[Nexus] Inside 47

[McBish]

The Original Hank's Hookahs

"Maybe," Charity says. "But being a pacifist isn't everyone's path. I even have come to realize that you don't have to be a pacifist to be a good person. I just know it's the right path for me."

"Yeah, and no harm in reading about a path that isn't necessarily meant for yourself right? Thanks for the recommendation."

[Halae]

Kate's artificial arm flips up over her shoulder and she uses the moment to blast the Kami with the built-in laser gun. She's putting some extra power into it... probably more than would be necessary to blast open a rib cage.

Even if blasting it doesn't destroy it permanently, it should keep it from transforming more people until she knows how to beat it for good.

[The Poor Knight - Later]

The kami will be struck by the blast! Correl better watch that rop-sword of his, or it might get fried too. The kami, for it's part, begins to disintegrate, vanishing back into the spirit world. No way will it remain there forever, but this should give Kate a chance to prepare appropriately.

[Walking Again]

"Ah, there we are. It smells pretty good don't you think?" Cessie replies as she walks up to the new restaurant.

[Walking Again => Lefty's]

"Mmm, it really does. Let's check it out." Sakura follows Cessie toward the restaurant.

[Deep Down Coffee]

Mimi frowns a little. "Okay." She's gonna keep an eye on this guy. There better not be any trouble. If there is, he'll be asking for what he gets. The pixie has to stop herself from scowling. Nothing bad's happened yet.

[Lefty's]

Once the pair enter the restaurant, a pool of water seeps up out of the tiles before it begins rising from a pool into a pillar, which oddly contains a set of clothing that must have been pulled up from somewhere. once it's reached human height, it starts shaping itself, gaining color, definition, and texture, until before them stands a pleasant and plump looking woman, wearing the outfit, now still wet, that was within the pool of water, "Hello, and welcome to Lefty's! Table for two then?"

[Deep Down Coffee]

"I wouldn't say I do it often, but I work with souls constantly, because of the trafficking with demons and the like that I end up doing. I even once visited the Academy of Shapers and Binders in Thay, which almost exclusively works with souls. The concept is sound and shouldn't be too difficult." He leans down to Mimi to whisper conspiratorially, though Riss can still hear, "And if I do anything bad, you can hit me over the head. That sound fair?"

Augurine Elmouse

"Really? Maybe I should learn how to make them then." Julie samples one of her own, and apparently agrees with his assessment as she mumbles expressively through her closed lips.

Once a pair of pizza slices have been hovered onto their plates, she purses her lips and turns her eyes to her food in contemplation, "I don't suppose you'd have it in you to forgive me if I ruined the mood with a confession, would you?" She seems dead set on ruining the mood anyway by the way she's acting, but something seems to be eating at her more than usual.

[Augurine Elmouse]

"Well, we've both been doing mood whiplashes tonight, I think. I wouldn't mind another," Eric says, taking a bite out of his slice of pizza, curious as to what she's going to say.

[Tentacle Babies]

"Fluffles?" the half-drow replies, his tone somewhat confused. "Oh. OH! You must have named her already? Hehe, that was fast."

He seems to find this rather amusing!

"Not my pet. Not exactly, anyway. I've been studying them. The Nexu genus is one of the few creatures that's actually native to the Nexus in the proper sense. Everything else has migrated here. But those-"

He points at the adorable critter.

"-were here from the start. So I've been compiling as much information on them as I can. Y'know. See if there's anything interesting I can learn from them."

[Tentacle Baby]

Scylla looks at him for a long while, trying her best to understand what he was saying. So many weird words in there! Behind her big eyes you can almost hear the gears churning.

Suddenly, there's a flash of orchid light around her head, and she smiles, "Ok! Do you want Fluffles back?"

[happyturtle]

The Sitar's Strings

"Yes, please. It is good to finally be away from the scum filling the streets outside." The man smiles and looks around.

