[Nexus] Riverside 11

[Lex-Kat]

[Quest to find Secret Slave Society]

"Good! The task is fairly simple but can be deceivingly difficult. You need to return here with one new hat. It can be any kind of hat but it must have been acquired by you somehow as a part of the test. You can acquire it in any way you want, that's not really what the test is about. No, the choice of hat is. The hat society will judge if you are worthy to join based on what kind of hat you return with." Alice explains.

That's it? How long do I have to acquire this new hat? The wheels in Bianca's mind were already turning with ideas of how and where to acquire such a hat.

One idea she'd already pushed aside as being too violent. Besides, she needed Alice alive to gain membership, and she was sure Alice wouldn't be happy if Bianca returned wearing one of Alice's recently stolen hats.

[Gullara]

[Dreamscape]

Nadia looks blankly at her for a moment. "Why the hell do you think I'd agree to that after everything you put me through? You're a monster, and neither me nor Eliseo are going to have anything to do with you." She says vehemently.

[Flying Horse Inn]

Indro stops in his tracks when he sees the bat person. So do the two men following him with the bags. "You need something?" He plays it cool for now. He's pretty sure he hasn't given them any reason to suspect him.

[Malchenar]

"Be my guest. That must be hard on you." Valente takes a seat on the edge of the bed. After a moment of hesitation, he lies down on his side facing her. "It's not like I use the bed anyway, right."

[Leaving Exbourne Manor]

Cynthia leads the way. She natters a few things as they walk, but nothing important. Eventually they will arrive at the clothing store. The sign above the door reads, "For Him, Her & It". "This is where I get my clothes." The demon explains.

[Shadowcaller]

[Dreamscape]

"What? You rather want me to pick another caretaker then dear?" The goddess asks, giving Nadia a curious look. "Besides, where I'm from us gods are feed by strong emotions. So as long as you just pay lip servitude to me, your hatred should be more then enough to fuel my misma." She says with a wry smile.

[Malchenar]

"Mm..." The tiefling replies, her eyes only half-open as she places her arm around the vampire. "Do you remember last time we laid next to each other like this?"

[Flying Horse Inn]

The man-bat mutters something in a language the mobster probably can't understand and continues to just sit there in the middle of the corridor. What an odd fellow.

[Gullara]

[Dreamscape]

Nadia grits her teeth. How can she get out of this. After a moment of just glaring furiously at the goddess, she reluctantly says. "Fine."

[Malchenar]

Valente smiles and shifts a bit closer. He starts to gently stroke her hair. "It's been a while. I missed it."

[Flying Horse Inn]

Indro looks back at the other men and shrugs. The two of them pick up their bags again and try to walk past the bat person to one of their rooms.

"Do you speak common? Whatever it is you're speaking now, I'm not hearing any of it." Indro addresses the bat person.

[Lost_Deep]

For Him, Her & It

"Well, let's go in." And she does.

Eadelain isn't really a nonsensical person.

[Lord Magtok]

Westside Gas Station

Spoiler

Show

Westside

Skin tone is hard. There's so much of it, that it's easy to lose concentration. It's easier to just change facial shape. Linda / Evangeline changes her appearance, taking features from a couple of npcs she passed along the way. When she's finished, she doesn't look like either Linda or Evangeline. I suppose I need a new name too. Do you have any suggestions?

Would 'Mary' be too much? Probably would be, and with me not trying to put a baby in you the religious imagery doesn't work. Mara instead, perhaps? It's probably no surprise to you that I like M names.

The amulet tries to mentally poke at Linda/Evangeline/???, a bit overeager to get an update on her current appearance, and have something to 'look' at again. I won't be surprised if all this needy poking and demands for information gets tiring after a while, even if it is coming from her lord and savior.

[Zefir]

[Eastside Disturbance]

"I think that will be all," Andromeda says politely, with a nod and a neutral smile.

[Eastside Disturbance]


"I don't." Jeu says a bit annoyed.

