"Oh goodie." You snap, spitting out some of your own blood. "You mean I can still be a member of their little club? Even after all the times I've told them no?"

"Well, now that I've beaten you so soundly, I doubt they'd give you another look for some time." Jurik answers.

"Oh darn. I'll just have to send them something for their trouble." You feel your glare digging into Jurik. "Do they still accept delayed blast fireballs in scrolls?"

"That was not my only reason for coming here, however." Jurik ignores your barb, as he is want to do. "The Deep Circles have seen a stirring in the outer realms. We suspect that powers outside of our own may be conspiring. Likely with a rising force to the north."

"Wait." You pause for a moment. "Are you saying the trogs..."

Jurik's unflinching gaze gives you all the confirmation you need.

(Previous thread: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/18155557/ )

>>18246765
>>18246778
Wipe the last bit of blood from our face.

"I don't like you; I really don't. Still..." look back to the crew, "...this matter is beyond my petty dispute with you. Though I am curious; why even tell me? Are your baby-sitters trying to loosen my will with an offering?"

>>18246885

You narrow your eyes at him. "I don't like you; I really don't. Still..." You look back to the crew, "This matter is beyond my petty dispute with you. Though I am curious; Why even tell me? Are your baby-sitters trying to loosen my will with an offering?"

Jurik cringes slightly. "Not quite. The deep circles have seen fit to keep you informed of certain dealings, considering your position."

"So you were sent as a messenger then?" You grin at Jurik with thinly veiled amusement. "All just to be sure I got the memo."

"Some things are bigger than your ego, dear brother." Jurik retorts. "If the Caverns were to fall, the face of the underworld would change. Our people would have to head back into hiding once again." His hand tightens around his staff. "That aside, with so many doppelgangers running around, they wanted me to be sure it was you."

>>18247490
Squint a bit.

"...have people been impersonating me often?"

>>18247541

"Have people been impersonating me often?" You ask Jurik. The kobold stifles a sneer.

"No. But there have been a number of leaks in our information network. I'd rather be safe than sorry." Jurik smiles. "And I wanted to see what you were up to."

"You're too kind, really." You wipe some of the blood off of your jaw.

"At least I didn't loosen any teeth this time." Jurik quips.

>>18247952
"Is that all you came to tell me, Jurik?"

>>18248165

"Is that all you came to tell me, Jurik?" You rise, crossing your arms mockingly. "Shouldn't you be on the way to go deliver the rest of your messages?"

Jurik's nose wrinkles up. "Do not tempt me to prove myself a second time, dear brother." The wizard's eyes begin to glow a subtle orange, like the dying embers of a flame. "I can assure you the lesson will be far harsher than the last."

You glare silently at him for some time. Eventually, Jurik turns away, chanting the words to a teleportation spell. He disappears with a flash of blue-white light.

Some of the crew get you a healing wand so you can begin mending your wounds. You're grateful Jurik didn't bring a clay golem along to deliver cursed wounds this time.

The boat floats silently in the swamp bay as the long night presses onward.

>>18248516
Blink heavily. "Too much...he's too much sometimes..."

Get some rest for now. Hopefully, we'll arrive at a way point by the morning.

>>18248680

"Too much... He's too much sometimes..." You grumble as the wand slowly repairs your wounds. It scarcely heals several times in a row. You curse, wishing you still had your more serious wound curing wand. You paid for the convenience, damn it!

"Call: Wand, cure critical wounds." You say, summoning the prepared object. The plain white wand flits into your hand from a fold in space. You limp back into your cabin, the magical healing already mending your wounds and causing you to become sleepier and sleepier.

>>18248957

The rest of the crew doesn't bother you for the next morning as you sleep off the past day's events. You eat a hot bowl of soup and rub your aching temples. If the Deep Circles want to tell you something, you'd be a foll not to listen. They don't co-operate with anyone when they can help it. But at the same time, you really should thank them appropriately for sending Jurik for you.

You still have the henge that you can travel to at any time. But you need to find clues to feed it first before you can learn much of note. Maybe finding an important trog to take some blood from for the strange device would work. The only hard part is getting ahold of the requisite trog.

>>18249079
If that's the case, set a course back for the Crystal Caverns. We're going to get some supplies, check up on the war effort, and then speak with Torvash about accompanying us.

>>18249105

You are well on your way. The CCCP Navy stops for no man!

But you do still have a few days to relax, for once. You send a message ahead of you to your contacts in the caverns to get Torvash ready, and let the day begin to slip past you as you evaluate your situation.

