Outside 47: [Insert seasonal phrase that will be outdated when this thread ends]

[Deathkeeper]

[Lakeside Field]

Sam grins excitedly.
”Oh, can we do magic first? I know how to swing a sword already. I mean I really should get better and all but ooooh I want to learn magic first!” he says, practically hopping up and down.

[KerfuffleMach2]

[Lakeside Field]

Alysha giggles, nodding a bit.

Okay, okay. Magic first.

She backs up a bit, putting some space between them.

There's a few basic elemental spells you can learn. They behave a bit differently from each other. Fire spells are good for clearing around you. Blizzard is good for shooting specific targets. And Thunder hits a few targets at once.

At that, she'll start teaching him these basic magics.

[Recaiden]

Tauron has performed some excessive work by routing Fay's [???] to the various applications he's added to her body. They are all functioning on the electronic energy from a installed internal engine which is fueled the same way the body is, by converting food into energy. Fay will have to eat more now but in Taurons eyes that's acceptable considering the abundance of sustenance for biological beings that existed in this world.
Fay won't have to think to activate these devices, they function as a part of her body and will simple activate when she needs them to, just like she controls her appendages.
In addition, she will have an increased awareness of electronic fields and sounds. Being able to tell if where running electronic devices are, hear things from a greater distance and have a keener understanding of audio in general. She would for instance after only hearing a person talk for a short while be able to tell if they're lying or not based on the sound of their voice (unless said person had really perfected the art of lying) and remember various sounds much better, among many other things that are associated to the sense of hearing.
There is a likelihood that she will develop an interest in music and other sound-based phenomena simply due to the fact that she will be able to enjoy them to an extent few others can. However, she might now never be able to listen to music produced by lower quality speakers as to her newfound senses it will sound awful compared to the higher quality versions. These new interests might also lead to a stronger sense of individuality, but only time will tell.

"Ahh... you look absolutely stunning, Fay. Do you want me to get you a mirror? Simply nod or shake your head." Tauron asks as he looks her over.

Fay raises a tentacle to their ear - are things too loud? They are, aren't they?
In doing so, they manage to cut the side of their head shallowly with the spike. Nothing to worry about. It'll heal in a moment.

They shake their head. No, a mirror won't be necessary. The other angel, the observer, just scampers around, looking at Fay from different angles.
Wait, what did he say? Stunning? Surely not. Well, that's definitely what was heard, and it sounded like Tauron meant it. Proud of his work, he must be. He's rather alien to have any opinion on the angel's individual features.

Right now Fay has no idea about the increased senses, or any real opinions on music. Those will have to develop over time. They are aware of the electronics around here, even in Fay's own body, though it isn't yet clear to them how.

Carefully, Fay tries to stand on those mechanical legs, smiling slightly. They keep hold of the edge of the operating table just in case.

[Deathkeeper]

[Lakeside Field]

Sam is eager to listen, but can’t produce any results. Not even if he holds his key like a gun!
”Are you suuuure it’s that easy? It didn’t feel like it’s that easy.” He points his key at a tree again. Nope, nothing.

[Recaiden]

Smouldering Wreckage- Interaction Wanted!

There were six wagons in a settler's caravan to make a new life. However, they've been hit, and destroyed. Most of the wreckage is burnt, though it's mainly just badly scorched- heavy rain fell shortly after the attack, dousing the flames before they could destroy much, so many of the goods and produce the settlers carried is salvageable. There's a lot of bodies, too- twenty-three human settlers. There's only eight other bodies, female elves wearing little and each carrying a pair of long knives.

Picking among the bodies are some scavengers. Four bird-like kenku are poking around, opening various boxes and containers in their search for valuables or food.

A young* man** is making his way down towards the wreckage.

He doesn't really know where he is. Or what's happened to this caravan. He was on the bank of a stream not too far away, and saw the smoke. He was hoping it might be - well, it's clearly not. But he picks his way over to the scorched caravans, keeping an eye on the birds.

He looks basically human, except a few little oddities. His skin is silvery-white, and his hair (spiky, messy, a few inches long) is golden. If you look at his half-dazed expression, you may notice that he doesn't have teeth, just long enameled ridges. He stands exactly five feet tall (well, not counting the antlers, plus he's slouching a little), and skinny at that. His eyes are pink (just the irises, not a solid color or anything), a slightly unusual color.

