Riverside 17

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Eastside Border]

Electra does her best to simply blend in, and is thankful that she isn't arousing any attention. She decides that following through on her earlier idea is probably the best course of action for the time being, and starts making her way into Eastside, moving carefully towards the center of that section of the city.

[Gullara]

[Mean Streets of Northside]

The woman groans as she wakes up, then blinks blearily as she looks up at the hero and says, "Y-yeah, I think so. Wha...What happened? Who are you?"

[Mean Streets of Northside]

"I'm here to help. You were attacked." The hero explains. She'll offer help to sit up if the woman wants it. "I can get you to the hospital. You've lost blood."

[Slii Arhem]

Wildside -Dusk

"Fair. Though, if you don't mind, I'd like you to reveal yourself first. It's hard discussing things with a disembodied voice." She states as she casually crosses her hands underneath her chest. "I'd like to see you up-close."

Wildside - Dusk

"Of course." The voice comes from directly behind her as Lenai rises up from the ground, a few yards distant and just out of the range of a good lunge. Her skin is a deep, earthen brown shade, and her dark green, almost black hair hangs limply, covered in dirt that also stains her extremities. But the bright, almost yellow amber of her eyes shines in the shade of the leaves, and a sly smirk tilts her classically beautiful features to the side as she regards her intruder.

"One would think you wish to get me vulnerable here, strange thief. Shall I upgrade you to foolish assassin now?"

The Empress' Estate - Victor

The Empress browses the armor alongside Victor, relaxing now that she's in the presence of so much from her homeland. After a bit she stops in front of a darker suit and picks up the helm. "I have heard stories of similar beasts around here, but back in my homeland there was a primordial serpent. Many-headed and unkillable for it would regrow parts of itself as soon as they were sliced away. It was as large as a mountain and my great-grandfather would tell me stories of his battles with the Great Beast before he was cast down by the other gods." She says, running an armored thumb along the contour of the helm's jawline. "It was not an evil beast nor one without purpose however. It fathered many races, both intelligent and not, and was revered for being a patron of life and health itself. Even more important, it became a powerful symbol." She explains before offering the helm to Victor. "The symbol of new life. We called it Klathrra the Serpent, but it seems similar animals here go by the name of Hydra. This will be your armor, Victor. You seek a new purpose, a new life, and I shall be the one to give it to you." She tells him.

The armor is extremely dark, a grey-green that is almost black. There's a slight shimmer to the metal when held up to the light, but it is impossible to divine what metal it actually is for the grey-green seems natural to it. Amazingly, despite knowing that it had to have a great weight to it, it was light in Victor's hands as if it were leather instead. The helm has a removable faceplate like The Empress' own, and while it is flat and unmarked, the helm itself is shaped like a serpent's with the lower jaw lined up with the jaw of the wearer. The serpent's head is full of ridges and fangs carved into the surface of the helm as well, giving it a draconic appearance. The shoulder pieces are also shaped into fang-filled heads as well, though this time the mouths are closed. The same goes for the gauntlets where the back of the hands are shaped like them as well. The actual body armor however is contoured well to fit a lean man's body with interlocking plates that allow for a great degree of flexibility. The chest is carved with a symmetrical tangle of scaled necks and a single serpent's head right in the middle with eyes that seem to watch everything in front of it.

Overall, the set of armor is incredibly protective and ornate, giving off a sensation of age and prestige, and should he look closely he'll find that it is far from unmarred by the passage of time and battles. A small gash here from where it turned a thrusting blade, an old scrape on the shoulder where a heavy mace failed to crush the armor.

Despite being only a set of armor however, Victor will get the sensation that it is watching him closely. Judging him and seeing if he truly is acceptable to it.

The Empress' Estate - Armory

Victor stands silently, swaying slightly before the armor as he takes it all in with an intensely concentrated gaze. His shoulders roll easily, jaw square against this ephemeral presence judging him, for a moment projecting an aura of confidence that would give anyone a moment's pause in judging him.

And then with no dramatics, he lets the pomp drop with a small nod of acknowledgement, and reaches out to the armor, pausing to examine his now much larger hand just inches from the dark metal surface.

"I've never known challenge in my life, nor felt failure's sting. But I have sought it now, and accept the pain it will bring. Please, Klathrra and the heroes who have worn you before; show me the path of honor and glory, and let me earn your respect and favor." With those words, he touches his palm to the serpent's mouth in the center, breathing deeply and locking his knees as he leans his weight forward, still uneasy on his feet and needing to brace himself for something as simple as this.

[Ionbound]

[Mean Streets of Northside]

The woman nods and says, as she slowly sits up and then gets to her feet, "I-It doesn't feel like I was attacked. Just...Blissful, kinda." She blinks a couple times and says, "I'm not even hurt. Are you sure I need to go to the hospital?"

[Reinholdt]

TTTaTTT

Olivette is lucky she had that keychain in her pocket ready to go. If she had thrown it away, then it would've indicated far more willingness than she let on to assist these creeps. 'A'. Meloni got back what's important and should probably go let her family know she's ok rather than hanging around for frontier justice.

