Skyside 4

[Recaiden]

Peering out from Alni's basket, the bird Pazuzu chirps nervously.
The human lying on the ground, the gnoll, the crowd. Bad sign. This is an omen of the Revolution, when pets rise against their owners, slaves against their masters, vehicles against their pilots. Even the survivors would be forever changed. Some would think it just another example of intra-gang assertion of authority by violence. But the racial element matters. The onlookers matter. Nothing is a coincidence.
There's a flash of purple from the creature's eyes as he looks down the strands towards the future to divine the snake cult's likely arrival and composition. Even the general outcome of the raid is cloudy, but some things are near certain even from an hour's distance.

Alni paces, getting no closer to the Manor than the injured man. The gnoll may have earned Leadership Points there, but infighting already is probably a waste of resources. There was only one chance to sucker-punch an overeager applicant, and someone else has taken it. Instead, she looks at the doors, windows, walls, assessing the strengths of the building. Her crystal feeds her streams of numbers and trivia (Which she mostly ignores): when were the materials of the building cut and quarried, how long the manor has stood, the frequency with which people have moved within its walls...everything leaves traces everywhere, those little things anyone could deduce but hardly anyone does, and sometimes one of them is useful.

"We should have a plan beyond just charging in. You're one of the better fighters here, right?" This is addressed to the victorious gnoll, but Alni doesn't turn to face her.

[Celticbear]

Ruged Warehouse

Wait... we have the means to get the word out. Let this creature reproduce and infect more and more. Then when everyone starts to realize that this turned into a threat, we lead the resistance against the creatures, win, and then every one of the survivors will hail us as heroes! wonders Jonas aloud.
We get fame, fortune, and an army at our beck and call. Well another army other than the ones we already have, but still!

[Shadowcaller]

[Outside Stormcloud Manor]

The gnoll glances in Alni's direction. At first it appears that it immediately wants to ignore her in favor of the other mercenaries, but then something appears to catch her eyes and she glances down at the elf. "You magic, pupling?" Then, without waiting for her to reply, adding, "What magic can you do?" Sounds more like a demand than a question.

Regarding their visions, Pazuzu gets flashes of plainly men and women walking towards the mansion. They're mainly elven and orcs, an odd combination, yet here they appear walking side by side. Some of them seem armed, carrying concealed guns and other weapons. There is about twenty of them, and they are being greeted by people inside the mansion. it is hard to tell their numbers though.

Alni can see that the manor have stood there for a long time, yet have been abandoned for many years, until just recently when the cult moved in. Now the interior have been altered drastically, the windows have been repair and reinforced, the floor dug up and passages created underneath the manor the gods knows where considering that the city was flying. There was a hole in the roof though, leading down into the attic, that one the new owners hadn't repaired yet, but getting up to the roof would be difficult.

[Weapon factory]

"Yes, we cannot wait for new members." She pulls her fingers together into a fist. "Only more action will attract more new members, Zefir. You can't stop now, you just need to keep trying and eventually they won't be able to ignore you."

[Zefir]

Ruged Warehouse

Arkant looks at Jonas obviously annoyed.
"Are you seriouse?" he asks. "I haven't yet verified that they reproduce this way. Fauthermore, you said so yourself, the maggots show of some intelligence by playing dead. You would need to controll the whole species which we know near nothing up to now. Also the things that attacked you were kids." he then goes around packing his stuff.
"I don't fear those things or even death, but without more informations we can't assume sucess."

[Weapon factory]

"I know about that." he sights. Somethign he has done thoughts. What could he do that attracts people. Sure the software that finances AMEN is online, but that must be kept a secret.
"I will need some time to heal up thought. And I need to talk to Sargaron. You can either stay here or come with me to the main base."

[Celticbear]

Rugged Warehouse

I know that plan needs more study, but I haven't heard any others so far. Just a suggestion. says Jonas.

