BZPRPG - Ko-Wahi

[Underscore]

IC: RyzenRyzen took a deep breath, unsure about this. "Well, I'm already taking them," he motioned to the back of the cave. "Somewhere. I could give you detailed directions if you like."

IC: Guron

 

"That would be very nice of you" said Guron with a trace of sarcasm in his voice.

 

OOC: WOOHOO! I get to make the 600th post!!

[ToaKapura1234]

OOC: You got Ninja'd Maira.

 

IC: Keldor

 

Keldor had recently come to a realization. But he needed people to agree with him. And he needed a charismatic leader for them to follow. Possibly that would be him, possibly not. As long as the deed was done, he didn't care who did it or how. He needed people he could trust. But, he knew no one who would surely agree with him. So, for now, he settled with walking around Ko-Koro looking for a doctor.

 

OOC: Open for interaction.

[Mr. House]

OOC: Su-Matoran, actually.

 

IC: (Junyaus/Ko-Koro Streets/Ko-Koro)

 

"Not much, actually," Jun said. "Wives gone mad, gossip about Matoro's relations with Hahli, the usual fluff."

 

He saw this Skakdi, and felt a gut instinct, telling Jun that he might be trusted.

 

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but what do you think of the Akiri?"

[Seraphimon]

IC:

 

[Klavier]

 

Klavier's head did not move. "Ah yes, Captain. Presumably, you are the one in charge of this?" He turned and plopped the sack of heads down in front of her. For the first time, she could see the bandages that covered his eyes and his smile which seemed, to put it lightly, slightly unhinged. "In this sack, I have procured the severed heads and Kraata of fifteen servants of the former Dark Lord Makuta. I found them inside the Dark Walk where I had taken up residence."

 

He upended the sack, the heads, Kraata, and blood(or whatever Rahkshi have in them) spilling out onto the snow. "I have heard that there is a bounty out on their heads, so I brought them here." He smiled again. "Is this pleasing to you, Captain Korzaa? Is there, in fact, a bounty on their heads?"

[Visaru]

IC- Korzaa - Sanctum

The Toa turned, and for the first time, Korzaa got a good look at him. She shuddered. The Matoran wasn’t sure if it was the fact that he didn’t look right at her- his face was directed a little to high and a little too far left- or the smile that was just a little too wide and a little too tight. Perhaps it was the scars, or the eyes covered by a cloth, or the bulging muscles.

Or maybe it was the fact that he had just killed over a dozen Rahkshi without using his eyes. That took skill as a fighter, and frightening amounts of it. Even a man with sight had trouble defeating a couple Rahkshi, let alone a dozen. This man was powerful, and mysterious, and Korzaa didn’t trust him one bit.

She realized that her mouth was open, and quickly shut it, taking on a more formal air as she knelt down to look at the Toa’s trophies. Fifteen Rahkshi heads, like he had claimed. She turned over one of the Kraata, feeling it squish beneath her firm grip. It twitched for a second, but did nothing else.

She licked her lips nervously and stood up to look at the Toa, even though he did not return the gaze. “Yes, there is a bounty for killing Rahkshi. If you want to collect your spoils and follow me, I will deliver to you your money.” She glanced at Lohka, trying to tell her to be wary. It was hard to tell how good that girl was at picking up social cues, or how good she was at realizing that she shouldn’t just spill everything she was thinking to everyone she saw.

Then Korzaa turned her back to the blind Toa and began to walk back across the ice bridge, away from the sanctum.

[Voxumo]

IC: Tivanu

 

Tivanu considered his words for a few moments while Kive-phu made more sickening crunching noises on his shoulder

"Well must admit that is a pretty bold question and one that could easily determine a person's life. But if you must know i am indifferent. I am a mercenary and as such try not to align myself with any side. I just do what i am paid to and sometimes i don't even require payment."

He tried to look as least threatening as possible

[Mr. House]

IC: (Junyaus/Ko-Koro Streets/Ko-Koro)

 

"What jobs do you require payment for, exactly?" Jun replied.

[The Lonesome Wanderer]

IC: Taka

Man, I REALLY hate this cold.

Maybe I should get a warm drink somewhere.

