Deliverer of Chaos
Potok
"Yes... it was self-defense." Damar said, confirming Bardock's statement. Which also happened to be the truth. "They tried kidnapping Big Green's lizard..." he said, while pointing to Kled and Skaarl. "And then tried holding us hostage when we went in to rescue said lizard. I was hoping we'd be able to... question... them." He then looked at the various agents lying on the ground. "Well... those who are still alive, at least."
Kocsma Tavern
"If we really were going to ignore the monsters in favor of letting the 'experts' handle them..." Ahriman asked Tetra. "Then why has Miss Clearwater disappeared? Do you not find it odd that, as soon as such creatures are mentioned, she goes and vanishes?" Then, as the subject changed to what rooms "Jake" and Alice would be staying in...
"I believe Rooms 7 and 8, respectively. Oh, and since Alastor decided to accompany us to this tavern, he's coming with us, too. I intend to keep a close eye on that deer demon..."
Then, Shantae introduced herself. Well, no reason to be rude to a newcomer and ignore them.
"Ahzek Ahriman of the Thousand Sons." the sorcerer replied to the half-genie's introduction.
Blue-collar mad scientist, at your service!
Transcender of Gender
Pluck, Kocsma Tavern
"'Disappeared'? You mean how she went outside to check on the cart when I told her to?" Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Tetra continued. "Besides, even if Leah were to scurry off to go monster hunting, that doesn't give you free reign to do the same. In case you need reminding, it's your mess that we're having to go clean up."
She jerked a thumb at Shantae. "So don't be giving this lass the idea that she owes us one. This town's business isn't ours." Maybe it was Shantae's declaration that she fought pirates, or her nonsensical babble, or just frustration at yet another hanger-on to the party (in fact, all three were likely) but Tetra didn't deign Shantae with any further response. However, she did pause before she left to give an affirmative nod to Glaurung. "I'm glad someone here has their head on straight. Thanks again for the support."
With that, Tetra hurried out the drinking area and over to the inn's cluster of rooms. Walking down the hallway until she came to the number seven engraved on a door, she gave the wood a quick rapping. "Hoy, Alice? Jake? You in there?"
they/them || "Forgive me, regent of queer amphibians" - Lt.BGob
Kocsma Tavern
As Tetra leaves, Shantae just says one thing after her.
“...You’re a butt.”
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Glory to Arachnos
"Ah, don't worry about it. She's actually pretty cool once you get to know her. Jake said to Shantae when she didn't took her answer well, shrugging while saying that.
"Anyways, I'm Glaurung, the Atlantean Dragon." He introduced himself with a wink and a nod. "A genie, huh? Only one I've met was a evil one that was locked up who got a bad case of butt kicking from me. At least you look like you're a good one."
Well, hopefully she is.
Tetra would hear the noises of locks being removed from the door, as the doppelganger Jake unlocked it and opened the door, looking at the pirate.
"Oh, hey Tet. We were just relaxing for a bit. What ya need?" He asked.
-Spider Lizard Noises-
Pluck
After Tetra went on her mini-rants, Jibril just shrugged. "She certainly is plucky, wouldn't you say? I'm more interested in going into Chaos anyway.. but you are certainly more intersting than most I've seen." As Jibril spoke she looked back at miss Genie, quickly looking over her body and assessing the flow of magic within her.
Instead of bothering to introduce herself, Jibril made a specific query. "Aren't genies a kind of magical being that grants wishes? Old stories usually tell of genies granting wishes to foolish mortals whose wishes bring folly to themselves, or fail to achieve their actual goals. Do you grant wishes, Shantae?"
Potok
Usalia brought her hands down and shrugged. "For all of their talk though, they weren't very strong. I don't think they were expecting the size of our party... Their information seems to be faulty, plip?"
Edited by StephanReiken on Feb 14th 2021 at 9:31:19 AM
Pluck
Shantae looks surprised
◊ at Jibril and Jake's stories about genies.
"Well those genies sound like total jerks! I...don't...grant wishes...recently, but I do plenty of other stuff! Fire, lightning, transformations, I could totally help with some big dumb monster!"
Jibril, her magic is...substantial, but different from what one would expect from a genie. Almost diluted with something else...though Jibril might also sense two potent sources of magic on her person. They're clearly not part of Shantae's own power, but something separate from her.
"And most genies are nice! ...Okay, the ones who aren't back in the Genie Realm are nice, and every half-genie I've met was really cool, too! You guys just sound like you met the suckiest genies around."
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Gundham, Pluck
Gundham showed little interest in the current squabbles. He was far more focused on the prospect of adventure.
"Pirates and monsters, you say? Kehehe... sounds like a most formidable challenge."
