[Nexus] Remnant III

[Hattish Thing]

2.0

Sirs, assembled idiots, other. The halfling was already dead. And give me back my coin.

[happyturtle]

Infirmary - Bugs Office

Gray flecks of colour, Charity's colour of grief and guilt, spread through her hair, and drip off the ends of the strands, like raindrops. Rebecca, Edijar's wife, who had been carrying his child when she was killed in a terrorist attack. She had been on the job, working in the med tents. Healing. Like her father.

I'm already dead, Edijar had told her the night they met, his haunted eyes looking into hers, begging for a lifeline even though he believed it was too late.

Somehow, they'd dragged each other back from the brink and built a life together. She could never replace Rebecca or give him a child, but he had never asked her to. All he asked was that she love him. If he hadn't fought for her, she'd still be abusing alcohol. Her sister would have never met Carl. Little Popcorn wouldn't even exist.

If Rebecca were still alive... that wasn't something she could think about. It wasn't an easy thing to accept that your own happiness was possible because of someone else's death.

"He never told me she still had family here," Charity says to Bugs, reaching over to hug him tightly, as the gray tears begin to flow.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Front Gate - Antagonist]

And away the rock goes, offering no immediate resistance to any of the numerous bindings and movements.
It's a refreshingly straight forward affair, as it remains inanimate and largely rock-like for the process.

Away it goes.


[Feia Cell]

"That works too. I find the temperature fine for now, but in a week or so it may need to be nudged up a few dozen degrees or so."
Which would move towards a temperature that produces thoughts of a "Augh, sweating buckets here", but Feia seems to think it'll be necessary.
"Dietary-wise...I suppose I'll need supplementary calcium...vitamin extraction is within acceptable bounds...
I think additional calcium and touareg tea will be all I need, beyond basic eating habits."

She does have a slight advantage over many mothers in that she's a little better at drawing out and utilizing nutrients in foods she eats, but does require a bit of extra calcium over them.
And that tea, it seems.


[The Soot Balls]

The air is briefly filled with tiny, hollow wailing as the little elemental orbs are sent flying away, away, away.
They don't seem very happy about it, but what can they do? They have no power against what Arla did.

Poor Trog's.

[UncleWolf]

Infirmary - Bugs' Office

Bugs returns the hug gently, patting Charity's back gently and planting a soft fatherly kiss on the top of her head. "I asked him not to say anything. When you brought him back from the brink, there wasn't any reason to worry you with little details like that." He admits. "And over time..." Bugs just gives a slight shrug.

Front Gate 2.0

"Your plea-bargain has already been made." The guards say as they attempt to escort the Matron and her honorguard to the gates of the City. Should nothing happen, the guards will remove the Psi-Inhibitor from Celesto's head after they are let outside of the city.

(While this would normally take place in the Inside thread, for sake of ease I'm posting it here. Also, please note that while the Matron and her ilk are "banned" from Inside under Remnant's power, that does not mean you cannot RP them Inside. It just means that there will be IC consequences if they're caught.)

Feia's Cell

Feia will soon find her tea, supplements, food, and a small remote dial for her heating delivered to her.

[happyturtle]

Infirmary - Bugs's Office

Charity takes another drink, and spends a few moments in silence, wondering how it had felt to Bugs when the woman who had taken his daughter's place in Edijar's life had taken the first steps towards following his daughter's profession.

She decides not to ask. She doesn't think she has the right.

Finally she says, "Bugs, are you sick?"

[UncleWolf]

Infirmary - Bugs' Office

"Sunny told you, eh?" He asks, his voice saying that he knew already. "And I am. Very much so." He admits.

[happyturtle]

Infirmary - Bugs's Office

The colour flecks change from the gray of grief to the grayish green of worry, with bright orange-red blotches of fear among them. This time the colours hover about her in a little cloud rather than dripping off like water. Since they're now making it hard to see, she waves her hand to dispel them. They disappear at a touch, leaving a weird halo effect behind her where she didn't disturb them.

"But there's something we can do for you, right?" Charity asks. "Bugs, I don't want to lose you. I love you. So does Sunny. So does everyone."

[UncleWolf]

Bug's Office

"There's always something that can be done, Charity." Bugs admits with a sigh. "I could have one of the clerics magic this all away if I wanted to. But...what if I don't want it to go away?" He asks quietly.

[happyturtle]

Bugs's Office

Charity doesn't know how to answer. So she takes his hand in both of hers and brings it to her face as she cries.