 

Huh, the "Slopeside Lodge". Looks like the place.

 

OOC: Open for Interaction

[Seraphimon]

IC:

 

[Klavier]

 

With a grin, Klavier gathered up the spoils of battle and placed them back into his drenched sack. With one wave over in the general direction of the talkative Ko-Koro guard, he followed Captain Korzaa out the door.

 

All things in time, he thought, still smiling. For the first time in a long time, things were finally going his way. Finally, he could begin his teaching, his true purpose, and find the one he had been looking for all these years. The place to start was the pieces of the chessboard, truly. And this Captain Korzaa would likely be one to aid him in this journey. So, he fought the facade of slight insanity and let his face mold into something a little less crazy and a little more relatable.

 

"Dearest Captain..." he said, following her across the ice bridge, "I hate to impose upon you...I know we have not met or spoken, up until this point. Yet there is a favor I must ask you. I have heard much about the Toa Maru, the heroes of the island...I was hoping if it was at all possible to speak with the Toa Maru of your village, if that is not too much trouble." He shifted the bag on his back.

[Spicy Salmon Samurai]

IC: Nipaki

 

 

As Nipaki's tour of Ko-Koro came to an end, he asked Helios, "How did you like the city? Most Ko-Matoran can be quite cold, but I'm trying to be friendlier. I think it makes a better impression on the few visitors we do get, now that no one trusts each other."

 

 

OOC: Would you be interested in partaking in a faction I'm currently recruiting for? It's called the League of Koros and basically it is a coalition of Matoran and non-Matoran alike who want to bring more unity to the Koros. They work peacefully, but outside of their respective Akiri's agenda.

[Visaru]

IC- Korzaa

Korzaa didn't look back as she coldly answered the blind Toa's question. "Toa Reordin is not here right now. I will inform him that you wish to see him when he returns, and perhaps he will see fit to meet you, Toa..." she let the prophet finish her sentence.

[Seraphimon]

IC:

 

[Klavier]

 

"Klavier. It is a pleasure to meet you, Captain Korzaa." He did not let the Matoran's frosty tone put him off. After all, he had dealt with far worse in his line of duty. "It is not a matter of if, though. I am afraid it is urgent that I speak to Toa Reordin, and the other Toa Maru as well, about a matter most important."

 

His smile crept back in for a brief moment. "Unless you were thinking of trying to stop me, perhaps, Captain?"

[Voxumo]

IC: Tivanu

 

Tivanu had considered this for a few moments

"Well Jobs that would potentially bring risk to my life or ones that require me to be held down for long times. And by held down i mean dedicated to the job at hand."

He idly tapped his staff on the ground while he thought

"Any other type of jobs i only require that the client pay for any supplies that the job may require and lodging."

[Visaru]

IC- Korzaa

Every muscle in Korzaa’s body suddenly tensed up with a mixture of fear and anger. Was this man trying to goad her into a fight? Did he want to hurt, or even kill her? Perhaps he wanted her power? He was trying to antagonize her, she was sure.

Her mind planned out a perfect move of attack- she would spin around, foot out, and knock his legs out from under him. He was tall, big, and holding a heavy sack. He would no doubt fall off the edge of the ice bridge they were crossing and plummet to his death.

But she stopped herself. If he was trying to upset her, she would be playing right into his hands. And she was no Ta-Matoran. She was better than to act on nothing but suspicion and fear. That was not something the captain of the Ko-Koro guard did. It was her job to look at things logically and coldly, like the ice that her home was carved into.

So she refrained from any action but continuing her brisk pace. “I currently have to reason to stop you. I would not do such a thing.” she said simply. “Now, I would be happy to assist you in delivering this urgent message, provided you inform me of what it is.”

Edited May 30, 2013 by Visaru

[Geardirector]

OOC: As unfortunate as it is, I must decline, I already have more than enough characters aligned in factions.

 

IC: Helios (Ko-Koro)

 

"Sounds like a plan" Helios agreed.

