Random Plots and Places 10: Results may not be between 1 and 10

[BlackCoatedMan]

[Path to Dungeon]

The captain is released, before she could react, she is beheaded. She was about to bark orders, but she has no protection from being ash-ified. A malevolent, and invisible spirit leaves the woman. It mutters something like a curse, then vanishes.

The double shot is fired. One hits a shield, the other is broken in the air by gauntlets. They make their way to Venatus, and attack. The gauntleted one is fast so he goes for a jab-straight-knee combo. The other one with the axe ans shield tries to flank her. The one with throwing knives stays back. He focuses, waiting for an opportune moment to throw the knives.

[Duck999]

Path to the dungeon

Venatus leaps backwards, quickly assessing the situation. She draws an arrow and fires at the man with throwing daggers, then she pulls out a short sword. This fight will probably come down to melee, and getting rid of the dagger thrower is necessary to win a fight against multiple people.

[Cyber Punk]

[Path to Dungeon]

Rochelle has the same idea as Venatus, and attempts to decapitate the knife thrower. We can ask his head questions later, before practicing our cutting on his face.

Then, should she succeed, she'll carry his head with her, then walk towards the other two men, before throwing knives at their necks.

[Shadowcaller]

Transport

"More like halflings, ogres, and dwarves." Jezebel explains before heading to her seat to strap herself back in and close her eyes. "Generally they aren't so appealing however. Things in the holds of ships would be more like twisted ghouls." She adds as she lays her head back. "As for elves, we have Eldar instead. And they are a cold and distant race that has absolutely no interest in us, and when they do it is usually a bad thing. Better settle down. This close, we'll be docking soon."

Transport

"I'm less familiar with those and the way you describe them, perhaps it's better that way." Cessie admits. I'm pretty sure those creatures Jezebel described aren't even a part of Cessie's world! "This will be quite a culture clash I'm afraid." She says while slowly starting to settle down in her seat, putting the safety belt back on once again.

Garn says nothing, he still had no idea what possibly could be appealing about this place. It was all bad and stupid.

[UncleWolf]

Transport => Starburst

"That's alright. If you get used to it, I'd start to worry." Jezebel says, a little bitter. After that, she falls silent until the transport docks. When it does, Cessie and Garn will feel the gravity return quickly after the lights flash their warning. Jezzy holds up her hand to tell them to wait a minute, and after a series of loud knocking sounds on the hull, she smiles and unstraps. "We're on." She says as the short pirate woman they met previously enters the chamber. "Alright you three. Cap'n is waiting. Yer stuff is gonna be taken to yer room." She explains before heading on out, expecting the three to follow.

[Shadowcaller]

Starburst

"I can't imagine I would." Cessie replies before falling silent as they start to dock. After the safety procedures she slowly get's up, feeling the effects of gravity again. It's lack was interesting while it lasted.
Once Jezebel gives signal she starts to unbuckle, glad to be free from it. Now she could move freely about at least.
She gladly follows the pirate woman while Garn tags along behind them looking as grumpy as ever.

[UncleWolf]

Starburst

Leaving the Transport, Cessie and Garn will find themselves in the middle of a crowd of crew and servitors, each of which is filled with one purpose or another. The Servitors are hulking creatures of flesh and steel with massive clamps instead of hands, and they begin the slow process of unloading the massive ship. The various human and tech-priest crew begin maintenance on the transport ship, even refueling it.

The hold itself is quite large, easily large enough to fit five of these transport ships, though it only holds one for now. Alongside it however are several smaller fighter craft and shuttles the size of school buses. Surprisingly, everyone seems so intent on their tasks that they ignore the odd group that disembarks. If they pay close attention, Cessie might even catch a glimpse of porters taking their luggage towards a hallway adjacent to the one that they are headed towards themselves.

The hallway itself is quite a bit smaller, large enough to fit three people abreast and only eight feet high. It is completely made of metal and even though the hall branches off at several points, their guide doesn't waiver and simply continues going straight. Every so often they're forced to stop as she unlocks doors using a keycode, but after about fifteen minutes of walking they get to a large blast door at a junction of three hallways. With one more keycode the door opens, revealing a large chamber with a raised dais in the middle of it. Surrounding the huge platform is a series of dozens of consoles, each one manned by either a human or a servitor, monitoring various parts of the ship and the void itself. Cessie might have a hard time keeping track as each one speaks, relaying messages to one another.

"Warp Translation in three hours, seventeen minutes, and forty-seven seco-"

"Transport is locked down and the taskmaster says the g-"

"Void is clear, Captain Maltar."

