[Nexus] Random Places and Plots 5

[Rebonack]

[Abbey Courtyard]

"And a dragon that was once a courtly knight to accompany her. I believe we'll fit right in, Maarsukaal," Zaal laughs. Silly Nexus and its strangeness!

"No, I haven't a clue where to find it. Though from what I understand of this place one does not find adventure so often as adventure finds you."

The Nexus is odd like that.

Always adventure waiting somewhere!

"I haven't the faintest clue where to begin. But I believe we should step beyond the boundary of Baron Archibald's land and see what we find on the other side."

No doubt something neat!

With that Zaal will climb onto the teleporter pad and vanish!

To adventure!

Rebo will totally post Zaal poofing into another thread come tomorrow. Probably Outside.

[Devixer]

[Abbey Courtyard]

Hildur laughs as well. "Maybe I'll get used to all the crazy around here eventually."

She gets off of the guard rail. "Give me a sec, I'll be right down." She makes sure she still has some Gossamer, and then looks back at the Abbey, reflecting on the past couple of weeks of her life. Then she steps onto the teleporter and heads off to adventure.

[Zefir]

Necanth Prison- Elsewhere

Zefir's route will take him down a concrete-lined tunnel with a rail in the floor and ceiling and neon lighting mounted half way up the walls. The corridor is long and predominantly featureless, with no obvious doors or turnings. At the end of the turning, there's a small metal grate in the wall, an open lift shaft with a rope ladder visible in faint light coming down the shaft, a large crack in the wall leading to an unlit natural cavern and a large machine with two wheels- one on top, in the ceiling rail, and one on the bottom, in the floor rail. A human-sized ladder leads into a hatch in the machine's chassis.

Necanth Prison- Elsewhere

Zefir takes a look around. It seems like only one way is open for him. He tests by throwing a stone down (if not visible) how far away the ground is. Then he takes a closer looks round of the are he is standing looking for any kind of alert system cams or a string with metal things to make noise.

When he is sure that there isn't a trap in this lift shaft he starts climbing upwards to the machine, slowly reaching in to spy.

[Eadin]

[Prison]

Freddie has no idea what a noger is.

Nor does he have any idea what an ogre is.

Either way he would have been pretty clueless.

"Ah, I think we were just looking for somewhere to sleep where we wouldn't need to worry about someone murdering us," he replies.

Not getting murdered in one's sleep is always a positive thing.

[Cave]

Zaal flourishes a bow back to Hildur in his usual graceful sort of way. Agatha just laughs at the display. She hasn't seen a demi-dragon before! Well... at least not one that she didn't have to kill to death. And watching a monster that is so well mannered strikes her as silly.

"I have room in my saddle bags. And some can be carried by hand," the demi-dragon says. "Most of the proceeds from the sale of this Gossamer will go toward the upkeep of the Abbey, I think. But I believe that Maarsukaal should receive some of it as well. She did technically kill the dragon by resisting its will."

Necanth Prison- New London

"Not as many human visitors as non-human ones. An' by deffy-nishun the non-human ones ain't friendly. As for y' other question? Th' answer's practice." He grins, revealing teeth that appear filed down to points. The old guy seems to have misunderstood the meaning of the word 'humanitarian'. "Now, if y'd please foller me, I'll take y' to town. What d'y want first, a bed, a meal, a weapon or gamblin'? We captured a nogre yesterday, the arena's takin' bets on how long it lasts against the entire gladiator team."

Necanth Prison- Elsewhere

Zefir's route will take him down a concrete-lined tunnel with a rail in the floor and ceiling and neon lighting mounted half way up the walls. The corridor is long and predominantly featureless, with no obvious doors or turnings. At the end of the turning, there's a small metal grate in the wall, an open lift shaft with a rope ladder visible in faint light coming down the shaft, a large crack in the wall leading to an unlit natural cavern and a large machine with two wheels- one on top, in the ceiling rail, and one on the bottom, in the floor rail. A human-sized ladder leads into a hatch in the machine's chassis.