"What...happened here?" he asks of the kenku, voice cracking.

It may come up that he can see magical auras and get a general sense of what enchantments do, just by looking. Depending on how well-looted the place is already.

[Earl of Purple]

Smouldering Wreckage

There's some magic in the area, and a lot is still in the wagons- the kenku haven't been here long, and are more interested in food, since they're hungry, though they're pocketing the valuables small enough to fit in their rags. The nearest kenku is a black-and-white bird-person, their feathers mimicking a magpie's colouration, wearing an old and stained pink dressing-gown over a tattered kilt made from a scrap of old cloth. Perched atop their head is a black tricorn hat, and they're using a flintlock rifle as a walking-stick, grinding the end of the barrel into the dirt with every step. Around their waist is a belt holding a collection of knives, ranging from plastic-handled serrated kitchen knives to a chipped gladius. "Here? What... happened." the bird-person mimics, tilting its head.

Judging by the human corpses, both rifle and hat likely came from one of the human bodies. One of the knives, a bronze-coloured dagger made from Dwemer alloy, is enchanted with a weapon that transfers vitality from the target to the wielder, worsening the victim's wounds and healing the user's. On a talon-like finger, there's a silver ring set with a tourmaline that provides some nutrition and energy to the wearer, so they don't need to eat as often.

[Recaiden]

"..."

"Yes, very philosophical." What happened is what happened. It is what it is. Damn birds.

"You know, you're holding that upside down." The guy continues, pointing at the rifle and twirling his fingers to indicate flipping it over, stock in the dirt. On his part, the only thing he's wearing is a pair of red shorts, held up by a belt intended for someone much broader than he is.

His eyes linger on the ring. What a treasure. But the bird has a dozen weapons. Maybe they'd trade for it? Maybe there's something better to be found in the wagons.
He carefully walks over to the nearest human body. What does it look like killed this fellow?
Not that this newest scavenger is a forensics expert.

[Earl of Purple]

Smouldering Wreckage

Alternately, the kenku is incapable of doing anything other than mimicking the sounds it has heard. "Upside down. Very philosophical. Yes." The kenku does flip the rifle, and thumps the stock against the ground before deciding the other end is easier to hold and turning it back round again to serve as a walking-stick and stalking to another wagon, where two equally eclectically dressed kenku (one, a glossy black bird, is wearing a host of belts and bandoleers, topped by an old grey top hat with an arrow sticking in it, and the other's another magpie wearing a loose ragged robe draped awkwardly over its form, and a battered steel breastplate over the top) argue over a side of beef. They aren't talking; they're 'shouting' at each other by mimicking thunderclaps and gunshots, as well as other loud natural sounds.

The nearest human body... It's hard to tell what killed him. There's a lot of blood, and three possibly fatal wounds- a pair of deep stab wounds in his chest and a sliced throat, deep enough it hit vertebrae. One of his fingers has also been cut off, but it hasn't bled and the finger isn't in sight. He's wearing a loose red velvet coat over a white linen shirt, all caked with dried blood, and he's got a powder horn and bag of lead bullets at his waist, as well as an empty sheath for a knife. His brown leather trousers aren't bloodstained, nor are his hobnailed boots... But maybe there's more clothes in the chests in the back of the wagon, which have been pried open with a knife and rifled through. Might also be something less obviously valuable the kenku missed, since they're focused on jewellery and food.

[KerfuffleMach2]

[Lakeside Field]

Sam is eager to listen, but can’t produce any results. Not even if he holds his key like a gun!
”Are you suuuure it’s that easy? It didn’t feel like it’s that easy.” He points his key at a tree again. Nope, nothing.

Alysha has her arms folded across her chest, finger on her chin, deep in thought.

Hm...Everything I know about Keyblades said just being able to use one means you can use magic. Haven't seen a Keyblade wielder who couldn't...

Maybe you have to picture channeling the energy differently? The way that works for me might not work for you. Maybe. She gives a sheepish grin, scratching the back of her head a bit. Sorry. This is my first time trying to teach this. Figured how I learned would work for you, but I guess not.

