Inside 65: A Very Busy Intersection

[bc56]

The meteorite is a perfect stone sphere. The outside is scorched from it's entry into the atmosphere, but the inside is covered with arcane glyphs, recognizable as glyphs of binding and also of preservation, to those who know these kinds of things. Tethrik looks at his longtime prison, then back at Anchor. "Know anywhere good to eat? I'm famished. Probably haven't eaten in hundreds of years." The demonic bloodlust seems to have subsided for now.

[Recaiden]

"The mall's across town, so I'd have to recommend The Black Dragon's Den. It's down by the docks, that way."

Anchor jerks her head to indicate. By the time the demon looks back to her, she's copying drawings of the glyphs into some loose paper at the back of the spellbook.

"I'll buy you lunch, but just a minute. I mean, if you wouldn't mind waiting, it's not every day you see a magic space-prison capsule."
That done, she sets off towards the city's premiere shady bar.

[bc56]

An empty street
After a short hesitation, Tethrik follows Anchor to the Black Dragon's Den.

[Deathkeeper]

[Razadelli's]

"Oh really?" Aly'ithra grins, "Maybe you can sing something for me later. I could play music?" she offers.

[Razadelli's]

Sam looks away, embarrassed.
"Oh, I've never gotten lessons or anything. And the person who used to tell me was pretty biased. I'm sure it's not that great." he insists, clearly shy about it.

[Artemis97]

[Razadelli's]

Aly simply smiles back at Sam. "Let me be the judge of that, ok?"

[Deathkeeper]

[Razadelli's]

Sam brightens up slowly, eventually revealing his tusked smile again.
"Well, okay. We could go back to my place sometime where it's quiet." Because he sure doesn't want to go to hers where evil drow are apparently holding her hostage.

[Devixer]

Peaceview Park

"If you cannot recall how you got here, how did you think to return home?" Makuro also can't remember how she got here. Though, she also can't recall where she came from, meaning she doesn't have a home.

She'll head towards the alleyway.

"My Path shall guide me, as it always has." Bit of a vague statement, there, but Keiko's conviction in it is clear. She follows Makuro to the alleyway. She'd like to see these abilities in person.

[Shadowcaller]

Run Down Street

Cassidy snorts. Alright, she'll play along. "Stop shoving your new pixie dust on kids. That's my terms."

Peaceview Park

"We certainly may. I am beginning to feel that returning home will be harder than I thought, so I have plenty of time. And if you wish to see how I fight, you are welcome to."

Run Down Street

"Alas, I am but a humble mercenary. I am only being paid to do my job here, I can't really take that sort of decision. But what about a shower?"
At that word two goons come around the corners of two buildings behind her and starts opening fire at Cassidy. Firing a barrage of lasers.
Now teal hair screams and make a run for it, just barely avoiding getting hit.

[Earl of Purple]

Alleyway Near Peaceview Park

It's quite a run-down alleyway, between two tall buildings- a concrete Brutalist hotel, and a red marble tower carved from one seamless block. There's a pile of black sacks full of rubbish mouldering in the corner, and there's some graffiti on the walls, though it mostly doesn't make much sense- 'The Silence is Always Watching', 'Dude, What Does Mine Say?', 'Are You My Mummy?' and 'I <3 Brockton Bay' are all quite prominent.

The two walls are about six feet apart, which might be a bit cramped for Keiko's staff-work, but great for Makuro. She walks to the concrete wall, presses a hand against it, and concentrates as she presses another one, higher up the wall, and then lifts one foot up and puts it on the wall, followed by her other foot- she has no shoes; she didn't arrive with any. She'll crawl up the wall, a little nervously at first as she's worried of falling, but the higher she gets the more confident she is that she won't, since she hasn't yet. When she's about twenty feet off the ground, she turns and looks down at Keiko, lifts a hand away and waves. She moves so her feet are as flat against the concrete as she can get them, and takes both hands off the wall and straightens as much as she can, so she's hunched over. She reaches 'up', plants her hands on the marble and lets go with her feet, swinging herself up before crawling back down the opposite wall to where she started, head-first. She'll let go will all four limbs when she's ten feet up, her enhanced physiology enabling her to flip so she lands on her feet. "That was quite fun."

