Kelyeah: Treehouse of Awesomeness

"Im sorry!.. I really know i didn't do anything but I can't shake the feeling I'm responsible for... all of that!" he sighed, wiping the tears from his eyes. he slowly looked around. feeling weirdly at home? he was feeling a lot of things to be fair. "But why has it chosen me? im just a lazy nobody" (edited)

"You're not a nobody, even if you are kinda lazy sometimes. I'm sure there's a good reason. Just... don't feel bad for any of that, alright?" The path ahead was pretty straightforward, it seemed. There were a lot of doors on either side of the hall, but there was also a big set of double doors at the end of the hall. If there was anything important in this building, it was definitely past those doors.

he wonders over to the double doors. Holding the handles for a moment. He eventually pushes the door open "yah... your probably right. Its.... just a lot going from our silly shenanigans to..... to people hunting me down for being potentially some vessel"

The room on the other side of the door was a rather strange one. Green carpet filled the entire floor of the large, octagonal room. Every wall was covered by a rich, green curtain, which then was stretched to cover the ceiling to give the entire room a plush appearance. Each curtain was bordered in gold-colored cord, and from the center of the room hung a large, ornate chandelier. The floor was... actually quite interesting. Near the halfway point to the center of the room, there was an octagonal pit that extended around most of the room, with a single "bridge" connecting the outside of the pit to the island in the middle. The pit seemed to be filled with water at first, but upon second inspection it seemed much different. It was more like the ghost of water, a liquid that seemed not entirely there, with a glimmering surface and slight, unearthly teal glow. In the middle of the island was a large rectangular object, about the size of a dining table, covered in a green and gold cover that hid the object underneath entirely.

"you sure you don't want out? this place is soooo odd... like theirs a pool! but.... its all ghostly" He asked Lionel as he slowly crouched down. reaching down to touch the 'watter'. stopping inches away when he had a bad feeling. he stood back up and walked down the bridge. he tilted his head at the object in the middle and decided to pick it up

"Rrrrfff... five more minutes..." Sounded like he needed some rest. Meanwhile, the curtain was pulled off the object to reveal a glass cage, containing an open-topped casket. Inside, atop dark purple fabric and red roses, was a well dressed Domestic resting peacefully. "You're finally here, then." A voice could be heard from the doorway, another Domestic. He seemed to be dressed as a butler, and he was very well kept. "I suggest you leave that be until the other Interloper arrives." (edited)

his ear twitched and he looked at them. he carefully put the cover back over the casket "oh? hello there.. the name is jack.." he walked over to them and offerd his hand

"And I am Sir Trace. It is a pleasure to meet you, Interloper." The butler shook Jack's hand, looking him over carefully. "You're probably a bit overwhelmed after everything, I imagine. Would you like to follow me around the manor while we wait for the other Interloper?"

"you.... got it pretty spot on... Id like a tour" He smiled a little. It was weird, he felt both like he belonged and yet he didn't. he tried to ignore it and start some conversation "This place Is verry.... green. is their a reason for that?"

William turned around to motion towards the water. "This liquid here is Anima, the force that governs the process of matter coming to life. It is naturally very green. Green - more specifically teal - is the color of life. Emerald green was chosen for its visual appeal, but anything too far from anima's natural color would find itself discolored over time, in the presence of such strong anima." The butler started walking, expecting the Interloper to follow along. "Stay close. The layout of this manor is going to be changing now that you're here. The rooms here are... transient."

"oh.. that's kind of concerning... cant imagine what might happen if the room decides to lock someone in" he laughed awkwardly. speeding up his pace for a second to follow closer behind

"You shouldn't need to worry about anything like that. The butlers of this house have some rudimentary control over the layout. And soon, you'll be able to control it as well."

"I don't knoooww. Having control over it, that's surely worse" he jokes lightly. He could imagine turning the place into a labyrinth for fun. Then he started to wonder about the butlers. It would definitely be a challenge to clean without knowing what leads where. "I'm sure your job would be difficult without that bit of control."

"Indeed. I'm actually eager for you to meet your personal butler, but you and the other Interloper will need to decide between yourselves who gets who. I personally serve the master of Grimalkin Manor, proudly and - with any luck - eternally."

"Oh, I get a butler? Cool beans." He mumbled distracted by some things that caught his eye as they walk. The overlap between non euclidean rooms didn't help his confusion

"The Interloper is traditionally meant to have a personal butler. I can explain more about the way the Interloper functions, if you'd want to hear it."

"Yah. That would be useful. So tell me what powers do i get? Flight, creating life, never feeling like I belong?" he joked lightly. He continued to follow trace through the manor. Partly forgetting Lionel was still in his stomach

"Trust me, that last one shouldn't become a problem. Not with the people here at the manor, at least. Other than that, you should be able to create entire worlds of your own if you learn how."

"Thats it?? If I learn how? Did the prophecies or the old interloper not leave hints on how to... actually do the cool stuff?" he paused for a moment. He tried thinking hard about a world with all kinds of colorful characters. He didn't have a way to check if it worked but he knew it didn't "nope.. can't just think about it and it happens... hmm" (edited)

"Well, I was going to see to personally having you trained. We'll start small, but we'll get there. Why don't we start with making a room, actually?"

"Well show me the ropes. Is there some symbol i gotta trace onto it.. or is it some incantation stuff" he asked as he walked up to one of the doors

"Not at all. Simply think of the idea you want first. Tell me, what sort of room do you want? A kitchen? A bath house? A fancy observatory? Maybe just a nice bedroom? Just think of anything."