The Captain in question seats upon a large gold and red throne in the middle of the platform, and as the group walks up to her, they'll see it turn around to face them, revealing a woman in her forties with mostly black hair, pale skin, and bright green eyes facing them. She's dressed in leather clothing, mostly unadorned by anything other than buttons, but her hands are covered by a pair of huge metal gauntlets with one featuring metal claws on the back of it. "My Lady Tel'Vree. It is a pleasure to have you on board again." She says, practically purring in amusement behind the red scarf that covers her lower face. "You look...human."

"Things change, including myself, Captain Maltar." Jezebel admits, kneeling in front of the Captain. In all the time that Cessie has known Jezebel, even at the beginning, the woman has never knelt before anyone until now. "Thank you for your hospitality and for having us on board. We look forward to a safe and smooth journey."

Behind the scarf, the Captain seems to smile as Jezebel stands. "I'm sure." She says, still sounding quite amused. "Your usual room has been prepared." She adds before looking at Cessie and Garn, quirking an eyebrow. "I welcome you two aboard. I am Captain Adrian Elizabeth Maltar."

[Shadowcaller]

Starburst

Cessie follows Jezebel's example to a degree and bows before the captain once she addresses her. "Thank you captain. I am lady Cessie Laurana Mithar, one of Jezebel's acquaintances and this is Garn, my bodyguard. We're both honored to be onboard your ship, especially under the command of one Jezebel respects to such an extend." She says.

Garn on the other hand seems to be looking in every direction but the captains. This place didn't seem very safe at all to him so he now had to keep a look out for potential enemies.

[UncleWolf]

Starburst

The Captain gives a small nod before looking at a display on her armrest. "Thank you. And I am sure you would like a chance to freshen up and unpack before dinner in my hall after Warp Translation. Our Navigator says the runes are favorable, so with luck our trip won't take very long. Lady Tel'Vree knows the way to the room from here, so I will see you later. Farewell for now." She says, giving one last nod before turning her chair back around.

Jezebel will get up from her knee and wordlessly gesture for Cessie and Garn to follow her off the Command Bridge to take a right down a well lit corridor. "As a warning, my usual room has been decorated...before I left my previous...existence. I'll have to have some things removed." She says after a few minutes, not willing to use the word Daemon here.

Deserted Caverns

"Would you rather I just leave it?" Veronica asks, reaching into her bag to pull out the box. "If something is so afraid of it, perhaps that's best. After all, we know others have been here before, so maybe they know something we don't." She admits.

[BlackCoatedMan]

[Path to Dungeon]

The one throwing knives throws a knife at Venatus the moment she shoots her arrow. He is hit with the arrow on the shoulder. With his focus up front, he doesn't notice Rochelle coming from behind him. He is decapitated with ease. His head shouts in surprise.

"What the, who're ya and where's the Captain?"

The two remaining minions assess the situation and look at one another. The one with an ax charges at Venatus, trying to keep her too occupied to try and take a shot. The one with gauntlets, being the fastest, makes a mad dash away from the fight.

The dagger hits the ax wielding man but he ignores it. The other dagger misses the running gauntleted man completely.

[Shadowcaller]

Starburst

Cessie and Garn follows, but the sorceress suddenly stops as Jezebel speaks up. "Of course, perhaps I'll just wait outside then while you have those things removed. I'm sure Garn could help you along."

The gargoyle bares his stone teeth for a moment when Cessie isn't looking.

[UncleWolf]

Starburst

"It's mostly just attire, iconography, and some artwork. Likely some hard drugs as well, but those can be disposed of easily enough." She says, clarifying as she walks on. "I can get it myself so Garn won't need to worry about touching it. That said, if you just wait outside the door for a few minutes, it should be fine. I'd just prefer if you two didn't get lost on board." Jezebel adds.

If the two walk with her until they get to a metal door a few minutes later, Jezebel will wave the pair close to the keypad which is set in roman numerals. "One, Eight, Seven, Four is the combination if you two head out and need back in. Besides myself, only a handful of the crew know the code, so we're safe." She explains before hitting the buttons and opening the door.

There's a smell of soft perfume and the feel of comfortably warm air that also seeps out, making Jezebel sigh in relief. The relief lasts for only a moment when her eyes lock in on something in the room and she gives another sigh. "Thank you, but I won't be needing any bedwarmers for the duration here. You may tell The Captain that if she asks." She tells someone in the room before heading on in to fix things. A moment later, Cessie and Garn will see a man and a woman, both wearing nothing but robes walk out with a bag each. Both are tall and fit, muscular to the point where they're probably some sort of repair crew or security. They also look a bit...relieved to be out of the room.

