Skyside 3: Explore, Experiment, Explode

[Ashen Lilies]

Current Events: None

A bustling trade city famously situated atop a high-tech array of anti-gravity generators that give the flying city its name, Skyside has seen better days. Once a booming, futuristic metropolis with a strict legal system and formidable state-supported economy, the collapse of Skyside's monarchy has blown the city's political system into a state of literal anarchy. A plague of change and opportunity has infected the city at all levels, from the nobles and other persons of substance jockeying to to fill the political void left by the collapse of the old system, to new immigrants attracted by Skyside's new lack of taxes or restriction. The markets of Skyside's Tempest Row, once tightly regulated, are now open to all kinds of vice and debauchery unseen in the more stable cities of the Nexus, including a growing slave market.

While the forces of the remaining nobility and the presence of the Royal Guard generally stops widespread fighting in the streets before it gets too out of hand, violence on a smaller scale is still common, and people who cannot protect themselves (or hire others to protect them) are often beaten, killed or kidnapped to be used in experiments or sold into slavery for those with lower standards.

In general, visitors and residents of Skyside learn to stay on their toes pretty quickly. Even the safest and most affluent areas of Skyside are vulnerable to some amateur mad scientist's latest giant robot or genetic abomination running loose and causing havoc, or a temporal anomaly rolling through and causing a street full of people to suddenly age several weeks in the space of a few seconds. The city can be chaotic, and often times dangerous, but there is potential for great wealth here, if someone has a talent for spotting opportunity and grabbing it. Whether with their own hands or the remotely controlled mecha hands that they designed in their attic is highly dependent on the person, of course.

History

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Coming soon!

Factions

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With no ruler or central government in Skyside to maintain order and uphold the laws, political power in Skyside has broken down into dozens of individual political factions with differing goals and operations. Some seriously look to the palace, seeking to claim Skyside's throne and restore the city to its former position. Others are factions merely of convenience, providing certain protections and services in exchange for loyalty or money. Others may have their own goals entirely.

Any player can make any number of factions, with any form of political goal in competition with the other factions. Weaker factions might slip under the radar, but more powerful factions might be the target of other player based factions, who might seek to sabotage or undermine other factions in order to achieve an advantage. Of course, that's not to say that the target faction can't fight back...

Please remember to be courteous to other players though, and don't force conflict if it's clear that it's not wanted. On the other hand, please don't create a faction if your plan is to make them untouchable and stonewall everyone's attempts to try and interact with or compete with your faction. This is a collaborative thread, everyone have fun!

Please PM if you want a faction added to this OP.

House Sky (player: Kris on a Stick)

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Formerly the rulers of Skyside, the royal lineage is now held hostage within their own palace, barred from entering politics by the Royal Guard for their own safety. A king or queen of Skyside hasn't been crowned for almost a century, however the most recent and last remaining Skyside heir, Princess YoonJi, has been a little unusual in her seeming immunity to assassination plots. Countless attempts have been made on the life of the princess (scarcely into her teens) and yet all assassins have either been caught, died under mysterious circumstances, or been involved in sudden romances with palace servants, eventually settling down to become simple farmers.

Skyside Royal Guard (player: Kris on a Stick)

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The chief line of defense for the city and the crown, the Skyside Royal Guard remains a formidable fighting force, despite their reduced numbers and seeming lack of political involvement. The primary duty of the Skyside Royal Guard is to protect the Sky family, and as such they are rarely seen outside the immediate surroundings of the Sky Palace Tower, unless something happens in the city to attract their notice - or incur their wrath.

House Han (player: Kris on a Stick)

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An old family with a high place in Skyside’s traditional aristocracy, House Han is a ruthless, cutthroat family with eyes on the throne. Despite their wealth and prestigious heritage, however, House Han faces a crisis as the health of their patriarch, the 93-year old Han Feizi, is beginning, leaving the family with a potential gulf in leadership as his granddaughter, Ziyi, seems a natural replacement as the head of the house, yet must contend with challenges from her aunt, Wangmu, who wishes to secure the position for one of her sons. Han Feizi himself has chosen no successor, expressing public contempt and disappointment for a family seemingly rife with corruption, vice, and other failings.

BrightStar Corporation (player: Kris on a Stick)

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An old company name dating from the monarchy days of Skyside, BrightStar Corporation seems to have taken full advantage of the chaos in Skyside to emerge as one of the largest corporate powers. Their flourishing in this new lawless environment has led to rumors of them actively working to maintain the status quo, including murdering promising Skyside heirs, or sabotaging any noble house or political force that looks like it may become too powerful and restore order back to the city.

Tempest Spaceport Commerce Guild (player: Kris on a Stick, in theory - though anyone is open to play a member of the guild)

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A small conglomerate of mostly Ferengi and Hutt partners that run the Tempest Spaceport. The Commerce Guild provides security to the spaceport and its immediate surroundings, as well as collects a light tax on spaceport business and trade, but are otherwise pretty chill dudes, and uninterested in wider Skyside politics.

City Defense

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Though effectively lawless, some semblance of peace in Skyside is maintained by both the private security forces of the various guilds and factions that operate within the city, as well as through the overwatch of the Syside Royal Guard, who protect the Sky Palace Tower and also the city as a whole from foreign invasion. Oeioke raising too much of a disturbance should expect to draw attention from any number of concerned parties, who may have an interest in keeping their business running smoothly, as tumultuous as the political situation may be.