"Wh.... what? I tried that already with makeing a world" he turned to him with confusion before thinking about what kind of room he wanted. A kitchen was his first thought but for some reason a studio called to him despite not being the artist type "uhh a studio? I geuss"

"Don't just guess. You have to be sure of what you're trying to make. Really solidify the details of what it is."

"Well i don't know why I thought about a studio. I've never done anything creative before.. but if we are doing that.. the room needs a desk to work at.... maybe various books for reference?" he paused to think about it. He tried to Imaginin the room from different angles

"Once you're sure of your idea, go ahead and open the door."

he grabbed the knob and closed his eyes. Focusing on the room. From the cozy lighting to the various paintings framed on the walls. After a moment he opened his eyes and pulled the door open. To his surprise there was a room similar to what he thought of "woah.. thats actually really cool"

"Well, unless you want someone naked to paint, or perhaps a bowl of fruit, I think we should do a bit more practice with these rooms. What do you think?"

"More practice? How so.. i.. I think I did it right.." he stepped into the room and looked around trying to discern what he might have failed at

"It looks fine to me. But think of it like exercise. The more you practice, the more you can do later."

"True.. well then. Give me a room to imagine" he stepped out and closed the door behind him. Proud of his accomplishment. Wait that is odd. All his colors were a little desaturated. Their was also a little nub on his forehead that wasn't there before

"Perhaps a bath house? It would be a nice way to de-stress."

"A bath house? Hmmm. Thats wooden floors, Heated pools, shelves with soft towels and nice smelling oils. I believe they usaly play soothing background music. Oh right, they have warm lighting from candles and lanterns" he thought through his process out loud. Getting a good feel for the vibe. Eventually he opened the door to see the room has changed to fit what he had in mind

Sure enough, an entire bath house was waiting behind the door. "You're already quite good at this."

"wow, still cant get over how cool that is. I think Lionel would love this! oh right I brought him wiiiiitttthhh- -# ... me. s-shit" He frose as realization crashes down on him.. Jack couldn't feel the light rustling in his stomach. He didn't hear a heartbeat or faint snores. he turned to Trace slowly "random question... dose the interloper have the power to bring back... uhh the dead?" (edited)

"Yes. The creation of new life, and the re-creation of past life, are equally available to the Interloper. It is one of the most important abilities in your toolset."

"Is it the same 'think it into existence' thing with the rooms or is it a different process?" he asks nervously

"If it's someone you already know, it's a bit easier, but yes."

Jack closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He tried to recall everything about Lionel. Everything from his appearance down to his mannerisms. Hoping to see his freind standing there, preferably unaware that he accidentally killed him

Apparently, just thinking of him was enough, and the universe seemed to fill in the blanks perfectly. Lionel appeared laying on the floor, slowly waking up and sitting up. "That might be the best I've ever slept... Oh, this is a neat looking place..."

"Sorry for.... wakeing you up. I had to let you out eventually" he tries to beat around the bush at the fact Lionel died. He gives a small smile before turning to him then trace "trace, this is my boss Lionel. Uhh Lionel, this is trace. He's a butler for.... uh I don't actually know. who's the guy that owns this place?"

"That would be-" Before he could finish his sentence, a nearby door opened as a second butler stepped in. "Ah, good, Nine is here." Trace looked to Nine, who was shocked to see visitors. "Already? It's a pleasure to meet you. I assume these are the Interlopers, then?" Trace shook his head. "Only one of them is, the lion is simply a friend. Although I do have news about the true number of Interlopers. But that's for later." Nine looked over to Jack, smiling and nodding. "Ah, I'm glad you're here with us. I suppose we should get around to explaining the history of the Interlopers, and of Grimalkin as a whole?"

"Uhh. Can I get the outline? That sounds like its going to be a huge history lecture." he laughed a little. Scratching the back of his neck.

Nine nodded, proceeding to tell the story of Box, while keeping it simple and easy to follow to the best of his ability.

"And now hes going to come back? But how does being a interloper play into that? Are we the ones to bring box back?" he shrugged.

"It seems so." Trace started walking down the hall, and the others followed. It is, to some degree, the role of the Interlopers to assist Box in creation and wellness. As for the true number of Interlopers... the number has grown, and continues to grow. Current estimates are in the double digits. We're not sure what's causing this, but we have our top scientists looking into the matter."

"Double digits? Damm.. sounds like this place is going to get crowded.. or infinity large" he chuckled.

"Well, if you mean the manor... well, it is a mansion after all, there's plenty of room for everyone. Although... since there's no possible way we could get all of the Interlopers here, we may have to just wake the owner up sooner rather than later. No point in waiting for everyone if some of them are still floating around in The Primal."

"Well if we are doing this. What's the plan?" Jack looks up at Trace then Nine and finally Lionel. He had his usual smug tone as he realized he was probably part of something really important

"Right, I was wondering..." Lionel spoke up now, thinking about the whole situation and what he's already overheard. "How are you going to wake him up? Do you just tap him on the shoulder? Bang on pots and pans? Or maybe it's more of a Sleeping Beauty situation?" Trace shook his head. "I don't think that much will be necessary. Although I'll admit, I'm not sure exactly the specifics of it myself. Nine?" Nine looked to Trace, frowning. "I was certain you were in charge of that matter. How would you wake up a sleeping god?" "You could always start by standing outside his room and talking loudly." Box grinned, having somehow wound up standing just behind the group, catching everyone's attention as Trace, Nine, and Lionel turned to face him. "Nice to finally meet you, Interloper. Although... it seems you're not the only one, hmm?"

"No way it's that easy, box.. maybe it's so-" It took him a second to catch on. Having to do a double take. He frowned hopeing it was going to be some cool progress "c....could you have done that the whole time?!"

