Riverside 18

[Murkus]

[Moth Park]

The spirit resists not! And Sticks is still a good measure away from arriving, so... it seems, for now, the ladies have succeeded.

[The Empress' Estate - The Frescots]

"We didn't talk about this!" Adir hisses, uncomfortable. Not like either of them could have known about drinking blood, though. Well... it wasn't the strangest ritual he'd ever seen. Not by far, no. Though it was certainly the worst he'd ever participated in.

"Alright... I... just..." Adir's Adam's apple bobs, and in a blink he suddenly tugs Sakura close to give her a deep kiss. Or, tries to, anyway. His hand traces her arm when he finally lets her go, and he's not frowning any more... though he isn't quite smiling either. "For, uh, luck." He squeezes out a smirk. "And courage. Um," He swallows again. "Here goes."

He steps up, glowers at the goblet for an instant, then lifts it to his mouth and drinks without another moment's hesitation.

[Green Elf]

[MERC Tour]

Jacob follows silently observing the area.

[McBish]

[Westside]


They really would have preferred to put the church in Eastside, but in Westside the sun doesn't shine, and that is just too convenient to pass up.
It shouldn't be hard to find. Just three blocks down from the bus station, take a left, then the fourth right, and it's ahead at the end of the street.

The place has been recently refurbished to bring it in line with the main temple¹: the septagons and pyramids are gone. It's still largely composed of solid darkness so deep and perfect it looks like a whole in the world, but now there's gilded edges to let you see the shape of the place: something like a wedding cake. The lowest level is an open airy place of pillars and glass, flying buttresses lift the upper layers with their more modest windows, and topping it is a pointed belltower.

A sign out front welcomes visitors and announces the times of sermons and events. Nothing going on right now. In on the first level, one can see an official-looking robed human woman resting in a meditative pose and a kobold practicing a many-stringed musical instrument.

[SUP]1 - Although the main temple is in fact smaller and less complicated.

Naftly enters the temple glancing at the events curious as to what goes on in such an odd building. She tries not to think of it as odd, but a building made of darkness rings the weird bell in her head. Not to mention it reminds her of space and somewhere in her mind she feels like she should be ina space suit. Not to mention the perpetual darkness putting her on edge. She bounces Eve in her arms to keep her calm as she heads for the robed woman.

Eveland doesn't seem to need much calming she seems happy to be taken for a walk. And when she hears the music she squirms and climbs in her mom's arms rearranging herself to get a better view of the halfling producing the music. She tries her new mind control powers out on him. She waves her little hand, extra knuckles and all, at him. She was surprised when she discovered she could make people mirror her movement, at least this one, she still hasn't found another motion she can get people to do.

[Recaiden]

[Westside - Temple]

The musician finishes that bar of the song and lifts a hand to wave back at Eveland.
"We have visitors, priestess."
He resumes playing, starting the song again, from the beginning.

"Oh!"
The woman looks up, and a sort of halo appears. Not a diffuse heavenly light shining from behind her, but a very solid-seeming glowing ring fastened snugly around her head, covering the eyes. She rises and curtsies to Naftly.
"Welcome, friends, to the Floating Temple of the Three. How can we help you?"

[Southside]

An attempt is made to track the source of this wide-ranging, almost magical technological interference that's distributing The Faction's message. They may not use lots of video screens, but it troubles radios too. They can't have this going on all the time.

Shortly afterwards, the General makes a speech at their moderately guarded City Hall. Can't have people thinking that she died in the fire.

"The city does not negotiate with terrorists, nor bow to threats. While we applaud The Faction's video-editing skills and the audacity with which they lie to the public, we will not even consider their 'offer'. The government will change only when we find it in the city's best interests. They may claim to be beneficent businessmen, but these MagClones are nothing more than killers. Do not be taken in by their lies, and rest assured, they will be brought to justice."

[Eastside - Lawful(?) Thievery]

Lots of people have their offices in the Town Hall, actually! It's the seat of the government, with many important civic functions carried out there, not to mention all the records that have to be kept somewhere. On the other hand, rumors of hidden vaults of ill-gotten treasure and a secret slave market in the basement levels are COMPLETELY FABRICATED.

There's no intentional roof access, but there are a few skylights. The feeds indicate that there's supposed to be a camera covering the mayor's office door, but the stream is dark. It must be broken or jammed somehow. The mayor is probably not in the office at this hour. The guards are mostly humans.

[Wildside - A Momentous Occasion]

The Commandant nods. "Southside does not object to the inclusion of the people of Delmah Phor. We recommend that the amount of land granted be based not on current holdings, which we expect to change this very night, but on the number and need of their settlers." Technically there was no need to say anything there, but they wanted to come out in support of the newcomers.

[UncleWolf]

Wildside - Days Later

Lenai tries to jab the lapine scholar in the chest with her index finger, drawing herself up to her not unimpressive full height that leaves her hair just below the tops of his ears, "I am no goddess to you, Mathius. I am something far worse. I stand here a mother who thought she would not see one of her children again, and when I do it's because the man who she fell so quickly for did not want her anymore. Bea will not suffer me to hurt you, nor will I see you throw her away, so by your own actions you have become part of this grand, experimental family of mine." She jabs at him again, her mouth quirking into a vicious smirk before she deflates somewhat.

"Attend your classes, for I will not be related to an imbecile even by marriage. Bea is keen to see them and she will not leave your side. She'll learn better by immersion I'm sure. Come back when you choose, it will give her more time with her sisters to impart what she learns of the city. If you wish to stay the night, a friend of mine will doubtless provide you lodgings so I need not craft you shelter myself." As she speaks, a rumbling in the earth heralds the arrival of a small chest, resembling a cedar chest but made all of one piece of wood. Its hinges are two whippy, young boughs that stretch from the body to its lid, and Lenai kicks it carelessly over, spilling its contents on the ground.

Money, in bills, coin, and even small pieces of bullion comes tumbling out, "And do not squander her dowry. You will provide for her as I would, and she is good with sums already. She will know how much is left week by week. Is all of that understood, son-in-law?"

