Riverside 15

[Deathkeeper]

The Toy Tinker

Jim gives an odd, sad smirk. "Most of the time a mother isn't too pleased when her son comes home a different species."
Oh yeah, he really lucked out on that one. Jim winces at the word "wretched" and his clear failure at stopping the self-deprecation.
"Are you alright, Sticks?" he asks, concerned.

[Ionbound]

[Dragon Inn]

Kanya nods and says, "Possibly, yes. And I don't know what this fae looks like. You do, though?"

[Murkus]

[The Toy Tinker]

"Jim, I jest," Sticks says, lowering his arm from his eyes slightly and looking at Jim sidelong, some mirth in that gaze. "I'm perfectly fine. As fine as I'll ever be. Now enough about me, what about you? Are you going to do any celebrating?"

[Dragon Inn]

"No, I... not really. But the antlered girl - Obriane, her name - she's... fey, somehow, or has their tricks about her. There is much to explain," Sticks sighs. And he isn't certain he wants to share what he's learned with a stranger, but after what she's said... it's entirely possible Obriane's relation to what he's witnessed has somehow put her in danger.

The tall man elects to ask his own question. "What exactly makes you think this person is in danger? How did you get wind of this? Who are you?" Alright, questions. He's a babbler.

[Deathkeeper]

The Toy Tinker

Jim smiles, relaxing. "I hadn't made any plans yet. I was considering asking Syela, but she's been pretty busy with apprenticeship things and I haven't had a chance to ask her. So uh, no, nothing planned yet." he says with a sheepish shrug.

[Ionbound]

[Dragon Inn]

Kanya nods and says, "I see. Well, I'm afraid I can't tell you. Official Malchenar business." Of course, this isn't strictly true, and if Sticks can tell she's lying it'll be shown as such.

[Murkus]

[The Toy Tinker]

"Well, if you do wish to go, perhaps I can serve as your second choice of companion," Sticks suggests kindly, without a hint of reproach. Of course he's the lad's second choice. That's not self-depreciating, that's perfectly logical. In any case, the tall man certainly couldn't work up the nerve to go alone. Could he? We might just see. "Ahem. To conclude, Jim. There are to be more more mental practices, having to do with your personal Sigil. I want you to focus on them solely in the time daily you alot for their rehearsal, and I expect the same diligence I'm sure you applied to your learning in school."

[Dragon Inn]

There is a sort of... tick in a generally good person's aura when they lie, but Sticks is a good reader of people as well. Well, if one's going to play at not-quite-lies, he's a savvy enough opponent. The spindly creature narrows his eyes and says, "I am a personal retainer to Lord Ryhe, young lady! I am a consultant on matters magical, and I doubt sincerely that anything you tell me pertaining to Obriane's safety will be information at risk. I can promise my silence, under the threat of our Lord Ryhe's wrath. Now in the interest of saving a young child's soul and, if she is the one of whom we speak, the life of another very nice young lady not unlike yourself, tell me what it is you know."

Oh. My. While not given harshly, that was quite a point he just put forth, and to a total stranger! It takes all of Sticks' resolve not to wither after such an endeavour, but he holds fast, meeting Kanya's gaze. It really wasn't much of a lie - While not a long-serving one, he truly is one of Lord Ryhe's retainers, and a consultant on matters magical. These facts were merely put forth with more authority than they may really carry.

[Ionbound]

[Dragon Inn]

Kanya winces and says, panicking, "Oh! Oh gods, I'm so, so sorry. Um...Alright. So, have you heard about the fire vampire that's living like a normal person?"

[Deathkeeper]

The Toy Tinker

Jim smiles. "Sure, Sticks. Sounds fun." and then nods at the mild lecture.
"Yessir, of course. When have I ever been anything but diligent?" he says with a smirk.

[Shadowcaller]

[Suncrest Manor]

"Gah, what the heck are you doing, stupid." Eliseo says in a low, harsh voice. "Get up get up." He looks back down the stairs to make sure no one is actually coming. "No, I don't want to. I'm going to my room." He calls back to Irena. If Misaka gets to her feet, he urges her to get a move on again.

sorry, I tripped.
She replies in a low voice, getting up. She follows, and the two will probably reach the top.