[Recaiden]

Pazuzu croons this information out to anyone who can understand it: 'nyaaa, nyaayaa' and mentally confirms the details with his trainer.
Twenty-two people minimum. Elves and orcs: the two sides of humanoid life. Eternal enemies of each other even as the humanoid and the serpent are at odds. Of course they cooperate here. It's no coincidence.

Alni nods.
She points at the injured human mercenary, and a faint indigo glow surrounds her hand. The poor woman should find herself lifted a few feet into the air and then get thrown off through the air over the elf girl's shoulder. Don't worry, she won't hit the ground too hard.
"Mental and motion magic." But it's hard to demonstrate stuff that's only inside the victim's head, so even though picking up an adult human is at the limit of her telekinesis, that's what she shows off with. "When the time comes, us two should go after the cult leader. There's a way in through the roof, where they haven't reinforced yet."

[Shadowcaller]

[Outside Stormcloud Manor]

No one of the gathered mercenaries, who are starting to get odd looks from passerbyers who quickly hurry away once they spot the large gathering. It was either a gang of thieves, or something was about to go down considering all the weapons they were carrying. Either way, nothing no sane person wanted to be around.

This becomes especially apparent when Alni telepathically lifts the poor woman of the streets and out of the hands of another human attempting to help her. She let's out a panicked scream for help, yet no one dares to lift a finger as she is thrown over the elf's shoulder.
If they hadn't look weirdly at Alni before, the mercenaries do so now. It is a mix of fear and respect, just what else could that little girl do? She was one of those creepy girls they saw in bad horror movies, the ones that had teleknetic powers that could read your mind and make your brain explode. Scary.

The gnoll just grins though. "Roof? Good. Some should sneak in there and take out leader while they distracted." She muses. "Maybe us." Turning to look over the rest of the group who all have their hands close to their weapons right now, just in case weird stuff started to happen. "So plan is, we find good ambush spot, we shoot at them from there, then while they distracted, some sneak around, go into roof, shot everyone in building, then we take the rest out. Good? Good."

Yet again, no one seems inclined to disagree with her, least of all the poor human mercenary who is slowly getting up on her feet, getting helped up by her male companion from before.

[Weapon factory]

Tellysandra nods. "I suppose I could come along, if you need to talk to the demon though, I can set you up. He will want to know what it's about though."

[ThePhantom]

[Weapon factory]

El Cuervo speaks up, having spend this time slowly regaining feathers for its wings. It nodded when Tellysandra signed the form to join AMEN.

The rooms are...very nice. Crafted...to fit your...desires.

[Zefir]

Rugged Warehouse

I know that plan needs more study, but I haven't heard any others so far. Just a suggestion. says Jonas.

Rugged Warehouse

Arkant looks skeptic at Jonas. For him there was no question about causing a pluage. If he wanted that, he got enougth better samples. This thing is currently to risky.

"As I said, I won't go for that plan until I got controll and if you plan to do this,please avoid getting my people into this." Arkant says. "It was hard work to get this far."

[Weapon factory]

Tellysandra nods. "I suppose I could come along, if you need to talk to the demon though, I can set you up. He will want to know what it's about though."

[Weapon factory]

El Cuervo speaks up, having spend this time slowly regaining feathers for its wings. It nodded when Tellysandra signed the form to join AMEN.

The rooms are...very nice. Crafted...to fit your...desires.

[Weapon factory]

"A military council." Zefir replies. "The henchman should be ready to move and We should plan things through."

He just nods to El Cuervo.

[Celticbear]

Rugged Warehouse

Honestly all I wanted from this exchange was this, says Jonas as he holds up a vile of black blood.

As I said before I am a genetic engineer. If I can implant this into someone's system, think about the solutions! I injected those things with three of some of the deadliest viruses in the multiverse and it didn't even catch a sniffle! Their cell composition is so more advanced than our own that they are practically immune to disease. Do you even realize how much money a person could make by selling a universal cure?

