Mist of Shadows
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Taylor and the Twisted Game Part 34
🕑 Added 2022-01-18 08:09:52 +0000 UTC"If you had to fight the Forsaken, how would you do it?" Taylor asked Lan, ignoring the two Aes Sedai quietly discussing Verin's list of Black Ajah.
"Assuming I couldn't lure them to a stedding, I'd put a couple of dozen arrows in them from behind or cut their throats while they're sleeping," Lan offered.
"Stedding?" Taylor asked.
"They're basically areas where channelers can't touch the source which means they wouldn't be able to burn me to ash with a gesture," Lan explained.
"Considering your magic is internal, you might be able to use your magic there," Moiraine suggested.
"That would make capturing the cultists a lot easier," Taylor mused as she sent Admin a message, {How do you feel about sorting through a bunch of magic spells and knowledge on the off chance that we'll find something we can use?}
[I knew you loved me], Admin replied with amusement as she worked on her necklace.
{Always}, Taylor assured her.
[What do you need?] Admin asked, happy to help.
{Do you know any shards that give the ability to erase memories?}
[Several, why?] Admin asked as she started asking the various shards that specialized in memory modification for details on which powers they were granting their current hosts.
{We have at least two hundred evil magic users that I'd like to teach the training spell so we can extract their knowledge but I'd rather not leave them with knowledge of the spell}, Taylor explained.
[Data], Lost Memory replied to Admin's question, sending her host's location and details on the powers she granted him.
Admin glanced over the information packet and started working on designing a patch to fix Lost Memory's user profile while she waited for the rest of the responses.
"Have you figured out what you're going to do with them once you capture them?" Lan asked.
"I'm planning on banishing them to a world where they won't be able to cause mischief," Taylor admitted.
"You're not planning on executing them?" Moiraine asked.
Taylor shook her head. "I'm not familiar with your laws or your culture. I'm not a judge, I'm just a girl trying to help and pick up as much magic as I can."
[I'll have to talk to Noelle and Twisted Clone but I found someone that can erase memories and leave a person's skills intact], Admin told Taylor.
{Thanks, I'd rather not leave them with the teaching spell}, Taylor replied as she used her questing skill to look for the closest stedding, getting a direction and distance. She sent one of her other clones to find the stedding and run some tests.
"Considering the political fallout of admitting the existence of the Black Ajah, it's probably for the best if they vanish without a trace," Moiraine admitted reluctantly.
[We found a bunch of cultists, do you want the names of their leaders or should we try to track them down ourselves?] Phase asked Skitter.
{Go ahead and toss me the names}, Taylor replied, figuring she could at least scry on them.
[Pedron Niall is the Lord Commander of the Whitecloaks, Abdel Omerna is their spymaster and Rhadam Asunawa is the leader of the Hand of the Light], Phase replied.
{Hand of the Light?} Taylor asked, not sure why the name sent a shiver down her spine.
[Stalker said they are like the Inquisition, they like torturing people for information and getting false convictions so they can steal their possessions.]
{Give me a minute}, Taylor replied as she used mind vision on Rhadam Asunawa and scowled when she saw him torturing someone with a whip. {Rhadam is currently torturing someone, do you want a portal?}
[Yes], Phase replied, looking forward to hearing the cultists scream. "Skitter should be opening a portal soon."
Taylor cast her mind vision on Stalker then opened a void portal in front of Stalker and Rhadam.
Sophia drew her sword and adjusted her mask then stepped through the portal and smiled coldly at the other two cultists in the room. "You're going to die." She almost absently reached up and grabbed the whip the old man had just tried to hit her with then hacked his hand off at the wrist with her sword.
"Kill her!" Rhadam shouted as he grabbed his wrist, trying to stop the blood from gushing out.
Sophia stepped forward and kicked the old man in the nuts, dropping him to the ground then spun and kicked the next cultist in the head as he reached for his blade.
Phase stepped out of the portal and shot the third cultist with her crossbow, catching him in the stomach and dropping him to the ground. "What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking we should block the door then skin the bastards alive. I have a couple of things I need leather for and I want to ask them some questions," Sophia replied, happy to have acceptable targets to work off some frustration.
{Have fun storming the castle, I'll deal with Pedron Niall and his spymaster}, Taylor told Phase then ended the mind vision spells, not seeing a point in watching Sophia kill the cultists.
0o0o0
[Are you sure I'm not going to get in trouble for this?] Portals asked, wanting to make sure.
[Zion and Eden are dead and I gave you permission, you'll be fine], Admin assured her.
