BZPRPG - Le-Wahi

[Mr. Lightning Bolt]

OOC: I agree. I believe I may have lost my edge.

 

IC Asuno:
The Toa of Sonics heard a bit of creaking. Suspicious, he spun around. Their captive was gone, nowhere to be seen.

"Wha-?!" He blurted, astonished. "Where'd he go? He was right here a second ago!"

[Some Random Phrase]

IC SS:

SS, walking quickly, boards an elevator and decends.

[Akavakaku]

IC Jrahann:

 

Jrahann heard Asuno's exclamation and looked over her shoulder. The Toa was standing alone on the leaf-woven plaza. The Skadki they had escorted here was nowhere to be seen.

Slowly, Jrahann sucked in a breath through her teeth. "You let him get away," she hissed in a low voice, fixing Asuno with a fiery glare.

 

OOC: Seems like Jrahann and Asuno are becoming great frenemies!

[Mr. Lightning Bolt]

IC Asuno:
"Hey!" he exclaimed in defense, "That's not fair. You should have just as sensitive hearing as I do!"

He paced for a moment with his hand to his chin, and raised his finger. "It doesn't matter. During that battle I recalled one of my supply caches. You want a reward, I'm sure I can oblige. Come on, we're going back into the jungle."

[25K Now!]

IC: Kunitu

 

Kunitu walked around the village.

 

OOC: Open for interaction.

[Some Random Phrase]

IC SS:

Once at the bottom, SS put all his gear back into place and activated his thermal vision. He then ran off into teh jungle.

Edited May 12, 2014 by Ahktu

[Voxumo]

IC: Colx (Fitness Center)

 

We made good time to the ol' stomping grounds, and I got good and comfortable in an armchair near the empty fireplace. It would've been awful cozy to have the fire roaring, but now wasn't the right time.

 

"Hmm." I pondered, "now lemme see if I can pull something from off the ol' memory lane"

IC: Vrina

 

Vrina could not help but laugh as she sat across from Colx with her elbows on her knees

"Now now grampa don't fry your brain trying to think of something."

[Akavakaku]

IC Jrahann:

 

Jrahann's scowl melted into a suspicious frown. Asuno had remembered this stash of his awfully fast after losing her potential profit. It didn't help that he seemed to know almost nothing about the area.

So was Asuno going to lure her out of the village and attack her? He could certainly take her in a fight; one sonic attack and she would be incapable of defending herself. Nor did she think her sai could affect the Toa. Jrahann didn't trust Asuno, and she didn't feel as though she'd quite figured him out.

But she intuitively guessed that Asuno was not a killer. Toa rarely were.

"Fine. Let's go."

[Mr. Lightning Bolt]

IC Asuno:

 

As they descended in the elevator, Asuno noticed and addressed Jrahann's bad expression.

''And why are you so sour, my dear?" He asked, smirking. "The fool got away, but I dont think he'll be hurting anyone anytime soon. Besides, you're getting some free stuff soon. I thought I told you my amnesia seems to be wearing off a bit. In fact, I think I have an inkling of my next destination. Yours, too, if you're gonna follow along."

He began playing with the knife he stole from Shadowstalker.

"I have a hunch that we might find some fun in Ta-Koro. If my recollections are correct, that place never has a shortage of fun. Let's hope nobody touched my supply cache yet."

[They]

OOC: Ishi Polzin and Krios From Ga-Wahi.

 

IC: Ishi Polzin and Krios

 

Two days passed in underbrush and bog. Six rationed meals were foraged on the go by the unlikely duo as they traveled to Le-Koro. Krios proved to be an able enough trapper and had swift aim with a rock, and Ishi had the slight of hand to bend down and snatch critters as they scampered away. They slept on moss covered jungle boughs above the Fau Swamp and traded drinking songs and stories of women. By the time the clattering of the elevator crankshaft brought them to the platform village both were ready for a comfortable bed and a stiff drink.

