[Nexus] Inside 43

[Slii Arhem]

Park

"Rest, my darling bird. Sleep, and evolve. And as for you, rambunctious little kit, it's time I wash my hands of you. Goodbye."

The woman whistles, and from the trees a flock of jaundiced, fungus covered pixies flies, encircling the vine that holds Reinholdt in place and giggling vacantly. The mushrooms glow, and they'll attempt to do to him what failed on Astrana, teleporting him to another circle in another park, far away if they succeed.

Now to leave. These darlings will never grow if they stay under her shadow. She must let them fend for themselves, and hope that some survive the days ahead to leave this chrysalis state and be reborn anew.

[Reinholdt]

Far away park

Poof!

A kitty falls to the ground and stumbles there, moaning, clearly trying to get up and go do something, but failing.

He'll just have to try again in a bit once all the drugs wear off.

[OrchestraHc]

The closest thing to an atlas of Inside is a 3d arcanomorphological map, as anything else would be outdated within a week. However, there is, if the minish doesn't get too distracted, a building labeled "The Ghost Lover's Children", on the edge of the Blue Zone.

As for finding more on her positive aspects, it would appear that someone managed to dig up her entry in a chronicler-deity's records, starting here (the spoilers being the most relevant parts of most of those posts).

Blue Zone Library

Kuko's feathery tail waggled wildly as he looks at the map. He'd definitely have to tour it in proper minish size one of these days. "There." Kuko says with confidence that he found what he needed. "If we talk to the people who worship her, we can learn how to speak with her ourselves." A sort of jump in logic, but not one too unbelivable, especially for the minish. He hands off the chronicles for Ashley to read. She could probably make more sense of it than he could.

[Devixer]

[Blue Zone - Library]

Ashley reads through both the map and the chronicle. She can't make heads or tails of the story either, but she thinks it was probably just part of this parthenon's mythology. "Makes sense to me. If anyone'll know how to speak to her, it's those who follow her."

[UncleWolf]

BBQ Joint

Hellstomper gets a look of concentration. "... 'Member hitting and yelling. 'Member how to fight." She puts a hand to her head. "Ow. 'Membering hurts. Kicks inside my head."

BBQ Joint

"You can't remember any family?" Jyarl asks her, needing to make sure. If she had someone else she could go with, he wouldn't need to take her back to Remnant.

[happyturtle]

BBQ Joint

"No. What's a fambly?" she asks.

[Rebonack]

[Looking for Trouble]

*CRUNCH!*

That would be the sound the Hag's face makes when introduced to the business end of Templar Gregore's staff. A staff made of burning holy light no less! A weapon temporarily created by the the Relic of Archon George, the patron of all those who would stand against the forces of darkness and corruption!

Also known for slaying dragons.

Apparently it works great on Hags, too. Because that Hag isn't moving anymore. Oh. Wait. Now it's burning away into a small pile of ash.

Gregore kneels over the corpse, pulls a small vial of holy water from his robes, and sprinkles it over the soot. "May you finally find peace in death."

Some rustling from a nearby bush reveals Fredrick Barrelmaker, the young man assigned as servant to the noble and honorable Templar just a day or so prior! Why was he in the bush? Got clobbered there by the Hag when he tried to help with the fight.

Kid can take a hit. But he still hasn't gotten the hang of that weapon yet... Probably best if he just carries gear and offers support from the sidelines. "Is he dead?" the youth asks breathlessly.

"It was a woman," Gregore replies flatly. "And yes. She has been committed to the Emperor's Refinery to pay for her sins."

Fredrick extracts himself from the nice shrubbery, brushing some leaves from his clothes. "There seem to be a lot of monsters in this city. Far more than I would expect."

The Templar tosses his cloak that looks suspiciously like the longcoat of a badass action hero aside to holster his Relic. A pause, just long enough for the coat to flutter back to his side dramatically. "They do not know the ways of the Empyreum. They will have to be taught to keep the monsters at bay."

Woosh! goes the coat as he turns and hurries off into the night! "Hurry, I've heard the cries of the innocent. We have little time to waste." Looks like he's heading toward a park of some kind?

His servant quickly gathers up the odds and ins that he dropped and chases after his master.

[Sojourn]

Ah!

Now they've got it!

Amil's previous weapon has been replaced with something that looks bigger and far more unfriendly, something that seems to be firing shells that are exploding in bursts of caustic enzymes after punching holes in the blob!