Damn. I described it earlier in the thread, but I forgot to save the link. I'll have to go back and find it. It's a nice restaurant, but not super fancy. They're speciesist, but not snooty!

"Certainly. Right this way," Emily says. She leads the man to the table and gives him a menu. It has restaurant food! Nothing magical or poisonous (to humans, unless they have food allergies) or illegal. "Let me know when you're ready to order."

The Original Hank's Hookahs



"Yeah, and no harm in reading about a path that isn't necessarily meant for yourself right? Thanks for the recommendation."

"What's your favourite book? I could do with some new reading material," Charity says.

[Earl of Purple]

The Sitar's Strings

The man will look through the menu, reading it intently. He'll wave Emily over next post.

[McBish]

The Original Hank's Hookahs

The Speech of Huaynec Zaltun. I found it in the library, a little pamphlet barely 30 pages long. It is a series of stories told by a slave who was awaiting execution. It briefly told the tale of his life from young trader, to soldier to mercenary and then slave."

He grins a bit remembering how after reading the whole pamphlet in one sitting he had stolen out of the library to take home. For some reason the way the man wrote spoke to him more then anything else he had found.

[Rebonack]

[Tentacle Babies]

Much like his sibling Ibby, Divahonar has a tendency to be a little bit rambly when talking about things that interest him. In this case weird flora and fauna of the Nexus.

When asked if he wants the critter back he laughs slightly.

"Well, that depends on whether or not it wants me to take it back. I can try though."

That said he'll walk up to the Far-child and attempt to grab the ollie!

Only to find that it has dead-timed and become completely immovable.

No matter how much he tugs on the critter it refuses to budge!

"Haha, nope," comes another laugh as he steps back. "Looks like she doesn't want to come with me."

As soon as he backs away the fuzzy critter pops out of stasis and nuzzles at Scylla. "Meep!"

[Shadowcaller]

[The Poor Knight - Later]

The sword, unlike Correl, is quite imperious to damage so it avoids getting fried though it doesn't manage to quite shield the kami either considering laser happens to be quite a bit faster then Correl's reflexes.

The knight stares at the disintegrated kami in disbelief, who just killed the creature? He attempts to look for whoever murdered the spirit.

[Lefty's]

"Yes please. Mind telling us what sort of restaurant this is? It seems to have a special theme of some sort." She says while looking around.

Sewers

From what he can tell the body is completely naked and he can't feel any wounds in the area he's touching. But as Elias is sitting there in the darkness he can suddenly hear something skitter past him on the dry-walk of the tunnel. And it's not one one creature, it sounds like a whole swarm of them, all running as fast as they can in the other direction.

[Lost_Deep]

The Poor Knight - Later

Kate walks over to examine the scorch mark. Looks like that is that for today...

She looks up at Correl, and then down at the holy symbol.

She then attempts to reverse what the Kami did to him using her divine magic. No point forcing him to suffer through reversing it himself.

[happyturtle]

The Sitar's Strings

Emily returns!

---

1

Hookah Bar

"I'll go to Hoarders tomorrow and pick it up," Charity says. "Want to meet back up here in a week, after my class?"

---

1

Sewers

Oh crap! If the rats (as Elias assumes they are) were deserting the sewers, then something bad was probably coming this way! Abandoning the body and dropping the stick, Elias starts swimming the same direction the rats are going, back the way they came! He figures he can move faster in the disgusting water than fighting with the rats for footing on the ledge.

[Earl of Purple]

The Sitar's Strings

"I think I'll have this, and this, please." He points out a gammon steak with a slice of pineapple with a glass of lemonade to wash it down.

[Slii Arhem]

Augurine Elmouse

"Well, it's because you brought up money. You see, before you got back from being dead, I spent a bit of time hanging around Reinholdt and talking about redemption and such. One day though, his drunk pirate friend showed up on the beach with a massive chest full of stolen gold that she wanted to bury. I convinced her not to shoot me to keep me quiet about where it was hidden, and then later after you were back decided to split it with Justin Mine in exchange for his help digging it up. I wanted something in case of an emergency, or if none came, to give Scylla and Prism a good start on whatever careers they might want to pursue in the future." There, that little (massive) secret was out of the bag.