He realized there were suddenly a lot more face he didn't recognize.
"I presume you all intend to join this quest as well? Then I believe introductions are in order. I'm Gundham Tanaka - let that name be etched into your memory, for it is the title of none other than the high lord of Pandemonium himself!"
Dramatic thunder sounded in the background. You really don't know why that happens sometimes.
Gandalf
Gandalf nodded and watched the little people. He looked off into the distance, trying to work out exactly where they were headed. He had his suspicions that their destination was towards the mountains, but he did not wish to say before he was certain.
Edited by Tarana on Feb 20th 2021 at 6:10:00 AM
Deliverer of Chaos
Kocsma Tavern
Ahriman gritted his teeth at Tetra's comment. He wish he could have come up with a comeback... but he knew she was right. This WAS his fault... just like the Rubric. At least THIS mess would be easier to solve. He then turned to see Jibril and Jake talking to Shantae. He would have mildly chastised Jibril for being so blunt, had Gundham not shown up and introduced himself in such a... dramatic... fashion. He smirked and slightly raised his right eyebrow at the newcomer.
"Very impressive." he said, the sarcasm in his voice so thick, it was quite frankly a wonder that it hadn't coagulated into a physical mass and fallen onto the table.
Blue-collar mad scientist, at your service!
Transcender of Gender
Kocsma Tavern, Room 7
Tidying up her frown as the door opened, Tetra greeted Jake with a wan smile and a thumb jerked behind her shoulder. "Those of us heading out to fetch Mollymauk are leaving now. I heard word that there's a monster prowling around these parts at night, so the two of you be careful and keep yourselves indoors."
She peeked beyond Jake and into the room, trying to see if Alice was there. "Christie should be staying here with a way to contact me, so you can get in touch if an emergency pops up. Though... I suppose I can't guarantee that. I have no idea if the thing'll work when we're in the chaos realm." She moved her hand to scratch the nape of her neck. "In any case, you all stay safe, y'hear?"
they/them || "Forgive me, regent of queer amphibians" - Lt.BGob
Hello? Hello, hello?
Potok
Percy once again pays attention to their testimonies, nodding along as a sort of indication of an agreement.
"Alright, assuming that those you've beaten are still alive, I'll apprehend* them for starting a ruckus — Although I'll keep an eye on you all for "resolving" this with violence."
*
artsy geek | any pronouns | "well, if you're hearing this, then chances are you've made a very poor career choice."
Toa of Anarchy
After a moment's pause, Octu felt his question was answered by the silence and thoughtful looks. "I only ask," he said, "Because over that way's the city of Warclaw, in the shadow of Glass Mountain, and it's got a more than healthy population of us littlefolk there. 'bout 600 and counting last I checked, and if you ever get into trouble up there, they'll be happy to help, so long as you know where to look for 'em."
A moment or two later, the great group passed into a sunlit clearing, with some familiar broken trees in view. "Well, here we are," said Musztardy, "Back where it aaaall began."
"This is where we'll be parting ways," said Pieprz. "It's right on the Fern Flower trail, and them elves'll think twice before givin' any of us trouble again"
"You alright to wait for your friends here?"
Those agents that were still alive weren't quite lucid enough to resist being cuffed and lead away. Those conscious enough for questioning, meanwhile, could be counted on one hand. Among them were Mister Lis, the cocksure commander who'd lead our heroes into the trap to begin with, and the woman who'd been disguised as a seafood saleswoman a few hours before.
After a moment or two of preparing the carts, Leah found the breeze blowing in her direction, and on that prevailing southeasterly came some very pertinent scents. One was that sickly scent from before, and the rest were the unmistakable stink of a walking leech. Three, in fact, and they were on the move. If she were to peer out that direction, Leah would spot no one on that ramshackle street, but over the distant river was another story.
Shoto wasn't the one deciding where they were going to go. Really, he only stayed with the group because he had no idea what else he was supposed to be doing. Other than curing his curse, and he didn't know how.
So, he stayed quiet as Octu explained. Someone else had to have an idea of where they were going.
Right? They weren't just all wandering at random, he hoped.
"It's where they'll be expecting us," he replied, glancing around the clearing. Man, it felt like it'd been way more than just a day since they split up.
The longer Leah had to wait, the more frustrated she got. She could smell those leeches, that smell just made her want to sink her teeth into them. But she couldn't just disappear with no warning. At the very least, she needed to convince them to not leave her behind.
Not for her own sake, of course. She'd lived on her own long enough to know she'd be fine. No, Christie didn't deserve to be stuck with a bunch of crazies and Jake.
So, despite wanting nothing more than to jump straight into fighting, she instead started pacing by the cart. She was probably stepping hard enough to cause divots in the ground out of sheer annoyance.
