Inside 66: Order up!

[CosmicHobbit]

[Slums(But the part Recaiden said above me)]

Oliver looks at the museum, one eyebrow raised, double-checks the address, and starts walking into the courtyard. Unable to pierce the invisibility, he starts to search the courtyard, eventually finding the coins. He discretely opens it to make sure all 50% is there. If it's all there, he simply walks away, heading for Skyside. If not, he glares around the courtyard before entering the abandoned museum.

[Recaiden]

The money's all there. If his customer plans on stiffing him for part of the bill, it'll be the second part, after the job is done.

When he leaves, the cloaked figure follows.

[Artemis97]

[Smiley Dragon Play Park]

Eira is glad to make arrangements, or at least exchange phone numbers. "I'm not sure if Sszinyon will let him leave the castle after this." She admits. Neyeneve's parents might recognize Landon's father's name. He was infamous before his son was born.


"It's neat." Landon tells his new friend. "They're both really strong and have been training me to fight and stuff. Eira's kinda like a mom to me." He admits. "She teaches me things and makes me eat vegetables and stuff."

[UncleWolf]

Delmah Phor - Xar'Cha Palace

Despite being human at the moment, Brokenfang's laughter could easily be called a bark as she drags Erelae close against her. "I can dance, just not very well. But...perhaps we could call this a celebration as we look forward to a long and fortuitous friendship. Do you have any wine?" She asks, still waiting for the music before dancing.

[Artemis97]

[Delmah Phor - Xar'Cha Palace]

Erelae holds up a finger, as if to say hold that thought, and goes digging under the cart where the food was set out. She pulls out a wine bottle of deep blue glass, with gold wire in a web pattern all through it. A golden spider sits on the web, just under the neck. Erelae picks up two teacups and pops the stopper on the bottle, pouring the deep purple wine into the cups. The drowses offers one to Brokenfang. "Mushroom wine, a specialty of my family's farms in the Underdark." The taste is sweet, but woody and earthy.

Soon, Divoyn returns with an MP3 player and a set of speakers. He sets it on the table and steps aside. Erelae walks over to it, and looks back at Brokenfang. "What's your pleasure?"

[UncleWolf]

Delmah Phor - Xar'Cha Palace

Brokenfang's eyes brighten at the wine being brought out and she holds it up to the light while giving it a little swirl. She certainly seemed to appreciate finer things like this readily, and as she took in the scent of the wine, she seems to relax and smile. Only then does she take a small sip to let it fill her mouth as best as it can before swallowing. After the first sip, she takes a second and third before setting the glass down. "Wonderful." She says, offering her hand to Erelae if she's ready to dance. "And perhaps some jazz? Slower. Unless you have a preference, my Lady?"

[Artemis97]

[Delmah Phor - Xar'Cha Palace]

Erelae flips through the MP3 player's playlist, settling on some lounge jazz. Seeing Brokenfang offering her hand, she grins and accepts it, stepping close to dance. She's graceful and light on her feet as she moves to the tempo of the music.

[Lord Magtok]

Estus Park Cemetery

Spoiler

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The idea is that you kill / infect offenders, you don't have to worry about reforming them. There won't be a next time, so it doesn't matter whether they learn their lesson. Admittedly, cases where trespassing fake-paladins get away do complicate the issue.

"This is a park cemetery. Extremely haunted." The wizard snaps her spellbook shut, hooks it back on her belt, and adjusts her sunglasses, before strolling closer to the knight. It might be hard to tell in the lighting, but she doesn't have a shadow with her. It's still busy back at the open grave over there. "Maybe just walked over the wrong headstone. ... You're sure you were just passing through? I'd hate to stir up even more of them." The knight hadn't sounded sure of that at all.

"Just passing through. I don't even know anyone here," she insists, shaking her head and tucking her blade back into its scabbard. "I'm not really sure what you're getting at, but I guess I'll be staying away from parks from now on. Thanks again for the help, though." She'd better get going. The wizard might have more questions, and as much as she may indebted to the mage for saving her, more questions will lead to a lot more trouble. A polite apology and a brisk jog in the general direction of Trog's may be her best bet right now.