Sandwich launches a wall of psionic power at the monster, holding it at bay while the ranged fighters blast away at it!

Wark keeps warking, exploding the blobs on the ground!

Wiggling, woobling, jiggling, and jostling! But it doesn't seem to be quite enough until-!

"heYAH!" Yamamoto leaps at the monster, bringing his blade to bare in a stroke of devastating power! ...and somehow ends up on the opposite side of the room. Back turned to the beast.

Huh.

Seems like he didn't actually do anything?

Oh.

Wait.

Didn't sheath his sword yet.

*kaTINK!*

The blob bursts in a shower of goop.

[Reinholdt]

[Trouble Park]

They find... well what appears to be a drunk cat with a crazy Egyptian neme on his head, mumbling something about plants and zombies.

And help and Arel too. So maybe he's in need of assistance.

[Rebonack]

[Park Trouble]

Plants vs zombies?

Woah!

This is serious! They're going to need some lawnmowers and a sunflower stat!

*cough*

"Emperor above, a talking cat." Gregore mutters as the pair reach the source of whatever disturbance the Templar had sensed.

"A cat in a hat," Fredrick corrects. "I think the talking carrot we rescued from the boggarts was a bit stranger, though. Are you sure it isn't some Witch's familiar?"

The Templar nods. "It would be heavy with Azazel's foul sorcery if it were. This is just another odd creature living in this odd city."

Fredrick seems to think that's good enough and reaches out to poke at Rein. Because poking someone is the best way to make them more coherent!

[Reinholdt]

[Park Trouble]

"Owwww... heyyy watchit." Reinholdt says, swiping at the intruding poking finger.

It seems to have worked.

"Kinda busy trying to save my girlfriend from zombies." He says, as he staggers onwards.

[UncleWolf]

BBQ Joint

"No. What's a fambly?" she asks.

BBQ Joint

Jyarl looks down, actually somewhat saddened for once, before reaching out to take her hand and guide her out of the restaurant. He leaves enough payment for what they ate, but otherwise doesn't say anything before exiting. "Family is something you don't betray and something that doesn't betray you. We need to go to my home so we can get some things done, then you can sleep peacefully, I promise."

[happyturtle]

BBQ Joint >> Remnant

"Oh! Fambly is tribe!" she says, suddenly getting it. Then she presses her hand to her head again. "Dun 'member no tribe."

[Shadowcaller]

Middleton Apartments

Telly shakes her head after a moment. "No. Not as far as I know anyway. We just sorta grew together after traveling with one another for years. I made the first move, and afterward she nearly left me. Took a long time for us to get to where we are now." She tells Cessie with a slight smile as she looks into her cup of tea, remembering some of the events fondly.

Middleton Apartments

I imagine the reactions will be somewhat similar to this strip with Cessie as Kat considering they both have pretty much the same expression right now.

"...okay. That sounds nice." The sorceress comments politely before deciding to change the subject. "So would you like to visit us in the keep someday? I'm sure Harnel would be interested in seeing you."

[The Alexandrian]

[Corner of the 9th and Green Street]

The warehouse here is normal. Astoundingly so. Nothing out of the ordinary about it. Except for the fact that nobody seems to be about. The place is silent. Quiet. Not bustling in the least. Desolate. Deserted. Walls of thick cement and steel supports, as bland as can be spare the barbed wire mounted on top, block off the premises from any traffic from the road. But the black steel gate restricting entry to this area, disturbingly enough, opens as Dipsnig and Raennall draw near, allowing entry into the loading area. The employee entrance stands in sight off to the left up a set of three uniform stairs. The keypad is active, Percilia promised it would be.

They probably aren't raiding this warehouse. It seems like a ready area, not the field designated for combat itself.

[Rebonack]

[Trouble Park]

Ha!

The poking worked!

Poking always works.

Fredrick wrinkles his nose a bit at that report of the situation. "Zombies...? Isn't that their word for..."

Gregore nods. "Wights, yes. The Templar have already encountered several different varieties of them here. Some weaker than those we're accustomed to. Some much much worse."

Wow! What luck! It seems some guy who has experience fighting zombies just happened across Rein!

Too bad he wasn't here about ten minutes ago.

Fredrick turns his attention back to the cat. "Your... ummm... betrothed? Do you know where these 'zombies' have taken her? Or if she's still alive? Templar Gregore and I may be able to help."

