[Nexus] Inside 53

[McBish]

Market Street

The pickpocket does indeed steer clear of Mist. Partly because of those reasons listed, but also because he spots Angie's fat coin purse hanging at her hip. If Mist is keen eyed he might spot the half-elf fellow making his way towards Angie. When he passes, her belt pouch is gone.

[Deathkeeper]

Market Street

Mist does notice; he has a practiced eye of watching a decent-sized area. Plus Angie was barely twenty feet away. He'll look around a bit. If he can spot the leaving picker he'll shift into animal shape and weave through the crowd easily with his short stature and shift back in front of the fellow, a mischievous look in his yellow eyes and a hand held in front of him. Mist doesn't believe in making a scene out of these things. He'd be perfectly fine with walking away if the purse is given to him.

[McBish]

Market Street

The half elf stops short as Mist transforms in front of him. By now he has hidden away the coin purse on his person and looks Mist over with a raised eyebrow. "Sorry buddy, no coins to spare today." He says trying to step around Mist and continue on.

Angie and Jay didn't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary yet. Ken is sneakily making his way over to the pickpocket and fox-man.

[Deathkeeper]

Market Street

Mist silently cursed the fact that foxes don't have lips to perform wry smiles with when they pull this sort of routine. He steps to continue to be in the man's way.
"Reeally? Because I think the girl's purse in your pocket says otherwise. Of course, if she has it back within the next two minutes it'll be the only thing saying anything."

[McBish]

Market Street

The half-elf gives Mist a nasty look. For a split second it looks like he might reach for a knife and try to stab Mist, or at the very least that he would like to be able to do that. Instead he glances over his shoulder at Angie and Jay and notices Jay looking over at him. Instead he reaches into one of his pockets and pulls out the coin purse and tosses it to Mist. "Wanker." He says as he tries to turn and melt into the crowd.

[Deathkeeper]

Market Street

He can melt all he wants. "You too, buddy." is the only response he gets.
Mist walks casually up to Angie and gives her a gentle tap on the shoulder as he holds up the pouch to her.
"This, miss, is why internal pockets were invented."

[McBish]

Market Street

Angie turns and smiles at Mist as she reaches up to take her purse back. "Thank you." She turns to Jay for a second. "Want to see if you can catch him?"

"I think Ken has him, but I will go help. The shorter woman heads in the direction the pick-pocket was heading. She moves like a big cat hunting down it's prey.

Angie turns back to Mist still smiling. "Yes pockets are nice, but the pouch really draws in the pick pockets. Bait you see." She ties the pouch back to her belt. "Though I do appreciate your help."

[Deathkeeper]

Market Street

Mist's ears prick up. "You're welcome. Might I ask why you're purposely luring out pickpockets?"

[McBish]

Market Street

"Well it may sound weird but if they are good enough we offer them a job. Not as theives, but rather working on the other side. My cheif of security likes hiring pick-pockets. Says they make the best guards. I personally like the idea of taking a theif off the streets and putting him to work stopping other thieves." Angie explains.

[Deathkeeper]

Market Street

"No, that makes perfect sense to me. Unless they're really exceptional you don't have to worry much about loyalty. Plenty will take the steady, legal job that pays more without half the risks. Back home it's common knowledge that the government has a similar routine for hackers."

[Rebonack]

Riftline Station- Pretty Pastel Pony Pirates

They will indeed head back to the train station. They leave him where he is without killing him because murder attracts more attention than a mugging and they're confident in their abilities to defend themselves. Plus, Cap'n Volley Shot is uncomfortable about killing something that is incapable of fighting back. She'll shoot first, but generally only to avoid harm.

And thus some relatively uneventful train-waiting takes place.

Before long the riftline train will arrive and all those waiting pile onto the rather fancy machine. This thing really bears only the most superficial resemblance to the Friendship Express.

[Black Goat Woods]

Descriptions like 'spooky' would be a massive understatement.