"We have only seen one room. I assume there are stock rooms and other rooms as well here? We need to check everything."

[Shadowcaller]

[Dreamscape]

"Excellent. Then you shall be glad to hear that being a caretaker comes with a few boons as long as you make a prayer to me twice every day. I'll return to that later though. The boons are your final choice here and they are as following. The boon of the protector, the boon of the caretaker and the boon of the mother. Each one have it's own benefits. I would choose for you, but as the caretaker, you will be much closer to the child so I will trust your judgement." The goddess smiles, sitting up in the bed again as the symbol of a black heart-shaped shield appears before her. "This is the protector symbol, have you ever heard of the mother who could lift a car to save a child? Well, that would be you and more if you pick this boon. If any child of yours that you are bonded with in blood is in danger, you will be able to both feel it and summon super-human strength, speed and endurance for a while to save him." She taps a finger against her chin. "It would be my choice personally considering how dangerous the world is. But perhaps you find other things more valuable, which in case the boon of the caretaker is something for you." The heart shaped shield disappears and in it's place this symbol appears.

"The caretakers boon will make you be able to tell exactly how your child feels and what he needs and be able to a certain degree adapt to those needs. This boon will thankfully grow weaker as your child grows older as I don't think you really want to know when your eighteen year old son wants to fullfill his needs so to speak." The goddess giggles childishly causing the symbol of the caretaker to disappear. "Ahem, the last one is perhaps the most egoistic boon you can take, but also the most interesting one." A symbol of a tree vaguely shaped as a hourglass shaped woman with huge root system spreading in each direction appears. "The boon of the mother would make you able to produce your own offspring by consuming the menstruation blood of the woman you wish to conceive with. It would also reduce the risk of stillbirth or other complications associated with pregnancy to zero. The pain would still be there, but how else would we know we are women, am I right?" She asks with a raised eyebrow before suddenly laying down on the bed again, laying on her back, looking up at Nadia. "Once you made your decision, give me the hand you use the most and I'll make the boon for you." The goddess says while offering her hand to the lampade. Now all three symbols appear before her, she just can reach out and touch one of them...

[Malchenar]

"I'm glad to hear that." Astrana says with a small smile. "I've missed it as well." She closes her eyes, relaxing against Valente.

[Flying Horse Inn]

The bat person will let them past and look up at Indro. "Do you want anything of me, sheloc?" He asks.

[Eastside Disturbance]

"If you so wish, they are completely empty right now however." Tibatha replies as she gestures them to come. If they follow she will lead them to an empty storage room. "We're are going to be stocking other medical drugs as well here as the clinic will double as a pharmacy. We also have a restroom and a waiting room if you like to inspect that as well."

[happyturtle]

Westside Gas Station >> Clothes shop Casual murder

Spoiler

Show

Westside Gas Station



Would 'Mary' be too much? Probably would be, and with me not trying to put a baby in you the religious imagery doesn't work. Mara instead, perhaps? It's probably no surprise to you that I like M names.

The amulet tries to mentally poke at Linda/Evangeline/???, a bit overeager to get an update on her current appearance, and have something to 'look' at again. I won't be surprised if all this needy poking and demands for information gets tiring after a while, even if it is coming from her lord and savior.

Perhaps she'll get tired of it in time, but it hasn't happened yet. Being a crazy obsessed cultist goes a long way towards making his mental company welcome.

"Mara," she says aloud. I like it. She shows her lord and saviour an image in the mirror at his request. Don't get too attached to this face. I won't have it on long. She steps out of the restroom, and Godtok might get a few images of "the future". Well, not exactly the future. But Mara is mentally working through what she's about to do, and Magtok will get her plan in pictures rather than in words. He'll go from seeing her walking into the gas station in the present moment (real) to seeing her slam the cashier's head onto the countertop, jump over it and finish him off, and then empty the register (not real).