[Suncrest Manor]

"Come on, are you chicken? Or do you just know I'm gonna win?" Irena taunts back loudly.

[Magmart - Westside]

Celestel arrives here followed by two of her brown robed body-guards. She's here to speak to Magtok himself if a clone just so happens to be attending the store.

[Murkus]

[Dragon Inn]

Kanya winces and says, panicking, "Oh! Oh gods, I'm so, so sorry. Um...Alright. So, have you heard about the fire vampire that's living like a normal person?"

"There are a lot of vampires living like normal people around here, my dear," Sticks says with a light, cursory smile. No need to apologize so profusely, the smile says. "Is this someone at Malechenar you speak of?" Fire vampire. He knows that phrase. It may not be the species he's thinking of, but such beings were distinctly antithetical to mortal life last he checked.

The Toy Tinker

Jim smiles. "Sure, Sticks. Sounds fun." and then nods at the mild lecture.
"Yessir, of course. When have I ever been anything but diligent?" he says with a smirk.

"I haven't found fault in you yet, young man, but watch your step," Sticks jokes, smirking very slightly back. "I will give you this tome, to accompany your lessons. I ask that you commit at least one hour each day to reading it. And not just reading, understanding. If there is anything that seems unclear, I hope you ask." The huge, dusty book is offered to Jim. "The majority of our lessons will be in person, however. That's why the studying is so light. Now, let us begin with the act of meditation that I mentioned..."

[Recaiden]

It is incredibly curious how the city is laid out. Four cities, really, sheltering within a common wall, once one, now many, slowly coming together once more.

[Eastside City Hall]

The mayoral inauguration has gone well and peacefully. There were speeches from the old mayor, music, more ceremony than was honestly necessary, the passing of the oversized key to the eastern gate.

It is a triumph of the movement that it has gone so smoothly, with power passing from one set of hands to another without violence or much ill will. Of course, much of the city's power remains in the hands of re-elected councilors. And the city has yet to develop deeply entrenched political parties. Still. It's exciting, in a boring, peaceful way. No burnt down buildings, no otherworldly invasion. The lack of disaster is exciting enough.

And now there's just one final speech to listen through before those gathered here can politely disperse.

"Citizens of Eastside, as your duly elected mayor, I swear to faithfully fulfill the duties of my office, to represent the people fairly, and to always act for the good of the city."

Amyria bows slightly as the otherwise useless Mayoral Sash is placed over their head.

"I thank you all for coming out here to see the process in action, the fruits of the Democracy Now movement continuing. As you likely know, I was not born in Riverside, but I've made it my home because it is the one place where every person has a voice, where the people are not ruled, but only led by one of their own. And I thank you all for helping keeping the city true to that vision."

"Of course, I have ideas of my own, that you all have believed in, some of which have already been set before the people and the council. We are working towards greater cooperation with the other districts of the city, projects that span east and west, north and south, and doing our best to see people brought together as one city. I've pushed for even greater openness in the council process and my own administration, so that anyone can see why the city is working as it will. Finally, I ask you to consider Southside. The Court of the One is gone, but we should not forget their cause, that Riverside be a place to grow, to move past past failures, and to a brighter future. I move that it is time to represent those lands and people again, allowing any groups or areas formerly part of Southside that wish to join with us to do so, to be brought under the protection of our Hunters and to allow their voices also to be heard. What's more, we should be once more a city where every district is truly at the river's side."

And soon, back to politics. There are councilors to speak with, a backlog of things to approve or deny, letters to the Malenchars and Westside representatives to draft. They'd heard of over-organized villages where the mayor does nothing more than provide signatures. If only this were that easy.

[Lord Magtok]

Magmart - Westside

The lights are off. They usually are these days, though. The Magtok who runs this store prefers the dark, for whatever reason. The locals and their tendencies might be rubbing off on him, possibly. It's just those dim auxiliary lights on during work hours; the place is just bright enough that people can see where they're going and read the labels on whatever it is they're buying.

"Hello. I don't suppose you're here to do some Halloween shopping, are you?" Magtok jokes, knowing a government official when he sees one. He puts down the coffee mug he was sipping from, and rests his arms atop a cash register. This had better be good; he had a whole lot of important nothing to do, up until these three showed up.