 

"Well, I really appreciated you showing me around the Koro. I gotta go now, I have things to do. So long"

[Hanako Herupa]

IC: (Valria)

 

To say I left frustrated would have been and understatement. All the time my allies and I had been spent in this village had meant nothing. Fuming with barely contained rage I stormed from the Sanctum. Why would Matoro talk about peace yet preparing himself for a war? Didn't he see that everyone was doing this and all it would take is one Koro to do something that stuck the other so badly that the only answer would be a counterattack and then there would be a war.

 

This is the biggest load of Karz ever. My team and so many others sacrificed so much for them and then, then they turn their backs on us and their beliefs. All because without Makuta there to keep them in line they had no reason to mutually work with the other villages. So they spat in Mata Nui's face, but no only his. They spat in the face of Kaiapo, a Toa of Earth who died valiantly protecting a village that frankly didn't deserve the cost he paid for them. They spat in the face of Quada, a young Toa that had so much to live for and yet died for so little. They spat in the face of Maru who struggled and finally took down the darkness plaguing this island for so long. They spat in the face of every Toa, ever person, and the Turaga. They had lost their way and chose it willingly. They didn't deserve Toa anymore, they didn't deserve heroes anymore.

 

I was out of the Sanctum now, hearing the snow crunching beneath my feet I imagine the crunching I was hearing was the sound of necks being crushed. I was immediately disgusted by such a thought appearing in my mind, but at the same time it seemed so right, so satisfying. Nothing I did now was satisfying I was just sitting around running errands for a Koro that was so pompous and self-righteous that I felt nauseous just living here.

Edited May 30, 2013 by Master of Masks

[Geardirector]

IC: Helios and NPC (Ko-Koro, The Sanctum)

 

After his tour around the Koro had been finished, Helios had decided to do what he came here for, get in touch with the Koro's leadership tp see if he could do anything to help.

 

As he approached The Sanctum, a pair of guards blocked his way.

 

"State your name and business, Toa" one of them demanded.

 

"I just wanted to relay a simple offer to Akiri Matoro. If he doesn't have time for me, I totally understand, but maybe he has a secretary or something like that?"

Edited May 30, 2013 by Geardirector

[Mr. House]

IC: (Junyaus/Ko-Koro Streets/Ko-Koro)

 

"Before I ask any more, how often are you in Ko-Koro?" Jun asked, in a quiet, polite tone.

[Seraphimon]

IC:

 

[Klavier]

 

Klavier hoped, for a brief instant, that the tensing of Captain Korzaa's muscles meant a fight. The chance to meet an opponent in combat, the chance to spill blood all over the bridge. The sword latched to his back was brilliant and inviting, the weight reminding him with every step of his ability, of his great duty, of his strength. The chance to test it was almost too much to bear. Then, he smelled her muscles relax and the moment passed.

 

“I currently have to reason to stop you. I would not do such a thing.” said the captain, without turning around. “Now, I would be happy to assist you in delivering this urgent message, provided you inform me of what it is.”

 

Klavier thought about it a moment. I suppose there's no harm in that.

 

He nodded. "I simply wished to inform Toa Reordin of my prophecy. It directly concerns him and the other Toa Maru. They must be informed immediately if they are to take action. It is as simple as that. I am a Prophet and I am simply doing my duty, as we all must."

[Visaru]

IC- Korzaa

‘Prophecy.’

Strange. Had Klavier discovered another prophecy, one besides that one written on the Vault door? Perhaps her impressions were wrong and he was some chosen but partly insane hero. He had killed many evil Rahkshi. Her suspicions might be false- this might be a vital message from their god.

She sighed. “If you wish to talk about prophecy, Toa Klavier, you have come to the right place. The Sanctum I have just left is a building devoted to it, and Matoran still visit to muse on the inscriptions. Our Akiri Matoro is very wise, and has spent his entire life translating for the Turaga Nuju. He knows more about prophecy than any save Mata-Nui. Perhaps he is the one you wish to seek council with, not Reordin.

“Although I trust Toa Reordin, and I admire him, I would not refer to him as… wise.”

Edited May 30, 2013 by Visaru

[Voxumo]

IC: Tivanu

 

Tivanu considered this while Kiva-phu rested on his shoulder

"Well i am here quite often. Was in Ta-koro before the whole rahkshi invasion and fought in it."