[Zefir]

"Heh."
The General sounds please by these questions, actually.
"Sure, the City is still something you might belong to, even if you're not in any particular part."
"Well if you're not a rebel in Southside, what reason would we have to attack you? We're at peace with the other sides of the city, you know."
"Most of all, I have said so. If you can't trust me, what hope do you have?"

"Hope." She replies, not really understanding what the general is talking about. Obviously some evil plans behind all this.
"Your not good at negotiation, right? I don't know much about you. The only thing I know is that you lead people who shoot innocent who want to escape the battlefield you made. Your aware that I will need to make some calls to proove your story." she says.
While making this call she will send someone to treat the commander they caught. Best to have him in better conditions.

[Lex-Kat]

{{TTTaTTT}}

Caroline can see that Crystal is torn, but decides that if Meloni, an otherwise stranger to the dress-maker, can forgive and move on with her life, so can Crystal. She pushes A.

Final Tally:

Player 1 (Vincent) Rating: 0

Player 2 (Caroline) Rating: +2

Player 3 (Amyria) Rating -3

Cut scene is over. Your characters can interact once again.

Without saying another word, Meloni leaves the store. Smiling as she looks down at her brother's keychain. After exiting, she runs home to what will be a happy reunion.

Gemini is still fuming. "Well that's not enough for me." Gemini starts, stepping forward, and poking her finger into Olivette's chest. Why didn't you just come clean when it was obvious it all over? Why didn't you call the police when that ghost girl and her elf friend came after us? Why are you such a coward?" She drives home every question with a jab of the finger, anger simmering in her eyes.

Olivette just stands there, her mouth open, but unable to answer the accusations.

Crystal steps forward and catches Gemini's hand, kissing it. "Please sister, can't you see that she's a victim as well? Olivette was always so kind to me, before. I'm sure this tore her up, not knowing what to do."

Gemini looks up at her sister, and slowly the anger fades away, and she wraps her arms around Crystal and begins to cry.

Caroline walks over and hugs the two girls as well. "It'll be all right. Vinnie and I will go talk to this mayor, and discover the truth of it all. Promise."

[Terumitsu]

The Empress' Estate - Alva

If the dwarf notices the increased number of tails, he doesn't even bat an eye as he happily eats the rest of his meal. Her "blessing" would certainly find itself most welcome to the dwarf and everyone he's working with later, but for now another person might catch Alva's eye as she works her magic. Near by, inside the still in construction tower being built at the side of the Hall, she'll find The Empress putting old tomes onto shelves even as they're being constructed. The books are truly ancient with faded covers and moth-eaten spines in some cases, but they're also large. One could consider each to be "Coffee Table" books for if they had legs nailed onto them, they could easily serve as such. The Empress herself is still armored and wearing her masked helm, but she seems right at ease in the midst of all this construction as she pulls one book after another out of a pack that's far too small to hold so many.

As large as the tower seemed like it was going to be, she must have a lot of tomes in there.

Though, it wasn't always prudent to intrude.. Well, this was an inhabited area so it was likely that walking in any further, at least in this form, would raise a few eyebrows even with the stereotypical curiosity of foxes. Still, that same curiosity did give Alva pause as she padded away from the dwarven fellow, extra tails fading from view as quickly as they appeared.

But.. Well, maybe since the place was open to the air, after all, she could just sneak in where it was quiet and maybe have a quick poke around. ...Maybe even see about 'collecting' something that might go unnoticed. At least for a while.

At any rate she would take a moment to 'disappear' behind a corner before weaving another spell to properly disappear from sight. And why stop there? She could be just as quiet on two feet as four as well as have hands to manipulate things with. And besides, this way she could sneak right through that library there rather than trying to find a 'foxhole.' That knight-looking person was indeed imposing but that was what those types were there for, right? It's not like they'd be able to just suddenly notice an invisible kitsune flitting about and sneaking on by... Though Alva would take a moment or two to at least browse the covers. She might see one or two that would be interesting! Of course, she hadn't gotten close enough to see the actual language on them, though.

[Shadowcaller]

[Moth Park]

"Focus, Zhareen. We have a job to do." Vax warns. She takes the park in, collected and calm. Her eyes flit upward when the sun darkens. It's hard to say now how much of this is real, or how much is simply altered perception. The demon certainly is powerful, so she won't discount the former. "We shouldn't waste any time in prepping the ritual. Fan out, men. Make sure nothing gets the jump on us." She motions their entourage forward.

Lotus Gardens

"You aren't planning on escaping now, are you?" The man who put the bracelets on her asks, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, you got what you wanted. Cake and freedom. I do hope you aren't thinking of skipping out on thanking the one who arranged for your release." He says with a slight frown.

Moth Park

Zhareen, Vax, and the guards will find that even deeper into the park, the place is still empty. Quiet childish giggles occasionally break out from behind trees but any time someone looks they'll hear the soft pitter-patter of bare feet running away without a trace except for that hollow childish titter. The wind begins to pick up slightly, carrying dry dust as it pushes through the thick trees to create a groaning noise. Should the party still continue on their path however, the wind stops as true darkness begins to well up all around them, springing up from the shadows and forming walls as black as the void itself. Slowly the walls climb and climb, arcing above until the burned out dull rock that used to be the sun is all that is left that's visible outside their area.