[UncleWolf]

Bug's Office

The doctor gets up from his seat to move around the desk to hold Charity close, as comforting as he can be. He doesn't say it, but it felt like she was his daughter all over again, and that made everything feel just that much better for him.

[happyturtle]

Bugs's Office

As for Charity, her father was not exactly a parent to her. It's a long time before Charity says "I don't want to lose you."

[UncleWolf]

Bugs' Office

"I'll be around for a while, Charity. At least a little after Sunny has her child. I wouldn't miss that for the world." He tells her with a smile.

[Hattish Thing]

Front Gate 2.0

"Your plea-bargain has already been made." The guards say as they attempt to escort the Matron and her honorguard to the gates of the City. Should nothing happen, the guards will remove the Psi-Inhibitor from Celesto's head after they are let outside of the city.

(While this would normally take place in the Inside thread, for sake of ease I'm posting it here. Also, please note that while the Matron and her ilk are "banned" from Inside under Remnant's power, that does not mean you cannot RP them Inside. It just means that there will be IC consequences if they're caught.)

Matron Baen're and her bodyguards offer no resistance. They leave.

[Terumitsu]

[Front Gate 1.0]

Well, aside from the third taken to finance repairs, splitting the bounty had already been the agreement. However, there was the issue of that robot. Given how the thing's owner had come , it was reasonable to say that this 'request' would be easily enough done.

"Of the five thousand of my half, take a quarter of it and send to that mechanic who'd built that robot. Should help cover some repair costs but let him know he needs to work on the IFF and threat assessment protocols." the muse said. Ghoul paused here for just a moment before making an actual request that may or may not deepen the displeasure of the guards. "Also. Is there a recruiting officer stationed in the area? I have some questions I'd like to ask."

[happyturtle]

Bugs's Office

"I don't want to lose you in five months either." Charity says. "I don't want to lose you in a year or five years or ten years and I'm being selfish, but I don't."

[UncleWolf]

Bugs' Office

"I'll be around for a while yet, but Charity, please, understand. It's my choice. With everything that's happened..." He stops and pulls away from her to try and give her an encouraging smile. "It's almost peaceful. It's of my choosing."

[Gullara]

[Front Gate 1.0]

Kirk doesn't seem overly concerned about some of the money being taken off. It's not like he really needs the money anyway. "Alright, pleasure doing business with you." The drow nods to Ghoul and will take his money and his leave if allowed.

[happyturtle]

Bugs's Office

"At least let me be there for you." Charity asks, remembering how she hadn't been there for her mother. Not really. Not until the end.

[AmberVael]

[Caet's Quarters]

Nellens Latas has arrived back from the home of Thomas and Marie. After gathering up as much of the evidence as she could from the current case she is working on, from the feather scraps, to a bit of the blood under Jessica's fingernails, to even some of the mud tracked around by the apparent killer, she heads to her next destination: Caet, the diviner.

His magically warded door provokes a short pause from Latas as she examines it- she was used to magical energies, and even knew a little bit about wards, but normally she'd have to focus to sense them. Not here though. Still, without any more hesitation than that, she raps on the door and then waits for an answer.

[Halae]

[Caet's Quarters]

The knocking on the door has a hollow quality to it, like the door itself isn't entirely there. It's a few moments as Latas will hear some shuffling from with, followed by the crashing of hard cover books and a sort of whooshing sound. It takes a few moments before Caet opens the door.

The diviner himself appears quite tired, bags under his eyes due to his insomnia, which stems from a slight paranoia. His hazel eyes gaze at Latas with a strange incomprehension before he realizes just who is at the door. "Nellens Latas, Exalted, correct? Come inside, we'll find who you're looking for."

Oddly enough, Caet's demeanor suggests he was just sleeping, but he's currently decked out in full garb with spell pouches hanging everywhere off his pristine brown robe. It almost looks like it just got washed.

The interior of the room is a bit odd, particularly compared to most quarters here in Remnant. the walls, the ceiling, the door, and what little is visible of the floor under the mass of books it's covered in is made even less visible by runes and sigils, all of which are inscribed in pure magic, making magical lettering floating in the air just centimeters from the surface they would otherwise be on, and this makes the whole room have a pleasant, low hum much like the door. Strewn across the floor are books of all shapes and kinds, with the majority being simple grimoires and pieces of information regarding supernatural creatures and types of spells. Books along one wall are stacked so high that getting a book from near the bottom would be a perilous endeavor. Along another wall is a sturdy oak desk, covered in a different sort of sigil than those around the room, this one instead built for enchanting things rather than defending yourself. Such enchanted things are like the staff leaning against the desk, or a great many of the tiny amulets hanging off of a rack that seems designed specifically to hold them. Each one radiates it's own magical signature, warded for different purposes. Caet's bed is completely unmade, the sheets and blanket balled off against a wall with books strewn across it. It would be remarkable to even find anything in here if you weren't intimately familiar with the room.

