Random Plots and Places 11: Still more random than you!

[Slii Arhem]

The Aether

Even if only by the vibrations coming up from those who's strings she's pulling, the Meddler has aeons of experience monitoring many things and plucking out only the most interesting to dangle for a show. A single glance is given to the note, but not long enough to read over it, obviously considering it rude beyond the purposes of her visit to pry into another's work.

The salmon is laid out, and the liquid ambrosia poured. Not common to have it served that way, usually it's pressed into a cheese-like block for extra potency, but it tends to hit less... abruptly as a liquid. "A particular young man of yours is entrenched among those I'm handling, at the moment. I thought it best to meet you before he becomes entangled, and discuss the rights to interfere with his path. A few nudges..." She trails off, glancing at what the fledgeling walker is aiming his kick at with a wince, as time seems to slow to get a better view of the trajectory, "He's going to learn the hard way that those are bronzed. Like any good beast from that time, his scales are as hard as armor, and about half-again as heavy."

[Deathkeeper]

The Aether

"Yep. Kid's got a pretty nice rifle, a magic khopesh, and a very magic staff with me on speed-dial, and he never actually carries any of 'em around. It's not like they ain't decorative either. He's gotta learn that sooner or later."

He skewers a slice of salmon with a toothpick and gulps it down.
"What'd ya want to do with 'im? 'Cause he's mine, by your own admission, but if you can get him to actually want to swing his weight around a bit more that'd be great. It's healthy to be normal when you're not hunting or hunted, but he's gotta learn how to turn on his instincts when he needs 'em. Kid was scared of a few scorpions. Scorpions!"

[Slii Arhem]

The Aether

The suit changes into the kind of bathing suit one definitely wouldn't want to be wearing in croc-infested waters, and the suitcase goes back to being a sword before unfolding once again into a beach umbrella, "Some nice powers, a fancy suit, subtly nudging him towards heroism by playing with his hormones, and the same test for him that there will be for all the rest of them in the end. I won't lie and say there's no risk, if he makes it that far without chickening out there's quite a lot, but I could be convinced to give him an edge if you want him to have a few more arrows in his quiver." She goes for a sip of the last hope of a dying world, rather than try the salmon herself. She finds the latter should be savored for last, as it lingers on the pallet too long. That, and she'd prefer to let him have as much as he'd like of it before she goes for a piece.

[Deathkeeper]

The Aether

Sobek blinks at her.
"Sounds good, but powers? Kid already hits like a truck when he wants to and can summon a pretty large repertoire when he bothers to expand it. You think he needs more? 'Cause I was planning on dropping at least one more thing on 'im that might help if he can deal with it." he says with a grin that implies he's thought that one through quite a bit.

[Slii Arhem]

The Aether

"Mostly anonymity to go with the outfit, as well as whatever else he can bargain for. It'll be a direct meeting, nothing shady, and he'll be getting more information from me than the rest would, as the majority of them aren't my personal projects." She looks over at the centaur nearby meaningfully. "But this is your negotiation, so what would you ask for in exchange for allowing me to nudge him in the right directions until this is all over?"

[Deathkeeper]

The Aether

"This whole little setup? That counts as one. You nudge him again, that counts as two. For what you owe me, I can ask for one of my own. I need someone saved, a nudge there. I need someone out of the picture, something there. I have another follower who needs help I can't give, a little anonymous gift. Sound good to you?" proposed the god of crocodiles.

[Slii Arhem]

The Aether

A predatory smile and a silent glance to the art show are his only answers for a while, but at last she speaks, "You miscounted, the decision to enjoy this show of ours was his own, I did not coax him here. But now that he is here, and participating, I felt it appropriate to bring it him into the fun to come." She holds up two fingers, and then gradually lowers one of them, leaving one left.

"However, I find your requests interesting enough that I wouldn't particularly mind the activity. It's novel to be able to get myself dirty, now and then. I'll need details. Up above, there might be no need to ask for such, but on my level only orders are filtered down." Which means any spying on Sobek's people, if it happens at all, isn't something she has access to.

