Chapter 3.22: The Plane In Between

“Mero, get up!” Oanoa shouts as he looks down at him. “You’re so close to victory. Don’t give up now.”
The puppet has fallen to his knees. He is shaking and can barely lift up his head to see what is happening.
“Uncle”, he says so softly that no one can hear him, “I don’t want to play this game anymore. I don’t want my friends to get hurt.”
(DC versus wisdom 14) (DC 12 versus dexterity 4)
The gazer with the black eye shoots an orange beam of energy past Mero at Lyssa, but misses her completely. Its other glass eye turns to Dargothoth.
With the little strength left in the sorcerer he can see how a blue ray hits his draconian friend right in the head. His scales turn white with frost and his jaw freezes shut.
(15, 14 and 18 versus AC)
“No!” Mero pushes himself, staggering. “Stop hurting my friends!” He looks up. “Uncle, make them stop!”
Oanoa shakes his head. He is far away from Mero, but the puppet can see every detail of his many eyes. They stare intensely at him. He is challenging him.
“You make them stop, nephew. You need to show me you’re ready.”
A small ball of fire appears in his hand, one he has summoned so many times before, but this one is different. It grows rapidly and now a big flame is contained between his fingers. He hasn’t cast this spell before, but it feels familiar. He has seen Hadriel cast it, but that’s not where he got this spell from. He knows he can cast this. It feels like he has done it before.
He squeezes the scorching energy he’s holding and it unleashes three thick fiery tendrils. They find their targets immediately and encase the three gazers in flames.
His uncle was right. He has the power. If this all was just a test, he knows he passed it.
As the fire above his palm disappears, so do the tendrils. The only thing left of his three targets are the coloured crystals, floating in molten pools of metal.
Mero sits down, exhausted and in pain. He looks up and sees his uncle smile at him.
“I knew you could do it”, he whispers. “You are ready.”

“If you could change one thing about your body, what would it be?”
Mero has been expecting this question from Oanoa. He has asked himself this question so many times before, but now that it’s finally happening, he doesn’t know what to say first.
“I want to be taller. I don’t want to look like I’m a child’s toy. I want to be made of other material. I want my hat to still fit me. I w-”
“Mero, slow down”, his uncles says with a smile. “You’re going too fast, even for me.”
The puppet scratches the back of his head.
“I might be a little overexcited, ha ha.”
“I think it’s more than a little”, Oslando says. They all laugh, even Dargothoth can’t keep his face completely straight.
“If you could choose one thing, only one thing… What is the first thing that comes to mind?”
A silence falls shortly. The only thing interrupting it are their footsteps.
“I want to be able to protect my friends”, Mero says and turns to his allies, looking at Dargothoth. “I don’t want them to get hurt again like Hadriel did to you.”
They all stare at the cleric now, waiting what his response will be.
“You have to choose what you want”, he answers. “We won’t stay together forever, but this body could be yours for the rest of your life. If it will be the new you, the permanent you, you have to be selfish and make sure you’re happy. Don’t think about us.”
They nod in agreement. They can’t recollect the last time the priest was so sincere and altruistic.
“If you’re happy, we are happy for you”, Lyssa adds. She smiles at him and he smiles back.
“I don’t want to look like a child anymore”, he says with hints of sadness in his voice. “I think I was a grown man when I died, but I think this body can’t handle all the complexity. It feels like my whole life has been reduced and dumbed down to something simple, something that these leather patches can contain. I’m done with that.”
Oanoa stops walking and the five companions and the succubus princess follow his example.
“I understand you completely, nephew. I think I will make you very happy. Are you ready to see how the new you is going to look?”
Oanoa has his hand on the door handle.
“Yes, please!”
His uncle opens the door.