[Shadowcaller]

Magmart - Westside

The Malechenar representative smiles at Magtok. "In a way actually. I'm here on behalf of Malechenar to bury the spear so to speak." Celestel says, wasting no time with courtesies or privacy. The more public this was, the better. "I think we both can agree that this ban on Magmart in both Riverside and Inside isn't helping anyone. Your time in AMEN is past and with that so is our conflict with you. So I would like to tell you that we're planning to lift the ban of Magmart within Northside and hopefully Eastside as well once I discussed things with their new mayor. Riverside is a new city now, a united city of progress. We can't let old hatreds come in our way anymore. We need to modernize and a free market without bans is one of the first steps towards that."

[Westside - General]

Once some of the Tenebras forces in Westside have started to leave the city, patrols of gargoyles are taking their place. The official word is that with Tenebras forces leaving Malechenar will try to take up policing duties to make the city safe for the common citizen.

[Lord Magtok]

Magmart - Westside

"I'm happy to hear that," Magtok answers warily, sure that there has to be some sort of catch to all of this good news. How many people bring their security guards to a meeting where they'll be sharing nothing but positive news and promises of wealth and success?

"Forgive me for asking, but this doesn't have anything to do with that messy business in Inside, does it?" As much fun as it might be to flip Vyrn the bird, he's a little wary of governments doing so. He doesn't want to end up like DC, reduced to little more than footstool propping up an empire. A cheerleader who has so grotesquely sewn himself to Vyrn's side, you would think they'd been conjoined like that from the day they were born.

[Shadowcaller]

Magmart - Westside

"The ban of your stores? A little, yes." Celestel admits. "But the main reason is trying to make Riverside more attractive to people and we believe that Magmart can help us with that. Besides, banning one of the leaders of VIGIL from the city doesn't look very good on paper. Times are changing and we can only do our best to keep up."

[Eastside - Town Hall]

Malechenar's spokesperson Celestel and her body guards are paying the townhall a visit it seems. They seem to follow her wherever she goes. She appears to be looking for the new mayor.

[Recaiden]

[Eastside - Town Hall]

The new mayor can be found in the mayor's office, recently changed and currently sparse and undecorated. Desk, chairs, lamps, seating.
Such a person as Celestel will of course be admitted, although it's preferred that the bodyguards not be literally at her side. Surely the hallway is close enough.

[Gullara]

sorry, I tripped.
She replies in a low voice, getting up. She follows, and the two will probably reach the top.

[Suncrest Manor]

"Come on, are you chicken? Or do you just know I'm gonna win?" Irena taunts back loudly.

[Suncrest Manor]

Eliseo doesn't answer, he just heads straight to his room. When they're inside, he closes the door firmly after them. He breathes a sigh of relief and leans against it. "Okay, step one done. We're just gonna lay low here for a minute."

The boy's room is what one might expect from a teenage boy's room. It's not exactly clean. His bed isn't made and there is dirty clothes littered around his hamper rather than inside of it. There is a half a tub of Lego spilled on the floor and a handheld game is sitting on the floor.

[Ionbound]

"There are a lot of vampires living like normal people around here, my dear," Sticks says with a light, cursory smile. No need to apologize so profusely, the smile says. "Is this someone at Malechenar you speak of?" Fire vampire. He knows that phrase. It may not be the species he's thinking of, but such beings were distinctly antithetical to mortal life last he checked.

Kanya nods and laughs as she says, "Indeed. It is myself, actually...I froze to death in Outside, and...Well...Wasn't exactly in control of myself for a while. I managed to get myself back to sanity for long enough to get to Malchenar, and Lord Rhye gave me this," she takes out the star shard and shows it to Sticks as she continues, "So I don't starve and go insane with hunger. And...The reason I found out about this was that I was trying to learn pyromancy and my tutor and I ran into a weird, chimeric spirit that, after a brief interrogation, said that it's creator was here, and living with a fae. I want to stop this person from making anything like that again."