Wildside - A Few Days Later

It takes Mathius a few moments to understand what Lenai was getting to, but when he does he groans as he rubs his face and tugs on an ear. "No, I was indeed wrong. You are no goddess. You are but a fiend." He points out, sounding amused despite his groans. Eventually he gives a dismissive wave at himself, smiling as his hand moves away. "I will do all that you ask and take care of her. It should be no big issue for my professors to allow her to sit in on the courses as well." He points out as he kneels down to pick up the spilled bills, coins, and bullion to put them back into the box. "I would still like to set up the radio for the others though. If I am to visit often, might I visit the hive itself?"He asks, curious.

Spoiler: Lots of Posts

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A Momentous Occasion

Celestel regards the land seekers cautiously. The nymph was going to cause untold chaos by allowing all these outsiders into Riverside, the city had been in perfect balance and now it was all going to be ruined. Southside was a perfect example of what happened when you put up a bunch of unknown factions next to one another, outright war. Was this the nymphs plan? Cause as much chaos as her father had with the riots? One could wonder considering how carelessly she now wielded her powers. It had been good to hear that held her monsters under check, but this sounded like a enormous lapse in judgement. Riverside needed less factions, not more of them.
She looks around, was she the only one seeing this? No one seemed particularly upset as the future of Riverside was being bartered away to strangers. Any of these could be demons or AMEN members in disguise, or some new criminal faction that was just waiting to be granted a piece of land. They should just build a wall around the real city and see how long these outsiders would last without a real city to take care of them... hmph.

The stewardess starts walking towards Jezebel, she was the only proper represent here among rats trying to get a piece of the cheese. She didn't want to interrupt her conversation though, not yet...

--------------------

Dena follows Dipsnig along as he ventures around the crowd. "Hey, looks like some drow are attempting to settle here." She points out to the goblin as she sees them talking to Lenai.

Eastside - Day After The Elections

"Of course, I've been waiting to talk to you since you won the election, Jezebel." Cessie remarks, grinning. "When are you done with the council?"

[The Empress' Estate - Frescots]

Sakura's stomach churns when the Empress starts filling the cup with her blood. "We already talked about this, Adir." Why is he asking this now? Does he really think she can say no at this point? Her head swims, and she looks downright uncomfortable.



[Moth Park]

At last Vax envelopes the demon, and then compresses herself, pulling her body back together. The space occupied by the demon inside of her is simply not occupied anymore. She turns toward Zhareen, her body still misshapen as the errant plant matter needs time to be so specifically formed. "We need to leave." That long length of wood that she drew from the tree earlier is sticking out of her chest, as if she's been impaled. It's all part of the plan, however.

[Wildside - A Momentous Occasion]

The Commandant is humanoid with two arms, two legs, and two 'wing's; any normal chair would be suitable. Many-legged people like Bram are singular exceptions.

All these people here to decides about Riverside! What an opportunity. The drow should be reasonable neighbors, there might even be interesting arrangements that can be made with the tunnels. Jezebel is silly to discount the option of cities growing downwards. If the Faction gets granted land at all, that will become part of Southside when the Magtoks are inevitably crushed. What is the Empress up to? Didn't she just want to build her weird cult in peace? They had given her that, with her estate over in the southmost part of Southside on the west bank of the river that they hadn't really wanted. Maybe it's been very successful. And Mia! What is their beloved archenemy up to now? And MERC has shown; they're going to be making money hand over fist here what with there probably being more Westside to patrol, everyone wanting information on everyone else, and the inevitable conflicts. In fact...
"Ms. Mechanicus, have a seat, try the stew. Have your people been doing well? We do so hope you're happy on your own in the new city."

"The city needs me now, still." Amyria says with a smile. "On the contrary, one needs their own house in order before they'll be able to shelter others."

"Felandria, my congratulations on your victory. William, good to see you here. And you, uh, sir." You can't really shake hands with a robot squid, but an earnest attempt is made to find some compatible greeting. "Should we expect more robotic neighbors in the near future?"

[Southside - Nadas & Co]

Nadas counts up to five and then follows Fade's instruction, running down the street, spellbook slung under one arm. He's not terribly fast, but he doesn't have to fake that part. Soon enough he has to detour around a 'Construction Work - Road Closed' sign.

[Southside - Peabody Ruins & Lounge]

Hopefully the people who will pay for this are Dorothy's insurance company. She has one of those, right? If not, it might be the Southside Department of Civic Development, who offer to buy up the lot a few days later. The price offered is insultingly low, but it could have been more insulting.

Well before any of that comes into play, the General's men arrive from the library and attempt to retrieve the dead and ensconce the building in yellow tape. POLICE LINE - DO NOT CROSS. Of course, they hear how their own people die soon enough. There were witnesses. There were survivors. There was footage transmitted from helmet cameras. Nevertheless, they pore over the place. Forensic 'experts' and a police mortician (he was, until recently, a barber, but the skillsets are surely close enough) are called in to help. Details need to be found. Proof needs to be assembled. These poor deaf and sick bystanders who perished in the blaze need to be ID-ed.

And they have to put together a good account blaming the Faction for everything.

[Wildside - A Momentous Occasion]

Mia looks after the dog when she leaves for the wolf, but doesn't bother much because Amyria comes for handshakes and the real deal beginns. Mia will take place at the table when the discssion started. Yet her group is already part of Riverside, even if it isn't a larg one.
As the representative speaks up Mia turns to him with a friendly smile and a nod. She doesn't see his fraction as her arch enemy, more like a not friendly fraction near her own.
"We are fine, but I think we weren't introduced to each other." she says with best manners. If he had listened to the talking back during the 'accident' he might notice that her whole voice and appereance fit the position of a High priestress. Noble without making the other appear as a lesser one. "One Moment , please." she tells him.

"Excuse me Miss Jezebel." Mia says as she talks to the new Mayor of eastside. "I would like to discuss something important with you, if you got some time."

Spoiler: A Bunch of Possibly Relevant Quotes

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Spoiler: Two Immediately Relevant Quotes

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Wildside - A Momentous Occasion

Lenai waits to see if anyone else will come forward, but as the Faction is tied up and seemingly uninterested and the only one to speak to her is the drow, she addresses them at last, keeping Weird William in the corner of her eye as if to encourage him to speak next if he so desires, "I see. While the bulk of the tunnels going to you is entirely out of the question, I see no reason why a small, starting allotment of land could not be set aside, equal to that of what, say, the Deus Mechanicus currently holds. They are, to my knowledge, one of the smallest landowning factions currently here, and so I believe no one wishing to reside in Riverside should begin any less humble than that." Lenai nods to herself and produces a wonderful relief of a map of Riverside from beneath the folds of her fur, laying it out on one unoccupied spot of table.