[Morty]

[Slums - Spooky Plants]

"I want to go with you; you saved me. Together we'll go somewhere dark, and wooden..."
The plant whispers, its stalks trying to twist around Thariza's gloved hand.

Thariza sighs and reaches out with her hand, putting the plant away from her.

"Let's just get something straight here. There's more of that fire when it came from and unless you want to see it, you won't play any such tricks."

[Recaiden]

[Estus Park Cemetery]

That's not suspicious at all.
"That's a good plan. The fences around parks, those aren't for protecting nature from us."
The wizard glances back over her shoulder, possibly giving the knight a chance to escape.
"Alright. I do have to get back to my work. But at least tell me your name before you go."

[Slums - Spooky Plants]

The plant screams at the top of its voice (which is still quite quietly) and curls itself into a little ball of roots and leaves.
"Why? I don't understand."

Don't let it fool you, Thariza. It understands just fine.

[Morty]

[Slums - Spooky Plants]

"Don't you?" Thariza asks. "You've got some plan for me that involves luring me somewhere... dark and wooden. And you're trying to get all over me. What are you and what do you want?"

[Recaiden]

"I'm just lonely please don't burn me~" It shrieks.
"I'm the First Seed. I don't want to die. I can't grow if it's too bright out."
It is, after all, a subterranean plant.

[bc56]

Smiley Dragon

Jason doesn't have sedative, but he could set the laser to kill. He checks to be sure there are no kids on the other side of the door, then blasts the digger, trying to avoid hitting any innocents, even if it would turn a lethal shot to a non-lethal one.

[Morty]

[Slums - Spooky Plants]

"So I'm going to take you somewhere dark, cold and deep where you can grow in peace," Thariza says. Seems simple enough.

[Recaiden]

"Okay."
The plant agrees. It's certainly better than being burned - how could Thariza be so cruel as to threaten that!?
"It's just - why did you come get me just to take me somewhere else again? And what about the other one?"
Difficult questions when no one has ever explained to you what's going on.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Docks]

"I really don't want to know what this blek smell is, but we probably do need to know," Michalson says, grimacing. "Now the question is what we do with the book. It's entirely possible that if I open it I'll end up like this poor sod. It probably needs to be scanned in a safer place. But we still got to get rid of the nasty affectin' the locals."

[Docks]

Ithuriel frowns and draws one of her swords, motioning for Michalson to back up just a wee bit. "Might be undead. Might be something else. Either way, it's almost certainly dangerous." Keeping the sword at arm's length, she'll working on using the blade to carefully tear at the shirt to reveal what exactly is causing the smell.

Ithuriel's sword cuts its way through the shirt as one would expect, it's hardly tough material. Beneath...the cuts and wounds give way to a form of sick order, into symbols that any rational mind can immediately identify as the Bad sort of heretical.
And in their depths, to Michalson's magic-sensing eye, the flickers of necromancy lie in dormant state.

There is some sort of spell waiting here, but it hasn't been activated quite yet.
Smell is a bit worse now, though, with the shirt pulled apart.

"Hrm."
There's a voice from outside the office somewhere, quiet but slightly perplexed.
"Plan B."

And then there is the not-so-quiet sound of someone exhaling. And exhaling. And exhaling.

Presuming Michalson turns towards the door, he will see the haze of particularly hideous necromancy sliding along the floor with his detecting eye and a light pink mist sliding along the floor with his other. Ithuriel too, on the latter, of course.
If Ithuriel's less mundane heritage supplies general Evil sense, she'll get a big aura of that falling over the area at the same time. Or maybe it's just the necromantic energy.
Either way.

[Hattish Thing]

Prisonbreak:

Night has fallen over the ironclad penitentiary, and with it comes a storm the likes of which hasn't been felt in these parts for quite some time. Lightning flashes overhead, streaking across the black, storm-wrought sky above, illuminating the darkened innards of the imposing structure, the accompanying roaring of thunder joined by the cacophonous groan of creaking stones to form a ghastly choir. The blistering wind just outside the penitentiary blows sheets of biting rain down upon the muddy ground, its howl like the lamentations of the prisoners within, echoing through the claustrophobic, labyrinthine system of grimy, repetitive brick walls atop ancient cobblestone streets just outside.

