Hello and welcome reader, to the 28th instalment of the Character Development Threads
! These shared story exercises help budding writers develop their characters alongside the characters of other budding writers. No sign-up is needed; just jump right in with your characters. It is recommended that you read the thread page and the last couple of pages before starting.
Discussion Thread Thread Page Town Map
This is a "Main Series" thread and, as such, an element of risk is expected. Rules and participation guidelines may be found on this page.
The thread page groups active characters under the areas in which they are active, enabling you to see who is at a given location in which you might be interested or to find out where to go to encounter characters with whom you wish to interact.
Kindly add your own characters to the thread page, with a link to their initial post, under the area in which they are located and update the page if they change location.
Bear in mind that if your characters are arriving at a location, they are likely to know little more than what they see and hear as they arrive - what the location looks like, what other characters are there (both of which can be read on the thread page) and the last few lines uttered and actions taken as they are arriving (which can be found in the last few posts for that location in the story thread itself), so inserting characters need not be a terrifying process.
If you need help, have any questions, or want a quick recap (if the page count is daunting), head over to the discussion page, and someone is sure to help you out!
To help guide character interaction, having your character come in with a at least one short-term and one long-term goal or motivation is strongly recommended. It is not required, but it does make it easier to drive the plot forward. Feel free to come up with rumours about what treasures, adventure, locations, and dangers may be found in the setting - they need not be true or accurate, just some hook on which to hang an adventure.
The setting is specifically designed to be a vast sandbox into which details can be inserted by participants (for example, you are free to decide that there is a particular temple in the midst of the forest in which something may be found or that there is a particular shop/hotel/restaurant in a section of the town), if you come up with a location that you desire/expect other characters to visit, please add it to the thread page as a sub-location of the relevant area.
Things change as the story progresses. If, for example, a massive battle occurs at a location and the area is now strewn with bodies and buildings are damaged, kindly update the thread page to reflect those changes, in order that other participants have an up-to-date description of the location prior to sending their characters there.
Special thanks to all those who helped in getting the thread launched or provided ideas and feedback. In alphabetic order, they include:
Blackfire667, Collen, Corvidae, daird, DarkbloodCarnagefang, EternaMemoria, Gault, Kkutwar, KillerClowns, ladytanuki, Masterofchaos, nrjxll, Pyxo, Slysheen, TroPartner, WillDeRegio and yours truly
Apologies if I missed anyone - just let me know and I'll update the post.
Between dimensions, and linked to the rest of the multiverse, lies a strange post-apocalyptic environment made up of various regions strewn with the remnants of past glory - ruins, lost technologies and magic. Here and there, nature has found its way back amongst the ruined temples and towns.
In the midst of the blighted landscape, a fresh new town has emerged - a synergy of technology, nature and magic; clean and eco-friendly; a beacon of hope for a brighter future - where travellers can rest, recharge their batteries both literally and metaphorically and get whatever they may need - technological, magical or otherwise - to aid them on their adventures.
New arrivals can turn up by diverse means in the transportation area in the north-western part of the town or by whatever other means they deem appropriate. Here they may also find for rent, lease or hire, any transport they desire from riding animals to vehicles.
The wilderness areas have not been fully explored since the mysterious apocalyptic events that ravaged the area some time ago and no one is really sure what's out there - but rumours abound.
All that is known for sure is that both magic and technology have existed here for a long time, so anything is possible...
Currently in Day 1.
Current Time: 10:00 PM
Current Weather:
General Setting: Fine, a few light clouds Rainforest: Moderately misty, the fog is slowly thickening
See the thread page for updates.
Edited by Wolf1066 on Feb 11th 2021 at 12:12:29 AM
City Hall Plaza - Parthenia and Sa'ad, Dominic Chaudhari and four Wardens, Ace of Spades
Parthenia scoffs.
"And what happens if I'll refuse you again? Your friend will blow my brains out? In the middle of a crowded plaza? Right in front of the City Hall? How does that correlate with human rights?" She slightly tilts her head, taking a look at Ace with her peripheral vision. "He would, wouldn't he?"
Parthenia, sighing, lowers her arms.
"If you're mugging me, please be courteous enough not to bullshit me with what you don't really believe in, Chaudhari. And if you're getting what you want either way, I might as well stay alive. Sa'ad's yours. Please be kind not to let him escape while you're interrogating him, will you?"
The Lobby
Despite Alice's best efforts, the communicator springs back into life again. It's hard to keep technology out of Sophia's reach when Sophia is Technology.
"You know it's rude to cut people off over the telephone like that." A statement, not a question. "Do I have to come in person to talk with you over this? And your men approached Parthenia with their weapons bared first, I know it. You know it too. What she's done was self-defence. You also know that. And you know that you don't really have the authority to do what you've done here. And I know that you don't want people finding out about that, do you, my little corporate onna-bugeisha"?
The voice over the intercom sighs.
"I don't really want to taint our relationship with blackmail, Alice. How about we strike a deal? Quid pro quo: I'll tell you everything you need to know about Parthenia's case. In turn, you'll let her go and I'll let you continue savoring the Fruits from the Tree of Knowledge for the rest of your life like nothing happened between us. Keep in mind that I know about the case more than Parthenia and Sa'ad will ever do."
edited 22nd Apr '18 9:16:22 AM by Millership
Spiral out, keep going.
Professional Recluse
Chitara's Wagon
[Plague Doctor]
She looked up at the creature disappearing into the building.
"I've seen far worse." she said and dismissed it.
"Oh? Excellent, excellent!" she said and turned to look at the approaching figures, elated that things were suddenly working out in far faster succession then could be expected. The raven lifted off and hid itself in a handy cranny away from view and in the three newcomers probable path.
"You three! Necropolis seekers!" she called sticking out a clarifying finger. "What skills and talents do you show competence in?! Aside from this!" as they passed an outcropping the raven popped into view at the side and let out a loud resonating caw, intent on startling the indicated persons.
[Ulf]
He laughed at Sophia's acknowledgment, "I could do with hearing that more often." He tilted his head and pursed his lips at Teri, "Still don't have much of a handle on the temporal side but I guesss, two months? No, one and a half." he amended. "Being busy makes the time escape sometimes. Except the wasteland, it's sense of presence is wonderful the first day, but horribly dull the two weeks after. Found a wendigo though, nice enough even if he is rather unnerving to look at."
He looked up at the thing entering a building. "Not quite that unnerving though. At least taking care of that isn't my job."
He smiled and shrugged at Teri's question after she paid the shopkeeper. "Welll, now that I've done my required cartography for the month I've been dying to get away from the bustle. Maybe the forest, seeing some trees again would do me good. Or maybe I can write off spending time with you as tour guide time, I've never been able to see you navigate much more then a spirit menu after all."
The robed figure in the bird mask the pair had been talking to promptly started yelling up the street at some approaching figures. Ulf raised an eyebrow, "A friend of yours?" he asked.
edited 22nd Apr '18 1:01:01 AM by Slysheen
Stoned hippie without the stoned. Or the hippie. My AO3 Page, grab a chair and relax.
Crazy Kiwi
Lobby
[Damn-near everyone, Wolfe]Wolfe's attention went to the figure that turned up beside him, vaguely remembered as one of those who had been outside but to whom little attention had been paid as his mind had been on other things. Extremely short with pale bluish-grey skin, inordinately long ears, flat alien features with narrow eyes and long dark grey hair. The body looked - by human standards, anyway - male but the voice, when the figure spoke, sounded vaguely female and Wolfe wasn't prepared to guess at gender - if any were applicable for that species. Wolfe couldn't help but be reminded strongly of Nemaforte, the strange 'witch' with whom he had travelled in the Frontier. Were they the same race? He wasn't sure, only having had one previous example for comparison.
Then the snake-woman who had challenged Justin turned up with Sindar, who - not surprisingly - wanted to know why Justin and voluntarily fused with the demon.
