[Nexus] Outside XXVII

[Slii Arhem]

Drychalk Hill

"So everything needs to be expanded in order to increase the output... I certainly hope you'll be leaving your blueprints behind, or at least copies. I wouldn't want to have to track you down every time something goes wrong..."

Then he can see the shapes in the mist, and lets out a low whistle.

"The architecture here is astounding. It's a shame the town cannot be enjoyed on its own merrits. If what you say is true, then the more live people here the less energy the plant produces... And there is always the risk of catastrophic failure, such as in the case of the wisps you have neglected to inform me on."

Ceres pauses and glances about, half expecting to see a wisp right there before his face.

"I think what this place needs though... although I shudder to say it... is more wards. One ward I can think of particularly would be a godsend in such a place. It repels negative energy, and if set about your fence would most likely condense these mists further and keep them away from the rest of the hill, possibly increasing the power output even more. Of course, the upkeep of such a ward might outweigh its production, but I will certainly think on it. Sadly I know only one mage capable of such things, and he is quite indisposed at the moment."

[Murkus]

Hermitage of Dalechrech - Percival

"You're correct, to a point," Percival says, reaching the ramparts and gazing out over the forest. "But only to the degree that we perceive and interpret things in a different way. For instance, look there." He points off toward the horizon, where the spires of Inside rise to meet the sky. "What do you see?"

[Lord Magtok]

[Above the Entrance to Underside Colony]

Below the paddleboat stretches a plateau surrounded with hills that lead all the way to the mountains. In the middle of the plateau there is a large gate, leading to a tunnel that leads under the ground. The gate is surrounded with a stone wall, with spikes on top. There are four gun nests on the walls, each sporting a large caliber cannon and a gatling gun. The gate is currently closed, and there's a large clock right next to it.
Behind the walls there is something of a small village or perhaps a large market. Small huts and stalls crowd the area, with a throng of tiny goblins walking and running between them. Most of them are wearing thick, hooded cloaks or robes, since the sun is shining bright.
Oh my. And you built the roller coaster specifically for that purpose? Oh. Yes, we're here. This is the main entrance to the Underside Colony.

"I did."

He peers down at the people below. Wow, normally humans would be like tiny ants from this kind of altitude. The goblins are like even tinier ants. Termites, maybe. Or baby ants. Do ants have tiny ant babies, or do they go from grub straight to full-sized ant? He'd have to remember to ask Pat about that later. Assuming, of course, that he can figure out a way to ask it without sounding like a complete idiot.

"So are most goblins as grumbly and short-tempered as Dippy? I only ask because that's a pretty big cannon they've got down there, and well..."

Oh come on, Maggy. Don't go chickening out now, not when you have the element of surprise over the smelly jerks who cast such insidious lies and audacious claims against your lineage. Divebomb 'em already!

[Morty]

[Above the Entrance to Underside Colony]

Reelshka shakes her head. Razortooth is the pinnacle of all of the worst goblin traits with some distinctly non-goblin faults thrown in. Most of us aren't quite so hard to get along with. And they won't shoot us. Stranger things fly past regularily. This is the Nexus, after all... although the gun crews are pointing fingers at them, apparently baffled. Reelshka looks down as well, holding steadily onto Magtok's arm. My. Everything is so... small from this altitude. It's surreal. I'm used to looking up at things instead of the other way round.

[Artemis97]

Spoiler

Show

[Blind Cat's Bluff - Cave]

That is surprising.

The cave itself, it's a bit sparse. I mean, there is that giant stargate thing over there, hooked up to a control console. And over in one corner is a teddy bear facing the wall, rope on the ground in a semi circle around the bear, partitioning it off.

Oh and a visible cat rushing over to the man. Huh. Decided not to go the invisible route.

"Whoa! Whoa there! SHHHH! Calm down. No need for screaming." Reinholdt's eyes dart back and forth, as if expecting something to jump out at any moment.