 

The Bright-Star Inn was more than willing to quench their thirst and pamper their bodies with clean sheets. Instead of a seat at the bar they opted for a comfortable pair of adirondack chairs on the second floor patio with a wonderful view of the treetops and the setting sun. Ishi sipped a peppered beer from the bottle and Krios swirled a golden liquid in its sniffer and both reached freely for the meat and cheese plate on the small table.

 

“And so you’re saying they couldn’t tell the dice were loaded?”

 

“Nope,” Krios said with a smirk and a delicate sip. “If I hadn’t needed the money I might have gone easy. Alas, I was broke."

 

Ishi looked aghast and then chuckled. “Pitiful, not being to tell loaded dice. That’s basic.”

 

“So you say,” the vortixx countered, “but you’ve never been at the table when I’m rolling.”

 

“I’ll make care not to in the future too.” Ishi grabbed a piece of meat and drained the life from it in his mouth before spitting the remains over the railing. The banter continued until the meal was done, peppered with laughter and salted with the occasional dry remark.

 

“What takes you to Onu-Koro?” Krios asked not for the first time as he finished the last of his drink. Ishi turned his head to appraise the vortixx then tipped the bottle to his lips. It had been a question skirted with further questions, but now Ishi felt he'd learned enough about Krios to tell something of the truth.

 

“Just traveling. I’ve got an itch to visit the underground. Interested in tagging along?”

 

“I don't have much of a need to go to Onu-Koro. Last time I was there I was bored out of my mind. And so you bought a kukri for your love of traveling?"

 

Ishi glanced at the rucksack full of provisions he’d purchased when first arriving in Le-Koro. strapped to the side within easy reach was the accused weapon. “Why? Is there something wrong with liking knives? It has nothing to do with going underground. Besides, my karambit didn’t do the best job on our journey, and your stiletto was useless at gutting the meal.”

 

“And you like swinging through the trees on volo-lutu launchers as well I suppose”

 

Ishi released a sigh and shook his head. “They’re to get me up into the Abettor’s cave.”

 

Krios blinked and leaned closer.

 

“I want to see it. I’ve heard so many tales about the crystal cavern and the question it asks that it’s driving me mad. I have to see it, Krios, have to. If nothing else just so I can ask how it wipes its own ###### with a crystal hand.”

 

There was a long laugh from the vortixx. “Puroi you’re insane.”

 

“Glad we can agree on something.”

Edited May 16, 2014 by Kughii

[Akavakaku]

IC Jrahann:

 

"So there's a Ta-Koro too? The Matoran here sure like naming things after the elements."

The elevator completed its descent and Jrahann hopped out, turning to face Asuno. "Normally I don't prefer to trek across the land with a strange Toa, but I'll go to Ta-Koro with you. Just don't try to drag me on any honorable Toa quests."

[sunflower]

IC: Mihlra

 

The world was spinning around her and refused to stay still, what was once solid and stable was now treacherous and fluid.

 

Or perhaps it was just her.

 

Either way, Mihlra was not enjoying it.

 

With nearly visible effort, she focused on the here and now, even if the here and now wasn't the most enjoyable place to be either, not with that kind of question.

 

"He died there," Mihlra said, her voice monotone and unchanging, a hand gripped on the edge of the wooden plank that made up the bench on which they were seated, in an attempt to keep herself in the here and now. For it was a much better place than revisiting things best left to sink in the depths of time. After only moment's pause, she continued in the same featureless voice.

 

"Saved me, though he didn't make it."

 

Her demeanor shifted dramatically toward the positive, just fast enough to be forced, though not entirely.

 

"We have... a lot to catch up on. Now might not be the best time, not here at least."

[Snelly]

IC: Skyra

 

I'd made a mistake in asking her about Dad...I could tell it wasn't something she was ready to speak of, it was tearing her apart just to think of what happened. I shouldn't have brought it up...