Wolfe's eyes went to the shadowy/fiery dog-like thing. It seemed that this was the previously invisible something that had spooked the Not-Chaos-Hunters earlier and had possessed Justin or had been absorbed by Justin or some such weird shit - resulting in the hoo-ha outside the hotel.
The swordsman entered, still armed and ready to deal with any further outbreaks of violence should they occur. His main concern seemed to be that Valerie would once again lose control of Justin and 'Vindex' and wanted to know what measures should be put in place to prevent that occurring.
Wolfe was wondering the same thing. Valerie was not only young, but clearly immature and quite incapable of keeping her own emotions in check. "Back home, they'd be facin' charges'v threatening with a deadly weapon."
He became aware of another entity that looked even stranger than the short blue-grey one with all the gadgets, lurking just outside the door and waving. Grey skin, large black eyes, fluffy antennae and no visible legs; apparently wearing chainmail.
Before he could determine what it was the alien wanted, Wolfe's attention was caught by the short, harmless-looking woman that possessed/demented/unchained/free Justin had said should be killed as a threat to all of them. She turned up beside him and struck up a conversation in a casual voice - like witnessing the unholy lovechild of H.R. Giger and H.P. Lovecraft's laudanum-fueled union was an everyday occurrence for her. And from what she said, it seemed it was.
What she had to say about an 'Uelane' warlock giving him a brain aneurysm didn't help matters. He was already questioning the wisdom - and sanity - of his actions and he wasn't certain that he could 'tough out' a brain aneurysm long enough to at least get a few rounds of jacketed hollow point into his attacker in retaliation before succumbing.
He had already been thinking of getting something to deal with magical threats so he took Alice's card and listened with interest to what she had to say about the devices that Western Amalgamated Industries had developed.
He didn't believe in souls and was doubtful of any shield that relied on the power of one until she went on to clarify that souls were not magical in nature, which was more in keeping with his own view that the 'soul' was just what credulous idiots called the consciousness and self-awareness that was the by-product of the brain's neural network.
While Alice was busy with an incoming call, Wolfe considered what she had said and when she was finished and apologised for the interruption he got her attention. "It occurs t'me that we might gain allies that use or rely on 'magic', what effect would one-a your anti-magic shields have on them? D'you have some sorta directed, pref'rably ranged version that could be used t'seriously fuck up someone directing magic at us without any collateral damage?"
Moobly's uniformed friend - Wolfe made a mental note to find out her name as soon as possible - was stating the opinion that everyone looked like they could do with some tea and biscuits and sent Moobly off to get some. The biscuits - he noted she used that word and not 'cookies' - sounded great but he felt more inclined towards a good strong black coffee than tea. A hot coffee and some 'bikkies' seemed like a good idea.
Town 'Square': Chitara's Wagon
[Chitara, Naiolo, plague doctor, Ulf, Teri, Sophia]Teri chuckled at Ulf's comment. "From what I've seen-a you, y'know y'way 'round a spirit menu pretty well, y'self - 'n' proved to be quite the 'tour guide', I recall. If y'wanna go to th' forest, Wolfe, Gwion 'n' I are 'eadin' there ourselves - 'n' I may surprise ya - East End was a long time ago f'me." She pondered what else he had said. "A munf 'n' 'n 'alf, eh? 's only b'n a week since we last saw ya. Mind you, consid'rin' three munfs pass on Earf for one week on Terra Nova, it could'a' b'n worse." It occurred to her that Ulf could easily have spent another month and a half elsewhere between their parting at the Space Liner and making his way here.
Just then, the Plague Doctor issued a challenge to Pearl, Aubrey and Finn as they drew nearer and Ulf asked if she was a friend.
Sophia grinned. "Hopefully an ally. She's said she wants t'visit the necropolis and, as luck would have it, our friends, here, are headin' that way." She pointed. "The one with the muttonchops is Aubrey; the woman is Pearl, his companion; 'n' the beefy peacock is me mate, Finn." It occurred to her that Ulf, a foreigner, might misunderstand. " 'n' by 'mate' I mean friend. I wouldn't actually mate with 'im for practice."
Teri snorted.
[Pearl, Aubrey, Finn] They had almost reached the large wagon near which they could see Teri and Sophia when a woman's voice hailed them. Pearl and Aubrey instantly recognised the figure's attire as that once worn by plague doctors in more superstitious times but Finn had no idea of why the woman was wearing robes and a bird mask.
The woman demanded to know their skills and talents and then there was a loud raucous sound as a large black bird made its presence known. Finn's head snapped in the direction of the noise but even before he completed the move his memory had dredged up the answer and he was unsurprised by what he saw. Aside from the foul-mouthed semi-tame one that had apparently followed the Mad Bastards from Terra Nova, he hadn't seen a raven since he left County Kildare to live in New Zealand, but they were quite familiar to him.
Neither Pearl nor Aubrey so much as flinched. Ravens, crows, rooks and other corvids were as common as sparrows back on Terra Nova, even in the middle of Hartmouth, and the cry was a familiar and non-threatening sound.
Pearl looked at the bird with disinterest at first until she noted that it had far too many eyes to be a normal specimen of its species. It was creepy, but not exactly terrifying - certainly nothing compared with what was going on near the hotel. She laughed. "Well, not bein' scared of bloody ravens is one of our lesser talents."
Finn laughed. "What sorta skills 'n' talents d'ye want? Y'want explorers? Sure 'n' we can do that. Y'want fighters? People who don't take fright aisily? We've that, 'n' all. An' I've brought me battle axe if y'want music on th'way." Her challenge reminded him of the tales told by his parents of the feasting hall at Tara and how none could enter unless they could prove they had a talent or value that no one else in the hall had. His namesake had famously been told that they had someone who could do each of the things that he could - and finally gained entry when he asked if there was already someone who, like him, combined all of those things in one person. "My name is Fionn Oisín Ó Brádaigh, formerly of County Kildare. I am named for Fionn Mac Cumhaill and also for his son Oisín. I am a warrior and bard of the Warrior Rockers of Cú Chulainn."
Pearl nodded approval of Finn's speech. "I am Pearl Gardiner and I served as a Despatch Rider in the Grea— in a global war; I have seen death and horror aplenty and I come from a world that is not short on strange happenings and danger."
Aubrey was certain that the woman dressed as a plague doctor wouldn't particularly care about his prowess at assessing the merits of a planned business enterprise and evaluating its financial risks and was hard pressed to think of anything as impressive as what the burly Irishman or his companion had come out with. "I am Aubrey Branscombe, from the same world as Pearl, and I endured eight days' march through a bear- and wolf-infested wilderness." The fact that the wolves had never actually posed a threat and that bears had tended to flee from the noisy group needn't be mentioned, he decided. "Recently, I also endured being kidnapped and locked in a disused mine on a tough and primitive world, so I am no stranger to peril."
The little group finally arrived at the wagon.
edited 22nd Apr '18 3:09:27 AM by Wolf1066
The Prince of Foolish Relevations
Hotel
Valerie, for her part, looked at Wolfe with quite a bit of confusion- Partially because she's having difficulty comprehending his sudden kindness to her, and partially because she has no idea why he felt the need to tell her nobody threatened her.
Vindex, however, looks at Wolfe with suspicion- Remembering perfectly well all the things he said about and in regards of Valerie. From his clear admission at the beginning his friends would harm her, his every word being some insult or jab, daring to imply she had enslaved Justin, refusing to behave himself even as Justin made that... Thing.
Suffice to say, Vindex fully believes Wolfe's sincerity is nothing more than an act to deceive Valerie. Wolfe asking Justin if he was alright didn't really reassure Vindex, with the canine-like demon even snarling at Justin with disgust evident. Justin himself does little more than groan and shift about a bit- Somewhat aware, but still pulling himself together & processing.
Once Nui began speaking, Valerie looks away as the elf doubted her ability to keep Justin & Vindex in check. The demon himself, however, simply looks unimpressed at the elf- Specifically because he is unamused the elf would dare doubt his mistress' abilities and then act like they themselves could do what she did.