Blind Cat's Bluff - Cave

You were seated loosely in a circle around the tiny fire. It was night and the intertwined branches of the trees surrounding the small group blocked out the sky. There was six of you - Maram, Gila, Terin, Shale, Roan and yourself. No one spoke a word. Terin leaned over from the old, moss-covered log he was sitting on and pressed his finger into the dirt. Deftly he traces out a short cluster of characters, which the others lean over to read. You must stand to read them, but before you get a chance there is a rustle in the forest around them. Gila is only just able to scuff out most of it before the orcs burst out of the forest. One of the orcs rushes directly at you. You fumble to draw your sword but it is too late. He grabs you, throws you aside. You land face-down in the ground and when you raise your head to spit out dirt you realize you are right on top of what remains of Terin's writing. You can see them perfectly because they are burnt into your memory, you know you can. But for all you try and struggle you can't read them.

A loud cry distracts you, but even as you twist to get up someone grabs you by the shoulder and pins you down. The last thing you remember is the iron, crudely wrought gauntlet.

The woman in the cave awakens with a start at the man's cry. She sits up sharply, before going pale and clutching her shoulder. Pain shoots through it, radiating out through her torso and down her arms.
How...?
Bandages.
Must have gotten hurt in the fight. Gila must have fixed it up while she was unconscious, then.

Still holding her shoulder, the green-eyed, ruddy-skinned woman lifts her head, peering around her. This wasn't right. This wasn't the forest. Where was she? Did the orcs drag her off? Couldn't be. Orcs weren't this clean, they wouldn't have bandaged her wound. Had she been rescued the-

-there is an Ice Elf here.

Her eyes flash with fear and anger as she fumbles at her hip for her sword. It's not there! Why isn't it there! Knife. Knife! In your boot. Get it!

The knife flashes with brightly-polished steel as she pulls it out with her right hand, holding it out between her and the perceived threat. She backs up, away from him, until her back presses against the wall. She stands still and poised, watching the dark-skinned man with wild, terrified eyes.

[Blind Cat's Bluff - Cave]

The Ice Elf quiets and stares, his one eye wide, at the cat. It was talking. Why was it talking? Was he dreaming?

Before he could come to terms with what was going on, a more immediate problem presented itself: a Wood Elf with a knife. He too backs away, while searching for a weapon for himself. The first thing he can get his hands on is a burning brand from the fire. He holds it out in front of himself, defensively, but isn't willing to make the first move. He was still weak from his injuries, and had not yet gotten used to only seeing from one eye.

[Reinholdt]

[Blind Cat's Bluff - Cave]

"Oh geeze. What are you two, siblings?"

Reinholdt goes to stand in the middle of both of them, unslinging his rifle to hold at the ready just in case.

"Now I want you both to calm down before things get messy and I have to shoot you in the foot and patch you people up for a SECOND time. And I'm really not in the mood for that."

[Earl of Purple]

Hermitage of Dalachrech- Elezibethele

Spoiler

Show

Elezibethele looks at his face, attempting to stare at his eyes. "Have I showed you the adjoining room? It's where I kept my last slave, a half-breed who escaped, taking some Temple Slaves with her. I should have sold her to Azurelle; she would have given me a snow-spider's egg, and seemed very entranced with her." So escape is possible, then. Though likely the route used has been blocked.

Hermitage of Dalachrech- Azurelle

Spoiler

Show

Azurelle seems content to keep her hands off Toy whilst she's undressed. "I believe I bid you to dance. The better you are, the less I'll whip you. Probably." She snaps her fingers at all three of the slaves; she wasn't just speaking to Toy when she ordered them to.

[Lord Magtok]

Above the Entrance to Underside Colony

Magtok raises an eyebrow. "Non-goblin faults? Funny, he always had me under the impression he was the most gobby goblin in the entire Nexus. Never occurred to me that maybe the rest of us were rubbing off on him."

He shakes his head, trying not to think of Dippy inexplicably wearing jeans and a bandana, or walking around with an assault rifle someday.

"Let's see if we can get a closer look at it all then, shall we?"

Fwoosh! The paddleboat dives through the air at the world below, plummeting slowly enough to keep Reelshka and Magtok from falling out of their seats and flying away, and also prevent any sort of terrible whiplash accidents when it comes time to swooping back up again. Magtok might be a psychotic daredevil and a maniac, but he's not going to risking killing her.

