[Nexus] The Black Dragon's Den IX

[Sneaky Weasel]

The red headed man raises his eyebrows at the oddly shaped creature, and sits down beside it nodding in greeting. Up close, you can see that his eyes are bloodshot, as if he hadn't slept for a long time. He grins manically.
"Hallo. The name's Phineas, Phineas Reinhardt." He holds out a hand to shake.

[The Bandicoot]

Johnny shakes the man's hand once Johnny he says simply before swallowing his sandwich whole. Jus' Johnny he dumps his mug down his throat and lets out a burp entirely too small for his large mouth s'cuse'ms

[Sneaky Weasel]

"Johnny, eh? I knew a man named Johnny once. Mad as a hatter, he was. A bloody good magician, though." Phineas leans back, taking another swig of ale.
"Magic! There's a thing. What do you know about magic, Johnny?" His grin might be considered enthusiastic, or slightly disturbing. Take you pick.

[The Bandicoot]

Johnny reaches back and pulls a handgun out of thin air. s'only magic I need. he says, reaching back again. The handgun disappears and is replaced by an orange grenade with white polka-dots and a white cross for a pin. He then reaches back and pulls nothing back out, just returning the grenade. S'what gotta job for me er what?

[Sneaky Weasel]

Phineas seems delighted by the lethal prestidigitation. His eyes widen slightly when he sees the grenade. "Ooh. That looks fun. Before I can tell if I have a job for you, I need to know what exactly it is that you do. Although I might be able to hazard a guess..." He brushes out his coat absently.

[The Bandicoot]

Hit, stab shoot, kill, de'onate, de'imate, or any mix of 'em er anyfin tha' 'as to do with 'em. he orders another mug and frowns at the man. So ya got a job fer me er what?

[Sneaky Weasel]

Phineas thinks to himself. He strokes his beard, then remembers that he doesn't have a beard. "Well, I could use some help in those areas. Actually, there are two things that leap to mind. The first might be somewhat out of your line of expertise, but it ties in nicely. I wish to acquire some weapons of my own. Guns, grenades, rockets...anything you can get your hands on. I'm not sure where to find them, but I'm sure you do."
Also...that drow. Should he? Yes. Despite the resent epiphany, the drow still needed to die.
"If you can do work as a hitman, there's someone I wouldn't mind having killed. A drow, goes by the name of Javert. He nearly killed me, and I'd like some payback that can't be traced to me. You up for it?"

[The Bandicoot]

Johnny nods Jus' tell me where the fecker hangs out an' he'll be deader than a doornail. unless the man was a demigod or a lich of some kind......then it might take a bit of planning.

[kitcatk8]

Harnel taps the table in thought, each digit moving in turn.

"If you really give up such a thing, I'll go with you." Harnel finally agrees. He doesn't like it, but if Cessie would have done it...

"And then I suppose I'll have to follow you to help." And make sure no one breaks the deal of course. "So tell us what will happen now."

"Well..." Yusa leaned back a bit. She hadn't been expecting them to agree when they had such a difficult time tolerating her from the get-go. Which is exactly where they needed to start. "We're all risking a lot here. We know nothing about one another. I've told you what I can offer...if it's not too much to ask, I'd like to hear a bit more about why I can give this piece of information to you to know it won't be abused." The demoness hesitated a moment before elaborating. "Unless you know some sort of spell which can erase it from your memory after our quest is complete, it'll give you the power to summon me whenever you wish, from wherever you are, at any time of your choosing."

[Sneaky Weasel]

Phineas looks thoughtful. "Well, the last I saw him was in the Trog's inn. I'm not sure where his usual haunts are, if I did I wouldn't really need you, would I?" Oh yeah, he might be slightly harder to kill than normal. "He can turn into a wraith, of sorts. Incorporeal, and all that. You might want to get him before he has the chance. Now, about those weapons..."

[Reinholdt]

"Now hold up. I'm risking my soul for all eternity, I think you can do the same. As it is, we're accepting this without even any proof that this name thing even actually works or this whole thing isn't a scam. I think that's more than enough." Harnel says. He's already iffy about this whole thing and Yusa wants even more?