 

"Y-Yeah...alright...we'll find somewhere else to...catch up." I was quivering, as much as I loathed to admit it, I was a very emotional being and I was not good at keeping them in check. My eyes were watering, threatening to burst like a dam, I was falling apart and I couldn't stop it.

 

So I did the only thing I could, I wrapped my arms around my mother and held her in a tight embrace. I'd been denied the privilege of doing so for so long that it was hard to grasp that it was really happening. I buried my face into her shoulder.

[Mr. Lightning Bolt]

IC Jrahann:

 

"So there's a Ta-Koro too? The Matoran here sure like naming things after the elements."

The elevator completed its descent and Jrahann hopped out, turning to face Asuno. "Normally I don't prefer to trek across the land with a strange Toa, but I'll go to Ta-Koro with you. Just don't try to drag me on any honorable Toa quests."

IC Asuno:

Asuno nodded. "Yeah, it's not so much that they name the places after the elements, but kind of organize themselves based on what ambient elemental power they have. Ta-Koro is full of Ta-Matoran. That's the way it usually goes, isn't it?"

He stepped out, and began walking towards the forest.

"Anyway, I'm glad you're along for the ride." He smiled. "Maybe I'll manage to get you heroic."

 

They began to walk deeper into the forest. Suddenly, Asuno stopped, and began looking around.

"And it should be... Aha!" He exclaimed, approaching a rock oddly positioned on another.

He gently removed the first rock, and pushed the other rock away.

What lay before his eyes was a small cache of resources; a couple of lightstones, some rope, and quite a few widgets. He picked up the lightstones and rope, depositing it into his satchel before beginning to count the widgets. He was amazed nobody found it and pilfered it.

"...67, 68, 69, 70... I'll take that much, and..." he trailed off again, putting the widgets he counted so far into his satchel, and began to count the remainder.

A short time after, he finished.

"....78, 79, 80. Ok. Hold out your hands." He told Jrahann.

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

It wasn't fighting, but at least it was something.

 

Fighting, he knew; from his time in Ko-Koro, he had picked off over forty Parakuka with just his bow, and under Sucogu's leadership he'd done real good for the people there. When the Makuta followers had fallen upon Pala-Koro in all their might, he had held the Koro's square and even led a small push beyond the walls, taking down would-be assassins of the Turaga, avenging old friends, and holding Echelon's assistants hostage in the jungle. He'd followed Kethrye into the architect's den, and despite his blunt reservations about the Toa of Ice's leadership he'd continued to follow until the Toa of Ice left - along with two-thirds of the village's population. For a time, Pala-Koro had been a great first step for the people of the island, the first true example of a self-sustaining major village outside one of the six main Koro that even Ihu-Koro could not fully compete with. Then it had become insular, and people had begun to jump ship faster than anyone came to replace them - in fact, no one had come to replace them at all for the longest time - leaving the village desolate.

 

After Makuta fell, half-finished construction projects, as ambitious as they were doomed, were left stale, and materials had littered the ground. The walls, reconstructed and improved so that a good company of archers could hold against any force, Makuta or not, were unmanned and left unchecked. The gate wasn't even closed half the time, and it swung like a saloon door when a good breeze came by. The fence that was put up to dam off Lake Pala had begun to go to rust, and no one had tried to pass it in the longest time. Esao didn't have much experience in rebuilding a Koro, but even he knew that these were all issues that couldn't go unchecked - and he knew that he had no place else to go but the ruin of Pala-Koro. So he decided to fight after all. He would fight to breathe life into Pala-Koro again. Luckily, he'd been left a few resources for that.

 

Kythera, had flippantly vowed that wherever Esao would stay or go, she would be there as well. Stealthy and sly from her time sneaking about as a mercenary, her goal was to search every structure, peruse every inch of the walls and defenses, and come back with any way they could be breached, avoided, or dangerous to inhabit. She wasn't always easy to get along with, and her advances were as frequent as her reports, but Esao had grown fond of her company all the same; he hadn't had as good a friend since Flyssa had met her early death in Ko-Koro over a year ago, and he welcomed the company, especially if it was helpful.