...Not on a first date, anyway.

[ThirdEmperor]

Drychalk Hill

At that, the necromancer let's out a snorting, hacking sound that might well be a laugh. "Hhh, hhh, you want the blueprints, hhh, now? Heh. Y'can have the one's fed the towers, the capacitors an such... But, hhh, the ones fer the actual generator 're mine, an stayin that way." Snickering, the masked man finally comes to a halt, as the two reach the very edge of town, where the dusty dirt road ends and the road of asphalt begins, bordered on either side by well-maintained sidewalks. The houses look every bit as idyllic and happy up close as they did from afar, walls of whitewashed plaster over cement foundations with red tiled roofs, surrounded by astroturf lawns with pretty, entirely fake flower gardens, everything neat, tidy, symetrical. "Welcome to Drychalk proper, yer new town. The folks won't be out an 'bout for a liddle while longer, but that, hhh, just means we've got more time to look about. Where ya wanna go first?"

Mountain Hamlet

Walsh we be allowed to proceed into the town, minus the confiscated goods of course. However, he's hardly going to be allowed to wander around on his own. As he leaves, he'll probably notice that one of the guards is following him, making a clumsy attempt to be inconspicuous.

The town itself is rather somber. The ruins at the edge of town seem to cast a pall over the rest, and there are few people in the streets at this hour, most working in the fields located against the northern edge of the wall or out hunting in the forest. The few that are out and about, meanwhile, are quite a sight; one man who passes Warsh on the street is covered is covered in multi-colored boils, while another who watches suspiciously out a nearby window is wreathes in shimmering blue-silver mist. In fact, not a single person except that guards isn't somehow magically altered.

[Slii Arhem]

Drychalk Hill

Ceres frowns harshly, his aristocratic features crinkling in a way they are clearly unused to behind the screen of his hazmat suit. The necromancer's constant avoidance of mentioning the wisps is beginning to grate on him, so it seems he'll have to be more direct.

"Take me to where this wisp problem is taking place. The pipes or the capacitors, whichever it is. Sightseeing can wait until I know what I've gotten myself into, yes?" as for the blueprints, Ceres says nothing more. He didn't expect even that much from the dodgy old man, so anything he does get in regards to maintenance will be a godsend.

He will take a cursory look about though, but since he can't yet find anything wong with the sleepy little houses he will decline to comment. Nothing about the cookie-cutter buildings seems to perturb him, so at least there's that.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Just Beyond Inside]

Feia and Reviline blink into a spot on the road, leading towards the city.

"All right, I can't accompany you through the streets, but you know how to reach me if necessary."
"I should be fine. Someone can supply directions, if I get lost I imagine."
"Good luck, Lin."
"Thank you. I should return tonight, if all goes well."

Feia nods and fades out of existence again, to return back to her work.
Reviline adjusts the hood on her coat and stares towards Inside, going over a mental map or two.

[Mr. Moon]

Blind Cat's Bluff

There is a talking cat.
There is a talking cat and it is telling her to calm down.
That is wrong. That is wrong because cats don't talk. This must be the work of a demon. Or...
Or maybe a wizard. A wizard would mean High Elves. That would be bad for her, but a High Elf would be more concerned with the Ice Elf. She might be able to get away while they tried to capture it.

Yes. Alright. Talking cat meant wizard which meant high elves which meant chance to escape and go find her friends. All she needed to do was keep from upsetting the wizard and bide her time to escape.

Slowly, not stepping away from the wall, the Wood Elf bends and returns her knife to her boot. When she stands she does not straighten all the way. Instead she half-crouches, carefully watching the ice elf and the wizard-cat.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Just Beyond Inside]

Reviline might find herself a little distracted from her mental maps. For not far behind her a quiet crackling noise swirls through the air, rapidly growing in volume until the crackling becomes a violent roar that sends blasts of wind blowing out in all directions...

And at the centre of the noise, an infinitely thing green hole forms, ejecting a man face-first onto the road before disappearing again.

The man groans and picks himself up, letting out an angry cry of "Kssart!" It's an odd sort of noise, clearly angry, but it sort of sounds basic...primitive...as if from a simpler language than those most commonly used in the Nexus.

