[Nexus] Outside XXXII

[McBish]

{Melody's Island- Cottage}

((I have been switching pronouns all night, that must have slipped by. Too many female characters going on in my head right now. I mean... I don't know what you are talking about.))

He smiles watching her cook looking over her shoulder. He leans in to give her a kiss on the cheek. "Smells great."

[Shadowcaller]

"Demonss have a habit of ruining thingss. If they hadn't sshowed up, we may well have got back to town and gone our sseparate wayss none the wisser."

But what to do now, hmm? Damon can't deny he had been having rather a good time. And this Vizek supposedly technically isn't the Vizek he knows.

He's not quite sure whether that makes things less weird, or more weird.

Damon rubs his chin thoughtfully and stares rather intently at the ground for a minute or two. Then, struck with an idea, he looks up with a grin as he shifts back to the form of the adventurer.

"Well after fighting that demon, I don't feel quite so tired any more. Would Miss Vivecka perhaps be able to assist in tiring me out once more?" He winks at Vizek. The ball is in his court now, does Vizek find the situation too weird?

[Cyan Beach]

Vizek gives him an odd look which don't last for very long as the dragons returns the zern's wink with a grin. "I'm sure she'd love too, but we need to do something about this guy first." He gestures with his head towards the pit lord underneath his claws. "I had been planning to ask him a few things and I'm not sure it can wait..."

"Burn forever dragon! Not telling you anything." The demon insists.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Cyan Beach]

"Ah. But of course. Would you be so kind as to keep him nice and still there?" Peculiar how well Damon switches back to Darrel, isn't it? Clearly he's been practicing the act for quite a while.

"Our captive doesn't want to talk, it'd seem..." With a wicked grin, Damon strides over and leans in.

...

And then his eyes are that of a zern again, as he shifts forms. "What a brave demon you are, to sstand up to a dragon. Why iss that, I wonder? Do you perhapss think dragonss are not sskilled in the wayss of torture?" Damon hisses wickedly as a little ball of black fire springs into existence in his hand.

"Maybe they are. Maybe they're not. Truth be told, I've never obsserved any dragon doing that ssort of thing. But I am quite, quite ssure that I'm far better than them."

The zern waves the ball of fire back and forth in front of the demon a few times, making sure he gets a good look at it.

"You ssee, I have complete control over my fire. Your friend didn't like my fire. It sspread acrosss hiss body and burned him alive." Damon lets out a hissing chuckle, "Your kind are quite ressisstant to fire, aren't you? But all that meanss iss that I can make you feel far, far more pain without putting your life at rissk. Sshall we begin? Or perhapss you will be reassonable and talk?"

[Earl of Purple]

Sznovf- Log Cabin

"Beyond the fence boundary are at least ninety miles of untamed, unclaimed wilderness in every direction, dotted seemingly randomly with various ruins, tombs, crashed spacecraft, abandoned castles and interesting caves, plus the lairs of large, dangerous monsters, species which, whilst intelligent, lack the civilisation possessed by certain other races for unexplained reasons and ancient temples home to evil cults of mysterious deities." Or in other words, a Land Of Adventure.

[Devixer]

[Sznovf - Log Cabin]

"See, that's not the kind of run that I'm exactly aces with, omae," Cassidy says. "I'm more the kind for taking on the megacorps, doing snatch and grabs for some Johnson. That, and I'd really like to find a dive somewhere to get piss drunk in." She seems to have had enough Adventure for now.

[Earl of Purple]

Sznovf- Log Cabin

"Oh, right. Just remembered: we're remote here. The nearest mobile telephone tower is ninety miles away, so we don't get any mobile telephone signal. The landline telephone cables are nonexistent, so we don't have landline telephones either, and so no internet as that uses the same cables. There's no sewer pipes this far out either, and no water mains. The electricity we use is provided by personal generators, as there's no electricity mains either. We are also not connected to oil, gas, or any other hydrocarbon pipeline, so fuel has to be imported as well, except for wood and charcoal which we can make ourselves." This probably seems rather barbaric for poor sci-fi dystopia Cassidy.

[Devixer]

[Sznovf - Log Cabin]

Cassidy grew up in the worst barrens of Seattle, so a remote area might actually be better than that. No gang wars, at least. "Completely off the grid, then. I don't mind, good place to scamper when the badges are looking for me."

[Earl of Purple]

Sznovf- Log Cabin

"We're so small, we barely show up on our own maps. Yes, we're safe, though if you're thinking of setting up a smuggling route through here, please let everybody know. We could use the commerce." The ghost is rather practical. A black market economy is, at least, an economy. And there's the peddlars that wander through occasionally; some of those sell less-than-legal things.