"Debatable~" Box chuckled, before turning his attention to the butlers. "So, I don't know when, but I'm expecting a very important guest... eventually. A guest that likes cozy. Trace, if you could make sure the lounge is in order, that would be great. And Nine, I'd like you to get our lion friend here more properly oriented. And as for you, Interloper, I'd like to show you around for a bit, if you don't mind."

"I mean Trace already showed me around. Unless theirs something cool he missed... I'll pass on another tour" he crossed his arms. He leans back against a thin wall that he subconsciously put there (edited)

"Ah, I'm sure he didn't show you everything. But what about the town surrounding the house? Or the planet surrounding the town? But fair enough, I'd like to know more about you anyways."

"Well what is there to learn? Being a god I can only asume you know everything about everyone. Right?"

"Not quite. Omnipotence and omniscience can get pretty boring after a while, so I've worked a few self-imposed limitations into the system. Not to mention, you're from LUME, so I wouldn't know much about you anyways. Although... hold on, you're from Redleaf, aren't you? My original, mortal form is from there!"

"Really?? Hmm geuss Redleaf dose have interesting history then. I never thought so. It allways felt like a quiet town where nothing happens."

"Oh yeah, there's always crazy stuff happening behind the scenes. I suppose I should ask if you have any interesting or strange abilities you've got that stand out? It's apparently common for Interlopers, if I understand correctly."

"Well I can travel through tvs and interact with recordings. In fact it's how I got here.. on of those trooper guys gave me a tape that lead here"

"Oh! That sounds like a whole lot of fun. So you'd be able to travel through a couple of TVs connected together? I'd love to see this..." Box snapped his fingers, manifesting a couple of small TV sets on wheeled carts and moving them apart from each other.

he walked over to one of the tvs. The temporary wall he was leaning on vanished instantly. He stuck his hand through one and it apeard through the other. "yah.. its pretty cool... though these are a bit small" he focused on making the screens bigger and the carts shorter so he could comfortably step through one and out the other. He gave a bow

Box waited for Jack to attempt to climb through one of the screens, taking the other one and quickly raising it over his open mouth for Jack to fall in.

"Wo... woah heyy!! Not cool box!" he tries to grab the edge of the screen to stop his fall but that didn't work. He pushed against his belly "let me out! This isn't funny"

"Ah, sorry, I thought you'd be a better sport than that..." Box set down the TV, taking off his top hat and reaching into it to somehow pull Jack out of it. "No hard feelings?"

"Yo.... you randomly ate me! C.. could've given me a warning or something.. yuck!" he stood there soaked. He wipes the saliva off of his face before looking down at himself. "is.. is that how it feels? Euughh! I might have to go vegan" he paused Noticeing how weird it was to say that "well okay... thats not happening."

"Again, my apologies. I just haven't gotten to do anything like that in a while. Just know that you're not in any real danger around me, alright?"

"n.. now my hair is all ruined" he made a towel appear and he started to dry himself off before realizing. "w.. wait if i can make things with my mind cant i just....." *just then he imagined himself cleaned up and dry. He laughs a little at the situation. he playfully nudged box's shoulder "ok... it was kind of funny. were chill" (edited)

"All good, then. Do you use it to hunt, then? I definitely would... in fact I could consider trying that for fun..."

"hunt? I... Yah lets go wit that" he nods as the way box described it makes eating whatever he wanted from a tape a lot cooler.

"Wait, that gives me an idea. I want to try something!" Box rushed into a small empty room, setting up a camera and a table full of food before closing the door. One of the TVs was set to the camera, so Box and the table of food could be seen through it. "Hmm... so you can reach through that, right? What happens if you pick up the TV?"

"hmm? th..that wouldn't do anything..." he tilted his head but tried tilting the tv regardless. To his surprise everything started to slide in the direction he tilted it "wo... waoh! thats trippy!" * he opened his mouth wide and lifted the tv over his head*

Box held onto a table as all the food fell down Jack's gullet, eventually losing his grip and falling in as well. "Woah! Well, I guess that does work!"

Jack didn't notice box fall into his stomach. he smacked his lips "ehh.. why dose the food taste..... felty??" he coughed up his top hat and his eyes widened. He sat the hat don then lifted it up expecting to see box appear under it

Instead, a regular white rabbit came out of the hat! Wait, what else was in there, then?

He tried reaching into the hat Which was able to fit his whole arm. he felt something and tried pulling it out

Out he pulled a large, rather heavy feeling umbrella thing. Well, it was shaped like an umbrella, but the material was more like a rug. Soft, not really designed for rain... what was this thing?

Figuring box wasn't going to show up through the hat he decided to try it on "sooo... are you just going to stay in there? Or is there some bit you're going to pull?"

"Hold on, you'll see. Try opening up that umbrella!"

"oh like this?" Jack held up the umbrella and opened it (edited)

The umbrella opened up, the top unfurling as the umbrella widened itself out to become an entire ornate merchant's tent in the middle of the hall!

he jumped faintly when the handle extends to be the central support. He smiles warmly. "Ok... thats pretty neat!"

The inside of the tent looked mighty cozy, at least, as a bunch of floor pillows and rugs had fallen out of the umbrella and onto the ground when it opened. Box walked into the tent from outside, somehow, despite having just been trapped inside Jack. "Ahh, I see you found my umbrella! How do you like it?"