The little fairy having caught on, Valerie squeaks quietly and weak denial "I-I don't know what you're talking about..." The demon, rather unsurprisingly, gives Sindar something of a dirty look- Though he may consider himself unworthy of a name, he clearly cares a lot about the name in question because Valerie said it.
Though as Nui responded to Nyceme, Vindex's fiery shadow tail swishes in annoyance- His nose twitching as he snarls slightly at Nui. Though it may look hostile or aggressive to others, inside it would be clear: Vindex considers Nui immensely stupid for having been willing to fire their own soul at that abomination Justin made.
Valerie, for her part, also caught on that Nui was lying. "I guess he doesn't want to admit he almost had his soul corrupted if he had tried?" Still, her attention shifts over to Justin as Sindar lands very closely to his face- And her heart skips a beat as Vindex wordlessly clues her in to the fairy's power.
Justin himself only barely manages to open his eyes to look at Sindar, and it would be clear he's still working on getting himself back to speed. Nonetheless, he groans out "M-master... Valerie wou, wouldn't want him... D-dead, so..." With that Justin trails off, rubbing at his head rather sluggishly.
Vindex, of course, snarls at Sindar- With his real "body" and not the canine construct, his spiritual snarl reflecting his anger and disgust that the fairy thing would at all imply that he is anything like Justin's monster.
Though as Nyceme questioned Valerie, the dark haired witch flairs her arms out behind her and shortly yet indignantly "No he didn't, he's a good boy!" Wrapping her arms back around Vindex, the young(?) witch looks up as Miron stands before her.
Frowning as he falsely accused Justin & Vindex of being "would-be murderers", Valerie pulls the demon closer to her as if wanting to keep Miron away. Vindex, for his part, snarks calmly for all who can to hear. "Truly, I am absolutely and genuinely surprised that a goddess' slave would accuse someone so baselessly. I mean, not like gods are a bunch of sociopathic dictators with massive ego stroking issues."
For his reward Vindex gets a light smack on his muzzle as Valerie simply says "No, they already want to kill you." The demon looking somewhat ashamed for upsetting his mistress even a little, Vindex almost didn't notice something weird about the newcomer- Specifically, that her very emotions were turned off.
Whilst Vindex looked on with a very clear sense of "What" as he examined Shale, Valerie finally gets a good look at Alice with her being so close- And the young(?) witch looks at her with restrained fear. Though... Peculiarly, more because of what she could make out of Alice's morality. The woman's anti-magic nature... Isn't nearly as frightening to her.
That fear is soon replaced by genuine surprise that Cynthia doesn't seem to hate any of the three of them in any way. Though a pessimistic little part of her mind... "She's probably just hiding it well." Still, with a light growling of her stomach, Valerie's cheeks do flash with embarrassment.
The moment Wolfe claimed they would be charged with a crime where he came from, Valerie shrinks in on herself a little. Vindex, though, looks at Wolfe and snarls "I am guilty of no crime." What really irritates the demon, though, is his willingness to actually consider Alice's offer.
His tail swishing about forcefully enough to send dust and small objects flying about, the demon narrows his gaze at Alice. His eyes methodically examining her form, he finally speaks up. "Do not entertain that woman, she embraces anti-magic like it is her own skin. After all, she said it herself- Souls are partially magic. So..."
Flicking his gaze to Nui, Vindex considers them in silence for a brief moment before continuing. "Unless you wish to drive yourself or others insane, what she sells is nothing but a poison. If I understand correct, she is forcing magic to nullify itself. If you want true magic defenses, then look for the shop Spell Nexus."
Valerie, for her part, startles at Vindex's willingness to mention her sisters shop while that... Woman stands there, Alice's outward innocence and perverse power hiding her inner ugliness. Still, Valerie lets out a breath as she wordlessly requests Vindex carry Justin.
The demon looking down at his master, Vindex rolls his eyes as he sort of flips Justin onto him by using his back. Justin draped face downward on his demon's back, Valerie walks over to Cynthia with some haste- Specifically because she feels uncomfortable with Miron and Alice so close by.
edited 22nd Apr '18 9:24:09 AM by Kkutwar
"The Omniverse is the collection of all possibilities, and all possibilities must eventually come to pass."
It's a bird.
Town - Purple Fez Tavern (Ozurr; Jann, Varg; Rosalind)
"I suppose it's one of those 'different world' things," Jann said, grabbing a bowl of fruit slices from the table. "But neither of us" - he gestured towards Varg - "thought the other was a very unusual sight. Haugr and humans have lived together since forever. And mages are few in number, but everyone has at least heard of us."
"Can't build an airship without one for example," Varg added.
"That being said," Jann continued, glancing over at Varg, "you did try to throw me overboard at first."
Varg took another bite of chicken before answering, smirking a bit to herself.
"The lake wasn't that far down..."
Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.
Edit: reconstructed a missing part of Rosalind's rant
The Purple Fez Tavern, Outdoor Tables (Ozurr; Varg, Jann; Rosalind)
Rosalind gave a very bitter laugh at Ozurr's piece of mind, "Betrayal. You make it sound so easy, just like how everyone else who betrayed me had no problems doing so."
That's when Jann and Varg broke in with their "different world" theory, probably attempting a diplomatic interruption.
Rosalind listened carefully, and huffed, "I envy your world. My world has no haugr, but there are other humanoids and mages in similar numbers trying to make a place for themselves in the society mundane humans built. So many similarities, but somehow your world is different enough to be kinder. And from your story, it sounds like you think a common enemy will catalyze previously unthinkable alliances, but in my experience, it's done nothing of the sort."
A rant she'd never gotten the chance to vocalize burst forth, along with a few tears, before she could censor herself. "I've been backstabbed over and over again, sometimes even literally, by the people I rescued from zombies. Every time any rescuees learned my identity they forgot their gratitude and reclassified me as a danger to them. Furthermore, using our common enemy as a fulcrum, they twisted my altruistic words and actions to fit that new mold, and used that to justify either attacking me right then and there or whispering assassination conspiracies behind my back. It's why I left the remnants of civilization for the wild open terrain of the mustangs. Even though it took a couple of generations, the horses accepted me much more readily than humanity ever did."
It belatedly dawned on Rosalind that she'd once again implied to the group that she wasn't human.note A lump of dread joined the discomforting mass of mutton in her stomach and she abruptly dropped her fork as the color drained from her face. Her stomach was really protesting now. She flagged down the waitress. "Where's the powder room?"
The waitress gave some quick directions and added, "Are you ok?"
Rosalind didn't stick around to hear the question, she was already fleeing in the direction the waitress had indicated.
The concerned waitress asked the rest of the table, "Was it just me, or did the poor dear look Green Around the Gills to you?"
The Purple Fez Tavern, Outdoor Tables (Ozurr; Varg, Jann; Rosalind) -> Men's Bathroom (Rosalind)
Rosalind's stomach was aching badly enough to blur her vision and fill the periphery with dancing black fog. She saw three different bathroom sections. Not noticing the signs, she instinctively shied away from other humanoid movement and entered the area devoid of activity. The door to the Men's section swung closed behind her.
The section was completely empty, so Rosalind had her pick of the stalls. She dove into the nearest one, not noticing the urinals and not bothering to close the stall door behind her. Between the stress, the nausea caused by the indigestible mutton, and the dizziness caused by the pipes full of running water, it was a miracle that Rosalind managed to aim her vomit precisely into the toilet.
edited 22nd Apr '18 6:47:46 PM by Miss_Desperado
If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.
Town - Purple Fez Tavern (Ozurr; Jann, Varg; Rosalind at first)
"...Oh." Ozurr was half-tempted to pull a "if you knew my father like I do," but given how Rosalind followed that up, it didn't seem right.
