private psl

[silentscout]

[Maybe Lalli is spending too much time sleeping. Quarantine is long and boring, and he's not really interested in talking to people he can barely understand. It's hard to have a thoughtful conversation with someone when you only get maybe 1 or 2 words out of everything they say.

Maybe he should have tried to study another language, back before all of this. Even talking to Reynir right now would be better than a month of what sounds like buzzing bees. bouncing around him everywhere.

That's why he sleeps. At least in the dream world everyone can understand each other, and he can tell Reynir exactly how stupid his hair looks. Even Emil's blabbering is better when Lalli can understand what nonsense he's saying.

...he needs to find Onni too. Onni would know they're okay by now, the message about their (relatively) successful recovery was sent by short-wave radio as soon as they were all on board. But he wants to actually talk to Onni too.

That's why he follows the winding stone path sticking out of the waters during one dream of many in a month-long quarantine on a large boat. Normally stone paths like that lead to Onni's dream. But as Lalli follows it the stones start to change shape, gradually shifting from irregularly shaped stepping stones to something much more uniform and cut. It's more like what he would expect from a path in a city, and something Lalli doesn't associate with Onni at all.

Curious, Lalli continues down the path, using the strangely-cut stones to keep himself out of the waters. He's getting closer to someone else's dream, and he is alert, looking for any sign of who this might be or where they might be from. Maybe it's one of the Icelandic mages on the boat? He won't know until he gets into the dream and sees just who it is, though.]

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[silentscout]

[It can't quite reach the doors, because the border of the dream closes at the same time the doors do. But Doumeki will be able to feel the monster's presence, thrashing about just at the edge of his consciousness, enough to be noticeable without putting him in danger.

The creature is not pleased by these developments. Doumeki is strong enough to keep it out, and it is very annoyed that its prey was kept safe.

When the creature speaks, it's not with a normal mouth. Instead, it's as if the thoughts of the beast are being projected into Doumeki and Lalli's minds.]

FOOLISH. YOU THINK YOU CAN KEEP ME OUT? HOW DO YOU PLAN TO WAIT OUT THE ETERNAL?

I CAN WAIT TO FEAST ON YOUR FLESH AND CRUNCH ON YOUR BONES.

[Lall seems rightfully terrified of the monster, for what it's worth. So much so that he's practically hiding behind Doumeki.]

[piercesshadows]

[This is new. Creatures formed from residual miasma aren't this coherent.

Also, what the fuck.

The creature's inability to bring him to his knees is, perhaps, what bolsters his confidence. Doumeki widens his stance. Taking his hand off the door seems like a bad idea, but his ring is pressed on it, and this is still a dream. Wherefore, this door must become his bow.

This is the kind of illogical yet intuitive leap he's become accustomed to after spending ten years in the Shop. Without growing up by his grandfather's side, going down this path would've been harder for him to accept.

He draws with his right arm. Steadies his breath. Here, he can readily see his qi gathering. There's no way to miss at point blank range. His arrow is his mind is the target, and he releases the arrow after a moment that is an eternity.

Outside the door, that beam should shoot straight forward. Will it dispel its target?]

[silentscout]

[It's quite an impressive leap in skill, and Lalli is left staring in awe as he watches that arrow fly. It pierces its target right through the chest, causing it to scream and rear up in pain. It's a direct, fatal hit.

This creature is much more solid than the spirits Doumeki has dealt with in the past, so it doesn't just fade away to nothing. Instead, it comes crashing down in the shallow waters, thrashing about like a dying animal would. But after several moments of screaming and writhing, the movements stop. The glowing red eyes dim, and the body sinks below the waters.

Lalli still can't find the words to speak. He's staring at Doumeki, mouth slightly agape in shock.]

[piercesshadows]

[From behind the gate, Doumeki can only hear all the agonized screaming and splashing. He still hasn't noticed Lalli's expression, having prepared himself to possibly draw a second arrow if the first didn't work, and after waiting a few moments to listen if anything else wants to stop by, he risks a peek outside the gate after hearing only silence.

...

Yeah. Yeah, that thing's huge. And still solid. He's beginning to feel the shot too as the adrenaline slowly leaves him (how does that even work in a dream?) and Doumeki shuts the gate again before leaning on the wood, bowing his head with a low, deep sigh.

Exhaustion is not a sensation he expected to feel within a dream, but here we are.

After steadying his breath, he cracks an eye open to look at Lalli.]

That was... a troll?

[Based on what parts he could see from the water's surface, it didn't resemble any ayakashi he knew of. It's reasonable to assume that Lalli had some sort of nightmare and that dream logic may be involved - but if it's as simple as that, why does he feel like he expended a lot of qi?]

[silentscout]

[All Lalli can do is nod. A close encounter with a troll is always terrible, but this one had been particularly dangerous. A few moment later, and Lalli would have been dragged under the waters and drowned in his sleep.

Tentatively, Lalli takes a couple steps closer to Doumeki. He's still running on adrenaline, but his curiosity has been sufficiently piqued.]

You took it out in one hit. Your magic is strong. Even I can't fight something that big on my own.

[piercesshadows]

I've been doing this for ten years, but not all ayakashi are that big.

[Or that draining to deal with.

Doumeki slowly eases himself to the ground, using the gate as a backrest. He... should be back to normal in a few minutes. Probably. What he hopes for is that this doesn't carry over to the waking world.]

