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

[Gullara]

[Malchenar]

"Alright, alright." Yeesh she's enthusiastic. Valente lets himself get dragged along to wherever it is that they're going.

[Suncrest Manor]

Nadia follows her to the table and sits down. "I don't know about that, but I wouldn't know how to get a hold of them either." She replies.

[Wildside]

"I know. It's dumb. I kinda have to put up with her, though." Scora says.

[Exbourne Manor - Foyer]

"I think service of some kind would be appropriate. I'm afraid I couldn't tell you what right at this moment, but I'm sure I could think of many ways you could assist us." Ramiro waited for her response expectantly.

[The Rusty Dagger]

Disappointing. This woman was starting to bore her. Samona had been hoping for someone more useful than this. "Yes, very impressive. On an unrelated not, what more can you tell me about those gargoyles we encountered earlier?"

[happyturtle]

Wildside

"Why?" Jeanne asks.

[Shadowcaller]

[Eastside - Ghoul]'

As ghoul is scanning the person within the underground room seem to split into two (or perhaps there were two persons all along). One half begins to ascend from the hole while the other is left in the slowly filling room where the newly arrived entity is waiting for it.

[The Rusty Dagger]

"The gargoyles? Ah, quite hideous beasts don't you think? They work for those blankos... no offense." She hastily adds as she looks up at Samona. "They are like big dogs from what I hear, big ugly flying dogs. Very well trained at the very least. I can respect that."

[Suncrest Manor]

"I say we should be careful about these guys, I would be a lot more comfortable talking with them over a distance." She replies before her eyes suddenly widen. "Oh! I know, I just got a brilliant idea, just eat up and all tell you all about it." Irena says as she quickly scopes down some bacon on her own plate.

[Malchenar==>Mysterious Cavern]

Pulling Valente into the section there is a flash of light which probably blinds them coming from the crystals. Then the two are suddenly surrounded by darkness and the smell of death.

Depending how good his night vision is he can probably tell they are at island in the middle of some sort of underground lake and that there is something huge laying right in front of them from which the smell probably is coming from.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Exbourne Manor - Foyer]

"Whatever service you require, I will provide, within reason. As an angel I cannot allow myself to perform any evil deed for you, regardless of my debt. But aside from that, I am your obedient servant, or the obedient servant of whoever you place in charge of me, until such time as you deem I have paid for my crimes."

[Terumitsu]

[Eastside - Ghoul]

The addition of yet another person was starting to bother the muse more than she liked to admit. Or at least this apparent splitting ability was. Either way it wasn't something she liked.

Still, in her mind, this only added to her suspicions but still left her with quite little to act on. Given her self-appointed task, she would simply continue being a reconnoiter for a while longer.

Of course, that would basically mean that unless something blatant or striking were to happen, Ghoul would be doing nothing else of note for the time being until she felt long enough had passed for her to declare in her mind that this was an odd but safe house or that it was a potential threat. As such, it might wind up with her 'watching' a lot of apparently boring or routine motions but she had no qualms with waiting.

[Reinholdt]

Cow Hunting

"That's a wonderful idea Harnel!" The dragon replies with a toothy grin. "Hopefully these kind of cows can be eaten by humans, but the farmer would have mentioned something otherwise right? We just donate the meat to the proper organization who could deliver it to these poor people." This may or may not work, but the dragon was willing to try at least.

Cow Hunting

Mental score!
Oh no wait. Meat lose.
Mental tears!

"I was just thinking of setting up a stand in the city, but a donation probably works too. I think GLoG does charity work." Harnel suggests.

[Gullara]

[Exbourne Manor - Foyer]

"Of course. That wouldn't be a problem at all. For the time being you can go about your life as usual. We will contact you if we need your services." Ramiro gestures to one of the Enforcers who hands him a phone. It's offered to Ithuriel. "Do you know how to use a cellphone? Also where are you living at the moment?"

[The Rusty Dagger]

"Ah, so they're animals. I had almost thought they were some sort of construct with how they look." Samona comments. Now that is useful information.

[Suncrest Manor]

Nadia nods. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea." She may of gone on, but then Irena had her idea. "Oh yeah, what is it?" Nadia nibbles on her bacon as she waits.

[Mysterious Cavern]

...

"Sylvia? Where are we?" Valente asks quietly. He's suddenly not so sure he should have trusted her. What the heck was this place? And how were they going to get back?

[Wildside]

"Because, uh... she controls all the trees." Scora gestures vaguely. What was she supposed to do about that?

