Why are you special?

There's an advantage to being a no good dirty cheater.

In this case, it's because I can make kidnapping both easy and traceless.  I give myself Time Stop as a spell known for now via using Lesser Evolution Surge for the Extra Feat Evolution, which I use for the Expanded Arcana feat, which I use to pick up Time Stop as a spell known - so that Primordial Lore kicks in, letting me use the Mythic version. Which permits me to bring other people with me into the space between clock ticks. So one Mythic Augmented Fleeting Time Stop, and I grab a particularly buxom serving girl to go into timeless hours with me.  The usual shenanigans, really.

And my divine status lets me read her build when I focus on her - she's simply a human expert-3 (it’s what's called an NPC class - it has some skills, and that's it; not suitable for any kind of actual danger). A Persistent Major Image spell gives me a proxy of the prior Life to speak through - complete with her innumerable jiggling jugs; she was a very old school fertility type.

Hmm. I'm going to have to look up… ah, OK, we aren't influenced by how people see us. Just how WE envision a deity in our role is supposed to look.  And it's a somewhat slow process.

It's a good thing I'm a modern man, then. I mean, OK, childbirth, so I probably won't be able to simply will myself back to being male after the baby's born… and I'll probably start leaking milk at some point and grow gargantuan globes on my chest… but I’m not going to get more of them or anything. That's a relief.

Hmm.  And I'm going to need to ask my new siblings if they were mortal once too.  But again: Later.  For now…

I have my illusory proxy speak in the old Life’s voice, "Elizabeth," yes, I can see her name: Being divine comes with a lot of perks.

She looks around, and realizes everything else is dead silent, "Yes… Blessed Mother?" her eyes widen and she bows, then prostrates herself on the ground, laying fully face down.

Well, I have the position, and I'll earn the title soon enough, "Someone has been making you forget. I want you to remember… rise, my daughter."  Oh. Major Image is a Concentration spell… well, it lasts a little longer tha  that, and I get extra actions, so… I use Wish for Remove Afflictions to get rid of all the False Alibi spells holding back her memories, then replace the Persistent Spell Major Image without interruption.

She rises, and blinks as her memories come flooding back, "Ooh… wait, all three of them? But… they’re… and I'd never… but each time?" Yeah, she's confused.

I have my illusion smile, "Take your time my daughter. We have as much as you want," at least ten hours, possibly forever… but I used Fleeting Spell, so I can get us out of this eternal "now" whenever… we're not stuck, "The rulers of this house have been sealing away your memories for a long time. So yes, as far as you knew, each time was your first."

She stands there for quite some time, and I simply wait. Technically, we're going really, really fast, but for practical purposes, the rest of the world is on pause. And we don't need to worry about little things like causing thunder from simple movement as the air collapses back in behind us … because magic.  Oh yes, and we can't hurt people, but things like glass and stone are exactly as fragile or durable as they would be without the spell… unless someone’s HOLDING or WEARING it, in which case it's invulnerable. Again, because magic.

Eventually, she speaks, "I can't imagine why they didn't let me remember. I mean, I'm on…" she turns white as a sheet.

I suppress a chuckle as I have the illusion continue, "I'm aware of the night tea. I've recently made peace with it… after all, a baby will have a hard time surviving if the mother can't care for him or her because she needs to work to eat and has no support. It's a tool so you can have a child when you're ready. I'm more interested in your thoughts and feelings on your employers, now that you know."

She blinks a few times, and considers, "Well… I still don't know why they did it. I mean… so what if they like going through the motions of making babies? Everyone does. It feels nice… and they all… have…"

I have my proxy comfort her, "You'll receive no judgment from me tonight. Right now I think of you as a witness."

She thinks about it, "All three of them. So many times… they are impossibly practiced at pleasure and… and he mentioned his brother and sister… but there’s only the two and…"

And that's why they do it.  State secrets, basically; they let things slip during pillow talk, "Their physician is also one of their siblings. Two take turns ruling publicly, the third is their doctor. They have something of an immortality scheme going on: They use a spell to kill and revive each in new bodies periodically, and they pose as their own children.  It's why they alternate so smoothly between a lord and a lady ruling."

She considers a bit, "I suppose that explains why nobody's ever seen the Lady pregnant."

And why I don't have any child records, yes, "What I wanted to ask, though, is how you feel about what they're doing."

She considers for a while, "I don't like that they messed with my head, but at the same time… well, I and all the rest of the basic staff were hired off the streets; I would have starved without them. And they didn't seriously hurt me, so… they’re not doing right, but please don't be too harsh on them, my lady."

I consider… OK. I wanted to go with the victim's judgment, but that does leave a question… "Your feelings on the matter is exactly why I asked. That does leave me with another question, though: Do you feel safe staying here with your memories restored, or would you like me to arrange an evacuation? My new champion is nearby," in the same room, even, "so her getting you to a safe place would not be difficult."

She closes her eyes and thinks. I give her plenty of time, as we have hours if I want.  After a bit, Elizabeth continues, "I…largely trust them, my Lady. I will stay."

As you wish. But I am going to cheat… I cast Superior Invisibility on my familiar Buttercup (it’s from Spell Compendium: It's like Greater Invisibility, but is also immune to certain standard Invisibility counters… and with the One Step Beyond spell (grants divination immunity… and expressly stops True Seeing from identifying the location of an invisible creature so protected), she is going to be REALLY hard to find.  I then tack on Duplicate Familiar, a spell that does what it says on the tin: Makes a normally temporary copy of a familiar. My familiar who also happens to be very heavily buffed up, and is maximally enchanted as a magic item. An Intelligent magic item, with a dedicated purpose: "Defend the servants and interests of a specific deity" - me, of course. I did that because it permits dedicated powers,most notably, the "Item can use a 7th-level spell at will" one… because Limited Wish is a 7th level spell, and has an amazingly large number of things it can do. So as long as Buttercup can justify it to herself as protecting my servants or interests, she can do quite a lot.

And Elizabeth is my worshiper. As I place the copy around her neck, I again renew my illusion and have it continue, "I'm leaving you with a protective amulet. If everything is fine, she'll return to me in a few days' time. If not, she'll bring you to my champion."  I really shouldn't do the infinite chain thing - I have nearly infinite energy available, but I don't want to find out what happens when it runs out.  Which of course, means avoiding things like having Buttercup copy herself repeatedly.

Which she can do. Duplicate Familiar is within range of Limited Wish. Do NOT piss her off. It'll probably make the local dungeon explode when she does exponential numbers.  But hey: She'd be able to clean the place out. She has my personal buff set, and that's insane.

Elizabeth blinks, "Thank you, my lady."

I smile, and have my illusion do the same, as it concludes, "So… are you ready to rejoin the world?"

She nods, "Yes my lady. And thank you, Blessed Mother."

I have the illusion wave as I dismiss both it and the Time Stop… then immediately replace the Fleeting Mythic Augmented Time Stop, as it lets me explore with impunity.

Not that I couldn't before, but now nobody can react at all….