[DWAiTaS] [IC] Somewhere in Time

[lord pringle]

A boy runs down the palatine hill, gasping and panting. He looks behind himself and trips over his stola. He panics and tries to scoot away, as a loud noise crashes in front of him. He sees it's white eyes and screams as the gas puts him to sleep for the last time.
~~~~~
The T.A.R.D.I.S. touches down on the soil. As the door opens, the three travellers look outside to see themselves in Rome circa 80 A.D. You've landed in the Forum Piscarium, a large fish market.

[Anyr]

A pair of eyes briefly peered out of the TARDIS, then withdrew.

"Rome. Togas. G-got it!"

The boy known as 'Ky' ran back through the console room and vanished down a corridor. A little later, he reappeared dressed in a traditional Roman outfit. He liked to at least make an effort to blend in with the places he visited; Even though such efforts were usually doomed to failure. When the other two members of the group were ready to depart, he'd follow them out.

[Zerkai]

"Aaah, first century Rome! 80 AD, very good year!" A young woman's voice explained as someone else stepped out of the TARDIS. She was a bit on the short side, looking from her late teens to her early twenties with auburn hair held back in a ponytail and green eyes. She was wearing a mostly white and sleeveless tunic around her petite frame with a belt around the waist and some red trim, it stopped about an inch above the knee.

"Little on short side, little risque maybe, still, close to knees. Should have seen me in this in my last regeneration, was taller." She seemed to speak quite fast, a grin on her face as she waggled her eyebrows at Ky.

[Anyr]

{OOC: If Afool is still having trouble posting, perhaps we could use an extra player after all.}

Ky studiously ignored the provocative comments of his senior. it was hard to believe that this woman was almost 800 years older than him. Once he'd walked outside too, Ky surveyed the fish market.

"I'm afraid my knowledge of this p-period is rather sketchy. What s-specifically is good about this year, sir?"

[Zerkai]

The Mechanic lightly tugs at the slightly shorter than it really short for Tome Tunic before looking back at Ky.

"Well, year after Pompeii, Colosseum completed, and Romans invade Caledonia." she explains as she takes a look around.

"Could watch fights in Colosseum..."

[Anyr]

"I'd rather not watch the fights themselves, sir. S-such barbarism makes my skin crawl. But the building itself would be quite a sight to behold."

This did indeed sound like a good year. Ky wondered if he'd get a chance to study any of it before trouble inevitably arrived. It was hard to conduct research while running from ravenous monsters; Or, for that matter, being dragged around by the apparent teenager in front of him.

[Afool]

Oliver steps out wearing a toga virilis and slaps Ky on the back.

"Bah, fighting's barely got any spice to it anyway. What we really should do is find out if there are any parties going on hereabouts. I'd love to have a chance to see how they make their cake. See what's so special about it and all."

[lord pringle]

As the three of you talk, you get some strange looks. A kid whispers something to his mother, and a slave stares at you. A fishmonger begins grabbing his stuff and moving it away. Eventually, a little boy walks up to you and says, "Excuse me, are you with the monster?" He's wringing his hands and hyperventilating a little.

[Anyr]

Ky was used to strange looks by now: They were the price you paid for being strange. When (as frequently happened) the looks became accusations, it was important to react calmly.

"M-monster?!

I mean, no we're not. As a matter of fact, we only just arrived. Could you tell us about this monster?"

[Zerkai]

"Still, would like to see it. Go to Rome, see Colosseum, not see gladiator fights? Preposterous. Can't ignore one aspect culture. Plus, chance to see what there were actually like, debate on whether fighters were actually killed or not." She paused to inhale deeply and get some air into her lungs.

"-What thumbs up and thumbs down mean." The Mechanic finished, putting her hands on her hips. Then she notices all the looks they were getting, then blinks at the question.

"Ah, of course, not intended destination, came here for a reason." She retreats back into their TARDIS and goes about getting her bag of gadgets, even the goggles that did nothing. She returned back outside with a small duffel bag.

[Afool]

"Yes, like my friend's just said we've just arrived to this market, and we haven't heard of any monster."

He crouchs down to eye level and leans closer to the child.

"You know, I never took much stock in monsters. The obvious ones anyway. Always seemed like someone was trying to be mean to people or hurt them without anyone knowing it was them."

"You know, I'd like to hear more about your monster, but first let's get you something to eat. Always a good idea to have serious discussion over a good meal. Do you like fish? I was planning on making some for the three of us here, but we can always have another at the table."

Spoiler: Charm roll

Show

(2d6+12)[5][3](20) Presence 4+ Convince 4 + Charm 2 + Voice of Authority 2

[lord pringle]

The boy looks down and rings his hands. "You aren't with the monster?" He scuffs his sandals on the ground. "I do like fish, mister..."

[Anyr]

"O-okay, fish sounds good. Let's find a nice place to eat and discuss this."