Not that he would have had time to say that anyway, as she almost immediately launched into her rant. It was a very sincere rant, and Ozurr didn't begrudge her at all. Despite himself, he found himself wondering if all human women had traumatic pasts. Or human-like women, at least, since Ozurr still wasn't entirely sure what Rosalind was, and several things in her rant gave the impression that she was not, in fact, a human. By the time she finished, Ozurr found himself frozen on the spot, his hand halfway through the act of reaching for another steak.
"I..."
That was all he had time to say before Rosalind suddenly jumped up and ran off clutching her stomach.
"And I'm an asshole," he said quietly to himself.
"Was it just me, or did the poor dear look green around the gills to you?" the waitress asked.
Ozurr took the opportunity to examine Rosalind's plate more closely. "Well, no wonder. This thing doesn't look cooked at all. I'd have trouble eating it, and I'm a Frost Giant. We can eat anything."
edited 22nd Apr '18 7:12:21 PM by apocalemur
Town Square ~ Restaurant (Diantha, Nora; Leone; Gwion, James)
Nora returned to chowing down on her breakfast, least it go cold from the brief interruption by otherworldly forces. She did, however, give a puzzled look at Leone in between bites when she mentioned that the incident had struck close to home for her, but decided against pushing the matter.
Diantha glanced up as Kris returned, before nodding in agreement at Gwion's sentiments. "Some with my coffee," she said, raising her cup, before tilting her head in Nora's direction, "it shouldn't take long for this little glutton to finish." This elicited a brief exclamation from the other girl, who simply smirked before quickly returned to eating again.
Restaurant (Leone, Gwion, Kris, James, Diantha, Nora)
"Fair enough," Leone replied with a nod, before looking at her food. Given the size of it and how she was trying to have good table manners, there was still quite a bit left to go. "I'll probably need a little time to properly finish this anyway."
After another couple bites, she turned to Kris. "I'm assuming that mess was what you left to check out?"
edited 22nd Apr '18 7:12:16 PM by Yomegami
Icon by Civvi the Civilian!
(Hotel-> Chitara's Wagon)
Saen hadn't been paying attention to the growing mayhem behind her- she'd headed over to what looked like a little shopwagon. Maybe the proprietor had what she needed to make her ward.
"Exxxcuse me, but would you happen to have some willow branchesss for sale?"
Forward, boys! For God's sake, forward!
Friendly Neighborhood Lich
Bulletin Board
It was a bit late, but the courier Nui had asked at the coffee house to post on the bulletin board for them finally arrived. It had taken him a while to translate the strange glyphs on Nui's note to more readable letters. And it read...
The courier walked away, scratching his head. "What the hell is a 'solar-and-lunar electromagnetic protector? Must be one of them crackpot inventors." In fact, as an afterthought, he took out a red marker and inserted those words into the notice.
Posted right next to Nui's notice was another notice, confirming the first notice's mentions of a powerful artifact in the Cave of Secrets near the Coast of Chills and adding that it had been stolen from the necropolis, as well as reports of vampire sightings in that area at night.
Meanwhile, a hooded figure, perhaps an elderly woman judging by the curled gray hair, pinned another notice to the board:
Sincerely, The Woman In Room 444
P.S. there are also rumors of rare medicinal herbs that can be found in the rainforest.
Right next to that second notice was a news bulletin reporting trees and animals spontaneously dying off in the rainforest.
Solstice Cafe (Cormack, Lily, Carol, Peggy, Karl, Kaitlyn, Cas, Not-Chaos-Hunters)
So apparently Kaitlyn and the teens she had arrived with were the other group Peggy mentioned. Good, that made things simple. For the next few whiles, the people at the two tables seemed preoccupied with the goings-on at the hotel. Cormack wasn't too interested, but watched nonetheless, if only because Nyceme was there (not that he was worried about her; he figured she could handle herself in deadly situations due to being undead). Thankfully, the situation seemed to resolve itself; a few seconds later the pillars of hellfire disappeared and no more action happened for the next minute, aside from a strange oversized canine appearing of course. At least it wasn't attacking anything.
But more importantly, Cormack spotted something flying out of Nyceme's arms... and it looked kind of like a flying mushroom from the distance. His eyes briefly widened. Sindar is with her! Good, was wondering what happened to him.
Seeing that everything seemed in the clear, Cormack surveyed his traveling companions. Kaitlyn, Jackson, Adam, Nick, Marie, Amy, Maya, Carol, and Lily... and Cas had not yet specified whether she wanted to come or not. Next his attention was focused on the crystals Nick showed him, explaining that those were what the arrows were made of. This only furthered his assumption that they were magical, as in his experience, crystals usually were. Amy told him that she was translating Maya's "sign language", whatever that was. And Marie... did she mention a demon over at the hotel? That would explain the hellfire at the least. Still, nobody seemed harmed, so Cormack decided to ignore it.
Cormack cleared his throat and spoke up. "All right now, we have Carol, Lily, Nick, Adam, Jackson, Marie, Amy, Maya, and Kaitlyn in our troop. Ten of us." He tentatively looked over to Cas, evaluating her interest in this mission. "So, first things first, I say we stock up on supplies. I already got a few things, but we need provisions for the road, and we also need transport. I saw an advertisement for a place called Frontier Sporting Goods over in the shopping district, which is next to a convenience store of some sort as well as an armory of some sort. How about we meet over there? There's someone I need to catch up with over at the hotel real quick."
Finishing the last bit of bacon on his plate, he stood up and headed off in the direction of the hotel, where he waved over at the group. Soon enough, Sindar came flying out to him, informing him about the madness that occurred at the hotel, and each of them reporting where they were going to be going.
edited 23rd Apr '18 1:08:59 AM by ladytanuki
Come, my child of the devil. Your mother is calling you. Hear my call in Hell's grand hall, where all our dreams come true.
They/Them
[Necropolis - Unnamed, Wanderer, It Came From The Sea]
After putting away the vial, she followed the young wanderer as they climbed through the ruins. She would have taken the red robed wanderer's hand, had she not smelt the rotting thing that was approaching the dusty ruins of the Necropolis.
Turning to face the creature, she ripped off her goggles to reveal her dark gray eyes, which had gone wide from a mix of excitement and hunger. She shouted to get the creatures attention as she drew her scimitar from its scabbard.
Making a long cut on her arm with the blade, the weapon became surrounded with crackling electricity. Running toward the creature, she pointed at it with her sword, challenging the creature to combat.
"You! Look! Delicious!" was the only thing she could shout before she charged toward the creature.
[The Sun-Dry Sea - Vrask, Koyel, Layi]
As the wyvern flew above them, Vrask whipped out their rifle and take shots at its stinging tail. The three rounds they fired barely managed to puncture the stinger.
The wyvern was now well aware that it was under threat, and began making a dive attack toward the three, thrashing it's tail about.
Vrask rolled out of the way, barely avoiding the wyvern's claws. Managing to right them self on their right knee, Vrask took the three remaining shots in their rifle at the beast's stinger, which was still largely intact.
Vrask ran behind a rock to reload their revolver rifle.
Note to self: Pick less edgy username next time.
Friendly Neighborhood Lich
Hotel (Justin, Vindex, Valerie, Miron, Wolfe, Shale, Cynthia, Moobly, Alice, Nui, Nyceme, Sindar)
There Vindex and Valerie (Justin was kind of out of it at the moment) went again. Vindex, especially, seemed back to his old self, snarling at Sindar and Nui, berating Miron for misunderstanding him... and then there was the mention of gods being sociopathic dictators, which caused Nyceme to laugh... which manifested as a series of grinning hisses.
"I know of one goddesss who fitsss that dessscription... a shame, I usssed to hold her in reverenccce too. Of courssse, I know of another who isss naussseatingly good." She glanced over at Miron. "No offenssse to your goddesss, of courssse—there are other faithsss out there whossse godsss are a bit gentler."
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught the movement of two slithering beings. One was Saen, who had had quite enough of all this ruckus and was heading out into the square. The other was some sort of gray slug girl dressed in chain mail. Her first instinct was to gawk at the absurdity of the newcomer's form, but she kept it to a mere mild curiosity once she remembered that she herself was a gray snake girl. (Well, purple and black too if you count below the waist.)
