BZPRPG - Ta-Wahi

[Geardirector]

IC: Helios (Charred Forest)

 

"My thought-feelings are perfectly fine-clear, thank you very much" I replied, feeling my face grow a little hotter in proportion with the faintest hint of indignation manifesting itself. Colx's training certainly hadn't covered this, meaning the only one I could trust on this was myself. So what would I do, how would I normally defuse a situation?

 

After a moment of pondering, I eventually cracked into a smile and beamed at her in return.

 

"You sure you didn't just like what you got a taste of yourself during our brief time together?"

 

Yeah, that's the way.

[Snelly]

IC: Mimira

 

"Just in case I need to float of course!"

[25K Now!]

IC: Lasinia

 

"Everyone needs one," Lasinia agreed.

[Void Emissary]

IC:

 

"Claaaaaaasic denial."

 

I was still grinning.

 

"Nah, I'm just messin' with you here, Heli," I said, lightly punching him on the arm. "Drinking and punching aren't really options right now, so I'm down to making snarky and innocuous commentary to amuse myself."

 

IC:

 

"I feel like we're moving away from the original point," I said, my eyes flicking over to the Skakdi. I took a step back, keeping myself just in front of Mimira. "And I'm not just saying that because I have to agree with you two again, today."

 

-Void

[25K Now!]

IC: Lasinia

 

"With a ducky flotation device, we could jump off the ship and float back to the Infernavika!"

[Void Emissary]

IC:

 

"Or I could just fly us back over."

 

-Void

[Snelly]

IC: Mimira

 

"Let's fight first!" Mimira brandished her sword toward the dangerous looking people in the distance. 

[25K Now!]

IC: Lasinia

 

"Oh right you can fly."

[Void Emissary]

IC:

 

"Yes I can fly, Lasinia, an ability which I showcased approximately three minutes ago."

 

Suddenly, I had an idea.

 

"Speaking of which; Mim, have you ever flown without a Gukko before?"

 

-Void

[Snelly]

IC: Mimira

 

"Does getting launched by a slingshot count?"

[Void Emissary]

IC:

 

"I was thinking of a more controlled flight, to be perfectly honest."

 

-Void

[Snelly]

IC: Mimira

 

"Oh...well then no not really." 

[Void Emissary]

IC:

 

"Would you like to try it?"

 

-Void

[25K Now!]

IC: Lasinia

 

"The power of fliiight."

[Snelly]

IC: Mimira

 

 

"Hmmm....okay!" 

[Eyru]

IC: Bohrei [Near Ta-Kini]

 

She raised her bag.  "Bohrei Tantarus; I'm employed with the Guard as coroner.  I don't believe we've met."  She kept her voice cool; the Toa had betrayed no expression beyond that moment of surprise, so for the moment there was no reason not to respond in kind.  

 

"I was called here several hours ago.  I'm given to understand you're here about the murders, correct? I've prepared a preliminary autopsy report, if you're interested.  And I need to ask you some questions."

 

Behind him, she could see other members of the Guard milling about the Suva; one in particular, a Toa of Iron, seemed to have noticed them.  "Shall we continue on to the Suva and speak there? It looks like more of the investigative corps has arrived, which means the both of us are about to become quite popular whether we like it or not."

 

IC (Oreius, Inu)

 

The Toa of fire looked over his shoulder, and held back a grimace at the sight of such a crowd of guards. Popularity wasn't something he was accustomed to, nor something he enjoyed. He just wanted to do his job, and forget for a moment that he was anything but a Guard. Being a Toa Maru carried too much responsibility and too many questions. 

 

He turned back to Bohrei and nodded once. "Yes. Let's move on. And I'll take a look at that report on the way."

[GSR]

IC: Bohrei [Near Ta-Kini]
 
The Toa's voice was clipped, and she caught the moment of hesitation before he turned back to her.  She let the ghost of a smile come to her face.  "It's alright.  I'd much rather this place wasn't such a madhouse, too.  But life's never that easy, and in my experience death tends to be even worse in that regard." 