[Lord Magtok]

Magmart - Westside

"The ban of your stores? A little, yes." Celestel admits. "But the main reason is trying to make Riverside more attractive to people and we believe that Magmart can help us with that. Besides, banning one of the leaders of VIGIL from the city doesn't look very good on paper. Times are changing and we can only do our best to keep up."

"Kicked out of Inside, welcomed into Riverside with open arms. The world is funny sometimes," Magtok muses, before tapping some buttons on the cash register absentmindedly. Just bouncing through some of the prices and options, I imagine, since Celestel isn't buying anything right now.

"Alrighty, let me know how things go in Eastside. I'll hold off on any sort of press release until we know how things are going to be across the board in the city."

[Shadowcaller]

[Eastside - Town Hall]

The new mayor can be found in the mayor's office, recently changed and currently sparse and undecorated. Desk, chairs, lamps, seating.
Such a person as Celestel will of course be admitted, although it's preferred that the bodyguards not be literally at her side. Surely the hallway is close enough.

"Kicked out of Inside, welcomed into Riverside with open arms. The world is funny sometimes," Magtok muses, before tapping some buttons on the cash register absentmindedly. Just bouncing through some of the prices and options, I imagine, since Celestel isn't buying anything right now.

"Alrighty, let me know how things go in Eastside. I'll hold off on any sort of press release until we know how things are going to be across the board in the city."

[Eastside - Town Hall]

Celestel isn't against leave her bodyguards. Mostly they were there for show, within her culture having a expensive-looking body guard was simply something that showed prestige. So she enters the office alone. "Greetings, I'm Celestel Satarun. Malechenar's representative. But I'm sure you already knew that." She smiles, offering her hand to shake.

Magmart

"Of course, with the new mayor I'm hoping we simply will make a clean slate out of all this. Just remember to contact me if you need a Magmart in northside, I know a good number of empty buildings that could be demolished to make way for it." She then smiles, nods and seems to be concluding their business. "Farewell, it was a pleasure." And then she strides away with her body guards.

[Recaiden]

[Eastside - Town Hall]

The idea of bodyguards is a little strange to the mayor. If you're important enough to be protected, get better at protecting yourself. Supposes they could be an insult just by being there, but that doesn't seem likely as the intent.

"As I'm sure you already know me. Amyria."
The mayor rises to shake Celestel's hand.
"I'm glad you came by so soon. How can we help you?"

[Shadowcaller]

[Eastside - Town Hall]

Celestel will take a seat if she's offered one. "As you can understand, there are a great deal of important things we need to discuss. First of all, I couldn't avoid hearing that you're in favor of abolishing Southside. Something Malechenar is in favor of as well. But we need a clear plan how we're going to do it, AMEN will no doubt protests any intrusions into their lands." Though Celestel doubted they had that much of an presence in the area anymore.

[Recaiden]

[Eastside - Town Hall]

Yes, yes, a seat for the visitor. Moderately comfortable, not the best, not the worst.

"Agreed. There's so much could be done. Now, it's a shame these AMEN people are there at all. If we had done something right when the Court vanished, maybe we wouldn't be in this situation. But that's neither here nor there."

A paper is offered to Celestel, showing the words below.
"We've come up with some preliminary maps for jurisdiction, basically a return to original lines. That's the easy part. If Westside expands, how will the loss of natural sunlight go over? There's a lot of infrastructure work to do, extending utilities, surveying the new and remaining construction, rebuilding the landscape near the river. It's a huge project to redevelop all that land, and it won't come quickly. We plan to support such action as much as possible, while not making it a direct city project. We should concentrate our resources on those who want to maintain sovereignty in Southside and the riverfront itself. Now, what are some of your concerns?"

[Shadowcaller]

[Eastside - Town Hall]

"Regarding making Southside a part of Riverside again? Well, infrastructure and buildings are of course important, but the court of one took with them a far more important aspect of a city, it's inhabitants. Which is also something Riverside lacks right now, there are still quite a lot of abandoned buildings everywhere. But I have a solution for this problem. Malechenar has established a portal to our homeworld Elshar and there have already been a great deal of immigrants that flocked through as we granted them land of their own. I'm sure these people would love to claim land and settle in Southside under our supervision. That we actually have people that would want to live there associated with us would also ensure that we'd have sovereignty there. An city without population would be easy to claim back after all." Celestel replies.

