storm back toward the cottage.

"Luna, wait," says Dominic, following behind her. "Give me a chance to explain. I couldn't tell you before becaauck!" He breaks off into a yelp of surprise as he stumbles and faceplants on the ground.

"Because of some elaborate plan, huh?" Luna rolls her eyes. "Well? Am I right?"

A beat.

"Dominic? Are you--"

Luna turns and gapes in surprise at the seer, who's still lying on the ground... and missing his false leg. "Usually these things cost an arm and a leg," says Dominic dryly as he picks himself up. "Good thing Rocky gave me a discount."

"My God!" Luna drops to her knees to help Dominic up. "Rocky took your leg? But why?"

"It was forged from Nagastan metals. He wanted some for himself."

Luna gives Dominic a Look. That's not a real answer, and he knows it. "Okay, why did you give him your fake leg?"

"Because he gave me this in return." Dominic opens his hand to reveal the small shining thing--an iridescent golden stone about the size of a marble.

"Is that... a Lunarian solarstone? Whoa," murmurs Luna. "But why would you need one of these? Aren't they usually made into rings?"

Then her eyes go wide as the implications sink in.

Dominic takes both her hands in his. "Luna, you annoy me in ways that I never thought possible... but I want to spend every annoying second with you. I hope you feel the same way about me, but I'm not sure... so there's something I need to ask you."

Dropping to one knee isn't really feasible with a missing leg, but Dominic does the best he can. "Luna Travoria... will you marry me?"

Luna stares, expressionless.
Stands up.
Turns and walks away.

Dominic's heart sinks. She doesn't want to marry me. He'd known this was a possibility, but to have it confirmed face-to-face...

"Cheer up, you grump, I'm just getting a running start."

Dominic glances up--then starts in surprise as Luna leaps at him, knocking him back against the grass. "That's better," she says, smiling down as she lies on top of him. "Now, ask me again. Please."

"Luna... will you marry me?"

"Yes." And she kisses him hard.

What more is there to say, really?

Meme-age!

2008-02-26T03:53:09Z

(From a meme started by neenie and perpetuated by areyoumymemmy)

Comment with your character's name, and I will tell you:

1) how [insert pup of your choice here]'s opinion of the named character has changed over time, or
2) why [insert pup of your choice here] does or does not get along/like/other with the named pup.

Please state which pup of mine as well as yours! Unless... you know, it's really obvious.

My pup list:
Guardian Bob (mend_and_defend)
Dominic Deegan (grumpyseer)
Artie the Gerbil (rt_5478)
Kit Baxter (trustydriver)
Osaka (shikkari)
Audrey II (f33dm3)
the Laugh-Out-Loud Cats (kittehnpip)

grumpyseer @ 2008-01-31T20:06:00

2008-01-29T04:08:09Z

Dominic glares daggers at the dark-haired boy sitting across from Luna. "You know, it's bad enough that I have to spend my weekends as an 'oracle for hire,' only without the payment, but you had to go and tell the entire class about it."

"I did not!" the boy protests. "I only told Prento. He told the entire class. And it was more like he bragged about it after you gave him a reading. He couldn't shut up about how great you were." He reaches to move his remaining bishop on the chessboard before him. "If only you were as good at chess, Luna. Checkmate."

"I don't like you any more, Nimmel," says Luna with a mock scowl.

Nimmel Feenix beams beatifically. "Aren't you going to miss me a little when I go to the Coldfire Academy next year?"

"I won't miss hearing you say 'checkmate' every week."

"I'll miss kicking your butt, but I'm so excited to go. I wish I could visit the Archipelago before I move there."

"That chance could come sooner than you think." This last statement comes from Dominic, who's holding up his cane so that the polished brass sphere is at eye level. As Luna and Nimmel watch, the sphere rises, and a deep male voice emanates from it.

"Dominic, this is Milov. I need you to come to the Winter Archipelago as soon as you can. I need your help. It is urgent that I speak to you in person. Bring Luna if you can. Jayden will be happy to see her again."

"I'll do what I can, Milov," Dominic replies. "Would it be too bold to ask if I could bring a student of mine? He'll be attending the Coldfire Academy this fall."