He admired the tent. He sits down and smiles wider "its really cozy. Think I could fall asleep in here. Where do you even get one of these?" he asked genuinely before remembering the power he held "oh right, I can just" he held out his hand and made a similar umbrella apear. This one had darker colors and the seams glowed blue faintly

"Ah, I see you're already getting the hang of this! I got the idea from a show I watched a few years ago. There's lots of inspiration out there when you know where to look!"

"Geuss I'm a interloper for a reason" he says smugly. Or he's unoriginal and channeling from me. Jack glares at nothing "ugh forth wall nonsense" (edited)

"Fourth wall nonsense... Fourth wall? Nonsense!" Box sat down on a pile of pillows, before laying on his back with his hat laying to the side. "Say you wanted to make a world of your own, what would it be like?"

He paused for a long minute thinking about the question "Shit, that's a tough question... probably something bright and futuristic? kind of like Blockadevally 3.... or whatever that game is called"

"Not sure the game you mean... but what kind of bright? Like solarpunk bright, or neon bright?"

"Neon Like cyberpunk. you know tall buildings with neon sign's."

"Ooh, I see what you're going for. Y'know, we could definitely work on something like that!" Box sat up, grabbing a book out of his hat to take a look through it. "I should have a good template ready for this..."

"oh? you've done something similar?" he got up and looked over Box's shoulder to see what he was talking about "that's another thing. how do I create a world. Trace made it sound like you just think it into existence. But is there anything else to know?" (edited)

"Well, the important bit is that you'll have a better result the more time you spend on it. The exact manner doesn't matter too much. I'm thinking of making a world forge that'll be good for crafting worlds in a more tactile way. How does that sound?"

"That.... That sounds Hella cool! Imagine someone going 'engage the world forge'" he says with a kind of gruffy tone before chuckling a bit

"Well, maybe I should get to work on putting something together. I can imagine a room with a stage for improvisation, some kind of planetary canvas for making locations... ooh! I'm having all kinds of ideas now." Box got up, putting his hat on and walking up to the tent pole. "Go ahead and step out real quick, if you can."

He crawled out and stretched "well.. do your magic! I wanna see it, your making it sound really sick!" He follows Box intently. Imagining what a world forge might entail (edited)

The tent suddenly collapsed as the umbrella was closed, leaving just Box with the closed umbrella. Even all the furniture was gone. "Alright, to the forge! I've been working on it in my head this whole time, it should be there by the time we get to the door." Box opened one of the doors in the hall, revealing a very dark room with black curtains covering the walls and ceiling. The curtains had bright stars stitched into their fabric, and table lamps illuminated the various workstations in the "forge". The wall across from the door was taken up by a large stage, with some comfy audience seating facing it. "Go ahead and take a look around, I'll be adding more workshop stuff as I think it up!"

"ohhh. not at all what i had in mind! wow" Jack was caught off guard. he looked around at all the tools. passing by the stage to check out the green glow from the lantern

The lantern was hanging alone from a floor stand, illuminating a table with a locked book. The lantern itself had the appearance of a maze of mirrors, reflecting different shades of green and teal throughout within as it all bounced around. Occasionally, some felines could be seen stepping through the maze, checking each mirror as one would look through a window. To see something through, rather than reflected in. Just then, the curtains of the stage shifted. Something was back there!

Jack quickly twirled around and balled up his fists. He lowers them assuming it was box or one of the butlers. Despite this the dark room brought some unease "Box? Reaall funny" he parts the curtain and steps onto the stage

The inside of the stage was dark. The front curtains closed on their own due to gravity, and the back curtains were already closed. A green glow appeared in the fiery teal eyes of some great beast that stood before Jack, the wooden carved face of a tiger baring its fangs. # "Grrrrrrreetings..."

He froze up in awe and slight fear. Failing to determine the true scale of it. Regaining most of his composure he speaks up "Howdy.... your name wouldn't be Clifford would it?"

The tiger's grin widened. He leaned back, reaching up with a paw to turn on a light in the rafters of the stage. His whole hulking form could be seen now, albeit in relatively dim lighting. "Not quite. You may call me Professor Silvertongue. I'm the drama teacher at Brixton's own art school. And who might you be, morsel?"

The last remark stung. He hides his prior fear and speaks with more confidence "one of the most important people in this universe! Jack Vance, the interloper. and I'm no morsel"

"Fool." The grin widened again, an articulated wooden tongue coming out to lick the tiger's chops. "Everyone is a morsel. The Interlopers are second to Box, one of the most ravenous forces ever known. And Box himself, at the end of the day, is still at the mercy of the Medlians that make up everything. And beyond that, who's to say? Even so, your power is not perfect, nor eternal." The tiger leaned back, breathing quietly in thought for a moment. "But death is not a concern for you. I could swallow you up easily, but you would simply return one way or another. A mere inconvenience for you, and a delicious treat for me. If anything, I think that makes you more of a morsel."

"no but I do have the power to remove you from reality if I see fit. don't try anything!" four Dimond shaped wings martialize behind Jack. They have a black border and give off a soft blue-white glow. They start fluttering, allowing Jack to float a foot above the air "Even though your a giant, you're just a small cat that doesn't frighten me*

"Wrooooooooooong answerrrrr~" Each of the diamonds suddenly shattered out of existence like glass, the lightbulb going out at the end, before all the light remaining was the tiger's eyes. "Box's will is above yours. And I work for him. Have a nice ride." The tiger's tongue lashed out to lap up Jack, tossing him straight into the back of the beast's throat.