Barely visible through darkened stormcloud, the bright and foreboding full moon shines far above, shrouded by layers of thick fog and dark clouds. The moonlight is reflected in the numerous puddles lining the inner courtyard, the light from the moon blending in eerily with the light being given off by certain sections of the crippled prison, courtesy of a backup generator.

The expansive iron doors leading into the central prison appear unlocked.

Temple of Lolth - Delmah Phor:

It begins as a floating mote of dark purple energy, one which manifests just in front of the Temple of Lolth, within the confines of the drow district known as Delmah Phor. Several seconds pass before the crackling mote expands, bolts of purplish electricity arcing about here and there as the ominous portal begins to expand, just wide enough to allow for a frightening technological orb to be hurled through. The orb detonates the instant it comes into contact with the ground, causing shrapnel and fire to hurtle through the air within the respectable blast radius.

Smoke fills the area as the portal expands once more, allowing for a particularly imposing individual to step through once the rubble subsides and the debris begins to sweep away. The stranger, over eight-feet tall and quite wide, stares ahead from beneath a tall, wide-brimmed leather hat, his sunken eyes of burning coals shielded by a pair of black shades. The barest hint of the stranger's scarred and weathered face can be seen from certain angles, despite the fact that a majority of the man's maimed and half-melted face remains hidden behind a dusty, black bandanna and a tall, blood-spattered leather collar. His skin is flaky and burnt, dotted with liver spots inflicted by dozens of years spent laboring under the hot sun. Scars of all shapes and sizes race across his leathery flesh, the wounds never fully having healed due to poor self-stitching, giving him a rather imposing appearance.

The bounty-hunter wears a long, threadbare leather greatcoat lined with accents of faded silver, worn over a thick breastplate inscribed with silver runes. The stranger wears a dented, well-worn starmetal gauntlet on his left hand, decorated with bones and runes similar to his armor, while the other appears to be a particularly bulky cybernetic limb, each industrial-sized metal finger as thick as a lesser being’s wrist, pipes and pistons visible beneath heavy, spiked plating meant to crush, and grind, and utterly pulverize with brutal efficiency. Dozens of blood-stained bandages cover the prosthesis, and bones taken as trophies from successful ventures now decorate the arm, giving it a frightening, claw-like look. A cracked metal lantern decorated with flecks of gold and silver hangs from his belt alongside a trio of sentient severed heads attached to blackened chains, while a sharp, angular collar rests upon the man's broad shoulders, wrapping about his neck, where it attaches to an enormous black cloak.

With a particularly bulky looking shotgun in one hand, the man walks confidently towards the entrance into Delmah Phor, still mostly hidden by the smoke. Unless otherwise prevented, the bounty hunter will open the door wide and step within. Should the entrance be locked in any sort of way, Arbrim simply attempts to punch through the door with his cybernetic fist and forcefully tear through.

"..."

[Artemis97]

[Delmah Phor - Temple of Lolth]

There were screams. One temple guard lay dead against the curving wall of the temple, another was missing her lower leg, screaming in pain, frustration, and anger. She aims a handcrossbow at the bounty hunter and fires. Others are dazed and bloodied. A young drow boy was crying, his hands over his ears, blood dripping through his fingers.

The main doors of the temple open easily, they hadn't been locked. Inside was an ante chamber, with stairs leading up and to the left and right. A ramp goes down towards the main floor of the temple. All is lit by purple faerie fire. A priestess inside aims a lightning bolt at the bounty hunter, hoping to take him down in one hit.

[Gullara]

[Temperance Teahouse]

And thus Reinholdt was drawn into a hypnotic trance. Hours later he woke up in yet another haunted hospital missing a kidney. Never trust a fey.

Rein isn't sure he's ever given so many head nods and uh-huhs, slowly starting to wonder how Kitty has survived this long. At least he has tea to sip while Annie talks. Regardless, it's usually better to let them talk themselves out until they've exhausted themselves. Which would be fine. If Rein had all the time in the world.