But with one final whisper, even that source of scarce light vanishes like a candle blown out.

[Vigil Visit]

"I hope it's just in the sense of responding to decency with decency," Wenomir tells Arlem before turning to Cessie. "Better than I expected, really." Bearing in mind he consistently expects the worst. "She confirmed what we'd already suspected. The demons aren't unified in the least, and those who attacked us are just one of the strongest factions. And, unfortunately, their victory against us made them stronger."

Vigil Visit

"Indeed. There were some positive outcomes; it could have been much worse."

[Vigil Visit]

"There are more than one faction of these things? That could prove troublesome if only one of them managed all this. Unless there are more then one faction working together? Did she say anything about that?" Cessie asks. "Additionally, how much do you think we can trust her? She came in here unannouced after all."

Moth Park

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" The captain of the guard asks Vax. "Spreading out in... these sort of situations don't usually turn out well." Especially not for the poor NPC's. "With this reduced visibility, it would be easy to lose track of one another." Then as the light is snuffed out, he and the others activate a Life detection feature that their masks have. It functions as a heatdetection camera, but only shows things that are strictly alive.

Zhareen nods at her wife, focus was important. She attempts to call out to the spirits of this place with her siren song, the demon was likely puppetering them but perhaps she still could get some information on what they were planning to do, besides trying to scare them of course. The demons main source of power. She held her familiar spirits close to her, if they were needed, she would call upon them.

Lotus Gardens

"No, I wouldn't!" Hekta assures them, trying to look as innocent and adorable as possible as she smiles, an act that got increasingly more difficult the older she got.

Wildside - Dusk

The woman turns in the direction of the voice, and nods respectfully once Lenai has fully revealed herself. "I assure you that you're far too terrifying to even consider such things. I have to ask why you settle so close to a city considering you seem to be annoyed at visitors. Most entities I know settle far away from any civilization where they don't have to be bothered with the everyday life of city folks. Not your own idea, perhaps?" She looks at Lenai questiongly.

[Murkus]

[The Empress' Estate]

A lone stag arrives here. He's a spry, shortish man, padded with ample muscle and skin tanned dark. He observes his surroundings - undoubtedly with restrained awe - and approaches the first thing that looks like a main, public entrance. Failing that... well, should he be so bold, he might seek another means of entry.

[UncleWolf]

The Lotus Gardens

The two Masks look at Hekta in silence for a moment, clearly not believing her, but the one in charge gives a sigh and gestures for her to follow him. "This way there's a public bathroom." He says before taking her about half a block away. There's a sign for a women's bathroom right on the door and he gives a nod. "There you go. We'll wait out here." He says as the other man gives a nod.

The Empress' Estate - Victor

Right before Victor's hand touches the serpent's head on the chestpiece, The Empress' own gently stops him. "That will be done later, my Knight. I will need to anoint you before we fit it to your body. Only then will it accept you." She explains. "First, we must bathe you. The bath is adjacent to the room you were in and I promise that once construction is completed, you will have lodgings appropriate to your standing." She says as she gently begins to gather up the armor set onto a cloth-covered table. "Remember one thing however, Victor. Not all who wore these armors were good or just men or women and most could never be called heroes. They were above most others, but they were not above themselves and their follies. The...Legacies all these weapons and armors hold within themselves are only achieved through generations of battle and blood. Much of it, the wielder's own." She warns before ripping a key off of a leather string at her side, holding it out to Victor. "The key to the baths. I will await you there in six hours. Do not arrive early or late. The anointment will be prepared for you and waiting."

The Empress' Estate - The Stag

The Stag will find himself approaching a wide road leading up to a stone bridge built over a forming moat. The moat is deep, several meters, but has yet to be finished. Even as he approaches he'll see the stones being worked upon and the same goes for the archway being built in the great wall that is going to surround the estate. It seems to be the only public access to the area within. If he doesn't mind hopping or skipping over the bits of construction, he'll be able to make his way through the long "Arch" and onto a path that takes a turn to wrap around the central Hall to get to the main entrance. No one will stop him, and in fact he seems like he isn't the only one set on heading to see The Empress. Right in front of him he'll find a half dozen vaguely elven women, each one battle-hardened and scarred, heading towards the massive double-doors that are currently open. They have a pale blue-grey skin that's heavily worn by the weather and they wear thick fur and hide armor. Their black hair is all either cut short or braided tightly and tucked down the back of their armor, and their gear looks just as worn as they are. Their axes and bows look like they're made of crude materials like bone and bronze, but they're carried with great pride and ease speaking to him of the hundreds of fights they've seen.

The one furthest back seems to sense his presence and look behind her, giving him a glimpse of a young woman, possibly just reaching her twenties. Her eyes are unsettling however, worn and tired but still with a dangerous sense of purpose to them that makes her look far older than what her soft cheeks would suggest.