As a whole city, Skyside's defenses against aerial and ground assault are dedicated and formidable. As uninvolved as they are in local politics, the Royal Guard has no desire to see Skyside fall to any foreign invasion or interference, and does not slack off in its duties when it comes to city defense, even if they are a total non-presence in Skyside's day-to-day order.

Zones

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Old Skyside/"The Raindrop District"

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The historic city nearest to Skyside's Sky Palace Tower, what's come to be known as the "Raindrop District" by newer generations of Skysiders is a place of incredible change.

The older estates, temples and monuments, abandoned by all but the most stubborn of Skyside's old order, are being demolished, replaced by new residential growth of various types, from the absolutely dismal to the actually-pretty-nice. Some of the more novel developments in housing include ad-sponsored houses, and other low-cost developments for moderate quality housing. In between the housing developments come all the small businesses you'd expect from Skyside's fastest-growing residential sector, including corner stores, fast food, laundromats, and all the other handy spots that let people get everything they need without having to travel far.

The Raindrop District is relatively safe by day, especially in the parts of the town still held on to by the old Skyside elites, nearer to the Palace Tower, but generally is more dangerous at night. Especially in the more ramshackle parts of the Raindrop District, the back alleys tend to be frequented by muggers and the like, and break-ins are very common during the day when the occupants are likely out working. The wise Raindrop District inhabitant keeps good locks and a trusty firearm close at hand, at the very least, and some shell out for more, opting to rely on protection from mercenary and security firms that provide added safety... for a price.when the occupants are likely out working. The wise Raindrop District inhabitant keeps good locks and a trusty firearm close at hand, at the very least, and some shell out for more, opting to rely on protection from mercenary and security firms that provide added safety... for a price.

The Cloudtops

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The wealthiest and most glamorous section of Skyside, the Cloudtops form the new fortress of Skyside's new elites: an incredibly tall, shiny fortress, dominated by tall skyscrapers of glass and steel, covered in bright lights and connected by paved roads and elevated walkways galore.

The Cloudtops is home to Skyside's richest residents, and Skyside's biggest businesses and corporations. The Cloudtops is also Skyside's safest district, kept such by the forces of countless taskforces of well-equipped private security teams.

Tempest Row

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Depending on who you ask, Tempest Row is either a vibrant, colorful area full of exotic wares and noisy taverns where ale flows freely, and the barmaids are very accommodating; or a raging, screaming drunk who will drag you into a back alley, beat you over the head with a stick, and run off with your valuables. Or both at once.

Housing the main airship docks and largest spaceport zone, Tempest Row is the nickname for the bustling market and entertainment district of Skyside. With the constant traffic in and out of the city, Tempest Row is home to countless taverns, bars, clubs, and brothels of various sorts, providing boisterous and often debauched entertainment for Skyside's visitors.

With its large crowds and large numbers of shop guards, Tempest Row is relatively safe from violence, though the odd scientific anomaly or experiment-got-loose may amble through occasionally. Visitors in Tempest Row should instead keep a closer watch on their valuables rather than their safety, keeping a close eye out for the pickpockets, scam-artists, and cutpurses of various sorts walking through the crowds, looking for easy money; or the gangs of street toughs roaming the back alleys, waiting for someone too drunk to put up a good fight to stumble along.

Thunderhead

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The constant black smoke belching from the sprawling jumble of towering smokestacks and open smelting furnaces gives this area its name among the locals. Thunderhead is the main industrial area of Skyside, filled with factories, smelteries, warehouseries, and a whole array of other varied monuments to urban squalor. Everything from airship construction to weapons manufacture takes place here, and accidents can sometimes happen, especially with the more unscrupulous employers who care little about what happens to their factory workers, whether they be paid workers, slaves, robots or the mutated fishmen your mad scientist donor kindly granted you.

Thunderhead is among the most dangerous of the districts, with vicious gangs and supervillains hiding out in the mysteriously abandoned warehouses (seriously, Skyside is short on space, why are all there all these abandoned warehouses?), and gangs frequently forming among the poorest of Skyside's communities: the underpaid factory workers and industrial chattel that fill row upon row of unmaintained tenement housing and ruined apartments. Most good factories have guards to protect their workers (or keep them from escaping), but among the houses of the working poor, the streets can turn into a danger zone at any point, with very few people willing to stick around and bear witness.

Groundtown

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For those who couldn't get onto Skyside proper, one can always live in its shadow. While Skyside once was a mobile city, moving place to place for safety and resources, since its collapse it has remained stationary, allowing secondary development under and around the city. Located directly under and around the floating city, Groundtown is a small, but growing settlement of improvised buildings and pre-fab housing blocks, populated largely by Skyside's poorest and most unfortunate workers, poorer even than Thunderhead's inhabitants, commuting morning and evening to the city above by way of hanging basket-lifts and small flying skiffs.