 

She pulled the report from her bag and handed it to him.  "Let me know at once if you have any questions.  Once you've had a chance to read it over and we've touched base with the other investigators, I'd like to ask you about the Piraka's movements." 

 

The two turned and made for the Suva.  As they entered the crime scene, Bohrei took another look around - it was as nightmarish a scene as she'd left it.  Good; it wouldn't do to have the place cleaned up until they were certain there were no more clues to be found here.  Standing off to one side was a Toa of Fire she'd seen around - a Sergeant, if memory served, name of Flay.  And next to her, that Toa of Iron.

 

Her eyes narrowed.  Toa of Iron, apparently part of the Guard, but I haven't seen him around.  Consultant? But who-

 

A few dozen overheard conversations in the hallways of the Guard's headquarters came back to her.

 

Oh, don't tell me.  Now of all times.

Edited September 7, 2014 by GSR

[Geardirector]

IC:

 

"Claaaaaaasic denial."

 

I was still grinning.

 

"Nah, I'm just messin' with you here, Heli," I said, lightly punching him on the arm. "Drinking and punching aren't really options right now, so I'm down to making snarky and innocuous commentary to amuse myself."

 

IC: Helios (Charred Forest)

 

"Glad to hear it," I said, honestly relieved, and feeling a bit braver, "you wouldn't want to try your luck with, say, mister personality over there" I said, referring to Zauk.

 

"So what do you think we're digging up here anyway?"

[25K Now!]

IC: Lasinia

 

"Hey Gunner, let me whisper in your ear for a sec."

 

Without warning, Lasinia's face was promptly right next to her colleague's.

 

"She gets a scratch and I will eat your ear."

[Nuju Metru]

IC:

"Broken window?" I asked innocently, then craned my neck around on the chaise-lounge to peer back around that way. My eyes alighted on the shattered glass and went all wide with surprise. "Ooch, yeah, you're right... not sure how that happened, but I'd guess it was some collateral from when those Piraka sorts were 'round recently. You've seen the Lavapool, yeah? Straight wrecked. There's been all kinds of minor damages all over the place, too. Feel free to take a walk and catalog 'em."

Skyga rudely disregarded my invitation. Aight, that was her prerogative; just meant that it was time for me to up the ante. "Dunno when Dor'll be back," I yawned. "And until Neffie returns with my party supplies, there's not a lot to be done around here. Meantime you should go freshen up, or something; you look way tired, chick. Don't we wanna be pretty for prettyboy?" Calling gals "tired" was an age-old trick. Even if she didn't take my suggestion to heart, hearing that sorta thing riles a person, and working with riled is easier than working with cucumbery (er, cool).

[Snelly]

IC: Skyra

 

He was really trying to get rid of me, subtly of course, but it was fairly obvious that he wanted me gone. To be quite honest I didn't exactly find hanging around him enjoyable. 

 

At the mention of looking pretty for Dorian I felt my cheeks get hot...and what did he mean by tired!? I mean sure...maybe I was a bit exhausted from the long trip here but what was he trying to say!? 

 

"You know...maybe I'll just go look for Dorian..." I muttered, at least that way I could warn Dorian about what he should expect to find at his house. 

[Nuju Metru]

IC:
"If ya find him," I noted as Skee-bob-a-doodle made for the door, "Keep him away from here as long as you can... we wouldn't want him to walk in on the middle of preparation for his surprise party, now would we?" I gave her a sharp smile that didn't reach my eyes.

[Snelly]

IC: Skyra

 

I glanced back at Grokk and gave him a wicked grin. "Oh of course not, that would be such a shame. Bye Groky." I waved at him casually before promptly exiting the establishment. This is gonna be one of -those- days isn't it?

 

As I walked through the streets of the koro of fire I noticed how much better I felt, being all alone with Grokk had been a bit unnerving, especially with how he kept looking at me. The creep.