[The Bandicoot]

Phineas looks thoughtful. "Well, the last I saw him was in the Trog's inn. I'm not sure where his usual haunts are, if I did I wouldn't really need you, would I?" Oh yeah, he might be slightly harder to kill than normal. "He can turn into a wraith, of sorts. Incorporeal, and all that. You might want to get him before he has the chance. Now, about those weapons..."

The worm hops off his stool and starts squirming away
There a couple'a stores over at Mallside. Jurga's Hut n' Erin's Emporium

[Sneaky Weasel]

"Jurga's, you say? Good to know. Good luck, Johnny." Phineas grins as he watches the strange person slither off. Perhaps some good would come of it, perhaps not. He grins as he pictures Javert being pelted by grenades. It's almost enough to distract him from his current sorrows. Until then, best to drink some more. That helps everything.

[The Bandicoot]

Time being a relative thing in Nexus, Johnny teleport machine brings him back here next to Phineas. Deader than a doornail. Two holy handgrenades. Feckers dead. Now 'bout the payment......

[Shadowcaller]

"I have to agree with Harnel, he's risking a lot here Yusa and from what I can tell he's a decent person, I doubt he would abuse your name like that." Cessie says.

[kitcatk8]

"Now hold up. I'm risking my soul for all eternity, I think you can do the same. As it is, we're accepting this without even any proof that this name thing even actually works or this whole thing isn't a scam. I think that's more than enough." Harnel says. He's already iffy about this whole thing and Yusa wants even more?

"I have to agree with Harnel, he's risking a lot here Yusa and from what I can tell he's a decent person, I doubt he would abuse your name like that." Cessie says.

"Agreed." Yusa nodded towards Harnel. "Your risk is higher up front. But when we get out of this, your soul will be yours again, and you'll still have the same amount of power over yours truly. And you shall have your proof." She turned her attention towards Cessie. "I'd love to take your word for it that he's a decent person. Honestly, is it too much to ask for some sort of promise that it won't be used against me maliciously once this mission is over?"

[Reinholdt]

"As far as I'm concerned, this is still an if I get back out. As it is, you weren't even able to get Zam out on your own, so there's no way you can even guarantee my safety. As it is, you're not getting any real assurances about your name either way, due to the structure of the deal and are just appearing ungrateful. Your name is your collateral, not the other way around." Harnel says with a scowl.

"So you can either take what we've offered for help or leave it, but I'm not going to play this game with you."

[Rebonack]

The door jangles as a new patron enters the den!

...does the door usually jangle when someone comes inside?

Well regardless it totally jangled just now.

And the patron in question?

He's a ghoul. Though rather than the usual goofy purple person that is the DnD ghoul this creature has a somewhat hyena-like face. Albeit emaciated and with a skeletal nose. And a rather snappily dressed ghoul at that! Pen-stripe suit. Matching fedora. Nice shoes. Little perfectly folded handkerchief in his pocket. Classy tie.

Something about him is distinctly unsettling. Or rather, more unsettling than just the fact that he's a ghoul. Like for example the strange impression that he's dead, undead, and living all at once. Or maybe even each of the three in sequence.

Then there's the fact that everything about him seems more real than all else. Colors more striking, lines more defined, sounds more pure, scents more robust. All else by contrast seems dull and diluted.

Anyone familiar with Zee might recognize the feeling.

He'll head up to the front counter, set his fedora down on the bartop, and say. "Good afternoon. Please tell Raril that Zee's brother is here and would like to speak to him on behalf of her."

[Artemis97]

The goblin behind the counter gives the ghoul an appraising look, then nods before disappearing into the back. There's a crashing sound from the kitchen, followed by cursing in drow. A few moments later, Raril rushes out from the back, nearly stumbling, but catching himself on the bar just in front of the ghoul. The drow looks up at him, a mix of fear and hope in his eyes.

[Rebonack]

Raril is met with an appraising look himself on the part of the ghoul. But an appraising look very unlike his own. More the appraising look a boyfriend might receive after meeting his girlfriend's brother for the first time.

"Mm," the ghoul grunts. "I suppose she could have picked worse. Well wishes from the Warden, Raril Xar'cha. To avoid the usual stumbling over verbal gymnastics you can call me Mister Gee."

Because Far-Things have really weird names.