 

Ackune had stayed too, and that was three blessings in of itself - the blind smith was loyal to Pala-Koro, he could tolerate bickering with the resigned stolidness of age, and he was skilled at his craft. What reports Kythera would deliver, he would scour, and construct not to skirt around them or even fix them, though that's what he would do; he redesigned the walls and archery turrets that capped them so that what were once weaknesses could be used as amplified strengths. He'd helped Esao with construction where he could, raising a smattering of new huts to the south by the gate and then building another small, circular grouping to the north, where once the Turaga had been cared for after their ordeal at the Nui-Rama hive. It was Ackune who had helped melt down the weapon fragments and worthless scrap into raw material that could be used to improve Pala-Koro, and it was under Ackune's direction that Esao and Kythera learned what could be considered worthless scrap. With the walls and huts constructed, reconstructed, and improved upon, only the gate remained an issue, flapping like a bird's lame wing at the slightest sign of a breeze. The Pala-Koro sign above it was sanded down, removed of rust and repolished. The two were a stark contrast.

 

To remedy the gate problem, Esao and Ackune had discussed removing the gate (not quite a necessity even in the best of times; a strong navy was required to breach Pala-Koro, and any navy with the power to do so had no entrance) from the Lake Pala itself, as it formed a border that most couldn't hope to cross. The old Toa of Fire had told Esao where to make his incisions; he was the ideal choice, as he was an ideal balance of Kythera's limber agility and physicality with Ackune's eye for detail and elemental prowess, so with the help of a rigged-up snorkel device and his old friend's flyssa sword, Esao would dive under sporadically, cut away a section of the structure, and then use a pulley system mounted on the shore to pull the metal out to the village. Even with the energy and time he had conserved by not swimming with the heavy grates, it was grueling work; there was little humidity but little cloud cover today, and the sun beat down both on the water's surface and on Esao's back. The heat required to melt the metal didn't do him any favors, either; he had spent all morning and the first half of the afternoon, and while he worked on dividing the final two sections of fencing he found himself wiping at his brow with one toned bicep. Maybe after this, some Bula juice, something to eat. He'd skipped a lunch hour, which was a bit of a misstep, but he had anticipated an easier time with the fence, which had suffered from so long buried in the floor of Lake Pala.

 

Under Flyssa's old sword, the metal between the two grates finally gave way, and Esao hooked his fingers through one section of fence each and focused his energy into the balls of his feet, pushing himself up and over the water's surface. The air was sweet and breezy in his lungs, and not the overly-moist, humid sludge he'd had to breathe in yesterday while scouting out the fence itself. He bent his neck to the left and listened to it crack, and then did the same in the other direction, before hooking up one section of fence to the pulley and swimming with the other up to shore himself. Kythera casually cranked the fence to shore, offering a cursory hand and a ready smirk when he flung the final piece into the lopsided metal pile. She was holding out half a pulled pork sandwich and a canteen. He drank eagerly, expecting Bula juice but finding water instead, which wasn't a bad little surprise. Tired, he sat down on the other side of the pulley, eyeing the metal.

 

"How long does Ackune think he's going to need?" he asked.

 

"Few days, give or take. You know he doesn't like to be bothered. Especially the further we get to finishing." Kythera's smirk was unreadable as ever, but no longer was it vaguely menacing, as it had been when she had appeared from nowhere during the invasion under the Necromancer's brigade. "You know he wants this done as much as us."

 

Esao nodded, and took another bite of the sandwich. "We're nearly there. Just the gate, and reblazing the old trade route from Le-Koro."

 

"And finding residents. That is why we stayed, isn't it? If we wanted a sanctuary, we could've built a treehouse."