[Prison]

That's.. pretty gross.
Cat just manages not to make a disgusted noise.

"What's a norge?"
Probably nothing human.

"And I agree with the bed thing, some rest would be nice."

[Earl of Purple]

Necanth Prison- New London

"A nogre is a small breed o' giant. Small's relative, obviously. This one's about ten foot tall, which is a bit on th' small side. Somewhere t' sleep wi' out murderin's? Hmm. Y' best bet 'd probly be to buy a cell from th' housin' agency. They'd supply y' wi' th' only key. Cheaper t' stay in a B n' B, but they're more dangerous, too. There's the free cell, too, but there's not much space n' visited by pick pockets n' thieves. Or y' could leave n' try n' find a place t' kip in a vent or somethin'." The man nods slightly, though they're all dangerous to some extent. Outside New London is likely to be safest, depending on where they try to sleep.

Necanth Prison- Zefir

The machine, somewhat like a train but with one wheel running in a ceiling-rail and the other in a floor-rail, is not in the lift. The grate and the crack are both large enough for Zefir to fit through should he so choose, and the grate looks as though it's loose.

[Rebonack]

[Prison]

A small ogre, huh?

Welp!

That explains nothing since Fredrick still has no idea what an ogre is in the first place. "Umm..." Freddie coughs slightly. "There are only humans where I come from. I'm afraid I don't know what an ogre is, either."

It probably doesn't matter all that much.

Anywho!

"Alright. Housing agency. Where can we find them?" Freddie asks.

Having a relatively safe place to return to each day would be quite useful in a dangerous place like the prison.

[Hattish Thing]

[Adventure!]

Alfred nods at Correl's command and loses no time making his way to the cave entrance. He trust Sadei and Sonnya's magic will keep them safe, with no sneaky magic of his own, he'll have to wait to prove himself.

I have returned!

(Sorry for the wait. Internet is being difficult.)

Sonny just waits to be told to do something. T.T Sorry, for short post. Internet failing!

[Zefir]

Necanth Prison- Zefir

The machine, somewhat like a train but with one wheel running in a ceiling-rail and the other in a floor-rail, is not in the lift. The grate and the crack are both large enough for Zefir to fit through should he so choose, and the grate looks as though it's loose.

Necanth Prison- Zefir

Zefir will head for that way. Actually a machine is very intressting. Maybe he found an old transport system? Something that's more than a lift?

Maybe there are still materials he could use for explosives like oil.

[Eadin]

[Prison-New London]

Cat just nods, having heard stories of ogres but never met one before.
"I'm not the gambling type."
Better save money for more important stuff, like sleeping!

"A cell from the housing agency sounds the safest, yes.."

[orb_of_blood]

[Laira - Shifter Hold]

BBBBBZZAAPP!

After the horrible sensation of stretching, twisting, compressing and an odd feeling as though their being stabbed with many tiny needles, Rasha and Marty finish teleporting to Laira!

And Marty has already learned the first reason why few people teleport to or from there. There was definitely some sort of block in place to make it difficult to teleport to the Nexus.

But! Here they are! And goodness, is it gorgeous! They've appeared on the outskirts of the Hold: where a meadow sweeping as far as the eye can see, green and soft, meets a forest, with small deer, badgers and foxes streak around the light-dappled forest floor and even pause to come over and say 'hello', with no sense of fear at all.

The serene atmosphere makes Rasha incredibly uncomfortable, and she feels sick besides due to the spell. "I'll be damned if they ain't watching us," she grumbles.

[Hattish Thing]

Laira

Marty shudders. That was not a pleasant experience. He looks around and smiles at the forest. What a beautiful place! He raises an eyebrow at Rasha.Watching us?.wait...who? Where?

[orb_of_blood]

[Laira]

A gentle doe tiptoes up and nuzzles at Rasha. She hisses at it and stumbles back a few paces, and the critter flees, absolutely terrified. "I bet they're all Shifters!" She announces, drawing the attention of every woodland creature there.