"Oh, and I asked Justin to bring a bunch of chocolate coins so I could fill it up again and re-bury it." Right, and the part that still had her giggle at inappropriate moments. Can't forget that.

[Gullara]

[Lefty's]

Once the pair enter the restaurant, a pool of water seeps up out of the tiles before it begins rising from a pool into a pillar, which oddly contains a set of clothing that must have been pulled up from somewhere. once it's reached human height, it starts shaping itself, gaining color, definition, and texture, until before them stands a pleasant and plump looking woman, wearing the outfit, now still wet, that was within the pool of water, "Hello, and welcome to Lefty's! Table for two then?"[/COLOR]

[Lefty's]

"Yes please. Mind telling us what sort of restaurant this is? It seems to have a special theme of some sort." She says while looking around.

[Lefty's]

Well that's an interesting way to greet people. Sakura gives the woman a friendly smile. "I bet it's delicious food with how it smells." The dryad's stomach is rumbling just thinking about eating here.

[McBish]

The Original Hank's Hookahs

"Yeah that would be cool."

He is pleasantly surprised to hear that she wants to meet up with him again.

[Halae]

[Lefty's]

The naiad chuckles, "I wouldn't really know, since I don't actually eat, but I'm glad you think so." she'll take Cessie and Sakura to a table next to a large window, and puts a pair of menus in front of them. "Is there anything I can get you to drink to start you off?"

[Augurine Elmouse]

Eric stops mid bite as he eats the pizza, then chews slowly as he mulls this over. It wasn't a good thing, per se but there was a good reason for it, it was for their family, and it was only stealing it from someone who had likely already stolen it. Besides, the chocolate coins thing was kind of funny. "Ok."

And just like that, he keeps eating.

[Slii Arhem]

Augurine Elmouse

"But you- I... buh? Grah!" Julie sputters, clenching her hand into a fist on the table, "You mean to tell me that I kept that from you and guilted over it, thinking you were going to ask me to donate the money to GLoG or an orphanage, and tell me to sleep on the couch for a week, and you would have been okay with it this whole time!?" She looks nearly apoplectic for a moment before her bad mood deflates and her shoulders slump in a huff.

"Damnit Eric, how the heck am I ever going to figure out what triggers that knight-in-shining-armor complex of yours if you keep changing the rules on me?" The succubus pouts, completely put out by the revelation that Eric isn't exactly the "all good, all the time, no exceptions" guy that she somehow convinced herself he was.

[Shadowcaller]

[Lefty's]

That's not really what she asked but the mage choose not to remark on it an take a seat and take a look around the restaurant. "I could just have some milk please." Cessie orders.

Sewers

As Elias swims he finally see the light of the open manhole in the distance and a small figure slowly making her way down the ladder trying to carry both a lantern and some rope at the same time.

[Beans]

[Greenhouse]

Similarly, the hammock seals over Mayhala, who seems content to wait for now, possibly with a nap thrown in if the girl takes a while to wake up, though I'll also be deadtiming soon.

[Greenhouse]
Later, the plant thing starts to stand up, flexing its legs.

[Gullara]

[Lefty's]

"Chocolate milk, please. Large if there's different sizes." Sakura says, almost eagerly. Boy does she love chocolate milk.

[OrchestraHc]

[The Poor Knight - Earlier]

"Of course madame." The knight replies. "I assume this is Alfreds other parents? Because I wouldn't have it any other way. They are responsible for his well-being as well after all so I would need there permission too."

[The Poor Knight - Earlier]

"Yes," she says, biting back hard on the annoyance of that woman being called her son's parent.

Sensing his mother's distress, Alfred wraps his arms around his mother again, who hugs him tightly in response. "We'll see you soon, Sir Correl," Alfred says as he and his mother begin to depart (if there's nothing else the knight has to say.)

