Inside 65: A Very Busy Intersection

[Reinholdt]

[Delmah Phor - Family Reunion]

"Salamanders. Those are... different from the slaad. Right? Or were they related?" Too many creatures! How does one keep track of them all? "Well, you should consider raiding their nests some time. I bet you'll find some really valuable items there." You can trust a treasure hunter on this. Rein has a nose for finding handy items. Though those poisonous gases and the extreme heat would make a raid problematic.

"You know, I can't say I've ever been in a hot spring before. Just never came up." Or rather, never came up when he didn't have a bunch of fur he didn't want to get wet.

[Earl of Purple]

Poseidon's Bounty- Natalie Date

The chairs aren't fixed, so Nisha can shuffle it closer. When it's clear what her girlfriend's doing, Natalie grins and shuffles her chair closer. And the hug is greatly appreciated.

"Well, that's good to hear. Clunky robot bits might not work well with a birdy shape. I'm not sure I'll be able to use spirit energy, though. My magic isn't inborn; I learnt it the hard way. Well, the not-quite-easy way, at least. I got a book from Santa and used that as a springboard. I figured out the rest of it myself by trial and error. And other books, occasionally." My magic is very xenophobic. It won't work with other magic I run, let alone stuff somebody else introduces. She might be able to duplicate some of the abilities, but through her own conjuring magic.

"I don't care what they look like, Nisha. I've lived here for... two years?" Natalie, according to a google search, first appeared in 2011-ish. So, more than that I think. "I'm hardly likely to get culture shock from a bunch of humans with darker skin than me and technology more advanced than what I'm used to. If they don't care about my pale skin, I don't care about them." If anything, she'll get bored at looking so many people all the same size and general shape.

Hayden's

Alfred's curious about everything, really. But especially the weapons; the UK's quite strict on those, and Alfred's not seen any before. Not any meant to be weapons, anyway. He'll also look at the orbs, as he doesn't know what they are.

Ben's a little bored, but also has a wander round, to see if he can find any TMs around.

[Deathkeeper]

Hayden's

Most of the orbs are just glass, useless in a normal person's hands. One is labeled a light orb, and does what is expected. One oddly cheap orb is gold with swirls, labeled the Royal Bloodline Orb and nothing else.. It was supposed to make someone into a blood relative of whoever the user thinks of while touching it, so a sorcerer could make himself into a prince. But it couldn't affect enough people to make it work, so it fizzled and was discarded.
Though considering only three people in this dimension know Alfred, it would actually work on him. Touching is not advised.

There's also a blessed sword that heals it's wielder every six seconds, a selection of self defense daggers, some which are labeled INQUIRE AT COUNTER and several hand-crossbows. Some too are magic.

[Earl of Purple]

Hayden's

He frowns at the daggers, a little concerned at the implication that he's going to need something for self-defence. He looks at Sam. "How dangerous is this place? Am I likely to get attacked, or are these more for show?" Ben trots over as well, concerned for his trainer. Some of those daggers do look rather nice, though.

[Shadowcaller]

[Delmah Phor - Family Reunion]

Dena eventually returns dressed in a dress made completely out of very fine black scales. She is also wearing fine gloves made out of the same material along with a black hat that seems to be simply made out of felt, yet could easily be mistaken to be made out of the same material with just a quick glance.
"Well, I'm ready." She always had some spare clothes packed in her holding space, you never knew what sort of situations you would get thrown into. "Guess we just need to wait for the others now."

[Deathkeeper]

Hayden's

Sam nods. He takes a weapon from his jacket and pulls it from its sheathe. It's an extremely ornate gold and steel dagger fit perfectly for Sam's oversized hands. There's something odd about its appearance. Somehow...expressive.
"Oy, lard-arse! Been long enough. You got me for- this ain't a battlefield. You showin' me off again?" says the blade, humming in an absolutely bizarre fashion. Though it doesn't seem opposed to being shown off.
"Alfred, this is Steve, my sword. He's kept me alive and helped me with my training. You have Ben, so you might not need to fight yourself unless you don't feel safe. You could probably get a little concealable one if you're nervous. Or a general-purpose one."

"Oy, like how you use me as a meat cleaver? I've never been so humiliated in all me life..." Steve grumbles.

[Earl of Purple]

Hayden's

"Uhhhh... Hi Steve?" Alfred's never spoken to a sword before. This is very disconcerting for him. "I... Think I'll go for a general purpose one, concealable too. And hope I don't ever need it for more than opening boxes and letters." He's really nervous now. From London, which whilst not always safe, was at least not always safe in a way he knew and could deal with. Now, he's been told he might need a weapon for self-defence, which is worrying for somebody from such a weapon-strict culture as he is.

