15[20:26] <@VoxPVoxD> As the battle begins, a diffuse cheer goes up across the smoky street. The crowd thinks this is part of the entertainment. Who's to say they're wrong? [20:27] 4Me. [20:30] 14If nothing else, this will be interesting. [20:30] 14And perhaps very, very short. [20:31] <@Ferrinus> 12You never demand someone's weapon in Nexus. You never do that. You're just leaving yourself open to all sorts of snappy, murderous comebacks. Keldar can't even decide on one as the black iron blade he's got at its side comes scraping out of the sheath. [20:32] 14Stranger flicks his wrist, and a walking cane is suddenly in hand like a wooden sword. [20:34] 4von Hrolfus’ sword is in his hand, like it was always there. [20:39] 13Xia Lan's paired hookswords are at the ready, in a defensive stance. Atypical for a Snake stylist, but the situation demands it. Let's rock. [20:58] 05Xu Sim, detecting the clamor outside, drops the lines he was using to manipulate the fires and smoke, attempting, momentarily, to blend in with them and remain concealed. [20:58] 14He still commands attention and respect, but Stranger's head is swimming a bit -- from the drugs and his earlier fall. [21:00] <@Ferrinus> 12CLANG and Keldar's sword is grinding aginst the Lookshyan's halberd, kicking up sparks in both directions that, fortunately enough, stay on either side of the mercenary's face. The two are locked for a moment before Keldar manages to complete his motion and Zuniga's forced back by a step and a half. [21:06] 14Stranger follows Keldar in, dancing into the space he leaves behind with his backswing, and scoring a tap against the armored Lookshyan's shoulder -- for all the good it seems to do. [21:06] 14He's finding his feet in all this. [21:10] 05Xu Sim blinks, blearily, as the winds carry the smoke back into the chamber with him. [21:18] 05The sorcerer tumbles out one of the windows and appears at Stranger's side, lunging forward momentarily before shifting to his back leg in a threatening pose. [21:18] "Ah. Wondered where you'd gotten to." [21:20] "Can't let you rescue me twice in a row. Have to return the favor." [21:20] 14Stranger snorts and immediately regrets it. That stuff is potent. [21:39] 4von Hrolfus charges into the fray, throwing caution to the wind. He slashes furiously, finally getting the outlet for the despair and anger and turmoil he’s been feeling and completely fails to avoid a single sure blow from his opponent. He crumpes to a heap. [21:51] 4He won’t make that mistake again. Crouching and bracing against the incoming onslaught, he pretends to be reeling and stunned from the blow he just received - and raises his sword at the last minute against his surprised attacker, throwing out a leg and tripping him in the process. [21:56] 4He still lies close to the ground, cautious. A throbbing, gold glow illuminates his forhead causing some in the crowd to gasp. [21:57] 05Xu Sim reels backwards under the attacks of the Gunzosha vanguard. [21:57] 14Stranger is about to reposition to assist the young man when the Gunzosha wade into the fray. [22:05] 13Xia Lan lunges forward, hookblades whirling, but she struggles to find an opening in Zuniga's defenses! Besides from being woozy from the drugs, the Gunzosha hem her in, limiting her angles of attack and driving her away from their leader. Well. This is bad. [22:27] 14Stranger winces as he's clipped in the side. It's certainly not good. 15[22:27] <@VoxPVoxD> "Enough of this mummer's farce!" comes the reverberating voice of the Lookshyan, whose mechanical halberd glows white-hot with burning essence as she brings it down in a heavy chop. When Keldar blocks, there's a subtle movement of their left hand at the base of the weapon, and the blade goes dull as a superheated shockwave ripples out from around Keldar and his attacker. The pebbles in the street begin to rattle and the air shimmers. [22:28] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar's raising his sword defensively and re-settling his combat stance as the gunzosha troopers momentarily relent. He makes eye contact... eye-visor contact... with Zuniga. "This is your last ch-" You can't block essence with sharpened iron... not for more than, say, half a second. [22:28] <@Ferrinus> 12You can't block essence with sharpened iron... not for more than, say, half a second. [22:30] 05We worked hard on this mummer's farce, you philistine.  [22:30] <@Ferrinus> 12A red sun blazes to life on Keldar's brow in the first tenth of that second. In the next four tenths, Lookshyan and Nexus native struggle against each other as the burning artifact halberd begins the work of melting through Keldar's blade, the iron now shining the red-orange that's burning up and down Keldar's body. "Oh," 12says Keldar, in the last moment of contact. "You fucked [22:30] <@Ferrinus> up now." [22:32] <@Ferrinus> 12He spins, suddenly, and the halberd goes slamming down into the cobblestone, kicking up essence-flame in all directions. Keldar's still moving, his iron sword glowing with furnace heat and a pillar of dawnfire now rippling up some ten or twenty feet. "NOW-" 12She blocks! Another clang, and the blades meet again, and really it's a wonder that Keldar's sword is holding at all. At [22:32] <@Ferrinus> 12this point it's somewhere between yellow and white. [22:32] 14Stranger: "Keldar -- be rea--" 14Whatever else he says is drowned out by the fight. [22:34] <@Ferrinus> 12The mercenary shoves the judge roughly, twisting straight into her and slamming into her armor shoulder first. He frees his blade from her halberd a second time, and now the sword's glowing the same searing white as the core of the massive, armored figure which hangs in the air above Keldar. Now the sword's hot enough to pierce even moonsilver. Now -"-you fucked up." [22:35] 13The Gunzosha had Xia Lan's attention, but she blocks one of their attacks and just stares at Keldar and Zuniga instead of counterattacking. This is - a sight to see. [22:36] <@Ferrinus> 12A double-handed thrust sends the blade straight up between the plating on the chest and abdomen, melting through tempered moonsilver to cool the weapon somewhere next to Zuniga's heart. The armored soldier's picked briefly up off her feet by the snarling Keldar before she goes crashing back to the ground and the sword - now a dull red again, and black in part since it's covered with [22:36] <@Ferrinus> 12the soot of charred human remains - is wrenched free. Above Keldar, wrought in all the colors of solar anima, a faceless, armored knight mimes the same motion, but it wipes its blade along the edge of a shield. [22:36] 14Stranger bites back a curse and a snarl. [22:37] 14She brought it on herself. [22:37] 14But this isn't making things easier. [22:38] 5The gunzosha start to rush in to swarm Keldar after his telling blow on their commander, and the shockwave makes it kind of confusing what happens next. One moment, a charging line of heavily-armored warriors is bearing down on Keldar -- the next, an unbelievably intense blast of flame draws a perfect line across the charging soldiers. They join their commander in being melted. [22:38] 14What in the-- [22:38] 14Now what? [22:39] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar's whirling on the gunzosha troopers. "Which of you sorry bastards is nex- what?" [22:39] 13Holy smokes. [22:39] <@Ferrinus> 12Where'd they- 15[22:39] <@VoxPVoxD> Who did that? [22:39] 14Stranger: "More company...?" [22:39] 5Tracing the line of fire back to its source, a woman stands back from the fight, a smoking, nearly-glowing firewand raised at shoulder level. She's surrounded in a burning aura similar to Keldar's, but rather than an armored knight, two narrowed, staring eyes that match the ones on the woman below it survey the scene below. "Howdy." [22:41] 13Xia Lan slowly sheathes her swords. "Uh. Hey?" [22:41] 7this is the correct color i think [22:41] 14Stranger: "The world gets stranger -- and smaller -- still." [22:41] 05Xu Sim glances to Stranger. "Are we surrendering again?" [22:41] 4"Friend or foe?" [22:42] 14Stranger shakes his head. "Not to one of our own." [22:42] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar peers up. "Well... didn't see that coming. Thanks for the assist!" [22:42] 7Dawn shrugs. "Don't know, really. I hadn't planned on interfering, but seems like someone's looking out for you." [22:42] 13Xia Lan: "It'd be a hell of a power move to blast the enemies we were just fighting to show dominance, then attack us afterwards. Please don't, though." [22:43] 7She looks Stranger up and down. "We have a mutual friend, I think." [22:43] 05Xu Sim scans the battlefield. Are there wounded? Does anyone need help? Hell, how did the Nexians react? [22:43] 13Yeah, how's that crowd doing? [22:43] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Alright, we need to get the important bit sorted first. Dibs on the armor and direlance." [22:43] 14Stranger arches an eyebrow. "Do we." [22:43] 14The white-haired man's sigh in Keldar's direction is very loud. [22:43] 13Xia Lan: "Too soon." [22:44] 7Dawn settles the cooling firewand over her shoulder gingerly. "Yeah, I'm not the only one in this town who likes to set bastards on fire." [22:44] 4 "That was close." [22:44] 4"I- we. Were too cocky." 