"Should anyone wish to correct my assumption, or object to the inclusion of the drow in this small capacity with any pertinent and relevant reason as to why they should not be a part of Riverside, it behooves you now to speak as a leader of the city or by your silence accept them."

[Moth Park]

The spirit resists not! And Sticks is still a good measure away from arriving, so... it seems, for now, the ladies have succeeded.

[The Empress' Estate - The Frescots]

"We didn't talk about this!" Adir hisses, uncomfortable. Not like either of them could have known about drinking blood, though. Well... it wasn't the strangest ritual he'd ever seen. Not by far, no. Though it was certainly the worst he'd ever participated in.

"Alright... I... just..." Adir's Adam's apple bobs, and in a blink he suddenly tugs Sakura close to give her a deep kiss. Or, tries to, anyway. His hand traces her arm when he finally lets her go, and he's not frowning any more... though he isn't quite smiling either. "For, uh, luck." He squeezes out a smirk. "And courage. Um," He swallows again. "Here goes."

He steps up, glowers at the goblet for an instant, then lifts it to his mouth and drinks without another moment's hesitation.

The Empress' Estate - The Frescots

The blood is thick and warm despite the chilled chalice, and when he finishes drinking it Adir will feel dizzy and his vision fading as the warmth fills his body. The Empress finally moves from her throne when he's done drinking and she will gently take it from his hands to set aside. "Relax and let it work, Huntsman." She says softly. "Let the warmth carry you to slumber. You are safe and your wife is next to you." She adds. When he finally passes out, she'll even gently pick him up to carry him like a young bride. "There is a set of bedrooms this way." She says, turning to Sakura and tilting her head towards a door off to the side. "A suite for you and your entire family. As I swore, he will be fine on the morn of the third day and I will help tend to him during the process."

The Eastside Election - Day After

Jezebel gives a small nod as she bends down to pick up Ariel and prop her up on her shoulder. "I will be dealing with the Council tomorrow, not today. Would you like to join me for dinner this evening? That would give us a chance to talk and my home isn't far." She invites with a smile.

Wildside - A Momentous Occasion

If the Current Mayor felt the need to rise to the Ex-Mayor's subtle barb about putting her house in order, she doesn't show it. Instead, she smiles broadly to Mia when she's approached. "Of course. Please, take a seat. What troubles you?" She asks. She pauses for just a moment when she hears Lenai's offer to the Drow and she holds up a finger to ask Mia to hold on for just a second. "I lived in Inside years ago and had only heard the best of Delmah Phor. There will be no objections from Eastside, though if I may make a suggestion?" She asks, raising her voice a bit. "I may not know any who can build the towering cities of my homeworld capable of housing billions, but I do know a few people who might be able to make use of the tunnels rather well. It would possibly be a worth-while idea for us to work together, though we would need to see the state of the tunnels before we consider them worth settling in. Is there a way we can see them?" She asks before turning back to Mia. "My apologies. I felt that perhaps it was worth raising the questions with the Lady." She explains, nodding for Mia to ask her questions.

The Empress shakes her head. "I have no objections to them settling." She states as she slides out of her chair with ease. With a bit of thought, she kneels down and removes a heavy gauntlet, ignoring any looks she might get as she does so. A dark tanned hand, skin dark as leather and toughened by wear, reaches down to pull up a bit of soil so she can look at it. "I do have one question. Have you left this soil in a good enough state to be farmed?" She asks. "Or is it dead and good only for a foundation?"

[Artemis97]

[Wildside - A Momentous Occasion]

"Of course, we must survey the territory before any final decisions are made." Erelae agrees with Jezebel. "However, House Xar'Cha and Delmah Phor would be glad to aid in the expansion of the city downwards. We drow are quite adept at building underground." She assures them with a smile. She doesn't mention that much of the brute work is usually done by dwarven slaves, who have a particular cunning with rock and stone. Still, it was drow who designed everything. Cheap labor could be found easily enough.

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Eastside - Lawful(?) Thievery]

That's...rather odd. And a little disturbing, that the Mayor's office cameras aren't working. Perhaps a bit more snooping is in order.

"Mostly human. I think you might want to have Violet look into the Mayor's office window before we try to get in. The camera that's supposed to be watching her door is either off or not functioning correctly. There are skylights on the roof, but no access up there." Electra opens her eyes and gives a nod. Now that she's tickled all the cameras and figured out which is which, it will be easier to manage the data. She keeps the mayor's office feed and the obvious entrances close to her and Dena's position's feeds minimized into a corner of her HUD for the moment. They'll need to do a bit more planning once they figure out what's going on in the Mayor's office.

[McBish]

Eve giggles as her power works yet again. Then she settles on her mom's shoulder watching the halfling make the pretty noises.

Naftly smiles at the woman. She is having a hard time deciding where to look. Can't look her in the eyes, even looking at where the eyes would be is sort of uncomfortable. So her eyes travel from the woman's forehead to the space next to the woman's head. "Hello, I was wondering if Cloud was here?

[Recaiden]

The woman nods, unaware of Naftly's discomfort.
"You're in luck; he hasn't left yet. I'll let him know that you're here."
She tilts her head upward and presses her hands together, half-overlapped.

After a minute or so, Cloud comes down, taking the stairs two at a time.
"Naftly. You did decide to look us up. Good, good. Have you two been settling in okay?"
He is not exactly thrilled to see her. But this is all part of the job.

[McBish]

Cait thanks the woman and waits turning to enjoy the music as she does so. She smiles at Cloud as he comes down the stairs. She gives Eve a little shake to get her attention and point out Cloud. Eve seems very happy to Cloud again waving excitedly.

"Hi Cloud. We have been settling ok, still in a hotel for now but hopefully not much longer. How have you been?" And since it has all happened off screen I should note that Naftly has been true to her word, including well wishes for Cloud and his fellow "angels" in her nightly prayers. Even with the halos she has a hard time truly believing they are actual angels, because those aren't real.

[Recaiden]

Well, if she's been so diligent, Cloud hasn't much reason to remain annoyed. No one's pointing a gun at him now, certainly. They aren't real angels of course. Just holy men. They don't even have wings! Although to be fair, real angels often don't either.