[Deathkeeper]

[Lakeside Field]

Sam scratches his head.
"I don't really know how I should be goin' about thinking about channeling stuff. Maybe I'm just not at that level yet? Or maybe I'm suited to other spells? Kinda at a loss here." Poor Sam, lost and out of his element only ten minutes in.

[KerfuffleMach2]

[Lakeside Field]

Hm. This was a real headscratcher.

Let's try...let's try something else...

Okay. Close your eyes. Block everything out. And try to feel the magic. Try to feel the energy in you. See if you can feel it.

[Deathkeeper]

[Lakeside Field]

Sam closes his eyes.
"I dunno. I feel something." Nervousness. The slow ticking of all his bio-engineered systems. Maybe somewhere in there there's the pulse of the incredibly powerful relic linked to the core of his being by poorly understood means. Maybe.
"So...what now?"

[KerfuffleMach2]

[Lakeside Field]

Alysha seems to perk up a bit at that.

Something different than usual? Maybe focus on that. That could be the magic from the Keyblade. Focus on that a bit, and try to channel it through your Keyblade.

[Deathkeeper]

[Lakeside Field]

Sam tries to reach into his heart, to find that soft pulsing and grab hold of it as best he can. It’s soft, gentle. Like Pippin or Chummer or his memories of his mother. And yet also harsh, like the sun to untuned eyes, or the cold surface of Sherrel’s metal cheek.
Sam flicks his key, pulling at that feeling with all his mental strength. A small burst of light blasts a nearby log into a pile of scorched mulch.
”Oh. Was that me?” he whispers.

[Shadowcaller]

[SCP 1194011N]

Ilpholin leans back against the wall next to the window, eying Tauron suspiciously. Not that it was easy to get a read on anyone so foreign in appearance and cultural understanding.

"If Ultimate Weapon includes giving up my freedom or independence, I'm going to have to pass. No sleeper signals to take over when it happens to be convenient for you either. If I'm going to agree to anything, I want full autonomy at the end of it. That includes maintenance." Ultimate Weapon came with some connotations about super soldier programs and 'handlers'. Something to keep them in line, be it addictions, trigger words, or just full control.

There were three situations here as Ilpholin could imagine them. Tauron could be being upfront with her. Unlikely, but it happened sometimes. He could already be working on her and anything she said here would help but ultimately not change anything. She couldn't do anything about that. Or he could require her accordance in a deal due to some byzantine contract-like situation Tauron and other random entities in the Nexus had a tendency to use. Ilpholin could at least make sure if this was some secret contract he was trying to slide in on her, it would have her terms in there.

Fay raises a tentacle to their ear - are things too loud? They are, aren't they?
In doing so, they manage to cut the side of their head shallowly with the spike. Nothing to worry about. It'll heal in a moment.

They shake their head. No, a mirror won't be necessary. The other angel, the observer, just scampers around, looking at Fay from different angles.
Wait, what did he say? Stunning? Surely not. Well, that's definitely what was heard, and it sounded like Tauron meant it. Proud of his work, he must be. He's rather alien to have any opinion on the angel's individual features.

Right now Fay has no idea about the increased senses, or any real opinions on music. Those will have to develop over time. They are aware of the electronics around here, even in Fay's own body, though it isn't yet clear to them how.

Carefully, Fay tries to stand on those mechanical legs, smiling slightly. They keep hold of the edge of the operating table just in case.

[SCP 1194011N]

Tauron pauses a moment, as if confused, but then nods. "Of course, I agree to all those terms." He seems to at least have sensed her doubts though. "Your hesitation of my motives are perfectly understandable and I could stand here all day talking about how my ideals forbid me to make you some kind of slave. However, you are a intellectual and practical person so I will make a much simpler argument. Simply, that your mind is what would make you the ultimate weapon, Ilpholin." He claims with a gesture at her.

Then the artificial being gestures back at himself. "After being up against these monsters I quickly came to realize that I am a terrible commander and soldier considering how many that were lost only in the first confrontation. If I controlled you in some manner, I'd be sabotaging my own plan as I can't make the decisions that are necessary. That's why the world need you and not me to fight, you're the one that can and must make the necessary decisions. I'm, admittedly, too soft. All I can do is try to support you in whatever way I can. Perhaps I can work with this mister squiggle if he was the one that did your last set of upgrades."

