[Nexus] Riverside X: Take a Walk on the Wildside

[Slii Arhem]

Wildside

"You could, but I would rather you tend to the ones we have. Any bees that come here will be inferior to the ones that have been raised on Wolfy's honey. They will take just as long to begin producing enough quality honey that matches up with our current batches as it will take a new hive to split off from the current one. The choice will have to be yours though. You know the bees, and I know the mead. If either of us weren't present the end result would suffer." And to think she had once thought of doing this entire project on her own. Cole's aid had advanced her schedule immensely.

Chase

Once under the water, Thenadier should be able to see the satyr speeding away on the back of what appears to be a porpoise, hands holding tight to its dorsal fin. As soon as the inspector touches the water though, vines begin creeping up from the riverbed, trying to snag his limbs and hold him back from his target.

[Gullara]

[Dio Day - Exbourne Manor]

The man looks Billie over. She does match the description of her that they have. Another of the Enforcers moves up and talks to him for a moment, too quiet for the hunters to hear.

"Alright, bring her inside the fence. We have people coming as soon as they can." He says, then nods to those still by the gate. They quickly open it so either the hunters can walk in or drive in if they so choose.

[happyturtle]

Wildside

Cole examines a few of the bees that are always flying near him. "Yes, the bees born in this forest are larger and stronger than the first generation, aren't they? I wonder if the effect will continue? It's like nothing I've seen before."



Exbourne

The unconscious woman doesn't look like much of a Prophetess. She looks like a drunken prostitute who managed to get half dressed before she passed out. But to her credit, she's managed to keep her hat throughout her adventures somehow, as well as her horn-rimmed glasses.

By the way, she snores. Loudly.

[Shadowcaller]

[Malechenar - Fourth Tower Compound]

The boy who have had cheeks flushed a few times during the discussion have once again put on a mask of confidence as he will sign the contract offered by the devil. "Will that be all?" He then asks once the deed is done.

The woman sits down again, seemingly shrinking back into the shadows.

[Malechenar, Corridors]

Michalson will notice a vehicle which looks like a mix between a chariot and a segway quickly passing by him as soon as he ducks into the alcove. He will likely take notice of the person driving the vehicle however as he matches the description of the leader of the ones he was sent to kill. A mask, a green robe and white gloves. He can likely send the fact that this man is one of the undead too.

[Malechenar, Room]

As Valente slumps outside the room a young woman in a fourth tower robe slowly approach him. "Hey, aren't you one of the new members? I'm Sylvia, nice to meet you." She greets the vampire. Valente can likely notice that like pretty much everyone around her her skin is dark and her eyes are green.

[Melechenar, prison cell]

Shalelu was brought back to consciousness by the raw tounge of a dog licking her face, she winced as she had really preferred unconsciousness before the now thumping pain in her head. It didn't get any better as her eyelids slid open and she was blinded by the painful light above.

"Uhh..." She groaned while attempting to cover her eyes with her arm only to realize it was strapped down to something. Oh poppy What in Sivilianus beard had she got herself into now?

Letting her eyes slowly (and painfully) adjust to the light she realized there was a large dog sitting on her stomach, it's long red tongue hanging out of it's mouth as it panted loudly in her ear.

She groaned again, just great. The last thing she could recall was making out with some hot guy and now she was strapped by some dog owning freak awaiting gods knows what? She really hated that she somehow had proven her mother right.

"That's a good dog Cassie, it looks you brought our guest to life." The elf could see another silhouette against the strong light, presumingly belonging to the owner of the voice.

"...look... dude... you don't... need to do this." Shalelu manage to mumble, still stricken by the aftereffects of the alcohol that had recently pumped through her body. She didn't know what this creep was planning to do, but she was pretty sure it wasn't anything good.

"That's an amusing thing to say when you don't have any clue what's going on, isn't it? Unless I have seriously misjudged your ability to fake unconsciousness of course. But I personally find that unlikely however. Then again, I do have awfully low expectations of the kind of people that chooses to act in such a loathsome manner."

