Outside 42

[Deathkeeper]

Crag Rock

Arty doesn't seemed pleased by this.
"If your client is only satisfied with destroying the curse, and destroying the curse destroys people, than what particulars do I have the ability to judge? Other than walking away and not finishing the assignment, there doesn't seem to be any options." he says.
Surely Patu isn't simply trying to shift the responsibility to Arty? He's certainly not to nefarious as to try that.

[Shadowcaller]

Crag Rock

"I suggest you talk to the client first." Patu replies. "While the task is easy, the situation is far from. But what do I know? I'm just a simple ogre. I'm sure a more sophisticated person like yourself can deal with the situation more diplomatically." The ogres lips curve upwards into a faint smile.

[Jungle Walk]

The mote isn't missed as it gets Zhareen's full attention, causing her to completely miss what Vax just said. "Look, look!" The merperson moves over, her eyes filled with wonder as she cups her hands near Vax's nose as if to invite the little wisp over into her open palms. "It's a fuzzy!"

[Deathkeeper]

Crag Rock

Arty nods, completely ignoring the condescension.
"Well, if the Star-child must be used tomorrow night, I have a day and a half to figure things out before I need to do anything. Where can I find the client, and who is it?" he asks, trying to stay professional despite having to deal with someone who seems to enjoy going out of his way to remind Arty of his barbarity.

[Fenric]

[Dwarven Portal Quest]

Beams. Sigils she has no idea about. Well, best to try to brute force approach first.
Archangel hovers before the door, grasps one of the beams with her powered arm, sets her feet against the door, and pulls.

Oh dear...

Well, the sigils are a special-effects-free version of Prismatic Wall. The moment she touches the beam, they flare into rainbow light and she is engulphed in fire. As the colorful display continues, there is no longer any red light in it... how odd...

If she continues to stubbornly pull at the beam: orange light is next, dealing poison. Then yellow, dealing electricity. Then green... which is deadly poison. Blue which turns to stone. Indigo which brings insanity. And finally Violet which banishes away to a random plane...

[Shadowcaller]

Crag Rock

"The client are the guardians of the grove. Deer-people that don't look too different from yourself. They seem reasonable enough." Patu replies. "If you hurry, you might make it there in a few hours."

[Deathkeeper]

Crag Rock

"That sounds familiar. Was one here just before I arrived two weeks ago? Ah, it doesn't matter. Give me the cage."
Arty says. He'll be on his way to the grove if the ogre acquiesces.

[Earl of Purple]

Just Outside Sandy Oaks

"I don't know. I've not done something like this before, and it's been a long time since I've been to Sandy Oaks, not since before the gasmask-men turned up there." She's not as experienced at this sort of thing as the others, and she's also far more versed in machinery than people.

[Recaiden]

[Dwarven Portal Quest]

Oh dear...

Well, the sigils are a special-effects-free version of Prismatic Wall. The moment she touches the beam, they flare into rainbow light and she is engulphed in fire. As the colorful display continues, there is no longer any red light in it... how odd...

If she continues to stubbornly pull at the beam: orange light is next, dealing poison. Then yellow, dealing electricity. Then green... which is deadly poison. Blue which turns to stone. Indigo which brings insanity. And finally Violet which banishes away to a random plane...

Red. It's just Heat. She got through it last time, and the healers at the temple should be able to handle it; they're almost there.
Orange. Archangel doesn't feel so good all of a sudden. But weakness isn't going to stop her.
Yellow. Awful, her heart stutters, but she doesn't let go, like when you grab onto an electrified wire. And this passes.
Green. An alarm on her left shoulder lights up. High toxicity, imminent failure and death. Applying blood-filters and medibots. No longer available for stimulant effects.
Blue. Another pattern of light and vibration near the same part of the exo-suit. Transformative magic field detected. Applying LG-2 Disruptor in defensive configuration. No longer available to be projected.
Indigo. Not a real color, but there's little to stop her going mad again.
Violet. Archangel flickers and vanishes, with a familiar feeling. Not again.... I wonder where she ended up.