"Glad to hear it."
It seems Eveland's power works on him too.
"I've been well enough. Healing the sick, fighting pirates. Usual business. It's kind of a busy time here in Riverside. The forests are moving away and there's been fighting in Southside. Cyborgs are burning buildings, or the police are framing them as a coverup, or some such thing."
He waits for Naftly to volunteer why they came out to find him. Just saying hello as they pass through? Need help?

[McBish]

"Well good to hear you have been keeping busy. I stopped by because I wanted to make a donation." She explains reaching into one of the zippered pouches on her belt. She pulls out a folded check worth about what you would pay for a beat up car, or a mid priced part for a spaceship. "And I just wanted to say hi." It is sort of funny how she wasn't ever really lonely in space. But since finding herself surrounded by people and knowing none of them, she has started to feel lonesome.

[Shadowcaller]

[Eastside - Lawful Thievery]

"Right, I'll set up Violet then, anything else I need to be aware of before I'll send her away? Any last minute observations?" She would need to infuse a small wisp in the golem for it to function. Simple enough, it was something of a trade secret of her people though so it was a good thing Electra's attention was elsewhere.

[Wildside - A Momentous Occasion]

Celestel holds her tongue, the fact was that she had no proof that these drow were hostile. Therefore, if she spoke up now, something Lenai probably had counted on, Malechenar would seem like a unreasonable opposition. Besides, she was going to save her protests for more than a small group of drow. There were certainly worse groups out there.

The Eastside Election - Day After

Jezebel gives a small nod as she bends down to pick up Ariel and prop her up on her shoulder. "I will be dealing with the Council tomorrow, not today. Would you like to join me for dinner this evening? That would give us a chance to talk and my home isn't far." She invites with a smile.

The Eastside Election - Day After

"I suppose I have to visit you sooner or later, so I can hardly refuse such an offer. I don't like talking in public either, honestly." Cessie admits. "This media circus is making me dizzy just thinking about, I didn't realize I would subject you to all of this when I suggested you running."

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Eastside - Lawful Thievery]

"Nothing of note." Electra does enlarge the feeds of the entrances closest to where they are, in case the guards can somehow see the drone, and she's distracted enough that she probably won't notice Dena infusing the wisp.

[Stu's Place]

Kayla smiles once more, and seems to start following Stu, until he leaves. She blinks for a moment, then quickly moves to his desk, looking for the papers he's been writing on at night. If he comes back in, she'll teleport away, but missing the chance he's just given her is too much to pass up.

[Reinholdt]

[Stu's Place]

Finding the papers isn't particularly hard. They're in the central drawer. On the papers are various names of Eastside citizens and small municipal issues they wanted dealt with. Their concerns as it were. All various things to be addressed by the mayor or council members but not hugely impactful in terms of citywide policy. They could easily fall through the cracks and be forgotten if someone didn't write them down. Stu would have added Kayla's concerns to the pile, but she didn't share any when he asked.

Underneath these papers is a rather difficult to see seam indicating a secret panel. If Kayla goes that far. Admittedly, she appears to have the time as Stu hasn't immediately returned or anything.

[Lord Magtok]

[Southside]

An attempt is made to track the source of this wide-ranging, almost magical technological interference that's distributing The Faction's message. They may not use lots of video screens, but it troubles radios too. They can't have this going on all the time.

The signal can be located easily. Suspiciously easily, even. There's an outdoor sports stadium that's not seeing much use, mostly because it's the wrong time of year for that particular sport. Someone must've broken into the announcer's booth and set up a whole bunch of signal-jacking equipment there. It's probably an elaborate trap, though.

[Wildside - A Momentous Occasion]

"You're quite correct," Dipsnig admits smoothly. "Even though our name no longer contains it, neutrality is still our major policy. When it comes to the looming conflict in Southside... it all depends on who makes a better offer. What is yours?"

"The better offer, of course." The robotic octopus declares, as Ambriel rolls his eye and shakes his head. Goddamn drama queen. If he wasn't so entertaining, there's no way in hell anyone would ever let that thing be team leader.

"The General came personally to have me killed; she's the 'lead from the front' sort. I could be wrong, but from what I've seen, I don't think she'll want outsiders involved. We've got no such stuffy honor code, though. We can do money, or we can do tech. We don't have the industrial base to mass-produce any of our best toys yet, but if someone were to take down city hall, it'd be easy enough to install ourselves as the new government and repurpose a few factories for military equipment. I'm sure you could find an imaginative use for a silent, invisible hovercopter. Only takes about a week to learn how to fly one, and since it's battery-powered hovertech, there's hardly any maintenance involved."

[Zefir]

Spoiler: Riverside Tour

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[Riverside Tour]

Ilpholin thoroughly intended to ignore the tracking signal. Even when Mister Squiggles informs her it has gone dark, she thought she could just let it be. But the seconds tick away and the unnerving sensation that maybe something bad has happened to Nadas doesn't go away. Finally the concern overwhelms her and she decides it wouldn't hurt to check and make sure he's alright.

She'll arrive shortly to the location the tracker was destroyed, leaping across rooftops as her transportation method. Not because it is the most convenient way to get around, but rather for the vantage point it offers her in finding the bookworm.

[Southside - Nadas & Co]

Nadas counts up to five and then follows Fade's instruction, running down the street, spellbook slung under one arm. He's not terribly fast, but he doesn't have to fake that part. Soon enough he has to detour around a 'Construction Work - Road Closed' sign.

[MERC Tour]

Jacob follows silently observing the area.

[Riverside Tour]

Fade will step on the remains of the device, just to get save it is broken. He will send his shadow after Nadas and Jakob. They should get the feeling that they are watched and when they reach a dead end the shadow will block their way.

Fade himself takes things easy. Illophen might even see him leave the alley. When he got them into a corner he will speed up, even use the buildings roofs to get their quick.