15[22:44] <@VoxPVoxD> The crowd is... eating this shit up. People are cheering and cowering appropriately at the pyrotechnics and ferocity of dueling Dawn animas. A few people are holding up small flames of their own, perhaps in solidarity. [22:44] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Early vulture gets the guts. Now, the troopers, obviously, go to our friend here, although good luck movin' 'em." [22:45] 4von Hrolfus brings a head to his forehead and rubs it gloomily. Attracting attention is getting tiresome. [22:45] 14Stranger's chuckle is strained, and comes through a grimace. "And what has young Tsuka done to attract your attention?" [22:45] "My apologies." [22:45] "I'm a bit out of sorts. I haven't introduced myself. I am Stranger-Visits-Heaven." [22:45] 7Dawn looks a little taken aback at Keldar's attitude. "You're not worried about the attention? I mean, I figured I'd go loud since the cat was out of the bag, so to speak but... shouldn't we get off the street?" [22:46] 7Dawn nods in Stranger's direction, extending a rough hand. "Flashing Dawn. And it wasn't my attention he attracted... it was my employer's. Or should I say, former employer." [22:47] 14Stranger will shake, as that appears to be the custom. [22:47] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "I had a pretty good run, but I ain't keepin' this quiet. Important thing here - besides divvying the loot - is Dorma's next move." [22:47] 7Dawn: "Big guy with a hammer and serious anger management issues?" [22:48] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "The same. He was this corpse's boss, though I can't imagine she was executin' his exact orders." [22:49] 7Dawn: "Saw her try to blast her own men, nearly the crowd. Might have made me want to jump in even if I wasn't looking for you lot anyway." [22:50] 13Xia Lan: "How much do you want to bet on that? Because we'd be betting an awful lot, what with this mess." [22:50] 7Dawn: "Seems like you're past that point, seeing as how she's dead." [22:50] 14Stranger: "My position remains the same. Him at our side against the encroaching Fair Folk armies has a much happier ending than him working against us or having killed half of us." [22:51] 14To Dawn: "You've come to town at an awkward time." [22:51] 4"Looks like we've lost at least one potential ally." He stares at the ground and absentmindedly sheathes his sword. [22:52] 13Xia Lan: "Okay, and that's true, but how likely is it now that we've killed her? This is - jeez." [22:52] 14Stranger: "Perhaps, perhaps not. Even if we prefer the carrot, at some point we had to show Dorma the stick." 15[22:52] <@VoxPVoxD> Very inexact executions all around. Keldar alone is scorched by the aftershock, a pillar of white light that reaches to heaven but is paled like a morning moon against the twin suns of Keldar and Dawn. [22:52] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "We lost a potential master. Now we can deal with Lookshy seriously." 12He coughs here and rolls a shoulder carefully, having pretty much been in the epicenter of the energy blast. [22:52] 7Dawn: "The kid told me. Part of how he talked me into not dragging him home." [22:52] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Either way, we need to move now. Somewhere more defensible than a random clinic." [22:53] 14Stranger: "Agreed." [22:53] 7Dawn: "Said the town's a mess, and he's trying to do something about it." [22:53] "He is truthful." [22:53] 14Stranger doesn't comment on the boy's efficacy so far. [22:54] "One of you might want to say something inspiring to them," 05notes the doctor with a gesture towards the crowd. [22:55] 14Stranger glances to Xia Lan. [22:55] 13She sighs. "Yeah. Uh. Give me a second." [22:56] 14Stranger: "Get them to clear the area. Things like these suits are dangerous." [22:57] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Shit, that's right. C'monc'mon-" 12He reaches down, hoists the armored corpse of Zuniga with one arm, grabs the halberd... [23:01] 7Dawn glances at Stranger and Keldar, then down at the suits. "Shit." 7She runs in the direction of the crowd, anima still burning, swinging the butt of her fireward. "Get out of here! It's dangerous, you could all be killed!" 