Shalelu was only half-aware what her kidnapper was babbling about, all her senses feeling either oversensitive or clouded at the moment. She could make out that a a thin, almost skeletal, hand was resting on the dog's head. She wasn't in much of a state of doing much else then listening though, she needed to save energy for later. She needed to focus on a potential escape route.

Let's see, both arms and legs felt strapped down so no luck there. She didn't feel any clothes either so no chance of getting any of her gear either.

"You have to excuse my incoming rant here, but after feeding I tend to get a bit agitated. After gaining so many memories in such a short period of time I just need to talk out, share some of my vast knowledge. It's not a good habit, but neither is acting like filthy animals wouldn't you say?"

Right now this voice were only giving her a headache but as struggling against the restrains seemed useless perhaps trying to talk him down had a better chance of success?
"Please... just let me go." The elf states, nearly managing to keep her voice completely clear despite her horrible headache. "If you want to get laid you don't-"

"No, no, no, let me stop you right there. I have no interest at all in your race's mating rituals beyond scientific curiosity of course. Even if I would be, I wouldn't just surrender to my primal urges like you and the other rabble. No, I believe surrendering to such urges actually makes you worse then animals."

As she was listening to the voice she slowly came to realize how afraid she really was once her senses became less clouded. This guy sounded like a class A freak and was probably going to cut her up into pieces who someone would find floating down the river.

How would her mother react? What would her father say once he saw her washed up in the river? Earlier she had thought about her parents disapproving attitude but now she could only think how much she would miss them despite all their flaws.

"Animals only do what they were made for, they have no ability to think or reason. You do though and what do you use them for? To act like animals. Pathetic." The figure said with a shake of it's head.

By now she could see a bit more then a silhouette, her captor had grey skin, large bat-like ears and perhaps most disturbingly, no eyes. The creature was dressed rather bizarrely too with an green beret resting atop it's head combined with a black suit. They were in some sort of alchemical lab where she was laying on a stone slab with a strange lamp right above her.

Panic now sweeping through her body she felt perfectly awake, all the numbness from earlier quickly gone even if the headache sill troubled her. "I have a family. Don't kill me!" She exclaimed in desperation, not finding herself being able to do much else.

"Kill you?" The captor said as if it had been a joke. "No, I have no intentions to do that. Unlike the other savages you have certain qualities I find pleasing. My servants tell me they find you beautiful and even if I'm blind to such things myself it's something I enjoy just for the sake of it. Not to mention no one knows you in the city with your parents being in a completely different world and all your other 'friends' only having known you for a few hours. So no, you won't be killed, instead you are going to help me in another way."

Shalelu had no idea what that meant but once she heard she wasn't going to be killed a great sense of relief went through her body. Maybe now she had a chance to get out of here. She had no idea how he could know all these things though, had he been spying on her?

"See, after these riots I have come to realize the fact that Riverside needs my help. With dregs running amok on the streets it's hard for one not to act is it not? People need to improve, they need to be better then animals, better then they are right now. But they won't change themselves so I guess I have to help them along, make them better." The creature rants while slowly petting it's dog. Shalelu could hear other dogs nearby too, an entire pack of them which seemingly was keeping the captor company. What he was saying was worrying her but whatever it was it had to be better then death right? Or maybe he was just lying to her? "So can I go?" She asked weakly, not really caring for anything her captor was saying.

But neither was he apparently as he just went on as if nothing had happened. "Many will refuse or be completely unwilling to change however but there will be places for them too. All I really want to do is make sure this chaos doesn't happen again, I want to make Northside, and perhaps even the rest of the city to reach it's full potential. Something that to now have been completely wasted until now. Be filled with joy by the fact you will be one of the first of many that will embrace this change."

Slowly surrendering to the fact he wasn't going to stop talking the elf actually attempted to make sense of what he said. Was he some leader? How was he supposed to 'improve' people?