The Empress' Estate - Alva

Alva's padding around doesn't seem to be noticed by any of the workers, and the armored figure simply continues to put books on the shelves. The books are...impressive to say the least. They each look like they weigh several pounds and they have a variety of covers from leather to bone to even hammered gold and iron. They practically scream "old and mysterious". Few of them are labeled however, and the ones she does find are done so in a runic language made of very short straight lines, as if carved by dagger rather than written by brush or pen. One tome in particular, bound in leather and tarnished silver plates, might seem particularly interesting as it is uncharacteristically thin, perhaps a quarter of the size of the others and the runes on the spine shimmer and squirm under observation.

[Murkus]

[The Empress' Estate - The Stag!]

Hopping and skipping is something Adir's quite good at. He'd call it something more masculine, but it's exactly how it looks as he bounces from one half-finished stone shape to the next.

This was good. He seemed to be getting on the ground floor, so to speak. Or quite literally. His eyes are almost too busy roving as he makes his way down the path to notice the strange cadre of elves. The stag raises his head, ears twitching inquisitively, and tries not to flinch as the... perhaps ancient warrior turns her gaze upon him.

He's dressed far less... well, intimidatingly. A tight black shirt, heavy-duty cargo pants, black combat boots. Simple. He's got a backpack, too, and a gun at his hip, but it seems almost pitiful compared to what these women are packing.

Adir half raises his hand. Hesitates. Almost lowers it... then finally gives the young-seeming woman a cautious wave. Something about these women seems almost... melancholy, but he can't put a finger on it.

[Recaiden]

[VIGIL Visit]

"I personally do not believe she can be trusted. She did what she needed to in order to get her companion back. The next time our enemies' leader calls for war, I believe she will fall back in line."
Arlem shrugs one shoulder. It is only his opinion. And for the time being, those two demons are not a problem.

Player 3 (Amyria) Rating -3

[COLOR=#000000]Cut scene is over. Your characters can interact once again.

Gemini looks up at her sister, and slowly the anger fades away, and she wraps her arms around Crystal and begins to cry.

Caroline walks over and hugs the two girls as well. "It'll be all right. Vinnie and I will go talk to this mayor, and discover the truth of it all. Promise."

Amyria walks up to Olivette and nods.
"Must have been terrifying for you both. Olivette, we'll need you to tell us about those men of the mayor's."

"Hope." She replies, not really understanding what the general is talking about. Obviously some evil plans behind all this.
"Your not good at negotiation, right? I don't know much about you. The only thing I know is that you lead people who shoot innocent who want to escape the battlefield you made. Your aware that I will need to make some calls to proove your story." she says.
While making this call she will send someone to treat the commander they caught. Best to have him in better conditions.

"Perceptive. I am not a negotiator nor a woman of violence by trade. This whole invasion has become an unfortunate overrun.
Regardless, your people are dead because they defied us rather than work things out peacefully. And now it's over. I do not want to hurt you. Feel free to make your calls. I will wait for you to make the peaceful choice." The general replies, frustrated. Her voice starts to rise in anger, and then cools down again.

[Eastside Border]

Electra does her best to simply blend in, and is thankful that she isn't arousing any attention. She decides that following through on her earlier idea is probably the best course of action for the time being, and starts making her way into Eastside, moving carefully towards the center of that section of the city.

Welcome to Eastside!

You could swear that people here haven't heard that there's a war on. It's just an ordinary day of the week. Whatever's going on in Southside, people have jobs to do, lives to live. And in this district, Electra doesn't even look out of place.

[Morty]

[VIGIL Visit]

"I wouldn't call her trustworthy, but I do believe she told us the truth," Wenomir says. "The faction that attacked us seems to be one of the more powerful. It's something to keep in mind. And it appears there's a difference between the... 'original' demons and the beings they subvert."

[Shadowcaller]

The Lotus Gardens

The two Masks look at Hekta in silence for a moment, clearly not believing her, but the one in charge gives a sigh and gestures for her to follow him. "This way there's a public bathroom." He says before taking her about half a block away. There's a sign for a women's bathroom right on the door and he gives a nod. "There you go. We'll wait out here." He says as the other man gives a nod.

[VIGIL Visit]

"I personally do not believe she can be trusted. She did what she needed to in order to get her companion back. The next time our enemies' leader calls for war, I believe she will fall back in line."
Arlem shrugs one shoulder. It is only his opinion. And for the time being, those two demons are not a problem.

[VIGIL Visit]

"I wouldn't call her trustworthy, but I do believe she told us the truth," Wenomir says. "The faction that attacked us seems to be one of the more powerful. It's something to keep in mind. And it appears there's a difference between the... 'original' demons and the beings they subvert."

[VIGIL Visit]

"So all the more reason to find out who these leaders are. We already know fighting their minions is useless, that's a tactic that's not going to work in the long run. We need to locate the leaders and find a way to remove them, permanently. Capturing might be a way if they just return from death, but we can't be sure it works that way. Did you ask any questions regarding any of these things?" Cessie inquires. "Or at least of someone who could know more about them?"

The Lotus Gardens

Hekta enters the bathroom, what is it like? Are there any alternative exits such as windows etc?