[Zefir]

Rugged Warehouse

"Well, that is a nice point to see things, but you forget that those things acted strange. Assume every person you inject it to become like the kids. How much would it be worth if you loose your mind?" Arkant asks.
"I haven't seen any 'cure' that don't got a side effekt. I myself got such an experiment running with vital side effects., but that's not something we need to discuss now right?"

[Celticbear]

Rugged Warehouse

Of course, we are speaking of solutions, no? So speak. Jonas offers.

((I got nothing more to add. At this point Jonas is waiting to hear Arkant's solution.))

[Zefir]

Rugged Warehouse

"I changed his body to make it absorb it. This way he can get any illness without a problem. Some even make him stronger depending on the poison or else." Arkant says. "Sadly this resulted in him depending on this. Normal air is now like poison for him."

Arkant's Labs

While Arkant is talking with Jonas the dead maggots have been delivered here and Arkants Assistance started working. They beginn by extracting the black blood and inject it into small animals like mice.

[Earl of Purple]

Arkant's Lab

What happens to the mice depends on the dosage they are given. If the dosage is very small (a needle dipped in the goo, then pointed into the mice), the mice begin acting... Erratically. Most start to climb the bars of the cage, trying to reach the top, where they will act through their usual daily routine, climbing back up when they fall. Others, if kept communally, will start attacking and biting the others; if kept alone, these mice will start to eat their tails. The remainder are either nearly catatonic and unresponsive to stimuli, or they are running in circles or around the edges of the cage, and won't stop until they die.

If the dosage is a medium dose, the behaviour alters as before, but it's accompanied by (occasionally fatal) physical alteration. Most develop cancer or other tumours; often, they'll have several different types of tumour riddling their body, including at least one teratoma- a tumour consisting of the wrong tissue for that area (teeth forming in the lungs, or hair growing in the throat, for example). Others have teeth poking from their skin, and not always mouse teeth, either. Many lose fur, either completely or partially, often as a side-effect of other alterations. A few go blind, their eyeballs filling with blood and, in extreme cases, exploding.

If the dosage is large, the mice die within an hour, though they don't have the cancers afflicting the medium dosed mice. Instead, they have teeth growing from the inside of their skulls, or their heart has doubled in size and crushed the lungs, or their spine has twisted and broken, or they've choked on a thick layer of fur growing inside their lungs. Most show at least two of these, or something similarly unusual and catastrophic. One mouse has lost both eyes, its eye sockets are unusually ridged, and an eye has formed in its tongue, but it's still dead.

[Recaiden]

No one of the gathered mercenaries, who are starting to get odd looks from passerbyers who quickly hurry away once they spot the large gathering. It was either a gang of thieves, or something was about to go down considering all the weapons they were carrying. Either way, nothing no sane person wanted to be around.

This becomes especially apparent when Alni telepathically lifts the poor woman of the streets and out of the hands of another human attempting to help her. She let's out a panicked scream for help, yet no one dares to lift a finger as she is thrown over the elf's shoulder.
If they hadn't look weirdly at Alni before, the mercenaries do so now. It is a mix of fear and respect, just what else could that little girl do? She was one of those creepy girls they saw in bad horror movies, the ones that had teleknetic powers that could read your mind and make your brain explode. Scary.

The gnoll just grins though. "Roof? Good. Some should sneak in there and take out leader while they distracted." She muses. "Maybe us." Turning to look over the rest of the group who all have their hands close to their weapons right now, just in case weird stuff started to happen. "So plan is, we find good ambush spot, we shoot at them from there, then while they distracted, some sneak around, go into roof, shot everyone in building, then we take the rest out. Good? Good."

Yet again, no one seems inclined to disagree with her, least of all the poor human mercenary who is slowly getting up on her feet, getting helped up by her male companion from before.