The man is clothed in a rather strange outfit. A ragged mixture of oddly shaped furs from various creatures, some with rather too many legs, or arms, or heads, or goodness knows what else, all sewn together. The additional limbs and the like are rather hard to pick out, but the shape of each fur does suggest they came from rather unusual creatures. Atop the man's head is a sort of hood, formed from the head of a bear-like creature with four eyes and no visible ears. The mouth is stretched, fitting comfortably round the man's head, several oversized incisors sticking out on either side to create a rather fierce image.

The man himself is...human...ish. His skin is a very pale grey, and he stands slightly over six feet tall, seemingly fairly well built. His eyes are unusually large, shaped like cats' eyes, with elongated ovular pupils and piercing green irises. Aside from that, there's nothing else apparently unusual about him, though his hair is fairly untidy, and rather lacking in colour too.

The man turns round, looking rather confused, muttering to himself in that strange primitive language, [Damn! Damn! Never should've listened to them. I've no idea where I am, and even worse, I didn't manage to keep hold of the trinket...] He stares at Reviline for a moment, raising his weapon, formed from the sharpened bone of some sort of animal, approaching her slowly, cautiously.

He calls out to her in a variety of languages, trying to find one she's familiar with, a simple "Hello" in each one, followed by a brief pause before he moves onto the next. No doubt she'll be familiar at least with the common language that all in the Nexus seem to understand.

[ThirdEmperor]

Drychalk Hill

"'right, 'right. You probly gonna, hhh, wanna see the damage yerself, huh? Well, ain't that bad. They're slowin production down a mite, but, hhh, the real problem ain't what they're doin, it's what they're gonna if they ain't stopped." With that, the necromancer resumes his walk, strolling a few feet down the lane before coming to a stop in front of a drain covering. "It's down here, but lemme tell ya, it's no picnic to open. Shoulda put a little time in workin on the doors, steada spendin it all tinkering with the engines." He says, stooping down and, with considerable effort, lifting up the drain cover to reveal a tunnel leading downward, rungs set into the sides so people who can't climb walls can get in and out. Not that that's ever been a problem for him, but he always did intend to sell the place sooner or later.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Just Beyond Inside]

That's certainly one way for a person to lose their train of thought.

Reviline spins on her heels and steps back as the winds pick up, raising one hand up over her face and peering between her fingers.
This seems like the sort of random event she's been told to expect of the city, so she's not immediately going to be hostile towards it.

A faintly...tight feeling in the air around her suggests that she's not going to be completely passive however.
Just in case, preparatory power.

An eyebrow is raised as the man is dumped onto the ground and stays raised as he stands up.
Tribal individual, perhaps, or a member of some sort of barbarian tribe...

Somewhere when he hits the Common-speech version of "Hello", she drops the aura of tenseness and instead smiles.
"Hello there."

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Just Beyond Inside]

The man relaxes and lowers his weapon slightly. It seems to be a curved rib-bone from some sorta large animal, with serrated teeth carved into it, with a simple wooden handle fashioned and tied to the bone. Simple, but effective. The bone is stronger than it looks, not the sort of thing to break easily.

He smiles slightly, pausing and...sniffing? No, not exactly, he just seems to have picked up on the aura of tenseness even as it fades.

"You...you use the, uh, magics? Yes?" There's a clear accent to his speech, and his grasp of its structure is a little weak, but it's not bad for someone who had to teach it all to himself.

"I am using the name of Marcus. It is not true name, but true name hard for people to say. You are known as?"

[Chaotic Bob]

[Just Beyond Inside]

His slightly troubled grasp of the "common" speech further cements Reviline's idea that he's a tribal of some sort.
A clearly well taught one, judging by how many languages he burned through, but definitely not a city dweller one way or another.

"Yes, I use magic. My name is Reviline. Pleasure to meet you, Marcus.
Where are you from?"
Might as well clear up that initial thought.