[Devixer]

[Sznovf - Log Cabin]

"Aah, maybe. Never been much of a courier." Cass brushes at her jeans. "Anyway, it's been real. I really should go and get blitzed, lotsa things I saw today that I really wouldn't mind unseeing."

[Earl of Purple]

Sznovf- Log Cabin

"OK. Well, I hope that when you return you will have the builders and equipment necessary to construct whatever home, warehouse, shop, or fortress you desire." Sznovf is small and isolated. A warehouse of stolen goods could be set up here for resale when the previous owners have forgotten what was stolen.

[Devixer]

[Sznovf - Log Cabin]

"Yeah, I'll be coming back when I can actually build something without emptying me coffers." Which at this point, were basically Cassidy's pockets. She makes sure to give the proper goodbyes before she leaves Sznovf.

[ThirdEmperor]

Swamp of Doom

In a wretched little corner of the territories surrounding Inside, where the sky is always swathed in heavy gray clouds through which the sun never pierces, sits the swamp of doom, a miserable domain of brackish water and creeping decay.

Great gnarled trees, trunks strangled by vines and boughs laden heavy with hanging mosses, rise from small patches of dry land, tiny islands amidst the great stretch of foul, weed encrusted waters, still as the grave except for the occasional ripple left in the wake of a passing mire fish.

This grim caricature of an ecosystem teems with swarming, buzzing, crawling insects; small iridescent-shelled beetles hollowing their homes from the carcasses of larger beasts, pallid gray worms rising from the earth with each torrential rain to wriggle and writhe in great congregations upon the shores, spiders the size of volleyballs lurking up above, waiting to drop, silent as death, onto the backs of unsuspecting travelers.

None but a true madman would walk into this festering pit of their own accord, yet, no less than two sit at the very edge as we speak, one lying back on a large flat rock, the other standing, his foot tapping impatiently at the soil as he waits for the insufferable individual with whom they do business today to arrive.

[Hattish Thing]

Swamp of Doom

A small creature walks towards the two men. He wears an orange and gray pin-striped suit. He has dark gloves, a cap, and grey eyes. He walks with a limp, and his face is ugly. A man in red and dark red robes and a glorified goatee beard stands by Marciano.He has an aura of evil. The thing on his left, is donned in white plate riot gear and a giant gun. Marciano speaks out with his usual nasal voice. I'm Marciano. Executive Louv're actually...now, where's this god?

[ThirdEmperor]

Swamp of Doom

"We said 'come alone'." The first triplet snarls, hand alighting on the molded steel grip of the pistol he wears clipped to his side at the sight of Marciano's companions. "The soul's with our brother. The money?"

At the same time, the second triplet rolls from his napping spot onto his feet, sluggishly reaching for the magnetic powered assault rifle hanging from his back. "You really can't read, can ya?"

[Devixer]

[Swamp of Doom]

Someone else has headed to the swamp. She's invisible from her cloaking augs, and she's hiding in a tree, but she's there. Nobody will recognize her, and it would be difficult to see her. Jane's come here just to watch the fireworks, she won't be joining in much of anything.

[Hattish Thing]

Swamp of Doom

Marciano glares. He holds a pistol in his left hand. The robed man looks rather uninterested. The rich halfling speaks out. Psh. No. I don't read useless nonsense. Here. 15,0000. In the suitcase, take it, and give me what I want. He tosses a metal case towards the twins.

[ThirdEmperor]

Swamp of Doom

Alpha catches the case one-handed, giving Marciano and company a long, cold glare before grudgingly taking his second hand off the gun to pop the briefcase latches and check that their money's all there. "Too bad. Deal's off unless those two leave, now."

"And if the deal's off, don't think any amount of guns or knives will get the soul's location out of us. You send 'em away, or die without ever laying eyes on that soul." First adds in, rifle now aimed at the opposing trio. "On our honor, you'll come to no harm at our hands. We're mercenaries. We break a deal, no-one'll ever hire us again. You -ain't worth that."

[Hattish Thing]

Swamp of Doom

Fine...Grandfather, 5824, leave. I'm a dangerous man twins. Very different then from Arcanus...strengthened by magic and machine, very rich...And the best thing about me, is that they're so many of me! Where's my soul? The two men transport. Marciano glares.

[Lex-Kat]

{Melody's Island- Cottage}

He smiles watching her cook looking over her shoulder. He leans in to give her a kiss on the cheek. "Smells great."

Jezebelle is kissed, Thank you. then turns her head slightly to kiss him back, lips to lips. I've been teaching myself, to better help Melody. She was a horrible cook. she whsipers with a little giggle.