They stare at them for a few seconds before returning to simply milling around, leaving her grumbling angrily. The Shifters had never liked her after she'd accidentally poisoned a few of their members. "Why dontcha go first?" She waves a hand at the forest.

[Hattish Thing]

Laira

Marty frowns and moves to pet the doe happily. This place was wonderful, like something out of a children's storybook. Aw...look at the doe...Rasha shush. It's just some deer...

[orb_of_blood]

[Laira]

Rasha glares daggers at it, and purses her lips in irritation.

The deer, blissfully unaware of the glower, decides it likes Marty and nuzzles him gently, poking it's nose into his pockets seeking food.

[Hattish Thing]

Laira

Marty smiles, causing his mildly handsome face to brighten. He pats the doe's head softly. He reaches in a pocket to pull out some cheese. He supposed the doe wouldn't mind if the cheese was somewhat squashed. It had been in its pocket.She's just hungry. Nice animal. Here, pet her. He looks over at Rasha and smiles. His white teeth shine in the sun, yet his dark blue eyes show a deep sadness. He runs a soft hand through its fur, he was glad that the only animals in this forest were deer and other harmless forest creatures. That, and the doe was cute.

[orb_of_blood]

[Laira]

His words have little effect, as Rasha continues to glare at it.

The doe nibbles at the offered food for a moment. It's rich brown coat was spotted white in places and wonderfully soft. For a moment it stares at him as though trying to decide...

"Are ya goin' ta do something or will we hafta search for the camp by ourselves?" Rasha demands.

"Forgive me for trying to ascertain whether the dragon and illegal outsider half-breed meant any danger to our forest." The deer answers, in a voice as airy and light as the wind. It nuzzles Marty again softly, like he's just a small fawn.

[Hattish Thing]

Laira

Marty sighs. "Oh stop being such a grump. It's just a doe. Soft too." He pets her softly, admiring the soft fur and rich color. It's just hungry. He fed her the cheese and sticks a hand in his pocket to pull out a small peanut butter cookie. "Here, want some?" He offers it to the doe, as if expecting an answer....then he got one. He listens to it and growls. He hated it when anything called him a half-breed. "I'm not a 'half-breed'. I'm a half-elf!" Then he finally notices the doe said it. "...Wait...d-did...d-did the d-doe just t-talk?" His stutter returns. Must just happen when he's nervous.

[Earl of Purple]

Necanth Prison- New London

"Think of a nogre as a very large, very ugly, muscular human wi' gurt big tusks n' this'n's got blue skin. But th' housin' agency's righ' this way, foller me." The old man leads them down into a long, narrow chamber with lots of cells lining it. There's three layers up and four down, all linked with walkways and catwalks. There's a few impromptu bridges and bodged repairs of damaged bridges. "Th' Lord Mayor's bunked in th' old guard house on top, wi' most rankin' officials in th' adjacent cells. Less importan' peeps like y'self get th' places further away. Me, I still got me old cell- no reason t' change. It's down there, should y' wanna visit fer lunch." He points at a cell on the row below with a cooking fire outside, and he licks his lips as his eyes run over Freddy.

Necanth Prison- Train

Inside the train, there's two storeys of seating, half the chairs pointing forward and half facing back. In the ceiling of both storeys are hatches, most of which have been opened- they likely contain nothing of use, but maybe some of the closed ones do. The train doesn't have an engine or a cab- it's powered by electricity from the rails, so there's no oil. The seats are padded and resemble train seats, with tacky nylon covers. The upper storey has a dead body lying face down in the aisle, its head lying between its feet. They look to have been human, and are remarkably fresh. They might have died a few minutes ago, though the body's cold and the blood is old and dried.

[Rebonack]

[Prison]

Come over for lunch.

Cooking fire.

Eying hungrily.

...yeah... that isn't foreboding at all!