 

"What makes you think I'd let you live in my treehouse?" Esao shot back. "Yes. But we can't support a population without supplies from Le-Koro. We have the Break and the mountain across the lake; give it a year and we could have a bridge back and forth, to carry ores into the village. Ackune can get them ready for trade and we can send them out to Le-Koro. We have Bula plants and fresh water, too. We make a deal with them, we attract some people, and ta-da. Pala-Koro rides again."

 

Pala-Koro rides again. He liked the way that sounded on his tongue, the way it echoed in the air; it had a pleasant ring to it, and made the fight he'd put into helping the village prosper feel a little more worth it.

 

-Tyler

[Onaku]

IC: Ior

 

The jungle canopy was thick, and nigh-impassable, with vines hanging from the trees, wrapping around their logs and forming complex, yet completely random, patterns, the purpose of which seemed to singularly be to halt travelers in their journeys. The sun was bright, and very harsh, but this was no problem for a Po-Matoran native to Po-Wahi, what with the dry, harshly hot climate and all.

 

Ior was trying to make his way to Le-Koro, owing to the fact that only there could one obtain the exotic triple glazed doughnut, with flavors of special fruits found in the surrounding Jungle. Well, he'd found those fruits, but no village of air in sight. He came to the obvious conclusion that he was lost. And then he kept going. No use giving up in the middle of the canopy; if he wanted to get somewhere, he had to keep walking.

 

...

 

...

 

After even more hours of walking, Ior had finally realized that he wasn't just lost, he was COMPLETELY lost, with no clue as to where he was, or as to where he should go. Sighing out of disappointment, Ior decided to take a few more steps before sitting down and resting. These few more steps, how ever, led him to the banks of a large lake. Looking around the vast lake, Ior noticed a small settlement by the coast of the lake.

 

"Well... this is as good a place as any to seek help, I suppose... I hope." Ior walked towards the village, hoping he'd get some kind of help with his being-lost situation.

Edited May 17, 2014 by Toa Onaku

[sunflower]

OOC:

*insert incoherent fangirling*

IC: Kythera

Kythera pursed her lips in thought, her elbows locked behind her back as she leaned back, the heels of her hands digging into the soft shoreline from the weight. After a moment, her crystal-blue gaze wandered from the work-worn Toa of Fire sitting beside her with the sandwich (Funny, she never fancied herself a cook, unless one counted utterly destroying perfectly good cookware and melting stuff cooking), and out towards the lake splayed out like spilled paint over the landscape. Other than the fact that it really was hot without the clouds, the burning orbs of the suns certainly made the lake take on a somewhat ephemeral light. There she was, getting all sentimental. Well great.

The cold, sociopathic mercenary has a heart after all, huh.

It wasn't entirely unexpected, this entire place had been something she'd put way too much work into, and to Karz if she wasn't going to see it through to the end. Maybe she just had a soft spot for hopeless causes and lost Koros. It would explain her tendency to (completely unintentionally) attach herself to where she happened to be staying at the time. First Po-Koro, and now this. Though this wasn't like Po-Koro, this was something she had contributed to, and that made it different for Kythera. She had a say in things now.

Her gaze made its way back around the scenic view to focus once again on Esao, which was an arguably better view.

Hopeless causes, maybe.

Then again, maybe not.

"I'll get the Now Hiring banners set up then, hm?" Kythera commented after the pause, reaching out a languid hand to extract the now empty canteen from Esao's grasp, rolling the bottle off her clawed fingers into the other hand. She pushed herself up from the ground with a single fluid motion before Esao had a chance to reply, or protest, stepping off towards the main hut with a single parting grin.

* * *

As if by chance, Ior's comment, though not a question, seemed to be answered, as the unmistakable noise of someone approaching behind him through the light undergrowth sounded.

Unfortunately, as did the far more threatening noise of a click, whirrrrr, as set of capacitors charged. Said capacitors were mounted within the intricate components of a gleaming energy pistol, which so happened to be held in Kythera's hand.