He reached into the satchel he kept at his waist and pulled out a rahkshi arm that belonged to a rahkshi of mind reading. He made a waving motion with it while he grinned before putting it back in the satchel

"So i have been in Ko-koro for awhile and will most likely be here often."

[Spicy Salmon Samurai]

IC: Nipaki

 

As the toa departed, Nipaki couldn't help but think that he should have invited him to the League of Koros. Oh well, he probably wouldn't have been able to join anyway. He's off oing Toa stuff, he thought. Nipaki went back to his apartment, where he awaited the arrival of his friends, Maripo, Paito, and Kapa.

 

OOC: Nipaki is open for interaction at his apartment

[Seraphimon]

IC:

 

[Klavier]

 

Klavier frowned. "I'm afraid that the prophecy directly pertains to the Toa Reordin. Or rather, to the Toa Maru as a whole. His wisdom has nothing to do with it."

 

Actually, the prophecy also pertained to the Akiri, or at least that was how Klavier had interpreted certain sections of what he had seen. Based on what he knew, at least, which to be fair was not much. It was not a positive depiction, not in the slightest. Then again, not many of his prophecies were terribly positive for anyone involved.

 

"Yet...if you can grant me an audience with Akiri Matoro...perhaps it would be worth a visit. Yes...I would appreciate that."

 

He dropped the bag of Rahkshi down and grinned. "But what to do with this?"

[Mr. House]

IC: (Junyaus/Ko-Koro Streets/Ko-Koro)

 

Jun knew this Skakdi could be trusted, at least with some of the plan. He wouldn't let him know of his true alliegence, not until he knew Tivanu more.

 

"You see, I run an arms and tools business in Onu-Wahi. One of my larger customers are the Sanctum Guards and the ice workers. I need to know what's going on in Ko-Koro, be it building of forts, training of troops, installation of technology and so forth. So I can send my products into the market place and have them sell like hot cakes to the workers and soldiers who need them."

 

"All you'll need to do is send me a weekly report on what you notice. Be it Akiri announcements, lines at recruitment centers, and other such keys. Ship it to my post-office box in Onu-Koro, and a courier will send to to my forge. Easy enough?"

[Voxumo]

IC: Tivanu

 

Tivanu considered this for several long moments.

"Well i suppose that would be perfectly fine. Lets say my price will be 500 widgets. This will be for lodging and the fact that you are needing me to stay in this village for a substantial amount of time. For that matter do you have a set time frame you would like me to stay here for?"

His tone was very business like and flat

[Mr. House]

IC: (Junyaus/Ko-Koro Streets/Ko-Koro)

 

A character could often be an expensive venture. And for the person Jun was pretending to be, wealthy businessman Aihus, he needed to show that wealth. As it was often the more smaller things that made the guise passable. And for this disguise, he had a fine gold watch, and a sterling silver ring supposedly symbolic of marriage. As he had spent most of his widgets on building a fake workshop in the Great Mine, it was all he had to pay the Skakdi. He stripped both off, and displayed them to Tivanu.

 

"The watch is solid gold, and the ring silver. They should cover the cost."

 

He thought for a minute about the time frame.

 

"A week or more," Jun said. "As long as you come to the Koro often, and stay in one-week periods, I think it will be good for both of us."

 

OOC: Would it be better to send the intel out of character?

[Voxumo]

IC: Tivanu

 

Tivanu looked down at the watch and Ring and eyes them curiously before looking holding his hand out for the ring

"Normally i do not accept these type of payments for i will never be able to get the full worth of them. But do tell me what the signifigance of these items are. Of course i know about the watch but not many wear rings unless they serve a purpose."

He peered closer at the watch and slipped it over his right wrist and smiles softly. His eyes now focused on the Su-matoran again

"You know you never gave me a name."