Fredrick edges away from the guy eeeeever so slightly.

"Ah, yeah... we'll keep that in mind. Thank you."

And with that he quickly turns to head off and find the housing official guy!

Because sticking around here seems like a terrible plan.

[orb_of_blood]

Laira

Marty sighs. "Oh stop being such a grump. It's just a doe. Soft too." He pets her softly, admiring the soft fur and rich color. It's just hungry. He fed her the cheese and sticks a hand in his pocket to pull out a small peanut butter cookie. "Here, want some?" He offers it to the doe, as if expecting an answer....then he got one. He listens to it and growls. He hated it when anything called him a half-breed. "I'm not a 'half-breed'. I'm a half-elf!" Then he finally notices the doe said it. "...Wait...d-did...d-did the d-doe just t-talk?" His stutter returns. Must just happen when he's nervous.

"Shifter." Hisses Rasha, and the doe laughs.

"I didn't mean offense, Half-Elf. But you must understand, most of Laira's laws are in place to stop creatures like you living amongst us." She turns slightly to look back at them. "You coming? The clan will be... interested... to meet you."

[Hattish Thing]

Laira

Marty stares, his mouth agape. I...um...d-duh...f-fine. Marty will follow the doe, stupified.

[Eadin]

[Prison-New London]

"Uhm, yeah. Thanks for the offer."

Creepy is probably an understatement.

She'll follow Freddy, casting a look over her shoulder at the creepy man. Sort of a 'I'm watching you'- glare.
"God, what have we gotten ourselves into..,"she mumbles to Freddy.

The places gives her chills and it's obvious she doesn't feel safe.

[Earl of Purple]

Necanth Prison- New London

"F' some reason, most peeps dun' take me up on me offer. Dunno why, mebe it's me history of cannibalism." He did say that he knew the taste of human blood through 'practice'. It won't take much longer for them to reach the housing agency. "Ahoy in there. It's Cannibal Joe from th' gate, n' I got two noobs wi' me. They wanna place t' stay wi'out risk of murder." The housing agency is a perfectly normal cell, nearly identical to the ones alongside it in most directions. However, a desk has been moved into the cell, though a skull rests under one of the legs to keep it stable. The skull looks human, apart from the fact that there's a ring of small bony projections around the top of the skull. Behind the desk is man propped into a chair eating out of a bowl with a spoon. His legs are quite short and incomplete; they're also stone, and it looks as though they were deliberately shattered. He's wearing a sleeveless vest, a top hat and a monocle. "Noobs? Wow, haven't been any of those in a while. So you want somewhere to stay, hmm? Are you looking for a one or two bed cell? I have three with functioning electric lights, or you could use candles but our stock of those is running low, one of which has been extended by three feet. Others have rear extensions too. But what are your minimum specifications? We can work from there." The man has a disarming smile, and he has a distinctly upper class accent. Sitting cross-legged on the floor behind him is a seven-year-old girl in bloodstained clothes who smiles widely as she polishes a very large axe. The axe's blade is clean, but the handle has a few splotches of blood and other mysterious stains on it.

[Rebonack]

[Prison]

"Last I checked we didn't get into this," Freddie retorts. "We both got poofed here against our will."

Stupid floating lights of doom!

He also makes a pointed effort not to look at the cannibal guy. Stupid creepy cannibal guy...

When the housing fellow speaks up Fredrick glances over at Cat. "I was thinking two beds. Ooor..."

Maybe she would favor separate rooms?

He really isn't sure!

Cat will have to state her preferences.

[Eadin]

[Prison]

''Right, balls of light.''
Still a pretty horrible situation.
Everyone here is so creepy! Even the girl.
And then Freddy seems to have problems with deciding the rooms.
'' One bed will do and some light would be preferable.''
She's going to suggest taking care of the electricity herself, but it is probably better to lay low with the powers.'' If you don't mind. Might be better for the budget'' That and she will propose taking turns with taking watch. Doesn't trust these people, or that axe.