I say that aloud too sometimes, just: "man, no life."
AKA Nixer
Hinata – The Woods
Hinata only realised the state of Shoto's back until she'd already tried hiding her head against it, to which point she wrinkled her nose in slight disgust and slowly pulled away. The blush of embarrassment only increased further, and she partly wished that Scooby would lick her again if only to wash the mud off of her. She did her best to flick the worst out of her hair, but she still felt shameful.
...for a Hyūga... I'm not very observant sometimes...
Her attention was drawn from her own scruffiness towards the familiar clearing once they'd arrived, and she audibly sighed with relief and tiredness as she moved to flop against a tree; tugging off her sandals in order to nurse her poor feet. She'd hoped the others might've been back by now, but...
“...h-hai. A-Arigatō gozaimasu... i-it was nice to meet you all...” she stammered as Pieprz expressed his parting words, smiling shyly at the little family in farewell as she hesitantly waved to them. “W-We'll go that way if we ever have trouble... i-it feels very safe here...”
Warclaw? I should write that down... she thought to herself, briefly searching through her jacket in order to find something to take notes with—eventually sighing and outright pulling it off of herself as she realised how overheated she was getting. How long have we even been gone...? I'm exhausted...
As she set her folded jacket on her lap, she finally began to sketch out the surrounding area on a piece of paper—hardly the prettiest illustration, but enough to mark landmarks and to be useful as a map. The mountain she noted down, and initially wrote ‘Warclaw?’ in kanji—only to remember the rest of the party, and carefully wrote beneath it the same thing in the local alphabet.
...Is that even right...?
“...i-is everyone okay, after all that...?” she finally remembered to ask, nervously poking her fingers together after folding the paper and slipping it inside the pouch on her thigh. “...I-I can... h-help make something to eat in the meantime... wh-while we wait...?”
Edited by Enirboreh on Mar 1st 2021 at 12:44:19 PM
bork
Kocsma Tavern
"Hey, Gundham and I can handle the monsters while you guys...do your thing. He's got magic, too! C'mon, we're goin' on patrol!"
Shantae bolts out the front door of the tavern at full speed...and may very well run headlong straight into Leah. Looks like she tripped on a divot in the ground near her, weird.
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Glory to Arachnos
"Ah, don't worry. One bad apple spoils the bunch, as they say you know? You seem pretty cool, atleast!" Jake said to Shantae as she spoke to him and Jibril. Can't grant wishes though? Huh, never heard that one before-
And she's running off. "Well...she's got it covered atleast. Just have to wait for Tetra to lead us all." And hopefully his copy can help keep the town safe too.
A monster? Well, that's concerning. May be a bit hard to keep up the cover if he has to dragon up to protect people, but eh, better than doing nothing.
" A monster? Oh dang. That's good to know." He said with a surprised look on his face when Tetra mentioned a monster roaming about. "Yeah, we'll stay inside to be safe. Thanks for the heads up. Be careful with that weird realm, if it was already crazy enough when it was temporary opened, I can't imagine how it is inside there."
It'll be one crazy trip when the real him gets in there...
-Spider Lizard Noises-
As Leah was pacing in anger, she heard someone run out, and looked around just in time to notice the performer from before running straight into one of the trenches she accidentally made.
Without thinking, she ran to the half-genie's side at speeds not possible for a human and grabbed her by the shoulders to keep her upright. "Maybe watch where you're running next time," she said, just slightly too annoyed to sound amused.
I say that aloud too sometimes, just: "man, no life."
Potok
Usalia watched as those that had ambushed them were taken away. On some level, this felt a bit weird. Demons would not normally be so kind to their enemies, but kill them without question. "So uhhh... Toolo... should we get them to answer some questions? Or should we get going? We can't stick around in this town forever, plip."
Pluck
Jibril just shrugged at Shantae's reply. "The stories were more like a warning at being careful what you wish for, and it's something you actually want. The genie just gave the what they wanted regardless of whether or not it was good for the mortal."
Then as Gundham announced his intentions and name. While she had little interest in introducing herself to the overdressed human, she decided she should announce herself to the much more interesting person, Shantae, as Jibril had chosen not to so far. "I am Jibril, Angel of the great and powerful God, Artosh. While we still have a moment, do tell... what is 'Pandemonium'?"
Edited by StephanReiken on Mar 7th 2021 at 8:03:11 AM
Deliverer of Chaos
Potok
"Well, it seems that we'll just have to let the local police handle those goons..." Damar said, answering Usalia's question. "Though I doubt we've seen the last of them." he said, groaning slightly as he did so. "In any case, we should really get back to getting food and supplies... and curry for your... condition." A pause. "And get that ghoul out of that building. I don't feel safe just leaving him there..."