[Duck999]

Path to the Dungeon

Venatus drops to the ground, ducking the dagger, and drops her bow. She pulls a dagger.

She rolls to the side, onto her back. Thrusting upwards with her dagger, hoping to catch the man's leg to injure him, but keep him alive for questioning.

[Earl of Purple]

Deserted Caverns

It occurs to me that Jace also looked at the books, and yet I neglected to describe them. How slack and inattentive of me. The pouch has about six garnets inside, and also two folded fifty-pound notes and twenty gold coins- none of the coins match, being from different nations and worlds. The books are One Hundred and One Uses for Virgin's Blood, a tome of advanced Haemomantic techniques, bound in human skin. The Book of Orcus, a book written in blood and dedicated to the Demon Lord of the Undead, and finally a Spelltome for a simple necromancy spell designed to temporarily reanimate a corpse.

The camera continues seeing nothing.

Leaving the box may very well be the wiser choice, but taking it somewhere it can be opened by trained professionals that can analyse it and, if necessary, reseal it and keep it safe, might also be a good idea.

[Cyber Punk]

[Path to Dungeon]

Rochelle holds knife-guy's head up briefly with the hopes that Venatus will see. Then, she tosses the head inside a tent and runs after the gauntleted guy, teleporting a few times to gain on him. "Don't run! All I want are those pretty gauntlets!" She grips a sword tightly, charging it with wind energy, then swings at the running man. The razor wind energy should cut anything it touches. Specifically, she is aiming for his legs and/or his torso, intending to cripple him.

[Shadowcaller]

Starburst

"Don't worry about it, I'm sure Garn doesn't mind." Cessie says, turning to the construct.
The gargoyle simply nods, he didn't really care about what things he was moving considering his master probably would want to stay as far away from that as possible.

Cessie is visibly unnerved by not only the two 'happy persons', but also by Jezebel's choice of words. Bed warmers? It made them sound like some sort of object to use. She didn't even want to consider that. It just seemed so cheap. She won't comment what just happened until the two are gone however, feeling rather uncomfortable in their presence.
But while the sorceress is avoiding looking at the two, Garn is staring openly at them. Not quite understanding why they were there in the first place. To move things? Repair something? They seemed to make his master uncomfortable though which was never a good sign. Probably the not-purple woman's fault.

[UncleWolf]

Starburst

It takes a few minutes, but Jezebel eventually calls the pair in as she finishes shoving a chest under the bed. The first thing Cessie might notice is that their luggage has already been set in the room, placed in two stacks according to owner. The other is the quite apparent theme of the room, which in this case is soft purples and off-whites. Unlike the rest of the ship, there is soft cream carpet on the floor, matching the bedposts of the truly massive canopy bed that could easily fit four people with room to spare. There's a large array of pillows on it as well as thick lavender blankets.

Elsewhere the room is has a pair of dark wooden dressers and a large armoire for clothing. There's also a pair of chairs, a fainting couch, and a large vanity set. All in all, the furnishings are expensive and impressive, but there are unmistakable signs that things have been removed as well. There's a faded square on the wall where a picture once hung, and a small alcove in the corner that has been emptied, leaving only candle wax to show that it had once been a small religious shrine. Other than that, there are two doors, one obviously a closet and the other leading to the bathroom.

"My apologies for that." Jezebel says with a sigh as she checks the drawers in the vanity and pulling out pill bottles to look them over before putting them back. "I did say there were signs of what I used to be would be present. What I used to call "Bedwarmers" were part of that." She explains before looking in interest at one bottle and even opening it to look at one of the pills. "Spook...poor grade. I'll have to tell The Captain that she's been cheated again." She mumbles to herself before pointing to the bathroom door. "Toilet and bathtub and shower are all in there. You'll want to shower before Warp Translation." She explains, putting the pill and pill bottle back before she sits on the edge of the bed and begins the tedious process of removing her armor.

[Deathkeeper]

Deserted Caverns

"No, like I said, there's a small chance that it's some holy relic the vamps didn't want used against them, so in this case we'll take it with us and give it to professionals once we're out. Let's check the next room. These kinds of books are on my burn list." he says, pocketing the pouch.

[Shadowcaller]

Starburst

"Um, why exactly?" Cessie asks, having showered just before she left the keep. "But before you answer, where those bed warmers just mean for you? Since I sure hope I didn't give the impression that I would want any, or that simply associating with you would give her that impression. It's quite insulting really." The mage doesn't look pleased at all as she walks across the room, not wanting to sit down just yet even if taking in so much new had been rather exhausting for her. Even this room felt strange and alien even if it was supposed to be her home for the next weeks to come.