[Halae]

Augurine Elmouse

"But you- I... buh? Grah!" Julie sputters, clenching her hand into a fist on the table, "You mean to tell me that I kept that from you and guilted over it, thinking you were going to ask me to donate the money to GLoG or an orphanage, and tell me to sleep on the couch for a week, and you would have been okay with it this whole time!?" She looks nearly apoplectic for a moment before her bad mood deflates and her shoulders slump in a huff.

"Damnit Eric, how the heck am I ever going to figure out what triggers that knight-in-shining-armor complex of yours if you keep changing the rules on me?" The succubus pouts, completely put out by the revelation that Eric isn't exactly the "all good, all the time, no exceptions" guy that she somehow convinced herself he was.

[Augurine Elmouse]

Eric grins, struggling to keep down a laugh, "Well, what am I supposed to say, Julie? 'No, I'm not alright with you stealing from someone who probably also stole it so that we can give our kids an education'? Come on, that'd just be me having a stick up my ass. I mean, I could say those things if you really wanted me to, but I wouldn't really mean it." He eats more pizza. Mmmmm. Pizza.

[Lefty's]

"I'll be back soon with the milks," she chuckles a bit, "I'm sure you'll enjoy them." And she'll sink down into water again. At this point, the pair of ladies should noticed that the tiles on the floor have grooves in the spaces between them which run under everything, obviously how the waitress goes everywhere like she does.

The Menu has a list of standard fare, with fish, various kinds of meat dishes including bacon, steak, ham, chicken, and others. There's also a vegetarian menu, consisting of salads and meat substitutes, though there's also a few beautiful omelets listed. A couple of the specialties are Rotisserie steak, a beautfiul looking tuna pate, or a nice looking fruit salad.

The deserts menu mainly has to do with pies, such as cherry, apple, pumpkin, and the like, though there's also a few cakes and cheesecakes.

Cessie and Sakura will have a round or two of talking before the naiad waitress arrives with their milk.

[Tentacle Babies]

Scylla's eyes light up as she continues to snuggle Fluffles, "I love pets! You're going to be loved and fed and loved and stuff!"

After a moment, Scylla stops cuddling to look up at Divaonar "Now that I think about it, Do you know where Mommy and Daddy are?"

[Chaotic Bob]

"Right. No time to lose. Thank you, Princess," Missy says, and heads that way.

For purposes of only having one person in the scene, and one Charity in the thread, I'm going to handwave that Charity found some civilians who were slightly injured in the running and fleeing and is busy with them.

[Light Street]

Depending on the estimated distance, Vul/Teq may or may not board his ship once again and take off. Presumably Missy can make good time on her own, so the Vraal may just fly into the air and makes his way to their new destination.

In either case, Teq and his squad reach the portal site in short order. He takes a moment to scan the surroundings.

Luna watches them leave and takes to the sky. She has somewhere else to be.

[Blacklight Street]

Still not sure how these ended up having similar names.

It's a fair distance away, so aerial transportation will likely be taken.

As before, this little region of the city seems to be populated by living shadows, as opposed to anything else.
Actual shadows, of the two-dimensional variety, as opposed to the ghostly wraith creatures most expect.

Luna's strandspell leads off towards a brick wall, presently dominated by one of Ibby's seal spells.
Similar to the one that had been in the sky over the Hole, perhaps.

A flock of shadow ravens are littering the area.

[Slii Arhem]

Augurine Elmouse

"You could at least stop hogging all the pizza." Julie grumps, changing the subject as she picks up her own slice, "Is it really that good?" She takes a bite just after asking the question, trusting his tastebuds over his tongue.

[Shadowcaller]

[Lefty's]

After looking at the menu a while the sorceress have already decided on what to eat as the waitress comes around with their milk. "I'll just have a beef salad please." She asks while leaving her milk alone for the time being. Milk just tasted bitter alone.

