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

[calendarofcrime]

"That is an accurate summary."

[bellfounding]

"Now we know how that works. I guess the forest doesn't count as something with perception that my aura can refuse to permit."

[calendarofcrime]

"That is one possibility."

[bellfounding]

"You have another hypothesis?"

[calendarofcrime]

"It is also possible that the forest is better at knowing what is in it than you are at telling it not to."

[lifes_sake]

"Hey forest," says Cam experimentally in the Speech.

[calendarofcrime]

"What are you doing?" says Steel. This is the only response.

[lifes_sake]

"Seeing if the forest'll talk to me. Either it's not a coherent entity by itself and I'd have to address an individual tree, or it is feeling unfriendly, or stuff on this world doesn't talk even as much as stuff on other non-Syntropy worlds tends to." He turns to the nearest tree. "Hey, tree."

[calendarofcrime]

"The forest is not traditionally friendly towards non-residents," says Steel. The tree says nothing.

[lifes_sake]

"Hey, tree and/or forest, do you want to talk to Princess Sherlock, I can translate for you," offers Cam.

[calendarofcrime]

Tree-and/or-forest continues to ignore him.

"No luck?" says Steel.

[lifes_sake]

"Nope. I want to teleport briefly to someplace that isn't this forest and talk to a rock or something to see if it's the forest or the world, can you suggest a destination?"

[calendarofcrime]

"The former dragonsbane cultivation site, in the Mountains of Morning."

[lifes_sake]

Port.

Cam picks up a pebble.

"Hi, pebble."

[pythbox]

"Hi!" says the pebble. "I'm a pebble."

[lifes_sake]

"So you are."

Cam ports back to where he was, still holding the pebble. "This talked."

[calendarofcrime]

"May I see it?" asks Steel, holding out her hand.

[lifes_sake]

Cam hands over the pebble.

[calendarofcrime]

Sherlock accepts and studies the pebble.

[lifes_sake]

"Uh, on Syntropy, everything talks, trees and stars are as smart as humans and it varies on down from there, stuff wizards talk to gets smarter. On other worlds I've checked out, stuff talks, but nothing is smarter than grass - which is to say incredibly stupid."

[calendarofcrime]

"This seems to be an ordinary pebble," says Sherlock. "What did it say?"

[lifes_sake]

"It said, 'hi, I'm a pebble', it will not be helping your children with their geography lessons anytime soon."

[calendarofcrime]

She laughs.

[lifes_sake]

"The Speech is useful even if you aren't a wizard. I haven't been able to make any other Bells wizards, but I think that might be just because they're too old. Aegis is youngest, at fifteen, and even fourteen is pushing it - I was fourteen when I got wizarded up and that's much older than typical. I might be able to wizard the miscellaneous Bellspawn except Dominique, but I don't know if that would get Iggy's attention between worlds, so it'd require thinking about."

[calendarofcrime]

"Iggy?"