[bc56]

Outside the Black Dragon's Den
A sleek white spaceship, shaped rather like an egg, has just landed. The ship has a unique, marbled color, which suggests exotic alloys. However, on close inspection, one would realize that the ship is actually constructed from marble. The only things that stand out from it's smooth white surface are its landing gear, the front windshield, and the two wicked looking black cannons mounted on turrets on the sides of the ship. A landing ramp has been lowered, and two demons have disembarked. One appears as a humanoid male, handsome, tall and wearing a golden crown set with rubies. The other is a hulking green behemoth with four arms, the upper pair of which end in curved, serrated t instead of hands.

The rebellious demon Tethrik had just exited the tavern, and is currently staring down the newcomers. He looks a lot like the green demon, except that Tethrik wears jeans and a T-shirt, while the new demon wears a suit and tie.

[Recaiden]

Anchor scrambles out of the bar, still gobblnig down her meal of steak as quick as possible.

So there's the bruiser and deal-maker that Tethrik mentioned. The pilot's probably still inside, training cannons on them. And the ship, how pretty. Really doesn't look demonic at all. Which on second thought makes sense, if they're tempting people.
She gives the alien invaders a wave.

[bc56]

Outside the Black Dragon's Den
The deal-maker is speaking to Tethrik. "Come now, Tethrik, tell us where you hid it, and we'll only space you again. We would hate to be scraping your flesh off the wall and putting you in a regeneration vat before torturing the location out of you." The bruiser draws a large, heavy device from its back, a hollow silvery cylinder about 2ft long and 6in wide, and points the open end at Tethrik. "We don't want to hurt you if we don't have to," it says. The look on its face seems to disagree with its statement.

Anchor may catch a glimpse of a ten-armed creature watching the proceedings intently from the spaceship's windshield.

[Earl of Purple]

Outside the Black Dragon's Den

Mama Gho is also here. She's a dark-skinned woman wrapped up in an old, faded grey robe, with a matching shawl wrapped around her head. Her eyes are hidden behind a pair of dark sunglasses, and a battered leather satchel hangs over her shoulder. She's leaning on a polished mahogany walking-stick. The other demons, much like Tethrik, can probably tell she's not all she seems. "That does not seem like a very attractive deal to me, and I believe that is your purpose, is it not? The whole point is to make them think they're getting the good part of the deal. You are offering an eternity of boredom, or a brutal death followed by an eternity of torment. Options like that, I'd be inclined to fight... And I'm just an old woman." The old woman is hunched over, and to all mundane senses, that is all she seems to be.

Supernatural senses, well. They come in a great variety of forms and do different things, and I don't want to spoil anything about her true nature if I don't have to.

[Recaiden]

"What's- all that about, Tethrik? What's hidden?"
It's not a real surprise that the fugitive demon was hiding something. But it's a little disappointing.

But she looks up through the ship's windshield, and not at anyone on the ground.

[Artemis97]

[Razadelli's]

Sam brightens up slowly, eventually revealing his tusked smile again.
"Well, okay. We could go back to my place sometime where it's quiet." Because he sure doesn't want to go to hers where evil drow are apparently holding her hostage.

[Razadelli's]

Aly gives Sam a curious look. Asking her back to his place already? She takes another bite of her burger and chews thoughtfully, then shrugs. "Sure, why not? Better than my place."

[Deathkeeper]

[Razadelli's]

He hadn't met now. Though he easily could have- his first date went home with him immediately, so his experience could betray him.
"Speaking of, did you want to go anywhere after dinner? The city's a big place." he asks with a smile, having already polished off his food. He wipes his mouth, taking a moment to wipe his tusks clean.

[Morty]

[Message's Shrine]

Dorota strides purposefully towards the shrine. She's heard that this deity speaks to people in person, so perhaps she'll speak to her as well. It's worth a try.

[Recaiden]

It's not the best part of town, but it feels peaceful here. Safe. Cozy.
It didn't look big from the outside. Just another squat brick cube of a building. But inside, distance falls away; there's no cues to remind you that there's a world besides you, and the altar, and the fields of candle-lights.

Hello Dorota.
'In person' doesn't exactly describe the soundless voice, but it's certainly personal.

[bc56]

Outside the Black Dragon's Den
As Mama Gho put it, Tethrik is ready to fight. However, he's not going to be rash about it. He knows how to use a sucker punch. He turns toward Anchor. "I'll tell you..." Tethrik channels his bloodlust, tackles the other bruiser, and knocks the weapon away. The two demons wrestle on the ground. "... After we kill these three!"

[Morty]

[Message's Shrine]

The alchemist stands around awkwardly. The atmosphere of the shrine calms her, but some uneasiness remains.

"Do you... know who I am?"

[Recaiden]

"Not very well. We haven't had anything to do with each other before."
"But now, here you are - have a seat; there's cushions up ahead of you."
"How can I help you?"