[Gullara]

Moth Park

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" The captain of the guard asks Vax. "Spreading out in... these sort of situations don't usually turn out well." Especially not for the poor NPC's. "With this reduced visibility, it would be easy to lose track of one another." Then as the light is snuffed out, he and the others activate a Life detection feature that their masks have. It functions as a heatdetection camera, but only shows things that are strictly alive.

Zhareen nods at her wife, focus was important. She attempts to reach out to the spirits of this place, the demon was likely puppetering them but perhaps she still could get some information on what they were planning to do, besides trying to scare them of course. The demons main source of power. She held her familiar spirits close to her, if they were needed, she would call upon them.

[Moth Park]

"You needn't go far, but you will not cluster together like cowering children." Vax says dismissively. "We need a perimeter for when the demon attacks." It won't be so direct, but a first line of defense will be valuable none the less. In any case, she wastes no more time with words. She needs to mentally prepare herself as they approach the center of the park.

[Mean Streets of Northside]

The woman nods and says, as she slowly sits up and then gets to her feet, "I-It doesn't feel like I was attacked. Just...Blissful, kinda." She blinks a couple times and says, "I'm not even hurt. Are you sure I need to go to the hospital?"

[Mean Streets of Northside]

"You lost blood. It'd be safest." The hero says. "Here, let me help you stand." She offers her arm, just in case the woman is dizzy.

[Ionbound]

[Mean Streets of Northside]

The woman nods and replies to the heroine, "A-alright. Lead on." She declines the arm, walking normally as she asks, "You said I lost blood? What happened to me?"

[Terumitsu]

[The Empress' Estate - Alva]

A small, clearly esoteric tome sporting arcane symbols and unreadable sigils swimming across it's surface. The book might as well have been plastered with radioactive symbols and bio-hazard flowers as far as Alva was concerned. Certainly it looked valuable and potentially powerful as arcane tomes usually were but.. Typically those things were also under far more scrutiny than just some jewelry and the like. Or they were cursed.

Or any number of things that a smart thief would not want to have to deal with. Sure, she was no stranger to the arcane but that also meant she knew to generally respect or simply avoid things that were obviously magic. Oh well, taking a souvenir wasn't something she needed to do even if it would have been fun.

At any rate, the other books looked a little too large to move and that knight was actually terrifyingly huge up close. Perhaps elsewhere might be better to look. ...Well, on second thought, she didn't need to necessarily pick the book up. Focusing on the tome again, Alva concentrated as she tried to sense the sort of magics contained within. Surely just a scan wouldn't hurt.

[Nova_Eclipse]

Welcome to Eastside!

You could swear that people here haven't heard that there's a war on. It's just an ordinary day of the week. Whatever's going on in Southside, people have jobs to do, lives to live. And in this district, Electra doesn't even look out of place.

[Eastside - Center of Town]

Electra makes her way to the center of Eastside, looking around at the buildings. She's doing her best to try and seem like a gawking tourist, but she's actually carefully looking for indications that the force field she saw on the Southside border might be something that could potentially blanket all of Eastside. She's also noting any larger or taller buildings that seem like they might have defensive value beyond their size, logging anything of note to her internal map.

[Reinholdt]

TTTaTTT

"We're back by the way." Vinny says, stepping into view. "For that dress we were going to get. At a large discount." Loot and xp are the only things that truly matter in the end. They'd have probably gotten more if they'd gone all B's or all A's. No one rewards the neutral path. Ah well. Vincent isn't going to reload for something so trivial.

"You might consider hiding for a while. We don't know how large the organization we just beat up actually is."

[Zefir]

"Perceptive. I am not a negotiator nor a woman of violence by trade. This whole invasion has become an unfortunate overrun.
Regardless, your people are dead because they defied us rather than work things out peacefully. And now it's over. I do not want to hurt you. Feel free to make your calls. I will wait for you to make the peaceful choice." The general replies, frustrated. Her voice starts to rise in anger, and then cools down again.

Mia sure notice the leak of informations from her opinion. Even if her people haven't been cooperative to others with guns, they shot first, but she is aware more talking doesn't help out right now.
So she will make the calls, asking the other fractions about their view of the new leading party of Southside and if they would accept DMside as an independend part from Southside.
((It was talked OOC for saving time and unless I'm wrong it was accepted. At least that Dmside is not part of Southside, but still belongs to the city, maybe becoming part of an other side.))

She calls back after some time.
"It seems you have made things up with them. So i guess we come to an agreement. We will make sure that your commander will be with you soon. Do you have any preference about location or such?"

[UncleWolf]

Lotus Gardens

It's a pretty typical public restroom. There are three stalls for women, each with doors, mirrors and sinks to wash up at, and a frosted glass window at the back. It has a latch, but it looks like it could be opened.

Moth Park

The only lifesigns present are those given off by the party, but the place is packed full of spirits writhing in torment and pain. The moment she opens herself up to them, Zhareen will feel their cries for help as their pain and suffering is enhanced to the Fear Demon's enjoyment and desire for more. The sensations they give off are nearly suffocating, but Zhareen won't be the only one to feel that way...