He'll look for one that's small enough to fit in his pocket, or satchel. He's not so interested in magic, because he's not yet aware of magic's sheer versatility- though if the one he likes the most is magic, he'll not be dissuaded.

[Deathkeeper]

Hayden's

There's a chrome butterfly knife, an assortment of switchblades and folding daggers, as well as a knife with a waving blade like a flamberge, and an odd C-shaped weapon with a ring on the end for your finger. A few more usual curved and straight daggers like dirks and rondels are on display. Most are steel or iron. Along with one beautiful bronze khopesh, though that's really a short sword. It would look very intimidating and elegant though.

"I was taught to use push daggers myself before I got Steve." muses Sam.

[Earl of Purple]

Hayden's

If Alfred were me, he'd go for the khopesh. Very nice-looking weapon, I think.

As it is, he's more tempted by the balisong. Another nice weapon, but one he can put in his pocket and not worry too much. "I quite like this one. How much is it?" He's not done any martial arts before, and doesn't actually recognise it beyond 'the knife used by that purple-haired girl in that superhero film, oh, what's it called'. Kick-Ass. Used by Hit Girl. And a random thug.

[Deathkeeper]

Hayden's

The clerk names him a price. It's a fairly reasonable price for a well-made knife, but well-made knives can be a bit expensive. Alfred might not want to spend so much before he gets himself a place.

[Earl of Purple]

Hayden's

"Um, it's really nice, but I think I have other things to look for first. Could you hold it for me so I can get it when I come back? It'll be tomorrow at the latest, if I can afford it. So not too long." He does still need a place to stay, and he may need to buy some important furnishings first. Like a kettle, microwave and toaster, or magical equivalents thereof.

He also checks his pokédex, just to see what time it is. His particular model has many of a phone's features, fortunately, including a built-in digital clock.

[Deathkeeper]

Hayden's

The clerk nods and goes back to his book, uncaring.
"Well, I guess that's that. You wanna go on or keep looking for some hidden treasure?"
Alfred could keep looking until he finds a magic item that the clerk overlooked and get for dirt cheap. But some would likely just have unfortunate results like the bloodline orb.

[Earl of Purple]

Hayden's

"I think I should go get a place to stay. A flat or something, I think. It'll still be here when I get back, right? Or do the shops move?" Yes. But that's OK, because the Nexus helps in the shop movement department.

An item I've come up with recently, that I want to put somewhere, is a dehydrated mountain. Instant Everest, just add water. But it may be a little dangerous. Especially in the rain.

[Deathkeeper]

Hayden's

"If ya can't, you can always buy a shrinking potion and stay in your friend's pocket." snarks the clerk.
Sam does chuckle and leads them out, assuming Alfred wants to go.
"Like I said, I don't know much about Inside. I know there's places for pokemon trainers that might have rooms. The Gardens take in refugees but I haven't ever really looked into it since Dory found my apartment.
I guess you could crash on my couch for a day if you had to. It's definitely big enough." he offers.

[Earl of Purple]

Leaving Hayden's

"I'll keep it in mind, but I want somewhere to live." Pretty sure I've seen people say all they did was move into an empty house because Nexus brings houses without people sometimes. All he really needs is to find one of those.

[Deathkeeper]

Leaving Hayden's

But unorthodox housing is the best! They could hack a pokeball so it could contain him and finally find out what's in there?
"Ok, wanna keep going to Carousel Court?" Sam asks Alfred.
((feel free to take a turn doing things if you'd like))

[Earl of Purple]

Leaving Hayden's

Robot Chicken revealed that in one clip I've seen on YouTube.

"I don't know. I want somewhere to live. Are there estate agents in this place? I mean, there seems to be everything else around here." Alfred looks around, trying to identify one. But there's a shop not far away with a sign claiming it does housing. It has a wide door, and Alfred doesn't seem to have spotted it yet. It's also shaped like a massive sea-shell, but that's a little hard to make out from so close to it.

[Deathkeeper]

Streets

Sam shrugs with all of his arms. And shoulders I suppose, but I think he only has two pronounced ones. "I dunno, I had a magic cat pick out my place." he looks around and spots the place. "Let's ask in there." he suggests, taking Alfred's hand and leading him over there.