7Whether by the scenario or her is left unclear. [23:02] 13Xia Lan steps up to whatever the nearest high point is. A park bench, a pedestal, anything to get visibility from the crowd. "Attention, everyone! I apologize for the display you all just witnessed - we were unjustly attacked, and sought only to defend ourselves, and you see the results before you! This is not how Nexus should be! And now, you need to get away from this scene, because in addition to their unprovoked assault on [23:02] us, they also lined their armors with explosives, and this is going to be extremely dangerous when it goes! Please, get out of here!" [23:02] 13She shoots a dirty look to Dawn for stealing her thunder, but maybe people who think this is an act will listen. 15[23:04] <@VoxPVoxD> Yelling speaks louder than not yelling, so the crowds heed Dawn's warnings and more or less flee from the glowing fire-spewing woman with the big hat. [23:04] "That direlance emitted an enormous amount of energy... we could prevent hte blast if you lance the aetheric reactor units. We'd have the gunzosha to tinker with... and it probably wouldn't melt the lance." [23:04] "It would be another city block destroyed if all of these cores go. Which they will, after that blast." [23:04] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Probably wouldnt- what about melting us, Xu? How definitely does this work?" [23:05] "Pretty definitely. Do you have an abacus?" [23:05] 14Stranger's feelings on the matter hardly need to be stated. Tonight's been enough of a disaster without a bombing. [23:05] 4von Hrolfus makes a face. “Is it worth taking a risk for some petty scavenging?" [23:06] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Not on me. Fffffuck we owe the doctors." 12He tosses the corpse onto the ground and hefts the halberd, ridiculously big and yet impossibly light in his hands. "Alright, doctor, tell me where this goes." [23:08] 05Xu Sim gingerly flips one of the Gunzosha onto its belly; steam leaks from its joints like an overcooked shellfish. Blowing on his fingers to cool them, he leans in to point at a spot beneath the right shoulder blade. [23:08] "If you penetrate this spot, it should absorb the energy and halt the reaction. Without blowing us all to Hell." [23:10] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar furrows his brow, trying to compensate for the pain of his burns and the way the image of the gunzosha vanguard is swimming in his field of view. "Hup-" [23:11] 14Stranger is doing his part on the fringes, waving off anyone wandering out to investigate. [23:11] "Carefully, now!" [23:11] "That does it." [23:11] 4von Hrolfus releases a deeply held breath. [23:11] 7Dawn: "Guess we're not all going to be blown up, then?" [23:12] "Not tonight." [23:12] 13Xia Lan: "There's still time." [23:12] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar jabs the lance into one, then another, then another... with each blow, it vibrates more violently and glows more fiercely. After the last, Keldar rapidly turns away, aims the blade skyward, and blows some air out through his teeth as a streak of fiery essence is discharged skyward. [23:13] <@Ferrinus> 12The spectral knight's no longer visible in the contours of the mercenary's anima, but there is still a pillar of red-orange sunfire, golden-white at its core, visible for miles. [23:13] <@Ferrinus> 12Oops [23:13] "Impressive bit of lancework. Have you ever considered a second career in nursing?" 05asks the sage. [23:16] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "I ain't a bad doctor, if that's what you're asking. Kept you alive." [23:16] 13Xia Lan: "For which we are all grateful." [23:17] "Time for me to return the favor, tough guy. Come on, let's get out of here before the Dragonlord brings the rest of the army." [23:17] "...you should do this more often," 13she gestures to the smoke. "It's good." [23:17] 4“It was…not bad." [23:18] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "My thinking, too. ...about getting out of here, I mean, the smoke was stupid." 12He carefully sheathes his sword - it's just warm, now - tucks the halberd through a few straps on the back of his leather armor, and then ducks again to hoist up the still-full suit of armor. [23:18] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Lesgo." 