Skyside 4

[Zefir]

[Arkant's Factory]

"We do need your help, mister Arkant," Wenomir says. "We have a plan for our new base. But it involves moving a flying island from the Hunting Grounds. It'll need a lot of power, if it's even possible."

[Tempest Row]

"We're open to collective bargaining from whole communities," Dipsnig says. "As well as non-monetary forms of compensation. We'll do our best to negotiate an individually-tailored price with anyone who comes to seek our services."

[Arkant's Factory]

"Oh, a flying base. That's aneat idea and not very cheap." Arkant says.
"I hope this island of yours flys by some kind of effect, since it would be very expensive to keep engines running just to let it fly."
Then Arkant looks away, rubbing his chin. He will be silent for a bit befor he speaks up.
"We use some shuttle to transport our products to the ground." he finally says. "I could give you a few, they should at least be able to pull the island out of the hunting grounds."

[Tempest Row]

"So we need to sell our bodies to you?" another one shouts. A few other people nod, but they are obviously outnumbered.

[Morty]

[Tempest Row]

"What do we do with those slavers Bo were investigating?" Dena asks Dipsnig. "I could check them out if you want me to."

Dipsnig considers this.

"It could be a good idea. They won't be happy to see us here, so we need to be one step ahead."

[Arkant's Factory]

"Oh, a flying base. That's aneat idea and not very cheap." Arkant says.
"I hope this island of yours flys by some kind of effect, since it would be very expensive to keep engines running just to let it fly."
Then Arkant looks away, rubbing his chin. He will be silent for a bit befor he speaks up.
"We use some shuttle to transport our products to the ground." he finally says. "I could give you a few, they should at least be able to pull the island out of the hunting grounds."

"We hope the island will fly by itself once it's out of the Grounds, yes," Wenomir says. "We'll be researching that. What we need from you is enough power to get it out of there. We'll take care of the rest."

[Tempest Row]

"So we need to sell our bodies to you?" another one shouts. A few other people nod, but they are obviously outnumbered.

"That's a gross, unfair assumption made in bad faith," Dipsnig says dismissively. "I will respond to questions and concerns, but not baseless accusations."

[Zefir]

[Tempest Row]

"What else can we offer? Without money we only got our manpower and bodys." the first one shouts.

[Arkant's Factory]

"I see." he says. "One moving the shuttles shoud have enougth power. After all they carry heavy loads for us. I can have some ready . When would you need them?"

[Morty]

[Tempest Row]

"There's always the option of working for us," Dipsnig says. "Our operations will require a fair deal of workers."

[Arkant's Factory]

"We'll contact you when we need it," Wenomir says. "Like I said, we need to examine the island and make other preparations first. Today I just wanted to know if you can do it."

[Zefir]

[Tempest Row]

The crowed remains quiet for now and Arkant leaves. For now he got what he wanted.

[Arkant's Factory]

"Sure." Arkant says.
"Oh and here." he takes a paper from the table. "A recent event about the slavers. Their last victims."

[Shadowcaller]

Fluffy Room

Sam thinks Jinn might not be lying, but his readiness to do things like make copies of people and doom his poor original self to remain a cripple doesn't lend itself to seeming very empathetic.
"I want enough for a small home, furnishings for it, and enough for a nice phone and food for a few weeks while I look for a job. Unless you have an apartment you can give me. I can't go back to squatting in buildings.
Oh and uh, give me a printout of whatever you put in me. I should probably know the capabilities."

Dipsnig considers this.

"It could be a good idea. They won't be happy to see us here, so we need to be one step ahead."

Fluffy Room

"I see. Let me do a calculation how much that would cost and send it somewhere. Would your current home be a good place? It might be a bit much to carry." Jinn remarks as a small computer pad materializes in their hand. "This should contain all the information you need about yourself though. It will also be useful looking up other information, communication... among many other useful functions."

[Deathkeeper]

Fluffy Room

Sam shakes his head, but greedily takes the little tablet. It's more or less normal phone size for him.
"Just send it to the banking clan under my name. It's probably the only place you can send anything without fear of it being stolen." he says. There are some reputable banks in Skyside. After all, where are gangsters going to store their money if there is no neutral ground?