[happyturtle]

Wildside

"So she bosses the trees and you," Jeanne says. "That doesn't sound fair!" She looks up and around at the trees and calls up at them. "Hey trees! You don't have to do what anybody says! You're trees, not slaves!"

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Exbourne Manor - Foyer]

Ithuriel raises a hand, refusing the cellphone. Instead in her other hand a small brass horn shimmers into existence, which she offers to Ramiro. "I do not live anywhere, as such. While I serve any god that my beliefs do not conflict with, I am bound to one in particular, and his realm is the nearest thing I could call to a home. But I can't guarantee that I will always be somewhere with good reception, when you call upon me." she says with a smile.

The horn has a faint glow to it, and if anyone present can detect such things, there is some pretty powerful divine magic in it.

"This horn, however, will summon me regardless of where I am. Think of it as something to bind me to your service, if you wish. As long as you possess this, you can always call on me."

The horn is not something she'd give to most people, but in this case in her eyes it is necessary to ensure she is properly bound to their service.

"And, um, on the subject of possessions, I do have one other query. Specifically, I'm wondering what happened to the equipment I was wearing at the time of my crime. I do not know what you may have in mind but if you ever require me to be of use in that way, I would be of most use with that equipment. If, however, you have destroyed it or wish to keep it in your possession, I understand."

[Gullara]

[Exbourne Manor - Foyer]

"Very well." Ramiro stows the phone away in his pocket and then takes the horn. He examines it for a moment before putting it away as well. He'll have to have someone examine it more closely at some other time.

"As for your belongings, I do recall that they were stored away after the incident. I'm sure we have them on record, but could you remind me what they were?" He nods to the same Enforcer that handed him the phone. He should be making note of this.

[Wildside]

Scora laughs as Jeanne is shouting to the trees. "You know trees don't have ears, don't you? They can't hear you." She finds this altogether too funny.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Exbourne Manor - Foyer]

"Two swords, one short, one long, both highly enchanted, both silvered. A mithril breastplate, carefully modified so it could be worn under clothing without causing discomfort. A crossbow, oversized, also enchanted. The clothing, including the hat, was also special. The hat gave me protection from the light, and is of no use to me now. The clothing, however, was specially made to accommodate for my shapeshifting abilities and could shifty with me. I still possess some shapeshifting ability so the clothing could potentially be of use." Ithuriel pauses for a moment, mentally checking things off to make sure she didn't miss anything. "Everything else is unimportant. Mostly mundane items that have no importance to me now, or consumable items that were of use in my...line of work, but of no use to me in my new role."

[happyturtle]

Wildside

Jeanne flops to the ground. "They have some sort of senses. They knew I was trying to get in. And they listened to you when you let me through. So... how do they hear? And why don't you just make yourself the boss of the trees if you can make them listen?"

[Gullara]

[Exbourne Manor - Foyer]

Ramiro nods to the Enforcer once again, who heads to another part of the manor immediately. "You are free to have your possessions. I have no reason to keep them from me. However, we will hold on to the hat, at least for a short time. Call it your first bit of service." He smiles a bit after he stops speaking.

[Wildside]

"Duh, I never actually told them anything. They just know what I want." She never even said anything to them out loud when they moved. "And anyway, they'll listen to Lenai instead of listening to me if she wants." At least she's pretty sure, though she's never tested it specifically.

[happyturtle]

Riverside

"So who is Lenai's boss? Does she even have one? Or does everyone just do what she says?" Jeanne says.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Exbourne Manor - Foyer]

Ithuriel nods, a grateful smile on her face. "I am grateful. Please, feel free to do whatever you wish to the hat. I'm afraid I don't know how the enchantments on it work, if that's what you want to know, but I may be able to contact the man who made it for me."

Presumably they have fancy magic-y people to poke at the hat anyway.

She fidgets uncertainly in the chair, "So should I follow someone, or come back later, or...?"

[Hattish Thing]

Northside, Old Warehouse Roof.

On top of an old warehouse, a figure blurred by magic sits, looking over Northside. Two machines, sleek and shiny set up a flag of Remnant on the roof. The blurred figure lights a blurry match, and lights the flag on fire. It waits now, the two robotic humanoids by his side. It was waiting for a visitor.

[Gullara]

[Exbourne Manor - Foyer]

"You should only have to wait a moment. The man you saw leave was just fetching your belongings." A moment after he's finished speaking he seems to be listening to something. Ithuriel may note the small communicator in his ear. "Ah good, everything is there."

They only have to wait a couple of minutes before the Enforcer returns and holds the items out to her. "I believe that should be everything we agreed upon." He'll give her a moment to confirm that.