Located outside even Skyside's limited bubble of security and order, and utterly ignored by the Royal Guard, Groundtown can be truly hellish at times. Fighting on the streets between warring gangs is an all too common sight, and even the heaviest of personal weaponry cannot always guarantee personal safety. Residents of Groundtown lock their valuables up tight and keep their gun under their pillow, and visitors should always keep their eyes peeled for thieves and muggers. What little safety can be had in Groundtown comes from the powerful gangs who do their best to control the disorder within their own territory, and the superpowered and/or costumed vigilantes who can be found patrolling nightly, unwilling to let Groundtown fall apart and be consumed by darkness.

Locations

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Please PM the thread creator with a description if you want a location added to this index!

Sky Palace Tower (Player: Kris on a Stick, Raindrop District)

BrightStar Spaceport (The Cloudtops)

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The second largest spaceport in Skyside, the shiny new BrightStar Spaceport, owned by BrightStar Corporation, is a chief connection between Skyside and the great final frontier. Frequent shuttles and cargo ships make trips between this spaceport and various space-stations close to the Nexus, including Salmagundi station, and there's talk of BrightStar Corporation expanding the spaceport to include a space elevator between the spaceport and Salmagundi station.

Tempest Spaceport (Tempest Row)

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Larger than BrightStar Spaceport, Tempest Spaceport is a little less well adapted for big business and heavy shipping, as Tempest Spaceport is not actually just one spaceport, but a loose connection of spaceports and associated businesses, all run by members of the Tempest Spaceport Commerce Guild. The Tempest Spaceport is a favorite stop for independent spacers and smaller shipping industries, being a cheaper, if less glamorous alternative to the BrightStar Spaceport in the Cloudtops.

Attila's Cantina (Player: Kris on a Stick, Tempest Row)

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Located within the Tempest Spaceport complex, Attila's Cantina is a bar run by an enterprising Hutt named Attila, who caters mostly to the pilots, captains and crew of starships stopping at Skyside. A large variety of food and beverages can be found here, with a special emphasis on items resembling what can be found from Attila's home galaxy, making it especially popular among those who have been sucked into the Nexus from said galaxy. People who know to ask can purchase small quantities of rare Spice from Attila, and he has a wide variety of contacts among Tempest Row traders and dock keepers, making him a good source of information for people looking to know what's what in the area.

The Cantina is relatively clean and bright, though noisy with the constant chatter of alien species. The ubiquitous Bith space-jazz band plays on a raised stage to once side, along with Twi'lek dancers (free and well payed) and vocalists. A few heavily armed guards dot the edges, and Attila himself keeps his powerful blaster shotgun clearly visible above the bar (along with a larger, even more powerful blaster hidden under it) in order to dissuade troublemakers.

Atlas Park (Player: Kris on a Stick, The Cloudtops)

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Located in the midst of the Cloudtops, Atlas Park is a little bit of an anomaly within the urbanized city center. Owned and operated by Dr. Graves, Atlas Park is covered by a transparent dome, keeping out any pollution from the city, while allowing the climate inside to be manipulated to a fine degree. Atlas Park is home to some very attractive landscaping, exotic plants, a small lake, and in general is just a very nice green space for people to relax away from the buildings and bustle of the rest of Skyside. A massive statue of the titan the park is named after stands proudly in the middle of the park, carrying aloft a sphere covered in stars and constellations on his shoulders in reference to the original myth. Oddly enough, though, anyone who manages to get a close look at his face might note an odd expression carved there, which, combined with the slightly odd tilt to his shoulders vaguely suggests an image of Atlas shrugging.

Entrance to Atlas Park requires payment of a moderate fee to keep the park running, though membership cards can be purchased to allow free access over a period of time.

Brickstown Free Clinic (Player: Kris on a Stick, The Raindrop District)

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A humble looking brick building in one of the more dismal parts of the Raindrop District, the Brickstown Free Clinic, true to its name, provides free service to any and all patients who visit. The previously red brick of its outer facade has been stained soot black by its proximity to the smoky foundries of Thunderhead, and the inside is somewhat dingy and depressing, with a smell halfway between disinfectant and old vomit. The building and regular staff are payed for entirely through donations, whether it be from the locked steel donation box in the lobby, or more importantly, a set of undisclosed benefactors. Despite this, the clinic continues to be understaffed and overburdened. However, those in the area will know of a mysterious doctor who visits the clinic on occasion, typically at odd hours of the night, to treat the clinic's more critical or chronic patients, before leaving. The identity of this mysterious doctor is a secret kept closely by the clinic's staff and management, as is whether they have any ulterior motives for their aid.

Tinkertown (Player: None, Thunderhead)

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A small sub-district located in between Thunderhead and the Raindrop District, Tinkertown is an odd district full of warehouses that have been mostly rented as labspace for the large cohort of mad scientists and visionaries who call Skyside home. As such, Tinkertown tends to be even more chaotic than Skyside at large, home to a wide variety of technicolored explosions, noxious gas outbreaks, and half-fish abominations wandering the streets, looking for their mummy. The non-Mad Scientist population of Skyside usually knows to stay well away from Tinkertown, though some find themselves drawn to the noise and excitement, or the glamorous (and occasionally lucrative) occupation of being some up-and-coming supervillain's henchman, hunchbacked assistant or attractive mistress.

Temple to Pazuzu (Player: Earl of Purple, Tempest Row)

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One of the buildings here, an overhanging pub with a novelty glass floor that quickly went out of business due to one short gunfight and a very long drop, has been taken over by a new group.