[Earl of Purple]

Crab's Hermitages

Inside, there's a desk with a computer on it, and the walls are covered in photographs. Half of them show houses, flats, caravans, motorhomes, or occasionally plots of land awaiting development. The other half show snail shells, mostly sea-snail shells, with pronounced curves. The reason for this is obvious behind the desk; the estate agent's are ran by giant crabs. The agent on duty has a bright red spiny carapace, one large claw and one much smaller one and ten legs. Its eyes are on stout stalks and are bright blue, and its mouthparts are very complex. "Ah, hello there sirs! Please, have a look around. We have many options for housing, even for bipedal land-dwellers like yourselves! Though, no offence, but I have never seen a bipedal land-dweller quite like you, sir." The crab's voice is cultured and refined, and it gestures at Sam with its smaller claw with the last sentence. "Feel free to browse, we have homes for all budgets, from rooftop campsites to underground lairs- and plenty in between!"

Alfred's briefly struck dumb by the sight of the crab, but recovers quickly. "Um, I just got here, so I'm looking for somewhere to stay on a short notice. I also don't have a job, and whilst my card appears to fit a local bank, I haven't checked my balance. Is that OK?" The crab bobs itself up and down in a 'nod', and motions with the smaller claw to one of the walls, where cheap, but very nice accommodation is displayed.

[Deathkeeper]

Crab's hermitage

"Nothing for me, thanks. I'm just showing my friend here around." Sam says with a shake of his head. He lets Alfred take his pick of places.
It's probably better that he take a place here and not look for a place when they got to Carousel Court. Stables aren't usually as comfortable for humans.

[Earl of Purple]

Crab's Hermitage

They do have stables on offer! Also pigsties, hen-houses, crypts, a clock tower and an upside-down house balancing precariously on its chimney. Alfred quickly discards that idea, it doesn't seem safe.

After looking through, and asking Sam's advice on the weirder ones, Alfred finds a place he likes the look of. It's a single-bedroom flat, not that far away. It's fully furnished, too, and comes with a communal garage, should Alfred or any of his friends turn out to own cars. Not that it's likely, they aren't too common in the Nexus. The lease allows house plants and pokémon under ten feet tall, unless they also qualify as 'house plants'. And it's quite cheap, too. There's a note that the building hosts a 'roof-market' several times a week, which Alfred's curious about. "Roof markets are where the dwellers of the upper storeys and rooftops gather to trade goods, services and information. They're worth attending occasionally; they find incredible things up there. Alas, I am a bit too bulky now to fit up most of the ladders providing access to those attendees that cannot fly on their own."

[Deathkeeper]

Crab's Hermitages

Sam gives the crab a friendly shrug.
"Don't worry, buddy. I doubt I'm in a better position." he says. Sam isn't a fan of ladders, with his bulky frame and short legs. Usually he just pulls himself up using his arms when forced into using one.
Or he just climbs up the wall without one using the spider wall-climbing power he has but has never actually used on screen. "The meets aren't at night though, are you? They might keep you up." Sam's room actually has minor sound-proofing to keep any noises from the business below from being audible.

[Earl of Purple]

Crab's Hermitages

"Oh, no. Not at night, or not often. Night is when the gargoyles hunt, so most of the rooftop tribes keep themselves quiet and still in their hidden encampments." Most are hidden in old attics and steeples, and so on.

"They still sound pretty cool, though. I'll take it, how do I pay?" And that sorts that bit of Alfred's quest out. Maybe I should run a roof-market now...

[Deathkeeper]

Crab's Hermitages

"Well! That sorts that out. You wanna check it out? Go do something else?" Alfred's GO! account is probably a functional trainer license now so he doesn't have that bit of paperwork to do at least.

[Earl of Purple]

Crab's Hermitages

I had not actually considered that. But it makes so much sense, yes.

"Well... Now I've got somewhere to stay, I could go get that knife, or something." He's torn. It was a cool knife, and most people do seem to be wandering around with some form of armament- either blade, bullet or blaster-based. But he's still not too comfortable with the idea of having to use it, even in self-defence.

[Deathkeeper]

Crab's Hermitages

Sam tries to clap Alfred on the back.
"Tell ya what. I'll see if I can nick a knife from work. The whole base is an armory, no one will miss a little letter-opener. If you don't want me to put a word in to work as my assistant or in the beast pens with the pups we can try to find ya a job. Or do pokemons pay?" he asks his new friend.

[Artemis97]

[Delmah Phor - Family Reunion]

Electra follows Szzinyon, listening intently. This is the first exposure she's had to drow in their natural habitat, so she's finding it quite interesting.

"I see. Are there any other rooms they keep lit? The library and Terrarium make sense, but I'm wondering what else might be deemed important enough to light if it bothers your people that much."