And pointed at Ior.

There was also a full canteen in the Vortixx's offhand, a strange, if no less deadly, combination of weapons in her hands. She seemed somewhat bored, evident by her relaxed stance.

"Here to cause destruction and/or chaos?" Kythera asked blandly, before starting again well before any normal being could answer the unexpected question. "No? Okay, come on."

With that, Kythera stepped ahead of the Po-Matoran, and towards the ajar gate of the under construction Koro.

[Onaku]

IC: Ior

 

Having been taken by surprise by a female Vortixx, Ior now questioned why he was even considering entering the settlement. The gate looked very much run down, although it seemed like many other things were either in process of, or had already been repaired. Bewildered by the sudden revelation of a secret settlement in the Jungle of Le-Wahi, Ior pitched an obvious question.

"What is this place?"

[25K Now!]

IC: Kunitu

 

this is what it means to live

 

The sprawling jungles of Le-wahi lay before her, the swamps below hidden by the green canopies that stretched out for eternity. It was beautiful, especially from her vantage point on top of one of her village's tallest trees. No matter how many times she took in the sights, they would continue to take her breath away. Her home was definitely a magical place.

 

"Remember when we were young?" spoke the commander to the winds. "Remember when we would sit here and joke about how we would be 'the bestest superheroes evar'?"

 

She laughed quietly.

 

"Those were the days, weren't they?"

 

Those days were gone now. Being a superhero wasn't something she could aspire to do anymore.

 

But.

 

"I need to get away for a while," mused Kunitu. "Explore."

 

She dived.

 

I joined the Force to fly.

 

And she disappeared into the jungles on the back of a Gukko.

[Hiram McDaniels]

ooc: I'm new here. hi.

IC: He saw it. He saw it all. He didn't know what he saw, exactly, someone jumped. Not quite jumped, per say, more glided. From his vantage point on the tree, Votaka couldn't see much. He had walked from the beach for a long time until he saw it; The Village. It was beautiful. anyways, he saw her jump. He decided not to get involved. He climbed down.

Edited May 18, 2014 by Party Poison

[sunflower]

IC: Kythera

 

Kythera glanced back at the Matoran, fixing him with a single, blue eye at his question.

 

"Pala-Koro, or what's left of it anyway," She replied, turning to face forward once again. She reached the slightly-ajar gate with a collection of fluid, almost calculated, steps, leaving behind little evidence of her passage through the damp, leaf-littered ground. Reaching a hand up, Kythera pushed open the metal gate, and the Koro came into view, if it could be called a Koro at this stage. Still, they had made quite a bit of progress from the state it had been before, an observation that did indeed make her feel somewhat proud of what they'd accomplished in a relatively short amount of time. A step took her through the gate and into the Koro proper; off to the right stood a collection of smaller huts, while a considerably larger one stood behind this one. All were in various states of repair or disarray.

 

"Should'a seen the state it was in before, we've been bringing it back up to snuff, and then some," Kythera continued, making for the building positioned directly before them, which so happened to be the bar/general meeting place because why not.

 

"What brings you here, Mr..."

 

She drew out the last syllable in question.

[Hiram McDaniels]

Votaka watched from a distance. This was something he was used to; Spying. he'd done it before, he'd do it again, but he always felt shame in it.

[They]

IC: Ishi Polzin and Krios

 

The sound of flies droned onerously from the marsh. They rode a pair of homesick dikapi bought earlier in the day for several hours at a steady pace along the trading road north, Ishi in front with most of the gear to even the weight and Krios trailing behind in thought. Le-Kini and its jungle temple came into sight as the sun reached its zenith. Dismounting, the two travelers took refuge from the sun in the shade of the temple and had a quick lunch. Between a swig of water from his canteen and a bite of cured mahi Krios asked;

 

"Puroi, how much money do you carry?" His avian eyes glittered with the hint of greed. Ishi looked into them for a moment, reading whether or not the vortixx was planning to rob him. It was a delicate coin toss: would Krios become a tool for manipulation through money or leave Ishi destitute in the middle of a swamp filled with venomous rahi?