They've put up a sign outside depicting a red vulture with wings and talons outstretched superimposed on a silver cloud. Beneath that is a sign proclaiming this to be the Temple of Pazuzu, and on the other side is a list of the dates of various religious celebrations.

Outside, it still resembles the other taverns, being a three-storey building with a flat roof to dock smaller aircraft. Inside, there's an altar at the far end with a cage suspended over a hole in the floor next to it. There's a central aisle with rows of pews on either side, most suited for winged individuals.

OoC Notes and Rules

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1. For we are not Gods, merely Men. Godmodding is not permissible! As stated in the rules in the FFRP Central Thread,, godmodding is generally not allowed without permission. If you're shaky on what might be, and what might not be godmodding, please follow the above link.
2. An interior decorator is you! Remember the curtain! It is accepted that there will of course be some inter-PC relationships, and that romance and certain physical interactions (commonly known as sex) happen. However, please be courteous to others and curtain any scene that you wouldn't be willing to write with your parents watching. This is so you can stay within forum rules, as well as letting those uninterested in the scene pass by without having to glimpse your poorly written and anatomically impossible erotica. Thank you.
3. It's probably a Nemesis plot.
4. I can save this planet! “My character is an escaped slave who became a paladin and hates slavery! She's going to attack every slaver she sees and singlehandedly tear down Skyside's slave industry!” Since everything is legal in Skyside, it's inevitable that some less well-looked upon industries, such as slavery, will find a foothold there, which more morally upright characters may take affront to. However, always be mindful of the consequences of a random paladin trying to attack slavers in the streets, burn markets down or knock down doors and bash in heads. Even in a lawless city, slavery is still unpopular, and any slavers brave enough to be operating in the open are likely to have lots of guards to protect their interests. Also, Skyside does still have some factions interested in public order, as well as the Royal Guard, who will try to stop any fights that start spreading and disrupting safety and order in a large area. Someone who consistently acts very aggressive and randomly assaults people and property in the open is likely to find themselves in a lot of trouble, very quickly. Also, not everyone wants to have to constantly respond to every Joseph McHero and Sally Superwoman who wants to pick a fight with them. If you plan on having a character take action and take down a specific store or organization, please be courteous and ask the players involved if they're willing to RP it, and remember that there are more subtle ways to take down an industry than kicking them in the teeth.
5. Our words are backed by NUCLEAR WEAPONS. Remnant/Riverside/Orgs hunting down supervillains hiding out in Skyside: Go ahead. In general, it's perfectly alright to carry out retribution against any criminals trying to hide out in Skyside, as long as the force sent is relatively discrete or small scale enough to avoid notice from the powers-that-be. Large numbers of troops or powerful strike forces will generally draw negative attention from the Royal Guard, though, unless they have been informed of the operation beforehand and approve (though they probably won't). Gotta protect that independence, yo.
6. 3 EDGY 5 MEPlease do your best to avoid excessively dark or disturbing roleplay. Skyside can be a den for cruelties and evil of all sorts, however, some situations are simply too dark for this forum. Try to avoid roleplaying or alluding to scenarios that could be disturbing or potentially triggering, even if it may be realistic or showcase how awful your character is.
7. Long Live the Queen! Princess YoonJi is immortal. Period. You can try to kill her and dismantle the Sky dynasty. You will fail.

[WarKitty]

Tempest Row

A man wearing blue robes open to the waist, and carrying a polished black wooden staff, strides down the street to an empty plot. He is flanked by two massive shadow hounds. He frowns at the lot, then tosses a cube onto the plot. It opens up into a small shop. Bright letters on the front read "Mortico's Slave Acquisition Services!" A smaller sign below reads "Mortico's Slave Acquisition Services - you name who you want as a slave, we obtain and magically train them! 1/2 payment up front required. Please have enough information to uniquely identify the individual you wish. Hair, scale, or other personal samples preferred. Mortico's is not responsible for any damage that may occur during the acquisition process."

[Zefir]

Slave-Street 'Orphanage'

The matron takes the coinpouch and quickly counts it out, biting a coin to determine if it's real gold or leprechaun stuff. "Apologies for the lack of trust, but it seems recently that untrustworthy people have been passing out bags of gravel and leprechaun gold to honest traders." Though she doubts such an unusual individual would dare resort to such tactics, as they'd be easy to track down.

Once she's ascertained the reality of the coinage, if it's suitable, she'll leave the room and lead Tovpir back towards the girl's play chamber.

Slave-Street 'Orphanage'

It should be real gold. (I also don't remember Tovpir getting fake gold at all). Even thought Tovpir won't mind if it is fake gold. As noticable his appereance is, as good is it for selfdefence.
The scorpion will follow the matron afterwards.

Tempest Row - Warehouse

Arkant is sitting in his Office, watching the blood samples he got from SHEOL. He swings it around and watches the reaction of the blood, befor he puts it back in the cooler. He closes the box and heads for the hidden lift. The lift leads him downstairs into the hidden labs.
Arkant will start with some tests on the blood sample, just to clear that it is what he wanted. He wants to be sure that befor he uses the blood he knows what he will get by using it's DNA. Somewhere between those tests comes tank guy through the lift.
"Master, the tanks in lab 4 are now ready as you wished. I did make sure the security is raised."
"That's good. Anything else?" Arkant replies still watching his tests.
"We saw someone opening a show her ein Tempest Row. A slave shop."
Arkant raise up from his work. "Really? Is it so obviouse?"
"Yes, he even wrote it on the sign."
"Hmm, keep an eye on it. You know why."
"Yes master." with that tank guy heads again for the lift and Arkant goes back to his experiments.