[Arkhosia]

[Suncrest Manor]

Eliseo doesn't answer, he just heads straight to his room. When they're inside, he closes the door firmly after them. He breathes a sigh of relief and leans against it. "Okay, step one done. We're just gonna lay low here for a minute."

The boy's room is what one might expect from a teenage boy's room. It's not exactly clean. His bed isn't made and there is dirty clothes littered around his hamper rather than inside of it. There is a half a tub of Lego spilled on the floor and a handheld game is sitting on the floor.

Misaka nods.
Hopefully your mom doesn't intrude in the meantime. Any ideas on how exactly we'll reverse this? Specifically, I mean.
Misaka inquires.

[Murkus]

[Dragon Inn]

Kanya nods and laughs as she says, "Indeed. It is myself, actually...I froze to death in Outside, and...Well...Wasn't exactly in control of myself for a while. I managed to get myself back to sanity for long enough to get to Malchenar, and Lord Rhye gave me this," she takes out the star shard and shows it to Sticks as she continues, "So I don't starve and go insane with hunger. And...The reason I found out about this was that I was trying to learn pyromancy and my tutor and I ran into a weird, chimeric spirit that, after a brief interrogation, said that it's creator was here, and living with a fae. I want to stop this person from making anything like that again."

"You seem... remarkably to-terms, with all of this," Sticks says. It isn't every day you die and thirst eternally for warmth. And more of Lord Ryhe's seemingly charming nature with what seems to be either a piece of a meteorite or, much more madly, an actual piece of a star. Presumably magically extracted, if that's the case. It gave him hope to trust the enormous man, but anyone that wants to build what he and Ryhe intend to build must be at least quite shrewd.

Still more interesting than Kanya's story is what she's encountered. Chimeric spirit. And it's creator was here? Could it be this creator was seeking Obriane? Or was already close to her? First he had to be certain of something. "What did this chimera look like? Large, twisted, horrible, a mask meant to look like a person's face?" Sticks waves a hand over his own features to illustrate.

[Ionbound]

[Dragon Inn]

Kanya shakes her head and says, "No, I don't think so...One was like an eel, but with a child's face. The other was like a bear, but with no face at all with a flaming mask instead and the voice of a little girl. That's...That's why I want to stop this person. They're using children's souls to make these things. They can't be allowed to continue." She lets the comment about her adjustment pass unanswered.

[Recaiden]

[Eastside Town Hall]

The mayor frowns, managing to do so in a way that shows their not~teeth. Well, Eastside is the most accepting of different types of sentient being.
"I can't imagine that having much support by...anyone else. We did lose a lot of people with the court, but the southside territory has been refilling ever since then; the opportunity of a empty place was quite a draw. There are churches, apartment complexes, all sorts already. The density is a lot lower, but I feel a concerted settling movement would be one of the most-resisted things we could do by Southside."

[Shadowcaller]

[Eastside - Town Hall]

"They would of course have second claim on any land that remains once the original inhabitants moved in. If there is no more room, we'll simply have to tell them that. Technically, Southside is free land so if they don't move in there, someone else is bound to. This would just be done in a much more organized fashion with smaller groups moving in one at the time. Very regulated." Celestel argues.

[Murkus]

[Dragon Inn]

Kanya shakes her head and says, "No, I don't think so...One was like an eel, but with a child's face. The other was like a bear, but with no face at all with a flaming mask instead and the voice of a little girl. That's...That's why I want to stop this person. They're using children's souls to make these things. They can't be allowed to continue." She lets the comment about her adjustment pass unanswered.

Sticks shudders with fright, seeming to recede into himself. With his cloak and his height and that rare case of willfulness, the toymaker seemed much larger a moment ago. So it's true. The others he saw in the creature's memories were also children-made. A chilling thought.

"Despite these... differences in appearance, I believe we seek the same adversary, young lady. The creature I described attacked my shop," The tall man's careful not to note why, though he knows precisely the reason. "And when I broke it's mask, there was a child's face underneath. The soul of a small boy." Sticks' face droops with melancholy, disheartened.