Are all trolls capable of that? Following you into your dreams, that is.

[silentscout]

[Some of the lingering tiredness might, but thankfully injuries don't carry over. Not that Doumeki has any currently, but in the future that may be important.

Lalli sits down next to Doumeki, though he sits on his own rather than resting against the gate.]

Not all of them. Just the strong ones. Most are weak and don't even understand what happened to them.

[piercesshadows]

[Not the kind of mobility he likes hearing about, however there's little choice but to accept the situation. He nods.

That is the kind of creature he may have to deal with in liberating Lalli's grandmother.]

What's in it for them if they eat you? Spiritual energy?

[That is typically the case. However, he can't assume that's all there is to it. There's too much of a difference between the Trolls he's read about over the internet and that]

[silentscout]

Energy, yes. They can consume my body, or hold onto my soul and drain that. Trolls like that are also just hateful beings who want to see humans suffer.

[Something something "I'm in pain so everyone else should be too.]

It's a battle that will never be over, but all we can do is take it one step at a time.

[piercesshadows]

[...spiteful. Doumeki can't say he understands or agrees.

However, there is one person he knows of who may come to mourn their current state of being.

...

He exhales. Might as well ask.]

Were they always like that? Not all supernatural entities are hostile towards humans.

[Innocently wicked on occasion, yes. But it's hard to believe that there's a people out there who have not encountered a purely benevolent spirit.]

[silentscout]

Probably not back when they were human, or a moose, or whatever mammal they were before. But the transformation process is long and painful. A lot of resentment built up that way.

[And there it is. The missing piece of information Lalli hadn't just outright stated before. Trolls were made from humans, or other mammals. This is a zombie story, and Lalli sure didn't say that outright in the beginning.]

[piercesshadows]

[...moose. Not a creature he hears about often.

For all that Lalli's kept the trolls' origins a secret, Doumeki does not look surprised in the least.]

I don't know if they experience physical pain during transformation, but there are ayakashi who come into being that way. Grievous emotional wounds and strong grudges hold such a sway over the soul, either at the moment of death or accumulated over time. If they accumulate enough power, they'll look convincingly human at the surface level.

[A pause.]

Or so I'm told.

Are trolls capable of looking like that?

[silentscout]

[He's ready to say 'no', but then he remembers something specific.]

Trolls, which come from humans, never look convincingly human. But some Beasts, which come from other animals, can. There's some kinds of dog Beasts that look like a normal dog to lure you in to check on it, but then they shift and eat you.

[piercesshadows]

[Huh. He wonders if it's something to do with the expression of base instincts or animals becoming feral. Less acting involved.]

So you've never encountered a friendly or non-hostile Troll.

[silentscout]

No, I haven't. They're all either so far gone they don't know what they're doing, or they're malicious on purpose.

[A friendly troll...perish the thought.

(Ironically those DO exist. Lalli has just never met one himself.)]

[piercesshadows]

[If Doumeki looks a little disturbed, that's because he actually is. Once more, he has to remind himself that the Trolls aren't ayakashi no matter their apparent similarities.



...no, it's still hard to imagine. It's either these Trolls have a different sense of morality compared to humans, or something else is at work. Doumeki has a hard time accepting that spiritual entities who've gained this much rationality can be so one-sided.]

Are your encounters with them confined to only one region, or have you gone around the whole of Finland?

[silentscout]

Finland, Sweden, Denmark. I've been to Iceland too but there's no trolls there. Everywhere else, they're all the same. Suffering, waiting for someone to release them from their pain.

[It paints a grim picture of just how death-centric Lalli's world actually is. Everyone dies, it's true, but Lalli has been raised among it. It's so commonplace that he can talk about it this easily.]

...but it's not the same where you're from, is it?

[piercesshadows]

[Grim and foreboding. Exorcism carries its own set of dangers, but these creatures seem to be in their own category. The kind that Shinto priests and onmyouji battled before civilization advanced.]

No. [Then, he allows:] Not in the modern era. There are stories of ayakashi who can curse villages wholesale centuries ago, but those are rare these days.

Is there a known epicenter of the Rash when it broke out?

[What he wants to know is if there's a correlation between the two. If the Trolls are this powerful, it's possible a curse or enchantment has spurned on their evolution. Either that, or there was a grudge that built over a long period of time that began infecting animals, and it snowballed from there.]

[silentscout]

[That is asking a world history question of someone who hasn't been in school for years.

Lalli does give it a good try, taking time to think on it. Where had it started? What had happened back then?]

...don't know. Iceland closed its borders first so the Rash never spread there. More countries tried to do the same, but by then the Rash was already spreading so it was too late. I think it came from just south of Scandinavia? That continent.

[Europe. He means Europe.]

[piercesshadows]

[......

Right. The guy's not familiar with Russia. Makes sense the rest of the Eurasian continent's also a huge question mark. On the other hand, that's as good as a confirmation that the Rash didn't start in Scandinavia, and thus the curse's origin is inaccessible. Unless its container is somehow mobile.

...would the Japan of Lalli's world and other island nations be similarly fortunate? He can only hope.]

Got it.

I gather no one's succeeded in heading off the island and reporting back.

Do the Trolls have an established hierarchy? Or do they all just act on their own without having to care for something like a monarch or a parent?