[Okay, you're the boss], Portals replied as she opened a portal under The Slug and dropped him on the bed in the hotel that Admin had given her the coordinates of. [Now what?]
[I suggest working with Clairvoyance and convincing your hosts to jump into the simulation], Admin suggested, wanting to cripple Cauldron's ability to travel between worlds and gather information while Eidolon wasn't around to make things difficult.
[Okay, let me know if you need anything else], Portals replied, looking forward to seeing what her host could find out about the simulation some of the other shards were talking about.
[I will], Admin replied as she used her sap ability on The Slug, stunning him and making sure he couldn't use his power on Noelle. "Give me a second then you can copy him." She cast her riding hood spell on The Slug, turning him into an attractive red haired teenage girl with all of her limbs intact. "You're good."
Noelle reached out and poked the ex-cripple on the forehead and used her power before the girl could scuttle away from her, creating a copy of the cape. "At least she's not trying to rip the original's throat out with her teeth."
[My second host isn't nearly as insane as the original], Lost Memory offered, happy to get a second host that might do something more interesting than sit there like a lump of rock and erase the same boring things every time.
[That's because I fixed him], Twisted Clone said cheerfully, not seeing a reason to leave the man's twisted personality intact as he was going to be around her host.
Admin pulled Taylor's headset out of her inventory and stuck it on The Slug's head then flipped the switch, causing her to vanish. "Can you talk?" she asked as she put the headset back in her inventory.
"Y-es," the girl replied after a couple of seconds of trying and failing to say anything intelligible. "R-usty."
"Where are we going next?" Noelle asked, glad that she had something to work on that didn't involve listening to Francis complain about the fact that he hadn't gotten magic and that no one wanted to jump into the game with him.
"Another world," Admin replied as she sent Taylor a message, [I have the cape that can alter memories and Noelle, where do you want us?]
{Here}, Taylor replied, sending her a mental image of the woods and the sense of where it was.
Admin opened a void portal to the woods. "Can you walk?"
"Maybe." The girl shuffled to the edge of the bed then stood up and promptly fell through the portal into the forest.
Taylor reached down and picked the girl up and set her back on her feet. "Careful."
"Thanks," the girl replied as she took a step and grabbed onto a tree to keep from falling. "I'm a bit out of practice."
Noelle stepped out of the portal and glanced around the ancient forest. "The air smells remarkably clean."
"It's a nice change from the Bay," Taylor agreed as Admin stepped through the portal.
"What's the plan?" Noelle asked as the portal closed behind Admin.
{Are you ready for a summon?} Taylor asked Shaper, not seeing a point in explaining things multiple times. "Let me grab Shaper."
Noelle shrugged. "I'm not in a hurry, the longer I spend on the project the less I have to listen to Trickster complain about the fact that we didn't haul him into the game."
"Sorry," Taylor offered.
[Ready], Shaper replied, having already sold everything worth anything in the wagon.
Noelle shook her head. "It's not your fault, we needed to leave and he didn't have his cell with him."
Taylor summoned Shaper, causing her to reappear in the forest next to her. "Thanks for helping."
"No worries, what are we working on?" Shaper asked as she looked at the girl leaning up against the tree.
"We're basically going to be summoning a bunch of magic using cultists and duplicating the most powerful to work as teachers before kicking the rest of them through a portal into the void or sticking them in the simulation," Taylor explained.
[How twisted do you want the copies?] Twisted Clone asked.
Taylor turned to look at Noelle. {What are you thinking?}
[Exhibitionist tendencies, unwavering loyalty to my host, unwillingness to work for dark gods, willing to have sex with girls and willing to be pets], Twisted Clone replied cheerfully.
{Is the unwavering loyalty going to cause obsession?} Taylor asked, wanting to make sure they didn't end up with insane cultist fangirls fighting for their attention.
[No], Twisted replied as she adjusted the template she was planning on using, decreasing the clone's need to please down a couple of levels.
{I guess that works}, Taylor admitted, not sure how long the clones were going to be staying around anyway.
"Do you want me to stun them after you summon them?" Admin asked, wanting to make sure there weren't any surprises.
"Might as well," Taylor replied as she gestured around the ancient looking forest. "We're in a stedding, it's basically a section of space that prevents channelers from touching the source of their magic but we might as well play it safe."
"W-what do I need to do?" the clone asked.
"Considering the cultists make the Fallen look like saints, you'll be erasing their personalities before we toss them into the simulation," Taylor explained.
"Not their skills, right?" the clone asked, wanting to make sure.
"Exactly," Taylor replied as she cast mind vision on Ba'alzamon. "I'm ready to grab my first cultist. Is everyone ready?"