15[23:18] <@VoxPVoxD> Where's everyone headed? Crowds (crowds that weren't at the initial conflagration) are starting to pour in from the streets around. No sign of the Lookshyans yet, but it's only been about a minute... [23:18] "It's a little frivolous," 05concedes the alchemist. [23:19] 13Xia Lan: "No, it's great. Good vibes." 13She seems a little dazed. "Where would we be without vibes?" [23:19] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar's plan is to mill around a bit - for the ten or fifteen minutes it'll take for his anima to stop actually being like a mile high or whatever - and then take to the undercity. That way, when he makes his way to the Circle's shared base, people will at least have to try slightly to track him. [23:19] 14Stranger is very quiet as they head out. That went about as poorly as it could have gone while still being a win. He'll need to do some more digging on the Lookshyans... [23:19] <@Ferrinus> 12He's happy to invite Dawn over. 15[23:20] <@VoxPVoxD> Milling around for ten or fifteen minutes invites having to deal with more Lookshyans... [23:20] <@Ferrinus> 12Well, he wouldn't just hang out in the square here. More like, move through the undercity in directions mostly lateral to the shared base. [23:35] 7Dawn doesn't actually know where the group is headed... but as Keldar leads, Dawn points out ways they can throw off pursuit, turning down an alley at just the right time, stepping inside a building, using overhangs to shield themselves from view. [23:36] <@Ferrinus> 12It's a good thing, too. Between burns, exhaustion, and lingering hallucinogen Keldar's just about able to not stagger into walls. [23:37] 13Xia Lan spends the first part of their journey thinking very hard about how incredible it is that magnets work. [23:38] 4von Hrolfus is technically exhausted, but not feeling it. He clenches and unclenches a fist, almost disappointed that there weren't more to kill. [23:38] <@Ferrinus> 12Some kind of geomancy, isn't it? [23:38] 14To Dawn as they walk: "Where have you traveled from? Do you know of the gentry armies? Have you seen them in your travels?" [23:38] 13Who knows. They're just some kind of miracle the Sun gave to us. [23:39] 7Dawn: "I'm sort of from all over. I don't know anything about armies... the kid telling me about it was the first I heard about them. Doesn't sound good, though." [23:39] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Kid?" [23:40] "Cathak Tsuka." [23:40] "An exiled Blooded scion I've been...mentoring." [23:40] "Somewhat." [23:40] 13Xia Lan: "Nice kid. I liked him." [23:40] "His heart is in the proper place." [23:41] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "What brought you to us? Why interfere?" [23:42] 7Dawn: "His family wanted him back. So I was the one they hired, through the Guild, to bring him back. He talked me out of it." [23:42] 7She smirks. "I helped." [23:43] "So how long until the Guild, and Cathak, come down on us?" [23:43] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "I mean the Lookshyans. Pretty rough enemy to have, for the most part." [23:43] 13Xia Lan: "Way things are going for us, they'll show up tomorrow, mad as hell." [23:44] "If they fight through the Raksha, maybe wouldn't be so bad." [23:45] "Victory through constant failing." [23:45] 7Dawn: "The kid said the old man was worth helping. And I've seen them stomping around the city." 7She shrugs philsophically. "The enemy of my friend is my enemy." [23:46] "Let's hope that's not an ironclad axiom," 14Stranger grumbles. [23:46] 4"We may not get to make a choice." [23:46] "Usually is, unfortunately for the current situation." [23:46] "We need fewer enemies, not more." [23:47] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Well, that's good to hear. You stickin' around?" [23:48] 7Dawn: "Probably, seeing as how if I go back without the kid, and they find out I just let him go, I'll be worse than out of a job. They'll find out sooner or later, but they'll have to come look for me." [23:49] "In a sense, you're in the safest place you can be. I have a feeling very few people are going to be making travel plans to Nexus in the coming months." [23:49] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "You know the entire damn wyld is crashing down on this city in like a month?" [23:49] 13Xia Lan: "Or a lot of them, but all of them are armed and dangerous." [23:49] "Does it count as travel plans if you're an