[Tauron's Workshop]

Tauron is there to help and support her with all his four arms. "Be careful now, you will need a while to get used to all the new parts of your body." He advises while gently wrapping his arms around her. While his metallic body is cold compared to a humans it isn't room temperatured. He does seem to be producing some kind of heat. "Just give it a little while and I will show you what you can now do, alright?" His tone is almost fatherly. "You are a amazing being, Fay. To even be able to move so soon is exceptional, but let's not try to test your limits this early shall we? There will be plenty of time soon if you so desire."

[KerfuffleMach2]

[Lakeside Field]

Alysha smiles broadly, nodding.

Yeah! You did it! Good job!

She seems excited.

Okay, now comes the part you have to practice. Focusing the energy and making it do what you want. You have to kind of clear your mind and picture just the spell. Just what you want it to do. Saying the name of the spell helps me, but something else might work for you. But the important thing is to clearly keep in mind what you want to do.

[Deathkeeper]

[Lakeside Field]

Sam nods, looking at another piece of driftwood. Focusing for a while, he manages to repeat the process, producing another burst of searing light- only this time on something he actually targeted on purpose.
"Oh. Well. I guess that isn't so hard."

[KerfuffleMach2]

[Lakeside Field]

Alysha chuckles.

Yeah. Explaining it gets a little weird. Cause different people think of magic differently. Especially if they're from different worlds. But, once you know how to do it, it's really just a matter of practicing it. New spells get easier to learn, too. Just gotta apply the energy a little differently.

Alysha demonstrates by hitting a rock with a Blizzard, then quickly bringing down a bolt of Thunder behind her.

Same energy. Just used differently.

Then you get to have the fun of learning your limits. You can only cast so many spells before the energy runs out. It'll build back up on its own. And there's ethers to help. But you do have a limit. And knowing where it is can be very important.

[Recaiden]

[Tauron's Workshop]

Tauron is there to help and support her with all his four arms. "Be careful now, you will need a while to get used to all the new parts of your body." He advises while gently wrapping his arms around her. While his metallic body is cold compared to a humans it isn't room temperatured. He does seem to be producing some kind of heat. "Just give it a little while and I will show you what you can now do, alright?" His tone is almost fatherly. "You are a amazing being, Fay. To even be able to move so soon is exceptional, but let's not try to test your limits this early shall we? There will be plenty of time soon if you so desire."

Fay nods slowly and makes a noncommittal "mhm." They don't seem to mind the hug except for a slight shiver. Tauron is a bit chilly. They put a tentacle on Tauron's shoulder (he does have at least one pair of shoulders, right?) and stand there acclimating to things. New posture, new strength, new sense of balance, new muscles and not-muscles to build up memory with.

The observing angel, however, rises to its feet and lifts its hands, just in case Tauron tries anything.

Smouldering Wreckage

Alternately, the kenku is incapable of doing anything other than mimicking the sounds it has heard. "Upside down. Very philosophical. Yes." The kenku does flip the rifle, and thumps the stock against the ground before deciding the other end is easier to hold and turning it back round again to serve as a walking-stick and stalking to another wagon, where two equally eclectically dressed kenku (one, a glossy black bird, is wearing a host of belts and bandoleers, topped by an old grey top hat with an arrow sticking in it, and the other's another magpie wearing a loose ragged robe draped awkwardly over its form, and a battered steel breastplate over the top) argue over a side of beef. They aren't talking; they're 'shouting' at each other by mimicking thunderclaps and gunshots, as well as other loud natural sounds.

The nearest human body... It's hard to tell what killed him. There's a lot of blood, and three possibly fatal wounds- a pair of deep stab wounds in his chest and a sliced throat, deep enough it hit vertebrae. One of his fingers has also been cut off, but it hasn't bled and the finger isn't in sight. He's wearing a loose red velvet coat over a white linen shirt, all caked with dried blood, and he's got a powder horn and bag of lead bullets at his waist, as well as an empty sheath for a knife. His brown leather trousers aren't bloodstained, nor are his hobnailed boots... But maybe there's more clothes in the chests in the back of the wagon, which have been pried open with a knife and rifled through. Might also be something less obviously valuable the kenku missed, since they're focused on jewellery and food.