"You are of course asking yourself right now why I'm telling such a wretched creature like yourself all this and not say, one of my many servants." Her captor suddenly stated as she suddenly felt what must be his other arm pressed against her ear, causing a chill run through her entire body. "That's simple, it's easy to rant to people that won't remember anything of what you just said." And with those words Shalelu felt a sharp pain in her ear as something that must have come from the creatures hand quickly slid inside her ear into her brain.

And then everything went black.

[Gullara]

[Malechenar, Room]

Valente looks up at the woman. How hadn't he noticed her coming? The vampire straightens and blinks back the beginnings of tears that were welling up in his eyes. "Oh, hi." He coughs a bit to clear his throat. "That's right. I'm Valente."

[Terumitsu]

[A Location In Northside]

And so we're all on the same page, make note of the time of day being late afternoon / evening with the ever present cloud cover in this area being designed to provide protection from the sun.

When the street is relatively unoccupied, and they have yet to arrive at the restaurant while still being away from the building containing the circle, Samona suddenly stops and turns to face Ghoul. "Fetch them." Is all she says.

A quick blink as the command registered and that was all. The fledgeling slipped past Samona as she pulled a bit tighter at the shadows around her while she crept up on her targets. With her combat suite brought up to full operational capacity, she took a few seconds to analyze her targets before deciding on what course of action would be the most prudent. Thermal imaging as well as predictive displays winked into being before her vision as well as the faint 'outlines' of various things below the ground as read by her sonar. Minor changes in her gait silenced the noise from her already quiet steps and the soles of her boots scanned the ground beneath them to not just subtly shift to deaden even the barest hint of sound but to warn the muse of any hazards she might have missed. Cybernetics, supernatural gifts, and hard earned experience all working in unison as the hunter calmly strode forward.

Unless her sensors picked out something out of place or rather suspicious beyond the possibility of any of the targets' heat signatures being much cooler than normal, the muse would watch and wait. Other than that, however, Ghoul would try to get as close as she would be able and wait until they passed an alleyway before attempting to reach forward to place a hand over the rearmost person's mouth while dragging them into the gap. Given her abilities, it would be a very quick thing and, provided that nothing went wrong, she should be able to silently pluck at least one of them from the group. Restraints would be a minor problem as well as the possibility of gags but simply taking all three at once was a rather poor idea.

[Reinholdt]

[Kami Hunting]

Every strike to one of the kami's stomach faces sets it screaming more, a horrible warbling cry of pain, and by now it's in too much pain to respond to Harnel. Cessie, though, will easily be able to consume the hedonism kami, as well as the other one once Harnel begins hitting that face.

Once they've both been consumed, the consumption kami, instead of looking like it's completely obese, instead looks like a remarkably skeletal man, as if he'd been denied meals for months. He's too weak to resist if Cessie chooses to consume him.

[Kami Hunting]

Slightly winded after devouring so many kami in such a short span of time the dragon still tries to consume the two kami in the same even if there is a slight risk they might overwhelm her for a moment.

[Kami Hunting]

Harnel will merely keep consumption busy until Cessie omnomnoms it.

[Murkus]

[The Riverbank]

A lone woman makes her way along the banks of the nameless River. Her skin glows neon pinks and blues. Her thin, white dress pulses rhythmically with the odd hues.

Slung across her back is what appears to be a miniature grand piano. It may as well be made of foam, with the weight it appears to carry. At her hip, hung by a leather belt, is a fat metal canister that hisses and swings from side to side.

"Sorry I'm late, honey," Tina says to her new god, blowing smoke into the wind. She plucks the cigarette from her lips and flicks it into the water. Her eyes follow burning yacht hulks on their lazy paths downriver. "Now where are you..."

When Tina first got into the city, she'd been greeted by a nice enough bunch. Riverside certainly hadn't held up to it's sinister reputation - Dio's doing, she supposed. So who was left for her to intoxicate?