[ThirdEmperor]

Swamp of Doom

Alpha snorts, giving Marciano much the same look you might give to a worm prancing about and claiming to be a butterfly. "Sure you are. One moment." He says, holding up a hand for pause as he continues counting the spoils, thumbing through the stacks of cash to make sure it's all there, rather than a few 'face' bills on the top and bottom with worthless green paper between. Or even straight counterfeits all the way through.

"You're lucky. If you'd tried fighting for it, swamp woulda taken you before you even found us." Certainly taken it's toll on them. Since they last met Marciano the triplets have accumulated more than a few new scars, grit and grime clinging to them like a second skin. Regular savages they've become, far from the clean-shaven, fresh-faced soldier boys they were back at Arcanus, though, there's still not a hint of stubble on their chins.

[Devixer]

[Swamp of Doom]

Jane keeps looking on at the scene. Wait, what was this? A peaceful resolution? Lame. If it weren't against her protocol, she'd probably be shooting a crossbow at them to mix things up.

[Hattish Thing]

Swamp of Doom

Marciano grins, the bills are real. Yet...something's strange. Something is...not right about this situation. Maybe it's strange that Marciano is so confident! Or that it's so quite. Marciano speaks out. It's all there. Where's my soul? My...how quant...seems I've become a gentleman! Rich! Powerful! Yet...now you three...have become paid killers!

[ThirdEmperor]

Swamp of Doom

Strange? Alpha does one last check, this time, probing for illusions, making sure the bills register on all five senses, checking for tiny runes inscribed in the patterns. Leaving no possibility open for Louv're to pull the rug out from under them. "Hardly. You do things for money. We kill for fun. Hold still."

That's Marciano's only warning before First opens fire, not aiming at the halfling but at the empty space on either side of him. The creature and the magician vanished, but who's to say they're not still there, lurking invisibly? "Normally, this wouldn't be neccesary. But we don't trust you."

[Hattish Thing]

Swamp of Doom

There's nothing there by Marciano, and no visible runes on the money. "Get it over with twins, I play fair...this time."

[ThirdEmperor]

Swamp of Doom

"I doubt that." Indeed, Alpha very much does, so as one last security measure he ditches the case entirely and simply shoves the cash into the multitude of pockets adorning his new clothes. "C'mon, it's thisaway." Nodding towards the swamp's dark recesses, Alpha and his brother turn and head deeper in, carefully picking their way around the sinkholes and pitfalls they've mapped out over their stay in this lovely slice of hell on earth.

[McBish]

{Melody's Island- Cottage}

Jezebelle is kissed, Thank you. then turns her head slightly to kiss him back, lips to lips. I've been teaching myself, to better help Melody. She was a horrible cook. she whsipers with a little giggle.

"I can understand that. I was a terrible cook for the longest time. Managed to teach myself a thing or two over the years. I am pretty good with seafood."

[Hattish Thing]

Swamp of Doom

Marciano follows their path exactly. Of course he knows how to stalk someone..."Oy...M'curious..what happened to you three?"

[Devixer]

[Swamp of Doom]

Jane continues to follow through the trees, remaining invisible. Maybe this would turn interesting now that they were going further into the swamp.

[ThirdEmperor]

Swamp of Doom

Brackish water splashes around their boots as they go, tadpoles and minnows and waterbugs fleeing in all directions as each step kicks up a plume of mud and filth from the swampbed.

The path isn't too hard to follow, the spots where the triplets have hacked away at the undergrowth and dangling vines marking it out, but even barring a sudden tumble into quicksand it's far from pleasant, plagues of mosquitoes and swollen leeches pestering from all sides. What little in the way of pleasantry the swamp offers is merely a treacherous guise, plump purple fruits hanging from the smaller trees, sweet scented yet poisonous even to the touch.

"Not your business." Alpha replies, drawing his gun from it's holster to frighten a colorfully adorned serpent from their path with a well placed shot. "We don't bug you with questions, so why don'tcha shut up and make this easier on alla us?" First adds in, his own eyes behind them, watching for footsteps disturbing the water or imprinting themselves invisibly onto the soft earth.

Up above Jane's own path is even more peril-frought, as the triplets never bothered clearing the trees. The snakes coiled lazily among the trees are easy enough to avoid if you keep a sharp eye, but ahead the branches are strung thick with veils of cobweb, tended to by some of the smaller spiders in the swamp, fat, hairy beasts merely the size of an eight-fingered human hand.

[Hattish Thing]

Swamp of Doom

Marciano follows quickly. "Gods...this is underling work. This better be worth it. Ew...I hate mud..." Marciano seems to be a much cleaner person, still as ugly and evil though.