Garn just sits down in a corner, lazily letting his gaze wander across the room. That not-purple woman sure loved purple for some reason. Was it some kind of theme she had? Or was she just obsessed with it? Either way, she was probably crazy.

[UncleWolf]

Deserted Caverns

"I'm honestly surprised at you, Jace." Veronica admits as she looks over the books. "It may just be the reporter in me, but it is a shame to destroy these books even if we don't agree with their purpose. Are they magical? Do they control the reader? If not, then I want to take them with me." She says with a sigh, reaching out with a finger to touch the one about virgin's blood. "Even if we dislike the contents, isn't it important for us to understand what's in them in case something involving similar themes happens later? If we destroy the books, how are we to be prepared against the threat or how are we to combat it if we lack even the resource to understand what it is? I'm willing to bet that these books in themselves aren't exactly evil, it is merely those who used them for such purposes that are."

Starburst

"Before today, I'd have said it was by mere association that they were offered to you as well." Jezebel admits, removing her chest plate to reveal a clean white tank top beneath the armor. "Again, I had a reputation, and so did the people I was involved with." She explains as she moves onto her legs. "This time is different though. I warned Captain Maltar before she came here that I wouldn't be needing such things, so she's likely checking to see if I've actually changed. A joke on her part really. It is in poor taste, but I'm not surprised. She's probably trying to gauge who you are as well."

With the legs removed, she reaches down to rummage through one of her bags. "As for the shower, I recommend it because getting relaxed before Translation is a good idea. It is a hard shock to the body and mind, to the point where some people experience hallucinations as an effect. It isn't common, but I still recommend doing everything you can to prevent hardships."

She apparently finds what she's looking for, an injector filled with a pale green fluid, and right in front of Cessie and Garn she pulls down her waistband a bit until her upper thigh is exposed. After she presses it against her leg, she gives a grunt after she pulls the trigger and whatever was inside starts to take effect.

[Deathkeeper]

Deserted Caverns

Jace frowns.
"This one? Point taken." he says, referring to the book Veronica is touching.
"The others are a book on summoning and using the power of a demon lord, which likely involved killing someone to get that much blood to write with, blood magic, generally used for murder and control but is regardless an affront against life, and using defiled human remains for bindings, I might add, and a manual on how to defile human remains to make them into mindless slaves. If I need to fight any of those things and I can't just use fire, I can use the writings of educated scholars who write for that purpose, and not those who revel in killing and seek stupidity like immortality and godhood." he says coldly. Zebes gives him a worried look but doesn't speak up.

[UncleWolf]

Deserted Caverns

Veronica is taken aback by the harsh answer, giving him a What the Hell? expression as it comes off like he's accusing her of wanting to use the books for Darkness. After a bit she shakes her head and sighs before putting her wing on her hip so she can look at Jace with a frown. "If that's the way it is, then why am I here, Jace?" She asks just as coldly. "I'm just about useless in a situation like this. You know it, Zebes knows it, and I readily admit it. I can't hold a gun, I can't swing a sword, I can't punch anything, I can't cast spells and I have no knowledge of traps or monsters. All I can do is fly, pilot a hover-cam, and learn." She points out unhappily. "I get it. I really do. Horrible things have happened to make those books, and in the wrong hands they can certainly do worse, but you're all but asking me to throw out one of the three things I'm capable of. I didn't even know what an Orcus was until you mentioned demon lord. You know what Blood Magic is, I don't. The same goes for demons and raising the dead. If I'm this ignorant of the basics, then how can I go with you on another one of these? I'd love to, but I'm just a liability and it's just going to get worse later on." The Harpy says with a shrug. "If I can't do anything, then I should just go. We all know you'd be safer if you didn't have to protect me here."

[BlackCoatedMan]

[Path to Dungeon]

The gauntleted man is already far away from Venatus' reach. The dagger misses. Also, her fight is with the ax and shield wielding minion. In fact, that guy is pretty annoyed at being ignored. So, he takes two light but fast swings at her.

The man with the gauntlets felt and heard that he was being followed. He grimaced, he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. After a split second of thought, weighing the pros and cons, he makes a decision. His left eye becomes filled in with an ink like black color. He then gouges it out and crushes it. The body then seems to go limp.

Her energy slash cuts at the torso. After the giant laceration cuts him, his body in two pieces falls to the ground, unmoving. Then it crumbles to dust, leaving only his equipment there.