[Mr. Moon]

[Malechenar - Fourth Tower Compound]

After Enu signs the contract, Mercutio takes it back and returns it to his pocket. "Oh, I believe so. It's been a pleasure."

With a deep and exaggerated play-actor's bow, Mercutio and the book he was given vanish.

[Morty]

[Dio Day - Exbourne Manor]

The man looks Billie over. She does match the description of her that they have. Another of the Enforcers moves up and talks to him for a moment, too quiet for the hunters to hear.

"Alright, bring her inside the fence. We have people coming as soon as they can." He says, then nods to those still by the gate. They quickly open it so either the hunters can walk in or drive in if they so choose.

The Hunters leave the cars outside and enter the compound. Apart from Johann and the three who had captured billie - the one who had served as bait had managed to put on a shirt - there's five more of them - a halfling woman, a female human, two male humans and some sort of catfolk.

[Malechenar, Corridors]

Michalson will notice a vehicle which looks like a mix between a chariot and a segway quickly passing by him as soon as he ducks into the alcove. He will likely take notice of the person driving the vehicle however as he matches the description of the leader of the ones he was sent to kill. A mask, a green robe and white gloves. He can likely send the fact that this man is one of the undead too.

One of his targets and also an undead? Splendid. Michalson wastes no time. He steps out of the alcove once the vehicle rushes past it unleashes his most powerful spells. Tendrils of shadow leap from his hiding place to try and wrap themselves around the figure and drag him towards the mage.

[Gullara]

[Dio Day - Exbourne Manor]

The hunters are instructed to wait for a short time. They weren't lying when they said it was short, fortunately, and it's not long before Maria, suited up in Enforcer armour, and three other vampire Enforcers come out to meet them. The guns they're holding look significantly more lethal than what the Enforcers have been using up until now.

"You've saved us a lot of trouble." Maria looks over Billie. "His actual followers are hard to get a hold of. I suppose you'll want to to assist us."

[Morty]

[Dio Day - Exbourne Manor]

"Yes," says Johann. "We will. Any other issues between us need to rest until this self-proclaimed god has been dealt with. Do you have a plan?"

[Gullara]

[Dio Day - Exbourne Manor]

"We believe that Dionysus will respond to direct threats to his followers. It should be a simple matter to lure him to us and finish this once and for all." Maria looks between the Hunters. "Any objections?"

[Morty]

[Dio Day - Exbourne Manor]

"That sounds like a decent plan," Johann says. "We know he is not invincible. If we put all our strength into it, we should be able to force him to relent."

[Slii Arhem]

[The Riverbank]

A lone woman makes her way along the banks of the nameless River. Her skin glows neon pinks and blues. Her thin, white dress pulses rhythmically with the odd hues.

Slung across her back is what appears to be a miniature grand piano. It may as well be made of foam, with the weight it appears to carry. At her hip, hung by a leather belt, is a fat metal canister that hisses and swings from side to side.

"Sorry I'm late, honey," Tina says to her new god, blowing smoke into the wind. She plucks the cigarette from her lips and flicks it into the water. Her eyes follow burning yacht hulks on their lazy paths downriver. "Now where are you..."

When Tina first got into the city, she'd been greeted by a nice enough bunch. Riverside certainly hadn't held up to it's sinister reputation - Dio's doing, she supposed. So who was left for her to intoxicate?

Riverbank

Nearby, a centaur wearing a short half-robe on her upper torso plays a lute briskly in response to Fettina's open question. The lady is standing near a keg full of hard cider, which Tina has probably seen repeated over since coming to the city. This particular fey seems to be indicating that Tina should come over to her though, which is new.

Wildside

Cole examines a few of the bees that are always flying near him. "Yes, the bees born in this forest are larger and stronger than the first generation, aren't they? I wonder if the effect will continue? It's like nothing I've seen before."