army?" [23:50] 7Dawn: "It sounds like you're trying to scare me off." [23:51] "We've had a trying few days." [23:51] "We need to talk about the future. The city won't last for a minute if there's still a plague when the army gets here. So I am going to need access to my patients. I think I'm close to a cure, at least. I'm also going to be working on bringing in more help. And I need more supplies so I can put together some of my war machine ideas." [23:51] 14Stranger nods. [23:52] 13Xia Lan: "I liked the time when I was holding a free concert for children. That was good. Then everything went to hell." [23:52] "I want to repair relations with the Lookshyans. At least to keep us from having open warfare in the streets." [23:52] "I should check in with Pellicia." [23:53] "How do we come back from something like this? We surely just devastated the cream of their crop." [23:53] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Oh, no, I'm just checking you'd stay. Another anathema on our side'd be worth... I can't think of an equivalent off the top of my head." [23:53] "We'll think of something. Or they will." [23:53] 13Xia Lan: "...very carefully?" [23:54] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Once we recover, we can march right up to the Lookshyans, explain exactly what happened, and tell 'em that they can stick around and help us or decamp immediately." [23:54] 7Dawn: "Presumably they want Nexus to stay where it is too." [23:55] 05Xu Sim hurries along through the undercity, impatient to return. [23:57] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "But yeah, I tell you that stuff, Dawn, because I'd welcome your sticking around but can't pretend it wouldn't mean risking your life and ain't sure I can pay you properly." [23:57] 4"I'm not sure they'll be in a negotiating mood, after we...iced, I believe is the term you people use? One of their own." [23:57] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "For the rest of us here, stopping the fae's the priority at the moment." [23:58] 13Xia Lan: "I'm with Bastian. I think we lost any kind of negotiation leverage when we iced a whole squad." [23:58] "If the Fair Folk take Nexus, I'm not sure where it will be safe to go. Creation is large, but carving out marches this deep inside it would be...concerning." [23:59] 14Stranger: "You be surprised, I think." [23:59] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "No way. We got our leverage today. Prior to now Lookshy saw no need to negotiate with us because it still thought it could push us around, or stamp us out if we became a problem." [23:59] *You'd [00:00] "I agree with Keldar. Even if I would have preferred we leave the officer alive." [00:00] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Shouldna tried to disintegrate me." [00:01] 13Xia Lan: "Honestly, yeah." [00:01] "Agreed." [00:02] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Least I got my hands on this sucker now. Polearms've never been my favorites, exactly, but I'll friggin' take it if the alternative's iron. Any of you ever got your hands on an artifact before?" [00:02] 14Stranger: "Not of that pedigree." [00:03] 13Xia Lan: "...been a while." 15[00:03] <@VoxPVoxD> By now the solars have returned to their cavernous bunker beneath Floodwater, where the sound of running water and the chatter of the rattlewhales and the anxious yipping of Twice-Refined Princess sound pretty homey right now. [00:03] 4"My family had one. What has come of it, or them, I do not know." [00:03] 4Stranger will immediate put on a pair of kettles and sink into a cozy chair. [00:04] 14Stranger will immediate put on a pair of kettles and sink into a cozy chair. [00:04] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "It's wild. I can barely feel it on my back. Can't wait to- ow." 12He shifts his position slightly. "Can't wait to get these burns treated and then put it through its paces." [00:05] 13Xia Lan: "Try dodging better next time." [00:05] "Oh, my Twice-Refined Princess! You must be so hungry! Yes, you are very good. You are very, very good." Xu Sim scoops up the hideous dog to ensure it is properly fed and taken care of. [00:05] 14Eyes closed, head leaning back: "Or not fighting to begin with." [00:05] <@Ferrinus> "First things first, though." 