Or rather Gregore can probably help. Fredrick could... umm... carry stuff for Rein?

[Reinholdt]

[Trouble Park]

Yes, but your finger might have gotten scratched in the process and then where would you be?

Fredrick could probably carry Rein. Looks like he could use it for the moment.

"No we're not getting married! And not just any zombies. Plant zombies. Like crazy vine venus fly trap zombie things with spores and groans and geeze I need to help her. Head zombie did something to her brain. They're at [park on other side of city]." Reinholdt doesn't particularly stop to tell his story, trudging on instead as he talks hurriedly. He needs to get to a gardening store.

[Rebonack]

[Trouble Park]

There's no word for 'girlfriend' in poor Fredrick's language! The closest would be something like 'mistress' or maybe 'concubine'.

But both of those sounded way more impolite than 'betrothed'.

"Alright... plant zombies?" Fredrick repeats, glancing back at Gregore.

The Templar just shrugs. He hasn't heard of any such thing before! This will be another new experience in monster slaying. Those are always fun.

"Something to her brain. Hmmm..." the Templar strokes his smallish beard thoughtfully. Not a goatee though! Only evil people have goatees! "If your 'girlfriend' is still alive the Emperor's healing power may be able to rid her of this malady."

Fredrick blinks. "Wait... I thought the Emperor's power couldn't heal sicknesses? Since sickness is Discord?"

Gregore offers a rather sly smile to that. "Sickness of our home is Discord. But sickness here? Appears to be something quite different."

Yay usefulness? The pair follow the kitteh!

[Shadowcaller]

Park

In the park Astrana quietly attempts to sneak into the park, not really feeling up to encountering any creepy zombie pixies. So far this world had seemed like small potato compared to her own, but man, that had been something.

Hopefully she wouldn't end up like that...

Holding the sign of bad omens closely to her chest she start to look for Arel and Rein, moving quietly through the park.

[Reinholdt]

[Trouble Park -> Gardening store]

Fredrick didn't pick him up at all and carry him! So useless.
*peeeers*

Neme Hat Rein's not much more useful, granted.

"The Empire was dethroned a while ago." Reinholdt tells them as he steps into the store and shifts form to a catboy so he can grab different things. Something feels... off about this form. He figures it's still the spores in his system though. But he is awfully muscular now.

[Rebonack]

[Gardening Store]

"We've been told that before," Fredrick points out to the now... person. Wow. There sure are a lot of shape-shifting creatures around here. Usually that sort of thing is reserved for Witches and Huldra.

But they're dead certain Rein isn't a Witch.

Wrong kind of hat.

And he obviously weighs more than a duck. Or at least he does now. Might even weigh more than a duck when he's a cat. But sadly the Witch Scale is back at the Templar headquarters...

"But from what little I understand the Empire that was here has nothing to do with the Empyreum," the lad adds. And he'll totally carry stuff that Rein buys for him! Wasn't going to just pick him up though. Nearly got scratched just for poking him!

[Reinholdt]

[Gardening Store]

As a cat, he weighs less than a duck. Unless you include that ridiculous hat.

"Oh. Yeah, ok then." Reinholdt says, buying several spray bottles of weed killer and one weed whacker. And a pair of garden shears.

"I hate plant zombies."

And he only just met them!

[Slii Arhem]

Park

The hanging vines, once compelled to stillness by their mother, have whipped into a frenzy of violent thrashing by the time Astrana re-enters the park. The zombies are similarly distressed, but seem to be incapacitated by something, all of them either writhing on the ground or leaning against the trees, indifferent to the lashings of the nearby plants. Some are holding their heads, digging fingers into their skulls in obvious pain.

The seeds are cracking, and beginning to germinate.

Arel and the other new addition might have started to take on a yellow pallor, but it's unlikely they'll rise again quite yet.

Astrana will have a very difficult time finding them manually though, if she wishes to brave the thrashing vines that seem to sense her presence and begin their slow, tree-crawling movements towards her.

[Rebonack]

[Garden Store]

He met some fungus zombies before, didn't he? Those aren't plants, technically. But they're probably just as horrible.

"I don't like zombies in general," Gregore replies in a rather flat tone as he begins pulling out some hollow metal crossbow bolts and considers them. Hmm... filled with belladonna extract at the moment. Wolf's Bane. May as well get some of this poison for the plants they'll be dealing with, right?