Spoiler: All of Riverside

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Riverside - All of Riverside

Televisions, radios, phones, and communication devices all across Riverside may find their regularly scheduled programming brusquely and forcefully interrupted. Someone of considerable technological resources has something to say, and has absolutely no intention of letting their message go unheard. Radios will only hear a distorted, masculine voice, but those with any sort of screens or holograms capable of transmitting images will see a humanoid figure seated at a desk and veiled in darkness. Bright purple eyes shine from the shadowy figure's face, twinkling like gems as the mystery gentleman waves hello to his captive audience. "Greetings, Nexus. My name is The Spokesman, and I represent the latest and greatest organization to come together within our wondrous cosmic crossroads of a world. We are The Faction. There were plans for a press conference, a proper discussion of our organization with Riverside's local media groups, but as we have recently been declared outlaws and terrorists by Southside's feudal warlord, we must unfortunately delay the conference indefinitely. Instead, we would like to take a moment to set the record straight."

Behind the figure seated at a desk, a massive television screen replays the Peabody Motel encounter from the perspective of Ambriel's left eye. Every moment, every word spoken and threat made, is left entirely unedited. The posts are there in this thread, if you want to look back at Ambriel's nervous pizza joke, just before he got shot in the gut.

"We came to Southside not as terrorists or invaders, but benefactors. We wished to invest in your city, to unite the district's leaders, and promote a lasting peace before the growing tensions pushed the Empress or General to war. Ambriel, the angel of communications, was sent forth, to discuss terms with the General. Our Commander, who currently prefers to remain anonymous, met with the Empress. The Empress welcomed us graciously into her manor, the General...did not. She told Ambriel to relay a message to The Faction's leadership: Kneel before her. Bow before the General, and you would be allowed to continue operating in Riverside." The screen slows just a moment after Ambriel is shot by one of the General's goons. As he falls to the ground, the manhack drones burst upon the scene, putting up a valiant defense, as brutal and gruesome as it may be.

"She gave us a two day deadline, and sent people to shadow Ambriel and identify our headquarters. At this point it was clear; whatever she may have said, the General would not permit us to exist within her city. Not wanting to doom his people by returning home, he checked into a nearby motel instead, and we prepared for a possible attack. Two days later, it came." The screen shifts, jumping from the perspective of the drones tasked with defending Ambriel. It becomes harder to follow what's going on, especially when lasers start shoot out of nowhere, blasting their way through the patio door and sniping some of the General's best men.

"The Faction assumes full responsibility for the potholes and enemy casualties its actions may have caused. The Faction took the lives of enemy combatants, and a hovercopter's rotary autocannon did damage a road as it struck down several armed aggressors. For these actions, we admit culpability. The Faction was not involved in the ensuing firestorm, however." The retreat is recorded by the drones, as is the General's sword left on the apartment floor, left to sit there and burn the whole building down. The camera even zooms in on the sword, as if to spell things out for anyone in the audience who hasn't figured it out already.

"The fire's true cause is known to us, and now, it is known to you. As of this moment, The Faction has magnanimously seen fit to grant the General three days to resign from office. If she does so, we will lower our weapons, and gladly befriend and cooperate with the next administration. Our mission is one of peace. We are here not to conquer, but to build. Our goal is to create wealth in Southside. Our ongoing construction projects include libraries, hospitals, factories...

If there is no formal resignation in the next three days, we will be forced to assume the worst, that the Peabody fire was no tragic accident caused by a misguided choice of weapon, but deliberate arson. The General's shameless treachery will be known to the people of Southside, and on their behalf, we will do whatever is necessary to protect Southside from its own warlord and governor. Remember, you have three days, General. Twenty-four more hours than you offered us, with no strings attached. We hope to see you soon." And with that, the broadcast is over. The True Housewives of Skyside go back to feuding with one another, The Littlest Magbot helps children learn their A-B-C's, and a few live news anchors are left utterly flabbergasted. For most, however, it's just another tumultuous day in Nexus politics, as the big factions do their usual dance of conflict, greed, heroism, and treachery.

Riverside - All of Riverside wich incluses DMside

The people there watched things, too. Yet people appear mostly calm even thought this fight happens near their home. maybe they got used to the southside battles or maybe they trust the defense here. Either way a few priests aren't that calm.

"Another Fraktion in Southside and they fight those Invaders¹."
"It's a shame. That way we might loose another family."
"You'r right. I hope the High Priestress can gather a bit more land."
"Me, too. We need to build some factories. The labs can't handle the needs."
"We should close some of the gates and maintain the defense."
"Sure let's do that. i try to contact the High priestress. She should be on her way."

After that it will be hard to enter DMside. A few gates got closed and those who are open soon fill with people as they try to get through. Also a ot more robots appear on the streets.

Spoiler: Wildside

Show

¹ I think they never really stated their groups name?

Wildside - A Momentous Occasion

Lenai waits to see if anyone else will come forward, but as the Faction is tied up and seemingly uninterested and the only one to speak to her is the drow, she addresses them at last, keeping Weird William in the corner of her eye as if to encourage him to speak next if he so desires, "I see. While the bulk of the tunnels going to you is entirely out of the question, I see no reason why a small, starting allotment of land could not be set aside, equal to that of what, say, the Deus Mechanicus currently holds. They are, to my knowledge, one of the smallest landowning factions currently here, and so I believe no one wishing to reside in Riverside should begin any less humble than that." Lenai nods to herself and produces a wonderful relief of a map of Riverside from beneath the folds of her fur, laying it out on one unoccupied spot of table.

"Should anyone wish to correct my assumption, or object to the inclusion of the drow in this small capacity with any pertinent and relevant reason as to why they should not be a part of Riverside, it behooves you now to speak as a leader of the city or by your silence accept them."

[Southside]

An attempt is made to track the source of this wide-ranging, almost magical technological interference that's distributing The Faction's message. They may not use lots of video screens, but it troubles radios too. They can't have this going on all the time.

Shortly afterwards, the General makes a speech at their moderately guarded City Hall. Can't have people thinking that she died in the fire.

"The city does not negotiate with terrorists, nor bow to threats. While we applaud The Faction's video-editing skills and the audacity with which they lie to the public, we will not even consider their 'offer'. The government will change only when we find it in the city's best interests. They may claim to be beneficent businessmen, but these MagClones are nothing more than killers. Do not be taken in by their lies, and rest assured, they will be brought to justice."

[Wildside - A Momentous Occasion]

The Commandant nods. "Southside does not object to the inclusion of the people of Delmah Phor. We recommend that the amount of land granted be based not on current holdings, which we expect to change this very night, but on the number and need of their settlers." Technically there was no need to say anything there, but they wanted to come out in support of the newcomers.