"That would be no problem. I'd be delighted to have him as my guest. But please hurry. This is a very important matter, Dominic." The voice fades and the globe returns to its normal place atop the cane.

Nimmel is flabbergasted. "You're inviting me along? I get to be the guest of Lord Milov Danovich? Professor Deegan, I... I don't know what to say."

"I say I'm coming, too!" pipes up Spark, leaping up onto the table. "There's no way I'm sitting this one out!"

Luna eyes the cat dubiously. "Spark, you hate cold weather and dogs. The Winter Archipelago is a frozen land of werewolves. Why do you want to go?"

Spark just grins. "Archipelago. Chain of islands. Islands are surrounded by water. And you know what lives in water?" He clears his throat and sings out, "FEEEEESH!"

...oh, yeah, this is gonna be interesting.

Flashback: One Year Ago

2008-01-28T00:28:53Z

Please let me have been fast enough please let me have been fast enough please... Through the haze of pain and blood, Dominic reaches out mentally to his pin-dolls. Stonewater and Melna were untouched by the blast. Jayden and Milov are unconscious but unharmed. Szark--he thinks Szark's okay, but Luna...

"Oh my God. I can't see Luna. She wasn't wearing her doll! I don't know if she--oh God! Luna! LUNA!" He desperately tries to mindlink to Szark's doll. Szark? Where are you? Did you survive that blast? Szark! Oh, God, SZARK! ANSWER ME!

The sound of a man groaning abruptly brings him back to the here and now. For the first time he becomes aware of his surroundings. The courtyard is filled with the wounded, both knights and prisoners. The castle healers are working their way through the crowd, but it will be a long time before they reach Dominic... or Lord Siegfried Gunther Damaske von Callan, who lies broken and bleeding a few feet away.

Oh God, Siggy! He's dying! I couldn't protect him either! Dominic crawls over, ignoring his own injuries, and cradles the fallen lord in his arms. Oh God, what do I do? Oh God oh God oh God... "HELP!" Dominic wails. "SOMEBODY HELP ME! PLEASE! Healers! Please help! Lord Siegfried is dying and he needs--"

But no one responds. The healers are all busy with others, and there are far more wounded men left to tend. He's not going to make it, Dominic realizes in horror. He's going to die before anyone reaches us and there's nothing I can do...

Siegfried stirs and looks up at the seer. "I've done nothing but hurt you... and you're still helping me... you would've made a v-very noble knight." He smiles weakly. "I'm... sorry if I w-was rash earlier... farewell, Dominic Deegan... I... hope you... you do not... forget me..." And he goes still, dead eyes staring at nothing.

"May you know the glorious joy of Heaven, Siegfried," Dominic whispers, holding the knight's broken body close to him. "Your soul will shine as the brightest star. May you know peace and happiness forever and--"

{"Don't even bother trying, Dominic... he belongs to me now."

A gray-skinned, white-haired, red-eyed demon stands before the seer. His appearance has changed, but he's still recognizable. "Karnak... you survived that explosion?"

"Of course I did. I was the Demon of Wounds." A sharp-toothed grin. "Yes. 'Was.' In case you couldn't tell, that blast changed quite a few things around here. Personally speaking, I love what it's done with the place." Karnak gestures toward the plain beyond him, which is broken into concentric circles of fractured and thrown earth. There is no sign of life anywhere, demonic or otherwise.

"I have taken the place of all the demon lords killed today," Karnak continues. "There will be no more titles. No more hierarchy. There will only be me. Lord Karnak. The King of Hell. But in order to fully achieve that, I will need some servants..." He looks over Dominic's shoulder. "...and your friend ought to make a fine lieutenant."

He doesn't want to turn, doesn't want to see what Karnak is looking at, but he can't not. What he sees is... Siegfried. Or what had been Siegfried until a moment ago. The knight stands straight and tall, a great sword sheathed on his back, face covered by a featureless black mask... and wearing Karnak's sigil.

"There is nothing you can say, Dominic. There is nothing you can do. For the first time in a long time, you can only see." Karnak strides over to stand next to Siegfried, wielding Tox'xel's severed leg like a scepter. "So look well upon the fate of your friend. Look well upon my victory. Look well upon the new face of damnation. Look well upon the beginning of the Court of Karnak. And while you're at it, you should be able to see that the cause and outcome of this war were all thanks to you."