[Slii Arhem]

Drychalk Hill

"'right, 'right. You probly gonna, hhh, wanna see the damage yerself, huh? Well, ain't that bad. They're slowin production down a mite, but, hhh, the real problem ain't what they're doin, it's what they're gonna if they ain't stopped." With that, the necromancer resumes his walk, strolling a few feet down the lane before coming to a stop in front of a drain covering. "It's down here, but lemme tell ya, it's no picnic to open. Shoulda put a little time in workin on the doors, steada spendin it all tinkering with the engines." He says, stooping down and, with considerable effort, lifting up the drain cover to reveal a tunnel leading downward, rungs set into the sides so people who can't climb walls can get in and out. Not that that's ever been a problem for him, but he always did intend to sell the place sooner or later.

Drychalk Hill

"That is exactly what I'm endeavoring to prevent." Ceres will simply drop down the hole, using a bit of levitation to slow his descent to a reasonable speed. He'll hover a few inches above whatever is at the bottom and take a quick look around as he waits for his host to join him.

His voice will probably echo back up the tunnel, "I intend to excise these vermin from the tunnels if it's the last thing I do!"

Brave words...

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Just Beyond Inside]

"Uh..." Marcus pauses and takes a quick look round, just in case there's something familiar to him. But...nope...absolutely nothing familiar to him. "A place. Not here. They call it wasteland, or land of outcasts, land of magic gone wrong, land of great beasts." He shrugs, lowering the weapon fully now, fairly confident that Reviline means him no harm.

"I was collecting a...a...art...artfact? Heard many names for them. Wild magics made it not-safe, but tribesman lied to me, say it was safe but great beast too near at time. I touched it and...then I not there, I now here."

[Chaotic Bob]

[Just Beyond Inside]

Reviline folds her hands in front of, never any sign of a weapon near them, and gives a little nod.
Magical wasteland tribesman.

"It sounds like you were teleported."
Somewhat violently.
"Are you alright?"

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Just Beyond Inside]

"Tell-eh-port-ehd?" Would seem he's not familiar with that one.

Marcus raises one hand to his forehead, pushing the bear-hood back slightly, revealing that his high-speed faceplant has left a bit of a mark. There's a fairly large cut just below his fringe, blood still slowly seeping out.

"I...feel...okay, but, guess head hurt."

[Chaotic Bob]

[Just Beyond Inside]

"Magically moved from one place to another."

Reviline's eyes settle on the seeping blood, the color of her blue eyes darkening slightly.
She points a finger towards the city, eyes never leaving the cut.
"You appear to have cut your forehead. We can find some bandages for it in the city, I believe."

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Just Beyond Inside]

Marcus rubs his forehead, winces slightly at the pain, then flips the bear-hood back forward to cover it again and nods. "So...this is how big cities can be? We visited small towns when we found artfacts for selling. Not allowed in them. Had to wait at edge, for people to come to us to buy. Will I be allowed in there? Always wanted to see what city is like inside."

Marcus's eyes light up at the thought, the injury for now forgotten. To him it is nothing serious, the sort of thing that'd sort itself out in a few days. Always had a cut or a bruise or a mark from a close call with a beast somewhere on his body, it was life for him.

To those less accustomed to such a harsh life, the wound probably would seem more serious. But Marcus is already thinking about all the wonderful things that must be in this fabulous city...

[Chaotic Bob]

[Just Beyond Inside]

Reviline's gaze lingers on where the cut is, behind the hood, for at least a few seconds too many.
When she looks away, her eyes lighten back up to their gentle blue, and she turns towards the city.
"All kinds are welcomed into Inside, you won't be an exception.
Come, maybe we can both learn something."
And so she starts to walk back towards the city gate.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Just Beyond Inside]

Marcus tilts his head slightly, peering at Reviline. "Something wrong?" he asks, "My forehead? More serious than it feels, perhaps?" He continues, wondering why she stared at it for so long.

He follows her towards the city gate, his eyes positively beaming now at the news that all are welcome here.

Next she'll be telling him the streets are paved with gold.

"Both learn? You are fairly new to this place?"

[Chaotic Bob]

[Just Beyond Inside]

"We should probably just bandage it up sooner, rather than later, Mr. Marcus."
She doesn't look back at his forehead, rather pointedly.