You have a new player, maybe more than one, who has been introduced. One capable of snatching an assassin from the jaws of death, likely to use again later. They are not to be underestimated.

And the trogs making more and more preparations. You may have to take personal action to ensure that you have every possible advantage. You know that's what they'll be trying for as well.

>>18249334
Well, we have the advantage now with this new knowledge bank. The distance will be a problem, so we should prepare this cabin with a mini teleport platform for easy transport. In addition, once we arrive, we'll need to be briefed on the specifics of the trog preparations.

>>18249475

You allow your plans to boil over in your head, already measuring out the ten-foot circle needed to make a teleportation circle permanent in your room.

You feel a strange hunger in your gut, feeling an odd stirring in your right arm as the muscles seem to twinge. Is it the one sending you the off sensations, you wonder, glancing at the empty bowl of soup next to your desk.

You feel it nudging towards the pouch on your bed that contains the moss.

>>18249769
"You're hungry? ....wait, you get hungry?" Grab a few blades of grass and hold it up to the arm. "So, how does this work?"

>>18249923

"You're hungry?" You ask, somewhat surprised considering you're talking to your own arm, more or less. "...Wait, you get hungry?" You grab a handful of moss and hold it up to the arm. "So, how does this work?"

You barely get the words out of your mouth before your hand wraps around the moss, and you feel the pleasant warm feeling you felt back in the trial grounds. Your arm feeds like this for a while, doing no harm to the plant. It feels heavier, almost like your stomach after a big meal.

"Hey, don't get too comfy. I might-" You stop yourself. "Aww hell, you don't even know what I'm saying, do you?" You glare down at your own hand.

Your hand clenches involuntarily, and you see it lunge forwards, quite suddenly, to point one metal-tipped finger at your face, at point blank range. It stays there for some time, before you feel it suddenly grow sleepy, and relax down by your side.

"Seriously? Why of all the things to get in an adventure would I get my arm animated? This is such gnome shit." You mutter to yourself. "It even has an attitude."

>>18250070
Well, at least we know this for future awakened prosthetics. This is definitely something we have to bring up with Felix'hia. Before we finally make port, let's check up on our lovely crew. Let's get taking with Tayn first, then Turen. Finally, speak with our land party and remind them that what we saw is to remain on the down-low; it is a matter of national security!

>>18250141

You see Tayn patrolling the deck as you get up to looking at near sundown.

"Ah! Are you OK? I heard you got in a fight!" Tayn asks, looking you over.

"I'm all healed now. Don't worry. It's some annoying thing that happens on occasion." You say, crossing your arms. "I almost predicted him too! Kurtulmak take that son of a snake!"

"Are you OK?" Tayn asks, grinning. "You look a little... Mad."

>>18250276
Scratch our head. "Mad? Ah....maybe a little. He's not the family that I enjoy seeing, you know?"

Try to change the subject.

"Did you think about our last scrying session? Any fresh insights?"

Also, I'm heading to bed, OP. See you tomorrow.

Mornin' bump.

>>18250311

You scratch your head. "Mad? Ah... Maybe a little. He's not the family that I enjoy seeing, you know?"

"Uh," Tayn looks around awkwardly. "Well, not really, I guess. But I can pretend I do."

"Oh. Right." You pause, rubbing the back of your head. "Did you think about our last scrying session? Any fresh insights?"

"Well, we have seen that place in the scrying lens. Unfortunately, teleporting in guns blazing would likely get us killed if anyone else in the organization is there aside from that Ringo guy." Tayn shakes his head. "We need to get more information on those guys, and there is an old drow trick involving the simplest of subterfuge, ironically enough."

"Well? I may not like the bastards, but I'll be the first to say that some know their spy work." You say to Tayn.

Tayn pulls a small silver ring out of his pocket. "Go ahead, look it over."

You examine it for a short time. "It's a normal silver ring."

"Precisely." Tayn holds it up against the fading light. "It won't show up when you're looking for magical bugs, simply because it isn't one. The only thing remarkable about it is that I've had it for quite some time."

You snap your fingers. "We're going to scry on the ring."

"I'm going to, more specifically, but yes." Tayn pockets the ring once again, smirking. "No offense, but my hands ARE quicker than yours."

"In some ways, yes." You feel each finger of your right hand click against your palm. "I doubt you'd hold a candle to my spell-slinging if things got serious."

Tayn tilts his head off to one side. "But things have got- Ah, let's not start this. I'm sorry I brought it up."

