intelligent nametags

[thaumobabble]

Jane alerts everyone to the existence of a new Bell, the nature of her wives and children, and the presence of her mother-in-law.

She stands ready to move in anyone who wishes to attend this new party.

Glass stands ready to receive them.

Comments

[nonbird]

"You're reasonably interesting yourself," he adds. "Although I almost lose you in the background noise. Tell me about magical caves!"

[pleasantsurprise]

"There are lots of them! I actually started hanging around with Tony and Bella and Sherlock when the latter two rescued me and Tony from some wizards who were keeping us prisoner in the Cave of Unpleasant Surprises, which I had of course walked right into. With entrances that are often within the forest, there's the Caves of Fire and Night, and the Caves of Chance, and the Caves of Sunless Gardens, and the caves that magically refuse to have any name attached to them. There are fewer farther away - this is the highest concentration of place magic - but I wrote a thesis on the Caves of Irregular Dimensions once, years ago, that's nowhere near here."

[nonbird]

"Those are some remarkably descriptive names," he observes. "What was your thesis?"

[pleasantsurprise]

"I came to no useful conclusions whatsoever! Except that the Caves of Irregular Dimensions are extremely uncooperative. You may read the thesis if you like, although I'd have to go get it from the castle."

[nonbird]

Lazarus laughs. "If you say you came to no useful conclusions, I think I'll believe you," he says.

[pleasantsurprise]

"So how do you know this - crowd?" Kanim asks, looking vaguely around.

[nonbird]

"Oh - I'm from Eos. Where wishcoins come from," he says. "I met Stella back before she was a magical space empress."

[pleasantsurprise]

"This is going to be hard to keep straight," says Kanim. "All these Bellas, all this magic, all these - political entities. Are there six of you, too? I'm told I'm a new face."

[nonbird]

"There are not six of me! There is one of me," says Lazarus. "And yes, it is a little daunting, isn't it? But you get used to it. More or less."

[pleasantsurprise]

"Do you really?" asks Kanim. "It took me a while just to get used to Bella - Glass, I guess, sensible nickname, she does some marvelous things with glass - and now there are twelve more of her! With outrageous magical powers! My skills are going to be redundant. I guess I'll still hang around on account of Tony. And the little ones are fond of me."

[nonbird]

"'Outrageous' is a good word for it," he says. "And I could stand to be a little more redundant, honestly. If the Bells consulted me as often as they probably should, there would have to be at least six of me just to keep up with all the new magic."

[pleasantsurprise]

"Do they not consult you as often as they should?"

[nonbird]

"There was some trouble just recently when Sarion joined the peal that could've been avoided if they'd asked me to take a look before anyone started wishing."

[pleasantsurprise]

"I guess they were in some kind of hurry? I wouldn't describe Be- Glass - as patient."

[nonbird]

"They were in a lot of a hurry! It was a very... tense situation," he says. "And emotionally and magically complicated. But it turned out okay in the end."

[pleasantsurprise]

"That's good then!"

[nonbird]

"Yes!"

[pleasantsurprise]

"So..." Kanim waves vaguely around. "I know what Fire-flower Meadow feels like, because I attended both Bella's weddings, and I know that this isn't it, but I know almost nothing else, what can you tell me about what's going on here?"

[nonbird]

"It's a Bellparty," he says. "There are some wishes up, like the nametags and the orgy chambers. Various attendees are also magical - about half the Jokers, about half the Bells, more if you include anyone who's been minted and enchantified. All the Bells and Jokers have enchanter's auras now; I don't think anyone else does. There's ingots from Eos and witches from Aurum. Which parts do you want explained?"

[pleasantsurprise]

"Well," says Kanim, "I think Glass will explain to me any new powers she brings home with her, so stuff she's likely to not bring home with her is I guess more important - for instance, that looks sort of like a dragon but feels nothing like one, that looks like a weirdly-colored unicorn but feels nothing like one..."

[nonbird]

"The dragon and the unicorn are from Thilanushinyel. That's what dragons and unicorns are like there," he says. "Liselen - that's the unicorn - gets very excited about coming to parties like this because until recently he was subject to the usual restrictions for the species about only coming in contact with virgins. The dragon is attached to the very red person with wings and a tail who I swear I saw out here a minute ago. They belong to the Joker template."

[pleasantsurprise]

"So the virgin thing isn't a myth, there... Attached to - huh, so that's what - and - that Bell with the pointed ears over there, similar attachment?"

[nonbird]

"Yes. The demon and the dragon spent about ten thousand years together like that, and then they met Sarion. That's what dragons do in that world; they attach to people."

[pleasantsurprise]

"Dragons here do not do that. And unicorns here don't really have a thing with virgins, but it's a common myth."

[nonbird]

"Interesting," says Lazarus. "But you don't have demons?"