[Nexus] Serious Plots 4 - So Srs it hurts.

[Felandria]

Deadra looks around.

Clegg!

Let's just go.

[Beans]

[Passing By Ghosts - On the Road]
Driving can be so nice.
Vo, spooked out of socializing by yesterday's incident with that Sith guy, is en route to a lovely town called Lampreville with her girlfriend Naera. It should only be another hour or so by car as they pass a bigger but rather less populous city Vo can't quite place the name of.

As the redhead looks over to smile at her sweetheart and say something pleasant, the car sputters.
The car always had to in such a situation, of course.

[Shadowcaller]

[Tarum - Tool House]

As Valente emerges through the portal he finds himself in a brightly lit room with smooth black walls with a vaguely wooden texture. His view of the room is being blocked by jail bars however, casting long shadows into the jail-like section of the room he emerged into.

On the other side of the bars is a desk where an middle-aged dark-skinned man sits behind. He has brown eyes and a somewhat cat-like face with a small nose where a pair of glasses rest. On each side of him are two armor clad men of a similar complexion. The man who appears to have been busy with some paperwork pushes up his glasses as he takes a good look at Valente before looking down at his papers again. "On schedule. I approve. Now let's see... Valente Rici and Astrana Tyamera. One tiefling and..." He looks up at Valente as if he missed him the first time. "One outsider. But my papers say you're human... that is correct?"

[Gullara]

[Tarum - Tool House]

"Yeah, that's right." Valente fidgets awkwardly. He is human, technically, but his people have some anomalies. Like those ever so slightly pointed teeth, his incredibly pale skin, and the wide pupils that make this brightly lit room so irritating to them. Not to mention he's got that tail coiled up under his loose clothing, but that's another story entirely.

[Shadowcaller]

[The City of Tarum - Tool House]

"Hmm..." The man looks through his papers. "Very well, I'll file you under the same pass."

"Why? He just said he was human." Astrana suddenly protests, causing the man to look up. "Even if he's a visitor he must be able to get human status."

But the tool master shakes his head. "He's from another world, whatever counts as human there might not count as human over here." Without pausing he suddenly slams a marker onto some documents. "One parahuman pass for both of you. You may leave in one hour. Anything else?" His voice leaves little room for objection.

"...no. Can you just let us out of here?"

The tool master nods at the door and one of his guards goes to unlock it, letting the two out.

[Gullara]

[The City of Tarum - Tool House]

Valente touches Astrana's arm as they go to head out of the building. "Does what status I get matter?" He says quietly to her as they leave. The whole exchange has left him a bit confused.

[Shadowcaller]

[The City of Tarum - Centaur's Square]

"Humans can go and and leave a city as they want unless they have special political afflictions. Parahumans needs to schedule entering and leaving days ahead, plus you're subjected to all this painful bureaucracy." She explains as they leave the building. It should be noted she's using her human disguise at the moment.

Outside the streets are bathing in a dark purple light which almost could be mistaken for night in the nexus. Unlike actual lack of light however it seems nighttime here is just a different shade of it which might annoy Valente's light sensitive eyes as you never really can escape it even though is isn't particularly bright. The buildings even are casting long shadows but they are very hard to make out as they're nearly the same color as the light of the sun which is dark purple.

Most of the buildings he can see are separated from the street by a wall. It looks like none of them is taller than two stores however, not that he can see any details.

[Gullara]

[The City of Tarum - Centaur's Square]

"Well I was going to be sticking with you anyway, so it's not like we're being slowed up any." He reassures her.

Valente looks around, squinting a little bit. "So this is your home, huh? Or did you live in some other city?" He asks curiously. He tilts his head back to, indirectly, look at the purple sun. That is so weird.

[Terumitsu]

[Mabled Halls]

Before Magtok would be able to respond with likely questions on if such a thing would be even possible based on the mechanical nature of their hoasts, there was a swift rap on the door.

Of course, given the soundproof nature of the room, it was futile to expect any call to follow. There was a small, glowing bar on several of the screens hidden about the place so as to allow for a video confirmation of whomever was standing outside, though, in case there was some reason one wished to appear otherwise occupied and thus not answer for whatever reason.

Or maybe to just be able to communicate through the doors. That bit would probably be handy.

Either way, it was up to the occupants of the room to respond however they wished.

[Lord Magtok]

Marbled Halls

Funny, that's exactly what Magtok was going to say next! Well, once he finally managed to get around to saying things. There'd be a lot of babble and stammering and maybe a small degree of blush involved first, as this is one of the more prudish of MagClones, but luckily he manages to avoid maybe half of that thanks to an opportune distraction.

"Oh hey, someone's at the door! Probably our hosts for something or other!"

Hopefully not the thing they were talking about, or this could get awkward. Magtok moves to answer the door!

[Shadowcaller]

[The City of Tarum - Centaur's Square]

"I didn't live anywhere Val, I was a drifter until I came to the nexus. Good thing too, you have no idea what people have to do here to survive." She shakes her head as she leads him on. "Remember, keep on to the main street. With these clothes we can pass off as belonging to them. It's only at the gate we really need to show our true colors, otherwise we're a noble couple alright?"