 

"Enough," Ishi replied with a chuckle, deciding the reward was greater than the risk. "If you're asking if I'm wealthy my answer would be disappointing."

 

"Are you then?"

 

"Richer than most, poorer than some." Ishi stood up and stretched his back. He was stiff from the hours in the saddle and sitting on a slab of granite did little to help. "I'm going in for a minute. You game?"

 

"For visiting a shrine?" Krios asked. "You didn't seem the type."

 

Already on the wide staircase to the main building Ishi turned and said, "I'm always into learning things."

 

"I'll stay here and eat your food." Krios smirked and toasted with his canteen. Ishi rolled his eyes and continued up the stairs.

 

Le-Kini was a round complex built on a rare patch of solid ground in northern Le-Wahi, with six small outbuildings circling a larger shrine to Lewa. The building was covered in jungle vines and in places the pillars had begun to crumble and the ornate reliefs telling of the Matas' coming faded by wind and rain. Ishi ran his hands across the layering of dust on the suva at the temple's center and stared up at the vaulted stone ceiling with a sense of envy...

 

Krios hadn't robbed him. The vortixx was packing away the meal into the saddle bags as he exited the shrine. Ishi waved.

 

"Find anything?"

 

"Nothing much, just some old stories and bad memories," Ishi replied as he hopped onto his dikapi and flicked the reins. They left Le-Kini without another word and continued north toward the maw of the underground highway. When they had left it was as if Le-Kini had never been disturbed from its slow decay, except for the pentagon chiseled on the edge of the suva.

 

OOC: Ishi Polzin and Krios to Onu-Wahi.

[Hiram McDaniels]

Votaka left into a cave. He walked aimlessly for hours, possibly days. All traces of the vast, lush jungle had dissapeared as he travel deeper into the depths of the earth, looking for answers.

[25K Now!]

IC: Kunitu

 

Flying was an experience. Especially while hanging off a Gukko upside down.

 

Kunitu laughed as the wind blew past her face, watching the trees below her (or above her head?) come closer and closer.

 

I should have taken a vacation much earlier.

 

"Alright friend," she said, looking up at her Gukko. "Just drop me off here, could you?"

 

It obliged, and the commander promptly fell into a giant bush.

[sunflower]

IC: Dehkaz

 

Dehkaz shrugged. He would have preferred Naona to have a weapon which she was skilled with using, though she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself when unarmed. A motion with his hand, and one of the daggers hanging from the wall floated over to Naona, where it stayed suspended in mid air, as if attached to invisible strings.

[25K Now!]

IC: Naona

 

Naona took the dagger out of the air, nodding to her friend in thanks.

[sunflower]

IC: Dehkaz

 

"Now that that's settled," Dehkaz started, a gauntleted hand reaching out to pull apart the ends of a rolled-up map sitting on the table before them. The map itself was a surprisingly detailed portion of Le-Wahi, focused around the village itself. Dehkaz must have added his own landmarks to it, as there were occasional red marks in otherwise empty areas.

 

"Their hideout is located in this clearing here," He said, a finger tracing a path towards on of the red marks, "Though the have look outs here, and here."

 

"As far as I can tell, the hideout itself is where most of them stay. Only other movement is either to the Koro, or out of the Wahi."

[25K Now!]

IC: Naona

 

Naona stared at the map thoughtfully, leaning over to rest her arms on the table.

 

"That should make neutralising them easier," she observed. "However, how likely would they be to regroup if their headquarters disappear?"

[sunflower]

IC: Dehkaz

 

"Most of those employed seem to be mere opportunists," Dehkaz replied, "small-time criminals in it for the excitement or money, little else. They don't tend to have any real connection with those ontop, besides being useful. I don't expect them to be much trouble afterwards. Nothing the Guard can't handle as it happens, anyhow."