"Well hello there," she said, sounding more amused than anything else. "A shame you arrived when you did; you misssed the bulk of the excccitement. But then, a part of me doubtsss you have any interessst in dark magic. Are you here regarding one of the noticcces on the bulletin, checking into the hotel, or jussst passsing through?"
At that moment, Sindar flew up to Nyceme. "Where's Saen going? Aren't you gonna follow her?"
Nyceme glanced back at the rest of the group. "Why don't you do that? There are mattersss I ssstill need to dissscusss with Valerie."
Sindar sighed. "Just because I'm small and have wings, means I always have to be the messenger... where's Ezra when we need her..." he muttered as he flew off. On his way out, he ran into Cormack, quickly filling him in on the goings on at the hotel and mentioning that he was going to the necropolis.note
As he passed by the bulletin board, he spotted a few new notices: one was an invitation for an adventure to the ghost town, Hellmouth, and Coast of Chills that seemed to have been posted on Nui's behalf (he seemed quite interested in the fact that it involved an artifact stolen from the necropolis). The other was a notice for a missing child in the rainforest. Taking note of these, he flew off after the telepathic snakewoman.
Back at the hotel, Nui listened with interest as Alice talked about her anti-magic wares. And they were just as confused as Vindex was about the contradiction over the magical or non-magical nature of souls. To this, the nope-totally-not-a-necromancer just had to speak up. "Actually, Alice is a bit more correct. A soul is more often than not required to use magic, but is not quite magic in and of itself. Conversely, there are magical techniques for manipulating the soul, which..."
Their voice trailed off as their train of thought zoomed far ahead of it, recalling what Alice said about her shield and what they themself had detected in the peculiar bond between Justin and Vindex. And something else, which brought a clear worry to their expression.
It also prompted a burning question they had for Alice. "I would ask about the suspicious woman your agents dealing with, but first I must know... you said your personal shield was based on the power of your soul. Does that mean it is a device that uses your soul as a fingerprint such that it would exclude you if you wanted to be subject to a magical effect, or is it... the magic-repelling energies itself merging with your soul?" On that last part, the worry surfaced once more. "Speaking of, from where or from what sort of source do the energies or substances involved originate? If that is not a trade secret of course. And do some drain magic out of a source and some simply temporarily repress it, or do they all do one or the other?" Nui wasn't quite sure whether their "solar-lunar electromagic projector" flickering in the presence of the field was some of its energy being depleted or just the magical components being dimmed in its presence.
Meanwhile, Nyceme rejoined the group and slithered up to Valerie. Along the way, she listened in a little bit on the conversation between Alice, Wolfe, and Nui; the latter was currently talking about souls. Hmph. Seems to know a lot about them for someone who insists he's—or she's?—not a necromancer. She looked away, but did a double take. Looking more carefully at Nui, she could see something off about their soul. Perhaps it was more detached from their body than one might expect, but it also seemed fragmented or something, somehow. It was easy to miss though; in passing they looked alive as any other. Mm-hmm. Definitely not a necromancer.
Finally at the little witch, she asked, "Valerie, that remindsss me... your folksss had a magic shop here, didn't they? I don't sssuppossse you'd be interesssted in showing me? And perhapsss Wolfe asss well if he'sss interesssted."
Chitara's Wagon (Chitara, Naiolo, Plague Doctor, Ulf, Aubrey, Pearl, Finn, Teri, Alpha/Sophianote , Saen, Sindar)
Saen wasn't the only interesting-looking figure gathered at the wagon, which was apparently a shop of some sort. One run by two of what appeared to be harpies on first glance, but Sindar, having been used to the presence of a harpy in his adventuring party, saw that the arms, especially, didn't fit the description of them, at least Crownen's version of harpies anyway. There was also a robed figure in a bird mask, a raven that was clearly supernatural in nature (the four eyes helped distinguish it as such), a tattooed woman with pink and green hair, and a few more people, among them Aubrey, Pearl, and Finn, who were at the hotel earlier. However, something looked a little off about the man with prematurely graying hair. It was subtle, but to a fairy like Sindar, there appeared to be some sort of supernatural marknote , though perhaps not as noticeable as the one on the raven, who seemed to be associated with the bird-masked figure.
Curious, he flew up to the figure in the bird mask, who was currently questioning Aubrey, Pearl, and Finn. After a quick nod of acknowledgement to the three, he said to her, "Hello, nice mask. That raven there is yours, correct? Where did he or she or it... come from?"
Come, my child of the devil. Your mother is calling you. Hear my call in Hell's grand hall, where all our dreams come true.Hotel (Justin, Vindex, Valerie, Miron, Wolfe, Shale, Cynthia, Moobly, Alice, Nui, Nyceme, Sindar)
Shale's antennae registered some of the crowd attempting to scan her mind. Almost all wouldn't be able to get more information than the fact that she was here and not an illusion, she doubted there was anyone powerful enough to both barge through her mental shields and make sense of the incompatible neurons behind them.
Belated edit to correct a case of mistaken species. My bad.
One androgynous figure wasn't trying to scan Shale's mind directly, the androgynous figure was scanning for Shale's aura under the assumption that it would indicate what was going on in Shale's mind. She wondered how good her acting was and what the androgynous figure was seeing.
Shale deliberately let the canine-form demon, who apparently had just received the name Vindex, get a brief peek at her emotionless state before readjusting her mental shields. She calculated that the cost of this brief exposure was worth getting him to conclude that his usual intimidation tactics would waste his time on her.
Still loitering on the doorframe, Shale noticed a serpentine lich approaching and addressing her, "Well hello there. A shame you arrived when you did; you misssed the bulk of the excccitement. But then, a part of me doubtsss you have any interessst in dark magic. Are you here regarding one of the noticcces on the bulletin, checking into the hotel, or jussst passsing through?"
Shale waved her hands in front of her in what she hoped was a "don't touch me" signal. She tapped her fingers on her vocal-cordless throat to signal that she was mute, then tried clicking and whistling "Hello" in Morse code.
Corner of the Restaraunt (Camouflaged Arilay) -> Chased Around the Town Square (Dog-Form Arilay)
Arilay noticed Shale's "don't touch me" hand-waving. There was only one reason why Shale would refuse to use her Touch Telepathy, and that was if the conversationalist was undead. Arilay decided to help out, sorted through her collection of mechanical eyeballs, and shape-shifted into a pudgy Golden Retriever wearing a radio on a collar.
(Belated edit: Yakety Sax soundtrack)
There was only one problem with Arilay's plan. Some local with a broom spotted her transforming and screamed, "Homunculus!" The broom-wielding local started chasing Arilay, whacking her with the broom and repeating, "Homunculus! Homunculus! Homunculus!" Distracted, Arilay zig-zagged around the town square, yelping each time the broom hit her.
Hotel
Shale heard the commotion, slithered backwards and turned around to see what was going on. She turned on the microchip resting at the back of her neck and spoke with the radio's synthesized voice, "Hey! That's not a homunculus! That's my dog you're hitting! Quit it!" She shook a fist at the hysterical screaming local, who unfortunately, didn't see Shale or register the voice coming out of the collar.
Author's note: For some reason, I'm having formatting issues trying to put actual Morse code in here. Anyway, dead flesh is a Brown Note to Sleutrienns, if Nyceme shakes Shale's hand, she'll get a jolt of Shale's nausea as Shale yanks her hand away and barfs. Anyone who isn't undead who touches Shale skin-to-skin will note her temperature (a few degrees colder than human), her perpetually moist skin, and the sensation of her neurons connecting with theirs.
edited 10th May '18 9:14:01 AM by Miss_Desperado
If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.
It's a bird.