Alni smiles sweetly at the mercenaries. Look how cute and innocent she is! No way she'd make their heads explode.
"Good. That's a plan. Maybe you lead the ambush, I lead the sneaking in."
She looks over the nervous rest of the group.
"What do you say? Anyone think they're good to sneak in by the roof? If not, there'll be about twenty cultists arriving, if we can get most of them before they make it inside."

[Shadowcaller]

[Outside Stormcloud Manor]

"Yes. That work." The gnoll agrees, and then turns to look at the group who now vocally declare themselves wanting to be a part of the outside group.

"I'll go with the little elf." A male goblin, clad in a leather jacket and sunglasses declares. He is carrying a keyboard for whatever reason, with cords ending up somewhere on the inside of the jacket.
The gnoll stares a moment at the goblin a moment, and then nods. The next moment it points at the nervous looking human woman in blue uniform right next to the goblin. "You too." The gnoll declares before looking back at Alni. "You need more?"

[Weapon factory]

Tellysandra gives El Cuervo a quick look. "I shall be the judge of that. You must understand, my family is, was, very rich, so I'm used to a lavish lifestyle." She proclaims before turning back to Zefir.
"If you wish, Sargon has little patience for talking though, so be sure to not waste his time."

[Recaiden]

Alni shakes her head.
"This, three, is enough."

She strolls a little way off to the side, waving for the two to follow her.
"Thanks. What are you two good for?" Do you mean 'good at', Alni? No?
She points out the part of the roof they'll be going in through. Hopefully they can spot why.

[Celticbear]

Rugged Warehouse

If we really wanted to end this problem for good, little lives lost, I may have a solution. If we found a way to pierce their immune system, which at this point seems unlikely, their makeup is so unique that a disease we create for this purpose might only be fatal to them. A selective bacteria bread for the singular purpose of annihilating these "killdren". Just another thought. adds Jonas.

Of course there is always the option of packing up and leaving. If this problem gets too out of hand, we both have the capacity to leave skyside. We can even hunker down on my base. Its got seventies music, the best genetics research facility I know of, and as a bonus really big guns. I cannot stress that enough, like REALLY big guns.

[Shadowcaller]

[Outside Stormcloud Manor]

"Good, than go and do job." The gnoll declares before turning to her group.
The goblin moves right after Alni, while the human has to get a second stare from the gnoll before she hurries after the other two.

"Good for? I got the highest tech in the business kid. Not the mass-produced crap you see little gobokids running around with. This is experimental black market stuff. Only the ethereals use this, and me of course." He brags.

The human just sigh, and says nothing. Maybe she missed the question? She is looking at the roof though...

[Recaiden]

Alni considers for a moment, then nods.
"Cool. But what do you expect it to do in a fight?"

Hmm. The human is insubordinate. Possibly because she's actually some good. Probably not.

[Zefir]

Spoiler

Show

[Outside Stormcloud Manor]

"Yes. That work." The gnoll agrees, and then turns to look at the group who now vocally declare themselves wanting to be a part of the outside group.

"I'll go with the little elf." A male goblin, clad in a leather jacket and sunglasses declares. He is carrying a keyboard for whatever reason, with cords ending up somewhere on the inside of the jacket.
The gnoll stares a moment at the goblin a moment, and then nods. The next moment it points at the nervous looking human woman in blue uniform right next to the goblin. "You too." The gnoll declares before looking back at Alni. "You need more?"

[Weapon factory]

Tellysandra gives El Cuervo a quick look. "I shall be the judge of that. You must understand, my family is, was, very rich, so I'm used to a lavish lifestyle." She proclaims before turning back to Zefir.
"If you wish, Sargon has little patience for talking though, so be sure to not waste his time."

[Weapon factory]

"That is okay." Zefir replies.((I guess that this could get handwaved like we discussed .))