The park's vegetation is dense and tangled, pull or thorny brambles and blight-eaten trees. Everywhere uncanny mushrooms and patches of fungus grows from the decay and rot that chokes the life from the wood. Fungus with a disturbingly flesh-like quality to it...

Despite the wild appearance of the park's vegetation there are well maintained pathways and the occasional wooden sign nailed to the powdery trunk of a beetle-gnawed tree. So clearly something must be working on the upkeep of the trail. Probably a something that is best not met.

Eventually the path splits in three, each with a sign. Lake Hali. Dunwich Hill. Carter House Estate.

Where to next?

[Lost_Deep]

[Abrajin's Library]

"Oh, well we were just passing through." Xavier exchanges a look with Kirin. Well this is odd. "We didn't mean to trespass in your kingdom here."

Kirin gets down on one knee, the better to address the tiny knight. "Yes, we're simply looking for information, and are not sure where to find it. Could you, perhaps, give us guidance?"

[Rebonack]

[Abrajin's Library]

"You are in no place to ask anything, commoner!" the tiny knight fires back. Seems he isn't feeling terribly helpful. Which is a real shame to be sure.

Makes figuring out where to go next and what to do a lot harder.

Of course, they could always just run away...

But the knights might poke them with tiny little lances!

And wouldn't that be just simply terrible?

"You shall stand before King Steve for your crime of trespassing in his kingdom!"

Wuh oh!

[Earl of Purple]

Riftline Station ---> Metropolis Square- Pretty Pastel Pony Pirates

The three pony pirates are astounded by the train's appearance. That doesn't stop them from clambering aboard, though. They'll look for somewhere they can sit together, preferably away from anybody else. Hopefully they can find some pony-shaped chairs, but if not then they'll have to make do. Volley will find human chairs especially awkward; her wooden leg just doesn't fit the chairs very well.

Black Goat Woods

The old man hobbles along the path, paying little apparent attention to his surroundings. His eyes are extremely limited; he can see, but only heat, and he can only do so one day a week. So he activates his sight, thinking that it might help him here. He'll head towards Dunwich Hill, hobbling along on his two feet and the stick fused to his hand.

[Rebonack]

[Riftline Ride to Metropolis Square]

Finding a place to sit that lacks any other people nearby is pretty darn difficult. Mostly because all the seats end up occupied once the train is off and moving again. And since each row of seats only has two chairs to a side that means one of the pirate crew will be sitting next to someone else.

In this particular case a rather distinguished looking gentleman who had apparently lost one of his arms. An arm now replaced with an intricate brass clockwork replacement. Glass components in the machine's casing allows its intricate internal workings to be plainly visible.

Sounds nifty!

He's paying little heed to the pony sitting next to him, instead focusing on a book he's reading.

[Earl of Purple]

Riftline Ride to Metropolis Square- Pretty Pastel Pirate Ponies & A Steampunk Gentleman

Quartermaster Cinnamon Stick winds up sat next to the Steampunk Gentleman, as Cap'n Volley Shot needed help climbing into the chair and Doc Sorebones has better depth perception.

Cinnamon will try to attract the gentleman's attention with a gentle nudge. "Excuse me, Sir, but may I respectfully inquire as to where you obtained that fantastic prosthetic?" Cinnamon isn't speaking with her usual low-class accent; she's putting on a much more refined air, one suitable for a high-class Canterlot restaurant. Like the one she trained at until she bucked another apprentice chef in the head hard enough to crack his horn.

[Gullara]

[Abrajin's Library]

Xavier looks at Kirin again. He doesn't think they did anything wrong, but he is all about respecting other people's laws. "I'm sure the king is a reasonable fellow. We can probably clear this up with little trouble." He suggests.

[Rebonack]

[Riftline ==> Metropolis Square]

Yeah, kicking other learners in the face seems like a pretty solid way to lose one's apprenticeship.

Anywho!

The gentlemen lowers his book and peers at the pony seated next to him. Then offers the sort of smile that anypony from Canterlot would recognize as the sort that a noble flashes when readying themselves to boast about a favorite trinket.