[Earl of Purple]

Necanth Prison- New London

"One bed, and electric lighting rather than fire or candle? Hmm. I can do that. It'll be expensive, though. One hundred coins, a well-made shiv or ten gallons of home-made alcohol, or if you have none of that, I'll see what I can do from what you do have. The electric lighting doubles the cost- choose a room without, I'll give you three candles and a crate free of charge, though Lucy won't be able to carry the crate." The child looks up and grins a soulless grin when her name is mentioned before returning to her axe.

Everyone here is a criminal, usually a hardened one. Even the girl. People who aren't weird in any way are just about the least likely to be arrested, unless they're secretly a serial arsonist or something.

[Zefir]

Necanth Prison- Train

Inside the train, there's two storeys of seating, half the chairs pointing forward and half facing back. In the ceiling of both storeys are hatches, most of which have been opened- they likely contain nothing of use, but maybe some of the closed ones do. The train doesn't have an engine or a cab- it's powered by electricity from the rails, so there's no oil. The seats are padded and resemble train seats, with tacky nylon covers. The upper storey has a dead body lying face down in the aisle, its head lying between its feet. They look to have been human, and are remarkably fresh. They might have died a few minutes ago, though the body's cold and the blood is old and dried.

Necanth Prison- Train

Well a dead body i likely to be most interesting since it could also occurred to him. Zefir takes a closer look at him, first poking him from afar. He assumes some kind of magic or just met an undead. Best chaeck that out first. He also takes a look for traps not falling under that.^^

[orb_of_blood]

[Laira]

As they walk deeper into the forest, it becomes more orderly. Creatures join them, creatures which are not creatures at all. A hare leaps onto a log beside Marty and watches them pass. A small red fox takes up pace beside Rasha. Wings beat the air over them as their escort is joined by a force of ospreys and hawks.

It seems news of their arrival has already reached the Hold, for as they first spy the animal-skin tents, the Shifters are waiting to greet them, already back in their pale Elven forms.

"Welcome outsiders." A man steps from their ranks, tall and thin, and distinguished from the others by the intensity of the swirling clan tattoos across his chest. The same tattoos mark everyone there who is not morphed, but his are especially vibrantly colored. "Kind dragon, we would ask that you remain out of our Hold. Brother elf, you shouldn't be here at all. But here you are, so we welcome you among us. What has brought you here?"

[Hattish Thing]

Shifter Hold

Marty.....didn't like elves. It was because he was related to them he was often teased. A hlaf-elf is composed of the pale skin and thin build of an elf added to a human's mind and grace. Marty's long ears and pale skin made him often the butt of cruel and sometimes very rude jokes. He had been teased growing up, and he still couldn't escape being called "half-breed" in his adulthood. It was his father's fault for ever falling in love with an elf. So, Marty is rather nervous. "Erm...I...Um...Not an e-elf, half-elf ....s-sir. I've come t-to f-find an old friend....she m-might have come t-to this h-hold....Shada? Rather sh-short? Black h-hair?" Marty hoped they would know where Shada went. She was pretty much the last thing in his life that he could possibly put back. His inn would take months to prepare, his friends were not really his friends, and even his wife, who he had thought so pure, had been betraying him before she died. Shada was the last happy thing he had left.

[orb_of_blood]

[Laira - Shifter Hold]

Well, considering he's on a planet where inter-species relationships have been banned, shouting out to a group of elves that he's a half-elf may not be such a good idea. Indeed, while they already knew that, they don't seem entirely pleased to have it spoken aloud.

"Yes... of course. Half-elf." He motions Marty to follow him into the camp area, but when Rasha tries to follow, he holds up a hand and she halts. Guess dragons aren't allowed into the compound. Shrugging, she retreats to wait outside the camp.

"There was a woman who passed by about ten suns ago. But I'm afraid, before I give any details, I'll have to know why you seek her. The poor girl was a slave after all, for all I know you could be a bounty hunter."