 

I figured the best way to find Dorian was to ask the guards around the koro. It seemed that most, if not all the guards were somehow aware of his general location. It was clear they were keeping pretty good tabs on the ex-criminal. I couldn't blame them considering everything that had happened to the city, one attack after another. 

 

One guardsmen told me Dorian had last been seen heading into Ta-kini with a guardswoman named Flay, on consultant duty no less. That's where I headed next. 

 

When I got there I was stopped by guards who were watching over the entrance. The one guard was giving me a little trouble. 

 

"Yeah I don't see why a Commander of the Gukko Force needs to be in here." The Ta-Toa Guardsmen explained with a bored expression. 

 

"Becauseeeee I need to see Dorian, it's important!" I sighed.

 

"Yeah well I can't just let anyone in here, Commander or not...and I thought Commander Daring was a guy..." 

 

My eyes narrowed. "Things changed, now seriously let me through, there's two Skakdi running amok in Dorian's house and I have a feeling he'll want to know that." 

 

"Rightttttt....I'm gonna have to ask you to go..." 

 

"..." I pushed my way past him and continued inside. "How about nope." I was tackled to the ground after that. 

[Void Emissary]

IC: Plagia / Charred Forest

 

I rolled my eyes.

 

"Nah, not really looking for a relationship right now, yaknow?

 

I crossed my arms, leaning my weight on leg, still grinning.

 

"And I have no idea what's supposed to be down there. Treasure or something, I guess," I shrugged. "People don't bring me along to make intelligent commentary. They bring me along to smash things and make snarky commentary. Which, between you and me, is way more fun."

 

IC: Gunner / Sinking Pirate Ship

 

"This whole exercise is about trying to avoid that, you crazy lady."

 

I leaned away from Lasinia, smiling at Mimira.

 

"All right, then," I said, sheathing my sword. "C'mon Mim, let's go!"

 

-Void

[25K Now!]

IC: Lasinia

 

"Remember to h҉̴̴̴͎̞̻̺̠̳̝̖͔̠̘͜A̧̨̻̹̪̗͓̘͖͕̞͚̪͚͕̝͙̕͢͠V̛̰̳̪̫̫̘͓͓͍͈́͜͠ḛ̸̲̲̠̦̩̳̖̖̝͍̥͈̠͍̦̘͙͉̕̕͡͝ ̧̥̗̞͇̹͎̙̜͎̼f̴̕͞͏̼̖̼͍̳̳͔̤̤̞̯͇͚̀ͅU͢͠͞҉̦̼̞͈̬̼͕͍̱̭̙͇͇̼̣͕̱N̴̙̯̭̦̦̬̤̦̞͟~!"

[Snelly]

IC: Mimira

 

"Alright!" Mimira moved closer to Gunner. "So how is this gonna work?"

[- JL -]

IC:

Whump!

 

Flay blinked before turning around to face where the sound was coming from; right outside the entrance to Ta-Kini. Keen ears would probably have been able to pick up the noises that came afterwards; what sounded to be a guy and a girl making small moaning sounds and grunts with the sounds of metal touching and grappling further accentuating the inappropriateness.

 

Before Dorian could make a joke that had connotations about sexual actions happening right outside what was basically the one holy place of Ta-Koro, Flay quickly spoke up. "I'll go check it out," she muttered as she headed towards the entrance.

 

The scene she saw was basically that. One of the guards who'd been standing outside letting people with the correct clearance in and telling everybody else to flock off was on the ground, hugging tightly a female Toa of Air who probably tried to barge in.

 

"Uh, Dorian?" She shouted loudly, "I think it's one of the girls you slept with who you left or something."

Edited September 8, 2014 by JL Zehvor

[sunflower]

OOC: My apologies for the stop-go nature of this.

 

IC: Quest In Ta-Wahi, Charred Forrest

 

The stone monolith continued to rise on it's own accord, the ground churning and rolling in on itself as it was pushed away by the stone's inexorable advance.  It became immediately clear that it was more that just a stone, in fact it looked more like a column at first.  Even though earth and ash clung to the side of the ancient stone, it was still possible to see the carved runes on it's face.