Hmm, would interrupting Annie ruin her day? How does one wreck a child's hopes and dreams without being mean about it? Reinholdt opens his mouth to interject, but closes it again. Darn it. Annie's got too cute a demeanor to wreck her story with boring adult stuff. He'll end up listening to the whole story and maybe the next ones too depending on how run together Annie's stories become.

Next time he'll suggest someplace with a built in play area and toys with every meal. Something to keep the energetic child occupied.

[Temperance Teahouse]

"Bye! I'm going home now." Annie abruptly announces at the end of her story. She slides off her chair and moves next to her mom. She grabs the kitsune's skirt and tugs on it.

"Mommy's still having tea, Annie. Just wait." Kitsuki says firmly. The little screws up her face and just tugs again. Uh oh.

[Hattish Thing]

[Riss - Armored Vehicle]

Kramolagh remains patient as the entity beside him begins to read through the folder, showing no sign of eldritch knowledge, failing to reference the eye in any sort of way. As she continues to read through the folder, the gray-coated man's somewhat friendly expression fades into one more akin to the look he offered towards the woman during their initial meeting, one of cold yet polite professionalism. He clasps his gloved hands together before breathing in and exhaling softly, his expression inscrutable upon his unusually angled, yet attractive face.

"Everything appear t-to be in order?"

--

[Delmah Phor - Temple of Lolth]

Arbrim continues to step forward, gritting his teeth as the screams echo throughout the area, a gruesome sound which he had heard a thousand times yet never truly grown used to. As he's moving forward, the bounty-hunters attention remains upon the entrance into the temple, and as such he pays little heed towards the wounded drow leaning up against the building. As such, her tiny crossbow bolt manages to pierce the bounty-hunters thigh, finding a gap in the man's arm moreso out of sheer luck than skill. Although the bolt fails to pierce much in the way of flesh due to the alien humanoid's scale-like hide, it does him a fair bit of pain.

Unwilling to waste more time than strictly necessary, Arbrim grunts out in pain before ripping out the miniature crossbow bolt and crushing it within his cybernetic fist. He glares towards the drow woman, fiery embers blazing with hatred as he draws near. The bounty-hunter reaches for the wounded guard's hand, aiming to simply squeeze and crush bone and crossbow alike within the grasp of his enormous fist, pipes and pistons pounding beneath heavy, spiked plating meant to crush, and grind, and utterly pulverize with brutal efficiency. As he does so, the bounty-hunter narrows his eyes towards the drow, seemingly not quite finished.

Once the hand-crossbow is destroyed, he'll attempt to simply raise the guard up against the wall, before reaching into his extradimensional storage and retrieving what appears to be a particularly cruel-looking spear. In one cruel stroke, the bounty-hunter pivots, grinding his feet into the ground as he thrusts the cruelly serrated spear forward with an alarming amount of force, likely impaling the drow guard into the wall, a horrific and painful blow that is likely to cause her to fall unconscious almost immediately, but won't likely kill her for some time.

"Should've stayed down."

--

As he steps into the temple proper, Arbrim reaches for a small blue pistol at his belt with his free hand, partially shutting a blazing eye as he aims towards the wall adjacent to the door beside him. The bounty hunter pulls the trigger, which causes a blast of bluish matter to rocket through the air, sticking against one side of the stairway. A button built into his cybernetic hand is pressed, which causes the sticky material to glow and emit an invisible barrier, one which ought to seal the door off from intruders for some time. Content with his bit of bought time, Arbrim holsters the blue pistol before turning back towards the hall ahead, noticing the priestess below.

The spellcaster's spell goes off at this point, a potent hex which would have likely caused the bounty hunter a considerable amount of pain, had it not been for the fact that the hulking figure had been warned about the drow's tendency towards electrical weaponry, and as such had taken suitable precautions. The lightning bolt crashes directly into the man's chest, a blow which causes him to stumble back slightly, though the priestess may note that a majority of the electrical energy appears to have been absorbed into a soft, blue rune carved into the man's hexagonal-patterned breastplate.