[Shadowcaller]

Dipsnig considers this.

"It could be a good idea. They won't be happy to see us here, so we need to be one step ahead."

Fluffy Room

Sam shakes his head, but greedily takes the little tablet. It's more or less normal phone size for him.
"Just send it to the banking clan under my name. It's probably the only place you can send anything without fear of it being stolen." he says. There are some reputable banks in Skyside. After all, where are gangsters going to store their money if there is no neutral ground?

Fluffy Room

"Banking clan? A clan of goblins? I friend of mine deals with goblins in this city." Jinn asks as they suddenly look up from their computer.

[Tempest Row - Dena]

"I'll look into it then. But I likely have to get to know this city a bit better first. Don't really like it up here." Too much slaves and slavers.

[Deathkeeper]

Fluffy Room

"I don't really know who runs it, but it's one of the biggest banks I know of. Look up a map of the city, you'll know it." Sam insists, getting a bit irritable.

[Morty]

[Tempest Row - Dena]

"Neither do I, but we do what we gotta do," Dipsnig says. "It's not so bad, as long as I stay away from the edges and high buildings."

[Shadowcaller]

Fluffy Room

"Very well. It shall be done, along with your clothes." Jinn pauses. "Anything else you desire before I let you out of here?"

[Tempest Row - Dena]

"I wasn't talking about the heights, boss. It feels like someone should burn this city down and then rebuild it since it probably is the only way to get rid of all the slavers in it." A tempting idea right about now.

[Deathkeeper]

Fluffy Room

"No, I'll handle the rest, Jinn. Thanks." Sam says, waving a hand dismissively. He just wants out of here.

[Morty]

[Tempest Row - Dena]

"I wasn't talking about the heights, boss. It feels like someone should burn this city down and then rebuild it since it probably is the only way to get rid of all the slavers in it." A tempting idea right about now.

"I know what you meant, yes. Burning this place and staring from scratch isn't an option, but hopefully our activities here will prove to be at least something of a thorn in their backsides," Dipsnig says. "Providing affordable security to the downtrodden masses of this cesspit could be our niche. It's worth considering, at least."

[Shadowcaller]

[Tempest Row - Dena]

"Yes, I'm sure it's the downtrodden masses that will be able to afford our security." Dena remarks with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "I doubt standing around waiting for people to hire us is going to work out. We gotta hit the competition hard, only after that are people going to consider us since that's how places like this work."

Fluffy Room==>Skyside

"Very well. Prepare to be transported then." Jinn replies and Sam will suddenly be teleported back to the location he came from.

[ThirdEmperor]

[Dining and Dashing]

Sam, Alexia, and all the pursuing hordes come tumbling out the doors of the Olympia, pursued by swirling snowflakes and burning threads of unraveling spellfire. The things burst into existence as they cross the doorway, all rusted red fur and dozens of limbs, sinuous bodies, human faces. Long fangs and dark-stained lips, club-ended tails bristling with spines. They break from the door in a practiced maneuver, two blurs of red darting to either side and coming in again to catch Sam between them - aiming low, snapping for his legs.
The third comes a second late, chasing at Alexia's heels. It tries to leap onto her back, claws digging in for a terrible moment, and then fling itself onwards and over, to leave her in the snow piling up on the roadside.

[Morty]

[Tempest Row - Dena]

"Give me a break, Dena. I'm just trying to consider all the angles. We need to hit the competition fast before they hit us, yes. But it won't hurt if we figure out something we can offer that no one else has, will it?" Dipsnig asks rhetorically. "But either way, let's not give the slavers the time to prepare a welcome for us."

[Shadowcaller]

[Tempest Row - Dena]

"So what is our first move then? We already got some information about the slavers whereabouts." Dena asks.

[Morty]

[Tempest Row - Dena]

"I was thinking some sabotage," Dipsnig says. "Go through our information and see which resources they could use against us. Then deprive them of those resources. Preferably by blowing them up. And then..." Dipsnig taps his tusk. "Then we ought to do something that'll leave everyone no choice but to respond. Not just the slavers. Like declaring an entire district to be under our protection, and no one else's. Either way, we can't give them time to prepare for us."