"Ah, do you like it?" he asks, flexing the arms fingers smoothly. "I had it custom ordered from the RoBronco company. Cost quite a pretty penny to have it done up in the precise style I required. It simply wouldn't do to have a replacement arm with that glossy plastic shell they seem so fond of. No, I must have something with the proper class you understand. Like a fine pocket watch."

The man gives a slight snort and continues. "Would you like to know how I lost it? It is quite the harrowing tale."

[Earl of Purple]

Riftline --> Metropolis Square- Pretty Pastel Pony Pirates & A Steampunk Gentleman

Well, he did make an unkind comment about Cinnamon based on an assumption about her mother. This, like Doc's wing, has been the character's backstory since the crash.

"I was thinking my friend might want one, for her leg." She motions across at the captain with her hoof. "That would be interesting. If there's time, after, I could tell you how I lost my eye." Because her yellow right eye is a glass eye she pulled from the skull of a dead Solar Guard.

[Rebonack]

[Riftline ==> Metropolis Square]

The gentlemen goes on to describe in some detail the harrowing tale of how he protected some helpless ladies from the vile zombie outbreak that took place some time ago in the City. Apparently in the course of his heroics he got bit and his arm had to be amputated to prevent the spread of the disease.

He's exaggerating quite a bit.

But the story is meant to make him look good after all.

"And no sooner did the doctor remove the arm that the thing took on a mind of its own. Thankfully some quick thinking, antiseptic alcohol, and a Bunsen burner quickly solved that little problem before it got *ahem* out of hand."

He gives a little chuckle at his own awful pun.

[Earl of Purple]

Riftline --> Metropolis Square- Pretty Pastel Pony Pirates

"Right." Well, nopony got that joke. They're a bit too unfamiliar with the concept of hands to understand it. "As for my eye, the Captain spotted a noble's pleasure yacht. We were in sight of Canterlot, but too far away for any mobilised airships to reach us in time to stop us- if we were quick. So we swooped in, flew the Jolly Rodger, and they promptly surrendered. They had one cannon; we had twenty four. We carried off all the gold, jewels, gunpowder, the noble's duelling pistols, and I visited the yacht's canteen. I hadn't seen so many spices in a very long time, so I started to grab them and dump as many into my saddlebag as I could. I tripped, and awoke the chef. Poor mare had no idea what was going on, and saw a me going through her spices. She was furious and attacked with a kitchen knife and gave me this scar before I headbutted her unconscious, grabbed a tub of vanilla essence, and left back to our ship. Me and the mare, we were the only ponies injured in the whole incident. Doc patched me up, and the crew were very grateful for the spices." Cinnamon slowly reverts to her usual accent as she tells the story. She's not exaggerating, and it's a simplified version of the fight.

[Lost_Deep]

Abrajin's Library

"Yeah, and if not we can play the kaiju card." I assume she isn't talking about the total rawr rampage thing, but more threats backed up by size.

[Chaotic Bob]

Spoiler

Show

[Riftline Ruckus]

Geneva gives a grunt as she pushes the slimy slug man off herself, getting gooped with gross viscous green glop in the process.

She isn't at all happy with this outcome. Not even a little bit. Poor hippogriff. And poor slugman, too. All he wanted was friendship.

Meanwhile!

Sunder hits the wave of mind-wonking and blasts through it like a bullet through a pane of glass. The pegasus' ability to punch holes in even non-physical things makes it pretty darn difficult to combat her using anything but superior martial prowess.

Seems Sunder's philosophy is that an overwhelming offense is the best defense.

[Rifltine... Stuff]

Dawn is currently making incoherent noises of disgust and horror as she rolls around on the floor, trying to scrape the ooze off. It looks like she'll be totally useless for the next few moments!

Of course, if there are any bits of wires, sparky things, or other bits of electrical or arcane debris scattered around near her on the floor, she'll sneakily slip them between the feathers of her wings as she rolls over them, collecting the tiny pieces for some unknown purpose...

[Riftline Rampage]

Lydia, meanwhile, is fresh out of whale oil, and she doubts normal bolts will have sufficent velocity to do much.