She hasn't done it yet, but the images might confuse Godtok into thinking she has. On the other hand, the "not real" images are fuzzy and shimmery, and if he can read her thoughts or emotions, it shouldn't be hard for her to work it out in time to stop her.

If he intends to, that is. I doubt he cares much about the life of a smelly third shift gas station attendant in smelly old Westside.

[Gullara]

[Dreamscape]

Nadia considers the options. The last one is of course right out. She doesn't expect to have anymore kids or Irena to want them anyway. That leaves the other two, and it doesn't take her long to make that decision. "The protector symbol." She holds out her right hand.

[Malchenar]

Valente continues to stroke her hair. he won't say anything more for now. She obviously needs her rest, and he isn't going to keep her from it any longer.

[Flying Horse Inn]

"Nah, I thought you wanted something. Most people find it a bit strange when someone stands right in the middle of a hallway and stares at them." Indro shrugs. "Don't worry about it." He'll then try and walk by the bat person.

[For Him, Her & It]

Cynthia follows her into the clothing store. As the name suggests, it has an enormous selection for all types of people. The section containing clothes for humanoids is the largest, however, and Eadelain should be able to pick it out quickly. "Coats are over there." Cynthia point helpfully.

[Shadowcaller]

[Dreamscape]

"An excellent choice dear." The goddess replies with a smile as she holds on to Nadia's hand. The lampade will feel a cold not entirely unpleasant sensation tickle her skin before she lets go, leaving the mark of a heart shaped shield upon her right hand.
"Now it was just the detail about the prayers before you go. Just outside the walls of your manor is now a small shrine dedicated to me. Once your ascension is complete, I like you to collect this shrine and take it into your home. This shrine must not be defiled, instead you will twice a day pray before it while thinking about how much you hate me." Her smile slowly grows wider as she talks until the burst out into another set of childish giggles.

"In any case, if you do not have access to the altar you have to loudly praise me while you pray. Don't ask me why, it's just the way it works. If you however miss these daily prayers the boon and that mark will slowly fade for each prayer you miss until it's gone completely. If this happens I will pick another caretaker. You can strengthen the boon however by sacrificing rodents or lizards on the shrine in worship of me." She pauses, looking the lampade in the eyes. "Any questions?"

[Malchenar]

Astrana will fall asleep soon enough, still holding Valente close.

[Flying Horse Inn]

"Very well then." The man bat replies before continuing his vigil.

[Gullara]

[Dreamscape]

"No." Nadia says simply. She doesn't disguise how much she hates the goddess, but how was she going to do anything about it. She just wants to wake up now.

[Malchenar]

The vampire lies awake as she sleeps. It's not as if he could join her in sleep now anyway. There are a few times he feels the strange urge to bite her... It's not an unknown feeling, but he's been careful to stay well fed. He dismisses it almost immediately, he has enough self control that it's not a concern.

[Flying Horse Inn]

Once inside the room with the other men, Indro's scowls and says. "That's a problem. I don't even know if his buddies are in the room or what." He paces back and forth a bit as he thinks. "Just get those guns out and I'll see what I can do."

A few minutes later. Indro comes out of the room again and starts walking toward the bat person casually. "Hey pal, you know if they got any extra soap around her. 'Cause I can't find any-" When he's close, Indro suddenly whips out a switchblade and tries to bury it in the bat person's neck.

[Lord Magtok]

Westside Gas Station >> Clothes shop Casual murder

There might be more money in the back. I can tell you how to open the safe if it's non-magic.

Nope! Looks like Amulet-Magtok doesn't care about that smelly gas station attendant at all!

[happyturtle]

Westside Gas Station

Mara's murder of the gas station attendant goes without a hitch. At one point, he begs for his life and babbles something about his family, and it being his last day before retirement. She snaps his neck. The babbling stops. She clears out the register, as well as the entire stock of Juicy Fruit chewing gum.

In the back, she looks at the safe, and sends the image to Amatok? Magulet? Anyway, it's a standard non-magical safe.