"And unless you'd like to claim I'm miscounting, if I do these three things for you and interfere with him, you would then owe me two back? One would be easy, simply put in a good word when I make him the offer. Two would be withheld, until I'm certain I don't need yet another meeting with him later on to help with his place in the group. But if by the end of the arrangement, I haven't made good on it, then I will release you from the last favor." She considers the whole of the situation, "And all of this is provided that I can settle my debts to you satisfactorily. Do those terms suit you?"

[Cyber Punk]

She knows my name? Read my first layer mask... should I go deep? Unnecessary and futile, if she already knows who I am. Offer of a game, toy with the local populace, classic Orange, though a bit contrived. Challenge is curious, enslave me? Test.

"Offer accepted, though you clearly know who I am. Agony. A good name for an Orange. How do I know you won't just enslave me anyway? Tell me a bit about yourself, Agony."

Who are you under, and what territory are we in? Something is off here. If my cover is already gone... no I'm dealing with something else. Something new.

While Gara wouldn't know how to protect herself from telepathy, she probably could protect herself from any attempt at control. Mind control and mind control games are pretty normal among her peers, or something similar to them, at any rate.

[Airstrip Town]

((Nice, someone who controls the surroundings as they are vs someone who can change the materials in the surroundings...))

Agony cackles. "Agony isn't a mere name, it's a state of being. I thrive on pain, both mine and others. Now, those toys are about to experience pain of every kind. Pain and despair. I merely offer that you watch, Discordia."

Yes, Agony just named Gara. "A fitting name for you, is it not?" Gara might feel Agony attempting to bend her mind. It's like she's testing the barrier, bit by bit.

She cocks her head to one side. "Something new? I see you're new to the Nexus, pumpkin." With lightning speed, she moves to appear behind Gara. "The fun part is that no matter how strong you are, there're people stronger. How you use that strength is up to you. So many different worlds, different ways of achieving the same thing. Oh, and the technology! Simply lots to see!" Her gleeful-up-until-this-point suddenly goes momentarily sinister. "lots to see and 'play' with."

All the while, she's circling Gara, less predatory and more curious. She stops in her tracks to look the other lady up-and-down. "You really should come to AMEN sometime."

[Deathkeeper]

The Aether

Sobek chuckles, taking a long pull of the ambrosia.
"You sure do talk a lot, Miss. I was givin' examples, not naming things I had in mind. I want one favor to be called in if and when I choose for your right to set up this little participatin' with 'Bastian. And I meant that if you need a second meetin' it'd count as two, like ya said, not that today counted as two. But those terms work for me if you're happy with 'em."

[Nalix]

Airstrip Town

Gara soaks in the sensation of the mind control, savoring it, tasting it. She's accustomed to weapons that attack the mind and spirit in a wide variety of arrays, and has spent a cumulative time of years under their effects. Weapons that would cause soul-shattering madness in most would likely slide off of her. Standard fare for Archon's, really. As for control, Orange agents, not to mention Archons, routinely use mind wiping/modifying techniques on themselves for their missions. Gara's mind doesn't so much have a barrier as it's like trying to stick a hand in water to move a river or a lake: the water just moves around it and comes back together again. She chooses not to respond to Agony's comment about pain, as she realizes that she isn't hiding anything from her, and she'd rather let her past speak for itself.

"The Nexus. There are many things I know of that could be called that. I assume that abilities like yours are common here. And beings of all sorts come from all sorts of realities. That shouldn't be possible, but if so... I wonder..." Gara has been with her current limitations for a very short time, less than a month, and hasn't had a lot of practice testing their limits. Before, she could have teleported across worlds with barely a breath of effort. Now she could teleport something from one hand to the other.

She attempts to create a field around herself that will move her at speeds similar to Agony, she hopes, using a confluence of kinetic forces and friction nullification similar to what male demis use to fly. She manages to move around a bit, still no where nearly as fast as Agony. Practice for later. She also attempts to see with her power, constrained as it is. She can't manage the true sight that she had before, but she's confident that she can now detect light enough to see through any point on her skin. It's a start, she hopes.

Gara stops and smiles pleasantly. "Discordia would be one title among many. There were Orange gods greater than me, though I was one among hundreds in an empire of trillions. Some might have called that special. I only did what comes naturally to me. We all played our part in the great cycles. What's AMEN?"