 

And then, with an air of finality, it stopped moving, and simply sat there as if it hadn't moved in hundreds of centuries, a weathered stone obelisk rising nearly three bio from the ground.

 

Zauk stood back from the sight before him, his Kanohi dying down, looking weary, but with a fire in his eyes.  Now they had gotten the easy part out of the way, all that was left was actually getting there.  Of course, there was another step, but that would be simple enough.

 

"Nice magic trick, too bad it only works on dusty old relics, and not, say, females," Tehlin supplied helpfully, casting a somewhat impressed eye on the monolith that had grown from the ground before them.

 

Zauk ignored him, and turned to the rest of the group, "That is the gate, and what we have is the key," his gaze focused on Plagia, and the small stone in her hand, before motioning to what looked to be a chip in the edge of the hexagonal spire of stone.  She stepped over, and moved to put the small stone in.  After a bit of adjustment, the Toa of Lightning was able to fit it inside, the stone almost being pulled the last few inches from her hands and into its original place.

 

"And now," Zauk started again, once Plagia had stepped away, "We just need to turn the key.  Follow my lead."

 

The Vo-Toa raised his arm, his palm facing the obelisk.  With a flash of light, an arc of purplish electricity connected with the spire's surface, with easily enough power to blow a hold in any one of the dead trees surrounding them.  Though the display of elemental power was hardly impressive to the group, nor was it the most interesting event currently happening.  More so was the fact that a faint blueish glow began so seep out from the runes covering the massive stone, and the almost inaudible hum that filled the air.

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

I am on the job here, people. God .

 

"Stop her, then," I hissed through gritted teeth. "I can't get into this guy's head with you screaming at me. Buy her dinner and a bottle of bourbon. Tell her I'm sorry and I'm working on atonement. Tell her atonement is a , and I do not need two of those in my life at the current--"

 

"Dor, it's me!"

 

...

 

-Tyler

[Snelly]

IC: Skyra

 

The guard had me pinned down good...it was too bad he was ticklish. With a well placed and completely unexpected poke he recoiled in surprise. I managed to scramble to my feet. 

 

"Heyyy Dor! Sorry to interrupt your work here but I was a little worried about you after you left an-GAH!" I was tackled again. 

[NorikSigma]

IC: Vygel -[Monolith]

 

Umm.

 

"That glow... What's happening?" Vygel asked no one in particular.

[Eyru]

IC (Oreius, Inu)

 

The Toa of fire flipped through the report, but his eyes kept flickering from the blurred words to the sacrilegious scene before him. His throat tightened.

 

Fire. Blood. Payment.

 

"Ask your questions," he growled.

[- JL -]

IC:

"Uhh... Ummm....I think you can let her go now....."

[Snelly]

IC: Skyra

 

The guard finally let me go, but I could feel his eyes stare into my back like daggers. I simply ignored him as I got back to my feet. I nodded at the female Toa of fire in thanks before attempting to speak with Dorian again.

 

"Well...what I was trying to say before I was interrupted..." I glared at the guardsmen. "...was that I came to Ta-koro to see how you were doing. I stopped by your house and surprisingly there were two Skakdi in there, said they were friends of yours." 

Edited September 8, 2014 by Skitty

[GSR]

IC: Bohrei [Near Ta-Kini]
 

She watched the commotion at the gate with a kind of morbid fascination.  He's just standing there and already we've got people getting tackled on their way into a crime scene to talk to him.  The legends were true.

 

From behind her, she heard Oreius' voice, darker and deeper than before.  "Ask your questions."

 

Dorian Shaddix was forgotten in an instant.  She turned back to the Maru.  "Anger is fine," she said quietly, "but we cannot show it yet.  Not until we're certain of the truth.  She deserves that much."