[Wildside]

"There's this guy named Wolfy, but he's not her boss." Scora shrugs a bit. She can't say she knows exactly. "Pretty sure no one bosses her around ever."

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Exbourne Manor - Foyer]

Ithuriel takes a moment to look over the items, nodding in satisfaction. "Everything, as you said." The angel runs a hand along the blades of her swords, testing their sharpness.

Or, rather, she runs each blade across the palm of her hand, though they don't leave so much as a scratch.

"As sharp as ever." Ithuriel's voice wavers for a moment. Her weapons had been with her through so many things, she sometimes felt like they're almost a part of her. "I had felt almost...incomplete without my armour, my blades. I considered replacing them, for a while, but couldn't convince myself to do so unless I knew for sure I'd lost them. Is there anything else we need to discuss? If not, I would like to take my leave now."

[Gullara]

[Exbourne Manor - Foyer]

He smiles pleasantly. "Please, go as you wish. We will speak again sometime, perhaps soon." When Ithuriel stands to leave, Ramiro will stand with her.

[Zefir]

Westside - Wall

Fade who has taken the box will open it here in a backalley.

[Shadowcaller]

[Eastside - Ghoul]

Ghoul might note that the person staying in the underground remains perfectly motionless while the two entities within the room are moving around, probably having some sort of conversation. After a while though the second entity suddenly disappears as sudden as it appeared, leaving the first one on it's own.

Ghoul can hear the dog starting to bark loudly again as the first entity leaves the room. It's heading for the exit though and seems to ignore the dog's barks.

Cow Hunting

"GloG? Have you mentioned that organization before?" Cessie asks, vaguely recalling it been mentioned once or twice.

[The Rusty Dagger]

"Oh they are very much alive, trust me. It might not be visible from a great distance, but the exterior of the castle is simple defiled by their excrement. The servants try to clean it up from time to time, but there is only so much you can do. Those creatures better be good at their jobs with the filth they drag in and that's not even counting just how much they eat. I'm just glad I can stay away from them." Jana says.

[Suncrest Manor]

"I do ir rarely, but I can actually summon shadows to answer three questions." The last time she did that was when she was going to rob exbourne though.
"They could tell us about those guys." Perhaps Nadia can come up with better questions then Irena as well.

[Mysterious Cavern]

"In a cavern." Sylvia replies as she fumbles with something in her robe. Raising small wand with an fixed crystal atop of it into the air a bright light soon illuminates her, causing her and Valentes shadows to extend far beyond the shores of the rocky island.

It also reveals what appears to be a huge squid if it had been crossed with a frog and a lantern fish. It thankfully looks like it have been dead for quite a while though.

"See? Isn't that cool? But the really exciting stuff is further inside." The cultist says, turning to Valente with a wide smile which probably makes her look a wee bit crazy.

Northside, Old Warehouse Roof.

The person on the rooftop might realize that northside might not have been the best place for such a meeting as the blue light is attracting some unwanted attention. A pack of onyx colored gargoyles are drawn to the light and have started to circle around the old warehouse at a fair distance.

Eadelain's Mindscape

Astrana slowly starts to open the door and move into the room, trying to avoid to touch the black tendrils at all cost. She is trying to see if there is any difference between dream Eadelain and the real Eadalain.

[Reinholdt]

Cow Hunting

"I might have." Harnel says with a shrug.

"They live at a lake and take in slaves and such." Harnel remembers that much at least.

[Lost_Deep]

Eadelain's Mindscape

Hmm... oddly, the mental Eadelain is almost identical to the real one. She isn't older, like Eadelain's personality might imply, nor does she have any kind of inky marring. Not even any of the stains that Eadelain usually ends up wearing by the end of the day. Or sometimes just after breakfast.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Exbourne Manor - Foyer]

"Of course." Ithuriel gathers up her returned belongings and they glow and fade away, transported to...wherever she keeps her stuff.

Her wings reappear, and she bows. "I am your obedient servant. Call, and I shall answer." And with that, she fades away as well.

[happyturtle]

Wildside

"What about Dionysus? I heard he was around here too," Jeanne says.

[Gullara]

[The Rusty Dagger]

"They have keepers then? I imagine it's quite a feat to train them properly." Samona says.

[Suncrest Manor]

"Oh, really? You know, I really don't know much about what sort of things like that you can do, do I." Nadia comments. It just hasn't come up. "That sounds like a good idea to me, though."

[Mysterious Cavern]

"Yeah... exciting." Valente gave her a not altogether convincing smile in return. The giant dead... thing isn't very reassuring. "So where exactly is this place? And I mean more than just that it's a cavern."