So, she goes to plan B.

Namely, clenching her fist, calling upon the Outsider's magics once more!
And taking the brief moment of time stoppage to target herself...
...directly above the remaining betentacled one.
Then releasing.

fwoomp

Assuming all goes well, she'll suddenly be in the air over the unfortunate 'flayer's head.

With her sword out.
Pointed down.

Gravity. It's the law!

[Riftline Nonsense]

The slugman falls to its side and remains there, staring forlornly at some non-notable space in the distance.
Such a woeful change of pace, for its life.


One could say that the singed mindflayer tried to put up a proper fight.
However, 'a proper fight' doesn't add up to much when you have something effectively devouring your lower body and something else that seems to be an embodiment of melee offensiveness taking on the rest of you.

'A proper fight' lasts all of seconds.


Meanwhile, Dawn is collecting tidbits of warped illithic technology! Shards of peculiar crystal, and the dully glowing remnants of runed plates abound for the finding.
Not much in the way of wiring. They don't seem to use that here.


Then we have Lydia, pursuing the surviving majority of her mark.
It seems she cannot be satisfied with claiming an arm.

Diligence is rewarded with the sensation of yielding flesh just as her target places its remaining hand against one of the fluid-filled tanks at the edge of the ship. As the sword find a mark down into the inner side of the ulitharid's shoulder, there is a rather distinct pained gurgly noise and upset mental voice. But it sways not from its path, determining well enough that it will die if its focus is diverted by something as simple as a sword sliding down through the top of its lung.
Space around the flayer ripples again, notably failing to have any immediately malicious effect on Lydia whatsoever.

It is sort of letting the illithid simply slide (half-terminally fall?) through the glass of that tank though. If Lydia doesn't relocate herself, she'll follow suit.

Spoiler

Show

EMBOH Air Vault



"I can't say I'm not more than a little disappointed by the quality of superhuman we have on display here, yeah."

The cyborg pales, knowing full well what Tesla cannons, EMP grenades, RPPs (Rocket-Propelled-Pikachus) and the like are capable of doing to his circuitry. He puts a hand to his wrist, and reluctantly relays an order to the enormous ship carrying the vault up and away.

"Ground Control to Major Tom, we have a situation down here, switch to evasive maneuvers! Libby, I strongly recommend you hold on to some-"

Aaaaaaaaaaugh! Magtok is immediately thrown against one of the vaults walls, the entirety of the thing swaying in the air as their escape craft tries to abruptly twist out of the way of the rocket! He promptly falls to the ground, and then crashes against the opposite wall, before finally remembering one of the shiny new features of his particular brand of MagClone. He activates the magnet-boots, hoping against hope he won't have to actually try walking or anything until this nightmare is over.

[EMBOH Air-Vault]

Evade ship, evade!

Magtok's rather late warning seems to fail on Libby as well. Although she seems to just vanish, rather than slamming into a wall.

After a moment, she reappears, snaring a hand around the arm of a flopping-around Ice Hero and floating rather determinedly away from any of the walls.
"No need for him to wake up brain damaged."


Glancing out the exit...
"Maggy dear, I'm not sure evasion is in the cards."
What an odd thing to say, as the electrified rocket flies right past them!

And then turns back around, a small figure sitting amidst the sparks around its shell cackling wildly.
"I'm comin' back for ya!"

"Maybe I can kill the propulsion..."
Libby quietly questions her non-participation, in the face of an insane no-longer-flightless pixie seeking its revenge.


Down before there's a small crowd of individuals watching, in front of the bank. Most of them are figures certainly capable of pursuing, judging by the presence of at least three pairs of wings.
"Think it'll work?"
"Hey, it's what the boss said to do. Just go with it."

[Rebonack]

[Abrajin's Library]

"You will follow us to the palace!" the tiny knight proclaims as he and the other tiny knights begin riding off toward the tiny (comparatively speaking) castle made of books.

This all seems rather silly.

Seriously.