The guards, Zhareen, and even Vax will start to find breathing difficult. It feels as if the air has started becoming thin, and quickly. Pulses will race, gasps will start, and perhaps even panic will start to settle in as they search for their breath...

A breath that refuses to come in anything larger than strangled gasps.

The Empress' Estate - Alva

There doesn't seem to be any true magic within the tome, but she could feel the makings of such. A natural power that seems to ebb and flow within. It is distant and weak, but feels of glacier ice and leaves a cool chill running down Alva's spine. "It is the family line. Written in our own blood." It was an odd explanation certainly, but if Alva turns to look at the source of it, she'll find the heavily armored woman next to her. It seems she's rather stealthy despite the armor and can somehow sense her...

The Empress' Estate - Adir

The young woman gives a weary looking smile in return before reaching up to tap her leader's shoulder. She turns around and looks much like the younger woman, although quite a bit older, perhaps in her equivalent of the 40s, though it is a good looking 40s. Their hard way of life has left her face worn and weathered, but the skin taunt and her body lean. She holds up a hand to stop the others and turns to face Adir squarely before stepping aside and gesturing him to go before them. "Our business with The Empress will require us to speak at length. We have waited long already to see her, so another half hour will only be a small drop inside the well of time." She explains. As she talks, Adir might catch glimpse of a long ragged scar on her throat, uncovered by her clothing, revealing that she somehow survived having her throat ripped out at one point.

The others seem to sport similar scars too. One had her throat slit, another shows scarring around her eyes where something hot had once pierced them, and the young one who first saw him carries a scar that travels diagonally from the nape of her neck across her collar bone and further before vanishing under her hides. Every wound appears to have been lethal, but here they stood before him.

[Terumitsu]

[The Empress' Estate - Alva]

Suddenly feeling exceedingly glad that she hadn't taken anything, the kitsune stiffened as the chill down her back became absolutely frigid. She had to bite her tongue to keep from crying out in surprise though now she looked up at the armored person with ears flattened against her head as the hair on her tails poofed out in response to the sudden shock.

What got to her the most wasn't that she was detected as she was well aware of what ways simple invisibility could be foiled, probably that helm was enchanted or something, but being able to just sneak up on someone with her senses without her even noticing like it was apparently nothing in armor was what actually frightened her.

Well, she was only trespassing at this point and she could get away with that by saying she had been interested in what was built alongside a promise to not do any more invisible snooping. Exhaling, she let the illusion drop, knowing it would be pretty rude at this point given the situation and she needed all the good will she could get at the moment. "Um.. Hi." she said with a more confident tone and smile that her tails and ears would otherwise suggest. "I just saw an interesting place being built here so I thought I might.. Take a look around? You, ah, have a hole in your wall there, you know." she said.

[Murkus]

[The Empress' Estate - Adir]

Adir can't stop his flinch or the slight widening of his eyes. Maybe he's been cooped up with Sakura and the kids too long, but dead women walking stuns him as much as anything else in the Nexus used to.

He purses his lips in thought.

"Yeah, okay," says the stag, quietly, and he begins to stride slowly toward them. He'll pass amongst the women without another word, his step quickening a little as he moves toward the Empress' chambers. The stag is obviously trying his best not to meet their gazes... but he can't help giving the youngest one last look before he moves on. Just a glance.

"Every day's an adventuuure..." Adir sing-songs in a low voice, once he's a few meters past the women and the archway. He'll make his way through the main entrance unless challenged.

[Slii Arhem]

Wildside - Dusk

The woman turns in the direction of the voice, and nods respectfully once Lenai has fully revealed herself. "I assure you that you're far too terrifying to even consider such things. I have to ask why you settle so close to a city considering you seem to be annoyed at visitors. Most entities I know settle far away from any civilization where they don't have to be bothered with the everyday life of city folks. Not your own idea, perhaps?" She looks at Lenai questiongly.

Wildside - Dusk

"My initiative is my own, but my settling here was to clean up after my father's unfortunate messes. You can learn more of the riots and revels anywhere in Riverside, and what they caused. He did not care about the consequences, so they fell to me to sweep away." Those remaining revelers who didn't elect to stay in the city got out through Lenai's forests, many fey rings taking them home. Of course, soon thereafter their home was consumed by a creature larger than the world itself, but Lenai could not have predicted that far ahead in her father's machinations.

Nor would she relate that much to an utter stranger.

The Empress' Estate - Victor

Right before Victor's hand touches the serpent's head on the chestpiece, The Empress' own gently stops him. "That will be done later, my Knight. I will need to anoint you before we fit it to your body. Only then will it accept you." She explains. "First, we must bathe you. The bath is adjacent to the room you were in and I promise that once construction is completed, you will have lodgings appropriate to your standing." She says as she gently begins to gather up the armor set onto a cloth-covered table. "Remember one thing however, Victor. Not all who wore these armors were good or just men or women and most could never be called heroes. They were above most others, but they were not above themselves and their follies. The...Legacies all these weapons and armors hold within themselves are only achieved through generations of battle and blood. Much of it, the wielder's own." She warns before ripping a key off of a leather string at her side, holding it out to Victor. "The key to the baths. I will await you there in six hours. Do not arrive early or late. The anointment will be prepared for you and waiting."