"I'm here to propose an offer. A deal, as it were. Zee has asked for my help to get her back to the material plane. In exchange she would grant me as much freedom to operate here as possible without violating her nature as the Warden."

Ummm...

That sounds bad.

"She thought you might like to voice your opinion on this arrangement before she agreed to it."

[Artemis97]

Raril is immediately conflicted. He is desperate to have his wife back, but he knows dealing with these beings was generally a very bad idea. The drow thinks for a moment, frowning. "What, exactly, would you do with that freedom?"

[Rebonack]

"Bah!" the ghoul grumbles quite suddenly before waving one of his limbs in a direction roughly perpendicular to reality. "Fine fine, you win fair and square. He did ask after all."

The ghoul huffs slightly before turning attention back to Raril. "She says she's proud of you for not valuing her above everyone else's safety."

Aaww... That's... sweet?

"My most commonly known titles are The Defiler and The Father of Ghouls," Mister Gee says. "But there's another one that isn't quite so commonly used-"

There comes a slight flicker of flame from the middle of the creature's chest before suddenly!

*FWOOSH!*

One brilliant conflagration of heatless flames later and the hideous ghoul is replaced by a splendid, brilliant bird-like being so glorious and and magnificent that several patrons simply drop what they're doing and stare at him out of sheer awe.

"-Lord Phoenix."

Well. That was unexpected.

Slowly the brilliant flames die down until just the hideous ghoul remains.

"I am, among other things, the personification of the cycle of growth, decay, and regrowth. And ages ago I made a creature patterned after my own nature to exemplify myself," Mister Gee explains. "That creature lived during the day, perished at twilight, rose as undead at night, and immolated itself before being reborn at dawn."

The hyena-headed horror grits his teeth. "But my father Mantorok corrupted them. Split them apart into two stagnated beasts. One that never truly dies and one that never truly lives. And now, because the heroes of the Nexus sealed away my father's power from touching this place directly I have the hope that with my sister's help I might be able to restore at least some of my creations to their rightful state."

Huh.

Wow.

That doesn't sound evil at all.

[Artemis97]

A sad smile crosses the Drow's face. It had been a hard decision to make, but it seemed he'd made the right one.

"What sort of creatures are these?" Raril wasn't fond of undead, and wasn't about to agree to improve something that was potentially dangerous.

[Rebonack]

"Well... though imperfect the phoenix still offers a stunning example of the cycle of death and rebirth. And I suspect trying to alter such a rare breed of creatures would be met with some resistance," Mister Gee explains. "My power is limited when the Stars Are Not Right, so it's best to pick my battles, so to speak."

So if the phoenix is the one half of whatever he created to begin with then the other half must be-

"Ghouls, however... I know well enough that they're largely considered a nuisance and a plague by most in the Nexus. They were never meant to be as they are now and it pains me to see them in this state."

Aaww...

He sounds sad! Though he probably isn't. Like Zee he seems accustomed to feigning mortal emotions.

"Eating detritus and spreading disease were not what the ghouls were intended to do. And I doubt many would object if I returned at least a portion of them to a less loathsome form."

Raril is met with a rather toothy smile. "Zee explained to me how much you dislike undead. And I can give you my assurance that undead that spread their curse to the living are the furthest thing from my Nature. There isn't any cycle involved in a monster that can't die."

[Artemis97]

Raril smirks in return. "Alright, everything you've said so far sounds pretty good. Honestly helpful, actually. Of course, that only leaves me wondering: What's the catch? Where's the downside? And don't try to tell me there isn't one." There always was.

[Rebonack]

Oh most certainly.

There always is.

"Right... That was the part that she thought you would agree to quite easily," Mister Gee sighs. "The catch is as follows."

He gestures to himself.

"This is a Starspawn devested of a significant portion of its power. When we Old Ones feel inclined to walk the material world these are the puppets we are forced to use," Gee explains. "Your wife is... different. She's able to extend a portion of herself onto the material plane regardless of the state of the stars. She hasn't ever had a need for puppets like these. And so she never saw a need to sow the world with them as we have."

So that means...

"She is still too injured to stretch herself as she normally does. And she has no true Starspawn of her own use. And so for my end of the agreement I'll offer her one of my own, modified by both she and I to allow her to safely use it."

