MERC XVIII: Affordable Misdeeds and Friendly Canines

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Dena's Office]

"Of course, Miss Xifhara. It has been a pleasure doing business with you. Here's hoping it's a contract you'll never have to act upon, hmm?" Affy gets up, offering his hand across the table to Dena to shake. "I assume sending an electronic signature back to the number you send the contract through on will suffice? I'll happily get a physical copy sent to you afterwards if it's necessary."

[Deathkeeper]

[An Epic Quest]

Willa takes Astrana’s advice and makes the circle as she advises. Within it she places the knife on top of a bowl in which she drips several drops of her own blood (she doesn’t prick her palm, hand injuries hurt and bleed too much, she picks a spot on her arm).
Willa removes most of her gear and changes into a smaller top which better shows off all the lines painted onto her as part of her shaman uniform. From there she goes into an elaborate dance around the circle. Watching centaur dance is certainly an odd thing. Lots of prancing and bucking involved, and Willa isn’t very experienced yet. But as she goes, drop by drop, the blood rises out of the bowl and disappears. And as the last drop fades, Willa takes a pouch full of flour and throws it into the circle. If the spirit hasn’t been blocked from finding the wood, the flour settles into a perfect map of the area around the wood, the bowl and knife acting as the X marking the spot.

[Shadowcaller]

[Dena's Office]

"Alright, I guess we're out of here then. Though... perhaps we should take someone else with us? Just so we aren't going straight according to its vision." Astrana suggests.

[Moonwell Investigation]

Dena shakes his hand. "Hope for the best, prepare for the worst." She smiles. "And yes, it will. Though a printed out copy would be extremely helpful as well."

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Moonwell Investigation]

Electra shakes her head.

"I don't want to chance the ritual not working by having someone else there who isn't supposed to be. If we screw this up, I turn to stone, remember."

[Morty]

[Moonwell Investigation]

Dipsnig shrugs and his ears twitch.

"I am inclined to listen to the person who risks turning into stone over this," he says.

[Shadowcaller]

[Moonwell Investigation]

Astrana nods. "Fair enough. Let's go then." She gets up, ready to leave.

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Moonwell Investigation]

Electra leads the way back down to Astrana's office, since they need the snake to perform the ritual, assuming of course that the warlock didn't bring the snake with her.

"I really hope this works," she mumbles, more to herself than anything else. Even though her expression isn't really showing it, this must be getting to her a bit.

[Shadowcaller]

[Moonwell Investigation]

Astrana grabs the snake from her office, and heads out. "We won't even know once we performed the ritual if you were ever going to turn into stone in the first place. But in this case its better to never find out."

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Moonwell Investigation]

"Yeah," Electra says, leading the way out of the base. She can't teleport through MERC HQ's barrier, but once they're outside of it, she places a hand on Astrana's shoulder quietly and they disappear once more, reappearing at the location of the co-ordinates from her vision.

[Shadowcaller]

[Moonwell Investigation]

And so, like in the vision, they teleport to the moon well and it looks just like Electra remembers it.
The only difference is that there isn't a specter of a girl near the well. There is no one there but her and Astrana.
The tiefling kneels down, looking at the undisturbed snow underneath them. "Doesn't look like anything has been here for at least a day as this snow is fresh, I'll take that as a good sign." The warlock then looks around. "Doesn't rule out flying beings though, or spectral ones." She stands up again. "But how was the ritual performed again?"

Electra is free to make up the details, but the snake was in the center of it.

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Moonwell Investigation]

Electra closes her eyes and focuses on her memory of the ritual again for a moment, before opening them and looking to Astrana.

"We the snake, and offer it upwards for a moment, then place it in the water. Then we both put our hands in the water and perform a chant together. Once it's done, the effect on me should be neutralized, according to the vision. I can teach you the phrases now, I guess; I'm not sure how else you'd know them, though the vision didn't show me teaching it to you; you just sort of knew it."

[Shadowcaller]

[Moonwell Investigation]

"Sounds simple enough, almost too simple." Astrana comments as she takes a step towards the well. "You wouldn't have needed me after all. Anyone could have done it." She strokes her chin thoughtfully as she stops, her feet now sinking now sinking into the snow (which isn't too deep.) "Ah, I suppose I shouldn't try to think of anything clever as it risks endangering you."

[Zefir]

[Main Room]

"The rooms are down there. I guess you find a free one very easily." Fade says to the new member.
"If there is anything else you need ask me. If that's all I get back to work."

So unless he has a question fade will go on doing something.