On the far side of the platform, waiting, Winds presses his eyes shut for a moment and sighs. His partner managed to get herself...he doesn't even know what. At least, it looks like, anyway, she took one of the four beams with her. Or is it just covered by the fading lightshow? He blinks a few times and looks again. And if the other three also have those sigils separately.

[Fenric]

[Dwarven Portal Quest]

The first beam is indeed gone. The remaining three have identical carvings: imagination was not the wizard's strong point.

Would you like to roll on the random plane table, or shall I?

[Recaiden]

[Dwarven Portal Quest]

The effect rolled a couple of times for variety and got the Abyss, Carceri the prison plane, and the Elemental Realm of Earth twice.
If you have a particular random plane table, by all means use it.
The nature of the insanity also needs deciding on.

Winds waits. Maybe she'll reappear?

[Fenric]

[Dwarven Portal Quest]

Ya know... we haven't done the Plane of Earth in... well... ever! Earth it is!

And I'm thinking an obsessive-compulsive fascination (and no, not foxes - that's mine!) Hm... Ah! Yes, of course, Wodehouse!

NEWTS. Anything and everything about newts!

[Recaiden]

[Dwarven Portal Quest]

I'm not sure Archangel even knew what newts were before now. This should be fun.

Winds keeps watching for a couple of hours, then decides that maybe the temple can help with this, and sets off to seek people with magical skill.

[Gullara]

[The Woods^TM]

The muse let herself be lead along, not really wanting to do all that much beyond simply following or whatever wouldn't demand too much of her right now. She took note of Mimi's assessment and dampened her temperature senses a bit to keep the chill from bothering her as much. She would just monitor her temperature without having to feel it and adjust accordingly although maybe reigning back just a little bit to feel something 'cool' wouldn't be bad... Before disrobing and jumping in, though, Riss knelt on the bank of the stream and alternated between washing out her mouth and the ends of her hair. "You wouldn't be able to use your dust to make something that mimics mouthwash or soap, would you?" she asked although she knew full well that it was definitely within the pixie's ability. She had done something quite similar before, after all.

Once she had tossed her clothes aside, not bothering to do much more than make sure they were in the same general area, she stepped into the water until she was about waist deep and waited, looking slightly wilted as she looked back at her pixie while her tail simply rested on the surface on the water and making small ripples with each twitch.

[The Woods^TM]

"Uh, I don't know about that." Mimi says uncertainly. Sure, she's used it for cleaning before, but in the mouth? That seems weird. "Doesn't water work?" It's as much as she ever felt was needed for cleaning, though Riss would know well that she is hardly a cleanly creature.

The pixie strips and joins her lover out in the water. She gently pulls her into a hug. Riss might feel like she's been taken by a boa constrictor in a number of minutes, though.

[Jungle Walk]

A single golden mote drifts down through the canopy, glowing with gentle internal radiance. It bounces and spins, caught in the dancing eddies of the air as it passes over the stream a pair of travelers are bathing in. The tiny wisp wobbles about a certain plant-person's head for a moment before moving to alight on her nose.

It feels fuzzy!

And warm.

A song, ever so faintly audible, exudes from it.

Weird.

Wonder what this thing could be?

Hopefully not something nefarious.

[Jungle Walk]

The mote isn't missed as it gets Zhareen's full attention, causing her to completely miss what Vax just said. "Look, look!" The merperson moves over, her eyes filled with wonder as she cups her hands near Vax's nose as if to invite the little wisp over into her open palms. "It's a fuzzy!"

[Jungle Walk]

Vax is suddenly still, with a flawlessness born of many years of the hunt. Though this wayward mote was hardly her prey. The dim's lips spread in a smile at the sight of her love's enthusiasm, the mask of stillness gone is seconds. "Do you think it's some kind of creature?" The women muses, though she doesn't expect an answer for Zhareen any more accurate than what she could come up with herself. "I don't think I've seen it's like."