[happyturtle]

The Sitar's Strings

"Certainly, Sir," Emily says. After the appropriate amount of time, food arrives.

---

1
The Original Hank's Hookahs

"Great. I'll see you then," Charity says. "Take care of that arm."

And she heads out, to head for home.

---

1
Sewers

Elias tries to climb up on the ledge once he gets near the manhole. "Hekta, go back! Something's coming!" he calls. He'll be trying to bat away at the rats to get a handhold and get to the ladder.

---

1
Backlight Street

I named Light Street at random. I probably had the word light somewhere on a tab title. I don't know who named Backlight Street.

Missy notes that there is a spell, but doesn't get close to it, due to her own magic repulsion armour. "Vul, do you know what that spell is doing?" While she asks, she loads her grenade launcher with goober rounds, the better for incapacitating whatever comes through. "And we'll need aerial cover." She still thinks Twilight is a flying pony.

[Earl of Purple]

The Sitar's Strings

The man will eat his meal quite happily, taking as long as he can with it. He doesn't seem particularly keen on the vegetables, but pineapple and gammon go really well together so he eats those at the same time.

[Gullara]

[Lefty's]

"Thanks." Sakura grabs her chocolate milk and takes a big gulp. Whoops, she better order too. "Oh, um..." She looks at the menu again. "Er... I guess I want... The fruit salad, please." She finally decides.

[McBish]

The Original Hank's Hookahs

Calvin relaxes for a bit longer before getting up to go himself.

[Rebonack]

[Blacklight Street]

The seal array is very glowy and complicated. Bits of it are moving and interacting with each other in a fashion vaguely reminiscent of some kind of clockwork mechanism. Missy might get the impression of a circular blast shield from looking at it.

It's probably worth noting that such arrays are incredibly resistant to magic nullifying effects. However, damaging them by simply beating on them with a hammer or some such would cause them to become non-functional. Just like beating on any other complex, fragile piece of technology would destroy it.

[Tentacle Babies]

Fluffles gives another "Meep!" as she continues rubbing on the child.

At the girl's question Divaonar frowns slightly. "Eerr... I'm afraid I don't know who your parents are. So I can't really help you out there. If my brother where here he could probably find them..."

Ibby is decently skilled with divination magic after all.

"What are their names? Do you know where you saw them last?"

ALSO!

Fortunate that the kid is related to one of the Primordials rather than one of the Old Ones. The chimeras have standing orders to destroy any servants of the Old Ones that they find. Primordials get quite a bit more leeway when it comes to mucking about in the material world since they make the rules to begin with.

[Murkus]

Blacklight Street

"Looks like it's sealing the portal. Should we open it up?" Teq asks, stepping down off the ramp. Clutched in his fists are three shotguns, all colored yellow and loaded with taser rounds. Three of his four squad members get one, but the lizard-man stays aboard. "Take her up, Skez. If something flies out of this alley, shoot it down."

"Aye," Skez agrees, shortly before closing the ramp and taking off again in almost complete silence. The ship hovers above and in front of the alley, humming quietly.

[5a Violista]

[A Pleasant Cul-de-Sac]

Celia hangs up a dish towel, and they're done. "Thanks for your help cleaning up. That usually takes much longer."

((Feel free to end the scene here if you like. If you want Elizabeth to track down Morgan now, go ahead, but feel free to have her head off to do something new now too.))

((I'll let her go now, for a little while. Maybe she'll find something cool.))

A Pleasant Cul-de-Sac

((She'll be back to do the concert for sure. "When" depends on "How Much Homework I'll Have"))

"You're welcome," she replies with a smile.

Admiring the good work done, Elizabeth says, "I think I had better find a job now." She gives a wave, and goes back over to the bedroom to grab something.

If Celia notices her leave before the door swings shut, she'll see Elizabeth walking out with her BRAND NEW GUITAR!.

Maybe she'll try to become a Rock Star. Or maybe just a Street Musician.