And, Dominic realizes with a chill, Karnak is absolutely right. To stop the Storm of Souls, he sent the Chosen into Hell; to protect Szark, he protected Karnak; to protect Stonewater, he uncovered the key to defeating Tox'xel, thus propelling Karnak to his victory. Some of it might have been necessary, but it was all his doing.

"I'll see you around, Dominic Deegan," says Karnak as the vision fades. "And thanks for everything."}

Epilogue

2008-01-13T20:45:58Z

"Dominic? I'd like to have a word with you."

The seer turns to see Mayor Chayler, looking much less angry than she had when she let him out of the jail cell the night before. "I never got a chance to thank you for helping Gregory," she says. "He's very blessed to have you looking out for him. However, you protected him, and taught him a lesson, through trickery and deception. I don't approve of that. I love you, Dominic. You're one of the most selfless people I've ever known... but I won't let you play the puppet-master. Not here.

"Which is why I'm giving you this." She hands him a parchment scroll held shut with the official mayoral seal.

"A community service notice?" asks Dominic as he unrolls the parchment. "You sure do like to hand these... out..."

It reads:

SERVICE NOTICE

For the crime of willfully deceiving and endangering its citizens, the Township of Barthis hereby requires Dominic Deegan to serve the community as its very own
FORTUNE TELLER,for a period not to exceed ninety days.

Pamela Chayler
Mayor of Barthis

Dominic's scream can be heard for miles.

Two days later...

2008-01-13T18:41:53Z

"Hey, bro." Gregory looks up from the floor to see Dominic limping into the town hall. "What're you doing here?"

"I need to speak to Pamela. Where is she?"

"She's in her office with Dex. They're discussing what to do about Snowsong... and then she wants to have a few words with me."

Dominic nods grimly. "Yeah, she's going to want to have a few words with me, too."

The door to the mayor's office opens, and Dex Garrit walks out. Pam's voice can be heard from inside: "And get Dominic while you're out. I want to speak with him first." Dex nods, then turns to find himself nose-to-nose with the seer. There's a momentary awkward pause, then Dominic steps past Dex and into Pamela's office.

"I'm not blind, Dominic," Pam begins before Dominic is even halfway through the door. "Whenever Gregory is involved in something big, you're somehow pulling the strings. So you're going to tell me what the hell happened here and how many strings you--"

"All of them," says Dominic flatly. "I had a part in everything."

Pam's scowl deepens. "So you're the reason Gregory vanished for two days? You're the reason he was wearing a blue cape? You're the reason nobody told me about any of this?"

"Yes, mostly, and no. I didn't know you'd been kept in the dark about this, Pam. I'm sorry. Gregory was supposed to tell you."

"Tell me wh--?" She shakes her head. "Look. Just start from the beginning and tell me everything."

"All right. You know that girl in the skindex suit? Three days ago I had a vision of Gregory killing her. She's the last of the Chosen, here to destroy Barthis. He'd been overloading on white magic since the concert. They were going to fight, and Gregory was going to use a Strength spell to defend himself... with terrible consequences. I had to figure out a way to save Barthis from Snowsong, Snowsong from Gregory, and Gregory from himself.

"I had to stop that fight. Gregory needed to expel that built-up white magic, and Snowsong needed to be distracted. It was easy with Snowsong. In my vision, she was coming out of Rita's Café, so I just told Rita to 'give the girl in the skindex suit a free slice of chocolate cake.'"

"And that worked? How did you know she'd like it so much?"

"My god, Pam, have you had Rita's chocolate cake? It's delicious."

"That's true." Pam still looks unconvinced, however. "So your 'cake or death' gamble worked with Snowsong, but what about Gregory?"

"All I had to do with him was order books. Lots of very heavy books for the library."

"Which you can do because you've got a professor's license."

"Right. They arrived overnight, on the day that he and Quilt were volunteering there. And when Quilt needed help lifting those heavy boxes, Gregory used a Strength spell, which overloaded without hurting anyone, and he learned his lesson about too much enhancement magic."

"But where did he go? And why did he reappear in a flash of light and a cape?"