Jack fell to the floor with a grunt. Now dazed all he could do was look up at those orbs that looked daggers in him. Seeing their tongue approach he quickly tries to roll out of the way. or that was the plan. "Aw shit! no no no" he desperately tries to cling to anything. He pushes his back against one side of the throat and his hands and feet on the other (edited)

Professor Silvertongue pushed Jack all the way into his throat, before Box opened up the curtains. "Ah, there you are! Enough messing around, Jack, I still need to show you the planetary forge!" Silvertongue carefully spat out Jack, smiling amusedly. "Maybe I'll get to have more fun with you later."

now humbled Jack hurried back to his feet. Looking at Silvertongue briefly with a apologetic and fearful expression. He goes over to box and acts like nothing hapend "Sorry silver wanted to chat... So the forge! How dat work?"

"Ah, well, we start with a planetary core..." Box collected a colorful marble from a desk, before placing it inside some kind of large globe and closing it. As Box started to spin the globe slowly, landmasses appeared and disappeared. "This is where we'll make the planets themselves. This part will take a while, though." Silvertongue laid down on the stage floor, watching. "After this, I hope you'll get a chance to see the town of Brixton. It's quite b-hurrk... sorry, trying to keep down a couple of failed students. If only they'd put all that energy into acting instead of trying to escape." He flashed a grin, knowing he'd likely get some kind of reaction out of the Interloper.

He shut his eyes tightly and sighed. Catching the subtle jab. "ooh that's neat." without thinking he reached out to touch the globe. He pulls away and decides to let box, the one who actually knows how it works, do it before trying it himself

Box used his hand to push around the landmasses, showing how to make it take shape. "You can give it a try. As for Silvertongue here... I could actually use a few loose souls, once you're done with them. Our Interloper here could use practice with some good old fashioned soul magic." The tiger tilted his head, thinking about it. "And deprive me of fuel? Are you trying to starve me now?" Silvertongue chuckled, knowing damn well he was well fed as is. "I'm sure I could spare these two."

he gives it a go and was able to make a ring of smaller islands before he perked up surprised. He turned to look back at them "I'm sorry huh? Soul magic?!"

Box nodded, keeping an eye on the globe. "Souls are made of anima, and that's pretty much the building block of life. When something dies, that anima gets used to power something else, before moving on to get reused one way or another. Everything sort of keeps everything else going that way. It's a bit more complicated, but the simplified explanation works well enough for now." Silvertongue nodded, stretching his paws out as he got comfy. "Eating living people is how we get so much energy to work with. Creation is taxing, even if it doesn't seem like it. Of course, when you have the power to decide where all those souls go when you're done using it, there's no harm in putting them back where you got them. Then again, nothing wrong with holding onto it all, either."

"That.. makes sense. Then how does one utilize that energy in magic?" he asked as he turns back to the globe and adds a few more things

"Well, you find some way to take in the energy, then you use your will to control the energy and make it work for you. It's not easy to explain much more than that. It seems to be pretty inconsistent from person to person, too."

"that's not very useful... hmm" he thinks for a moment. wondering how he would do it. He half jokingly held out his hand like a soul would be something he could just hold

There was a shimmer in the air over his hand, before a mote of teal light leapt from Silvertongue's throat mid-yawn and stopped in place right in Jack's hand.

*He let out a soft gasp. staring at the light in amazement and wonder. he cups his other hand around it like its a ember threating to go out from a light breeze. "It's.... so pretty"

"I should make a machine for handling those easier. Yes, that's a soul right there. The way you perceive it is unique, but the underlying structure is all the same. To anyone less than an Interloper, souls are a bit more... abstract."

Box started a thread. 1/4/2026 7:30 AM

"Its fine. I think Im starting to understand. so what's the next step now that we shaped a planet?" He askes and steps to the side fro mthe globe. Still holding the soul in his hands (edited)

"Take that energy and consume it. You can then transfer its energy to the planet you've created, and give it the potential for life."

"Like eating it? So if I just-" he dropped it into his mouth and swallowed. It was a lot less taste and more sensation. He puts his hands on the globe and tries to imbued it with the anima

The magic could be felt flowing into the planet, energizing it. "There you go. I should have someone help you with the rest of this, because..." Box leaned over towards that weird lanter, watching another figure walk through it. "I'm about to have a visitor. Mind if I head out for a moment?"

"Another interloper I'm guessing? That's fine. I geuss say hi to them for me too" he nods. Now having a general idea for the processes he opened the globe and switched out the marble for a tan colored one

"Indeed." Box hurried off into the halls, leaving Jack there with Silvertongue. He watched for a while, moving towards the edge of the stage to watch Jack work.

Jack hummed quietly as he worked on the main land mass. Theire was that errie feeling from before. He eventually spoke up without turning to face silvertongue "hey.... uhh sorry for threatening to delete you earlier..... that was definitely fucked.."

"It's understandable. You're getting used to this new, strange world. Grimalkin is quite a bit different from LUME. From Redleaf."

"Its definitely a transition. Going from some everyday Joe to the worlds 2nd strongest..... 3rd? 6th?" he paused for a moment getting a little annoyed. Without noticing he accidently removed most of the water from the planet he was working on " Or wherever I am on the ranking! That's besides my point. Gained a lot of power and it went to my head"

The way that all the water drained back down caused all the minerals to coalesce under the surface. "It's alright. You just need some practice, I guess."

focusing back on the globe he frowns seeing the drought "shit... how did i have it before?" he struggles to get it how it was before. Eventually deciding to roll with it and add a few caves and canyons

"You've got a temperate planet, and now a dry planet... so how about a frozen planet next? You should try pulling from the Primal and see if you can find one already made that fits. For practice, of course."

"The Primal? What's Dat about? And how would I pull from it?" he asks while finalizing and putting some anima into it. Setting the marble next to the other. Jack looks up at Silvertongue (edited)

Box arrived at the forge before Silvertongue could reply, calling out in a sing-songy voice. "I'm baaaaack! And I brought a sna-um-friend!"