There aren't many people wandering around right now but this seem to be the richer parts of town judging by how people are dressed. Valente might note they're all dark-skinned humans which makes his white skin stand out quite a bit considering Astrana is disguised as one as well.

[Gullara]

[The City of Tarum - Centaur's Square]

"Right, noble couple. Got it." Valente looks around some more, noting the people. "Geeze. I stand out like a soar thumb, don't I." He already knew he would, but it's now just hitting home.

[Shadowcaller]

[The City of Tarum - Centaur's Square]

Astrana seems to be ignoring the curious looks her boyfriend is getting. It might just be his imagination but people seem to be whispering about them as they pass. "We're likely going to leave with other parahumans however, stay away from them. A lot of them are thieves or worst. I should know."

[Gullara]

[The City of Tarum - Centaur's Square]

"I guess I'll have to take your word on that one." Valente looks around openly, acting like the most obvious of tourists. He's not oblivious to the fact that he's drawing attention, though, and tries to rein in is curiosity.

[UncleWolf]

The Marbled Hall

Pat flops back on the bed with a sigh and a roll of her eyes. "Told you so." She mutters with a slight smile, unable to help but feel amused at the predictable turn of events.

[FireFox]

Captain Clegg is getting a bit tired of... whoever this person was. He had no memory of her. But yes, Clegg falls into said chasm and lands at the bottom. The undead takes out his large cutlass and his cane transforms into his regular black rapier. Both weapons are magical, and the undead wields them with brutal strength and surprisingly quick agility. He'll attempt to jump backwards out of the chasm. If he lands, he'll hold his weapons defensively.

He stands there, and doesnt attack, merely gazing at his opponent. You don't look like anyone I know. How very stupid. A little girl attempting to kill that which cannot die. Purity against Corruption, Heaven and Hell or something like that. Or maybe I'm getting ahead of myself.

She'll feel the gash begin to burn and her mind will fall under attack as the dark psychic energy running through the sword begins to do its work. Physically, the wound is corrosive and will eat away at her flesh, and mentally it will cause confusion and disorientation.



Kharin moves over to Clegg's right-hand side, shield ready on his left arm, sword poised in his right hand.

Blue Sapphire Lagoon

Chuckles takes his place at Clegg's left-hand side, guns extended and recharged, though he holsters his left revolver. It would not be necessary to finish this one...

He awaits Kyne's attack, the moment it comes he will fire six times, pause for thirty seconds and fire another six times. If she rushes too fast for Chuckles to "reload" he'll act as cannon fodder, stepping in front of his captain.

Deadra looks around.

Clegg!

Let's just go.

Blue Sapphire Lagoon

While the guys are running around and posing and the giant woman is just, like, so done with this, the Huntress waves her goddess-sword around a few times. It doesn't look like she's attacking. And she's not, at least not directly at any rate. This time, she's aiming to sever the bonds of loyalty or friendship or... delusion, I guess? Whatever is keeping such reasonable, half-way decent people like Chuckles, Kharin, and Daedra tied to such a disgusting, contemptible monster. This shouldn't be hard to do. After all, the only reason Kyne is fighting everyone is because they decided to be best buds with the odious bilge rat that was insulting her family. You wouldn't share a toothbrush with Clegg, so why would you share his enemies?

[Terumitsu]

[The Marbled Halls]

Rather than the White Knight, there was a being that was much closer to human proportions than the sizable forms that had been seen with the Baroness and the Knight. Really they seemed to be just on par with the pawns though their armor was designed clearly for mobility rather than defense. Several varied blades rested in their scabbards at their waist and their helm was distinctly manufactured to occlude any hint of what might pass for a face for the Court. So far, face covering helmets seemed to be the norm. Their hands were spiked gauntlets, a fact that would be very clear due to one of them being firmly clenched about a scroll with a waxen seal which just so happened to be held out for Magtok to take.

This seemed like a rather shady sort of fellow, all said, and that wasn't taking into account the predominantly black colorscheme that this person was wrapped in. This might be why that, soon after the scroll was offered, a shout of a familiar bombastic voice would sing out; "Hey! Troublemaker! Away from there!" the sounds of metal feet echoing down the halls. Almost insistently, the scroll would be presented although with a minimal change to what looked oddly like some kind of formal stance. Magtok had likely only a few moments to decide on if he wanted to take what was offered or not.

[Lord Magtok]

The Marbled Halls

Ooooh, trouble! Magtok loves trouble. He grabs the scroll, knowing full well that he'd regret not knowing whatever it said for the rest of his life if he let this opportunity pass him by. Seriously, how could he possibly let something so intriguing and mysterious slip away from him, and still call himself a Magtok afterward?

[UncleWolf]

The Marbled Halls

Pat is instantly by her lover's side, trying to peer over his shoulder to look at the scroll. "Well, open it up already." She asks in barely contained curiosity. The cyborg is lucky she doesn't just rip the thing from his hands and open it herself.