Blue-collar mad scientist, at your service!
Transcender of Gender
Kocsma Tavern
Tetra responded to Jake with a pleased hum, almost smiling to herself. "Am I happy that there's at least one person in this motley crew that I don't have to corral. No need to worry about my safety, though- I'll be damned if I die cause of that air-headed fool. Anyway, here," Tetra reached into her vest and procured from it a few coin that she pushed into Jake's hand. "In case you or Alice are in need of food or drink. Don't be going after the alcoholic stuff now- that's only for grown-ups and Tetra."
Her generosity and usage of the third pronoun might indicate to Jake that her usual dourness had been alleviated a little. With another hum and a short wave, she parted from Jake and made her way back down the corridor. Her game face was back on by the time she arrived back at the group. "Wrap up the chit-chat," she announced, purposely walking past them and towards the tavern's front door, "we're heading out."
they/them || "Forgive me, regent of queer amphibians" - Lt.BGob
Gandalf
Gandalf nodded at Pieprz. "Well, farewell to you then."
When Hinata raised the subject of food, he nodded. "I think that's a good idea. I'm happy to assist if you need any."
Pluck
“Waaa!”
The half-genie nearly fell flat on her face, had it not been for Leah’s intervention.
“Hehe, thanks...got all excited to help the town with its monster problem I guess I wasn’t looking. My bad! Say...you seen anything dangerous lately? In my experience, it’s usually best to ask random people about whatever they’ve seen until someone says something important!”
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Your Lord And Savior
Haise was conflicted. We’re rhese people necessarily bad? We’re they just doing their jobs? Were their jobs bad? He didn’t really know. A part of him didn’t care. That part was growing, and Haise did not like it.
Does it even matter? You’re hungry, right. Eat them. It’ll save you some time.
But it does matter, doesn’t it?.
Hm. A new voice. That voice subsided his hunger and seemed to de-ghoul him. Haise’s quinque Was returned to it’s sheath and his kagune disintegrated.
Now the blood.
Haise just took his coat off and ripped it to shreds before placing those shreds in the corner of the room. Should make do until he was out of town. With all that needed to be doing done, Haise left the room and joined up with the others.
Edited by Yayakuza on Mar 20th 2021 at 11:12:45 AM
I am become dubstep, destroyer of taste
Toa of Anarchy
With all the excitement died down, and the ghoul quietly drawn away, the group was free to go about their business and gather the supplies they needed. But meanwhile, in a shadowy alleyway five doors down from their own shadowy alleyway, the voice of the White Queen was speaking harsh words over a strange communication device.
"I don't think I need tell you, White Pawn Five, that this mission has been a complete disaster, and an utter embarrassment to our organisation. Now, I want two cleanup crews down here within the hour. One to have the dead bodies vaporised before the Town Watch gets their paws over them, the other to get our alleged agents released and sent back to the Castle on the double. If any of them got put through interrogation, and somehow forgot to activate their Neuro-Polarizing Charm tattoo before vital information was released, then have them tagged so I can kill them myself. ...Yes?...What, the one with the ropes?...Alright, bring him in too. He could be useful. ...No, Pawn Nine, not yet. We've had too much exposure already, we can't risk another extraction so soon. There'll be other opportunities to bring these rogue assets in. That'll be all, Pawn Nine. Snap to it."
A moment or two would pass. Then from out of the shadows, a portly middle-aged woman with dark skin in a Lemurian print dress would appear. She would go off to slip into the crowd once more, and blend into the background again. But before she did, she would spare a moment to stare off into the distance, where a pillar of flame had lit up the sky not two hours before.
"I'm going to catch those suckers," said Amanda Waller, "If it's the last thing I ever do."
Time passed in the tranquil woods. The little men had put together their badger-drawn cart, and waved a happy goodbye as they trundled off down the weatherbeaten track once more. After that, there were only a couple minutes of waiting, and catching one's breath after the great ordeal. It was afternoon now. Soon enough, the other half of the group would return to the familiar spot with the broken trees and scuffed-up mud. They may well have had another person or two tagging along behind them.
Edited by LizardOfAus on Apr 5th 2021 at 11:53:57 AM
Potok
"Exactly. Minding our own business when these punks attacked us, not a clue what they wanted. This town have a crime problem or something?"
The guy's face has a rather prominent scar but his other injuries seem weeks old. Burns, mostly, with some faded bruises and mostly-healed cuts and scrapes. Whatever happened to this Saiyan, it was relatively recent...and very significant.
Edited by ZodanTheUnbounceable on Feb 10th 2021 at 9:53:13 AM
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