[Wildside]

"Dionysus?" Scora thinks for a bit. "I think I heard the name before? Never met anyone named that, though."

[Shadowcaller]

[The Rusty Dagger]

"Yes, those... northerners. I mentioned those didn't I? You are of the same race." She states, gesturing at Samona's white skin.

[Suncrest Manor]

"I can do all sorts of thing. Recently I found a spell that can make you change colors to stuff, like your hair and eyes." Irena replies before she scoops some bacon and egg into her mouth and starts to chew loudly. The witch always seem to set some sort of record in speed eating and barely chew the food she stuffs in her mouth.

[Mysterious Cavern]

"It's stuff in it too, just follow me. There is a path here." Sylvia replies as she seem to step out into the water which appears to be a great deal more shallow then it looks. Or there is just a path there just below the surface.

Eadelain's Mindscape

The tiefling attempts to move over to Eadelain and touch her forehead to see if anything happens. Trying to see if there is anything peculiar she can pick out in the room beyond the tendrils.

Cow Hunting

"You mean former-slaves I hope?" She asks, leading the cow there might be a good idea. Then they could buy some new clothes for her, Harnel probably needed some too.

[ThirdEmperor]

Northside- Dead End Alley

The alley in question is no different than a dozen others within all of three minutes walk- A short alcove aside the street, formed by the gap between two crumbling tenement buildings and terminating in a red-brick wall encrusted with a few years worth of graffiti. There's no tactical significance to it above any other point of arrival, the decision process was as careless as throwing a dart at the map.

But in any case, this is where Excelsior's troops arrive. A spark of bluish-white light crackles into existence, then dies as quickly as it came in a sharp *whoosh!* of displaced air that kicks up old plastic bags and sends empty tin cans rattling along the sidewalk, a storm in miniature.

And where once there was only a thin soup of nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide and the unidentifiable smog that crops up in any city, there now stand four identical men. They blink a little, eyes adjusting to the drastic shift in light. Each of them bears an almost uncanny resemblance to an action figure brought to life- The same exaggerated muscles and build, the stereotypical wide shoulders and squarish jaw. They've even dressed the part as well, green and brown camo fatigues with heavy tactical vests for armor, blocky assault rifles slung over their shoulders.

As one the squad heads out, keeping their distance from civilians and trying not to attract too much attention as they make their way towards the target they've been given. The signal pyre isn't too hard to find, but the swarm of gargoyles hovering overhead is cause for pause- A main reason for choosing Northside was the relative absence of a policing force. The gargoyles could well make this a whole lot trickier.

Hey, you up there! You 'Mr. E?' The one in the lead calls up, squinting as he tries to get a better look at the blurry silhouette framed by the burning flag's light.

[Slii Arhem]

[The Rusty Dagger]

"They have keepers then? I imagine it's quite a feat to train them properly." Samona says.

[Suncrest Manor]

"Oh, really? You know, I really don't know much about what sort of things like that you can do, do I." Nadia comments. It just hasn't come up. "That sounds like a good idea to me, though."

[Mysterious Cavern]

"Yeah... exciting." Valente gave her a not altogether convincing smile in return. The giant dead... thing isn't very reassuring. "So where exactly is this place? And I mean more than just that it's a cavern."

[Wildside]

"Dionysus?" Scora thinks for a bit. "I think I heard the name before? Never met anyone named that, though."

Wildside

"What about Dionysus? I heard he was around here too," Jeanne says.

Wildside

"Dionysus is my father, and does indeed boss me around whenever he remembers I exist. The trees listen to me because they respect me as their mother, and know that I work tirelessly to protect them from those that would do them harm and tend to them to keep them healthy. They listen to Scora because they dote on her as their child. And she does not listen to me because she is a petulant youth who does not understand my reasons for keeping this haven safe. The trees hear through the vibrations in their roots, and I hear just fine while waiting inside one to see how those who would come to my grove and seek my protection would speak ill of me when they think I'm not present." Lenai's face appears from the bark of a tree not far from the edge of the forest, staring blankly at Scora and her "guest."

"Does that answer all your questions? I would have been here to deal with you sooner, but I had more important matters to attend to than a wandering fey.

[Murkus]

Westside

"If that's what you think." He doesn't think of himself as a savage, nor noble. Merely as a hunter seeking new prey. "I am Mateo Garcia. And you are?"

"Caesa," the witch names herself, offering no hand to shake. "Are you here to bar my way, sir? You seem far too pleasant for that."