Ky surreptitiously locked the TARDIS door and edged away from it. Even with its perception filter and chameleon circuit, he didn't feel comfortable drawing attention to the ship.

[Afool]

The boy looks down and rings his hands. "You aren't with the monster?" He scuffs his sandals on the ground. "I do like fish, mister..."

"You do? That's great!"

Oliver offers the boy his hand.

"You can call me Oliver. Now I don't know this market very well, but a clever boy like you must know where all the best fish is. How about you take us there and I'll pick out whichever ones you like best, and you can tell us a little bit about the monster on our way there?"

[Zerkai]

The Mechanic looked at the boy curiously but kept silent, leaving local interaction and investigation to the social butterfly for now.

[lord pringle]

The kid smiles. "Thank you, Oliver. M'name is Quintus." He points out a food stand. "The monster's a big iron beast that steals people in the night. I haven't seen it myself, but my neighbor has. He said that it was Vulcan punishing us."

[Afool]

The kid smiles. "Thank you, Oliver. M'name is Quintus." He points out a food stand. "The monster's a big iron beast that steals people in the night. I haven't seen it myself, but my neighbor has. He said that it was Vulcan punishing us."

Oliver examines some of the fish and buys four for him to make later.

"Hmmmmm. Well Vulcan's quite the craftsgod, but I don't think he'd punish Rome as long as there are nice kids like you, Quintus, in it."

"No, this feels like someone or something's trying to find something. I mean why take people? It's either because they might know something or they might have something."

Oliver turns to The Mechanic and Ky.

"What do you salts think?"Remember one of the qualities I have is Eccentric: Kitchen talk. Short summery, expressions are going to be a bit more food based coming from Oliver.

[Anyr]

{OOC: Apologies for the delay.}

Ky pondered the question for a while, then hesitantly spoke. Something about Quintus' description had struck a chord.

"I w-wouldn't be comfortable speculating about the creature's motives; But as to f-finding it, I might have an idea. Does anyone else think it likely that this 'iron beast' isn't actually made of iron? Maybe we c-could rig up a scan for metals which shouldn't be present in this time period?"

[Zerkai]

"Hm.. yes, could work, scan for metals, strange energy signatures. Could be some kind of machine, maybe beast that looks like it's made of metal? Maybe even... perhaps, automaton created using normal metal with advanced technical know how." The Mechanic pondered all of the options, arms folded across her chest as she took another deep breath.

"... Would like to meet whoever built it. If that's the case."

[lord pringle]

((Sorry for the delay))
Quinitus tilts his head. "What are you talking about?"
If you plan to build the device, roll me Integrity plus Technology.

[Afool]

Oliver gives Quinitus a smile while he thinks of how to explain.

Striking upon an idea, he leans in close to Quintus and begins to confide in him.

"Well...you know the heroes Aeneas and Hercules? And you know how Hercules was made by Saturn and a lady right? And how he's strong because of his dad, right?"

Oliver points at Ky and The Mechanic.

"Well these two are kind of like that, only instead of being really REALLY strong of arms, their strength is in their noggins. They're thinkers and tinkers. They know all these amazing things, but that's not for the two of us to worry about right?"

"Now I don't really know any places for me to cook these fish, so how about you take us to your neighbor who saw the beast and I can cook them there for the four of us and your neighbor to eat, and we can all talk about what we know over lunch."

Oliver gestures to the two Timelords,"You two keep talking. Figure out what you need to do to make the scanner pany-ma-fry-it-blender-ma-chiefs-its, but remember to keep up with us. Wouldn't want to lose you in the market."

[Anyr]

Ky waved awkwardly at young Quintus. Actually, there was little that Ky didn't do awkwardly. Even when operating in his areas of expertise, he still managed to look hesitant. Case in point: The technical discussion between himself and the Mechanic.

"S-so I was thinking that we c-could use an inverted spread of beta...."

{OOC: Since the Mechanic has the better skill level here, she'll presumably be the one rolling. IIRC, Ky's assistance gives her a +2.

[Zerkai]

Hm. Perhaps, but can't focus on one specific thing. Many different potential theories, if 'creature' was created using earth metals, but greater mechanical know how it wouldn't read... maybe not even machine, but lifeform that looks like metal! Will need versatility, need more options than an inverted spread beta would allow for."

The Mechanic talked faster than probably necessary as she went to work, making her way back in the TARDIS and gesturing for Ky to follow as she rattled off ideas for their new work. It seemed more like Ky was having a conversation with two people instead of one.

"Keplar phasing to filter unknown organic tissue as well as metallurgy? No, no, ambient radiation caused by scans fatal to humans, not an option. Would require large, immobile machine, need handheld device, carry on the go. Could be? Yes... no, wait- Yes..."

This would likely continue for the entirety of the devices creation.