[Cyber Punk]

Just Outside Sandy Oaks

"I don't know. I've not done something like this before, and it's been a long time since I've been to Sandy Oaks, not since before the gasmask-men turned up there." She's not as experienced at this sort of thing as the others, and she's also far more versed in machinery than people.

"Alright, here's what I think we should do, Phil. We'll walk in as a pair of adventurers, looking for adventure. We find out what's happening. There'll probably be places that are off-limits to normal adventurers like us. That's where the disguise comes in." Hotaru rubs a ball of shot in her hand as she thinks. "Yeah, let's go with that."

[Duck999]

MERC Initiation Test- Goldwood Ruins
-snip-

((I do believe I was supposed to be here quite a while ago. Sorry about that.))
Filii walks into the ruins, hiding from the view of the villagers. He was supposed to be looking for a cave, not some ruins. He has no idea what he is doing here. And to top it off, the villagers look deadly and have no sense of fashion. Filii draws his handgun, and aims it at a villager. He slowly moves closer, trying to stay out of their line of sight. If he does it, he puts the gun behind the woman's head, ready to shoot if necessary.

[Rebonack]

[Jungle Walk]

It is fuzzy!

Quite fuzzy.

Have you ever encountered a lone thistle seed drifting on the wind? A tiny kernel of life suspended within a ball of fluff clinging to the gentle embrace of the breeze.

Strange to find one here, though.

One so deep within the canopy.

Is there even any wind to carry it? Maybe it floated down from above, having lost its way?

Zhareen cups her hands around the wisp and marvels at it. On closer inspection it has an almost iridescent quality to it, the shimmer of rainbows like oil on water glisten across its surface in a scarcely visible sheen. It sure is pretty, isn't it?

But wait, what's this?

Two more just descended through the verdant canopy, one alighting on a tree overhanging the river while the other lands in a pool near the shore. The water of the pool whirls, sending the wisp spinning in dizzying circles whilst tumbling upon itself, rolled along by the river's kiss.

The sound of music grows ever so more audible.

[Nalix]

Just Outside Sandy Oaks

"Okay, sounds like a plan," said Phil, then pausing for a moment in thought. "What happens if they ask how we got them, or search us? The truth sort of works, since we aren't affiliated with anyone and we both just wandered through the last town. Or I could transform my clothes and turn them back whenever I decide to use the restrooms, which I assume they have. It should only take a couple of minutes and I've done it before in this world, so I know that it works. I'm pretty sure that I can wing the rest of it. What do you think?"

I'm pretty sure that I can wing the rest of it? Famous last words...

[Shadowcaller]

MERC Initiation Test- Goldwood Ruins

The drow will pull back Filii as he's about to approach the village. "Whoa, slow down there cowboy. What do you think that you're doing?" Dena says quietly. "We don't even know how many they are. This whole village might be crawling with them. Gotta have patience. We have to watch and wait until we know more about this place. It's a scouting mission after all."

[Jungle Walk]

Zhareen inspects the little fuzz closely as suddenly the thought occurs to her that there might be more. She picks the mote from Vax's nose and puts it in her open palm before looking up. "Look! More of them!" The merfolk woman looks around now, trying to determine where these fuzzies, and the music, is coming from. She's ready to climb trees if she have to.

Crag Rock

Patu puts the cage in Arty's outstretched hands. "One more thing. If everything else fails, at least make sure to feed it the curse or put it in water before the time runs out. The child can get dangerous if it doesn't get feed at the time it's supposed to hatch." The ogre explains before starting to walk towards the cave.

[Deathkeeper]

Crag Rock

Arty ties the cage to his pack before heading towards the forest the ogre pointed to. He was prepared for a journey and has packed gear accordingly. He doesn't spare the ogre any more words besides nodding at the instruction.

[Duck999]

MERC initiation test-Goldwood ruins

Filii nods.
That's sound logic. I was hoping to be able to capture and question someone, but I suppose it is better to be safe than sorry.
He looks around, watching for any other sign of movement as he talks.
So, we scout around the area? Do you have a plan for when we go deeper into these ruins? We probably will want to to get a better idea of what the place is like.