"That," replies Dominic, "is related to what was in those heavy boxes. There was still a very good chance that Snowsong and Gregory would fight, and he'd have to show restraint with his powers to avoid hurting her. All he needed was the right motivation. The idea came from some of the books I ordered for the kid's section. Namely, from Gregory's favorite action book hero when he was a kid..."

Dominic pulls a rolled-up booklet out of his pocket and hands it to Pam. It's a comic book. On the cover is a dark-haired man in a cape and an elaborate costume. The title announces Abrakaboom! It's... SUPERMAGE.

"Gregory idolized Supermage, from his devotion to helping others to his mercy toward his enemies," Dominic continues. "But reminding Gregory of Supermage was only the first step. There was one other thing I needed to do to make him just like a real hero from his childhood."

He pulls out another booklet. This one is hand-drawn, populated with stick figures, and titled in a childish scrawl: The Adventures of SUPERGREG! By Gregory Deegan, Age 8.

Dominic beams. "An outcast, misfit boy with a good heart says a magic word and becomes Supermage, beloved champion of the innocent and defenseless. That's one hell of a dream for a crippled kid. Supermage was everything Gregory wanted to be."

Pam thumbs through the Supergreg comic and comes to a halt on one particular illustration: a stick figure man with long hair, a stubbly beard, and a pen and paper. 'Disguised as ace reporter Buzz Beardman,' proclaims the narration, 'Supergreg can find out where the trouble is!'

"Wait... you mean that freelance writer from the paper was actually Gregory? How did--?"

"When Gregory overloaded his white magic," Dominic explains, "he couldn't stop using it. I went into his mindscape to help. I felt like I was in there for days trying to calm his mind and soul. In that time, I convinced him to subconsciously use a few spells on himself as he shut his magic off. And in their overpowered states, a Shrink spell on his body and a Growth spell on his hair had dramatic effects. I blamed it on 'magic just being magic,' which is not only the equivalent of 'crap happens,' but one of my codes to Luna for 'I'm being sneaky and I'll fill you in later.'"

"You and Luna have 'code words' now?"

"She doesn't like it when I leave her out of my seer schemes."

"So which one of you convinced Gregory to wear a costume?"

"That's where my little brother started to go off on his own. No matter how he looked, he was going to be powerless, and changing his appearance protected him from Snowsong. But as soon as he realized he had a secret identity, he went right to work.

"The first thing he did was write that article. He asked me to pull some strings at the paper to get it printed the next day. Then he contacted Rachel, asking her for a makeover. She couldn't resist. Years ago, Gregory befriended Rachel while I was dating her. They were both Supermage fans and he told her all about 'Supergreg.' So when he introduced himself as Buzz Beardman, Supergreg's alter ego, Rachel recognized him instantly and went right to work."

"This must be the part where Gregory assembles his 'super-team,'" says Pam. "Garrit told me about this."

"Precisely. Just in case things turned sour with Snowsong, he not only wanted to act like Supermage... he wanted to look like him, too. So he enlisted help. Rachel would design the Supergreg outfit. Luna would craft the illusion spell so he could 'wear' it at a moment's notice. And Garrit would officially keep his identity a secret.

"They were supposed to wait until Gregory naturally regained his magic, but his plan fell apart rather quickly. Snowsong didn't react so well to his article. It was a miracle he survived her attack. While Garrit, Rachel and Quilt went after Snowsong, it was up to me and Luna to put Gregory's plan back together.

"Luna was brilliant. She crafted a spell that combined white, illusion, and psychoplanar magics. She even used Acibek's Principle for good measure. She was dealing with schools of magic outside of her specialties but she was still able to transfer that very advanced spell onto a scroll. Since my brother is even more specialized in his magic, she needed to make it as accessible to him as possible. And the easiest way to do that is to use a magic word.

"Gregory did recover, completely on his own, tonight. I had planned to help, but I guess he didn't need it. When he woke up. he found the scroll Luna had left for him. The spell upon it would trigger the illusion of a costume, channel a burst of white magic, and repower him with his white fire. 'Abrakaboom.'

"Well, Pamela, there you have it. That's why my brother was 'Supergreg' this evening. Did I pull his strings? Did I manipulate him? Or did I guide him? I'll let you be the judge of that."

For a long moment, Pamela Chayler is utterly silent. Finally: "Why didn't Gregory tell me about any of this?"