[The Bushranger]

[Eastside Disturbance]

"If you so wish, they are completely empty right now however." Tibatha replies as she gestures them to come. If they follow she will lead them to an empty storage room. "We're are going to be stocking other medical drugs as well here as the clinic will double as a pharmacy. We also have a restroom and a waiting room if you like to inspect that as well."

While Rommie says nothing, it's clear from her expression that 'woo empty rooms' is on her mind...

"Might as well. Never know what might be hiding under the toilet seat, eh?" she observes after looking around the room, then giving Jeu a look that says 'and you do the looking'...

[Shadowcaller]

[Dreamscape==>Suncrest Manor]

"Good... oh! One last thing. When he comes of age, I like to met him in person. That's it. Now it's time for your ascension." The goddess smiles again. "Raise and shine Nadia..."

The lampade will then wake up, feeling heavy contractions.

[Malchenar]

Astrana wills sleep for about ten hours, so Valente probably need something else to entertain himself with as she sleeps. Perhaps a good book or so?

Eventually she starts to wake up, her eyes slid open to, trying to see where Valente is.

[Lost_Deep]

[For Him, Her & It]

Cynthia follows her into the clothing store. As the name suggests, it has an enormous selection for all types of people. The section containing clothes for humanoids is the largest, however, and Eadelain should be able to pick it out quickly. "Coats are over there." Cynthia point helpfully.

Eadelain will look around a bit. "Maybe after I buy a coat I'll look around a bit more. There's a lot of interesting things here."

[Gullara]

[Suncrest Manor]

Nadia's eyes open, and she just lies there for a few seconds while her mind refuses to process what's happening. Then she sits up as fast as she can and shakes Irena awake. "Irena! Irena, the baby's coming!"

[Malchenar]

A book is probably acquired not too long in, yes. When Astrana wakes up, she'll first see said book open in front of her. If she follows the arm that's holding it, it'll lead to Valente, who's now lying pressed against her back.

The vampire closes the book and slides it away. "Good morning." Valente says as she turns her head to look at him. He cups her cheek in his hand and tries to give her a kiss.

[For Him, Her & It]

"Do you have a whole bunch of money from working or something?" Cynthia hasn't heard much mention of money from Eadelain, and isn't generally concerned about it herself.

[Shadowcaller]

[Suncrest Manor]

"Whu-what?" Irena replies, oh geez what was going on?
The baby? Now?!

"Are you sure?" This probably hadn't been a good night to just sleep in the nude, now she had more clothes to put on.

[Malchenar]

She returns it with a small smile while trying to wipe the tiredness out of her eyes. "Good morning to you too..." She coos. "How long have I been sleeping?"

[Flying Horse Inn]

The man-bat turns to him with a raised eyebrow, cautiously watching him as he approach, opening his mouth to say something as the stab comes. He is a moment to late, but he manages to at least the delay it by raising his hand enough to manage to emit a high pitched noise before he collapses to the floor bleeding. It's not clear if the people inside the room least the one downstairs heard it however.

[Quest to find Secret Slave Society]

"I think 48 hours should be more then enough. Remember that the hat must suit you as a person however, we are going to judge your choice of hat, not the hat itself." Alice explains.

[Lord Magtok]

Westside Gas Station

Spoiler

Show

Westside Gas Station

Mara's murder of the gas station attendant goes without a hitch. At one point, he begs for his life and babbles something about his family, and it being his last day before retirement. She snaps his neck. The babbling stops. She clears out the register, as well as the entire stock of Juicy Fruit chewing gum.

In the back, she looks at the safe, and sends the image to Amatok? Magulet? Anyway, it's a standard non-magical safe.

I'm partial to Godtok, mostly due to the hilarious irony resulting from his current condition.

It's always family and retirement plans they cry about, isn't it? Everyone so busy making plans for the future, and then they die before they ever really get a chance to live.