[Recaiden]

[Tower Complex - Lab]

"Peace be with you both. Someday we will."
Tavlii spends most of that night usuing the analytics of this tool to improve and tweak the vampire rice, before, in the small hours of the morning, generating a new seed.

Before that, she has a lot of thinking to do on the subject of this project.
Is she kidding us? 'Fix the errors before deploying'? We're not children.
She's very old. Maybe existed before software, certainly before coding standards were invented. What's common knowledge to us might be things the gods had to learn themselves.
You all caught that hint about ascension? Joan is going to be either very happy or very pissed off.
We've got five or seven bodies to serve as possible sources anyway. It's not as though we're designing a race here.
Bet we could though. Grey fox vulpans before Inari finishes them?
Wait, modifying the code to make a strain off the elven minions' pattern is way more trouble than it's worth. Why would we do that?

[Raindrop District]

It's nighttime, and a group of people, maybe 10 of them, are creeping along the roof of an apartment building. They are slow and silent, each knowing what their job is. Weighed down by their equipment, they get to the correct face, tie their ropes and harnesses, sling over the side of the wall, and begin painting.
They move remarkably fast, and after a while, the cracks in the wall have been filled in, and it all covered with a uniform coat of primer. Then, as the morning rolls on, they move onto the actual painting, adding splashes of color, waves of green.
They end up painting a landscape mural, something like this.

[Earl of Purple]

[B]
[Groundtown - Night Queen's Lair]

"I have not, but I think I'll be up to the task. Soon, there won't be a name conflict."
Chevin listens to hear any more information they have on the Queen of the Night.
She reaches back to tap the repaired hilt of the sword and see what it has to recall about this other Queen.

"Excellent. She wears a dark purple catsuit and a black cape with a silver and moonstone crown. Her face is covered whenever she's patrolling. Return if you are successful, and we will see about your pay." The reader smiles, motions for Chevin to leave and returns to his book.

The Queen of the Night has killed many people, including at least one innocent- an anaemic man who was being mugged. She's never created another vampire, however. She kills mainly with her fangs, sometimes with her fists and rarely uses weaponry.

Slave-Street 'Orphanage'

They will arrive outside the girl's playroom, where the girls Tovpir has 'adopted' await, standing in order of size and accompanied by the halfling that the Matron sent earlier. The boy he ordered is standing to one side. "Children, this fine... Individual has just adopted you. Say goodbye to your friends; I hope you won't be coming back." The children stare dubiously at the scorpion of stone.

[Artemis97]

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The Heights

Willow flops into a chair, a bit deflated that she armoured up for nothing. She starts undoing her hair while she thinks. "Nano-weave cloth with a dimensional fold matrix. Poison lipstick. You said she was part fiend. Any fancy weaknesses we can exploit?"


Darvulian Compound

"I'm Wesley Warwick. Wes." he says. He's able to look out the windows by just raising up on his toes a bit. "Even if we could break through, they might have snipers on the roof." He shakes his head, then immediately stops when his stomach gives a lurch. He makes his way back to the sink - just in case - but tries to cover it by examining the locked cupboard. It's not very securely locked, so maybe he can figure out some way to open it. "This really seems more like my Dad's kind of thing. Bad guys with poison darts kidnapping people. I mean, Willow's just a college student."

[The Heights]

Marcus finds himself a place to sit and keep the weight off of his injured leg. Maybe that stuff Willow offered would be a good idea. He'd wait and listen to their plans before deciding. He was supposed to be dead, after all, so he would likely need to hang back.

[Darvulian Compound]

Victoria sits back down on her cot and watches Wes pull at the cupboard. "What does your dad do? My parents are... uh..." How do you explain them, she wonders. Her father was a prodigy space pilot on the run and her mother... oh dear her mother. "retired... I guess? Used to do a lot of adventuring, made some pretty good coin. Mom's a seamstress, too, but she's hardly ever at the shop these days. Just does some desgn work, especially for our more unique clients. She lets me design things too. I've come up with some great stuff for people with wings and tails." She was starting to ramble now, she realized. Probably nerves. She needed to do something to keep her mind occupied. "So, do you know how to pick locks? My uncle taught me when I was younger, but we were using proper tools, then. I've got a few hair pins, though?" Tori offers, standing and raching up to pull a few from her hair. Her curls fall long over her shoulders as she shakes them out, ruffling her hair with one hand. The half-fiend then moves to kneel next to Wes, holing a trio of bobby pins between her manicured fingers.

[blackouttwo]

The Heights

"About two square meters, maybe, one by two?" She goes to the big walk-in closet they have full of weapons, armour, and other gear, and removes a piece of folded fabric, navy blue in colour, with a silky texture. "We can cut it into pieces then program them to connect to one another. I need to use the VerySmartPhone to do the programming though, so not something we can easily change on the fly. Or at all if they take my phone off me."

"Can we fashion it into...I dunno, some article of clothing? A cloak or something?" Arthur started to pat his pockets, looking for his phone.