While ultimately ineffective, the spell causes the bounty hunter no small amount of discomfort, and in response he begins to charge forward with murderous intent. Unless otherwise prevented, the bounty hunter sneers darkly at the drow priestess before assuming a more offensive stance, digging his steel heels into the ground before lowering his right arm and growling. Arbrim pivots violently once in range, keeping his shoulders level and lowering his body, utilizing the momentum generated by the powerful action to drive his barbed, cybernetic fist directly into the drow's jaw at a brutal upwards angle, attempting to simply crack it.

Should the drow survive the blow, Arbrim will simply pull the trigger of his shotgun, directing the hail of superheated shrapnel in her general direction.

"Mm..."

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Docks]

This is all kinds of bad, isn't it? Ithuriel reeeeally doesn't like this. And that voice is rather concerning. It's never fun to learn that someone else is watching you and you've got no idea where they are!

Also, this corpse! This corpse has symbols carved into it that are definitely bad news, even if Ithuriel doesn't have any sorta magic-sense. So...bad magic about to happen/already happening. Solution? Defile the corpse some more!

Ithuriel has no idea if this is a good idea, but it's the first thing that comes to mind in terms of stopping whatever the heck is going on. She flicks her blade, trying to cut through whatever pattern there is and hopefully ruin whatever sort of ritual-y doom spell this is.

[Morty]

[Docks]

As Ithuriel deals with the corpse, Michalson steps forward and swings his sabre at the mist. A seemingly pointless gesture, but the sword isn't quite normal. It's inlaid with runes and patterns that allow it to disrupt things that are less than material, nullify magic and strike on more than one plane. It's the weapon's main purpose, as Michalson isn't otherwise much for swashbuckling.

While doing that, he also concentrates on the corpse, breathing out and repeating a simple phrase in a far-away language in his head. If Ithuriel's action does disrupt the spell, this simple Rite of Denial should make its decomposition deeper and more pronounced.

[Lord Magtok]

Estus Park Cemetery

Spoiler

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[Estus Park Cemetery]

That's not suspicious at all.
"That's a good plan. The fences around parks, those aren't for protecting nature from us."
The wizard glances back over her shoulder, possibly giving the knight a chance to escape.
"Alright. I do have to get back to my work. But at least tell me your name before you go."

"Saint Lazarus," the knight lies. It's a quick, prepared lie, though. One that the knight has clearly used before. If nothing else, the wizard can probably count on finding that name again if she ever wants to track her down. Barely even a real lie, if you really think about it.

"Like I said, I'll be at Trog's. I've got some business of my own to take care of, and it's on the way," the faceless warrior reveals, before heading on her way. She briefly considers skipping over Trog's entirely, but that'd just raise even more suspicion, wouldn't it? Then the wizard would know for sure something was up, if she turned out to be the sort of person determined to poke her nose into things. There's a lot of people like that, and no telling if this is one of them yet.

[Morty]

[Slums - Spooky Plants]

Thariza says.

"I wish I knew. Someone who knew a lot about me told me that I have to 'rescue' you, or else something bad will happen. I still wonder if I'm being played for a fool. But if you don't want to be put somewhere again, what do you want?"

[Chaotic Bob]

[Docks]

The corpse is cut up some more, which doesn't really change its overall situation: mutilated and desecrated. The runes are messed up though, and with Michalson adding his part, what little trace of necromantic power was on the corpse is snuffed out.

-1 trap.

It doesn't do much for the pink mist situation, though.
Which Michalson is trying to rectify with his sword, to somewhat limited success. The disrupting power of his sword finds purchase within the energy there, visible as a wave of white sparks washing away the color of contacted mist and a good few feet of it in any direction.
What it doesn't do is cleanse all of it, or stop its inexorable tide. Slows it, around where he struck, certainly.
But doesn't stop it. It won't take terribly long before it begins flowing into the office, unless he keeps swinging at it.

Through all of this, the sound of someone deeply exhaling continues.

[Artemis97]

[Delmah Phor - Temple of Lolth]

The priestess dodges the blow rolling sideways, but takes a nasty hit from the shotgun. She's still up though. She drops an area of magical darkness in the entryway and flees down the ramp deeper into the temple.

