A Horse By Any Other Name (Part 27)

One Month after the Summer Solstice (Seventh Moon 1000 ALB) 

Grotto's search of the shelves turns up nothing. The dwarf's despair threatens to overtake him. A piteous wail of despair escapes his lips and desperate prayers to Hanseath to keep him level are uttered over and over. He collapses to the floor and the sound of armor hitting stone brings him back to his senses. 

"Praise be Hanseath!" bellows Grotto. "Look my ponies, we are whole, we are unsullied!" Grotto grabs each pony in his arms and gives each a mighty hug. After Grotto calms down, he finds his medicine from his pouches. "Better living through alchemy!" Grotto says joyously a he takes his missed doses. "No more high highs, no more low lows, much less anger, much less sorrow!" Grotto says to the group. "Again I can walk the middle path! With all things balance!" Grotto then walks to Raziir and puts his arm around him. "So sharp tongue, what did I miss?" Grotto chuckles with friendly banter. "What's this mirror?" 

Varying levels of disbelief and relief roll through the party. Weapons are drawn and arrows are nocked. 

Kysek exclaims, "It’s good to be back; even if I weren’t really gone at all!” It appears this is the past we are seeing. Based on what just transpired, it looks as though a trickster is trying to play THE trickster. Perhaps we cans find an ally in the deformed deity?”

 
Raven rolls his shoulders, thankful to be holding his blades again. "Yes, I would be silently telling Raz that we attack Loki on the count of threecount of three. I suggest we strike while he is distracted." 

Eventually Ra’ziir acknowledges Grotto’s attempt at reconciling the events in the ferry. He gives the Dwarf/pony a curt nod, saying “It seems there is more afoot then we may have first thought. Loki is working with others that seem just as adept at mischief and strife as himself… it may behoove you to stay alert Master Dwarf, for your life may depend on it.” 

Grotto replies to Raz, "It has been a rough few hours. My medicine helps me from lashing out. It helps to turn the volume of life down! I am sure i came across as more of an ass rather than a pony!" Grotto laughs at his play on words with his bad pun. He feels the warm comfort of his alchemical concoctions. 

Seeing all of the events unfold before him, Nik knocks an arrow on Blaze and takes aim on Loki. “Good to have you back my friend”, he says to Grotto.

Grotto is now fully aware of what he missed with the mirror. He gets a jolt of adrenaline and is quickly snapped back to reality. "Enough of the love fest", he says to Raz and Nik, "Let's get busy!" Grotto gets into range to throw his axe and readies his healing spells to cure the injured. 

Cedron listens intently to the tricksters converse, and the realization that we have always been our true selves, yet mesmerized otherwise. 

“Progress always finds the way! It is inevitable. No barrier can stop it, no trick deceive it.  What appears to be a distraction is often the best course of action.” He muses confidently as our next steps become clearer. 
“But what I find to be the most intriguing is that a trickster trusts no one. I wonder how many tricks they have played on each other? Let us end this game!” 

Cedron casts a spell that appears to shift his position and takes a stance near Raven, ready to cast spells of healing on the "Little Black Bird of Death" should he require it. 

Having overcome is own self doubt,  and now liberated from the tricksters enchantment,  Drax mentally returns to the business at hand and hides himself more throughly and searches for an avenue of attack on the diety. 

Shadow, ever the Dark Horse in the race, smiles as he realizes his true form was there all the time.  He draws his rapier and prepares to face Loki. 

Abacus and Foil Hat stare in shocked silence at the group's transformation, jaws hanging open, eyes blinking with disbelief. 

The conspiracy-minded pony shakes his head, "They have gone from small, lost creatures to beings comfortable with the thought of battling gods. What manner of beings are these?" 

The wizard shrugs, "They are our friends. What else matters?" The unicorn's horn begins to glow with gathered energy as he begins drawing in power for a spell. 
- - - - -
• Cedron: 95% health; Light (79 minutes, 4 rounds remaining), Displacement (8 rounds)
• Drax: 100% health; Nondetection (lasts until about 10 pm), Undetectable Alignment (lasts until about noon tomorrow)
• Grotto: 94% health;
• Kysek: 95% health; Half of the Tome has been read
• Niklas: 100% health; 
• Raven: 78% health; 
• Ra’ziir: 88% health;
• Shadow: 97% health; Overland Flight (18 hours, 57 minutes, 3 rounds remaining)