First night!

[enhancomancer]

Calling Castle Roogna! Come in Castle Roogna!

Hey! Dummy mirror on the other side! Go wake up Dad! I know what time it is, but it's important! He won't smash you, I promise!

[It's wicked late, and sorry to everyone who didn't muffle and block their mirrors. She clearly didn't connect to where she wanted!]

Comments

[serpentinthegarden]

This is Castle Roogna...

[ A voice heavy with sleep answered. ]

I'm not a dummy mirror and it's... way too early for a little girl to be up. Your dad says to go back to bed.

[enhancomancer]

He does not, dummy. Put Dad on. Please? I was in a weird castle... And it's not in Xanth I think. Unless I time traveled. And Dad's the only other one to do that. But it's white and purple and there's no moat monsters, not even a zombie one!

I'm fine. I'm not scared or anything. [Half a lie, half magic that makes her less scared.] But I don't want HIM to worry. And maybe if it's a traveling time spell, it took Magician Humphrey too like the Forget Whorls. And Hugo. And the Gorgon. I swear I didn't go looking for 'em! I was in my room watching the tapestry! You can check!!

Can you relay all that, or is too much for your no-brains?

[Asked simply and affectionately, because it was true though. Inanimate objects don't have brains.]

[serpentinthegarden]

Kid. These mirrors don't connect that far they don't have... what do you call it... long distance. All you are doing is...

[ Deep yawn. ]

Waking up everyone in the apartment building.

[enhancomancer]

The what?

I'm Ivy.

[serpentinthegarden]

Wha do you mean, the what? Mirrors only work in the Kingdom, that's all.

Crowley. Go to bed Ivy.

[enhancomancer]

The thing you said. A party building. It doesn't look like it's partying. And if it was, how could I be waking anyone up?

I can't. The woman in the room sent me out here, and I don't have Stanley, or the tapestry, so I don't know if Esk and Chex fixed the river or not yet. And anyway, I don't want Dad to panic.

But it's nice to meet you, Demon Crowley. [This is not said as an insult, but rather, very politely, because it's rude to call demons solely by their names unless you are friends, which is hard to achieve, being as they're demons and friendship isn't really in their wheelhouse usually.] Are you part of the demons wishing to get rid of the Hummers? Humans are not involved in the conflict, but I can try to bargain on behalf of the voles if you please.

[serpentinthegarden]

Not party building, I don't think they have any of those here, apartment building. Where they dropped all of us off when we arrived. Big hotel...

[ He was tired and nothing of what the girl was saying was registering quite right. ]

Hummers? I have no problem with them personally but they have nothing on the Bentley. They lack the style!

And who said I was a demon? Are my wings showing?

[enhancomancer]

What do the hoes tell?

Bentley? What's that?

You have wings? Demons don-- [Well, they could, but most of them would have found it unnecessary. She's confused.] Sorry, if you're not! You were acting like Demoness Metria, she always turns into funny objects, and if this can't connect to Daddy, then inanimate objects can't talk. And demons are the pretend-to-be-the-Castle types, just to tell little girls to go to bed! I've heard they all love the Adult Conspiracy even though they didn't invent it, just because it frustrates us children. And you don't have any of the fussiness of centaurs. What kind of wings do you have? Can you fly?

[serpentinthegarden]

They say all sorts of things little girls don't need to hear repeated.

[ He was taken a touch aback by hearing such a small one say that word but... kids were growing up faster these days. ]

A Bentley is a car, more stylish than a Hummer and about half as wide. The don't make them like that anymore!

[ Crowley looked behind him to make sure he could safely slip one of his black wings out of the sheet without revealing an angel. ]

I am I just didn't know how you knew with these hidden under the covers...

[ And then suddenly it dawned on him! ]

Glasses!

[ He wasn't wearing his shades and the kid must have noticed his eyes! It made sense! ]

You know you ask a lot of questions for this early in the morning.

[enhancomancer]

[A garden hoe with an e is not slang for 'ho' Crowley!!! You really are like DeMetria!!!] Oh no! The Adult Conspiracy strikes again!