[Cyber Punk]

[Airstrip Town]

Agony throws her head back and cackles again. "It shouldn't be possible, and yet, here we are, Discordia." Gara's field creation does not escape Agony's notice, but she doesn't comment on it, for now.

Gara might also be able to detect that Agony has been touched and warped by something functionally eldritch. The process seems to have touched her mind, as well.

Then she claps happily. "Now, I can answer the question of why I won't enslave you, my dear: we are kin! Kin from different worlds, yet similar in a few ways. I believe we have a lot to learn from each other, pumpkin." She gestures to the town. "You need some practice, yes? This playground should prove adequate."

[DoomITP]

Luna Lab

Evan moves to shake the professor's hand.

Nice to meet you.

[Slii Arhem]

The Aether

Sobek chuckles, taking a long pull of the ambrosia.
"You sure do talk a lot, Miss. I was givin' examples, not naming things I had in mind. I want one favor to be called in if and when I choose for your right to set up this little participatin' with 'Bastian. And I meant that if you need a second meetin' it'd count as two, like ya said, not that today counted as two. But those terms work for me if you're happy with 'em."

The Aether

Is that a blush, faintly colouring the entity's cheeks? No, couldn't be. "And I'm usually used to fiercer negotiators. I suppose I'm willing to do all three, regardless, in exchange for what I asked. A meeting with him, your word that I mean him no direct harm, and a possible second meeting in exchange for three favors of an equal value that you don't have the time, ability, or inclination to handle yourself." A document is extended, those terms already written upon it in the same style of hieroglyph Sobek himself uses.

"Are we in agreement?"

[Deathkeeper]

The Aether

If she wanted complexity, she should not have been knocking on a crocodile's door.
Sobek skims the contract and nods.
"Aye, all good on my end." says the croc simply. Well, that's that then.

[Nalix]

[Airstrip Town]

I do need practice. My power isn't the thousandth of what it was before the Splitting. Yet for some reason I didn't "split" but shrunk instead. But this isn't like being under static. Under static I could still shoot lightning out of my hands, or briefly expand my control.

"I've always been a fan of pretending to be one of the panicked crowd when I bring chaos to a place. There are a few things I might be able to do, but I won't be able to affect anyone without touching them. Yet. I might find out a way. An hour ago I didn't think I could fly. Now I'm not so sure. So what did you have in mind?"

What I need is a nimhak suite. Let's see if I can make one without AI assistance. Gara picks up a nearby stone and separates it into its fundamental elements. Interesting, traces of stuff that shouldn't exist. I don't want to bet on it, but I think I really did leave the Suprecium. Rules change, so maybe I can break the old rules... even that one? No, not yet. I want to avoid attention from demis. Even if the rumors about the Abomination are true, I'm in no condition to face it.

The rock forms electrical components that then fuse together. Other stray elements are transmuted to form the one's she needs. Assuming she isn't interrupted, in a matter of minutes she has an unusual electronic device that she splits in two and places above both ears, at which point it vanishes. We'll find out if it works next time.

[Cyber Punk]

[Luna Lab]

"The pleasure is all mine, Evan." The Professor says, shaking hands with Evan.

As Luna gets fully dressed and geared-up, the Professor speaks of her enhancements. "I also made sure a shot to the head wouldn't permanently kill her, as well as implementing a digetic interface only she can see so she'll manage her inventory better. You could change that if you wished, though."

As if on cue, a radial menu appears in front of Luna (meaning Evan can see it), then disappears. "Sweet!"

[Airstrip Town]

Agony smiles, obviously liking what she's hearing from this one's thoughts. She doesn't answer immediately, instead pausing to watch Gara at work. The splitting of the rock into fundamental elements. The creation of the... thing.

"Natural disasters that slowly give way into unnatural disasters. Like I said, a playground. We stir up chaos within our playground and see what happens."

She makes the town start raining hail the size of tennis balls. Just a light shower, calm before the storm. Of course, it doesn't affect Agony and Gara.