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Moonwell Investigation]

"I'd prefer to save any shocking new insights until after we've gotten this done, yes," Electra says, moving up to Astrana's side, before whispering in her ear. "Here's the phrases for the chant." She proceeds to whisper the entire chant from her vision to the warlock. She doesn't miss a beat or a syllable, though the way she whispers it implies that the phrases seem to be bothering her for some reason. When she finishes, she steps back for a moment and takes a deep breath.

"Are we ready to do this, then?"

[Shadowcaller]

[Moonwell Investigation]

"Seems that way, nothing stopping us after all." She gestures at the pool as she walks up the stone steps. "Start the chant, I'll pick up after you." Considering that the water in it isn't frozen, its made pretty clear that it isn't any ordinary water.

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Moonwell Investigation]

Electra takes the snake and offers it upwards, before placing it in the water, like in her vision, then holding her hands there and beginning the chant, releasing the snake. She's not sure what to expect, but she's hopeful this will take care of whatever the snake deity did to her at the last moonwell.

[Gullara]

[An Epic Quest]

Willa takes Astrana’s advice and makes the circle as she advises. Within it she places the knife on top of a bowl in which she drips several drops of her own blood (she doesn’t prick her palm, hand injuries hurt and bleed too much, she picks a spot on her arm).
Willa removes most of her gear and changes into a smaller top which better shows off all the lines painted onto her as part of her shaman uniform. From there she goes into an elaborate dance around the circle. Watching centaur dance is certainly an odd thing. Lots of prancing and bucking involved, and Willa isn’t very experienced yet. But as she goes, drop by drop, the blood rises out of the bowl and disappears. And as the last drop fades, Willa takes a pouch full of flour and throws it into the circle. If the spirit hasn’t been blocked from finding the wood, the flour settles into a perfect map of the area around the wood, the bowl and knife acting as the X marking the spot.

[An Epic Quest]

When the flour settles, it does indeed form a map. Nowhere Willa will recognize though. It seems to be a coastal region of some sort, but that could be anywhere.

Kirk starts to laugh. "Isn't that just perfect." he steps closer and moves his finger as if tracing the coast. "I know this place. It's back in my home land. Last I was there it was controlled by some walking filth after their hostile takeover. The bastards must have stolen some." He wears a spiteful smile. "Keep in mind this isn't in the Nexus, but given who's here that's no issue." He looks over at Astrana. "Do you know how to get back? Cleanly that is. I wouldn't say my own travel was that pleasant."

[Chaotic Bob]

[An Inside Entrance?]

Supposedly this place is "underground", in whatever form of literalness that takes. Certain people are pretty good at not worrying about little details like "difficult to find", though.
Like couriers.

So it may be unfeasible, or annoyingly difficult, or maybe they just have a closed sign on the front door of a more obvious building, but a lady in a courier outfit has made her way to the Inside MERC office with intent to get someone's attention.

[Shadowcaller]

((Sorry about the delay, we had to establish a few things first.))

[Moonwell Investigation]

((Ghar is going to post here, its one of the things we established.))

[An Inside Entrance?]

There is a tiny white sheet standing behind the counter of the MERC agency. As the woman enters it turns to face them, revealing that they have drawn a stick figure face on the sheet as to represent a "face". "Hellooooo! Can I help yoooou?"

[Chaotic Bob]

[An Inside Entrance]

There's only a brief pause at the peculiar receptionist's(?) appearance.
Really, delivering things for any longer than a couple hours Inside introduces a person to so many incomprehensibly weird things.
Although this one is quite a bit more tame than some of those, erring on amusingly silly.

So that's kind of a different kind of surprising?
Regardless, the courier pulls a manila envelope from within her messenger back and makes a vague sort of gesture with it. She's not even sure if this individual can see, really, but whatever.
"I was looking to deliver and discuss a bounty of sorts with someone?"

[Shadowcaller]

[An Epic Quest]

Astrana's tail paces slowly from side to side as Kirk turns to address her. "You're casually asking me about interdimensional travel?" She asks with her eyebrows raised. "Not the simplest thing in the world as I trust you're aware of. There is a portal back in Riverside which I used but I don't think it leads where you want to go. Otherwise all my suggestions are going to be related to begging an fey to take you there. An angel specifically, and they aren't the easiest to deal with."

[An Inside Entrance]

The... sheet does seem to peer at the envelope as the envoy makes a gesture with it. "Ooooh? What sort of boooounty? I am sooooomeoone!"

[Chaotic Bob]

[An Inside Entrance]

Has MERC fallen on hard times? Is this person more dangerous than they appear?
Is today some sort of prank day?
The courier has none of the answers, but all of the questions.