[Lost_Deep]

Just Outside of Inside

A pony with golden highlights in her mane is enjoying a picnic, apparently by herself. There is a large, golden metal ball nearby... attached to one of Caravan's forehooves by a golden chain.

Caravan doesn't seem to be phased by it. She's enjoying an egg salad sandwich.

[Rebonack]

[Just Outside of Inside]

That's a pretty silly location tag.

Anywho!

It sure is a nice day, isn't it?

Great day for a picnic!

If not for the fact that large red and white spiny beetle-like thing just got hurled into the middle of Gilded's blanket. The over-sized insect menaces at Gilded with its razor-sharp spines!

Whoop!

Another one just slammed into the ground nearby! Gosh where are all these things coming from?

Up in the sky!

Apparently there's a turtle riding on a smiling cloud throwing spike-bombs at a winged, yellow dinosaur who keeps pulling aerial maneuvers to avoid projectiles. Judging from the way the armor-clad dinosaur's cheeks are puffed out there's probably something held in her mouth. And she isn't just sitting around having stuff thrown at her, no sir! She's providing a counter-offensive with... giant white smiling turnips.

Okay.

[Earl of Purple]

Outside Sandy Oaks

"Don't count on restrooms. No running water out here, unless they have a pump. We're too far away from the big cities to have much in the way of infrastructure. In Greater Littlewood everyone used chamber pots or buckets, which were emptied on the fields. The Tower had a pump powered by a waterwheel rigged up nearby, but that only got water to the fifth floor. Above that, waste was thrown out the windows." Greater Littlewood's shield tower had an internal power supply, and that was the only real source of electricity in the village.

MERC Test- Goldwood Ruins

A few other raiders wander around inside the walls, but there's no active patrolling along the walls. They might be a weak point for getting in, but (I'm assuming they've found a vantage point to look down on the town) there's the glitter of glass along the top of the wall.

Meanwhile, a distance down the road, ten people are approaching. Like the gate-guards, their attire is made mostly of old rags, scrap metal and detritus, but one chap in the front of the group, carrying a sawn-off shotgun in one hand and a fire-axe with a shortened handle in the other, is clad in the sewn-together skins of dead people, complete with a mask made from somebody's face. The other nine people are both men and women, with a mix of kitchen knives, cleavers and crowbars slung at their waist. Three have assault rifles; two have straps and are held over the shoulder, the third does not, but is equipped with a bayonet. Two have shotguns, one double-barrelled. One has a long-barrelled hunting rifle, and one has a machete. The last four people are armed with a collection of pistols of various calibres, usually a matched pair. All bar the leader are heavily burdened under rucksacks filled with whatever they've taken from where they've come from.

[Lost_Deep]

Just Outside of Inside

BARKBARKBARKBARKBARK

Awoken by the sudden impact, Gilded Caravan's golden chain chomp tries to maul the sudden intruder!

Caravan, for her part, sighs. Now, she knew that she would have to feed her chomp sooner or later, but she'd prefer to have forewarning.

[Rebonack]

[Outside Inside]

Om nom nom!

The poor spiny gets gnawed to death!

Meanwhile, up above, the yoshi seems to be getting fed up with the fact that the turtle on a cloud keeps dodging her projectile vegetables. And so? She gets a little more serious.

"Arf arf!"

She pulls out a chain-chomp all her own and swings the thing like a flail, clubbing the surprised cloud-turtle upside the face and sending it tumbling end over end into the fields below.

THUMP!

Judging from the fact that the turtle is still moving, it probably isn't dead.

Yet.

[Lost_Deep]

Outside Inside

BARKBARKBARK

Caravan stands up to brace against the pull of the Chomp. It's not one of the huge chomps, but it is a bit larger than normal. She manages to keep it from running off, limiting it to mauling any spinys that get too close. Caravan is watching the fight, but can't really help even if she wanted to.