[Ready], Twisted Clone replied cheerfully.
"Ready," Admin agreed at the same time that Shaper said, "Ready!"
"R-ready," the clone of The Slug replied.
"Ready," Noelle admitted, not particularly comfortable making clones of lunatics.
Taylor summoned Ba'alzamon and promptly jumped back as he gestured and tossed a fireball at her after a brief second of surprise. "Shit!"
Admin cast widow's bite on the tall dark haired man with flames for eyes, freezing him in place. "I thought you said he wasn't supposed to be able to use magic."
"He's not," Taylor complained as she patted her clothes down, trying to put out the fire and wishing that she'd picked up some fireproof cloth.
"So much for a perfect plan," Shaper mused as she reached down and touched the stranger's hand, using her power to drop him unconscious.
Noelle stepped forward and touched the stranger. "Are you sure you want a copy?"
"We need to learn," Taylor replied, hoping they weren't making a mistake.
Noelle activated her power, creating an unconscious naked man with burned out eyes.
Taylor used her inspection ability on the clone and scowled when she realized his channeling ability was broken even if he still had his dreaming abilities. "That's annoying, he has the genetic potential for channeling but he's not a channeler."
"Weird," Shaper complained as she walked over and started trying to fix the clone's various health issues.
"Is this going to happen a lot?" the clone of The Slug asked warily, not used to being near combat.
"Hopefully not," Taylor replied as she inspected Ba'alzamon. "The original can certainly channel and he's rotting from the inside out with corruption." She frowned when she saw the 'Chosen' mark that made shadowspawn follow his orders and the dark filter that kept him safe from the taint. 'So much for the Dark One being fictional.'
Noelle scowled at the unconscious clone. "Does that mean the clone is useless?"
[He should have his memories], Twisted Clone said, rather annoyed that she hadn't managed to copy his abilities.
"He should have his memories," Taylor said as she started working on looting the man's jewelry and clothes, using her inspection ability on each item on the off chance that they were enchanted.
Shaper finished healing the clone and rebuilding his eyes then woke him up, curious if he could still teach channeling or if they'd have to try something else.
The clone blinked a couple of times then sat up and stared at Noelle. "Master?"
"How much do you remember?" Noelle asked, slightly annoyed and yet relieved that she couldn't mass produce channelers.
"Everything or close enough," the clone replied as he got to his feet.
"Did your original have any magic items other than the mana well?" Taylor asked as she cast her teaching spell and taught him the spell so he could teach Admin.
"They're called ter'angreal," the clone replied as he glanced between the people in the group. "His other ring will glow in the presence of poison."
Taylor checked the second ring to make sure he wasn't lying or mistaken then stuck the rings in her inventory and pointed to Admin. "Use the teaching spell and teach Admin everything you know about channeling and all of your weaves."
The clone looked at Noelle. "Master?"
"Do it," Noelle ordered.
"This could take a while," the clone warned them, then cast the spell and started teaching Admin everything he knew about the Power, trying to make his master happy enough that she'd let him die.
Admin smiled as she started sorting the new information. "This should help anyone we have to train."
The Slug clone looked down at the unconscious man. "Do you want me to start erasing the original's memories?"
"What's your original's name?" Taylor asked Ba'alzamon's clone.
"Elan Morin Tedronai but most people have forgotten his name and call him Ishamael or the Betrayer of Hope," the clone replied as he continued teaching the strange woman his secrets, not particularly concerned about the fact that they'd be nearly useless to any woman.
"Are the rest of the Forsaken trapped?" Taylor asked, hoping she wasn't going to have to scry on something a dark god was protecting.
"They're free, some for longer than others," the clone replied in between casting his new teaching spell.
Taylor turned to look at the clone of The Slug. "You might as well start erasing Ishamael's mind, he's a dreamer, the longer he's unconscious the more likely he is to slip into a dream and cause trouble."
"Probably for the best," Ishamael's clone agreed.
The Slug clone stumbled over to Ishamael and started working on erasing the man's mind of all personal information. "On it."
"How many of the Forsaken have ter'angreal?" Shaper asked Ishamael's clone.
"Hard to say." Ishamael's clone considered the question for thirty seconds as he continued casting his teaching spell, taking some amusement in the fact that she'd be able to teach an entire new generation and cause another Breaking. "I doubt they'll find anything particularly useful, most of them aren't going to want to go near the White Tower or the Stone of Tear so the chances of them finding anything are remote."
"There are ter'angreal in the Stone of Tear?" Taylor asked, not sure what the Stone of Tear was.