What's a car?

So you are a Demon? But not with the Kiss-Mee Kill-Mee River crew? What's your goal then? Demons are always up to something, right? At least Threnody's Mom was like that. But Threnody herself is great!

I ask a lot of questions for any time of the day. Otherwise, how could I learn anything? And I'm a Magician so Hugo's Dad doesn't charge me, he just doesn't answer if he thinks it's beneath notice.

[serpentinthegarden]

[ He hasn't had the slightest idea what she has been talking about this whole conversation.
Hummer = Hummer
Hoe = Hoes ]

How can you not know what a car is, or... an apartment building, but you know demons and that we are always up to something?

[enhancomancer]

[The hummers made the demons straighten the Kiss-Mee river in Xanth, and no those are hos with no e. This is a hoe.]

I'm Ivy. Princess Ivy. Daughter of King Dor and Sorceress Irene. I'm a Magician? I restored Threnody and Jordan the Barbarian to life from ghosts, and Threnody's mother is a demoness. And my friends Volney the Vole, and Chex the Centaur, and Esk Ogre, and Brie the Brassy are all trying to save the Kiss-Mee river from the demons that straightened it.

I grew up in Castle Roogna. Never met a car or been in an apart...ment building.

[serpentinthegarden]

Never... saw any reason to straighten a river. Humans do that with their canals and dams.

[ His wing floated casually behind him in the air. ]

You are in an apartment now and most people, even in lame hotel rooms like this one, like to sleep all the way until morning.

[enhancomancer]

Nuh-uh. We didn't straighten anything! And we have moats and those are round! And we don't have dams, that's for centaurs. It's what they call their mothers.

I still don't know what the hoes tell. And I don't see any hoes.

I guess I could ask the lady who send me out here. She wanted to sleep though, and I'm out here so she can.

[serpentinthegarden]

Ok, ok... kid... Who sent you out where?

[enhancomancer]

She has the other bed. Here to the other room.

[serpentinthegarden]

So... couldn't you go back to the other room, curl up in your own bed, and let her sleep a few more hours?

[enhancomancer]

I was trying to get through to Castle Roogna. And I don't want to sleep in a strange place without Stanley.

Video

[king_of_egypt]

Huh- what?

[Maybe he shouldn't have fallen asleep with his mirror on the nightstand but here we have it. Atem was looking a little disheveled and if he'd had the mind to he would have set this to audio only.]

[With only one eye visible as the other was buried in his pillow he stared at the screen]

What happened? Is someone in danger?

Re: Video

[enhancomancer]

No, but I don't have Stanley with me.

Who are you?

[king_of_egypt]

.....Whose Stanley?

[None of this was really making much sense at this hour, so he sat up and rubbed his face]

I'm Atem, to whom am I speaking?

[enhancomancer]

My dragon friend.

Princess Ivy. I guess the mirrors are up to mischief and didn't get through to Castle Roogna. Do you live in another castle?

[king_of_egypt]

Oh, a dragon friend, huh? I feel like everyone should have at least one really. More if they're fortunate.

Ah- my apologies. I had no idea that I was addressing royalty. [... but then again neither did she.] I'm afraid not. [The next question gave him pause for a moment, thinking back to his own dimension. Then nodding a few times, he tilted his head to the side] Most of the time I live in a sort of castle... but not currently.

[enhancomancer]

Yes, I agree, but it'd be difficult, most dragons aren't very good at being friends with others.

Oh! No worries, I'm not sure it matters here if I can't get ahold of Dad's mirrors. Only a sort of a castle, what's that like?

[king_of_egypt]

Oh, I don't know- it kind of depends on the dragon.

[Slifer, and Curse of Dragon for example Atem got along with rather well. The Five-headed Dragon tended to used mainly by his opponents]

So you're used to communicating via mirrors where you're from? [Looking for some clarification] I was just assuming that the architecture of our two lands might differ in some fashion. It's not a bad place to live, though sometimes it can be hard to find any privacy. [There were always the guards and priests worrying about his safety after all...] What is your castle like?