 

OOC: I think so. I would most likely make a note in a pose like ' Tivanu went to the courier and sent the note to Jun." But i would then send it to you in a PM. So yeah we can do it that way

 

Also explain to me about the watch. I assume it would be like a sundial on a watch band. do correct me if i am wrong

[Palm]

IC: Utu Kotore - Ko-Wahi - Echelon's LairTu-Koro was objectively, and personally, the worst place to possibly ever exist. Mainly because of the smog. Wow, that cloud cause a lot of respiratory problems. Haha, just kidding it was because everybody there was a self-destructive degenerate waste of space that occupied time so potently that anybody that stepped within a hundred mile radius lost most of their braincells and all of their cash, belongings, hopes, dreams, and blood which typically got spilled onto the snow. You'd be lucky to cross a street without witnessing in a murder, a beating, or something equally greedy. By the time you got to the other side, you'd gotten hooked on every kind of drug there was and contracted a variety of diseases providing you didn't take part in the aforementioned murder or stealing. Needless to say, it wasn't pretty.My brother Hakam pushed me out of the way, knocking me into my mother's things sending them to the ground to shatter. I grunted, getting to my feet. I was still a child, and was just fitting into the role of "actually defends himself" so I was still getting the hang of things, "Hey!"Hakam turned and looked at me. God, it looked like somebody smashed his face in with a brick before putting him in front of a monkey to put it back together. He smiled very mockingly, "Little Brother upset?"I almost growled, puffing up my little chest, "Don't push me around," My father cooed from the living-room. Harrow had heard the commotion and probably set himself down in his chair with a beer in his hand to hear the show. He always egged this on. Well, always when it seemed Hakam had the upper-hand. The prick always favored the ##### troglodyte for some stupid reason. He was the first born. At least to them. Keya, my sister, was the oldest but my parents always wanted a son. I, being the youngest, got the short end of the stick, "Don't touch me actually."Harrow laughed in the other room. Hakoa (literally Satan by the way who also happened to be my mother) might've made a comment, but she was out with my sister. Hakam gave an uneasy smile before looking at me harder, "Excuse me?"Wait, stop, just look at this for a moment and realize how asinine and socially deficient something like this is. We were kids here for #####'s sake and already acting like we were frat boys in some place full of drunk losers that wear unnaturally orange armor as though we had to prove something about ourselves. Now I understand why Harrow would laugh at this stuff. It was so utterly ridiculous that it was hilarious. But it was all I knew. I learned from observation. Monkey see monkey slits the throats of people with things he wants you know? Really though, I didn't understand how to function differently, there was nothing to compare things to. I didn't even know there were other places in existence until I was hundreds of years old."You heard me."Hakam punched me in the face giving me my 12^th bloody nose I think. I was on the ground quickly, and Hakam was walking away with Harrow laughing in the room over to the side before uttering some stupid gibberish about not fighting people bigger than you. I was down before I even started. It was humbling and gave me a good goal to reach for. It was always good to obsess over constantly upping the rivalry of siblings in an already dangerous environment.I always had a bad habit of trying that; until I got bigger.

 

Echelon was bigger than me too. He really did own me here in this stupid lab full of stupid things and stupid people. You could almost hear the stupid shell I lived in breathe unintelligence as thick as molasses. I couldn't control this shell of course. Echelon had rigged my Mark to control me by commanding me through a stupid rock. It was really stupid.It was nice though to see Echelon try to repair the damage the Mark of Fear was doing to me now. Even if it was just for the pleasure of watching him get frustrated.The one thing that was always on my mind though was trying to figure out how to time my next outburst. I was sure I would be killed upon a second attempt. I was lucky on the first one. Miracles don't happen often, but when they do you gotta take advantage of it. I just wanted to take Echelon down a few pegs. Break his back maybe. I wasn't sure. But I knew if I were to get out again I'd have to make it last before I passed out again; providing I wouldn't die upon even attempting it.I looked down at the Toa, biding my time as he scrambled around me, taking readings on the scars my Mark of Fear was stretching across my body. The fool had run out of the precious metal he needed to take part in a total repair. I figured it wouldn't be long before he killed me after realizing I was useless without the strength boost of a fully functional Mark. Unless he was waiting for the time to find more of it. Maybe he thought I wasn't a lost case after all.Still wanted to put his spine straight into his skull though. But he knew that.Don't you Echelon?

[Ghosthands]

IC (Alak)

 

The settlement of Ko-Koro had come a long way in three months. The great streets, walls, bridges and balconies of ice, cut by expert hands, stood testament to the prosperity it now enjoyed. With its crystalline, faceted structures, it was little wonder that they called it the 'crown jewel of Mata Nui'.