"what!? Y... you were only gone for a minute" Jack flips around with a confused expression. Then he noticed the kobold and flashed his signature smug look "oh howdy!" (edited)

@HawkeyeRoy

Bella stares at Box's back with mild suspicion. Snack, huh? Her eyes flick towards jack as she waves. "Hello! BellaKhora Avearden, nice to meet you."

Silvertongue smiled, nodding to Bella. "I'm Professor Silvertongue. I'm going to really enjoy teaching the planetary forge to my new students, I imagine. Come on over here, onto the stage."

"Jack Vance. Kinda a big deal!" He pantomimes leaning against a wall. Remembering to put a wall there a little to late. He falls with a grunt. when he stands back up he bonks his head on the previously mentioned wall "Stupid powers...." (edited)

Inwardly debating the competence of the people around her as she walks over to professor Silvertongue, she slowly realizes just how much bigger he is. She glances over at jack. "Um. powers? I'm guessing you mean magic of some kind, right?" (edited)

Silvertongue laid down so his head was basically on the floor. "Many of us come from different worlds, with varying magic systems. Jack is from a much more distant part of reality than the rest of us."

Jack stands back up and brushes himself off. He joins the others on the stage "oh you prob don't know about technology... Just wait until you see a tv!" he chuckles. Giving Bella a playful nudge (edited)

Bella sways slightly, Jack's a fair bit larger than her. She straightens her stance and raises a brow at Jack. "Uhm. Define technology? We have a fair bit of that back home, but considering I don't know what a 'Tee-Vee' is, I'm guessing your world is more advanced than mine..." (edited)

Box rushed out of the room, coming back in carrying a moderately sized CRT. "This is a TV! It's short for television, and they're used to send vision over the air." Box set down the TV, adjusting the antenna and turning it on. A black and white signal came in, showing the local weather forecast. "Pretty neat, huh?" Before anyone could speak, the signal cut out, as if being interrupted by something else entirely. Some kind of alert flashed on the screen, followed by the face of a Nebyu with a view of space behind him. "Attention! This is a pre-recorded message from the Ozari Planetary Guard. If you're receiving this signal, then that means Ozari's sun Kosoli has gone supernova, wiping out our planet. In preparation, we have sent Nebyu Scouts across space in search of a way to make contact with the higher powers. We know you are out there. We have seen your ships, we have seen the impact you've left on our world." Box stared dumbfoundedly at the screen. This was a hell of a random time for something like this to come in, and it wasn't often that he felt so directly addressed by mortals. "Whoever you are, we are profoundly thankful for the life you've given us. If this is the end of the Nebyu race, we will not think any less of you." A tinge of emotion began to bleed through the Nebyu's voice, through his face. "But if you're out there, and you would be ever so generous as to give our world a second chance, we would gratefully live out that second chance in undying devotion."

He stared at the screen blankly "Huh.. thats weird and a little creepy.... are we going to answer their prayers? Or in this case call.... broadcast?" Jack was too confused and a bit unnerved to come up with a clever remark -# weirdly the name sam was coming to mind

Bella frowns slightly. "Oh... I'm not gonna get to learn more about the TV yet, am I?" She turns her head towards Box and points at the TV. "So, um. Are we going to do anything about that? Seems kind of irresponsible to just leave it alone, right?" (edited)

Box nodded, looking through the screen before fiddling with the controls on the TV. "I have just the idea. I'm going to track the signal to its origin so we can find the scout that broadcasted that. They must have what we'll need to actually help. Jack, since you can move through TVs, you'll be the one to actually go through to wherever the scout is. In the meantime, I need to set up some additional equipment." Box looked over to a corner of the room where a bunch of machinery was hidden under a dark red sheet. "Hmm... right, I knew I was forgetting something. Someone needs to reconfigure the clock tower for this little project... Bella, would you be willing to look for the clock tower? You'll just need to pull some levers, nothing too complicated."

"all righty. just tell me when you got it. pop in and get the thing and get out. easy as that." He nodded and began to stretch.

Bella grins as she stands ramrod straight and throws up a sloppy salute. "Okie dokie! Sounds good to me." She stills, and looks up at professor Silvertongue. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to get you ready to head out to the clock tower." Without another word, Silvertongue slurped up Bella into his mouth and slinked backstage out of sight. Meanwhile, the TV started to come through to show Sam on the other side. "Ah, hello! Can you hear me?"

Box started a thread. 1/30/2026 10:35 PM

the feline on the tv stares with wide eyes "uhm.. hi?" They seemed a bit nervous. they look off to their right -# "Ben I think the trouble found us..... Ben?" Jack crosses his arms as he looks at the screen "that's the scout? he don't look like a.... a. Ozari? was it?" (edited)

-# "No, no, Ozari is the planet, the race is Nebyu." Box turned his attention to the screen again. "Excuse me, good sir, but were you by any chance given any kind of important package or parcel meant to be handed off to a 'higher power'?"

The cat smiles widely and nods "Yes yes yes! it worked! h... hold on" *the screen shows a blue sky. a zipper and rustling could be heard. Eventually he comes back into view holding a lockbox with a weird lock on it "If... If its suppose to get to you.... h... h. how would I?" "I got this just hold the thing out like that" Jack chimes in before walking over to the tv. he sticks his arm through to grab it. probably shouldev gave him a heads up. sounds like he spooked Sam "WHAT THE HELL!"