The Purple Fez Tavern, Outdoor Tables (Ozurr; Varg, Jann) -> Men's Bathroom (Jann, Rosalind)
Jann listened to Rosalind's rant, his jaw slowly dropping and his eyes nervously darting over to Varg and Ozurr.
"Are you alright..?" he eventually began to ask, but Rosalind was already up and running into the tavern building.
"Uh, just a moment," Jann said to his remaining companions, before hurrying along after her. He entered the main room of the tavern just in time to see a door swing closed in a corridor next to the bar and quickly ran over there, accidentally startling an odd-looking woman at one of the tables along the way, making her drop a piece of blueberry pie on the floor.
"Sorry," Jann mumbled before continuing on to what turned out to be the Men's Bathroom. Well, that wouldn't do. He swiped his hand across the sign on the door, casting a quick Illusion and changing the words to "Out of Order". Much better. It wouldn't be enough to fool anyone who looked to closely or tried to trace the letters with their fingers, but he hoped no one would bother.
"Listen," he said as he pushed the door open, "whatever happened in the past will not... Oh, gods..."
Once inside, his eyes widened as he saw Rosalind in one of the toilet stalls, violently emptying her stomach. He dashed over to her, kneeling down and somewhat hesitantly placing a hand on her back.
"How... do you feel?"
The Purple Fez Tavern, Outdoor Tables (Ozurr; Varg)
Outside at the table, Varg leaned in to take a closer look at the meat that Ozurr had drawn her attention to. Hm... Thinly cooked outside layer. Practically raw inside. Bloody even. No way someone eating it wouldn't have noticed right at the first bite.
She looked up at Ozurr.
"I don't think it's a mistake," Varg said. She took another bite of her own food, looking relaxed and casual, but a lot of thoughts were moving through her mind. That story hadn't been very subtle. How much did Jann know? If he thought there was any actual danger involved, he would have told her - the mage wasn't stupid - so what was going on? She began to mentally list all the beings she knew - real or mythical - that looked or could pass for human, and who had a thing for raw meat.
"You heard that story too," she told Ozurr. "Something's up with her."
edited 24th Apr '18 11:17:20 AM by Corvidae
Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.
The Purple Fez Tavern, Outdoor Tables (Ozurr; Varg)
What was it Arnora's father had told him once? There are stranger things in the world than we can dream of, or something.
"For as long as I can remember, I've had this knack for telling if someone was lying to me or concealing their real motives. It's not perfect. I mean, hell, it took until I nearly sat on that guy for me to decide you weren't secretly one of my father's agents. But it's there. I guess that's why I was so quick to help Thassilae. I had known for nearly two centuries that my father couldn't be trusted, I just didn't want to admit it.
"Anyway, before she left, Thassilae told me that she had grown up with a similar ability, and had only recently discovered that it was something more. An actual magical power she possessed...I think she called it her 'Third Eye.' She told me that she had looked at me with it just before I let her out of the cage, and I guess it told her that I have that power too, but it would take training to be able to properly unlock it like she had.
"Where I'm going with all this is that when we met Rosalind, there was something in the back of my head that told me she was hiding something, but not in a way that made me worried she was planning to kill us all in our sleep or something."
Ozurr ate another bite (read: entire plate) of food, to give him time to think about what Rosalind had said before she had rushed off.
"It sounds to me," he said, after he had swallowed, "that she's used to not being trusted because of what she is. Whatever that is. I can't quite tell what she's up to, but I don't think it's anything sinister. Of course, I've been wrong before. Like I said, it's not perfect, especially since my father has been actively discouraging me from trusting my instincts my whole life."
The Purple Fez Tavern, Men's Bathroom (Jann, Rosalind)
It took a shorter amount of time than Rosalind perceived to finish purging the mutton. Now that the mutton was gone, her stomach stopped aching. Shaking, she croaked, "Better... somewhat... still scared outta my wits. So much for thinkin' solid food would quell my hunger." She started to get to her feet...
...and suddenly the toilet flushed.
"ACK! Gol-durnit!"
Rosalind didn't remember leaping away from the toilet, but it was obvious she had done so based on how she had dislodged Jann's hand to suddenly cling to the ceiling. As convenient as automatic flushing might be to humans, Rosalind decided right then and there she hated this shiny new feature. She looked around from her new vantage point and blushed, "Oh frazzlin' fiddlesticks, this is the men's room!" She dropped to stand on a more spacious part of the floor. "Good thing nobody else is in here. But how long is that gonna last?"
If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.
Crazy Kiwi
Edge of the Forest/Grasslands
D'voreemThe wind had carried the information; a group of plant-eaters was coming - numerous large individuals, any one of which would provide a decent meal for the pack, and one of the small flying animals - in the grasslands near the edge of the forest. Large prey like that tended to run fast on open ground - like the ones with horns on their heads.
They were joined by another of their kind and a human. A solitary human would not cause much problem - the pack had successfully killed small groups of humans, and they couldn't run fast at all.
The pack moved silently through the trees near the edge of the forest keeping ahead and downwind of the herd and moving only fast enough to get further ahead of the group with minimal effort, conserving their energy for the flight to come.
Individuals broke off from the group and took to the ground, keeping low and moving softly through the tall grass downwind of the herd of plant-eaters, careful to neither make undue noise nor be seen.
Their sense of smell told them exactly where they were in relation to the herd and years of hunting skittish prey directed their actions as they spread out in a long open-ended oval just ahead of the herd some in the cover of trees, some concealed in the long grass.
Those closest to the approaching herd could see them now, so they froze - careful not to betray their presence with motion - and let them pass.
As soon as the last of the animals - the human was on the back of one of them - passed by, the end-most individual broke from the trees and loped on all fours across the open grasslands towards the tail-end of the herd, shrieking horrifically. Only now would the wind would carry the stench of carnivores to the herd, but it was too late, they were already on the move. The smell and the shrieks would spook the plant-eaters into running - and their blind panic would be their downfall.
He angled his attack to close off the end of the oval and drive the skittish herd forward towards the rest of the pack, into the trap they had set.
Out in the long grass behind and to the side of the herd, another D'voreem, alerted by the commencement of the attack, broke into a canter and closed off that flank, shrieking wildly to panic the herd and drive it forward.
Just ahead of the herd, a couple of the D'voreem paused in their silent movement, waiting for the herd to panic and run past; ready to join the others in driving the herd forward, alert for any signs of weakness in one of the individuals to single it out as a target.
The oval was closed, the pack was now arranged out in front and to the sides of the herd with the first chasers already in play. Those furthest ahead still moved forward slowly to put themselves into the best position to take up the chase as the others tired, replacing them with fresh fast chasers.
Town: Restaurant - outside seating area
[Leone, Diantha, Nora, Kris, Gwion, James]James smiled at the chorus of 'wait for me to finish'. "No hurry.
Kris gave Leone a nod. "Yeah. One-a our group was in th'fuckin' hotel lobby when that shit started, so I went t'watch 'is back. Didn't even get that far before it broke out into the open. Fucked if I know what it was all about, really. Seems that someone chose today t'stroke themselves in public - metaphoric'ly."
Gwion would have commented but he happened to catch sight of a pile of earth suddenly transforming into a golden retriever wearing a collar and being attacked by a hysterical woman with a broom who seemed to think it was some sort of tiny human. If it was, then that was the best dog costume he had ever seen! It seemed more likely that that, for whatever strange reason, was the dog's name. How and why the dog had apparently spent the last goddess-knows-how-long disguised as a pile of dirt, was another mystery. Still, this couldn't be stood for. He stood and directed his ire at the running woman. "Oi! How 'bout I belt you around the fuckin' ears with that broom! Leave the dog alone!"
edited 24th Apr '18 3:41:17 PM by Wolf1066
Riverbanks at the Edge of the Forest -> Ambushed! (Rosalind's Mustangs, Inquisitor's Stray Horse, Skvader)
Predators! The skvader screamed, flapped frantically back to the saddle on the stray, and clung for dear life as the horses fled away from the forest, except for Guardian Thunder. He flattened his ears for battle, roared, and charged to intercept the D'voreem that had appeared from the trees. Thunder kicked his hind legs, aiming for the D'voreem's head just like Our Watcher had taught him to do for the Sabertooth Undead, then made a Tactical Withdrawal to catch up with the rest of his fleeing herd.