This is a public library. You can't proclaim a room in a public library to be your kingdom. Chances are these whatever they ares have just set up in here to be annoying.

[Riftline ==> Metropolis Square]

"Dear me, you're a pirate?" the gentlemen replies. "Certainly not a profession I would take part in."

What with him being a titled noble and all. If anything he might finance privateers. But actual piracy?

"But it takes all sorts to make the world go 'round. Hmmm," he studies the glass eye briefly. "Their services don't come cheap, but I believe RoBronco makes replacement eyes as well. Eyes that can actually see. The machines they sell are quite astounding. Their main office is up in the Skyway, but they have others around the city."

[Earl of Purple]

Riftline --> Metropolis Square- Pretty Pastel Pirate Ponies and a Steampunk Gentleman

You'd be surprised at who takes up piracy. After Blackbeard was killed, his crew were mostly sentenced to hang... Except one chap who said he had friends in London was spared the noose, and I don't think it's recorded why.

"No, I'm a chef. I just happen to serve as Quartermaster aboard a pirate ship. Or I will, when we find another. That's me Cap'n, and that's the ship's doctor. Near as we can tell, we're the only survivors that didn't desert." Because the pegasi all flew away when they realised the ship was doomed. She'll point at her fellow pirates when she gives them their titles and they wave back. "A new eye, one that works? Ooh, that'd be good. Mum hates this thing, says I'd look better with an eye patch. Reckon the cap'n's leg is more important, though. Especially with cobbles."

[Gullara]

[Abrajin's Library]

Chances are, in the Nexus you totally can. Xavier doesn't see the harm at least. So the pair will follow along to the castle presumably.

[Lost_Deep]

Abrajin's Library

Kirin will also follow, looking around a bit. She isn't worried. If she can see the other doors from here, she will try to read them.

[Rebonack]

[Riftline ==> Metropolis Square]

"Well, best of luck to you all. There are plenty of ships about this City, air and otherwise. But those in power don't take kindly to pirates. I would consider finding another place to cook aside from a pirate ship," the fellow says as they reach their next stop.

If the sign above the door is to be believed this one is called Steele Street.

The gentlemen puts on his top hat and heads out the doors along with several other passengers. And shortly there after new passengers board the train. Yay for mass transit?

Among those passengers are a gaggle of children of various species and three women (two humans and an elf) trying to keep them all in line. Seems the group from the Church of Cunningham Children's Home is returning from another exciting field trip.

The seat next to Cinnamon is quickly occupied by an orange pegasus filly with an electric blue mane and bright red eyes. "Mind your manners, Tango," the elf woman admonishes.

The filly sticks her tongue out at the care taker. "I didn't even say anything yet!"

[Abrajin's Library]

There are other doors, but the labels aren't really legible from this distance.

The castle of books opens up before them to reveal King Steve and his court! As soon as he spots the pair he makes a proclamation. "Off with their heads!"

Well.

That escalated quickly.

[Luka]

[The Mispelled Cemetary]

Funny thing about the various Red Zones of Inside. There is plenty of warning before you arrive in one of them. Not exactly the sort of place that is easy to stumble into. Especially since Irregular and Remnant guards are typically stationed around the area to make sure that awful things don't come leaking out into the (relatively) peaceful parts of the City.

Anywho!

The cemetery itself is fairly standard. Rickety old cast iron gate surrounding it. Crumbling headstones and ancient crypts. Phosphorescent green fog drifting just above the rotting earth. Dead trees with gnarled branches swaying in the fell wind.

And, of course, the unded that are staggering about.

It's Tuesday, and that means degenerated, crumbling skeletens are shambling about aimlessly, many of them clutching shovels or picks in their boney hands.

The crusader would just wander around for a bit, when he sees a skeleton he imediately grabs his sword and tries to hide behind a tree, if there are any; he tries to look around to count how many enemies are around.

[Gullara]

[Abrajin's Library]

"...Oh." Okay,fine then. Xavier goes to just step over their captors and head toward the nearest door. No need to be violent as far as he's concerned. "Quickly now, Kirin. Let's not get pricked."