"Honestly, Pamela, I don't know. You'd have to ask him."

"Then why didn't you simply tell Gregory about your plan? Why the elaborate puppet-master act?"

"Because," says Dominic as he walks over to the door, "simply put, Gregory loves my 'seer schemes.'"

He turns the doorknob, and Gregory stumbles in from his eavesdropping spot on the other side. "You had a part in everything?! That is so awesome!" Greg shouts enthusiastically... then his face immediately falls when he sees the Look he's getting from Pamela.

"Um..." Dominic looks back and forth nervously. "I'll leave you two alone, then. It looks like you've got a lot to talk about."

"Not so fast, puppet-master. I'm not done with you." Pam is right up in Dominic's face now. "I want your thoughts on Snowsong, and then I want you out of my sight."

Dominic sighs. "She's an emotionally fragile, confused girl who's blown her past 'tragedies' way out of proportion. Combined with a cult's brainwashing and her violent mood swings... well, I think she needs more help than punishment."

"Hey," pipes up Gregory, "if an ice sorceress has really bad mood swings, doesn't that make her... bi-polar?"

Dominic facepalms. "Gregory, this is snow time to be funny, so just cool it with the jokes and chill out."

.

.

.

Did I really just say that?

"The cells," says Pamela flatly. "Four hours. Now."

Crap.

"So..." Dominic looks across the cell at the girl in the skindex suit. "What're you in for?"

Snowsong just gives him a Look.

Dominic shrugs. "Sorry. I've always wanted to say that. I missed my chance while I was in the Capitol City jail."

"You've been imprisoned before? Don't make me laugh."

"It's true. Of course, the damn place broke as soon as I left it."

Snowsong's eyes go wide. "You... were there for the jailbreak? The jailbreak?"

"Actually, I'm pretty sure I caused it somehow."

"What?" she sputters. "No, that's... you're supposed to be the... you can't... you couldn't have..."

"...broken the law or caused such chaos because I'm supposed to be the Champion of Light and Law?" Dominic sighs. "I'd actually like to talk to you about--"

Snowsong collapses against him, sobbing into his shirt.

"--that." Well, that was unexpected.

"God dammit... God dammit... Why am I so wrong? Why am I always so wrong about everything?" She looks up at Dominic. "You... I heard there's a trick you can do... you can make people see the truth... you can do that, right?"

"Yes, Snowsong, but not for you. It's too dangerous. You need to face your truths on your own... and we can get you that kind of help." Dominic smiles a little. "You've also got it backwards. You were right about a lot of things. It's the Chosen who were wrong... and I think you've known that. If you really believed what they told you about Barthis, and about me, you would've attacked on Day One. You wouldn't have stopped for lunch or given me a snack. And that means you are stronger than that. It means you are still free to think for yourself."

A long pause.

"I still tried to kill everyone, you know," says Snowsong.

"That's where the 'you need help' part comes to mind." Dominic rubs the back of his neck. "Mayor Chayler is ordained in the Luaian Church. She knows people at Aberthast Cathedral that can help you."

Snowsong looks disgusted. "Hmph. Luanians. They'll just tell me to close my eyes, hang my head, and pray to God like a good little sheep."

"We could hand you over to the Royal Knights, if you prefer."

She doesn't say anything, but the look of utter horror on her face speaks volumes.

"Yeah, I figured as much. Just... think about it, alright? That's all I ask."

She nods mutely, then turns away from him.

Yeah. 'Think about it.' There's a lot of that going around tonight.

grumpyseer @ 2008-01-12T00:05:00

2008-01-12T08:06:40Z

After his vision, Dominic headed back home as quickly as possible. He waved off Luna's questions and Spark's demands to be fed, and locked himself in his study.

He's been staring at the wall in front of his desk for the last half-hour, trying to think of... something. Anything that'll keep his little brother from taking a life without meaning to, and still keep that Chosen girl from going through with her stated plan to destroy Barthis.

The girl had looked very young--no older than eighteen. For someone that young to join a chaos cult, she must be very confused and hurt. Maybe all it would take is a little kindness and understanding to make her realize that the world isn't out to get her. Well, that's something Dominic is willing to provide, if she's willing to accept it.