"Of course, the high lords have been collecting ter'angreal and objects of the power for centuries, trying to ignore the fact that Callandor was there and that it would eventually fall to Lews Therin's reincarnation," the clone replied with amusement.
"What is Tear?" Taylor asked.
The clone paused in his teaching. "It's a country, were you born under a rock?"
"We're from a different world," Taylor replied with a shrug.
"Portal stones?" the clone asked thoughtfully.
Taylor shook her head. "Portal."
"Interesting," he mused, then continued teaching.
The Slug's clone stood up. "I'm done wiping his mind."
Noelle glanced between the memory erasing cape and Skitter then looked at Ishamael's clone. "Do you have any suggestions for who to copy next?"
"I suggest Lanfear, she's not particularly good in melee combat and the stedding should keep her from channeling," the clone replied with a grin that was more than a bit unhinged.
"Just a second." Admin pulled the headset out of her inventory then walked over and stuck it on Ishamael and turned it on. "Wake him up."
Shaper walked over and flooded his system with chemicals, waking him up and causing his heart to beat erratically. She grinned when he opened his eyes and vanished. "Why would anyone use magic that rots their insides?"
"It gives you a great deal of power and it's addictive," Ishamael's clone replied with a shrug. "I think he was hoping that using it enough would destroy his soul."
"Why would he want that?" Taylor asked as Admin picked up the headset.
"He believed that he'd fought the same battles with different faces countless times and that the Light could never permanently win, it drove him insane," the clone replied.
"What do you think?" Noelle asked.
"Maybe he's right, maybe he's insane. It doesn't matter to me, once I finish teaching your friends and you're done with me, I'm going to kill myself. I doubt the Wheel has a place for me so I'll stay dead," the clone replied with a laugh then went back to casting his new teaching skill.
[Not my fault, the original was crazy], Twisted Clone said, making some adjustments to her template.
[At least you salvaged his skills], Admin said, not particularly worried about the crazy clone as they were planning on tossing them in the simulation.
"Let's see if we can grab Lanfear." Taylor focused and cast her mind vision spell on Lanfear, opening a window into an old fashioned looking inn room. 'Nothing special.' She focused and summoned Lanfear, causing an attractive woman dressed in a white dress that clung to her curves to appear out of thin air.
Lanfear scowled at Ishamael when she reached for the source and couldn't touch it. "What do you want and why are you naked?" her tone of voice halfway between a question and a demand.
"I need you to…" he trailed off when Shaper lunged forward and dropped Lanfear with a single touch. "That works."
Admin gestured and cast her modified red riding hood spell on the middle aged channeler, turning her into a teenager. "Go ahead and clone her."
Noelle walked over and cloned Lanfear. "Did she lose her magic?"
Taylor checked the clone with her inspection ability. "She still has her dream walking ability and the genetics of a channeler."
"We should probably test the ritual to see if we can awaken their magic," Shaper suggested as she reached down and woke up the clone.
The clone blinked a couple of times when she woke up then looked at Noelle with a grin. "Spank me, I've been naughty."
"Maybe after you've taught my friend everything you know," Noelle replied as she pointed at Admin.
"That's going to take years," the Lanfear clone complained.
Taylor cast her teaching spell and taught the new clone the teaching spell. "Not if we cheat."
"Nice!" the clone replied with a grin that looked a bit unhinged on the girl's face.
Taylor looked at the memory erasing cape. "You should get started."
"Sure," The Slug's clone replied as she touched the unconscious woman's hand and started erasing her memories.
"Can I have her ring?" the Lanfear clone asked hopefully.
Taylor looked at the ring on Lanfear's finger and used her inspection ability. 'Angreal: It makes channeling easier and increases the amount of saidar a channeler can handle.' She smiled as she walked over and took the ring off Lanfear's finger. "We'll see how well you behave."
The clone giggled and spanked herself. "I'll be bad, I promise."
'Don't forget the originals are worse than the Nine,' Taylor reminded herself as she stuck the ring in her inventory, fairly sure Twisted Clone had screwed something up in the girl's head.
"Done," The Slug's clone said as she stepped back.
Shaper turned to look at Skitter. "Do we want to toss her in the simulation or try to keep her around as a teacher?"
Taylor shook her head. "I don't trust her connection to the Dark One."
Admin stuck the headset on Lanfear's head and turned it on. "Go for it."
Shaper reached down and woke Lanfear up, grinning when the witch vanished. "Two down, elven to go."
'This is going to be fun,' Lanfear's clone thought cheerfully then got to work teaching her Master's friend everything she knew.