12Keldar finds an out of the way room with access to already-unclean water runoff and prepares to remove the late Zuniga from her armor. There's probably a match or seam or something along the back... for now, he supposes it'll be best to just wrap up the body and stow it somewhere cold. Lookshyans might want it and Keldar isn't that spiteful. [00:06] <@Ferrinus> 12Not right now and with regards to Lookshy, obviously. He's certainly potentially that spiteful. [00:06] 13Oh, Sun, we stole a dead body? Shit, man, we're such fucking heroes. [00:06] 14We are not keeping a corpse in the household. [00:07] "Did you catch any rats, my princess? Did you? Ohh, yes, thats the stuff." She's licking his face, eyes lolling. [00:07] 14And if we are, Keldar's keeping it in his room. [00:07] 13Well, we're not putting it outside. [00:07] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar can graciously take it somewhere, if anyone's got any ideas. He'll do that in a bit - for now he's just concerned with getting the body loose, then cleaning the armor out, then storing it somewhere safe. [00:07] 13"It." That body was a her like, thirty minutes ago. [00:07] "I'm a doctor, not a funerist, so, uh, make sure you get her taken care of. I don't want to deal with a haunting." 15[00:07] <@VoxPVoxD> Zuniga died with her eyes open. [00:08] <@Ferrinus> 12Well, it was probably very surprising. [00:08] 13Please close her eyes. [00:08] 13Do not make me do it for you. [00:09] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar does, for what it's worth. The entire business doesn't seem to bother him much - this clearly isn't his first looting-the-dead rodeo. Once that's taken care of he'll try to tend to his burns, although if Xu Sim offers Keldar happily accepts. [00:09] Xu Sim does not offer; he insists. [00:10] <@Ferrinus> 12Sweet. Later, once Keldar's been ointment- and gauze-ed up, he's a little chattier. "Bastian - we need to at least get you some proper armor or somethin'." [00:11] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "You comfortable in plate or lamellar or similar? I can hook you up." [00:11] 4von Hrolfus: "As you wish." [00:12] 7Dawn finds a quiet corner somewhere and does some firewand maintenance with an odd little kit she carries. [00:13] 14Stranger enjoys some tea, and then retires to bed unless he's otherwise waylaid. It's been a very stressful day. [00:13] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Cheer up, dude. I know she got the better of you there, but you've been at this for... what, a couple weeks?" [00:14] 13Xia Lan dips into whatever alcoholic stash they have. How on Earth is she going to manage the contest she signed up for with... all of this? [00:14] 4von Hrolfus looks up from the floor. There's an edge to his voice. "Do you have family, Keldar?" [00:14] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Reason they come down on us so hard is they're scared. They know they aren't matches for us if we get any time to find our foot- eh? Not... as such, no. Couple cousins." [00:16] 4"Truth be told, I was never that close to mine. The Academy was more of a family to me than my own kin. Now every single one of them is gone, or worse. My country has been wiped off of Creation. It is not my performance against the Lookshyans that troubles me." [00:17] Xu Sim, bending over a jar of poultices, looks between Bastian and Keldar, a little peevishly. "Hey, Bastian... have you met Twice-Refined Princess?" The repulsive dog takes her master's distraction as an opportunity to bury her head in one of the poultice jars, tongue lapping greedily. [00:17] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar absorbs this for a moment, then says "Mmm." [00:17] 4 von Hrolfus leans down, clicks his fingers and whistles at the dog. "We bred guard dogs in our kennels at the estate." [00:18] <@Ferrinus> 12After a moment, the mercenary adds some. "I was out in the field when I got the second breath. Leading a small unit I'd had for years - dunno how much I'd call most of 'em a family, but they were at least all great friends." [00:18] "She's quite amazing. Give her a pet, now that's the stuff." Bits of black and grey poultice are stuck to the patchy hair on the dog's chin, as she leaps towards the deposed nobleman. [00:18] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Wiped out, to the last, by the Realm bastard we'd been working for. Wanted to avoid loose ends, or something - not even sure what he was thinking." [00:19] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "And he got away, even. So... I guess you're worse off than I am. But