Spoiler

Show

Arkant's Lab

What happens to the mice depends on the dosage they are given. If the dosage is very small (a needle dipped in the goo, then pointed into the mice), the mice begin acting... Erratically. Most start to climb the bars of the cage, trying to reach the top, where they will act through their usual daily routine, climbing back up when they fall. Others, if kept communally, will start attacking and biting the others; if kept alone, these mice will start to eat their tails. The remainder are either nearly catatonic and unresponsive to stimuli, or they are running in circles or around the edges of the cage, and won't stop until they die.

If the dosage is a medium dose, the behaviour alters as before, but it's accompanied by (occasionally fatal) physical alteration. Most develop cancer or other tumours; often, they'll have several different types of tumour riddling their body, including at least one teratoma- a tumour consisting of the wrong tissue for that area (teeth forming in the lungs, or hair growing in the throat, for example). Others have teeth poking from their skin, and not always mouse teeth, either. Many lose fur, either completely or partially, often as a side-effect of other alterations. A few go blind, their eyeballs filling with blood and, in extreme cases, exploding.

If the dosage is large, the mice die within an hour, though they don't have the cancers afflicting the medium dosed mice. Instead, they have teeth growing from the inside of their skulls, or their heart has doubled in size and crushed the lungs, or their spine has twisted and broken, or they've choked on a thick layer of fur growing inside their lungs. Most show at least two of these, or something similarly unusual and catastrophic. One mouse has lost both eyes, its eye sockets are unusually ridged, and an eye has formed in its tongue, but it's still dead.

Arkant's Lab

They will indeed do all three cases with the mice alone as well as in groups. To gather the informations they will dissect the dead bodys while first taking care of their own saftly.
The results are, alarming. The mutations appear to not work with the mice. The reports will be send to Arkant as soon as possible. The next test will be hold with bigger animals like cats and dogs. The safty measures will be riesed and some special guards appear. Two and a half meter high people with skin made of rock assist. They aren#t really smart, but strong.
Test will continue as befor. increasing the dossis simular to previouse tests.

Spoiler

Show

Rugged Warehouse

If we really wanted to end this problem for good, little lives lost, I may have a solution. If we found a way to pierce their immune system, which at this point seems unlikely, their makeup is so unique that a disease we create for this purpose might only be fatal to them. A selective bacteria bread for the singular purpose of annihilating these "killdren". Just another thought. adds Jonas.

Of course there is always the option of packing up and leaving. If this problem gets too out of hand, we both have the capacity to leave skyside. We can even hunker down on my base. Its got seventies music, the best genetics research facility I know of, and as a bonus really big guns. I cannot stress that enough, like REALLY big guns.

Rugged Warehouse

"Well, I like this idea more. I have done some work here and it would be a waste to just drop this." Arkant replies.
"Your offer is kind for such a short time we know each other, but it doesn't really catch my interest. Seventies music, I don't know what this is. I can't says what your facility could make better aand guns are worth nothign in the Nexus with people that can blow the whole nexus up with a single finger. If you want you can start searching fir an antivirus. it sure would be helpfull."

[Shadowcaller]

[[Outside Stormcloud Manor]]

"A better question would be what I can't do. With this baby, I can make shields, platforms, walls... you name it. Not only that, I can move them around too. Not to mention all the other utilities this thing have. Dunno if those cultists have anything electronic, but if they do, I can access it with this." He pats his keyboard. "It is the ****. With more upgrades, it can do even more."

The human woman remains quiet, she does seem suitably armed for this kind of mission, with holsters for various weapons and even what appears to be a curved sword by her side, yet she still seem nervous. Inexperienced perhaps?

[Recaiden]

Alni nods, legitimately respectful of the high-tech. "Oh, that's actually pretty nice." After all, technology is what let the lesser races like humans and akarthi rise up against the elves despite their pathetic lack of magical skill. Did you already check if there's anything you can get to over the air? Security cameras or electric locks?"

She taps the human on the shoulder. But with her mind.
"Hey, girl. We need to know how you're gonna fight."