He sends the image back, with red circles marking where to do this or that, what to listen for when turning the tumbler, and so on and so forth. It should be little surprise that Maggy's had prior experience with safe-cracking, being a dastardly supervillain and all.

Mara? The minute I get my body back, we're taking a day off from all of this. The entire rest of the day, just us, with no revenge schemes or anything, to celebrate my revival and Zeus's destruction. Me and you, enjoying exactly the sort of peace and happiness we'll always be free to enjoy, once that Hellenistic scum is swept from the earth.

A memory to cling to, a treasured day of happiness to bring with him to the afterlife, should Dahilan fail him and ultimately doom them both to shallow graves and shameful afterlives. He doesn't mention any of that, though. His job is to be an inspiration to his disciple; that sort of doubt and fear has no place in Mara's heart and mind.

[Lost_Deep]

For Him, Her & It

"I have some, but I don't expect to spend much. However, I would like to look at some of the more interesting things. I don't get out very often, might as well make the most of it." Eadelain casually browses items on her way toward the coats. "While I'm here, maybe I should buy some other items, too. I could use some more changes of clothes."

[Gullara]

[Suncrest Manor]

"My water broke, I'm as sure as I'm ever going to be. Just hurry!" Nadia says frantically. She's not ready for this. Nine months wouldn't have been long enough, let alone four.

[Malchenar]

"Oh, not too long. Only..." Valente makes a show of looking at his watch. "Ten hours or so." His face splits in a big grin. Apparently he finds that funny.

[Flying Horse Inn]

Indro immediately tries to kneel on the bat person's chest and slit its throat properly.

Meanwhile, the two men burst out of the room, both wielding tommy guns. The go immediately to room 4 and one tries to kick the door in. If that works, they'll both enter the room, and if their marks are there, spray them with bullets.

So much for being quiet.

[For Him, Her & It]

"Okay. Pick something out then." Cynthia prods. She may not be the best shopping partner Eadelain could hope to have.

[happyturtle]

Spoiler

Show

Westside Gas Station



I'm partial to Godtok, mostly due to the hilarious irony resulting from his current condition.

It's always family and retirement plans they cry about, isn't it? Everyone so busy making plans for the future, and then they die before they ever really get a chance to live.

He sends the image back, with red circles marking where to do this or that, what to listen for when turning the tumbler, and so on and so forth. It should be little surprise that Maggy's had prior experience with safe-cracking, being a dastardly supervillain and all.

Mara? The minute I get my body back, we're taking a day off from all of this. The entire rest of the day, just us, with no revenge schemes or anything, to celebrate my revival and Zeus's destruction. Me and you, enjoying exactly the sort of peace and happiness we'll always be free to enjoy, once that Hellenistic scum is swept from the earth.

A memory to cling to, a treasured day of happiness to bring with him to the afterlife, should Dahilan fail him and ultimately doom them both to shallow graves and shameful afterlives. He doesn't mention any of that, though. His job is to be an inspiration to his disciple; that sort of doubt and fear has no place in Mara's heart and mind.

That sounds wonderful, Master. Godtok might get a touch of her bliss at his words. But then her emotions turn to frustration as she tries to break into the safe - tries again and again, following Godtok's directions as well as she can. But safe-cracking isn't really a skill that one can acquire in one go. He probably wishes he could just shove her out of the way and do it himself.

[Shadowcaller]

[Suncrest Manor]

In hindsight, that was a pretty stupid question. Irena quickly get's out of bed and gets dressed, thankfully not wearing the most complicated of clothing. "I'm hurrying, I'm hurrying..." Nadia can hear her mumble before she opens up the door, offering her hand to lead her to the car. "Or do you want me to carry you?" Irena could totally do that.

[Malchenar]

Astrana giggles softly, "I'm proud of myself actually. I've never managed to sleep that long before. I must have been really tired."