You shake your head. "I should apologize as well. I don't know why I said something like that."

Tayn grins. "It's fine, it's fine." He pats you on the shoulder, and you feel your arm stir in pseudo-unconsciousness. "What I should be saying is I really like it up here. The air's clean, water's free of things other than fish, and it's calm. Thanks for bringing me along."

>>18254334
>>18254376
"No problem, Tayn. No problem at all."

"What would you want to do up here?"

>>18254959

"No problem, Tayn. No problem at all." You answer, looking around at the open land. "What would you want to do up here?"

"I dunno." Tayn says, shrugging. "Maybe see what there is to do. Scout out some other countries."

"A vacation?" You say, smirking. "Right as a war's about to come."

"Not now, I guess." Tayn says quietly. "Things are coming to a head, huh."

You are silent for a while, finally acknowledging him with a brief nod. You can already feel the war hanging in the air as you head on your way to debrief Turen and the crew.

>>18255311
"Turen! I've been meaning to speak with you..."

"About earlier; I've been meaning to thank you. I don't think I could have gotten the jump on that Ringo fellow if you hadn't distracted him so flawlessly."

>>18255595

"Turen! I've been meaning to speak with you about earlier." You say, rushing over to the younger kobold. "I've been meaning to thank you. I don't think I could have gotten the jump on that Ringo fellow if you hadn't distracted him so flawlessly."

"What do you mean?" Turen asks, confused. "I didn't do much of anything. I mostly just stayed back behind the firing lines."

The rest of the crew swarms around him on deck, eating. It is colder out on the deck than it was the night before.

>>18255722
"Nonsense! In fact, I couldn't have done it without all of you!" Grab a stick: broom, pole, anything; we'll need to for making dramatic motions for you speech. "In fact, this might be the single greatest crew to ever sail! I am proud to call you all comrades!"

"However, we must remember our duty! What we saw here; what we fought. We cannot let our families and fellow citizens back home know. Their sanity, above all else, must be preserved! They must be kept safe both physically AND mentally. What good is a safe bed to sleep in if you cannot shut your eyes?"

I think I mis-remembered that Tayn was the one who did it...oh well.

Bump~

>>18255824

"Nonsense! In fact, I couldn't have done it without all of you!" You pull a mop out of a passing crewman's hands, swinging it around to point at the lot of them. "In fact, this might be the single greatest crew to ever sail! I am proud to call you all comrades!" The crew quiets down at your compliment, and you plant the butt of the mop down before continuing. "However, we must remember our duty! What we saw here; what we fought. We cannot let our families and fellow citizens back home know. Their sanity, above all else, must be preserved! They must be kept safe both physically AND mentally. What good is a safe bed to sleep in if you cannot shut your eyes?"

The crew seems to come to a quiet consensus that doing so is for the best. You can hear a few quietly mention the white creatures, and most figure that's the one they should be talking about the least. Most of the kobolds who were with you on the mission come up and thank you personally.

"Not bad, sir." Turen says after your speech is through with, and the crew begin to disperse throughout the ship. "Though it does make me wonder, what with the magical intellect inside the henge, just who or what made the stuff here and back at that huge tower?"

>>18258123
Breath deeply, looking him in the eye.

"Do you really want to know?"

>>18258221

You take a deep breath to yourself before answering. "Do you really want to know?"

"Well, yes? I suppose." Turen asks, looking around. "Unless I'm not supposed to? You know what, yes, I am dying to know."

>>18258407
Nudge for him to follow us back to our cabin, lock the door, throw away the key, and all that. Then, ready some basic illusion spell to help show what it is exactly we experienced and saw.

>>18258429

You head back into your cabin, making sure the room is proofed against scrying, then recreate an illusion of what you saw in the henge.

Turen looks at the images flashing by, studying the events carefully as you make them.

"I see, I see." He ponders the image, pacing. "It seems self-aware, though it has multiple personas, or consciousnesses inside of it. That's what that multi-voice effect is." He nods briefly, studying one of the walls. "I see, I could probably break into it if we got back in. But that might damage those consciousnesses." He puts his hand up to his chin. "Decisions, decisions."

>>18258569
"I would prefer to keep it in one piece for as long as possible. Considering it requires a descendant with...what did it call it? 'A more tuned brain', or something to that extent. Anyway, Torvash seems like a prime descendant as well. Hopefully, he can gleam enough information to see if that unit is indeed mobile."

Dismiss the illusion.

"Still, it marvelous to see something like this aware enough to realize it is slightly dysfunctional."