"I forgot to mention: AMEN is short for Association for the Malicious, Evil and Nefarious. I wouldn't consider myself evil, but you should check it out." She honestly believes it would be much better if Zefir was gotten rid of, but her Mistress would never allow her 'help' the process along.

[Nalix]

[Airstrip Town]

Local climate manipulation. Not a bad way to set the mood. Now let's see... yes... it's crude, but I can feel their emotions now. It'll take some tweaking, but these nimhak receptors will be a good start. I may not be able to do much directly, but like Agony said, stir up chaos. Slowly.

"Good and evil. Purples like to throw around words like that. I simply take my place in the great cycles, my portion of Power. I played the role of every part of the cycles, but I take the most satisfaction in the end. AMEN sounds like a group I could work with. Nice hail. Now my turn."

Gara let dirt from around her feet, which was about the extent of her reach, rise up to her hands where she worked again, but this time forming organic molecules that formed a pungent smell. Soon flies arrive, despite the hail, and Gara begins to change the flies, and divide them. She is much more experienced working with living things than with machines, aside from AIs. When she is done she releases six flies, each a slightly different color.

Yes, I can feel them. I may not be able to extend my power directly, but soon a swarm of these should be a good start. And they will shelter from the storm, close to where the people also seek shelter.

[Slii Arhem]

The Aether

If she wanted complexity, she should not have been knocking on a crocodile's door.
Sobek skims the contract and nods.
"Aye, all good on my end." says the croc simply. Well, that's that then.

The Aether

"Then I'll see him when it's over. Enjoy the fish." The Meddler disappears as she came.

[Cyber Punk]

[Airstrip Town]

Yes, Agony wants to enslave the world and revel in destructive bliss, but she won't harm those she sees as kin, whether the kin is on her level or higher. Lower, too, but she has megalomaniac tendencies in that aspect.

"Gara..." Agony chooses to use the other's real name. "We are going to be great friends." That statement is followed by a maniacal cackle, then she sighs and folds her arms while Gara does her thing.

There's a look of admiration and a hint of lust as she watches the flies being formed and made. All the while, the hail is raining and pouring on the inhabitants.

[Nalix]

[Airstrip Town]

Rebuilding a part of what was lost, even if it only with flies. Power is what matters most, even more now that it is gone. Toying with a town like this is a good way to try out my powers. I can get eyes and ears through them with these flies. If I seek refuge among them and remain the innocent travelling mechanic that I planned to be, I can gain their trust. Much more so if Agony helps me by attacking them. I can help defend them and gain their trust as Agony terrorizes them. If any among them can contract the Power...

"What do you think, Agony? Does it sound like a plan to you?" Gara asks, assuming Agony can read her thoughts.

[Ashen Lilies]

Henge of Tormented Souls
Fade looks art the mouse as he looks bacck at what happens their.

"I could bring you into this vehicle if you want, that's no problem." Fade says in his soundless voice. "I think this is bad. We need to stop them."

[Henge of Tormented Souls]

"No need for that." Says Jazirian, the mouse glowing softly as it turns into a sparrow. "I got this. You go do your thing."

The sparrow takes wing, intending to fly over the plane so that it can peek inside, then land on the other side of it. He'll even start pecking at the ground, just to make a show of it.

[Cyber Punk]

[Airstrip Town]

"Power is what matters most. Well spoken, my dear! And playing their saviour to gain their trust..." Agony thinks for a while, then claps her hand thrice.

"Sounds like a plan, Discordia! Let's wreck **** up!"

[Nalix]

[Airstrip Town]

Gara runs for the nearest house, her mechanic jumpsuit reappearing and several welts appear on her skin, though any hailstones that may actually reach her stop and slide off to the ground without actually touching her. She bangs on the door until someone lets her in, an older gentleman in this case.

"It's crazy out there," says Gara, shouting over the sound of the hail.
The man doesn't bother speaking over the din, and simply gestures Gara to a seat, while he goes around checking the windows to see if they've shattered or not. An old lady is also sitting in the living room, but says nothing. She looks terrified.

((Feel free to control these characters or any others. We're sharing stuff for the most part here.))