you'll get to look your enemy in the face, and soon. Make 'em pay for it." [00:20] 4 von Hrolfus manages to keep his balance and forces the dog away from his face while petting it. "Treachery and greed. Common when you fight for something other than a higher cause." [00:20] 4"But I am sorry about your friends. I hope you get your revenge as well." [00:22] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Yeah, same. But I'll have to go farther than the city walls to get it, I'd wager." [00:23] 4"Whatever it takes. Blood must be paid for with blood." [00:24] 4He laughs. It's an odd sound that he hasn't reproduced in a while. "I do not even know if these abominations we fight bleed." [00:24] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar nods slowly. He looks over. "Dawn - you been Chosen long?" [00:25] 7Dawn: "Don't know how long 'long' is? Maybe six months? Something like that?" [00:26] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Guild know?" [00:26] His work with Keldar completed, Xu Sim hurries past Xia Lan. "You were enjoying yourself earlier. Your vibes. I'm glad you found it enjoyable. In the future, if you overindulge your vibes, try this hangover cure." He presents her with a nondescript, cheap green glass phial. [00:26] 13Xia Lan: "No thank you." 13She hands it back. "Actions have consequences. Consequences are an unpleasant but necessary reminder of our station." [00:27] "You sound like a monk." [00:27] 13Xia Lan: "Call it a reminder of my exaltation." [00:27] 7Dawn: "Not sure. I hope not, but they seem to know everything, so I wouldn't put it past 'em." [00:28] "If you want a worse hangover, I can give you that instead." [00:28] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Ah. I was wondering how much you were able to charge if you bein' a demon was right there on the table." [00:28] 13Xia Lan: "Appropriate punishments for appropriate actions. No more, no less." [00:29] Xu Sim looks at Xia Lan like she is completely crazy, but doesn't say anything. [00:30] 13This isn't her first time being looked at like that. She sips her drink demurely. [00:31] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Wait a minute. If a snake bit you, would you let the doctor here give you an antivenom?" [00:31] "I didn't choose to get bitten. Yes." [00:31] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Well, maybe if you'd watched your step better-" [00:34] "I guess I'll just have to sell this medicine to some street ruffians or something." [00:43] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Anyway - I guess we got at least a day to consider what we'll tell Dorma. And Pellicia, for that matter." [00:43] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Hopefully he won't want any of this stuff back." 12Keldar's got the armor and halberd leaning on the wall behind him now, both freshly cleaned. There's still a hole punched through the front of the armor, but it's smaller than before - looks like it's slowly sealing itself. [00:45] 13Xia Lan makes a face, but does not comment on Keldar's corpse-looting. "How likely is it we get to continue our efforts in town, given today's... events...?" [00:46] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "More so. All those people saw us, even before you worked 'em over. We kicked ass." [00:46] "Less likely that we get hauled off by the Wyld Hunt, at least for a few weeks. Until they send a bigger one." [00:48] "Stranger, can I trouble you for a moment?" [00:48] 13Xia Lan: "I'm not worried about the public. I'm worried about anyone who might - probably correctly - suggest that us even being here is an invitation to chaos." [00:48] "People in power deciding we're too big a nuisance." [00:48] 14Stranger pauses on his way to his room. "Yes?" [00:48] 4"Who's in power?" [00:48] "Not us." [00:49] 4"Let us rectify that." [00:49] 13Xia Lan: "..." 13She makes a face, but does not argue. [00:51] "I have been working on my sorcery lately and... I need a professional recommendation. Do you know any reliable and thoughtful Erymanthoi, who might make a good bodyguard?" [00:51] 14Stranger stares at him. "No." [00:51] "Demon summoning?" [00:51] "I--" [00:51] 14He sighs. [00:51] "Let me think about it." [00:52] "Very well. Get some rest, you look old." [00:53] "That's the idea," 14says the Eclipse, sounding old too. "Good night, Xu Sim." [00:53] 14Then he's gone into his room. 15[00:53] <@VoxPVoxD> NEXT TIME: The emissaries