[Lord Magtok]

Westside Gas Station

Spoiler

Show

That sounds wonderful, Master. Godtok might get a touch of her bliss at his words. But then her emotions turn to frustration as she tries to break into the safe - tries again and again, following Godtok's directions as well as she can. But safe-cracking isn't really a skill that one can acquire in one go. He probably wishes he could just shove her out of the way and do it himself.

Oh, of course he wants to do it himself. In fact, he attempts to possess Mara's body to do exactly that, feeling that this isn't going anywhere without his direct intervention. The attempt fails, however, regardless of how willing or unwilling Mara might've been to act as host to her deity. Simply existing in this form at all was a difficult task for Godtok to achieve, and like safe-cracking, possession isn't a thing you master all at once in less than a day. It takes practice, persistence, and patience, three p-words our amulet-bound god refuses to have anything to do with.

Bluh. Nevermind, we probably have enough money to get by, just from the register. There'll always be more liquor stores and gas stations if we need more.

[Zefir]

[Eastside Disturbance]



While Rommie says nothing, it's clear from her expression that 'woo empty rooms' is on her mind...

"Might as well. Never know what might be hiding under the toilet seat, eh?" she observes after looking around the room, then giving Jeu a look that says 'and you do the looking'...

[Eastside Disturbance]

Jeu will make a close look over the room. He will check near every inch, he hopes to find a secret door or anything else that might be worth to report. He nods as the other rooms where mentioned and examines them thesame way.

[happyturtle]

Westside Gas Station

Mara remains oblivious to the attempt to subvert her ownership of her own body.

Yeah, I guess we should move in case there were any silent alarms or something. We? Mara, Godtok isn't in any condition to do any moving.

She steals two more things before she goes - a bottle of ichor liquor and the cashier's coat. She still has blood on her clothes, so best to cover up what can be covered with the coat, and to look like a vampire who got drunk and spilled on herself if anyone looks closer.

So what do you think? Buy clothes somewhere, or break into a house and steal them? she asks Godtok as she heads out onto the street. Once out of range of any cameras that might have existed in the gas station, her appearance becomes vampirish.

[Gullara]

[Suncrest Manor]

Nadia takes Irena's hand, holding it in a vice grip. She shakes her head at the offer to carry her. "I can walk. Let's just go."

[Malchenar]

"I'm glad you had a good sleep." Valente gets a mischievous look in his eye. "You sure slept heavily, because you were snoring like a buzz saw and making those adorable little grunting sounds."

[Shadowcaller]

[Eastside Disturbance]

There don't appear to be any secret passages within the storage room as far as Jeu can determine. "If you do find something, it probably isn't ours." Tibatha comments as he's looking around. "We bought this building from someone else after all. It was a animal hospital actually."

The other rooms are the same, there don't appear to be any secret passages or compartments here at the very least.

[Suncrest Manor]

"Alright." Irena nods and will quickly attempt to lead Nadia down to the bottom floor, out into the garage and into the car. "Just... relax. It's going to go great." She says, not really sure what to say in a situation like this. Looking completely expression-less as she is driving towards the hospital.

[Malchenar]

"I did?" Astrana asks, blushing slightly. "Well, I can't help that. I've always snored... the grunts are new though. Maybe I was having some strange dream."

[Flying Horse Inn]

Indro is able to cut the man-bats throat while the other storms into the room, guns blazing. They will find the doors locked, but they aren't really sturdy enough to withstand a direct kick to the lock.

Inside two more bat persons sit in the same type of position as the one outside, both looking at some sort of shrine. They appears to be caught by surprise though and are easily gunned down.

But as the gone smoke clears and the sound of bullets cease, the two mobsters can hear the shrine speak. It seems to be speaking some strange outlandish language to the now dead bat men.

[Lost_Deep]

[For Him, Her & It]

"Okay. Pick something out then." Cynthia prods. She may not be the best shopping partner Eadelain could hope to have.

Eadelain chooses a rather effective and simple black coat. She then meanders into the cloaks and more adventurey clothes, idly examining the various fashions.