"Enough of my blabbering. Anyway, I've been meaning to ask you. When the war ends, which it will if I have any say in the matter, but when it does end, what will you do then? Your sorcerer training has been completed for quite some time..."

>>18259432

"I would prefer to keep it in one piece for as long as possible. Considering it requires a descendant with... What did it call it? 'A more tuned brain', or something to that extent." You say, trying to recall the voice's words. "Anyway, Torvash seems like a prime descendant as well. Hopefully, he can gleam enough information to see if that unit is indeed mobile." You drop the illusion, "Still, it's marvelous to see something like this aware enough to realize it is slightly dysfunctional." You see Turen still quietly thinking to himself at one side of your room. "Enough of my blabbering. Anyway, I've been meaning to ask you. When the war ends, which it will if I have any say in the matter, but when it does end, what will you do then? Your sorcerer training has been completed for quite some time."

Turen scratches his head. "I don't know, to be honest. I haven't thought so far ahead." He grunts in frustration. "Ah! Now I have two things to think over!"

"What did you experience, by the way?" You ask Turen.

"Oh, I can do that one real quick." Turen snaps his fingers, making an image of himself sitting in a white room.

"<<What is your favorite color?>>" You hear the voice from within the henge ask.

"What?" The Turen in the image asks.

"<<Incorrect. Access denied.>>" You see the room Turen is sitting in grow dark.

"Um, hello? Hello?" Turen calls out in the image.

>>18261188
"...is that all?" If it is, cross our arms. "Very insightful."

>>18261490

"...Is that all?" Turen nods sadly. You cross your arms. "Very insightful."

"I know." Turen grumbles. "Why wouldn't it let me inside? I was in there so long!" He seems to get over the irritating memory and turns back to you. "Anyway, thanks for sharing that with me. I would have asked earlier, but we were pretty busy."

"You're telling me." You grip at your back. "Fall into liquid glass or not, it did no favors for my back either way."

Turen cracks open your door. "Tayn was right. You do sound kind of like an old man."

"Old man?" You say, in surprise. "Now, hold it. I'm not-"

"Sh!" Turen says, pointing out your door. <<The cook's up on the deck.>>

<<Why are you messaging me this?>> Is what you almost respond, but you step out to the door, seeing the chef standing out in the middle of the deck. The night air rustles his apron, and in one hand you can see a peeling knife. He seems to be looking up at the mast.

>>18261893
Approach him.

"Nice evening, eh cook?"

>>18261936

"Nice evening, eh cook?" You say, walking over towards him. The kobold slowly turns to you, still absently clutching the knife.

"Sure. Seems a bit chilly." The cook says back, his voice guttural as he coughs briefly. You see the fingers on one hand flitting across the knife's handle, practiced and agile as the chef flips the knife in his hand without even looking at the blade.

You hear a thunderous crack as the knife is blown clean out of the air after a passing toss, and the kobold looks in surprise at where his knife was sent flying. The knife sits quivering ten feet up, embedded in the mast.

"Hah! I knew you were an imposter!" You hear a familiar voice shout from the cabin doors. You hear the chamber of the gun being loaded with a fresh round of ammo. "The real chef isn't left handed!"

"But, I'm pretty sure-" You begin, before the cook turns.

"Damn, is he ambidexterous?" The cook sneers, his face wrinkling abnormally.

"Wait, 'he'? You really are someone else?" You say in utter shock. "Are you seriously that incompetent that you would say that?! Really?" You shout, grabbing the cook by the throat. His flesh begins to turn grey and slimy. "My gods! You're a creature whose entire purpose is being something else, and you're not even good at that!" You release a blast of lightning from your arm directly into its rubbery grey body. To stun it, of course. And stunned it remains as you continue chewing it out. "What the hell is this anyway? The reject call for monsters attacking me? Because this is a gods-damned adventure and I'm really getting sick of getting screwed over by some asshole I've never even met!"

You toss the creature to the ground, holding its body with a spell. Its partially-kobold head turns to look at you. "You'll never catch all of us."

"You just gave away that there were more of you?!" You screech. "You are officially the worst special operative ever! It would be a legendary feat to find someone worse than you are at your own job!" You shout, pausing for a moment. "Wait. I... I can ask that, can't I?" You look at the doppelganger. "What was your goal, here?"

"To sow dissent in the crew." The doppel-kobold answers.

"Oh. Why is that?" You ask it, smiling.

"So we could get you to kill each other." The grayish humanoid finishes.