[Shadowcaller]

[Tempest Row - Dena]

"Sabotage? We don't even know what to sabotage yet, boss. I suggest we start by establishing a base around here somewhere and then just start taking things over. Probably pay a visit to whatever counts as 'government' around here too. Maybe we can stage some kind of slave revolution and make profit from it? Whatever we'd do, we still come off as the good guys." Dena argues.

[Morty]

[Tempest Row - Dena]

"The closest thing to a government would be the people who control a given area," Dipsnig says. "A slave revolt is an interesting idea, but we might need to entrench ourselves properly first. Slave revolts tend to spiral out of control very quickly." He taps his bracer and pulls up a map of Skyside. "Let's see. Tempest Row. It's the entertainment and commerce district of Skyside. Plenty of private security to protect all the commerce there. And I have a covert deal with one of the largest businessmen. Sounds like it might be a good place to start taking over. What do you think?"

[Shadowcaller]

[Tempest Row - Dena]

"Aren't there guards around that keep the city safe? They must be part of some government." Or at least so Dena figured. "But tempest row sounds fine, we just need to find a building we can set up in. Maybe a store or a warehouse." Though the second choice might cause adventurers to burst inside from time to time.

[Morty]

[Tempest Row - Dena]

"Not as such, actually," Dipsnig says. "There's technically some sort of... royal guard, but they guard the palace of the dynasty that used to run the place, and defend the city from outside invasion. Everywhere else, on the street level, anyone who wants security needs to provide their own, or pay for it. Which is where we come in, to make sure as many people as possible pay us for it. Acquiring a suitable building to act as our base of operations in Tempest Row won't be a problem."

[Shadowcaller]

[Tempest Row - Dena]

"Right, so I guess we just have to start looking around then. Should we be discreet or public about it?" Considering how Dipsnig were playing it to this point, she was guessing public.

[Morty]

[Tempest Row - Dena]

"Let's keep it quiet at first," Dipsnig decides, after some thought. "We might do another event like this one later, but it's better to lay the groundwork quietly."

[Shadowcaller]

[Tempest Row - Dena]

Dena gestures around. "So after all this we're all cloak and dagger huh? Fair enough then, I like to think I brought this hood for a reason." She gestures at the piece of fabric which now is poorly concealing her snakes. "We should head out right away, gotta act quick in situations like these."

[Morty]

[Tempest Row - Dena]

"There's time and place for everything Dena," Dipsnig says, getting up. "But yes. We need to be quick about it, before the people there manage to scramble together a response. There's a lot of feathers that we've probably left very ruffled."

[Shadowcaller]

[Tempest Row - Dena]

"Great, so we're heading down to tempest row then?" Dena asks.

[Morty]

[Tempest Row - Dena]

"Yeah," Dipsnig says, pulling a hood over his own face and leading the way. "One good thing about Skyside is how easy it is to blend in."

[UncleWolf]

[Dining and Dashing]

Sam, Alexia, and all the pursuing hordes come tumbling out the doors of the Olympia, pursued by swirling snowflakes and burning threads of unraveling spellfire. The things burst into existence as they cross the doorway, all rusted red fur and dozens of limbs, sinuous bodies, human faces. Long fangs and dark-stained lips, club-ended tails bristling with spines. They break from the door in a practiced maneuver, two blurs of red darting to either side and coming in again to catch Sam between them - aiming low, snapping for his legs.
The third comes a second late, chasing at Alexia's heels. It tries to leap onto her back, claws digging in for a terrible moment, and then fling itself onwards and over, to leave her in the snow piling up on the roadside.

Dining and Dashing

Now that Alexia wasn't in a crowded area and could see the beasts, she could fight back with far more ease than before. She doesn't let the creature at her back reach her, instead using her powers to launch herself high into the air. About fourteen feet into the air she twists and gestures at the beast that was behind her, launching her pair of jagged daggers at its main body with great force. If they hit, they should be able to stab into it to the hilts.

[Deathkeeper]

Dining and Dashing

Sam lets out a roar and swings his arms at the creatures. If he can, he'll get one hand around each neck and another somewhere else, so he can slam their skulls together will all the strength his enormous body can muster. And that's a lot.