"If anything, it would be lit with faerie fire, perhaps a small candle, but that would be up to individual choices. I cannot think of any other public space we would light regularly. If the palace held a temple, that might be lit with faerie fire, or braziers of real flame, but the temple here in Delmah Phor serves us." Sszinyon explains. "I suppose the kitchens have fires as well. Really, though, ours is a world steeped in darkness."

[Delmah Phor - Xar'Cha Palace - Gardens]

"Well this was back before this place grew into a big city. It was still a little town, and apparently the original dog who owned the land was the police chief at one point. His family has gone on to include a lot of bodyguards and investigators. I think it would have been difficult to take it from them. Plus land isn't nearly as limited up here. There are a few pieces of land with unlikely owners I know of.

"Hm." Sornnolu frowns thinking of that. A whole family of investigating police dogs. It was almost cute. He perks up a bit more when Cait mentions she knows more. "Oh? Like what?"

[Delmah Phor - Family Reunion]

"Salamanders. Those are... different from the slaad. Right? Or were they related?" Too many creatures! How does one keep track of them all? "Well, you should consider raiding their nests some time. I bet you'll find some really valuable items there." You can trust a treasure hunter on this. Rein has a nose for finding handy items. Though those poisonous gases and the extreme heat would make a raid problematic.

"You know, I can't say I've ever been in a hot spring before. Just never came up." Or rather, never came up when he didn't have a bunch of fur he didn't want to get wet.

"Slaads are those chaotic things, salamanders are big fire lizards." Raril explains. "We probably could find something interesting," he agrees, "but I doubt few people would want to go looking."

[Delmah Phor - Family Reunion]

Dena eventually returns dressed in a dress made completely out of very fine black scales. She is also wearing fine gloves made out of the same material along with a black hat that seems to be simply made out of felt, yet could easily be mistaken to be made out of the same material with just a quick glance.
"Well, I'm ready." She always had some spare clothes packed in her holding space, you never knew what sort of situations you would get thrown into. "Guess we just need to wait for the others now."

"Wow." Raril comments. "That dress looks good on you. It'll make a nice impression, too, if one of my sisters decides to show up."


And speaking of showing up, it's about now that Sszinyon and Electra reach the Terrarrium Room. The vampiric drow pulls open the door and blinks at the sunlight spilling into the hallway. Raril straightens from where he was leaning by the fireplace. Sszinyon scowls, stepping into the room, eyes, red as coals, not leaving his brother.

"Sszinyon." Raril greeted his brother with a nod.

"Raril." The other drow growls out.

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Delmah Phor - Family Reunion]

Fire under ground sounds like a bad idea to Electra, but she chooses not to comment on it, instead managing only a nod and an, "I see," before they reach the Terrarium. She doesn't seem affected by the change from dark into light as Sszinyon is, moving into the bright room and separating slightly from the vampire by moving to the side and away from him a few steps. She pauses as they greet each other, letting her arms fall to her sides, her hands close to her weapons. If that greeting was any indication, this might devolve into violence, even with both Dena and Rein present. She's a bit surprised there isn't anyone else here from the family to act as an arbiter between the two, but perhaps there's still a chance the brothers can work this out between themselves. She stays alert and ready, but is silent. Rein and Dena are the diplomats here, after all. No sense in making their jobs harder.

[Reinholdt]

[Delmah Phor - Family Reunion]

"All the more for me then." Now Reinholdt has a back-up treasure hunt to fill in the time should he ever need to mentor novice adventurers or something. It's been a productive day so far.

Let's see if it can stay that way. "Ah good! Everyone's here." Rein stands and shuffles out of the way slightly to a new seat. "I kept the seat warm for you Sszinyon. Please, please, by all means. Let's all sit. I can thoroughly recommend the, uh... that. It's quite delicious." Rein says, pointing at 'that' on the snack tray. If everyone's sitting, people tend to be less on edge and every bit helps.

[Earl of Purple]

Crab's Hermitages

"No, it's OK. I don't want you to get in trouble. And I liked that that one folded so I could keep it in a pocket and not worry about stabbing myself when I needed my wallet. Pokémon can pay, yes. In the games the winner of a battle gets some money for winning, the amount depending on the type of trainer you beat. Youngsters and bug-catchers have less than most, because you're basically bullying them for their pocket money, but rich boys, gentlemen and ladies have the most because they're rich." If my character in Omega Ruby wasn't about twelve, I'd feel a lot worse about taking money from Youngsters, Campers, Schoolkids and so on. But then, I've been known to pause Skyrim to fetch a jumper because it's snowing in-game.