Then remembered he handed it Willow not a few seconds ago.

He approached Willow, idly reaching to take his phone from her hand again, and trying to sneak a quick kiss on her cheek as he leaned in. "If you can pull off a cloak, then we might have a shot at this. If you can do it and it works, I'll take you out to dinner when this is all over with." He turned to start scrolling down his phone's contact list without worrying about Willow looking over his shoulder. "I know some backup we can call in. I'll see if some of them are available. We'll need it."

Without waiting for an answer from either Willow or Marcus, Arthur hit the number for the first of several contacts he was looking for, and the phone started ringing.

[happyturtle]

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[The Heights]

Arthur let out a grunt of annoyance. "Poison's out. She'd be resistant. Fiendish heritage helps people shrug that off most of the time. No real weaknesses, just stuff that they're less resistant to than other things like silver and cold iron. There's a reason why fiends are always feared on the material plane-" Arthur paused to look over at Willow midway through his rambling.

"Wait, 'dimensional fold matrix.'" Arthur paused to look at his girlfriend, a wide, maniacal grin that was equal parts madness and brilliance crossing his near-perfect features. "That might open up options. How big is the cloth?"

For those in the audience wondering, 'dimensional fold matrix' basically meant 'portable two-way portal.'

The Heights

"About two square meters, maybe, one by two?" She goes to the big walk-in closet they have full of weapons, armour, and other gear, and removes a piece of folded fabric, navy blue in colour, with a silky texture. "We can cut it into pieces then program them to connect to one another. I need to use the VerySmartPhone to do the programming though, so not something we can easily change on the fly. Or at all if they take my phone off me."

[The Heights]

Marcus finds himself a place to sit and keep the weight off of his injured leg. Maybe that stuff Willow offered would be a good idea. He'd wait and listen to their plans before deciding. He was supposed to be dead, after all, so he would likely need to hang back.

[Darvulian Compound]

Victoria sits back down on her cot and watches Wes pull at the cupboard. "What does your dad do? My parents are... uh..." How do you explain them, she wonders. Her father was a prodigy space pilot on the run and her mother... oh dear her mother. "retired... I guess? Used to do a lot of adventuring, made some pretty good coin. Mom's a seamstress, too, but she's hardly ever at the shop these days. Just does some desgn work, especially for our more unique clients. She lets me design things too. I've come up with some great stuff for people with wings and tails." She was starting to ramble now, she realized. Probably nerves. She needed to do something to keep her mind occupied. "So, do you know how to pick locks? My uncle taught me when I was younger, but we were using proper tools, then. I've got a few hair pins, though?" Tori offers, standing and raching up to pull a few from her hair. Her curls fall long over her shoulders as she shakes them out, ruffling her hair with one hand. The half-fiend then moves to kneel next to Wes, holing a trio of bobby pins between her manicured fingers.

"Can we fashion it into...I dunno, some article of clothing? A cloak or something?" Arthur started to pat his pockets, looking for his phone.

Then remembered he handed it Willow not a few seconds ago.

He approached Willow, idly reaching to take his phone from her hand again, and trying to sneak a quick kiss on her cheek as he leaned in. "If you can pull off a cloak, then we might have a shot at this. If you can do it and it works, I'll take you out to dinner when this is all over with." He turned to start scrolling down his phone's contact list without worrying about Willow looking over his shoulder. "I know some backup we can call in. I'll see if some of them are available. We'll need it."

Without waiting for an answer from either Willow or Marcus, Arthur hit the number for the first of several contacts he was looking for, and the phone started ringing.

The Heights

Willow is in a bit of a reverie after Arthur's kiss, watching the way his shoulders flex as he turns away from her (Mmmm... shoulders....) and thinking of how nice it will be to do something Arthur wants. But she comes out of it when she realizes what he's asked. He wants her to make a cloak. Yeah right. Willow's never so much as threaded a needle in her life. She picks up her own phone and dials a number. "I need an air-taxi to <not their address>, and yes, I'm paying for the platinum service. You'll be picking up a human female named Jessica and bringing her to The Heights, balcony of <this address>." Payment arrangements are discussed, then Willow dials the next number. "Jess, it's Willow. I have an air-taxi on its way to you. It's an emergency. Bring your sewing gear... No, I don't know what gear!... I need a piece of nano-weave dimensional matrix fabric turned into a cloak... Navy. Why does that matter?... Oh, I guess that's a good reason... Yes, that's probably them. I paid for platinum level... Yes, I'll owe you big-time, love. See you." Getting a friend to do it totally counts... right?

Darvulian Compound

"Oh, my dad's a supervillain. Retired too, I guess. He hasn't done much since we got to the Nexus, but sometimes old enemies of his turn up." Wes says. He takes the hairpins and gives it a try, but doesn't get very far. It doesn't help that she's standing so close, and being a girl. He can even smell her hair from where she's shaking it out. "I think you should try," he says. After all, he never had any lockpicking lessons.

If Tori does try, she'll find it a fairly simple lock - more the kind of thing you use to keep kids out than to deter serious thievery.