[Morty]

[Message's Shrine]

"You've heard about Erin's Emporium, then?" Dorota asks, sitting down. "I'm looking for knowledge about deities."

[Recaiden]

"Of course; Erin's is famous."

"And who better to ask but one of us, right? What prompted your inquiry? Where should we start?"
The voice asks her.

[Morty]

[Message's Shrine]

Dorota consults a small, neat notebook.

"My goal is to find out if the deities I was raised to worship ever existed. Supposedly, they're dead now, save one. I've already spoken to Civiron, the goddess of hope. So now... I'd like to ask you about how you came to exist and be a deity."

[Earl of Purple]

Outside the Black Dragon's Den

As Tethrik fights the other brute-demon, Mama Gho turns to the deal-maker, and approaches slowly, but steadily. "I am here for my own interests, not those of Tethrik. I do not wish to fight, but I am not scared of violence. I shall offer you a deal. Let me know what you want of him, and I may back out of this conflict and allow the others to do as they see fit." Mama Gho reaches up and adjusts her sunglasses, inflicting the Evil Eye upon the deal-maker, a mild curse aimed at sapping his strength and stamina. It's more effective on mortals, but it's one of the few magical things Mama Gho can do to other beings without a price attached.

[bc56]

Outside the Black Dragon's Den
"Our reasons are our own, we do not give our secrets to just anyone. I'll offer you a deal. You stay out of this, and we'll let you live." The demon conjures an orb of lightning in its hand and throws it at the other demons wrestling on the ground, but it's hard to tell which one it hit.

[Recaiden]

[Message's Shrine]

The candles all flicker and bend inward as Message makes an appearance on the other side of the altar. There might be a lot to explain; appearing to talk is simpler.

Today's avatar is a two-tailed white tigress with solid gold eyes.

"So you need background."
"My mother was a goddess in her world, who oversaw Death, and was in the Nexus for...various reasons." The other gods deciding they didn't need death anymore? A convoluted plot to save certain people? A vacation? A little of all three? It's not important.
"My father was human." More or less. At the time.
"I was a demigoddess, technically, but that didn't help me any. Not any stronger, tougher, or longer-lived than a normal person. Different in name only. But in time, I grew. I learned the craft of divinity from the goddess of Twilight. I discovered several of the Ten Truths through my journeys, and became immortal. And people believed in me, sharing strength. At first, just one desperate man. Then the people I saved, and the people I knew."
"One day my body was killed, and I realized I ... just didn't need it anymore."
Message grins.
"But that doesn't entirely answer your question. Where did my mother come from? I mean, I don't know."

[Outside the Black Dragon's Den]

Anchor draws her sword from the shadows of the bar and, ignoring the two brawlers, tries to run up the landing ramp into the ship. Mama Gho is a great distraction.

[Earl of Purple]

Outside the Black Dragon's Den

Mama Gho laughs, briefly. "Oh, dearie me. You have no idea what you're getting into." Mama Gho raises her walking-stick and lashes out with it, hard, at the deal-maker's kneecap. Her strength isn't what would be expected of a little old lady, and is closer to what one would expect of an adult ogre. If the deal-maker stumbles, she'll lash out again and try to whack the other demon in the head, just as hard as she did on the leg.

[bc56]

Outside the Black Dragon's Den
As Anchor rushes toward the ship, the pilot sees. It raises the boarding ramp, but too late. When Anchor reaches the foot of the ramp, it is only at knee height, easy to climb onto. Inside the ship, Anchor can see the simple design. It's an open hallway, with the entrance in the rear and the cockpit at the front. On each side is a recess that appears to be where a gunner would sit. The pilot is in the cockpit, turning to face Anchor. It is a grey-skined creature with 10 arms and 3 bulbous eyes on the long of its ridiculously long neck. It is holding a dagger in each hand and glaring.

Mama Gho's strike hits home, causing the demon to clutch at his kneecap, which is visibly broken. However, the deal-maker is ready for the second swing and catches the cane. "I'll get you for that, old one" he snarls. He raises his free hand, and a spear materialises in it.

[Artemis97]

[Razadelli's]

He hadn't met now. Though he easily could have- his first date went home with him immediately, so his experience could betray him.
"Speaking of, did you want to go anywhere after dinner? The city's a big place." he asks with a smile, having already polished off his food. He wipes his mouth, taking a moment to wipe his tusks clean.

"I heard there is a free concert in the park." Aly suggests. "We could go to that. I really like music."