[Earl of Purple]

The Henge of Tormented Souls

The plane contains ten seats in the passenger compartment, though the small cargo hold is closed hiding whatever it contains, if anything. The back row of seats has a young copper-haired female elf lying upon them, wearing a white t-shirt and a pair of tight jeans. Her hands are handcuffed behind her back, and another pair of handcuffs bind her ankles together, just above her bare feet. Duct tape has been used as a gag, and she looks very scared indeed. A seventh cultist sits nearby, a slender human appearing slightly older than the elf, wearing a hooded top emblazoned with a gold-coloured skull and a pair of thick trousers. Propped up next to him are a steel crutch painted black and a slender electrified cattle-goad. He's leafing through a book written on vellum and bound in leather- all made from human skin, and written in the jagged, painful glyphs of Abyssal, with ink made from blood.

[Cyber Punk]

[Airstrip Town]
Weather: Steadily heavy hail.

((Okay! Now all that's needed is for Earl to join in (with Nephrim, maybe, as an AMEN represnative, or something)...))

Agony flies a few feet backwards, and sits on a tree close enough that Gara could find her if need be, and far enough that she could play with her 'toys' in peace.

More for dramatic flair than for any actual usefulness, she waves her hands up in the air, giggling a bit here and there as she twists the entire weather of that specific area to suit her nefarious purposes. She'll let "Discordia" handle the psychological part, 'helping her along' as she sees fit.
-
A neighbor can be heard screaming outside the house as he runs over to his own front door, screaming that the hails seem to be hitting with more force. In addition, a faint smell of blood from the hail is starting to spread around.

[Zefir]

[Henge of Tormented Souls]

"No need for that." Says Jazirian, the mouse glowing softly as it turns into a sparrow. "I got this. You go do your thing."

The sparrow takes wing, intending to fly over the plane so that it can peek inside, then land on the other side of it. He'll even start pecking at the ground, just to make a show of it.

The Henge of Tormented Souls

The plane contains ten seats in the passenger compartment, though the small cargo hold is closed hiding whatever it contains, if anything. The back row of seats has a young copper-haired female elf lying upon them, wearing a white t-shirt and a pair of tight jeans. Her hands are handcuffed behind her back, and another pair of handcuffs bind her ankles together, just above her bare feet. Duct tape has been used as a gag, and she looks very scared indeed. A seventh cultist sits nearby, a slender human appearing slightly older than the elf, wearing a hooded top emblazoned with a gold-coloured skull and a pair of thick trousers. Propped up next to him are a steel crutch painted black and a slender electrified cattle-goad. He's leafing through a book written on vellum and bound in leather- all made from human skin, and written in the jagged, painful glyphs of Abyssal, with ink made from blood.

The Henge of Tormented Souls

Distraction is what hewants so be it. As Jazirian turns into a sparrow, Fade steps into his shadow. He slides of to the tent, making a slight bow so they won't see him. When he is there he wastes no time and tries to pull out the anchoring from out of his shadow, just appearing with his upper body. he is strong, but if they proove to be to stuck he will use his sword and cut the ropes. A collapsing tens should be enougth distraction and also shouls offer him a place to hide while in his shadow.

[UncleWolf]

3:10 to Nowhere

Spako nods and conjures a few lights of his own as Livret departs.
With a somewhat bashful smile, he helps the child up, glad that he doesn't have to try to reassure her, and that she hasn't yet started crying. Truth be told, he's not sure what he would do. He progressed slowly, making sure that if Livret doesn't come out he can leap back in easily.

Gilded Caravan Building

The doors slide open to allow access to Caravan's newest recruit. He's a small lad, very short actually, with moderately pointed ears. He's a bit overweight, but he's chosen a clean white shirt, a blue tie, and khaki pants, which at least makes him clean up nice, even if he's wearing incredibly uncomfortable dress shoes.
Hugh Reeds, half-halfling. Inside High graduate, holder of a Nexus U two-year degree in business. Worked in retail for the last four years, but finally ready for a real job.

Now granted, he is fairly sure he'll be a glorified intern, given that his position wasn't stated just yet, and he was signed on with just a simple phone interview (he doesn't know who the lady was but she seemed professional and nice). They must have stuff open, he supposes.