Pause for dramatic effect.

"While our natures are both closely related I'm still my father's son and Mantorok is the source of all undeath. A puppet I help her create would be partly alive, partly dead, and partly undead. Zee is... uncertain whether or not you would even want her back in that state."

The ghoul glances off... somewhere... again. And something vaguely like a smile tugs at his horrible mouth. "She's watching very closely, you know. Nose smudged up against the Barrier like a child at a candy shop window. She is desperate for you, Raril Xar'cha. Desperate enough to suggest even this."

[Artemis97]

Raril had been ready for bad news, but this... nothing could have prepared him for this. The drow looked unsteady, and perhaps a bit ill. He ran his fingers over the gold and sapphire bangle on his wrist. There was no measure to how much he loved his wife, and his desperation must match her own. She would be partly dead, though. Worse, partly undead. Could he bear that? For how long? How much longer could he stand being seperated? Could he really deny her this opportuniy to return? Indecision tore him apart.

"Is there no other way?" Raril asks, trying to keep his voice from cracking. "Is there anything I could do to help her?"

[Rebonack]

She's so close.

So close that she can practically touch him.

But that last tiny gulf that separates them now may as well be all the space of all realities pulling them apart.

She can see him. Hear him. Smell him. All just beyond her grasp. All just beyond her reach. But from his perspective? Gone. Distant. Lost.

...dead.

It's painful. So horribly painful. To be tormented so greatly by love. The others don't understand it, of course. How can they? How could they? A concept as alien to them as she and her kin are to those that live and breath and work and breed and die and laugh and cry just beyond that gossamer veil.

I'm here, she calls from the other side. I'm here, I'm here. Look at me. Please look at me again. Touch me again. Be with me again. Don't leave me alone.

But there is no sound.

And there is no comprehension.

And her plea is not heard.

Mister Gee seems somewhat distracted by something as Raril replies. And with a heavy heart he replies in kind. "It would take aeons past your lifespan for Zee to mend herself. The damage combined with being caught in the wake of the Mechanism was too much for her. The Warden's ability to live in your world is crippled."

A pause.

"She may be able to create a proper puppet for herself once she's here. The one you have wed is Evolution given shape. And I don't know of anyone quite so adaptable as K'rax-Naggath. But I can't say for sure. Only offer you something rather than nothing."

[Artemis97]

That last part, it was a hope for normalcy. Well, as normal as things got around here for him. Hope is a cruel thing, Raril thinks. Still, just to have Zee back, whatever her form, he would do anything. Surely whatever puppet Zee and her brother Gee created would be enough. As much of the idea of her being partially dead and undead frightened Raril, he knew he couldn't let that get between them. He would love Zee, whatever form she took. He had always stood by her, whether she was a chimera with a spider's fangs or a thousand foot high otherwordly being, no matter what she was always Zee. His wife. His beloved. Just Zee.

"I want my wife back." The drow admits, his red eyes glistening."Please." His expression hardens as he looks up at Gee. "Do whatever it takes."

[Rebonack]

Mister Gee nods.

And takes the handkerchief out of his pocket.

And places it atop the counter.

He collects his hat, sets it onto his head, and then departs from the Den.

Ummm...

So...

Is that i-

*FWOOOSH!* goes a sudden burst of flame from the handkerchief! It crackles and roars and twists and writhes and resolves into-!

Zee.

With a handkerchief sitting on top of her head.

She blinks twice. Then rubs her eyes. It... kind of hurts to be looking through eyes again... Or... well... eye. Part of the left side of her face is skeletal akin to her sibling with only a silvery steel-blue point of light within the empty socket.

Two brilliantly feathered wings akin to the glorious form Mister Gee had taken! Though the left is broken and useless, missing feathers and with bone poking through emaciated flesh here and there. In fact... her entire left side seems withered and dead.

Aside from her 'hat' she's wearing nothing at all. And with a surprised "Eep!" she uses the one still functional wing to cover herself as best she can.

"Raril! I'm sure this is only a temporary solution!" she speaks up quickly as soon as she manages to get her bearings. "Just give me some time and I'll be able to make something to wear that isn't so... dead..."