[AmberVael]

[Caet's Quarters]

"Yes sir. I am Private Nellens Latas." She responds formally.

Latas is rather unsettled by the room, not so much for its magical qualities as its mundane ones. It seemed to indicate an obsessive and esoteric mind, rather than one more balanced and regimented. This was not a soldier's room as she knew it, and so by extension, Caet seemed less of a soldier to her.

The way he's presenting himself doesn't precisely help her impression of him either. Indeed, a small frown finds its way to Soldier Girl's face as she picks through the piles of books and magical trinkets. Still, he was part of Remnant, wasn't he? She should afford him some benefit of the doubt.

Mustering her poise, she explains the situation. "There is a vampiric creature believed to be at least behind a pair of murders, and at least one attack on a farm animal. It may be a winged creature, or there may be a separate winged being tied into the situation in some way."

"I have collected evidence from one of the scenes." She states. "And we also have the body of one of the victims. I would like to request your magic in order to aid in finding the murderer, and unraveling more details about the nature of the situation."

[Halae]

[Caet's Quarters]

Caet nods, his face relatively impassive. He motions towards the wall shrouded in books, and a trio of tomes move towards his outstretched hand. If Latas is quick enough, she'll notice that they are entitled, Vampiric Anomalies, The Mysteries Of The Human Mind, and A Treatise on Exalted.

While the first two are reasonable given Latas' request, the third is odd, as it probably has no bearing beyond Latas herself. Interesting.

As the books collide with Caet's hands, a bluish fire surrounds them and his eyes glaze over for a moment. Finally, he looks back at Latas, "Alright, take me to the evidence and I shall see what I can manage for you."

[AmberVael]

[Caet's Quarters]

Latas's eyes flick to the book, but she makes no comment until Caet addresses her. "Of course, sir. I've assembled it all in forensics, near the body." It's efficient that way, if a little morbid.


[Autopsy Room]

The victim's body is laid out on a table, while a nearby table contains a number of small, labeled bags and vials. One bag contains a black feather scrap, another a more complete feather, while one of the vials contains mud, and the other a solution of some kind.

There's more, but the rest is not particularly of note.

"She was killed relatively recently. I came to the scene no more than a few hours after her death." Latas explains. "We have the information on her here- written out on the clipboard." Her first name is Jessica, and the last name is probably written down, though it has not been mentioned as of yet. "The murderer left muddy tracks through the house, and may be capable of flight- at the least, they left the scene with an incomplete trail to follow, and we found this scrap of feather there."

The examiners found some blood under Jessica's fingernails which does not seem to belong to her, and there were signs of a struggle, so she may have scratched her attack- that would be the contents of this solution here- and through further investigation, I learned that there has been another, probably linked murder in a more distant village. Those I interviewed provided me with the more complete feather, which presumably comes from the same creature."

Latas stops and looks to Caet for any input he may have.

[Halae]

[Autopsy Room]

Caet looks over the body briefly, and then will attempt to run a hand along the length of her body. He's not touching her, but a slight blue glow from his hand shows that he's using magic to attempt to check for things.

He's checking for a few things; the first is any hint that a vampiric infection is present the victim. Regardless of whether there is, he then goes to examine the feather, casting another spell to attempt to identify the being it belongs to.

Unfortunately for Latas, he doesn't seem to have any actual input just yet, simply his own investigating.

[UncleWolf]

Bug's Office

"I'd love you to be." Bugs tells her quietly as he gives her a gentle squeeze.

Interview Room

Kirk is allowed to leave, but the guard waves away the quarter of the share of gold. "Keep it. The robot was covered by us. What all questions do you have?"

[happyturtle]

Bugs's Office

"Come home and have dinner with me and Edijar. You shouldn't be alone on your birthday," Charity finally says. "We don't have to talk about anything you don't want to."