 

"Though, they'll still be loyal as long as their paid, that means capturing the head of the beast right off the bat. Thus infiltration."

[25K Now!]

IC: Naona

 

"Any information on who exactly the head is?

[sunflower]

IC: Dehkaz

 

"Drol, the best information I can get on him is that he's either Lesterin or Toa. Is known for his somewhat... Extravagant style. Been a low-key member of the underworld scene for a while, though with Xa-Koro gone, he's moved onto bigger things it seems. I ran into some of his thugs way back, not someone you'd generally want to mess with."

 

"Anyway, he's recently been looking for members to join his secret group. I think we may be able to pass ourselves off as mercenaries. I already put a tip out about two who might want to join him, with any luck the rumor's reached him by now."

[25K Now!]

IC: Naona

 

"Interesting," she murmured.

 

"By the way, do you have any pseudonyms that we can use? We are slightly high-profile."

[- JL -]

OOC: Exa from Ta-Wahi.

 

IC:

 

Exa checked his map again. According to it, this should be it. Pala-Koro was supposed to be near Lake Pala, right? And Lake Pala was near Le-Wahi. So how had he walked for so long without finding the village yet?

 

"ANYONE?????" He yelled, his sonic powers amplifying the burst of sound forwards in what was assumedly the direction of the village. There was no response other than a sudden reverberation from the shrill voices of rahi squawking in protest of the disturbance coming from within the large maze of trees.

 

"Oops. Sorry."

The Toa of Sound looked around. This lush green jungle was very different from the lands of Ta-Wahi. There was a vibrant smell of nature around, from the fresh leaves and flowers to the damp, mushy mud all around. There was no doubt that around him, wild rahi lived right at home, yet to the Toa, this jungle of Le-Wahi was an untamed wilderness that he'd much rather be out of than journeying thought. Going back to Le-Koro, though, would probably take more time, and that wouldn't accomplish anything either way.

 

He continued onwards, following his map, walking along the predetermined road, all the while looking around for any landmarks that might signify where he was. Nope. Every tree, bush and blade of grass looked like they had been passed before to Examus, and while any Le-Koroan would probably be able to name every single different flowering plant around, everything around was alien to him.

 

* * *

 

Some time had passed since he finally reached the dilapidated village - or as he thought. While the doors weren't in the best shape, the walls certainly looked good as new, and probably worthy of guards and troops patrolling atop the bricks. Yet, at the same time, there simply wasn't anybody manning what looked more like a fortress than a self sustaining village.

 

"Hello?" Exa yelled towards the door of Pala-Koro, hoping it wasn't something utterly in abandonment by the ILF.

 

OOC: Anybody in Pala-Koro who is free to open the doors courteously? :3

[sunflower]

IC: Dehkaz

 

Dehkaz thought for a moment, his right hand curled underneath his chin.

 

"Prei and Tera," He stated finally.

[25K Now!]

IC: Naona

 

"Prei and Tera," repeatedly Naona flatly.

 

She shrugged.

 

"Let's go with that then."

[sunflower]

IC: Dehkaz

 

"It might be a good idea to conceal out identities a bit. Remove anything that identifies us with the Guard, too," Dehkaz commented, motioning to the Po-Koro insignia on his shoulder.

[25K Now!]

IC: Naona

 

"Done," she said, removing her own insignia and dropping it into one of her packs. "A more elaborate disguise may be needed? Switch masks?"

[sunflower]

IC: Dehkaz

 

Dehkaz nodded.

 

"That'll work, to a point, at least. I don't plan on staying around long anyway, so it just has to get us in."

 

With that, Dehkaz reached up, and removed his Kanohi, the Mask taking on a faded shade of it's normal gunmetal look.

[25K Now!]

IC: Naona

 

Naona silently did the same, removing her Kakama from her face and handing it over to her friend.