Keeps a professional expression though, despite all the thoughts.
"Um, a war criminal is going to be arriving in the city soon, with some...friends. They need putting down for the continued stability of the city. Insofar as the city is ever stable, at least."
She goes with a vague overview of the idea, to see if that gets her anywhere towards someone who doesn't seem to be a bad ghost costume.

[Gullara]

[Moonwell Investigation]

"Seems that way, nothing stopping us after all." She gestures at the pool as she walks up the stone steps. "Start the chant, I'll pick up after you." Considering that the water in it isn't frozen, its made pretty clear that it isn't any ordinary water.

[Moonwell Investigation]

Electra takes the snake and offers it upwards, before placing it in the water, like in her vision, then holding her hands there and beginning the chant, releasing the snake. She's not sure what to expect, but she's hopeful this will take care of whatever the snake deity did to her at the last moonwell.

[Moonwell Investigation]

Upon completing the chant, there's a moment of stillness. Then out of nowhere Astrana collapses, completely unconscious.

[Shadowcaller]

[An Inside Entrance]

"I see! What is this war criminals name?" The sheet-ghost asks, adding. "And whooOo are their friends? Need mOoOore infoOOormation!"

[Tour to MERC]

So I guess they are taking Tina's supposed car here as its self-driving. Wouldn't want to drive on these roads after even one glass of alcohol, they're slippery!
Dena have changed into full winter-gear while in the car by putting warm clothes over her bathing suit. "So you're going to pay me by the performance, basically like commissioning me like any other artist." She clears her voice. "But you can select the music and the theme of course, as long as it isn't something I can't dance to. I will have the right to deny anything I find distasteful or too trippy."

[Murkus]

[Tour to MERC]

A belated answer to Rein's question comes sidling up the mountain pass, easy as you please, hovering a few feet off the icy road. It looks like a long black bullet the size of a small towncar, the front end occupied primarily with a huge spinning turbine. The turbine is lit from within the hover-ride's chassis by a molten orange light, and casts a warm forge glow over everything, the same color as the vehicle's internal night-lights.

It is, indeed, driving itself. Tina is swaddled in a fluffy pink coat, looking lovably tacky with her heart-shaped shades and her tight little sandals. "Too trippy?" Fettina asks with a telling, mischievous grin. "What's too trippy?"

[Chaotic Bob]

[An Inside Entrance]

Nuts. She was really hoping to just get pushed through to someone's office.
Not for any specific reason of wanting to talk to anyone who has an office, but mostly just to get away from sheet-ghost-person.

It's giving her some hardcore cognitive dissonance about her mission here.
"His name is Venmaunt. I don't think his 'friends' have names. They're too busy stealing everyone else's. Hideous facestealers."
Not just ethically hideous. They're actually really physically gross.

"I'm more than a little sure they're intending an infiltration campaign of terrorism."

[Shadowcaller]

[An Inside Entrance]

Considering that the ghosts "face" is just a stick-figure face, its impossible to discern how it feels about this information. "SooOOOoounds urgent! Let me call the management!" The phone on the counter is suddenly starts levitating in the air and is pressed against the "head" of the sheet.
A few signals go off until there finally is a reply. "HellOoOOoooOo!~ We goOot a urgent big cOontract here! Faaacestealers and their booOOoss!"

A unheard reply.

"OOoOookay!"

The phone is now levitated in the direction of the envoy. "They want tOooOo talk tOoo yoOOu!"

On the other end is a woman's voice. "This is Senior Officer Dena Xifhara speaking, who am I talking to?"

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Moonwell Investigation]

Electra looks over when Astrana collapses and makes her way quickly to the warlock. She'll check the warlock's vitals such as she knows them, to make sure she's still breathing and so on, but she's not sure if she should move the tiefling or not. Assuming she's still breathing, Electra will wait a few moments before trying to do more than support Astrana comfortably. She might be having some kind of vision like Electra had before, and if so, she doesn't want to risk interrupting it.

[Deathkeeper]

[An Epic Quest]

Willa groans.
"Right, and then they'll ask us to fetch something from an elf in return for transport, and then we'll have to fetch the elf an extremely specific chicken in exchange for a potion from a goblin. Corvus, this is getting ridiculous. Are you sure we can't just try any of the other leads that aren't deliberately made to be impossible?" she asks testily.

[Chaotic Bob]

[An Inside Entrance]

Well, this is one way of doing things.
The courier eyes the phone for just a moment, before reaching out to grab it. It would be much less weird to talk into a phone she's holding, than one floating near her head.
"Hello, Officer Xifhara. This is Courier Delilah, as a representative of another who couldn't be present.
Your...receptionist's summary is accurate of my purpose here."