 

And there were no prizes for guessing which Architect had designed it thus.

 

It was on that illustrious vizier that the thoughts of Alak, businessman and social climber, mused. The Matoran of Crystal, grey longcoat wrapped around his silver armour and cane in hand, strolled across one of the great ice bridges spanning the village, and behind emerald eyes his sharp mind clicked and whirred like Onu-Koronan clockwork. Ambages was the sign and symbol of everything people like he strove for: wealthy, powerful, respected...once, the world Ambages inhabited would have been nothing more than a fantasy for Alak to dream of. The corridors of power, the circles of the elite, had been so far out of his reach they might not have existed at all. For after all, a middle-class raw resources merchant, while certainly making comfortable money, could not hope to rub shoulders with such people.

 

But all that had changed with Makuta's defeat. Onu-Koro's technological productivity had skyrocketed, and Alak had pounced on the opportunity the moment he saw the faintest glimmerings of their advances. Investing most of his savings in technology on the eve of an industrial revolution was inspired - and in those short months he'd profited a hundredfold from his foresight. Now he was rich, recently accepted into the esteemed Cultured Gentry, and finally tasting that influence. One of the elite.

 

He'd sent a letter off to an old friend that very morning, telling of it - after all, joining the organisation was a major triumph. It would be excellent for business. The 'CG Prestige' was almost a guaranteed sales boost...not to mention its other benefits...

 

He smiled to himself. Things were going just swimmingly.

[Tahakki]

IC Sernon:

 

The Toa of Stone left the Akiri's council in a thoughtful mood. Diplomatic negotiation was trickier than he'd imagined; not so much talking as manoeuvring game pieces on an invisible board.

Invisible pieces, too, he thought, smirking.

 

The poet walked along Ko-Koro's frigid streets, glancing around at the shimmering beauty of the local architecture. Soaring, glassy columns and glittering arches were very much in the majority, but he saw a few hints of an earlier time. Domed huts and wall carvings could be glimpsed down side streets, and were much more common in the centre of the town. He recalled some of The Wanderer's early poetry about this place, and marvelled at the changes the war had brought.

 

Presently, he arrived at the small inn in the centre of the residential district where the trading caravan were staying. He spotted Yaake on a bench near the back wall, hunched over a steaming mug of something. He sat down on the rough wood beside him.

 

"Negotiations go well then, chief liar?"

"As well as could be hoped, I suppose." muttered Sernon. "Akiri Matoro has insisted that the radio station be part-staffed by Ko-Matoran."

Yaake drummed his fingers on the splintered table-top. "What about pricing?"

"One widget per ten characters."

"Cheap."

"That was Hewkii's offer."

"Hmm. You be careful, Toa. There may be undercurrents here that neither of us can spot. Matoro ain't stupid, and neither's Hewkii. Mind that you don't end up caught between their pushing and pulling."

"I'll keep my eyes open. Since when are you a master of all things international diplomacy?" Sernon chuckled.

"More than you think." said Yaake sullenly, leaning in. "Truth is, I've some experience in these matters."

"What, as a trader?"

Yaake lowered his voice. "I trade more than just wine, Toa. Secrets. Information. Rumours. Plans. You need to know something that nobody else knows? I'm your Matoran."

He leaned back.

"Of course, that was all a while ago. Just the trading now, right?" Yaake winked at the poet. "Oh, and I've no idea why I'm telling you all this. Maybe it's having travelled together. Maybe you got an honest face. Maybe it's whatever the karz they put in this mug. Regardless, you blab to anyone, you won't be around to spread it further. We clear?"

 

Sernon was mystified. He was dumbfounded as to whether or not the Le-Matoran was even telling the truth; he had even less of an idea what to do with the information.

"W-we're clear." he managed to mumble.

"Good." said Yaake, rising. "Anything from the bar?"

 

OOC: Sernon and Yaake now both open for interaction.

[Ghosthands]

IC (Alak)

 

Checking the hour-watch on his wrist (cost a pretty penny, that one - courtesy of Onu-Koro investments), Alak headed for one of the residential areas of the village. He had plenty of time before the Gentry meeting, and he had something he wanted to take care of first.

