[Nexus] Temples of Dalachrech I

[Earl of Purple]

Riverside Temple

"Well, if either try to get into here, they're in for a big surprise." Most of the doors are magically locked or warded. Unless they're carrying a two-tailed scorpion on them they aren't getting through. Incidentally, Cassidy would have been given a silver one right at the beginning.

[Devixer]

Riverside Temple

"Yeah, I'fe guessed that we've got a few security measures," Cassidy says. It about now that she checks that she still had that silver scorpion on her.

[Earl of Purple]

Riverside Temple

"We do. Not as extensive as the other Temples, perhaps, but large invertebrates need a lot of food, and I chose not to incorporate them into my defensive procedures. But I don't know the full extent of their defenses and they don't know the full extent of mine, which means that in order to learn how to reach me in my office, they need me to tell them." That's also why Defelent won't go into detail of what they are with Cassidy or Omid. He might ask for help reinforcing certain wards, but they won't be the only wards present.

[Devixer]

Riverside Temple

"I think I get that. Less of a chance of other people figuring out the details." Cassidy is hiding a bit of frustration here. She hated when people approached security how the corps did.

[Earl of Purple]

Riverside Temple

Unfortunately, it's the sensible method of approaching security, and the Cult has been persecuted enough in the past to be slightly paranoid. Cassidy does already know about the most difficult obstacle, however- Defelent's door. Anything else could be unravelled by a skilled wizard or cleric- especially a cleric, as divine energies work slightly differently to arcane ones.

"Exactly. There's some back up Temples, too, but I'm the only one who knows where they are. Omid has his own safehouses, somewhere. I recommend you'd set some up as well, just in case." Defelent smiles. He doesn't know where Omid's safehouses are, and the Orb enables him to contact him wherever he is.

[Devixer]

Riverside Temple

Cassidy smiles back. "Yeah, I had some boltholes back home, and I've got a place to build a safe house. Thanks for the suggestion."

[Earl of Purple]

Riverside Temple

Defelent will nod and continue down to the basement. When he arrives, he takes out a key from... Somewhere (an invisible keyring tied to his waist) and unlocks the armoury door. Inside is a vast array of weaponry, all of it glinting with magical energy. There's sabres, scimitars, gladii, tridents, crossbows, long bows, battle-axes, warhammers, maces, morningstars, katanas, spears, halberds, lochaber axes, daggers, and a single arquibus. All of it will examine Cassidy with a rudimentary intelligence. "Pick up the piece that you feel calling you." Indeed, one of the multitude of weapons within the room has already chosen Cassidy to be its wielder, though it's entirely up to her player as to what that weapon is and what it can do.

[Devixer]

Riverside Temple

Cassidy looks over most of the weapons with varying amounts of interest, but doesn't feel any sort of calling from any of them. She almost starts to get frustrated until she passes by a scimitar and feels... something coming from it. She places a hand on that particular weapon's hilt and picks it up. As she swings it once to test it, a noise sounding much like a crackle of lightning comes from the blade.

[Earl of Purple]

Riverside Temple

"Omid will be pleased; he got a scimitar, too. His oozes poison." It also came with a scabbard emblazoned with a centipede, its hilt is coated with chitin from a giant scorpion and its pommel is shaped like a scorpion too. Defelent was chosen by a sadistic, demon-headed mace that causes more pain than it should with every blow.

[Devixer]

Riverside Temple

"It's light, well-balanced, pretty good weapon." Cassidy puts the weapon back in its sheath, and considers where she should strap it on. Probably near her shoulder so she can get it quickly.

[Earl of Purple]

Riverside Temple

The scimitar's curved blade may make the shoulder-slung sheath rather impractical. I don't know for certain, but I've never seen any sword with a curved blade slung over the back; they've always been worn at the waist.

"I have a mace, myself. Not as fast, certainly, being essentially an ornate metal club, but it's nice and decorative and far stronger than it looks. Magical weapons aren't always ornate, but if somebody's wearing a very fancy weapon, it's usually enchanted or purely ceremonial." Too much decoration detracts from the practicality.

[Devixer]

Riverside Temple

"Ugh, fancy weapons." Cassidy rolls her eyes at the concept. "All that engraving and gilding just weakens the weapon itself." She was mostly used to gangers who could somehow afford gun barrels made of gold, but pointless decoration carries over to all weapons, really.

[Earl of Purple]

Riverside Temple

"Oh, yes. It needs quite a hefty enchantment on a fancy weapon to make it effective, though sometimes an enchantment makes the weapon fancy, or requires a fancy weapon in the first place. I've encountered a mace that was ornate; the head was sculpted into the shape of a dragon perched upon the shaft. Its wielder could send the dragon off to attack people from a distance, and call it back to use it in close combat." But I've made that weapon up on the spot so it's not actually used by the Cult.