I'm sure he'll figure out how kenku work soon.
If he keeps talking to them, anyway.
Magpie, crow, and magpie, huh? Man they're noisy.

So the human was stabbed/sliced to death, and then afterwards someone stole a finger off the corpse? What's gone on here?

"Hey, be quiet over there!"
The scavenger yells at the bird-people as he heads over to check through the back of the wagon. Stealing clothes off a bloody corpse doesn't feel right. Plus the boots are too small big for him.

[Deathkeeper]

[Lakeside Field]

Sam nods.
”Okay. I’ll make sure we know where my limits are. Um, what else is there?” He doesn’t mind asking that, as casual as they’re being about this training.

[Earl of Purple]

Smouldering Wreckage

The kenku respond by yelling back. "Hey, be quiet over there!" Except it's all three kenku repeating the under-dressed man's words back at nearly the same time, the same voice overlapping itself. Then they go back to their argument, though it seems to have quietened a little. They're using bird alarm calls, mobile phone ringtones and balloons popping. Eventually, the crow-kenku loses, backing away without the meat, mimicking the sound of a crying infant.

Somebody stole the body's finger to get the ring he was admiring earlier.

In the back of the wagon, there's a chest of various fine silk shirts, mostly white but also pale blue, purple, brown and yellow, most with lace at the cuffs. There's also three pairs of linen trousers, and another chest contains a red jacket with two rows of brass buttons and yellow epaulettes, a white shirt, blue trousers with a yellow stripe down the side and a pair of black leather boots, which have been packed with woollen stockings. There's a brown tricorn hat lying atop a box of silk. Hidden in the bottom of the shirt-chest is a fine mahogany box containing a pair of fine duelling pistols, un-rifled flintlock weapons with ten lead balls and a bullet-mould to aid in casting replacements. There's a hidden compartment in the floor, with a jewellery box in it.

[Recaiden]

Goodness those birds are creepy.
But they did quiet down.
A little.
Good enough.

Has the world always been this....much? Probably. Seems like he remembers things like this.

And in the back of the wagon...aha!
The man takes a minute to dress himself. Purple shirt, striped trousers, jacket, stockings, boots, hat! On second thought, the hat isn't fitting with his antlers. Better leave it. And guns! Not strictly an article of clothing but good to have all the same. He stuffs them into the jacket's pockets and hops out of the wagon. The hidden compartment goes unfound for now.

Now, didn't he sense magic in some of the other wagons? He'll go check on that.

[Earl of Purple]

Smouldering Wreckage

I'd missed he had antlers.

The guns are currently unloaded, to prevent the gunpowder corroding the chambers and barrels.

Next wagon has three dead people near the driver's bench- a man holding an empty rifle, wearing a set of green linen dungarees, a yellow shirt and hobnailed boots lies near the dead horses, a stab-wound where he had an eye. There's also a dead elf, one of the attackers, with pale skin and black hair with a purple streak. She's spattered in a lot of blood, and she's wearing a pair of thigh-high black leather boots, a long red loincloth, an ornate steel headpiece, a red bra and long black leather gloves. She's holding a pair of vicious-looking daggers, and she was killed by a gunshot to the chest. The final body is a woman, wearing a long blood-soaked cotton dress holding a discharged flintlock pistol in one hand; she's covered in shallow, vicious-looking cuts and slices, as though somebody tried to kill her with a thousand cuts.

In the back there's several barrels of gunpowder, a white leather backpack under the driver's bench, and there's two chests. Magic can be sensed from one of the chests, a warding spell linked to electricity designed to blast any who opened it without the correct key; some one-use healing magic in the backpack; and a key lying in the grass near the wagon, where it fell from the neck of the human woman.

[Recaiden]

I imagine he'll look very foolish the first time he tries to shoot something with an unloaded gun.

He's trying to piece things together. The elves attacked the caravan, set it alight. Killed everyone, then fled, leaving the bodies? Or did the humans win and escape, leaving the burning wreckage they couldn't carry behind?
Does it matter?