 

Entering the small inn, he spotted the beings he was looking for.

 

"Ah," he said, approaching Sernon and Yaake, "you gentlemen must be from the Po-Koronan trade caravan. I'd heard there was one in town."

[sunflower]

IC: Tehlin

 

So here I am, in the middle of a frozen wasteland, reading a book.

 

Really, really not a normal set of circumstances for me, I know. Then again, the whole concept of "normal" was thrown out the window when the universe suddenly decided that most of my soul was better off inside a demon, probably off throwing a party with all those other souls trapped inside. Hey, it's what I'd be doing...among... other things...

 

Anyway, I'm here in the middle of nowhere, the suns' light barely filtering through the whiteout, wind whipping up against the packed snow used to plug the entrance to the cave -no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get rid of that maddening whistle of the wind shooting through the cracks- reading a book in the glow of the lightstone I'd brought. It was supposed to distract me from thinking when I was here, alone, doing nothing. Supposed to. It can't be helped, though. No matter what, my thoughts wander to places better left untouched by conscious thought. It's been three months. Three freaking months.

 

Three months since Ga-Koro. Three months since I'd finally found Savina again. Three months since I found out about her desire to become something else. Three months since I had to make the hardest decision in my life. Three months since I ran away.

 

And it still hasn't gone away. It's always there, lurking at the edge of my very being, just barely in sight at all times, creeping up on me at the worst of times. It really, really doesn't help my current situation. And so I sought to distract myself, despite how ineffective it's been.

 

I went looking for Zauk, I haven't seen him since before the universe started hating me, but no one's seen, or even heard of, the guy for at least four months. Ran into his girlfriend... Or the closest thing the guy had ever come to girlfriend, Naru or something. She hadn't seen him in forever either. So yeah. Last remaining family member is probably dead. Lucky me. Grecko, my wingman ash bear partner in crime was still with Savina. Though it wasn't healthy for me to think about the other Toa of Plantlife for any extended length of time.

 

I rejoined the Sanctum Guard, though I technically never left, and promptly quit again. Went back to working as a hunter, and wound up here, reading a book.

 

I can't even remember what it's about.

 

Eh.

[Ghosthands]

IC (Echelon)

In the wastes of Ko-Wahi, there once stood a door. It was large, large enough to admit the tallest Vortixx comfortably, made from featureless metal. Coated in frost it was, and often hidden by a blanket of snow.

If any who once knew that door returned to its old location, they would not find it. For the door was set into a glacier, and as any geographer will tell you, glaciers move. So slowly, most of the time, that it is imperceptible save the occasional rumbling creak from their frozen depths. But sometimes, this movement jumps forward and in their shifting, the titanic chunks of ice slide and fall like floored giants.

And that is what happened to the door. One day, with a great cracking crashing roar, the section of the glacier containing the door (and the place the door led to) fell from its alcove in the rock, and grated its way down, down, into the innards of the slanted sea of ice. The door, and the place behind it, are still intact - but hidden, far beneath the ice and snow.

Now the door resides within a maze of natural tunnels in the glacier's bowels, a labyrinth of ice carved into warped curves by meltwater and wind and the friction of ages. These hidden caverns are known to few; and besides, they are so twisting and unmapped that the door's very existence is known to none.

None, save those Echelon allows to know.

***

A thin finger traced a purple line across Utu's arm, then drew away. The finger's owner straightened up, gazing down at the Mark Bearer on the operating slab coldly.

The Mark's malfunction was a significant drawback to Utu's usefulness. Echelon had compensated by discovering that his test subject was now able to use Kanohi once more, and equipped him with a Kakama, but this did not make up for the thin, infuriating cracks that spread like tendrils across Utu's flesh, irreparable without krillactum. And the krillactum had run out.

Utu was becoming a broken tool.

Echelon turned away, leaving the last Mark Bearer where he lay, putting his frustration aside. The past three months had been host to many plans and preparations, and now the fruits of his work were beginning to ripen. Reports were already coming in...

He reached out a hand, and the three-pronged staff leapt into it with a magnetic hum. Nearby, a small stone levitated from a table and drifted into his hand, where he spoke into it. His voice was little more than a cold murmur, but the huge Toa on the slab obeyed.