Gregory's situation is... trickier. Ever since Jacob removed the Blight from his body, Gregory's white magic has been growing--apparently to the point where it's no longer fully under his control. Even if he doesn't need to fight the cultist, he could still potentially hurt somebody by accident. Dominic knows his little brother, and knows that just telling him to ease up on the white magic isn't going to cut it. He needs to see the consequences and find a better way for himself. All Dominic can do is guide him... but how?

He looks over the books stacked on the table again. On top of the pile are the books Tyler gave him, the ones about superheroes. Dominic's skimmed through them over the past couple of weeks. Interesting stuff, if a little ridiculous at times. Life would be so much simpler if superheroes really existed, wouldn't it? People with extraordinary powers who dedicated themselves to protecting the innocent. Just like--

Dominic sits bolt upright in his seat.

That's it.

He reaches for the communication crystal. He has some calls to make.

OOC: It's meme time!

2008-01-08T06:48:46Z

[Meme courtesy of oh_wowee]

Tell me (ICly where appropriate) why you've friended this RP journal!

grumpyseer @ 2007-09-21T08:39:00

2007-09-21T16:02:06Z

{Dominic is having a very strange dream...}

"Mff... no, wait, don't... snnnk... going the wrong way... Ray, LOOK OUT!" Dominic sits bolt upright in bed, eyes wide, gasping for air.

"About time you woke up." Spark uncurls and leaps from the foot of the bed to stalk over to the door. "Somebody in this house needs to feed me already."

"Ask Luna," Dominic mutters, rubbing his temples. That was far and away the weirdest vision he's had in a good long while. What in God's name is happening to Dr. Stantz?

"I did. She just whined about having a headache and not getting any sleep last night..."

"She what??" Dominic hastily scoots over to the edge of the bed, puts on his artificial leg, and limps into the family room as quickly as he can manage without his cane. Luna is sitting at the dining room table, hunched over a mug of tea the size of her head--'Headache Helper,' judging by the smell. "Luna?" says Dominic softly. "Are you sick?"

"nnnf." She shakes her head without looking up.

"Then what is it?"

"You were talking in your sleep," says Luna, looking up at Dominic pointedly. "All night. I tried to wake you up, but nothing worked. I had to go sleep on the couch, and you know how Spark feels about that."

"Oh, man, I'm sorry, I had no idea..."

"S'okay. I know how you get when you're having a vision." She looks concerned, despite her obvious exhaustion. "Was it something bad?"

"...you know, I'm not actually sure," says Dominic after a moment. "It was about Dr. Stantz, from Milliways, but most of it didn't make any sense..."

"I thought I heard you saying his name. Is he in trouble? We should--"

"We aren't going to do anything," says Dominic firmly. "You are going back to bed, and I'm going to try to contact him and see what's going on, okay?"

"'kay." Luna abandons her tea and heads back to bed. She must really be tired, to not even make a token protest, thinks Dominic. But never mind. Time to get to work.

* * *

Two hours later, Dominic is making a dent in the now-cold mug of 'Headache Helper'. Ironically, it's not really helping at all.

Every attempt to mentally contact Dr. Stantz, or even to scry where he is now, has been a miserable failure. All Dominic's got for his troubles is a raging migraine. I don't get it. I could scry him just fine when I was in Milliways. What's different now?

Then the staggeringly obvious hits him. Ray is in another plane--more than that, he's in an entirely different universe. It took the aid of five other mages to scry into another plane within his own world; it must be exponentially harder to make contact with another reality.

So why is it easier in Milliways? Again, the answer is obvious; Milliways must be on the Planar Pathway. Or perhaps it's even beyond that, on some sort of Meta-Planar Pathway that connects to all possible worlds. From such a place, it would be easy to use second sight to view anything at all.

Which means that, despite his strong misgivings about the place, Dominic must re-enter Milliways if he wants to know what's happening to his friend.

"Crap."

Room 442: first night in the bar.

2007-09-12T00:51:21Z

Something always has to come up, doesn't it? Just when you think you can finally get some peace and quiet, some new crisis comes along that throws everything off-balance again. Sometimes it's as simple as a coworker trying to seduce your girlfriend; other times it's as huge as a chaos cult trying to destroy the world.