The elf has a much better costume. But it's covered in blood. He does loot her knives, bloody or not. How many of these caravaneers did they kill? Is that gruesome or cool, he wonders to himself. Briefly.

A backpack! What a find! He puts that on, acquiring something other than pockets to carry stuff with.
And some gunpowder to go with the- wait. He can just get the powder from that first dead guy. He does that. Several barrels. They're lucky the whole thing didn't go up before the rain came through.
Then he tries the magical key in the magical lock. That seems obvious enough.

[Earl of Purple]

Smouldering Wreckage

Judging by the sheer number of human bodies compared to the elf ones, and the fact all the humans died of knife-related melee causes despite carrying primarily ranged weaponry, I'd say the elves won, possibly chasing other humans who ran, or otherwise not caring about their dead.

In the backpack, should Mr. Antlers ever look inside it, he'll find a water-skin, half-full, an apple enchanted to pump healing life-magic into the person who eats it (and also stop it rotting), a strip of dried meat, and a pouch of miscellaneous coins- mostly silver, with a fair bit of copper and a couple of gold coins mixed in. There's also a small powder-horn and a bag of eight lead bullets.

Inside the warded chest there's a bronze wand with a hand on each end, one clenched in a fist, the other holding its fingers open and apart. There's also a pair of apples like the first, and a steel cube etched with strange wards on each side. One end of the wand generates a blast of emotional fear, the other generates a blast of magical sleep. The steel cube, if the wards are pressed in the right order, will grow into a steel castle. If they aren't pressed in the right order, the cube explodes.

[KerfuffleMach2]

[Lakeside Field]

Sam nods.
”Okay. I’ll make sure we know where my limits are. Um, what else is there?” He doesn’t mind asking that, as casual as they’re being about this training.

[Lakeside Field]

Alysha shrugs a bit.

Beyond lots of practice? Keyblades can let you summon allies you've formed strong bonds with. Um...you can eventually learn how to change the form of the Keybkade during combat. I'm still working on that one.

[Shadowcaller]

[Tauron's Workshop]

Tauron does not try anything and neither does his assistants. Instead he will simply attempt to slowly and gently guide her (on his shoulder) out of the artificially lit workshop and into the temple itself. Morning light streaming through the small openings of the building. "Ah, perfect. Let's see the sun raising, shall we? It seems appropriately symbolic for your new life."

[Recaiden]

[Smouldering Wreckage]

Our deer friend will look into the backpack once he needs to put something in it. Which happens to be right now, to place the extra apples and cube in there.
After a bit of rummaging around, he picks up some of the coins and lets them fall through his fingers. Now we're in business. Although...isn't this kind of a paltry amount of money? Shouldn't he have more somewhere... He stands confused for a moment before shrugging it off.

The cube is an amazing treasure, but without clues he has about a one in a thousand chance to unlock the castle. And he'd strongly like not to be caught in an explosion today. He'll need the help of a wizard or something.

The wand, he keeps in his hand, sleep-y end pointed out as he wanders to other wagons.

There's what, dozens of dead people here? It's starting to bother him.

And what have those magpies been up to?

[Tauron's Workshop]

Fay slowly, slowly makes her way outside, leaning on Tauron. But trying not to do that so much. Probably this will cause a fall. Any second now.
"Oh."
The light of the sunrise is the same, but the temple sounds so different now.
The newly upgraded angel tries to continue, all the way out of the temple.

The other angel follows.

[Deathkeeper]

[Lakeside Field]

Summoning? That sounds really weird. What if the friend is taking a shower or something?
Still, Sam smiles.
”No, Teach. I meant what are you teaching me next? We probably shouldn’t start with things you don’t know how to do.” That would be a rather esoteric exercise.

[Earl of Purple]

Smouldering Wreckage

There are a lot of dead people, yes. It wasn't much of a fight, but this is a battlefield.

The two magpie-kenku are carving into the side of beef, carving bits off and eating them, whilst the losing crow-kenku has moved over to a different wagon, and is emptying bags of flour and seeds looking for something it can eat. The fourth kenku is another crow, wearing a tattered black suit-jacket and a brown tricorn hat, clutching a dowsing rod as it searches another wagon, using the Y-shaped stick to find jewellery and other shinies, which it tosses into its sack.