"Get up and follow."

With Utu's husk lumbering behind him, the metal door of the laboratory slid open and Echelon began to stride along the walkway through the ice. He soon emerged into the hexagonal atrium of his hidden complex - and it could now be called a complex, for he had used the opportunity granted by the glacial collapse to expand the base a little. Utu's presence had at least been helpful with that; with the Control Stone, he was able to manipulate the Mark Bearer's power over ice to carve new tunnels and chambers. His underground web had expanded, much like his more metaphorical one on the surface...

[otter]

IC:

 

In the middle of Ko-Wahi's wastes Marfoir walked, his rifle hanging from his shoulders within his heavy blanket/coat (that he'd closed up with a series of ties he had placed upon the front of it), kept warm by that and a balaclava he wore. His eyes, still, were blinded by the flurries of snow around him in this blizzard, and he couldn't see much more than a foot in front of him at any time.

 

So there he was, searching for the shelter he'd used not even a week ago, before running into something. His eyes narrowed.

 

Packed snow. In the middle of a blizzard.

 

He tested it with his hand, leaning against it, before frowning.

 

This isn't accidental.

 

He reached up above himself, and sure enough, he felt the rocky overhang from a cave. Somebody had sealed off the entrance to this cave, likely when the wind was blowing snow in, not away. Still, Marfoir had need of shelter, regardless of what was hiding in this cave. If it was friendly, good, if it wasn't, it would die.

 

The tall Vortixx pulled out his rifle, slamming into the packed up snow with the buttstock. Once, twice, thrice, and finally a hole large enough to step through opened up. He stood away from the entrance; the hole was irregular enough to appear natural, with how it had formed, and if no being inside saw him, he was safe. Wait just another moment...

 

Marfoir stepped over and into the cave, his rifle raised and pointed within - at a Toa of Plantlife, it seemed. The Vortixx's large white blanket, balaclava, and camouflaged rifle made him appear some specter, as he crouched with his weapon pointed at the other being.

 

Who had...a book.

 

And a lightstone.

 

"What bloody fool goes out into a cave, in the middle of a blizzard, to read?"

Edited June 1, 2013 by Ilyusha Blokfase

[sunflower]

IC: Tehlin

 

I heard something pound up against the pack of snow I'd put up against the cave entrance, though I didn't glance up. Why should I? White flurries of snow streamed in as a hole was punched through the packed ice. Then, the rest of the covering fell away, and footsteps crunched on the thin layer of ice that had since formed over the cave floor. A voice sounded, one slightly muffled by the distant roar of the wind.

 

I glanced up, and for a moment I thought I was looking at a specter of death.

 

"What bloody fool is wandering around outside during a blizzard like this?" I shot back, eyebrow raised. He was holding some kind of device, and I really didn't want to know what it did.

[otter]

IC-Marfoir:

 

"I asked first," Marfoir replied, his weapon still pointed at the Toa of Plantlife. "Once you answer, I answer. That's how it works."

[sunflower]

IC: Tehlin

 

At that, I shrugged. "Passing the time, waiting for the storm to pass," I replied, shrugging as I eyed the strange device the being carried. I couldn't tell what species yet, though I was searching for any telltale signs. I kept my hands on the book, not wanting for him to take any movement as a threat.

[otter]

IC-Marfoir:

 

"Mm. Well, I'm looking for shelter from that storm, hit me as I was heading back to the cave where I'd set up camp." Marfoir lowered his weapon, though he kept his eye on the Toa before him. Just because he hadn't yet attacked didn't mean he wouldn't try soon.

[sunflower]

IC: Tehlin

 

"Fair enough," I replied, closing the book with an audible sound of rushing wind. I glanced at the hole in the cave entrance distastefully, and continued staring at it until a large leaf slowly made it's way over the hole, the plant bulging inwardly from the wind pushing up against it.

 

"Tehlin," I said cheerfully, glad that the being had lowered whatever the heck he had been pointing at me.

[otter]

IC:

 

"Okhotnik," the Vortixx replied, loth to give his name to one who he'd just met. "Think you can make some dry wood? It wouldn't be hard to build a fire here."