The Empress' Estate - Victor

He takes the key with all the reverence he would take a blessed sword, his fatigue weighing heavily on him as he allows himself a sardonic smile, "Now this is a princely gift, and one I shall treasure. But it is a shame my legacy will follow theirs, my Empress. Though I can easily live up to their standards of amorality, I have no follies to rise above. None but this one." He acknowledges softly to himself, letting the key dangle from his grip, "I will go, rest, and be at the baths in six hours from when I leave your presence, my Empress. Some strength of limb already returns to me." He leaves at his measured, methodical pace with her leave, but will stay if she has more to demand of him.

[Ashen Lilies]

[Eastside - Near Lifting Street]


The area around here boasts a fair number of high-rise apartments (more than eight floors as per the Eastside Residential Building Code) and enough streetlights to blot out the faint stars. A little ways away is a plaza around a fountain commemorating some long-dead merchant prince. And that block is crowded with shops and bars and somehow, a train station. A narrow canal cuts through the neighborhood, traveled more by aquatic citizenry than boats. People are heading back home from jobs nearer the river, or ducking straight into a bar along the way. On the corner of 10th street a man plays songs on his kettle-fiddle. The upturned hat beside him is mostly empty. And, what with it being election season soon, windows and storefronts are crowded with brightly colored political posters.

"Hey Miss! You wanna buy a lizard?"
And here we have a young entrepreneur, hoisting a silvery little animal about 8 inches long up for inspection. Electricity arcs between its shiny little teeth. A moderately large wagon full of the critters (and dirt and plants to amuse them) is pulled behind him.

People seem wearily happy. Sure, the nightmares and thefts and scandals are no good, but things are going to get better. And at least they're not Westside, thank god.

[Eastside - Near Lifting Street]

Lizards! The woman lowers her hood to take a closer look, revealing a slender face framed by a messy tumble of straight black hair cropped at her jawline. Her grey eyes appear bright and inquisitive behind plastic-rimmed square glasses. Her complexion is pale - edging on sickly - but her slim build indicates at least a little time running outdoors in between all the time spent locked away reading.
"It's an interesting color. Where are they from?" She asks, glancing between the proffered specimen and the ones confined to the wagon. She raises a hand experimentally, seeing if either the lizard or its holder would be receptive to it being touched.

[Shadowcaller]

[Moth Park]

"You needn't go far, but you will not cluster together like cowering children." Vax says dismissively. "We need a perimeter for when the demon attacks." It won't be so direct, but a first line of defense will be valuable none the less. In any case, she wastes no more time with words. She needs to mentally prepare herself as they approach the center of the park.

Lotus Gardens

It's a pretty typical public restroom. There are three stalls for women, each with doors, mirrors and sinks to wash up at, and a frosted glass window at the back. It has a latch, but it looks like it could be opened.

Moth Park

The only lifesigns present are those given off by the party, but the place is packed full of spirits writhing in torment and pain. The moment she opens herself up to them, Zhareen will feel their cries for help as their pain and suffering is enhanced to the Fear Demon's enjoyment and desire for more. The sensations they give off are nearly suffocating, but Zhareen won't be the only one to feel that way...

The guards, Zhareen, and even Vax will start to find breathing difficult. It feels as if the air has started becoming thin, and quickly. Pulses will race, gasps will start, and perhaps even panic will start to settle in as they search for their breath...

A breath that refuses to come in anything larger than strangled gasps.

Moth Park

Assuming that the air-filters the guards are wearing does nothing they start gasping for air. This magical stuff was not their speciality, they relied on the warlocks for that.
Zhareen isn't much better off at the moment though, as her song ends when she is forced to gasp for air. She couldn't even call on her familiars like this!

Lotus Gardens

Hmm...
Hekta peers at the window, was it big enough to climb out from? She was getting larger as time went on, which was annoying. Alas, if only she could remain a child forever. Still there had be some way out of here. Maybe she could hid somewhere or create a distraction... start shouting? There were a lot of options that didn't include her meeting that creepy goddess.

Wildside - Dusk

"My initiative is my own, but my settling here was to clean up after my father's unfortunate messes. You can learn more of the riots and revels anywhere in Riverside, and what they caused. He did not care about the consequences, so they fell to me to sweep away." Those remaining revelers who didn't elect to stay in the city got out through Lenai's forests, many fey rings taking them home. Of course, soon thereafter their home was consumed by a creature larger than the world itself, but Lenai could not have predicted that far ahead in her father's machinations.

Nor would she relate that much to an utter stranger.

Wildside - Dusk

"And here you remain growing wild beasts and bargain off honey and other things to those who come here. Not the worst lot in life, and it makes you unlike any of the demigods I met before, Lenai." She nods respectfully and then offers her hand, not really expect the demigoddess to take it. "But I should introduce myself, my name is Anika Aubademorn, druid, hero and seeker of adventure." She smiles widely.