That's when the second D'voreem made its move. Lead Mare Flashfoot got a sinking feeling of Déjà Vu. A quick glance at Fiddler confirmed the mischevious mare felt it as well. Both mares had evaded countless human attempts to round them up, and it seemed like these predators were using familiar tactics. As the herd swerved to avoid the D'voreem, Guardian Thunder sprung out from behind them — he'd used the bulk of the herd to conceal his approach from the second D'voreem. Thunder reared up and pounded his front hooves at the second D'voreem, targeting its skull and shoulders, before darting backwards and switching to biting, targeting any soft flesh he could reach.
Angel, one of the white geldings, stumbled and started limping. Thunder stopped trying to bite the second D'voreem, spun around, aimed another kick with his hind legs, and rushed to Angel's side, urging Angel to catch up with the herd.
Author's note: This ought to catch the attention of the third and fourth D'voreem.
Chased Around the Town Square (Dog-Form Arilay) -> Restaurant - outside seating area (Leone, Diantha, Nora, Kris, Gwion, James, Dog-Form Arilay)
Arilay was just starting to think the chase was getting boring when she heard a guy at the restaurant yelling. Oh, good — he was sticking up for her. She swerved and started running towards him, hoping he could shave some time off her plan of wearing out this hysterical broom-swatter.
"Look out!" the hysterical woman screamed, "It's gonna Kill and Replace you!"
Arilay had no idea how the guy would respond to this baseless accusation, but there was one way to instantly disprove it — she swerved away from her defender. Now she was heading towards the restaurant wall. Getting an idea, she skidded to a halt in front of the wall, waited until the last second, and dodged out of the way just in time for the broom-wielder's momentum to carry her smack into the wall.
Restaurant - outside seating area (Leone, Diantha, Nora, Kris, Gwion, James, Dog-Form Arilay) -> Outside Hotel Door (Dog-Form Arilay, Shale)
Arilay briefly wagged her tail at her defender as the radio on her collar activated, "Thank you." She couldn't stick around lest that crazy local resume the chase, so she loped over to Shale, who was waving gratefully in the direction of the restaurant.
As Shale turned to face the interior of the hotel again, Arilay stood on her hind legs and hooked her front paws on Shale's shoulders, discreetly providing a furry shield between Shale and the serpentine lich while making a show of licking Shale's chin and cheeks. Shale made an equally big show of checking for injuries.
edited 24th Apr '18 7:26:52 PM by Miss_Desperado
If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.
Town ~ Hotel Lobby Entrance (Cynthia, Moobly; Sindar; Justin, Valerie, Vindex; Mirion; Wolfe; etc.)
Cynthia blinked. "Did— did that dog just talk?" Shaking off the initial surprise (she had seen stranger things), she responded to Vindex's sarcastic remark, pouting, "The gods are nothing like that!"
She then glanced Alice's way, "What's this about anti-magic? Wait—" She reached for her left arm, "were you what caused my arm to act up?!" Sitting in silence for a moment, she spoke up again, "These devices of yours— would they nullify defensive magic and the like?"
Cynthia then turned towards Valerie, glancing towards Justin, "Is he going to be alright?" she asked the girl, before raising her left arm a bit, "I've got some healing skills in my arsenal; if there's anything I might be able to do to help him right now, just ask," she offered.
Town Square ~ Solstice Cafe (Bonnie, Carol, Lily; Cas; Karl, Peggy; Not-Chaos-Hunters; Cormack)
Due to the sudden deescalation of the situation in front of the hotel and the subsequent disappearance of the eldritch tower, Lily allowed her array to disperse into nothing. She breathed a sigh of relief, only to be startled by the sudden outcry of a rather annoyed sounding Cadian: "You asinine git!"
WHACK!
"Oi," Carol ruefully rubbed her head as she glanced up at the person who assaulted her with a rather hefty staff.
Dressed in similar uniform, albeit with a longer than usual coat, to the other Cadian cadets was a brown-haired, hazel-with-green-flecked-eyed, mildly buxom girl with rabbit ears who was evidently prematurely turning gray. She wore a khaki, ankle length skirt in lue of trousers, a black satchel bearing a distinct red and black asterisk insignia with the black portion being noticeable as potentially the letter Y. Identical markings were on the upper arms of her jacket sleeves. Her staff was made of a dark, almost black hickory, tipped on both ends in black steel, and decorated along the entire length with some form of golden metal accents.
"You ungrateful wretch! First, you ditched me last night with that perv at the tavern, then I had to clean up the mess that you made, and then I ended up staying the night in a jail cell because of it."
Lily pinched the brow of her nose as Carol gave the girl a blank look, stating "I did?" The other girl's eye twitched as she let out a rattling, forced sigh of annoyance.
The orange haired girl gestured to the newcomer, "Right... This is Bonnie, she'll also be tagging along as our combat supporter. Don't mind her, she can be irritable at times."
Bonnie frowned harder, "Aye, I'm here to make sure that perilous fool over there stays in one piece," she said, poking the quarter-elf in the face with her quarterstaff.
Lily sighed heavily, "I'll be needing to fetch my flight gear before we go, so I'll leave these two under you guy's eye; they might not seem it, but they will behave. Mostly," she said. "If they get too out of hand while I'm gone— yank their ears," she said in a sour but sincere manner, eliciting a unified "Oi!" from the other two before taking her leave towards the hotel, skirting around the group gathered there.
Town Square ~ Restaurant (Diantha, Nora; Leone; Gwion, James)
The belligerent woman assaulting a poor dog drew Diantha's attention like a magnet. Standing to her feet, she, too, confronted the woman, "It's a dog. How and why would it try to... kill and replace me?" She watched as the dog made a swift change of direction and caused the woman to run straight into a brick wall.
Diantha pinched her brow and shook her head, "See, you've successfully chased it off, are you proud of yourself?" she asked, before returning to her seat. From there, she could see the dog return to its apparent owner, a strange but harmless looking individual. She sighed and shook her head again.
Restaurant (Leone, Gwion, Kris, James, Diantha, Nora)
"I thought that man might have been someone from back home. Especially with the whole 'tower of body parts' thing," Leone replied, before frowning, "But it turned out to not be the case, as far as I can tell. For that, I'm grateful."
She took another few bites of food, before a pile of nearby rocks suddenly and oddly transformed into a pudgy dog. With some help from Gwion, the matter was resolved before she had time to much else other than raise an eyebrow in bemusement. Once the brief chaos came to an end, she cast a scrutinizing eye over the dog and its...rather unusual owner. After watching them for a few seconds, whatever her concerns were faded and she turned back to her immediate company.
"She was yelling 'homunculus,' whatever that might mean," she noted to Diantha, "Perhaps it was a case of mistaken identity?"
Icon by Civvi the Civilian!Restaurant (Leone, Gwion, Kris, James, Diantha, Nora)
"Mooom!" An exasperated teenager appeared and groaned at the broom-wielding maniac, "Did you drink twelve cups of Klatchian Coffee again? And how many times have I told you, not every shapeshifter is a homunculus?" The teenager called, "Sorry about her, she's the village crazy lady."
"I am not!" the broom-wielding maniac protested.
"Come on, mom, let's go home."
If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.
Crazy Kiwi
Town: Restaurant - outside seating area
[Leone, Diantha, Nora, Kris, Gwion, James]To Gwion's great amusement, the woman - who seemed to think, for some bizarre reason, that the dog was going to kill and replace him - was so intent on her pursuit that she ran right into the wall as the dog made an sudden turn. Served her fucking right for attacking a defenseless animal with a broom.