Eventually, she'll want to know what it is that's killing him, what treatment he's taking, who knows and doesn't know, and how long he has. He didn't say, but he implied that he wouldn't be taking any treatment at all if he didn't want to be around for the birth of Sunny's baby, so probably not long.

Eventually, she'll tell him that he needs to tell Sunny the full truth, because Sunny is strong enough to handle it and would hate being protected from it only to have it burst on her unprepared.

Eventually, she'll give in and beg him not to let it happen.

But none of that is for tonight. She can give him that much.

[Terumitsu]

Interview Room

Ghoul lightly furrowed her brow at the denial of the share. That was... Well, it was one more of those differences between worlds, she supposed, but she would have expected at least.... Never mind. Focus on the task at hand. It had thrown her a bit, though.

"Well, first off, I wanna make sure I have this straight. Remnant is a militaristic policing organization that oversees any disruptions to the peace. Peace being a relative term. Anyway, while your tagline is 'Protect and Serve' according to the... Riot and crowd suppression specialist I'd met earlier, I'd like to know more than that. What are your long term goals for the city? What skill sets do you look for and train towards? What is typical for a soldier to encounter?" the muse asked, rattling off a few questions in quick succession. "Those sorts of things."

[LadyOfWar]

[Autopsy Room]

Caet looks over the body briefly, and then will attempt to run a hand along the length of her body. He's not touching her, but a slight blue glow from his hand shows that he's using magic to attempt to check for things.

He's checking for a few things; the first is any hint that a vampiric infection is present the victim. Regardless of whether there is, he then goes to examine the feather, casting another spell to attempt to identify the being it belongs to.

Unfortunately for Latas, he doesn't seem to have any actual input just yet, simply his own investigating.

As he looks for the vampiric taint he may find several things. He may find she was fighting a common flu before she died, and that she took a very strong medicine for it laced with a strange sort of power. The power of that potion is akin to the magic of this world, but different, and it has a small effect on Caet's magic. It seems to shed magic like a duck sheds water from its oiled plumage. However, there is no trace of vampiric infection. Only the twin fang marks in her neck and her bloodloss would lead one to believe she was attacked by a vampire.

The feathers are even more interesting than the victim. The full feather is glossy black with a crimson shaft. Anyone capable of 'seeing' magic will see Caet's spell shed off of the feather, beading and rolling over it, unable to mix with it in the same way oil does not mix with water. It would take an emulsifier of sorts to allow the two to work together. There is a hint of blood along the feather's shaft, that his magic can touch, if only slightly. It is not quite enough to get a reading on... if only there were more...

The feather scrap is dull back, and it only consists of barbules, it has no shaft because the full feather was not pulled out. It too sheds magic. Neither should be like anything Caet has seen here before, for they were brought here from another world.

[UncleWolf]

Interview Room

The guard can't help but sigh. "Any other unit in any other city in any other universe, and those questions might be applicable. You must be new here." He tells her with a tired and somewhat bored look. "There is nothing typical about what we encounter here. You fought Feia. That's just one miniscule example about what we face. Take every myth and legend from your homeworld. Disproved, inaccurate or even completely made up by an 11 year old child. Every single one of those things are real here." He explains. "As for long term goals? In a place like this, where so-called "Apocalypses" happen every few weeks, planning a month ahead is "Long Term"."

[Terumitsu]

Interview Room

Ghoul took a moment to turn the answer around in her head. From the sound of it, there was a challenge in just surviving the day-to-day stuff as well as the eventual catastrophes that just loved to rain down from wherever they so chose. Well. I can appreciate a challenge.

"Alright. So what you're saying is that just maintaining the status quo and ratio of people alive versus dead is all you can do at the moment and the place is far too chaotic to be anything but a reactive force in most cases. Now, I'm gonna extrapolate a bit from that and guess that each 'event' requires a different set of skills for you to stay on top of things. Like..." Here the muse paused as she finally got around to acknowledging that it was, in fact, a thing that exists. "-Dance Fighting. Because of this, the possibility exists that you may not have enough recruits for this or that 'event' as such diversity inhibits the formation of much more than small squads. Again, I'm just making guesses here so tell me where I've gone off track. But as I was saying, you need these squads to be effective and efficient. And for that, you need skilled people. While it is possible that you can take in the untrained and whittle them down to something useful, that takes time and resources that you may not have."

Ghoul stopped her hypothesizing here and leaned back into her seat for a somewhat more comfortable position. "Even if I'm only half right, I think the next question I have would be 'Who do I speak to if I'm interested?'"