 

The Skakdi took a pen from her coat pocket and flipped the notebook open.  "I need to know if you saw any of the culprits headed here.  And failing that, I need to know if any of them leapt out at you as someone who could do this.  He would have been grandiose, more so than the rest.  He would have had a message to send - or at least, he would have thought he did."

[Eyru]

IC (Oreius, Inu)

 

"We- I saw no one. I was in the Koro when they came."

 

Fire. Lightning. Death.

 

He squeezed his hands into fists, fingernails digging into his palms. He focused on the pain to draw his attention from the drumbeats in his brain.

 

The slavering jaws of a rabid wolf. Put it down.

 

Put it down!

 

"All six were monsters," he continued dully. "I can't tell one piraka from another."

 

They will burn.

[GSR]

IC: Bohrei [Ta-Kini]
 

"Guardsman Oreius."

 

The notebook was closed, the pen capped and put away.  She was at eye level with the Toa, and she locked her gaze as best she could with him; he was facing forward, but his eyes were set up, towards the ceiling.

 

"I said anger is fine, but not until later.  You're going to need it then.  If you can't hold it in, then there's half a dozen clearings in this forest where you can rage to your heart's content.  I'll even give you a Skakdi-shaped punching bag if you need it.  But right now we need to understand what happened here.  That's the only way we can face up to the one who did this." 

 

Her eyes flicked to the Toa's side; she could make out the hump attached to his back.  She looked back at him.
 

"Tell me, Oreius.  What's his name?"

[Eyru]

IC (Oreius, Inu)

 

She sees me.

 

Inu's voice was curious, a brief interlude in an otherwise relentless storm of anger. Tahu's anger still burned hot in his chest, but Oreius managed to swallow the fire. She was right.

 

"Inu. We are Oreius and Inu."

[Timageness]

IC: Seeds emerged from Verulas's hands and were thrown to the ground around his foe before he could react, creating a prison made up of woven roots that pinned him in place. The Lesterin's red and green form struggled against his bindings in vain, a scream emerging from his mouth as the Toa punched him in the face, knocking him out.

"Sweet dreams, psycho," he said, turning his attention to his new ally.

The other Toa had his hands full with the Vortixx at the moment, but Verulas could tell by the way the new arrival fought that he had faced far worse. He stood and watched the duel contently, catching his breath before noticing that the Skakdi was once again on his feet and preparing a nasty vision powered revenge against the Toa of Air.

"Too slow," he said as he removed a knife from his arm and threw it into his shoulder, knocking him off balance and causing his laser beams to miss, cutting through the wall of an adjacent building instead of their intended target and raining debris into the alleyway below.

[Geardirector]

IC: Plagia / Charred Forest

 

I rolled my eyes.

 

"Nah, not really looking for a relationship right now, yaknow?

 

I crossed my arms, leaning my weight on leg, still grinning.

 

"And I have no idea what's supposed to be down there. Treasure or something, I guess," I shrugged. "People don't bring me along to make intelligent commentary. They bring me along to smash things and make snarky commentary. Which, between you and me, is way more fun."

 

OOC: My apologies for the stop-go nature of this.

 

IC: Quest In Ta-Wahi, Charred Forrest

 

The Vo-Toa raised his arm, his palm facing the obelisk.  With a flash of light, an arc of purplish electricity connected with the spire's surface, with easily enough power to blow a hold in any one of the dead trees surrounding them.  Though the display of elemental power was hardly impressive to the group, nor was it the most interesting event currently happening.  More so was the fact that a faint blueish glow began so seep out from the runes covering the massive stone, and the almost inaudible hum that filled the air.

 

IC: Helios (Charred Forest)

 

"Haha, much appreciated. It isn't often that I find someone with your talent for taking a joke. Your quick-mouth is almost Le-Koronan"

 

I stopped there when the obelisk began to glow. An azure hue emanating from the stone unlike any other. A low hum filled the air, almost like the whistle of a bamboo disk sailing by.

 

I turned like the rest to look at what transpired before me, waiting in anticipation.