Box chuckled at the shenanigans going on through the TV. "Ooh, actually, could you bring him through? We might want to have him around for this next part."

he looks over at box then back at Sam "sorry.. sorry. this might be a bit unpleasant but I'm going to have to eat you to get you here you good with that Kido?" They frowned a little and sighed. "Uhhhh... I guess that beats trying to find you and walk there" With Sam agreeing to it Jack leans though the tv and snatches him up. spiting him out he offers his hand to him "welcome welcome! Uh right introductions.. Im Jack and that goober over there is Box" he says affectionately as he points over to box "oh... howdy. Im Sam.. nice to meet you" Sam shakes Jacks hand before looking around the manor "nice place you got" -# "this is so weird* (edited)

"Thank you! I am Box - yes, that's my real name - and this is Grimalkin Manor. Now, Jack, can I have that important parcel? If my judgement of the Nebyu's intelligence is correct, it should contain a Planetary Core."

"yep here you go" Jack stuck his hand back into the tv. coming out another tv beside box that wasnt there before. Holding out the lock box to box. "P.. Planetary core???" Sam tilts his head. This was all new to him "little marble that tells the forge about a planet or whatever" He tries explaining it. Raising more questions than answers Sam just nods (edited)

Box took the parcel and opened it up as if it was never locked to begin with, pulling the marble out. "Alright. This one's fully formed, so it doesn't go in the forge itself. We have an attachment for the forge that I need to set up. Can one of you go over to that pile of junk in the corner and take that red sheet off it?"

They both looked at each other. One was lazy but the other thought Jack was gona. Eventually Jack had a idea on how to settle this and made a fist and hit it on his palm. Sam shrugs and dose the same. in unison they chanted "Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!.... Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!....Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!....Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!...." they tied the first few times before Jack went scissors and Sam did papper. Jack pumps his fist in cerebration "Ha!" *Sam rolled his eyes and walked over. and pulled off the sheet (edited)

Underneath was a bunch of crazy looking equipment, not unlike the planetary forge itself. "Behold, the Planetwide Timewinder! A long time ago I had designed local time manipulation devices called timewinders, and this one works on another level altogether. First, though..." Box took the marble to the Armillary Configurator, using it to decide where Ozari should be placed. "Instead of messing around with a new sun, we can just toss Ozari in orbit around The Primal." While he worked on that, Trace came in to move the Timewinder into place, hooking it up with another strange looking part. "That part that Trace is holding is a Wireless Induction Rotor. It's going to connect the Timewinder to Brixton's clock tower, so we can borrow its power just long enough to use the Timewinder to form a new copy of Ozari. We're basically taking the primitive version of the planet and fast-forwarding it to its 'present day', minus the supernova."

"what about my friends? do you have a way to bring them back?" Sam asks nervously. He walks back over to the the others

"Hmm... I suppose I could break a few rules. Especially since you've found a way to actually get my attention! Boop!" Box booped Sam on the nose, causing Ben to re-appear right where he originally died - as in, in Sam's stomach. "Whoops."

He flinches ever so slightly at getting booped. Sam tilts his head "woops what?" then he felt something push slightly in his stomach "hu... ok now.. I didnt mean like that" He tries to Spit Ben out but it wasn't working. He eventually Got the psyrus to transform him just enough to spit out his friend. Seeing he was fine brought a smile to his face "hey Ben" (edited)

Ben turned around so he was sitting upright, beaming a big smile up at Sam. "Hey Sam! Don't worry, I was able to hear everything, so I'm already pretty much caught up. But what about...?" Box was already on it, motioning towards the door as a confused looking Zorvax walked in. "This place is so strange... OH! Hey guys!" Zorvax rushed over to hug Sam, followed by Ben, seemingly not bothered by Ben being coated in saliva.

Following Boxes gesture he was about to do the same thing. Holding him for a minute more. getting slightly teary "Good to have you back" Jack smiles at the sight "isn't that sweet.." He moved over to the tv and changed its channel . Reaching in he pulls out a drink quietly

Zorvax waited for Sam to pull away first, before Ben got his hug. "So, where exactly are we?" Ben and Box were both quick to catch Zorvax up to speed, with Box filling in whatever details Ben wasn't yet aware of. "So, this is Grimalkin Manor. I'm Box, the head of the manor, and we're on a planet called Perce. This planet, along with many others such as the ones you all are from, are part of the universe of Grimalkin - of which I'm the creator. Does that clear up much?"

"Excep for me.. im from a whole different universe known as lume but that ain't important" Jack added before takeing a sip of his drink "Huh? You can't just drop that and act like its nothing" Sam looks over at Jack in shock

Box looked over to Jack. "Ehh... the technicalities of that are up for debate, actually, considering you're an Interloper. There's a good chance your soul just moved from Grimalkin to LUME before you were born."

"Hmm? What part of that is technical? Isn't lume and Grimalkin separate universes? Actually, scratch that, its not that important" Jack loses interest and shrugs it off. Glanced over at the forge and remembered about the two planets he was working on "Ahh right. Thats what I was doing before this side quest. tryin to pull from the primal.." "h.. hey! this is not a side quest. Reviveing a planet is like... main progression!" Sam says defensively "Relax kid.. we cant do much till Bella dose the thing with the rotor thing in the tower. migh as well make yourself at home"

Box thought to himself, picking up the rotor. "Hmm... there is a way we could speed this up! If I could send this rotor's state forward in time, I could be able to fast forward the rotor to when Bella activates the other side!" Box reached into his hat and pulled out a fancy looking wristwatch. "Behold! A small Timewinder for our big Timewinder!"