"I am only somewhat new, being within the city for a few days.
There is always more to learn, however, yes?"
Reviline smiles and gives a passing gesture to the gate as they approach.
"Welcome to Inside. Sometimes the safest place, sometimes the most dangerous, but always interesting.
So I have heard..."

With that, to Inside they go.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Just Beyond Inside]

"I suppose..." not clear what Marcus is answering there. Perhaps he's answering about both the bandage and learning at once, perhaps one, perhaps t'other, perhaps neither.

Perhaps he's still a little confused. Why did she stare at his head for so long?

Any slight concern quickly fades as they approach the gates, however, his eyes widening as he picks up the pace a little, eager to see the sights of the city of...Inside?

"Odd name for city. If the city is inside...what is it inside of? What is inside inside?"

Aaand over to Inside.

[Artemis97]

Spoiler

Show

[Blind Cat's Bluff - Cave]

"Oh geeze. What are you two, siblings?"

Reinholdt goes to stand in the middle of both of them, unslinging his rifle to hold at the ready just in case.

"Now I want you both to calm down before things get messy and I have to shoot you in the foot and patch you people up for a SECOND time. And I'm really not in the mood for that."

Blind Cat's Bluff

There is a talking cat.
There is a talking cat and it is telling her to calm down.
That is wrong. That is wrong because cats don't talk. This must be the work of a demon. Or...
Or maybe a wizard. A wizard would mean High Elves. That would be bad for her, but a High Elf would be more concerned with the Ice Elf. She might be able to get away while they tried to capture it.

Yes. Alright. Talking cat meant wizard which meant high elves which meant chance to escape and go find her friends. All she needed to do was keep from upsetting the wizard and bide her time to escape.

Slowly, not stepping away from the wall, the Wood Elf bends and returns her knife to her boot. When she stands she does not straighten all the way. Instead she half-crouches, carefully watching the ice elf and the wizard-cat.

[Blind Cat's Bluff - Cave]

The Ice Elf relaxes slightly and nods a bit to the other elf. Neither would attack the other. Besides, there were bigger problems to deal with. Like the talking cat.

"Why is it talking?" He asks her.

[Reinholdt]

[Blind Cat's Bluff - Cave]

"I am TALKING because I am SENTIENT. I am sentient because I... ummm... because I am and that's that! Boy it's been a long time since I've had people be surprised at that. Perhaps this will put you more at ease." Reinholdt says, taking a step back and shifting into his human form before their eyes. Now he's a talking person!

"I have answered one of your questions, now perhaps you'll answer one of mine? Why were the two of you fighting out there? I'll have you know blood is not easy to clean up."

[Mr. Moon]

Blind Cat's Bluff - Cave

As the wizard-cat speaks up he startles the woman across the room. She flinches back, firmly up against the wall now. But for all she is wary of the cat between them, her eyes constantly flick back to the black-skinned Ice Elf.

She'd never seen one before. Everyone had heard the tales the High Elf paladins brought back from their crusades, though. Ice Elves were demon-skinned monsters cursed by the very god of light for their atrocious sins. They couldn't be trusted. They'd kill you and eat you just because they could.
Never turn your back on an Ice Elf. Never.

Her grimly paranoid thoughts are brought to a sharp halt when the wizard-cat's form begins to twist and change.
A shape-changer?
Only the best trained wizards with the most power could possibly hope to achieve such a power. Whoever this wizard was, she had to be very, very careful around him.

And then, fighting? The woman blinks, confusion creeping over her frightened expression. She couldn't remember ever fighting an Ice Elf. And even if she had fought this Ice Elf, she couldn't see anyone of his size inflicting a wound on her like the one she had now. Unless... unless he was a part of the orc attack?
The woman shudders, shooting the Ice Elf a look of renewed hatred. He must have been. It was the only explanation. Of course an Ice Elf would fight alongside orcs. The orcs who had pinned her down as they carried off her friends. They left the youngest ones as warnings and messages. Messages unable to recount the horrors they had experienced. She couldn't respond to the wizard. She would have to show him.

As if to reply to the wizard, the woman opens her mouth. But no words come out. There is no tongue left to form them, only a gristled stump of scar tissue.