Wildside

"It has to be the blood. Just as the mead has made you accept the wild, the honey is doing the same for the bees. The mead is refined though, and works more quickly. We'll have to see if the honey's work will slow down or continue on. Maybe in time they'll be big enough to carry you?" The orchard nymph jokes lightly, although she's not entirely certain that she's wrong about that. What an odd mental image though, of Cole being lifted up like a bead of nectar in the legs of one of his bees.

[happyturtle]

Wildside

"Then I'll have to learn to run faster, so they cannot catch me," Cole says.


Exbourne Manor

The sleeping potion starts to wear off a bit sooner than it normally would be expected to. Unsurprisingly, Billie's first words are, "**** you! **** all of you leeches and your **** friends too!"

[Slii Arhem]

Wildside

The nymph laughs at that, but doesn't contradict him. If he doesn't want to fly, then that is his right. She might try it though, if it becomes an option.

"What do you do, when you aren't running with your dog or milking the bees?" Lenai always has a tree to tend to, keeping sickness and vermin away from an entire forest is a full time job, but she knows that Cole doesn't have the same diversion to keep himself busy.

Dio Day - Exbourne Manor

When their leader comes, hand him one of your earrings. I must have words with them. Dio's voice is briefly present, and then gone again.

[Devixer]

Aegidus Manor

The wiring shorts, but it's very high quality equipment and has redundant backups that begin to power on as the main system flickers out. Jane has a few second window that she could slip through the net as it waits to verify that it is an actual shutdown and not just a temporary power flicker, but if she hesitates she'll have wasted those gadgets of hers, assuming they function as a burst rather than a constant suppression.

The few seconds is all that Jane needs. Some of her augs allow her to pass through the doorway within that time. She's still cloaked, but looks around to make sure nobody is nearby. If the drawing room is empty, then she gets to looking for an envelope that might contain the will to be swapped.

[Gullara]

[Dio Day - Exbourne Manor]

"Good, for now we'll take her behind the manor. It has the advantage of a fence to control who else can approach us. We have a few more people coming to join us soon, but for now lets move her."

Maria walks over to Billie. "If you and your god cooperate, there shouldn't be any reason for you to come to harm. I would recommend starting with not struggling." She nods to the Hunters and turns to instruct the Enforcers.

[UncleWolf]

Wildside - Lenai

Lenai frowns for an instant, and the maple tree directly behind the small dryad bends a branch down to try and grab her by the scruff of the neck and hoist her up into the air, "My trees might accept you, but they still respond to me and me alone. If I ask you to do something, I don't expect to be questioned. This one time, I'll allow it because you are new to the world and don't know its rules. I wish to tell both you and the other of your place here at once, to save myself from repeating the same speech twice. I do not intend to harm you, but that may change it you test me."

Wildside - Lenai

The Dryad whimpers when she's grabbed by her neck, but she doesn't squirm, knowing that it'd be quite the futile effort at the moment. "I'll see if I can get her." She says sadly after a moment, feeling utterly defeated by the Nymph's control of the trees.

[Slii Arhem]

Wildside - Lenai

" Thank you. Lead me to her then." Lenai sets the dryad down and waits patiently for her to set off in the right direction.

Aegidus Manor

There is a large desk covered in partially finished paintings with a series of small drawers along the front, each of them with an ornate keyhole that just begs to be picked. There is no one in the room itself, but on the back wall there is a small door with a light shining out underneath it, and there is definitely someone back there.

[Murkus]

Riverbank

Nearby, a centaur wearing a short half-robe on her upper torso plays a lute briskly in response to Fettina's open question. The lady is standing near a keg full of hard cider, which Tina has probably seen repeated over since coming to the city. This particular fey seems to be indicating that Tina should come over to her though, which is new.

There's a brief moment of hesitation, and her face practically screams 'who, me?' Tina meanders over to the centaur, admiring her beauty and examining her possessions. Wondering what would be proper, she says, "You, ah, play really well." She glances at keg. "So I guess you're one of Dio's little helpers?"