[Artemis97]

[The Heights]

Rich folks. Just have everything on call, don't they? Marcus supposed it was convenient, though. He closed his eyes and rested his head back on the couch. Would be nice to have that kind of cash, even a fraction of it. Get out of the boarding house, have a place with more than one room to call his own. Not having to share a bathroom with everyone. A shower that worked all the time. Living in a part of town where you don't have to worry about being snatched off the street. Where people care if that happens. The half-drow sighed. Money didn't make people care about you. Not really. Money didn't buy you family.

[Darvulian Compound]

Oh this was simple! Even with the rudimentary tools she had, Victoria was able to open the lock after a minute's work. "Thank you, Uncle." She says aloud as she pulls the lock off the cabinent.

[blackouttwo]

[The Heights]

While waiting for his first shady contact to pick up, Arthur covered the speaker and called over to Marcus. "We're probably gonna be a little while getting everyone together! Help yourself to anything in the fridge. I'll come along and check those wounds again when I'm done with my calls. Jeff should be back any minute with some stuff from my workshop. We can get you geared up and ready to go when everyone else gets here."

He looked like he wanted to say more, but he was waiting for the guy on the other end of the connection to actually answer his phone.

[happyturtle]

Darvulian Compound

Inside the cupboard, Tori will find medical supplies. One shelf holds bandages of all shapes and sizes, cotton swabs on long sticks, tongue depressors, latex gloves, lancets, and various other disposable type things. The next shelf is equipment: stethoscope, that little light thingie, scissors, tweezers, forceps, blood pressure cuff, intubation gear, etc. The final shelf is pharmaceuticals. Drugs of all varieties, from generally harmless to crazy addictive, mostly in pill form, though there are some glass vials and disposable syringes, and some inhalers.

(The description above isn't meant to be complete, so if you think the cabinet might also have something specific, it's possible it does.)

[Artemis97]

[The Heights]

One red eye pops open. "Food?" The half-drow mumbles. He's able to keep himself fed these days, but it had been a while since he'd last eaten, and he knew better than to turn down a free meal. Carefully he pushed himself up and wandered into the kitchen to poke around. He'd avoid anything that looked like it was set aside for a special occasion, but beyond that he was going to make himself a very large sandwich.

[Darvulian Compound]

"Oh, wow, nice set of medical supplies. I wonder if we're in a hospital or a clinic of some sort." Victoria starts looking through the bottles of pills then holds one out to Wes. "Dramamine. Should help with your motion sickness." She also pulls out the bandages and some disinfectant for her hands. While she works on bandaging herself, she looks over the other supplies. "You know, we may be able to do something with this stuff."

[happyturtle]

The Heights

The kitchen won't really have any 'special occasion' food. Though cooking and mad science would seem to have a lot in common, neither Arthur nor Willow has ever shown interest in doing more than everyday cooking. For special occasions, there are restaurants or take-out.

A fine sammich of immense proportions is created!

Darvulian Compound

"Hey, thanks," Wes says, using a hand to collect enough tap water to take the dramamine. He'll help Tori bandage her wounds, then look back at the cabinet. "Maybe. What are you thinking?"

[Artemis97]

[Darvulian Compound]

Tori drops her voice to a whisper. "We need to get out of here, and to do that, we need to get them to open the door. And for that, they need a reason to come in. How's your acting? Or should we whip up a real emergency?" the half-fiend asks.

[happyturtle]

Darvulian Compound

"Wait, how do we handle them after they open the door?" Wes asks, also in a whisper.

[Recaiden]

"Excellent. She wears a dark purple catsuit and a black cape with a silver and moonstone crown. Her face is covered whenever she's patrolling. Return if you are successful, and we will see about your pay." The reader smiles, motions for Chevin to leave and returns to his book.

The Queen of the Night has killed many people, including at least one innocent- an anaemic man who was being mugged. She's never created another vampire, however. She kills mainly with her fangs, sometimes with her fists and rarely uses weaponry.

Chevin nods, and heads out of the lair, off to the edge of the city where she's parked her flying machine. Then it's up to Skyside proper and patrolling the streets. Perhaps she could stage a mugging? Or invite one. Ask other super'hero's? For now, the night finds her walking along alleys and side streets in Thunderhead, planning.

[Earl of Purple]

Thunderhead- Searching for the Queen of the Night

Assuming it's night, there's plenty of thugs and ne'er-do-wells lurking on the street corners and in the alleyways; they avoid the golden figure, though, figuring somebody so ostentatiously wealthy in such a bad neighbourhood has the skills, magic, or technology to deal with most mundane threats. Stupid criminals generally don't last long in a city of mad scientists, criminals and slavers.

Down one alleyway, a thug with a gleaming bronze dagger has cornered a pair of seventeen-year-old catgirl twins, wearing long coats buttoned tight over skimpy outfits and high-heels. There's a figure on a nearby roof watching the proceedings unnoticed, a feminine figure with a long, flowing cape and a shiny silver crown.

[The Bushranger]

Attila's Cantina

"I have a job, but if you aren't interested then I'll go find someone else. Not exactly hard to find smugglers... Though ones of your reputation are rare." He says this regardless of the lady's reputation, or indeed lack of it. He wants to hire her, so he's trying flattery.

"Repuation? Th' only reputation I have is for gettin' people I care 'bout hurt," the green-haired woman declares, looking up and tilting her head. "Job's a job though," she declares, motioning to an empty chair.