A purchase is made!

Richard is tasked with filling the bolts with weed killer!

What an exciting job.

Once done the bolts are clasped into a bracer around Gregore's wrist. "The dead should be left to their rightful rest."

[Reinholdt]

[Garden Store -> Plants vs Zombies park]

No no. You're thinking about Reinholdt. Clearly someone entirely different. I mean, just because the two cats look the same, sound the same, and have the same name doesn't mean they can be easily confused or anything. Honestly!

This one has a hat and the other has a rifle.

"Just... try not to kill Arel by accident. She's important." To him. But to the God she fell from too. Briefly considering this, he even gives a desperate prayer to him that she'll be alright.

Just in case, he describes Arel to the men following him before leaving the store and heading for the park.

[Shadowcaller]

Park

Okay, new plan. Save Arel and Rein, burn down park. It was the only way to deal with these things really.

Of course, she always had problem dealing with multiple foes, especially mindless ones. She could use fire but in a park like this that might cause some problems. Like say, killing Arel and Rein. Sometimes she wondered why she even bothered, it wasn't like she knew them that well.

First of all, she needed to make sure they were still even alive so she didn't risk her life for nothing and at the same time ensure they hadn't been moved or something. Plus, if they were still alive it would be great to see where everything was. She retreats to a relatively safe spot and sits down on the ground and picks up the eye of Harrad and a blindfold.

Placing the eye between her tights she puts the blindfold over her eyes and focuses. Soon enough an invisible ghost eye forms above her head.

Focusing she controls the eye to scout the vine enclosed area for Rein and Arel and any other strategic information she might be able to gather to eventually attempt to save them.

[Rebonack]

[Garden Shop ==> Doom Park]

Really?

Huh.

Could have sworn that was Fez-Hat Rein. Oh well.

Onward!

Fredrick and Gregore take note of the appearance of the woman described by Kitteh!

Fredrick briefly considers it odd that a cat and some woman are lovers. But then... he recently got busy with a water fey thing. So apparently that kind of thing is normal here?

Gregore on the other hand is required by his order to remain celibate. Boooooring.

Fredrick reaches out to put one hand on Rein's shoulder. "Don't worry. We'll save her for sure. We have the Emperor on our side after all."

Yay for being positive. And it should be pretty clear that he's talking about a god as opposed to the paranoid guy who used to rule Inside.

[Morty]

[Corner of the 9th and Green Street]

The warehouse here is normal. Astoundingly so. Nothing out of the ordinary about it. Except for the fact that nobody seems to be about. The place is silent. Quiet. Not bustling in the least. Desolate. Deserted. Walls of thick cement and steel supports, as bland as can be spare the barbed wire mounted on top, block off the premises from any traffic from the road. But the black steel gate restricting entry to this area, disturbingly enough, opens as Dipsnig and Raennall draw near, allowing entry into the loading area. The employee entrance stands in sight off to the left up a set of three uniform stairs. The keypad is active, Percilia promised it would be.

They probably aren't raiding this warehouse. It seems like a ready area, not the field designated for combat itself.

Dipsnig approaches the employee entrance slowly, glancing around and keeping his sharp ears peeled and provided nothing draws his attention, he punches in the code Percilla gave him... although he probably has to stand on his toes to do so.

[Slii Arhem]

Park

The vines swipe at the ghostly eye, apparently able to sense the magic, but not able to touch it. Once it makes its way past them, Astrana can see the first few zombies writhing in the bushes, including the circle of pixies she'd been harassed by earlier, all laid low by some pain centered in their heads.

There's no obvious signs of Arel or Reinholdt, or any living things beyond the plants, and the writhing, moaning people they've infected, although it's hard to tell what is what in the darkness beneath some of the trees.

[Reinholdt]

Park

Neme Hat Rein arrives at the edge of the park. He pauses for a shoulder hand moment though. He tilts his head to look around Fredrick for a third person he doesn't know about. Or maybe one of them is Emperor? It's really hard to tell with these people. Nexus nuts.

"Thanks." He says all the same. He does feel a bit safer with non-zombies watching his back.

[Shadowcaller]

Park

The infected people were clearly victims so if Arel or Rein was alive, they were probably among them so the eye will take a closer look at them. Astranas own enchanted sight making it easier to see through the darkness.