[Hattish Thing]

[Delmah Phor - Temple of Lolth]

Arbrim chuckles darkly as the priestess flees, wounded by several shotgun slivers. Although the bounty-hunter's accursed eyes pierce through natural darkness, the magical proves much more disorienting, leaving him somewhat out of his element. As such, he taps at the shades worn over his blazing eyes, slowly switching sensory modes, activating thermal vision after several seconds. Before he proceeds deeper into the compound, the enormous bounty-hunter kneels down, collecting several drops of blood that the fleeing priestess had left behind, a courtesy of her shotgun wound.

Carefully, he activates a small magical tracking device built into his hand, now attuned to the wounded drow's location, deeper within the compound. Still feeling confident, Arbrim reaches for one of the enchanted chains at his belt, one tipped with what appears to be an oversized, harpoon-like blade of glittering starmetal. With the chain-blade in one hand, the bulky shotgun in the other, Arbrim follows down the ramp, glancing at his cybernetic hand every few seconds in order to gauge the drow's location compared to his own.

"Can't run from me..."

[billtodamax]

Spoiler

Show

Smiley Dragon Play Park

The good thing for Jason is that whilst he's heaving against the door, the Digger on the other side can't afford to do anything other than push back. The Digger is keeping the door closed, but can't also lock the door. The Digger he'd jumped over has arrived, and tries to grab Jason around the waist, to haul him away from the door.

Marina first zaps, and then stabs the head of, the penultimate Digger in this area. Jason... Really should either kill them, or sedate them. Stunning hasn't worked so far.

Nynaeve starts to sympathise with Landon's lack of a mother, before he reveals his dual paternity. "Oh, I see." She nods and smiles, thinking him probably adopted. Although a case of Male Seahorse Syndrome is also possible, she assumes. Her parents will attempt to talk to Eria, to try and arrange a possible future play-date type thing, since they seem to be getting on so far.

[Smiley Dragon Play Park]

Eira is glad to make arrangements, or at least exchange phone numbers. "I'm not sure if Sszinyon will let him leave the castle after this." She admits. Neyeneve's parents might recognize Landon's father's name. He was infamous before his son was born.


"It's neat." Landon tells his new friend. "They're both really strong and have been training me to fight and stuff. Eira's kinda like a mom to me." He admits. "She teaches me things and makes me eat vegetables and stuff."

Smiley Dragon

Jason doesn't have sedative, but he could set the laser to kill. He checks to be sure there are no kids on the other side of the door, then blasts the digger, trying to avoid hitting any innocents, even if it would turn a lethal shot to a non-lethal one.

Smiley Dragon Play Park

Feel their pain. Marina says, channeling one more ball of psychic energy and launching it towards the final digger this side of the door, again trying to inflict an overwhelming pain on him to dissuade him from stopping Jason at the door. She'll then finish closing the gap with Jason and the door herself, leaning up against it with him to help force it open. Her face is set in a grimace standing next to Jason - she clearly doesn't approve of his methods in combat.

[Recaiden]

[Estus Park Cemetery]

A saint? "Oh, thank you. Best of luck."
The wizard quickly bows to the knight, and then heads back where she came from, taking up her shovel again and getting back to work.
"Some people just make you wish you'd let them get eaten by zombies, don't they?"
"..."
"Yeah, I know, but that's not what we do. C'mon, help me dig."

[Slums]

"There's another - more seeds from each bulb. We need to be brought together."
The plant shakes.
"Someone told you? You didn't read it? I have to see them."

[Reinholdt]

[Temperance Teahouse]

"Bye! I'm going home now." Annie abruptly announces at the end of her story. She slides off her chair and moves next to her mom. She grabs the kitsune's skirt and tugs on it.

"Mommy's still having tea, Annie. Just wait." Kitsuki says firmly. The little screws up her face and just tugs again. Uh oh.

[Temperance Teahouse]

Phew. What a child. Rein has been considering them more and more lately, but he's going to have to think very carefully about the pros and cons. At least no one's screaming in a tantrum yet.

"Annie," Reinholdt says quietly to catch her attention. "We waited patiently and listened to your story right? Don't you think it's polite to wait and listen to my story now?"