[Celticbear]

Rugged Warehouse

I'm going to need some place that is bigger than this if we're considering the virus option. says Jonas as he gestures around himself at the decrepit floorboards and the moldy ceiling.

[Earl of Purple]

Arkant's Lab

With cats and dogs the results are similar. It really doesn't take much of the monster's blood to have adverse effects; even a smear on a needle injected just right. The main differences is that, as their bodies are bigger, the resulting teratomas and tumours are larger. There are some exceptions; one of the cats on the middle dosage develops the ability to determine its 'down' and so walk on walls and ceilings, like the 'killdren' do. It also loses all its fur, and grows teeth down its throat and esophagus. They don't stop it breathing, but are mightily uncomfortable and prevent it from swallowing properly.

One of the dogs given a large dosage also avoids death; the biggest dog, in fact. Its tongue falls out, and its eyes burst; teeth grow from its eye sockets and its lips fuse together, starting at the edges. Its eyeless sockets bulge and swell, tubes of flesh extending and hanging flaccidly from its face, twitching disturbingly every few seconds. Blood dribbles from its mouth, where the lips aren't sealed, as teeth are forced into the gums of the jaw above to make the mouth smaller, and eyes peer out of the blood-stained depths. The dog won't die from the blood contaminating its flesh, but right now? It can't feed, and will starve without surgery to alter the most radical mutations.

[Shadowcaller]

[Outside Stormcloud Manor]

The goblin shakes his head. "Nothing I can pick up. The place has been empty for years though, so I guess those cultists never bothered introduce it to today's technology. Probably busy rambling nonsense. You can find those wackos all over the city these days."

The human immediately turns as her shoulder is being tapped on by Alni. "W-what does it look like? I can handle myself." She claims, moving away from Alni as if her very touch was deadly. "Just let me do my thing, I won't disappoint." She promises.

[Recaiden]

"You look afraid." Alni answers cheerily.
But she does deserve a chance.

Now, let's wait for the cult to arrive.

[Celticbear]

Rugged Warehouse


If these creature's blood runs off carbon instead of iron, then we need some sort of illness that starts off by disrupting carbon, then reprogram it to go after the stuff in the blood stream. That, or we do an inquisition style thing and just proclaim it's Killdren hunting season. offers Jonas.

[Shadowcaller]

[Outside Stormcloud Manor]

She frowns, but says nothing, hoping to end the conversation, which she apparently just did.

The goblin continues to fill the silence by quietly talking about himself. His name is Nimix and he is from the outer isles of Ithki-Ithki and have come to skyside in search of fame and fortune. He goes on about how the system is stacked against people where he's from and only here in skyside can you actually keep what you earn without having to pay back everything in taxes.

The human only reveals her name after being asked, Therese, and that's everything she wants to reveal about herself apparently.

But as Nimix is attempting to get some more information out of Therese, they can see a large group of people coming around the corner and move towards the manor. Elves and orcs, just as Pazuzu had predicted. They're talking among one another while casually strolling towards the building.
The other mercenaries have been busy setting up positions, while they can't exactly enter buildings without causing their occupants to raise a fuzz, and potentially give up the ambush, they are masquerading as civilians just happening to be standing by. The majority are hiding behind buildings though, just waiting for the signal.

[Recaiden]

Alni is willing to leave the taciturn human in peace. And happy enough to chatter with Nimix: Has she introduced herself? No, not yet? Sorry. Ta'alni, from Anat'athar in the great northern desert. She was kidnapped and brought here the very day that rebels overthrew the king and society collapsed, so in a way, that was lucky. Eventually she escaped along with her pokemon buddy and they've been making their way together. Compared to the strict laws of her old home, anything is possible here! Assuming you're good enough. She complains how people don't take them seriously on account of her youth. People ought to be judged by what they do, not how long they have to grow!

"They're here."
She holds up a hand, fingers counting down until the cultists will be close enough and they should go for the rooftop entrance.
Three...two...one...