And sometimes it involves being stuck in a interdimensional nexus at the temporal end of the universe (the end of more than one universe, according to YT and Tyler) with no idea how to get out again.

At least the guest rooms are nice here. Comfortable, spacious, and well soundproofed.

The perfect place to do some scrying.

Dominic is sitting on the edge of the bed in room 442, his breathing even, his eyes open but unfocused. At least, not focused on anything that anyone else can see.

Who is the Landlord? he asks of the universe.

Nothing happens.

He tries again. Who brought me to this place?

Still nothing. This is starting to get irritating.

Who is in charge here? TELL ME.

Suddenly, Dominic is hit by a blast of energy that leaves his ears ringing and his face stinging with pain. "OW!" He flinches back and rubs his cheeks gingerly. If he didn't know better, he'd swear that someone had just slapped him across the face.

Okay, this isn't working. Whoever runs this place is either a very powerful mage with a lot of anti-scrying wards in place, or... Dominic would rather not think about the other possibilities. In any case, he/she/it clearly isn't visible by second sight. Time to try a different tack.

Why am I here? For what purpose was I brought to Milliways?

And this time, the universe answers.

{A landscape of great gleaming towers stretching up into the heavens. For a moment, Dominic thinks it must be the Elemecca, but no--there are people here, thousands of them, going about their business while strange metal-and-glass things travel on straight black streets.}

{His point of view shifts rapidly. Now he's looking at one tower in particular, taller than its surroundings with a narrow spire at its peak. The streets at its base are almost empty, except... there. A plump man in a beige jumpsuit, wearing a strange metal backpack and carrying some sort of glowing green staff--no, it's a sword, Dominic realizes as he watches the man wield it. A sword made of light. Ingenious.}

{The man is battling a zombie--the corpse of a skeletal woman who must have been absolutely hideous even before she died. Dominic is reminded a little of Croona Travoria, and it's perversely satisfying to see the old bat dismembered by the man in the jumpsuit. As the now-armless zombie flees and the man takes off after it, a female voice can be heard calling from across the street. "Von Stabbington! Dark Lord von Stabbington! What is it you want?"}

{The reply is all but inaudible as the jumpsuited man babbles instructions into a black box in his hand--some sort of communication crystal?--and the zombie is stopped by one of the metal-and-glass things moving to block its passage. The zombie turns and charges for the man, who decapitates it in one smooth swing. I gotta get me one of those, thinks Dominic, impressed.}

{And now he can hear someone screaming from the base of the tall tower. "--COMPLICIT IN HER LIES! THEY’LL PAY! THEY’LL ALL PAY! I have enough power stored in the rigging around this building to turn the whole works into the world’s first intra-continental ballistic magic missile! I’ve got a laptop here with Google Maps centered on the geographic coordinates of Cinderella’s Magic Castle and I’m NOT AFRAID TO USE IT!!!"}

{The metal-and-glass thing rolls forward and speaks in a childlike voice (It can speak? Dominic boggles. Is it alive? An Earth elemental, maybe, or some kind of golem? Who the hell builds a golem with no hands and wheels instead of feet?), pointing out the weakest point in the spells woven into the scaffolding around the tower's base. After some quick negotiation, the metal-and-glass thing speeds forward and collides with the scaffolding, reducing it to a twisted mess.}

{And now a small, dark-haired man in ridiculous velvet robes--the Dark Lord, apparently--runs up and starts screaming at the men and the metal thing.
"YOU! It's YOUR fault this didn't work! I'll show YOU what it means to thwart me--"
"Dr. Stantz! You and the Ghostbusters get out of the way!"
"--spend the rest of your miserable existence in here! I still have that much power!" He's holding up a small metal box and chanting in a language Dominic has never heard before. The man in the jumpsuit dives at him--}

{And there's a ray of light shooting from the Dark Lord to both the man and the metal-and-glass thing, and Dominic would swear he saw a near-invisible something pass between the two before the light fades. Then the jumpsuited man collapses on the ground, and the metal-and-glass thing suddenly sags as though something inside of it has gone slack, and a dozen uniformed men converge on the Dark Lord...}

And then the vision fades, and he's left sitting in his room again, utterly bewildered.

"...von Stabbington??"