[GrandDM]

Blue Sapphire Lagoon

While the guys are running around and posing and the giant woman is just, like, so done with this, the Huntress waves her goddess-sword around a few times. It doesn't look like she's attacking. And she's not, at least not directly at any rate. This time, she's aiming to sever the bonds of loyalty or friendship or... delusion, I guess? Whatever is keeping such reasonable, half-way decent people like Chuckles, Kharin, and Daedra tied to such a disgusting, contemptible monster. This shouldn't be hard to do. After all, the only reason Kyne is fighting everyone is because they decided to be best buds with the odious bilge rat that was insulting her family. You wouldn't share a toothbrush with Clegg, so why would you share his enemies?

Kharin chuckles.

"I can feel that. It's a benefit of being psychic. There are no bonds to sever over here, unfortunately for you. I remain with Deadra through choice."

[Terumitsu]

[The Marbled Halls]

The black figure dashed out of sight quickly, a strange glint off their armored skin as they rounded the corner. "Pardon me, sir, but if you would just wait for me to apprehend this Rogue, I shall be back in only minutes." the Knight said, looking almost comical as he jogged in place to deliver that message before dashing off again. In contrast to his quarry, he was quite noisy as his metal feet hit the floor.

As for the scroll, it held an odd illumination. The message itself was simple: 'Present this to the sage in blue after the final curtain call. We have much to speak about.' The image, though, was strange in that, while it was identifiably of an opera mask, it was patterned in the way that would be recognizable as a QR code. Magtok might well be able to make use of that although there was really no indication as to what would be found by following it.

[Lord Magtok]

The Marbled Halls

"Let's see..."

Magtok attempts to read the QR code, having no idea what to make of this. Rebels of some sort? A righteous secret peasant revolution in the works, a nefarious scheming nobility one? Some other third thing, a test of Maggy's trustworthiness?

[Shadowcaller]

[The City of Tarum - Centaur's Square]

"I guess I'll have to take your word on that one." Valente looks around openly, acting like the most obvious of tourists. He's not oblivious to the fact that he's drawing attention, though, and tries to rein in is curiosity.

[The City of Tarum - Centaur's Square]

Astrana let's out a little sigh as they're out of sight from the others wandering the main streets. "I'm sorry if I sound harsh but I'm just worried. This place is dangerous and this is your first time here. I just don't want anything to happen to you Val." She explains.

[Gullara]

[The City of Tarum - Centaur's Square]

"Come on, Astrana. Don't worry." Valente tries to take her hand in his and give it a squeeze. "Nothing's going to happen. Let's try to enjoy ourselves, not worry."

[Shadowcaller]

[The City of Tarum - Centaur's Square]

"I will have a hard time to." Astrana admits even as she holds his hand. "When I'm here all the memories comes rushing back. When people say the nexus is bad they really have no idea what they're talking about." She shakes her head and takes a firm hold on Valente's hand as she leads him through the city.

The weather is rather chilly in the dim glow of the dark sun looming overhead, yet as they come out on upon another street they suddenly find themselves in the middle of a crowd. People are moving right and left as they are going on the errands, a number of stands are setting up. They're all dressed in rather light clothing in many bright colors.

Then all of sudden there is a change in the ambiance as the dark glow turns to bright green in a matter of seconds. The people takes this sudden change in stride however, simple covering their eyes a bit as the light changes.

[UncleWolf]

The Marbled Halls

Pat tilts up onto her toes and props her head up on Magtok's shoulder to look over it easier before raising an eyebrow. She'd never understood why people used those codes.

[Gullara]

[The City of Tarum - Centaur's Square]

Valente sighs quietly. He was hoping he could reassure her, but that never worked. He just squeezes her hand back and follows along with her.

Valente doesn't mind the chilly weather, nor the crowded streets. Reminds him of home a little bit in that way. Speaking of which, he touches his wallet in his pocket briefly to reassure himself that it's still there. Not that anything in it would be of any value here.

"They've sure got colourful clothes here. How come I don't see you wearing anything so flas- Ah!" Valente raises his free hand to shield his eyes. Ouch, that sudden change was painful to his light sensitive eyes.

[Shadowcaller]

[The City of Tarum - Dragon Gate]

"Whoops, that's Maatenas, the green star." Astrana says with a small smile. "Should have warned you, the switch is rather abrupt compared to your star." She apparently found his reaction slightly amusing though, what a horrible girlfriend!

[Gullara]

[The City of Tarum - Dragon Gate]

"Hey now, I see that smile. Don't you start laughing at me." Valente scolds, though not very seriously. "I think I need some sunglasses or something around here. Even when it was dark, it wasn't really dark."

[Shadowcaller]

[The City of Tarum - The Dragon Gate]

Valente might note that a couple of inhabitants are also smiling at his reaction, they know a tourist when they see one.

The tiefling does laugh a bit though. "Everyone is going to think you're from the underworld Val so we might as well make that our story if anyone asks." He can feel her invisible tail moving around his rear. "Anyway, you were saying something?"