Either way, up to the front desk.
"Uh, Hugh Reeds, here for my first day?" he asks.

3:10 to Nowhere

Once John is inside the half-orc starts climbing into the window as well, silently cursing as she has to squeeze through the blasted thing again. The fact that the darkness had spread inside the train was worrying but since John had managed to get inside safely then so could she.
What really bothered her was the fact that it didn't seem like she could do anything about this blasted darkness or the drowsiness. If there was only some way to make it go away, or at least to punch it.

Once she managed to get inside she stares at the approaching darkness menacingly as it approaches the edges of John's lights, this just wasn't natural. Darkness wasn't supposed to be this dark. "Maybe we should find the other passengers. Safety in numbers and all." She suggests while looking for a way to get to the other wagons from here.

[3:10 to Nowhere]

Spako might want to wait on counting his blessings. As he hoists the little goblin girl to the edge, and she hauls herself over on pudgy fingers and knees, almost immediately there is wailing. A long and terrified scream comes back over the top, that has the grandmother elbowing past Spako to scramble up the upturned car. Beyond, where the rear of the segment has been crushed down into the earth, and broken threads of silver cling to the jagged twists of metal, the darkness is uncoiling.

There are human shapes in the wreckage, sprawled out at crooked angles, and over their bodies the thing comes crawling. Oily black segments of armor gleam dull in Spako's lights, more and more pouring through the windows on a thousand scuttling legs. Pincers click. Its head rears up, and turns through the air, to settle upon the goblin girl sitting petrified before it. Her crying stops, and the thing drops its head to come rushing towards her.

--Elsewhere--

The darkness breaks into countless meandering forms as John's light fills the room, flaring brighter and more alive in here, away from the sucking void of darkness. They seem to lose their way in the brilliance, war lines that rippled like static breaking into fuzzy little blobs crawling over the walls. A few stragglers still try to climb their legs, to crawl into the seam of a shoe or the forest of John's fur, or fall from the ceiling and upon their backs, but they do not bite. They only humm, in that horrible way of their's.

Safe, for now?

3:10 to Nowhere

John takes a moment to try and brush off any of the stragglers and he gives a shiver at the sight. It's likely that he can't get them all, but he'll use his empty hand to continually brush at any he feels falling or crawling on him. "Right. Let's go." He says, trying to sound brave but looking more than a little apprehensive over this entire ordeal. Unless it is otherwise blocked he'll try to make his way to the next car, looking for any other survivors of the crash.

[Nalix]

[Airstrip Town]

Gara looks out the window and sees someone stagger under the force of the hail. She grabs a folding chair and holds it over her for protection as she rushes out the door and makes of show of aiding the struggling youth, the girl looked about eleven though was already taller than Gara.

After dumping her on the sofa in the house she rushed out again. Nothing I haven't done a hundred times before. Save some folks, gain their trust. Ask them for little favors, wait for an even bigger threat to show up, find the natural leaders and heroes among them...

She rushed out again, following the screams and shouting, making a show of her quickly battered folding chair (that was somehow "miraculously" holding together) shielding her against the hail. One by one she helped people inside, saved a couple animals, and one child's toy. Trees were torn to shreds around them, vehicles were battered and windows shattered.

...give them my own desperate cause to excuse my behavior, no one trusts a saint, and then help them against the escalating threat, real or imagined. And from there it's all starfish, dice, and martyrs.

[Deathkeeper]

Dreaming Fox Inn

The thoughts of many dreamers are scattered. Scuttling around the flying balloons and falling teeth are a few kids who forgot to study for tests. A few puppies and a talking lemur, and somewhere in the middle is Mist, lounging on a beach beside a forest, with an empty glass tankard the size of a bush and voices flitting in and out. Leah's, Cleo's, and others.

[Recaiden]

Dreaming Fox Inn

Cleo carefully shifts a puppy out of the way, and pauses, lying atop a grand balloon, to listen for a moment. What might their voices be saying here in a dream? Nonsense, most likely, especially at this level. But maybe a few scattered grains of insight can be harvested.

Especially that lemur.

There's less hurry here, less to do on arrival, so she's less eager to find the doors deeper.