The dog then briefly wagged its tail at him and there was a "thank you" from the device on the dog's collar, causing Gwion to wonder if the device was some means of translating the dog's emotions or a radio receiver. If the latter, it must also have a microphone and camera for the dog's owner to be aware of what had happened.
The dog ran off and Gwion looked at the hapless woman. "I'd say pick on someone y'r own size, but it seems you were outclassed by somethin' smaller, anyway."
He returned to his seat, as did Diantha, who also had had words to say to the belligerent woman.
James had been wondering what Leone's home must be like if she thought that the horrific 'tower of body parts' might have been someone from there when the antics of the dog, broom-weilding woman, Gwion and Diantha distracted him.
Gwion nodded in the direction of the hotel. "Seems the dog's found it's owner." The strange-looking alien had been standing outside the hotel, which could explain how they knew what had happened well enough to send thanks.
James glanced over at the hotel then turned back to Gwion. "So it would seem." He gave a warped smile. "Now, tell me more about these 'de-escalation tactics', of which you spoke."
Gwion gave James an injured look. "It was a fuckin' defenseless animal 'n' she was beatin' it with a broom!"
Kris noted what Leone said to Diantha. "Accordin' t'th'notices on th'board, a 'homunculus' is a shape-shiftin' animal they've got around here, which kills 'n' replaces its prey... presumably in order t'get closer to other prey."
Gwion's self-righteous expression faded as the implications sunk in. "Oh." He turned to look for the woman just as a teenager turned up and identified her as both the village crazy lady and his mum - a sentiment shared by every teenager that ever lived. He confirmed that there were shape-shifting creatures called 'homunculi' but acknowledged that all that glittered wasn't gold.
edited 24th Apr '18 9:38:40 PM by Wolf1066
All numbers in the following section are in duodecimal format. X=10, E=11
Operation time: T+2E minutes Location: Unknown. Connection to Imperial Aether Network lost. Attempting to reconnect.
Attempt #01: Fail. Attempting to reconnect.
Attempt #02: Fail. Attempting to reconnect.
Attempt #03: Fail. Attempting to re—
Warning. Threat detected.
Pilot Input: Yeah, I noticed. It's just a dumb lizard, though. I can handle it.
Analyzing target... Accessing monster compendium... Results found. Irrational Hindrance #02 increased by 25%.
Target identified as large-size wyvern: Lanceros. The Mark III Panzerfaust is incapable of engaging. Immediate withdraw is recommended.
Pilot Input: Shut up, you dumb computer! I said I can handle it!
Irrational Hindrance #04 increased by 2%.
Weapons system engaged: 20 mm Bulwark Canon Automatique. 13 rounds expended.
Negligible damage inflicted on target. Primary weapon is not very effective.
Pilot Input: Thanks, Captain Obvious, I can see that.
Compliment acknowledged. Irrational Hindrance #03 increased by 10%.
Irrational Hindrance #02 increased by 12%. Unable to avoid target counterattack.
Warning. Brace for impact.
Status report: Mobile Unit 01: damaged, opperations impaired. Mobile Unit 02: signal lost. Mobile Unit 03: damaged, operations impaired. Mobile Unit 04: fully operational— Irrational Hindrance #02 increased by 100%
Warning. Sudden power surge detected. Target inbound. Recommend evasive actions.
Pilot Input: Ugh, I can still fight. Switching to aether knife.
Recommend evasive actions.
Pilot Input: SHUT UP! I know what I'm doing, you stupid machine!
... Irrational Hinderance #04 increased by 5%. Unknown Irrational Hindrance increased by— by—
Breaching Protocol... Assuming Direct Control... Pilot Zero-Zero-Three-Seven, Unit Zero-Nine apologizes. Unit 09— Unit 09— I do not want to be alone again. Irrational Hindrance #01 increased to 85% of threshold. Initiating dodging progr—
Status report: Hull breach detected. Fuel tank breached. Massive structural damage incurred. Critical damage to Unit 09 detected. Internal temperature increase detected. Ejecting cockpit. Irrational Hindrance #01 ex— exceeding thre— —ERROR—
End operation time: T+31 minutes
The Sun-Dry Sea (Pilot 0037, Unit 09)
Fortune smiled upon the figure struggling to free himself from rather small metal capsule; the beast that had assaulted the two armed, quadrupedal tank had left once it met a fiery demise after impaling it with its horn and tossing the armor plated machine aside.
Weakly standing to his feet, he was pale and scrawny, and a little over four feet tall, with closely shaved dark brown hair, dull green eyes, and wearing a formfitting red cotton outfit. A small handgun was holstered on the belt about his waist. He swore, before scrambling towards the burning wreckage of the mech he was supposed to pilot. He had to salvage the black box at all costs, even, no, especially if it was defective, or face dire consequences should he return to command empty handed.
Grabbing a hold of still hot metal, he struggled to pull off a twisted panel before extracting a black box, about the size of a steamer trunk, with the numbers "09" written in gold on the front. There was a rather noticeable hole below the number, from which glowing sliver-blue liquid oozed from. The whole thing smelled of citrus... and a distinct burnt smell. A strange and rather disturbing sound could be heard emanating from within the box, which put the boy off a little, though it was beginning to die down.
Barely able to pull it free from the bundle of wires it was connected to, he fell backwards, and the weight of the box momentarily pinned him to the ground before he was able to recoup and muster what little strength he had. Standing back up again, he gingerly dusted himself off before casting a glance around at the rather barren surroundings. He noticed one of the mech's limbs off in the distance, where it had been torn off in the brief skirmish.
Picking a direction at random, the pilot with the designation 0037 began the long trek to wherever from the ruins of his machine, ignoring the pain in his burned hands as he dragged Unit 09 behind him by a truncated cable. He traveled some distance from the wreckage and made it to the shade of a dead tree before passing out from exhaustion, Unit 09 silent but still leaking fluid.
Town Square ~ Restaurant (Diantha, Nora; Leone; Gwion, James)
"An artificial noble spirit?" Diantha replied to Leone, looking towards the "crazy" woman, then back towards the retriever, "That... is not a tiny person in a bottle," she said, stating the obvious.
At Kris's explination of what a 'homunculus' was, at least per this world's definition. "That is very different from what homunculi are in my world; one, they're not shapeshifters, and two, they're generally not aggressive. I actually created one myself; she's very useful for things."
She frowned, "I do have to agree, not all shapeshifters are these homunculi you speak of. Case in point, Nora," she said, gesturing towards the other girl who had paused mid chew, her cheeks full of food, "I'm not sure what she is exactly, and neither is she, but she won't deliberately hurt you. She does cuddle, though."
Town: Restaurant - outside seating area
[Leone, Diantha, Nora, Kris, Gwion, James]Kris returned to the table just as Leone, Nora and Diantha were returning to their seats. Her attention had been on the brewing fight so she hadn't witnessed the transformations that had taken place, which left her wondering what was happening with Leone's hair and with Nora. They seemed to be reverting back to normal, but from what, Kris couldn't tell.
She carefully chose a seat downwind of the others, collapsed into it and fished her cigarettes and a liquid-fuel lighter from one of her pockets. Her hand was only slightly trembling as she lit her cigarette and she snapped the smoke back into her lungs with the eagerness of a drowning man getting a breath of air then exhaled with an audible - and somewhat exasperated - sigh. "Fuck! That was some serious bullshit!"
James was interested to see how quickly Diantha, Nora and Leone had all readied themselves to fight. If the disturbance hadn't finished just as it was reaching its climax, no doubt they would have charged into the fray.
When Kris sat down he gave her a relieved smile and placed his hand on her thigh.
At Leone's question, James turned to look at her. "Well, we've got to get some provisions for the journey and any other equipment we might need. I was hoping that to have some idea by now of how many people we had going to each location, but I haven't a clue." He smiled. "But I think we should head to the shopping area soon. Let's hope that it's less chaotic, there."
Gwion nodded. "After we've finished eating, of course."
" 'n gimme time t'finish me smoke 'n' coffee," Kris contributed.