Wildside - A Momentous Occasion

If the Current Mayor felt the need to rise to the Ex-Mayor's subtle barb about putting her house in order, she doesn't show it. Instead, she smiles broadly to Mia when she's approached. "Of course. Please, take a seat. What troubles you?" She asks. She pauses for just a moment when she hears Lenai's offer to the Drow and she holds up a finger to ask Mia to hold on for just a second. "I lived in Inside years ago and had only heard the best of Delmah Phor. There will be no objections from Eastside, though if I may make a suggestion?" She asks, raising her voice a bit. "I may not know any who can build the towering cities of my homeworld capable of housing billions, but I do know a few people who might be able to make use of the tunnels rather well. It would possibly be a worth-while idea for us to work together, though we would need to see the state of the tunnels before we consider them worth settling in. Is there a way we can see them?" She asks before turning back to Mia. "My apologies. I felt that perhaps it was worth raising the questions with the Lady." She explains, nodding for Mia to ask her questions.

The Empress shakes her head. "I have no objections to them settling." She states as she slides out of her chair with ease. With a bit of thought, she kneels down and removes a heavy gauntlet, ignoring any looks she might get as she does so. A dark tanned hand, skin dark as leather and toughened by wear, reaches down to pull up a bit of soil so she can look at it. "I do have one question. Have you left this soil in a good enough state to be farmed?" She asks. "Or is it dead and good only for a foundation?"

Wildside - A Momentous Occasion

"It's right that we got the smallest landscape so far." Mia replies as her group was mentioned. "I would also suggest that the needs of the newcomers is checked."

Then Jezzabel is ready and mia takes a seat next to her.
"As you have heared I represent a small faction in this. The area we got is located in Southside, sadly we got a bad relationship with the currently bigges group there. So I was eager to know if there is a possible kooperation with Eastside." ((Short because I'm all sleepy and she got straight to the point.))

[Shadowcaller]

[Eastside - Lawful Thievery]

"Nothing of note." Electra does enlarge the feeds of the entrances closest to where they are, in case the guards can somehow see the drone, and she's distracted enough that she probably won't notice Dena infusing the wisp.

"The better offer, of course." The robotic octopus declares, as Ambriel rolls his eye and shakes his head. Goddamn drama queen. If he wasn't so entertaining, there's no way in hell anyone would ever let that thing be team leader.

"The General came personally to have me killed; she's the 'lead from the front' sort. I could be wrong, but from what I've seen, I don't think she'll want outsiders involved. We've got no such stuffy honor code, though. We can do money, or we can do tech. We don't have the industrial base to mass-produce any of our best toys yet, but if someone were to take down city hall, it'd be easy enough to install ourselves as the new government and repurpose a few factories for military equipment. I'm sure you could find an imaginative use for a silent, invisible hovercopter. Only takes about a week to learn how to fly one, and since it's battery-powered hovertech, there's hardly any maintenance involved."

[Eastside - Lawful Thievery]

Dena will prepare Violet and then have the drone enter stealth mode, camouflaging itself against the night sky as it hoovers away. Violet has a long scan range, so the drone don't need to get that close to scan the mayors office for any magical interference. The drone is capable of both detecting any kind of magic and identify its purpose, but only to a very basic degree. Any magical enchantments that had extremely advanced and complex functions would be a lot harder for the drone to see the purpose of.

Wildside - A Momentous Occasion

"Sounds like something we could continue discussing elsewhere, don't you think, boss?" Dena suggests, not finding the current crowd to be very safe to talk around. Politicians, all of them.

[Morty]

[Wildside - A Momentous Occasion]

Dipsnig's ears perk up in what looks like excitement, but Dena can probably tell it's an act. The goblin is intrigued, but wary. He can control the movement of his ears as much as he can his facial expressions.

"Yes, indeed. This location is a little public for this. Still, I appreciate your offer. I'd be glad to hammer out the details in a more secure setting."

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Stu's Place]

Electra, as Kayla, is actually intrigued enough to go through the list. She's not really reading it past a few entries every now and again, more just to capture the pages in internal storage for later analysis. Her sharp eyes do catch the hidden seam, and she decides to look for either a catch or some other way into the compartment. She probably could smash it, but she'd really rather be discreet about it, if possible.

[Gullara]

[The Empress' Estate - The Frescots]

"We didn't talk about this!" Adir hisses, uncomfortable. Not like either of them could have known about drinking blood, though. Well... it wasn't the strangest ritual he'd ever seen. Not by far, no. Though it was certainly the worst he'd ever participated in.

"Alright... I... just..." Adir's Adam's apple bobs, and in a blink he suddenly tugs Sakura close to give her a deep kiss. Or, tries to, anyway. His hand traces her arm when he finally lets her go, and he's not frowning any more... though he isn't quite smiling either. "For, uh, luck." He squeezes out a smirk. "And courage. Um," He swallows again. "Here goes."

He steps up, glowers at the goblet for an instant, then lifts it to his mouth and drinks without another moment's hesitation.

The Empress' Estate - The Frescots

The blood is thick and warm despite the chilled chalice, and when he finishes drinking it Adir will feel dizzy and his vision fading as the warmth fills his body. The Empress finally moves from her throne when he's done drinking and she will gently take it from his hands to set aside. "Relax and let it work, Huntsman." She says softly. "Let the warmth carry you to slumber. You are safe and your wife is next to you." She adds. When he finally passes out, she'll even gently pick him up to carry him like a young bride. "There is a set of bedrooms this way." She says, turning to Sakura and tilting her head towards a door off to the side. "A suite for you and your entire family. As I swore, he will be fine on the morn of the third day and I will help tend to him during the process."

[The Empress' Estate - The Frescots]

Sakura frets silently as she watches her husband. This is crazy, isn't it? All of this should seem far less sinister. The Empress' behaviour seems reassuring, though... Sakura stands abruptly when Adir passes out. Worry creases her features as she nears the Empress. "...Alright." She says. It's hard not to feel helpless in this situation.

[Moth Park]

Zhareen turns to her wife and nods. "Let's." There was so much more to say, but this was neither the time nor the place. Not stopping to sing, she gives the spirit a sad look. "This is not who you are, great spirit. Sooth your rage, be at peace." She begs it, and at her touch the spirit should be be absorbed into her body, in a reverse sort of possession. It can resist the attempt of course, but if it succeeds, the spirit will be held within Zhareen herself as she starts crawling after Vax. The spirit could try to influence Zhareen's actions in any way it wants, or try to escape her body (assuming the absorption succeeds of course).