[happyturtle]

Wildside

"I listen to the wind and watch the animals. I like to see them moving through the forest and making new homes, and how your trees decide which ones to let through," Cole says.

Exbourne Manor

"Oh horsefeathers, what a relief. You aren't going to hurt me!" Billie says, with a massive eyeroll. "Are you the leech in charge here?"

[Gullara]

[Exbourne Manor]

Maria turns back and regards Billie with a neutral expression. "As far as you're concerned, I am."

[happyturtle]

Exbourne

Billie thinks back to Dio, You want to talk to the girl leech, or you waiting for someone else?

[Zefir]

On Billie's Side

((Sorry for the delay, my PC broke. See all actions as attempts))

Fade's shadow was following Billie, since they met on the boat. The fact that she was dragged into another party wasn't really a surprise. So he slides from shadow to shadow to keep track on her. Fade never assumed that this is a trap. He watches over the fight. It's not good to act in a trap and maybe this makes things much more easy. As Billie pass out Fade takes his chance. His shadow slides into her leaving a tickle feeling. Since she is passed out he should be able to use her as a ride. That way he should also be able to follow her up into the manour. They don't seem to check for magic as far as I saw and unless someone noticed him or checks her shadow closely with a magical sense Fade's shadow should be in Exbourne.

Building Roof-> Black Alley

Fade sits on the edge of the roof and prepares some spells for his own safety. Dio was able to influence him without noticing it. And he was able to extract that as well. it's the best to care for that first. He also creates a clone of himself. He hates to be alone and it's always wise to outnumber the enemy.

Later he can be found in an ally. The shadows cover the entrance of this alley well and Fade can easily move there with less attention from others. He seeks out a target. Someone close to Dio. A dryad pass by and gives a perfect chance to catch her, but Fade leaves her. Still some feelings came up and Fade was overwhelmed. Minutes later a satyr comes to close to the alley. Fade gives orders to the clone, who will try to grab the satyr holding his mouth close so he can't shout. He will try to drag him into the shadows of the alley. The clone seems strong, stronger than a human. Hopefully the satyr has no secret powers.

[Devixer]

[Aegidus Manor]

Jane withdraws a couple of tools from her pockets. An autopicker, and something that emits steam. She's about to start going for the lock, but freezes when she sees the light under the back door.

[Slii Arhem]

Wildside

"Is that all? Are you any good with tending trees, I wonder?" If so, he might prove to be more useful in his off time, while still being able to listen and watch. It would save her some time she could better use perfecting the mead if she had someone helping her keep the trees healthy and tap the maples for syrup.

Aegidus Manor

Whoever is one the other side of the door hasn't obviously noticed her presence, as there is the low scratchy sound of a classical record playing on a gramophone. Oddly enough, this room wasn't in the blueprints she was given, which means that officially to the town records, whatever is behind that door does not exist.

There is a male voice, humming along to the tenor in the operatic piece that's playing.

Back Alley

When the clone gets close to the satyr, its ears perk up visibly. The hearing of goat-men is quite a bit sharper than humans, and all the musicians have been on alert for retaliation. Without turning around, the satyr bolts for the other end of the alley, fleeing before the clone can get its hands around him.

Dio Day - Exbourne Manor

Ask for the drow leech. He's the one that got my note.

[Devixer]

[Aegidus Manor]

Jane nods to herself. She remained undetected for now. She lifts her autopicker to the bottom drawer. It should unlock the lock without making all the noise that manual picking comes with, while letting Jane keep alert.

[happyturtle]

Exbourne

If Fade's shadow is getting in a shadow between Billie and her clothes, then it can ride along. It can't actually get inside Billie's body. It's up to Morty and Ghar whether they can notice it.

Meanwhile, Billie just smirks at Maria, "As far as Dionysus is concerned, the drow leech is the one in charge, so you should get him here."


Wildside

"In ordinary forests, the trees speak to me and even obey me if I call on them. I have never tried to command your trees, but if you wish me to help tend them, I could learn." Cole says.