[Devixer]

Riverside Temple

Can't say I've ever seen anything like that. From experience, the fancier someone's weapon is, the less they can actually fight with it." At least that's what Cassidy thinks. She decides about now that she'll wear her new scimitar around her hip. She can't see easily using it in any other way, due to its curved blade.

[Earl of Purple]

Riverside Temple

"Now that I think of it, my weapon's not exactly plain. I'll have to show her to you at some point." Defelent's weapon is slightly more sentient than most; enough to have a definite gender and a simple personality.

[Devixer]

Riverside Temple

Cassidy nods. A few months ago, she'd probably have called Defelent a weirdo who put genders on weapons, but now was a little different. "It'd be interesting to see that."

[Earl of Purple]

Riverside Temple

"Actually, I think we have time now. Would you like to meet her?" Defelent smiles.

[Devixer]

Riverside Temple

"Yeah, sure. She got a name?" Cassidy says with a grin. She might not be taking the whole "intelligent weapon" business entirely seriously.

[Earl of Purple]

Riverside Temple

"Yes. Unfortunately, because of how she communicates, it's hard for me to translate, so I call her Beautiful." Defelent is heading upstairs, for his waiting room.

[Devixer]

Riverside Temple

"Can't say I'm surprised by that," Cassidy says while following Defelent upstairs. At this point in time, she's also strapping her new weapon to her waist.

[Earl of Purple]

Riverside Temple

"She's empathic, and communicates through bursts of emotion." When they reach his office, Defelent heads towards his bedroom. Cassidy could either wait where she is, or follow him.

[Devixer]

Riverside Temple

"You mind if I follow you in, or you want me to wait?" Cassidy asks. She'd like to see Defelent's bedroom for a few reasons, but she's erring on the side of caution here.

[Earl of Purple]

Riverside Temple

"Oh, come in, do. I don't mind. Hang on... Yes, you can come in. Be quiet; Tracy's asleep." Defelent will leave the door open for Cassidy, though he'll close it afterwards. Inside, there's the largest bedroom in the building, with a four-poster double bed in the middle of the room, a chest at its foot and a wardrobe up against one of the walls. There's a doorway leading to an en-suite bathroom, and those capable of detecting extraplanar portals will note one hidden in the wardrobe. In addition, there's two windows. Sleeping in the bed is a catgirl with long, white hair marked with brown splodges. Her ears match the hair, and presumably so does her tail. At the moment, Defelent is carefully opening the chest at the foot of his bed.

[Devixer]

Riverside Temple

Cassidy enters the bedroom and looks around inside, doing her best not to whistle at the fact that this one room was probably bigger than her apartment back in Seattle. She doubted it had any augmented reality, though. She waits near the door, careful not to make too much noise.

[Earl of Purple]

Riverside Temple

Who needs augmented reality when one has a portal to the Abyss in the wardrobe?

"Ah, here she is. Are you glad to see me? Ow. I think that's a no. Ow. I'm sorry I left you in there so long, but I've been busy. Ow. And it's not necessarily socially acceptable to carry around a semi-sentient weapon with your abilities. Ow." After trying futilely to explain things to his mace, Defelent turns around. In his hand is a heavy, black iron mace whose head has been shaped to resemble a human's head, with a face on each side. Her faces are identical, and quite attractive. "Beautiful, this is Twig. Twig, meet Beautiful, my mace. Would you like to let her know your real name, Beautiful?" The mace sends an empathic wave of emotion, primarily pleasure, with a bit of pain mixed in and a faint hint of malicious curiosity.

[Devixer]

Riverside Temple

Call me crazy, but I don't Cassidy would enjoy the Abyss all that much.

Cass doesn't visibly react much to the wave of emotions, beside cringing a little. "That's a mouthful, gotta say," she remarks, a bit in jest. "Never met a weapon that I actually had to say that to."

[Earl of Purple]

Riverside Temple

With the jest, Beautiful smiles and sends a wave of happiness. "Please try not to upset her. I don't think you'll enjoy the results very much; she's got a sadistic streak." Added to the ability to transmit pain, and she can be upsetting company.

[Devixer]

Riverside Temple

"I'll try my best," Cassidy says while smiling. She wasn't entirely sure on how best to avoid upsetting a sentient mace, but she'd probably end up learning the hard way.

[Earl of Purple]

Riverside Temple

The mace's eyes look Cassidy up and down. "Do you want to hold her?" Defelent doesn't mind holding her for longer; he's a bit of a masochist, but rarely gets to indulge.

[Devixer]

Riverside Temple

"Uh, sure. I won't say no." Cassidy holds her hand out once Defelent presumably offers the mace to hold.