[Moth Park]

The spirit resists not! And Sticks is still a good measure away from arriving, so... it seems, for now, the ladies have succeeded.

[Moth Park]

Vax grasps the length of wood and draws it from her body. At it's end, firmly attached is the black gemstone that contains the demon. It seems to project a sense of malice, but the powerful being is firmly trapped within. She grasps her wife with her still forming hand and guides them away. They will rendezvous with Nazaan and meet back at the Fourth Tower compound. The excitement is only beginning.

[5a Violista]

Northside- Religious Discussion

"The Creator is above the gods, and not therefore a god. They grant the gods power, not us. If your Creator does grant humanity, in whole or in part, power directly then it is a very different world to Faerun. By your definition, Bane is a Lesser God, but I know He has great power, though He is not the Creator. Indeed, once upon a time, Bane was mortal, until He and two others challenged Jergal. The other two are dead now, but Bane survives, stronger than ever." Even though Bane died at the same time as Myrkul and Bhaal, He survived by giving His son a seed of divine power and pupating within said son until He had recovered. Then He was born again, ripping His son asunder in the process.

[Campaign Park]

"You're welcome." He thinks. Stu isn't sure what exactly Harley needed, but she got it, so that's good.

"Yeah, I had a really ingenious plan for that bake sale too. But that was for AMEN. And a long time ago." And he doesn't remember what the plan was. And neither does his player. Hopefully it was something better than addictive cookies or brownies of evil. "I don't think it'd work now."

Stu has to ponder for a quiet moment. "Honestly, I have no idea what I'll do now. I hadn't thought about it before." He hadn't considered the possibility that he might lose. Chances are high he'll end up in deadtime again for a while as he sorts that out.

((Has it really been two pages since I last posted in this thread?))

[Northside - Religious Discussion]

Harley Zorzo does not comment on this, but that would actually categorize Bane as a "spirit" officially, for several a couple of reasons. Possibly this is because she knows 100% of the people she's met here consider spirits to be something considerably different than a god. It's...complicated. A priest or scholar or someone would be a better person to explain than just her.

"We also have a different idea of what creators do, I think," she says.

There is a pause that Harley thinks is awkward. "Don't get me wrong, though: I think this Bane is definitely worthy of honor and praise. It's just...I don't think he's my orixa...er, my guide." Since...she already has one. Presumably.


[Eastside - Campaign Park]

Actually, I don't remember exactly everything about what the bake sale was going to be. I think it basically went like this, however: Harley had a dumb poorly-thought-through idea to act as a fund-raiser for AMEN, then Stu improved its scope, but I can't remember exactly all the details. Since nobody can remember it, it definitely won't work now.

Anyway, Ms. Zorzo also has no idea for him, either. "Well, you could always go on an adventure or dragonslaying or search an abandoned tomb or something." Those were literally the first ideas that came to mind. "But. If you just want to hang out or anything, I think you have my number already, so feel free to call me whenever."

[Reinholdt]

[Southside Tour]

As she nears, Ilpholin's attention is first caught by the sound of running. It didn't seem to be particularly fast, urgent danger running, but then Nadas did always wear those awful robes. It was a wonder he could move in them at all. Or it could be an attacker leaving the scene of a crime. The runners definitely seemed to be heading away from the site. She could investigate the site first or the runners. If she went for the site though, she'd probably lose the runners. Nadas could be wounded at the site or running from potential danger.

In the end, the presence of someone else on the roofs heading away from the site in the direction of the runners makes the decision for her and Ilpholin changes course. The nymph lands just above the alley Nadas and Jacob find themselves in and takes a few moments to appraise the situation.

[Stu's Place]

There is a disproportionate number of names that start with St, but that's probably just cause Stu remembers those names easier than most.

Once Kayla's looking for it, she finds a catch easy enough. It's like opening a car hood. Except a drawer and the hood is below the lever mechanism and whatever. Nothing like that. But the panel pops up and is easy enough to lift from there. Inside is a manila envelope with large writing on it, declaring the contents to be 'THE BEST, MOST MAGNIFICENTEST, SECRET AWESOME PLAN YET'. It must be true because it's in all caps. It also truly protected from pilferers because it is closed and both the metal flaps are securely in place preventing it from being opened again without dealing with them first.

[Campaign Park]

"What? Those don't sound like fun at all. Dragons aren't even herbivores, so why would you slay them?" None of those things seemed to involve money or beautiful women. So illogical.

"Won't you be awfully busy being councilor?" It's an awfully busy job. Or so one imagines. "Though... if you want to hang out, we could gather all the leftover pamphlets and posters and burn them in one big pile." He's got a lot of them leftover in addition to the campaigning he was doing. Someone should pick up that litter before he gets fined.

[Recaiden]

[Westside - Temple]

"Well good to hear you have been keeping busy. I stopped by because I wanted to make a donation." She explains reaching into one of the zippered pouches on her belt. She pulls out a folded check worth about what you would pay for a beat up car, or a mid priced part for a spaceship. "And I just wanted to say hi." It is sort of funny how she wasn't ever really lonely in space. But since finding herself surrounded by people and knowing none of them, she has started to feel lonesome.

Cloud takes the check and slips it into a pocket of his sash, not unfolding it to see the surprisingly large amount.
"You have our thanks then. I'll see that its put to good use." And he will. The Archsteward of Accounting is not someone to cross.

"And, 'Hi'. I'm glad to see you two again. Any trouble? How is Eveland liking the Nexus?"

[Eastside - Lawful Thievery]

"Right, I'll set up Violet then, anything else I need to be aware of before I'll send her away? Any last minute observations?" She would need to infuse a small wisp in the golem for it to function. Simple enough, it was something of a trade secret of her people though so it was a good thing Electra's attention was elsewhere.

"Nothing of note." Electra does enlarge the feeds of the entrances closest to where they are, in case the guards can somehow see the drone, and she's distracted enough that she probably won't notice Dena infusing the wisp.

Dena will prepare Violet and then have the drone enter stealth mode, camouflaging itself against the night sky as it hoovers away. Violet has a long scan range, so the drone don't need to get that close to scan the mayors office for any magical interference. The drone is capable of both detecting any kind of magic and identify its purpose, but only to a very basic degree. Any magical enchantments that had extremely advanced and complex functions would be a lot harder for the drone to see the purpose of.