====

Saturnine Tower]

Approaching might well be Crissy, the blonde half-elf wearing a cloak over her usual garb and looking slightly uncertain, if determined nontheless.

[Morty]

[Saturnine Tower]

The goblin alchemist's abode seems to be, indeed, tower-shaped. Pitch black, rising above the nearby buildings, with scant few windows. The door is opened for Crissy by a short, wiry person with an almost bald head, save for a single strand of hair running from his forehead to the back, and almost entirely black eyes. He's wearing a suit and has a gun strapped to his hip.

"You here to meet the boss?" he asks.

[Zefir]

[COLOR="#4B0082"]Slave-Street 'Orphanage'

They will arrive outside the girl's playroom, where the girls Tovpir has 'adopted' await, standing in order of size and accompanied by the halfling that the Matron sent earlier. The boy he ordered is standing to one side. "Children, this fine... Individual has just adopted you. Say goodbye to your friends; I hope you won't be coming back." The children stare dubiously at the scorpion of stone.

Slave-Street 'Orphanage'

The scorpion just watches them, then points at his back his body getting on the ground.

"Jump up."

[Earl of Purple]

Attila the Hutt's Cantina

The purple-skinned orc accepts the seat. "It's a simple one. A nice, circular route visiting all the major cities. We've only got one trip planned, but if it's successful we are willing to consider making it a regular journey. First, you'll pick up a cargo from our warehouses in Tempest Row, then take it to a field on the outskirts of Inside and unload, before receiving a new cargo and taking it over to Riverside, where we'll have an area for you to land in Southside. There, you will unload and receive your last cargo, taking that back to our warehouse in Tempest Row." He doesn't yet mention the cargo, though.

Slave-Street 'Orphanage'

The children look nervously at Tovpir, though eventually the boy climbs up, followed by the bolder girls.

[Recaiden]

Thunderhead - Searching for the Queen of the Night

The thugs think correctly; she should have the skills and the magic (in the form of items) to deal with low level criminals.
Chevin walks, apparently uncaring, past the alleyway, and then pauses just beyond to let her senses flow out through two of the many golend rings on her hands. This one moves her sight, to the perspective of one of the catgirls, this one her voice, to yell out a cry for help from in the alleyway.

[WarKitty]

Mortico's

A figure wrapped in a cloak knocks on the door of Dr. Mortico's. He is carrying a bag of money and, of all things, a pair of boxers with a tail-hole in the back. He is greeted by a burly man with a large spider tattoo on his neck. The figure shows him in, and a few minutes later he exits sans money and boxers.

About an hour afterwards, a pair of shadowy black hounds slide silently through the walls of the house, through the streets, and jump down off the edge of skyside.

[Lost_Deep]

[The Heights]

While waiting for his first shady contact to pick up, Arthur covered the speaker and called over to Marcus. "We're probably gonna be a little while getting everyone together! Help yourself to anything in the fridge. I'll come along and check those wounds again when I'm done with my calls. Jeff should be back any minute with some stuff from my workshop. We can get you geared up and ready to go when everyone else gets here."

He looked like he wanted to say more, but he was waiting for the guy on the other end of the connection to actually answer his phone.

The other guy picks up. "Well, who's calling at a time like this?" There is a whir of moving parts in the background. "You're lucky I just finished something and have a minute to talk."

[WarKitty]

Mortico's

A ghoulish woman appears outside Mortico's, holding an unconscious man with antlers and a bunny tail, flanked by two shadow hounds. He starts to stir and one of the hounds gives him a small nip. The door is opened and she carries the man inside.

[TechnoScrabble]

Mortico's

Jackalope starts to struggle as he awakes, but the paralytic bite freezes him right back up.

When he recovers later he shoots right up and tries to take on a defensive stance. It's readily apparent that he doesn't actually know how to fight.

[WarKitty]

Mortico's

Jackalope starts to struggle as he awakes, but the paralytic bite freezes him right back up.

When he recovers later he shoots right up and tries to take on a defensive stance. It's readily apparent that he doesn't actually know how to fight.

Jackalope's defensive stance appears to be quite unobserved. He appears to be in a cell, albeit one of decent size. Prior to jumping up he was lying on a low cot. The cell also contains a chamberpot, a small stool, and what appears to be a magic torch with a hood next to it. The cell itself appears to be made of iron bars, though closer inspection will find a wall of force just inside them. A small bowl is resting on the floor, containing what appears to be lentil stew, with a mug of water next to it.

[Zefir]

Slave-Street 'Orphanage'

The children look nervously at Tovpir, though eventually the boy climbs up, followed by the bolder girls.

Slave-Street 'Orphanage'

Well, Tovpir will help those who are a bit shy. His tail might be spiky and stony, but he can be very sensetive and grab a kid without hurting it. With all on hois back he heads back to where he came from.

[TechnoScrabble]

Mortico's

Jackalope doesn't know what lentils are, but he does know that he doesn't like the smell.

Or being trapped. He definitely doesn't like being trapped.

"Hello? Anybody out there? I'm ready to come out now!"

[WarKitty]

Mortico's

Sensing his dislike, the bowl's contents change to fresh carrots surrounding a nice blob of peanut butter. However no one answers his call - in fact the room echoes in a way that seems to indicate it ends just beyond the bars.