"Oh. Well then." You say, looking at it as it barely attempts to struggle. "Now all of my expectations have been completely exceeded. Your incompetence is truly a marvelous thing."

>>18262271
>>18262470
>>18262485
Crouch down and smile.

"Well, today is my lucky day, Mr. Imposter. As I'm sure you've seen from the events prior, I am hardly in a patient mood."

Lick our teeth, readying our prosthetic arm's claw.

"Here's what I'm going to do. First, I'm going to see exactly how many volts it takes to fry a grey-mannered-freak. Then, I'll show you the side of the ship; water's lovely this time of year. In fact, I'll let you have a second dip...and a third....hell, have as many as you want!" Stand up and begin crackling some electrical energy. "But what vacation would be complete without some mind relaxing exercises? I'm sure I can drum up a few paradise locations for your mind to rest in; I'm particularly fond of Drow prisons; if you're lucky, I may even get you to some Worm mines." Put the arm over his forehead and trace a line down it. "Of course, this little treatment will be free, paid courtesy on behalf of the CCCP. Now, I suggest you start talking, or I'll rip your limbs and use them for chalk."

>>18262692

"Well, today is my lucky day, Mr. Imposter. As I'm sure you've seen from the events prior, I am hardly in a patient mood." You lick your teeth, readying your prosthetic arm's claw. The bent strips of metal at the tips of your fingers dig just a hair deeper into the doppelganger's springy flesh. "Here's what I'm going to do. First, I'm going to see exactly how many volts it takes to fry a grey-mannered-freak." You discharge a fairly basic electrical spell into the creature, who writhes in agony. You carry him over to the edge of the ship, telekinesing him upwards much as you were a few days ago.

"Then, I'll show you the side of the ship; water's lovely this time of year. Why don't you go for a dip?" You plunge him (or it) over the side, and you hear a splash before you pull him most of the way back out. "In fact, I'll let you have a second dip." Splash. "And a third." Ploosh. "Hell, have as many as you want!" You hold the creature down beneath the river, concentrating on a powerful lightning spell that struggles in your grip, snaking out along your body, trapped by the facets of the spell. It strains to escape as you pull the doppelganger forcibly out of the river with your mind, stopping his sopping wet, scorched face a few inches from your hand.

>>18265486
"Well, you look relaxed enough now; care to spill the beans on who's the dopple?"

>>18265682

"Well, you look relaxed enough now. Care to spill the beans on who the dopple is?" You ask the gray-skinned creature, who squirms.

"There's four of us in all, but the others are bound to have changed shape by now." The doppelganger cringes. "I'm sorry! It's just what we do."

>>18265737
"That's no problem. I'm sure you possess a natural knack for recognizing fellow doppels..." Create an illusion spell of a surgical knife. "If you cannot, I'll be more than happy to find out what makes you all tick and, Kurtulmak help you, I will not be as merciful as I was before." Stand him up. "Talk, point, or you'll be able to do neither.

>>18265802

"That's no problem. I'm sure you possess a natural knack for recognizing fellow doppels." With a flash of light, a surgical knife is in your hand. "If you cannot, I'll be more than happy to find out what makes you all tick and, Kurtulmak help you, I will not be as merciful as I was before." You float him down to the deck, loosening your hold. "Talk, point, or you'll be able to do neither."

"Uh," The doppelganger pauses, looking around. It points quickly. "There!"

You see its finger pointing straight at Turen.

>>18268266
Raise an eyebrow. Then, ask Turen a question only he would know.

"Turen, where did we meet?"

>>18268326

"Turen, where did we meet?" You ask him. The young kobold looks at you fearfully, then books it into the corridors.

"Hey! Someone stop him!" You shout, looking back at the captive doppelganger.

>>18268415
Return our gaze to captured doppel for a second and give him an arcane mark.

>>18269236
Oh, and begin taking off after the imposter Turen.

Bump.

>>18269236
>>18269776

You place your arcane mark on the ganger's chest. Then, you leave, running after the imposter Turen. You run into the kitchen, where you see the real chef, stuttering as some of the pots are nearly upset as a small figure dives through the few crowd indoors. You at last emerge in the mess hall, and you see Turen slide agily beneath the benches, keeping well covered from your spells. You rush forwards after hasting yourself and a few nearby crewmen, gaining on him as he dives into the lower decks.

You follow, the low decks dark as any cave, so only your monochrome darkvision provides any indication of shape or movement. You see the briefest of movements between the hanging bunk beds, a black on black rush of fabric. You curse. There's enough cover in here that he could be anywhere.