The mayor's office has only a few scraps of magic. Some electromancy near the desk. Password ward-locks on the filing cabinet. A magic-detecting sensor. Outside of that one room there's more:
Wards over the entrances monitor the coming and going of some particular category of thing. There's a boiling lattice of electromagical energy in the upper north section of the building - that's the mayor, of course. The guards have simple protective enchantments in their uniforms, and one of them has the bright power of the original Imbued Hunters. The basements are a web of illusion. Hide this, disguise that, make people forget what they're going here, keep quiet. One of the offices has an aura of Truth.

The signal can be located easily. Suspiciously easily, even. There's an outdoor sports stadium that's not seeing much use, mostly because it's the wrong time of year for that particular sport. Someone must've broken into the announcer's booth and set up a whole bunch of signal-jacking equipment there. It's probably an elaborate trap, though.

A bunch of signal-jacking equipment of their own would be nice to have. But the policy on obvious traps is to not walk right into them.
Let's just contact the nominal owner of the stadium and inform them there may have been a break-in.

[Southside Tour]

The situation includes Nadas running poorly (not least because of the robes, although he's gotten a fair bit of practice running in robes recently, it hasn't been enough. Not nearly enough.) but also because his hands are occupied flipping through a spellbook (of rather poor paper quality and shoddy binding) and his eyes splitting attention between the diagrams on the page and finding places for his feet (and, once, turning his neck to look behind him with a completely genuine worried look. Silly Nadas. Don't look back at what's chasing you. That helps it catch up!).

[Earl of Purple]

Northside- Religious Discussion

Nevertheless, Bane is a fully-fledged God in His home cosmology, despite being an ascended mortal and not the creator, Lord Ao (who, last I know, was editing His name out of every account of the Time of Troubles, when He exiled all the gods to walk amongst their worshippers, ensuring that mortals would not be aware of His existence).

"I see. Well, if ever you change your mind and want to find out more, here. That's the address of the temple." A business card is handed over, and the only information on it is the address of the temple. There's no name for the high priest/priestess, no telephone number, no email address, nothing. Emily smiles as she speaks; Bane isn't for everyone, and if the weak and cowardly won't convert to His majesty, then they shall have to be crushed beneath the iron-shod boots of those who do.

Wildside- A Momentous Occasion

At this time, I believe the discussion is still about the expansion of Delmah Phor into Riverside. Weird William doesn't have the knowledge to form an opinion, besides what he's heard of drow- but he's heard what's said of lycanthropes and beastlings, so he's not about to judge based on hearsay, and he feels he doesn't have the clout to make an impression on the other delegates. Emily, meanwhile, is mostly here to eavesdrop and inform her superiors of the agreements made and powers displayed here, and isn't high enough up her organisation's ladder to have an opinion.

[Shadowcaller]

[Eastside - Lawful Thievery]

"Violet is detecting a lot of interesting things here, there is a ward over the filling cabinet in the office, but the whole basement appears to be a elaborate maze of illusions and enchantments. This is a whole lot bigger than I expected honestly, that the entrances and the guards are enchanted, sure, some wards here and there. But that maze? They must be hiding something important down there. Perhaps connected to this whole slavery deal." Dena informs Electra as she is getting information from Violet through her wisp.

[Moth Park]

Vax grasps the length of wood and draws it from her body. At it's end, firmly attached is the black gemstone that contains the demon. It seems to project a sense of malice, but the powerful being is firmly trapped within. She grasps her wife with her still forming hand and guides them away. They will rendezvous with Nazaan and meet back at the Fourth Tower compound. The excitement is only beginning.

[Moth Park==>Fourth Tower Compound]

Zhareen will follow along quietly, she didn't want to protest, but this whole thing had left a bad taste in her mouth. It had left things as twisted as the demon itself.
The guards, not even realizing what just have occurred, figure that their mission is complete, and more importantly, they are, somehow, still alive. Now those warlocks could deal with the rest while they retreated back to the castle before that "alive" thing changed.

However, unless Zhareen and Vax are stopped by Sticks they will arrive back at the Fourth Tower compound, but something is wrong, there are signs of battle before they even go through the door, the windows have been blown out and there are stones scattered all across the ground. Vax which likely realize that it must be the remains of one of the stone guardians they had guarding the compound. If they dare to enter inside, they will see a acolyte, Jaz, laying on the floor, bleeding out.

Zhareen lets out a gasp of shock and terror, more so than when she fought the demon.

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Stu's Place]

Electra, as Kayla, raises an eyebrow at a plainly labelled manilla envelope, but to this point, Stu hasn't proven himself extraordinarily paranoid. She carefully bends the tabs on the envelope back so she can open it and have a look at the contents, half-expecting a trap, but the opportunity is too good to pass up.

[Eastside - Lawful Thievery]

"I take it there's no one in her office, then? How difficult are wards to pass? Is it something we can do?" Even though she's keeping their current task in mind, Electra frowns at the mention of slaves. They really should do something about that, but duty comes first.

[McBish]

"It has been OK, no trouble. My stash of metals turned out to be worth a decent amount so I haven't been strapped for cash at least. I am actually looking into buying some land outside the city. Eve has been doing great down here. She likes meeting new people, my little ham, not sure where she gets that from.

[Shadowcaller]

[Eastside - Lawful Thievery]

"There are detection wards at all the entrances, there is some kind of electric enchantment near the desk, and there is a password protected ward on the filing cabinet. Huh, didn't even know you could password protect wards, feels so technological. I believe the mayor is some kind of techno-wizard though. Violet is detecting a lot of electromagnetic magic in the north section of the building, which seem to be her. No idea what she is doing here so late at night though, does she sleep here? I figured this was more of a office, not a living place." Dena reports.

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Eastside - Lawful Thievery]

"It's supposed to be, but I never followed her long enough to see where she went when she went home; I was worried shadowing her too much would arouse suspicion. I must admit, I'm out of my experience with the magical stuff, so I'm not sure whether we can still proceed, or whether we need to retreat and regroup. What do you suggest?" Electra's voice is calm, and even, but clearly she's not sure whether what Dena's discovered thus far is going to make their task more difficult or not.