<div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">Claudia came running back, soaking and anger in her eyes.  Hanifa pointed over to the disc-bound mage helping up a struggling Faliensk, who looked like she was still burning up on the inside.  "Damn, I won't forget this!" she said as she aided Litora in helping Faliensk out of the library and to Garetz' place.</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br/>"Neither will I," Menya said solemnly, drawing herself up to her full height. "You made your choice and now you have to live with the consequences."<br/><br/><hr/><br/><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">"Ah, that's better.  The man of stone...  Some of the closets might be small enough, and there's a rickety scaffolding in the courtyard undergoing construction...he's brawny, that's for sure, but golems aren't my strong suit."</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br/>Menya giggled. "I don't think lockinya Ahriman in a closet or arranginya an unfortunate 'accident' will be enough to put him out of commission!" She frowned, thinking. "He's a golem, so there has to be some sort of control rod or magic password that can shut him down... at least in the stories, there will be."<br/><br/><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">Hanifa pauses to hear her out, sometimes  running her fingers through Menya's soft tail which occasionally brushed up against her leg.  "Heh, I remember that time we were clearing out that mountain stronghold in the Thuvian mountains.  A series of rocks fell, and the advancing scarab beetle swarm was about to overtake us.  Your tail was caught, and for a minute I was almost persuaded to cut it to help you escape.  Your plan was better; at least you still have your nice furry tail!"<br/><br/>She giggled a bit as she closed her eyes.  This bed was soft and luxurious, and being right next to her best friend instilled a sense of serenity and calmness in Hanifa which made it all too tempting to go to sleep.  "Menya..." she whispered after a bit.  "The other ladies...Alfreldi...Zelda...they have to know, but...are they willing, do you think?  They might be going along...maybe..."<br/><br/>Hanifa yawned, sleep starting to claim her.  "Maybe we should save them...if they're here... like us..."<br/><br/>The white-haired ranger fell asleep, one arm comfortably wrapped around the catgirl as they lay in a bed softer than the summer clouds.</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br/>"Whoever heard of a cat without a tail," Menya declared, somewhat indignantly. "If your arm got stuck you wouldn't want me to cut if off, would you!" She softly, rhythmically patted Hanifa's arm as the Garundi fell asleep. The catgirl remained awake a little while longer, looking up at the ceiling, murmuring half to herself. "Zelda will be with us, I think... I can ask her tomorrow. Sharisa too, she'll probably like not havinya to worry about pregnancy anymore, and she probably isn't too keen on hanginya around waitinya for Faliensk's revenge either. Alfreldi's the one I'm worried about, do you think she... had her memory erased like me? But she seems happy enough now..."<br/><br/>Her eyelids heavy, Menya could keep her eyes open no longer, and drifted off into sweet slumber.<br/><br/><hr/><br/><div align="center"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 14pt;">Twentieth Day in the Gilded Cage</span></div><br/>The first order of business was to get a complete sense of the palace's layout, which also provided a good opportunity to see whether Zelda was willing to join in the escape plans. Menya and Hanifa sat on either side of Zelda. Finding the maps and descriptions that they were looking for was easy enough. Looking around and making sure that nobody else was close enough to eavesdrop, Menya broached the subject. The mermaid might have been canny enough to figure out what they were up to already, after all searching for maps of the palace wasn't an everyday thing.<br/><br/>"Zelda, have you ever thought about tellinya your people of your findinyas about ancient Azlant? Maybe not just writinya a book about it... but perhaps... tellinya them in person yourself?"<br/><br/><em>(Perception: 23. Success 1/4!)</em>(https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=76310)<br/><br/><hr/><br/>Being near Judi and al-Samara, Menya wasn't sure what to feel. Even with her memories recovered, her feelings towards al-Samara remained, and she still couldn't bring herself to take any night tea herself. She still wanted to bear his child, she realized, and she found herself looking into the leviathan scale he had gifted to her, holding it up to the light at various angles and watching the iridescent reflections, when she was alone in her room.<br/><br/>Menya talked to Judi about the city of Glass, feigning an acute interest in the metropolis in the hopes that Judi would decide to take her on a tour of the city so she could see it with her own eyes - well, the interest wasn't entirely feigned, and as a Pathfinder and a bard Menya was genuinely interested in finding out more as well.<br/><br/>She continued to be a bubbling fountain of enthusiasm as the request went up to al-Samara himself, even going so far as to ask whether her friend Silent Girl could come along as well - she was so obviously excited by the prospect, there was no way al-Samara could turn her down, was there? And besides, she would most certainly show him how very much grateful she was for the opportunity, come the evening...<br/><br/>Diplomacy (Judy): 22 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=76311)<br/>Diplomacy (al-Samara): 29 (natural 20!) (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=76312)