[Shadowcaller]

Starburst

As Jezebel starts to undress, Cessie immediately turns around. She was still not sure how to act with lesbian women so she just took the safe route. "Hmph." She says at the Captains 'joke', poor taste was the word. Who the heck did she think she was? "But I'd rather just lay down than take a shower honestly since I am feeling pretty tired right now."

Garn doesn't look away however, feeling rather indifferent about naked humanoid skin. He wouldn't even care if Jezebel was performing a strip tease right in front of him.

[UncleWolf]

Starburst

Who did the Captain think she was? Probably The Captain. Also, Jezzy would much rather call herself "Equal-Opportunity Lover".

Garn might be indifferent for the moment, but that would probably change if said striptease was done while leaning on him and involved dancing.

"It's safe to look." Jezebel tells Cessie after she pulls the waistband back up and goes about exchanging the de-tox cartridge. "You'll get no objection from me about laying down. Which half of the bed would you like? Go ahead and take the dresser on whichever half as well. Unfortunately we'll have to share the Armoire." Jezzy adds before standing and stretching. "I'll be taking a shower to relax first."

[Shadowcaller]

Starburst

It's now Cessie realizes they're sharing one bed. She really should have thought of this sooner. It was just that she figured she would have some other bed hidden away... okay, it was just stupid of her to think that. "Ah, but I'm sure there must be some kind of spare beds. Not that I wouldn't want to sleep in the same bed as you but... you know." Cessie sits down at the edge of the bed. "Perhaps a bit inappropriate?" She really hoped she didn't insult Jezebel now.

[Deathkeeper]

Deserted Caverns

Jace's gaze softens.
"You're here because you want to be, and because I like you being around. Learning is not always something you get from books. No one taught me how to look for traps, or how to deal with monsters, or any of that. When I started this I was sixteen and I had a knife, a hawk, and two spells that were generally less effective than arrows. I got through it all because I had good friends to watch my back and learn the basics together.
So I'm sorry. I'm too used to doing this with people who can speed-read titles and garner meanings."

[And when all this started, I was mostly there for morale support. Sure, as a familiar I monitor Jace's magic, but he's rarely reckless enough for me to really need to alert him to things. So I kept my eyes open and listened. And sometimes I made some music during fights, because it was funny. Nowadays I've got a few destructive tricks but that's generally what I do. More than anything else, Jace needs you around because he hates being alone. Not that he ever really is, but I don't always count. He needs to talk about loot and courses of action. It seems simple but that's how he is. It's how we are. And that's why he'd rather spend the rest of the day in his bunny form than send you away. And he gets really embarrassed about that power.] Zebes explains.

[Duck999]

Path to the dungeon

Venatus leaps away, holding her dagger out in front of her to block the blows. She starts to circle the man, pulling out her bow and aiming at him.

[UncleWolf]

Starburst

"Beds are bolted or welded to the floor for safety, and space is a currency on these ships, Cessie." Jezebel explains with a small sigh. "Generally rooms like this are reserved for high ranking officers such as the first mate or Navigator, not guests. The only reason I'm able to get a room like this, is because I have a long working relationship with the Captain. Your safety here is also a concern. This ship is not a particularly safe, or friendly place..." She says, starting to explain more before stopping and rubbing the bridge of her nose, eyes closed. "Do you want a different room? I can't promise it'll be as accommodating as this one. Or maybe I can move myself. Your choice." She asks, the hard edge that had been creeping into her voice vanishing, making her words softer. "Or there might be a way to get a spare bed."

Deserted Cavern

"But at sixteen, you were already far more capable at this than I am, eight years the senior." Veronica points out before holding up her wing to show her two fingers on it. "This is what I have to work with, and always will be. I have to order special utensils just to eat, and I'm expected to be able to fight?" She asks before shrugging. She ignores the comment about speed-reading and understanding titles, choosing to let that one slide. She understood the titles perfectly, but now wasn't the time to argue that point as well. "I can't fight and we all know it. Really, I can't even fly in this place, so that's strike two." She admits before sighing, feeling bad for all of this.

"I understand that you don't want to be alone in here, and that you don't want me touching those books because of what they represent, but I can't just stand here and be only a sounding board and Censorship isn't something I can abide by, even between us. No, especially between us." She adds, looking down at the ground. "If you want to burn the books, then go ahead, but I'll be waiting outside for you if that's the case."

[Shadowcaller]

Starburst

"Actually, forget it. If there is such limited space I don't want to make trouble. I can simply take this side." Cessie replies, quickly caving at that tone as she pats the side of the bed she sits at. It was a big bed after all, there probably wouldn't be any trouble. "It won't be a issue really."