[Recaiden]

[Eastside - Near Lifting Street]

Lizards! The woman lowers her hood to take a closer look, revealing a slender face framed by a messy tumble of straight black hair cropped at her jawline. Her grey eyes appear bright and inquisitive behind plastic-rimmed square glasses. Her complexion is pale - edging on sickly - but her slim build indicates at least a little time running outdoors in between all the time spent locked away reading.
"It's an interesting color. Where are they from?" She asks, glancing between the proffered specimen and the ones confined to the wagon. She raises a hand experimentally, seeing if either the lizard or its holder would be receptive to it being touched.

There is no obvious major difference between the proffered lizard and the wagoneers. Some have different color eyes, some have slightly longer tails, or are thicker and thinner, etc.
"They come from another world where they live on a warm mountain in the middle of a glacier. They like the river!"
The holder nods, and the lizard inclines its head to try to lick at the woman's hand.
"You can pet them if you want."

Mia sure notice the leak of informations from her opinion. Even if her people haven't been cooperative to others with guns, they shot first, but she is aware more talking doesn't help out right now.
So she will make the calls, asking the other fractions about their view of the new leading party of Southside and if they would accept DMside as an independend part from Southside.
((It was talked OOC for saving time and unless I'm wrong it was accepted. At least that Dmside is not part of Southside, but still belongs to the city, maybe becoming part of an other side.))

She calls back after some time.
"It seems you have made things up with them. So i guess we come to an agreement. We will make sure that your commander will be with you soon. Do you have any preference about location or such?"

((You're not wrong. It's just up to you to decide if Mia joined Eastside or Northside.))

The general is at the phone after only a short delay.
"I'm glad you're willing to make an agreement. Meet us with him at the northmost bridge."

[VIGIL Visit]

"So all the more reason to find out who these leaders are. We already know fighting their minions is useless, that's a tactic that's not going to work in the long run. We need to locate the leaders and find a way to remove them, permanently. Capturing might be a way if they just return from death, but we can't be sure it works that way. Did you ask any questions regarding any of these things?" Cessie inquires. "Or at least of someone who could know more about them?"

"We have the name of a leader, and a possible lead at Light's Heart."
"But for the time being, I must go. I'm needed in Inside."
Arlem listens for an answer, and then if no one stops him, just disappears.

[Eastside - Center of Town]

Electra makes her way to the center of Eastside, looking around at the buildings. She's doing her best to try and seem like a gawking tourist, but she's actually carefully looking for indications that the force field she saw on the Southside border might be something that could potentially blanket all of Eastside. She's also noting any larger or taller buildings that seem like they might have defensive value beyond their size, logging anything of note to her internal map.

Well, right at the center of Eastside one finds the City Hall (which are nice but rather ordinary except for clock tower and the flags flying out front), Parliament Circle (which are splendid but not tactically useful) and the Hunters' Hall (which is a veritable fortress). The city notably lacks any gigantic technomagical edifice like Westside's artificial sun or the Castle Malechenar. The density of incomprehensible sigils written below streetsigns and on the corners of buildings increases as one approaches the city center. Other places of interest include the sprawling Abandoned Hospital and the 5-story citadel of Light's Heart.

[Slii Arhem]

Wildside - Dusk

"And here you remain growing wild beasts and bargain off honey and other things to those who come here. Not the worst lot in life, and it makes you unlike any of the demigods I met before, Lenai." She nods respectfully and then offers her hand, not really expect the demigoddess to take it. "But I should introduce myself, my name is Anika Aubademorn, druid, hero and seeker of adventure." She smiles widely.

Wildside - Dusk

The hand is regarded cautiously, with open suspicion, but in return all Anika receives is a brief, abbreviated bow of the head in acknowledgement, "What you should do is continue with your questions, if you want me to believe they are truly what brought you here. Assumptions and revelations can be kept private to one's self. What I bargain with the forces at work in the city maintains my peaceful relations with them, along with the threat of violence on both sides." A flick of her arm and a tree ambles back, its roots snaking through the loose soil to pull it closer to its fellows, their branches intertwining amicably overhead.

Lenai bends over and picks up a small cask, grown entirely from a single burl in the roots and snapped off easily with a twist of one of her willowy, bare arms. The vessel is set between them, and a beautiful, unnaturally massive hyacinth bends its branches to droop curling, cup-shaped leaves onto the ground to either side of it. She snips these leaves from their stems with a pinch of thumb and forefinger, gesturing for the intruder to come and sit as she does, cross-legged and bare but for the dirt smeared over her body as a knot in the top of the cask works its way free, popping the cork with a surprising effervescence.

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Eastside - Center of Town]


Electra notes the sigils appearing more frequently as she nears the center of town. She isn't sure what they mean, but she suspects they may have something to do with the force field or defense in general. When she reaches the center of town, she'll mark the locations of the Hunters' Hall and City Hall on her internal map, as well as noting any obvious guard patrols. She briefly debates trying to see what they have on this side of the border with Southside, but decides that being seen there again on this side of the border probably isn't exactly a good idea. She'll start heading back for Northside after a few moments of consideration.