[Gullara]

[Jungle Walk]

It is fuzzy!

Quite fuzzy.

Have you ever encountered a lone thistle seed drifting on the wind? A tiny kernel of life suspended within a ball of fluff clinging to the gentle embrace of the breeze.

Strange to find one here, though.

One so deep within the canopy.

Is there even any wind to carry it? Maybe it floated down from above, having lost its way?

Zhareen cups her hands around the wisp and marvels at it. On closer inspection it has an almost iridescent quality to it, the shimmer of rainbows like oil on water glisten across its surface in a scarcely visible sheen. It sure is pretty, isn't it?

But wait, what's this?

Two more just descended through the verdant canopy, one alighting on a tree overhanging the river while the other lands in a pool near the shore. The water of the pool whirls, sending the wisp spinning in dizzying circles whilst tumbling upon itself, rolled along by the river's kiss.

The sound of music grows ever so more audible.

[Jungle Walk]

Zhareen inspects the little fuzz closely as suddenly the thought occurs to her that there might be more. She picks the mote from Vax's nose and puts it in her open palm before looking up. "Look! More of them!" The merfolk woman looks around now, trying to determine where these fuzzies, and the music, is coming from. She's ready to climb trees if she have to.

[Jungle Walk]

Vax laughs lightly and puts her arms around Zhareen's waist. "Should we go see what the others are up to?" She suggests with another laugh. She pushes away from her love, shooting through the water, back toward the shore.

[Cyber Punk]

Outside Sandy Oaks

"Don't count on restrooms. No running water out here, unless they have a pump. We're too far away from the big cities to have much in the way of infrastructure. In Greater Littlewood everyone used chamber pots or buckets, which were emptied on the fields. The Tower had a pump powered by a waterwheel rigged up nearby, but that only got water to the fifth floor. Above that, waste was thrown out the windows." Greater Littlewood's shield tower had an internal power supply, and that was the only real source of electricity in the village.

Famous last words, indeedy, a sentiment Hotaru echoes! "Let's go in then, Phil. We can use the gas masks to cover our faces to some degree when we have to disguise ourselves. Oh, and don't jinx it." She climbs atop the Swampotaur. "Let's go, Phil, Reno!" As Reno takes off, she blows a kiss at Zither, then at Phil.

[Terumitsu]

[The Woods^TM]

"Uh, I don't know about that." Mimi says uncertainly. Sure, she's used it for cleaning before, but in the mouth? That seems weird. "Doesn't water work?" It's as much as she ever felt was needed for cleaning, though Riss would know well that she is hardly a cleanly creature.

The pixie strips and joins her lover out in the water. She gently pulls her into a hug. Riss might feel like she's been taken by a boa constrictor in a number of minutes, though.

"Not well enough." Riss muttered. She couldn't quite get the last residual cloying feelings out of her mouth in addition to feeling rather self-conscious about the smell. "Maybe you could just infuse a bit of it with, say, mint or something like that?" she asked, leaning into the embrace. If Mimi had been a real boa constrictor, though, then Riss would be very foolish to relax as she was now. Just being held was pleasent; calming in ways that couldn't be matched by neither quiet nor meditation.

Returning the hug, the muse ran her fingers through Mimi's hair and up along her antenna though in a less playful way than normal; instead gently feeling their pleasently fuzzy texture rather than trying to elicit amusing reactions from her pixie. If allowed, she would continue until either of them got too cold from the water. "We probably have a while until we need to find a place for the night" she remarked eventually in a quiet tone of voice. "Would you rather we start looking now, though or..?" she trailed off, letting Mimi decide just what to follow with once she felt ready to go once more.

[Nalix]

Outside Sandy Oaks

Phil winks at Hotaru and folds the clothing back into his backpack. A simpler plan was better, less moving parts to worry about. In any case, his restroom idea didn't require any fancy running water, just privacy. He tightens the straps on his backpack in case he needs to break into a trot.