You scarcely notice the other moving things down here, small and vermin-like in their scuttling. Their ambulations scratch on the wood deck like tiny assassins, creeping closer to a target.

>>18270848
"Come out with your hands up! Make it quick, or I'll make it quick when I find you..."

If nothing stirs, give our eyes more time to adjust. Cast a small ward over the entrance to make sure he doesn't sneak back out without our notice.

>>18270941

"Come out with your hands up! Make it quick, or I'll make it quick when I find you..." You say into the darkness, hearing a few more footfalls in the dark.

You hear a scuffling sound from your right, and you reach out quickly, thrusting the hanging beds aside. But nothing is there. You continue searching, thinking you see Turen's face behind each corner, the low decks silent save the ship's creaking.

You finally feel a blast of force hit you in the side, and you are flung into a bulkhead, seeing a creature wearing Turen's shape dash away.

>>18271479
Use a basic kinesis spell to hurl a box at him. Hopefully that'll slow him down for us to pounce him.

>>18271500

You hurl a box at the fleeing shadow, connecting and watching in dismay as the creature's body shatters on impact, turning into some sort of wispy gas.

"Huh. I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to do that." You say to the destroyed creature. You check the place where it was standing, but all you can find as a trace of it is a strange, rubbery acrid smell.

As you come back up top, you can see that the crew is squaring off with clubs and sticks in hand, and you can see more than one of several of them.

"And that's quite a few more than two." You say to yourself.

>>18271830
"I swear, everyone and their mother wants us dead..."

Join the crew, using anything in our detection spell-book to determine who is who. If we can't, start casting bind spells.

>>18271857

"I swear, everyone and their mother wants us dead." You say, examining the groups with your detection spells. All of them appear the same.

"Nope." You say after the third spell, and you start binding people, first in pairs. As you do, one of each pair dissipates into the same black smoke as the Turen clone.

The bewildered group of kobolds is astounded once you release them from your spells. "There. Looks like they don't like much of anything happening to them." You look at the group on the ground. "Sorry about that. Now let's make sure that doesn't happen again."

You mark each of them with an arcane mark on the back of their left hand. Just as you finish, you hear a shot ring out from somewhere else on the ship. "If it's not one thing..." You mutter, heading towards the deck

You arrive up on the deck to see Tayn ducking behind the mast, and you see a bullet carve out a chunk of wood next to his head. Tayn spots you, and he puts a finger to his head.

<<That crazy guy with the rifle is taking pot-shots at me! He shouted something about me using the wrong hand, or something.>>

<<Where's the doppelganger? Did anyone secure him?>> You ask Tayn.

<<I don't think so.>> Tayn grimaces. <<I was the only one up here when he started shooting at me.>>

>>18272074
Find some cover and start trying to talk to him.

"Hey comrade; any reason you trying to give my friends some bullet holes?"

"Just put the gun down, and we can talk..."

<Tayn, I need you to ready yourself in case he doesn't back down.>

>>18272166

"Hey comrade; any reason you trying to give my friends some bullet holes?" You shout from your spot inside the ship's hallways. "Just put the gun down, and we can talk."

<Tayn, I need you to ready yourself in case he doesn't back down.> You say to him, hearing Van Skewer answer quickly.

"Don't tell me you're one too! Well, not you, I suppose." The raptor-like humanoid turns his head from his spot atop the aft deck. "That other me's been giving me a fair bit of trouble, but so far no great big problems." You hear Van Skewer reloading his gun. "Should have things wrapped up here in a bit. No need to worry!"

>>18272353
"Van Skewer?"

Peer over the top a bit, our hands out.

"I hate to burst your bubble doctor, but Tayn over there isn't a dopple. I would know. Mental messages, and what not..."

>>18272382

"Van Skewer?" You peer over the top a bit, your hands out. "I hate to burst your bubble doctor, but Tayn over there isn't a dopple. I would know. Mental messages, and what not."

"Oh, dear? You've been brainwashed by the enemy?" Van Skewer levels his gun at you. "Not to worry, friend Mynthar! I will avenge you!"

You duck behind the doorway before hearing the bullet zip through the door and impact the wooden wall of the hallway.

"Ah! There's the other me!" You hear Van Skewer shout, his gun going off as you hear a scraping sound and finally a loud thunk.

"Mynthar? Are you alright? He didn't hit you, did he?" You hear Van Skewer's voice answer.

<<But is it the real one?>> Tayn messages you.

(And that is where I leave you for tonight.)