"sounds complicated. whats next? a micro Timewinder for the small Timewinder for the big Timewinder" Jack chuckled a little. He thought for a moment on how he would 'pull from the Primal' then he get a idea why doesn't he ask the primal himself "hey bwaax! have you ever made a cold planet?"

"Hmm? I don't quite see how that's entirely relevant, but indeed I have. There was one particular frozen planet that I'd used to lock up some... things I didn't really want to face. An otherwise beautiful planet named Lucia - you're free to use it if you wish." Box reached into his mouth, pulling a marble out of his throat. "Here it is. You can set this up while I configure the Timewinder." Meanwhile, Sam's hand was grabbed by Zorvax. "Hey, come on, I wanna explore this mansion!" Ben chuckled, following after.

Jack takes the marble and wipes it off "it wasn't relevant... I... well ok, Silvertongue suggested I tried pulling a frozen planet from the primal. figured it would be easier to just ask you since its like your soul." Jack grabbed the other two marbles and moved over to the Armillary Configurator hesitating for a moment as he tried to come up with the names "hmm.. Goldmarch, Kyndel? and Lucia" "hmm? oh alight. Good luck with the planets and stuff!" he holds up a peace sign before folowing Zorvax's lead

"Kyndel... that's an old name, from an old world that never was. It'll be interesting to see how you use it." Box went back to putting the Timewinder setup together, still occasionally watching what Jack was doing.

Box started a thread. 2/1/2026 4:11 PM

Deciding to put them within the promised realm Jack puts the marbles into the Armillary so Goldmarch was first. then Kyndel somewhat close by. leavening Lucia a fair ways away from Kyndel "all right so I think that's it. I'm going to call it the outlaw system. what do you think Box?" (edited)

"Ooh, I'm quite fond of that. A good lawless start can be pretty fun for figuring out how you want to shape your worlds."

"Hmm am I missing anything? Terraformed the planets and placed them in the outlaw system.. and they have potential for life." he took a few steps from the Armilllary and looks at box (edited)

"I think that should be good. They're all configured now, so you can put the cores back into storage. There's some drawers in the Armillary itself!"

"sweet! I.. have... Created life!" He says dramatically before laughing a little. Jack opened one of the drawers and sets the cores inside. The black nubs on he head grew and started to curve backwards, his tail grew a little longer, and his spots gained the faintest hint of teal

Box noticed the change, but decided not to say anything. "It may take some time for the worlds to actually be ready - we would push them forward in time, but we still need to wait for Bella for that, so why don't we discuss other things? Such as you perhaps moving in? It may seem sudden, but to be truthful, I'm concerned your old home may not be the safest place for you right now. I should also discuss this with Lionel as well."

"Hmm? Move in?" he trailed off. Thinking about it for a minute. He strollers over to the stage and sits down on the ledge "well.. I grew up there for most of ma life. I don't I could stay as a permanent solution... hmm"

"Doesn't need to be permanent. How about you catch up with Lionel and Sir Ives to discuss it? I believe you'll find them touring the kitchen." Box walked over to Trace to whisper something to him, Trace nodding in response before getting up and heading backstage in a hurry.

"I'll think about it..." As if on que his stomach growled. Jack leans back before hopping to his feet. "ya know, even if they aren't there anymore. Grabbing a bite sounds good about now" he moves to the nearest door and manifests the kitchen behind it. He opens the door and walks through

Box smiled and waved, before rushing through the backstage to follow Trace through the secret halls to the foyer. In the Foyer, Box and Trace - along with a handful of miscellaneous butlers - were making preparations. Any dusting left to do was done, chairs were being populated with comfy pillows, and some strange, tall, door-shaped object was being carried in with a green velvet cover draped over it. Box stood in the middle of the room, facing the front door, as this strange door frame was placed in front of him and uncovered. A frame built from ornately carved wood, with a four-pointed star-shaped indentation on a panel above the frame. Silvertongue looked at the indentation, with a worried look on his face. "Wait, where's the Cynosure? We didn't misplace it, did we?" Box shook his head, taking off his hat and reaching into it. "Don't worry, Silvertongue, I have it with me." What Box pulled out was a large four-pointed star made from a bright, glittering copper-rose material. Along its sides were twelve differently colored gemstones, along with eight smaller anima-colored stones, and finally one dark and brilliant stone in the middle. Around the middle was a diamond-shaped recess with a vantablack surface. Box walked up to the door frame, reaching up to the star-shaped indentation and inserting the Cynosure. Box was blown backwards onto the ground by the sudden blast of energy, as the vantablack surface on the Cynosure changed to a brilliant spinning rainbow of color. Teal motes of flaming anima leapt from behind the Cynosure and into the middle of the door frame, opening a portal into a swirling tunnel of rainbow flames. Most of the butlers had fled the Foyer by now, with those remaining shielding their eyes from the bright fire on the other side of the portal. Box got back up to his feet, watching intently and waiting for someone very important to emerge.

Dragio emerges from the portal, clad in simple but well-made steel platemail armor below the neck overtop of leather adventuring armor, designed to expose his claws and the end of his tail. He looks around, trying to see who all is in the room.

By the time Dragio emerged, it was just Box, Trace, and Silvertongue. When Box saw Dragio emerge from the door frame, he rushed forward and greeted Dragio with a big, sincere hug.

Dragio uses one arm to give the cat a big squeeze, and the other to grant them a blessing in the form of headpats and a telepathic vibe of appreciation.

While they were hugging, Silvertongue quietly moved over to the door and plucked the Cynosure out of the frame, stopping the (admittedly bright and hot) portal. Box finally managed to pull himself away. "It's good to see you. Things have gotten really confusing lately... I'm making a few new friends, but it's so good to see a familiar face."