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a goose

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  1. IC: Tueris (Staff NPC; The Precipice) Tueris’ brow furrowed. “We… are in no position to refuse aid.” He had to force the words from his throat, as reticent to say them as he was aware of their truth. “They are welcome to join us, if they wish.” Though he himself had never sat down, he gave the nod to Aurax. Time to stand up; they were done here. “If you’ll introduce them to us, we can be on our way.” OOC: @Nato G @~Xemnas~ @Burnmad @oncertainty
  2. IC: NPC (Celrys' Workshop) The Agori blinked. Then blinked again. Somewhere in between, Skyra seemed to have made herself at home in the reception area, and she found herself having to rush back in to catch up. "I, uh, that… as the case may be, you must understand that Celrys is a very busy man. Tournament season is a particularly busy period, it may be weeks before he can offer a consultation to your…" She looked at Del, Celrys' alleged child. There was something familiar about them, to be sure, but even aside from the disparity in species she saw little similarity to Celrys. ”Water. Have?” “Oh, uh, certainly. Give me just a moment.” With that, she retreated to her desk, behind which was some manner of strange contraption. After a moment, she produced a glass of water and placed it on the countertop. “Now, where was I…” A small white light behind her ear began to blink. She straightened up immediately and cleared her throat. “It appears that Celrys would, in fact, like to see you. Take the door on the left to his office, and he’ll be with you momentarily.” Returning to the usual script, or perhaps just the prospect of the three visitors being out of her hands, had greatly calmed her. She interacted with a notch on the desk, and the door she had indicated slid open of its own accord. The room beyond it was quite unique – far from the stone and metal and daylight of the lobby, it was covered almost entirely in imported Tesaran wood, from the bookshelves that lined the walls to the large desk at its apex. There were already two seats in front of it, both wooden themselves, and a third behind that was clearly for the artificer himself, still nowhere to be seen. But strangest of all was the one wall that wasn’t hidden behind bookshelves, and provided the shimmering light that illuminated most of the room: it was, it seemed, a glass window, facing not onto the outdoors but instead into an enclosure of water, lit by unclear means. Fish – some real, some mechanical – swam back and forth within, while the fronds of strange plants swayed, suspended from below. “Beautiful, isn’t it? Like a window into another world.” The voice came from another door next to the fish tank, which again slid shut behind the Agori. He was tall – unusually so, though not so much as to look like a Glatorian – and covered in plated gold, including a helmet which totally enclosed all but his mouth and his pale blue eyes, a glass lens suspended above the right. On a second glance, he appeared to be almost entirely artificial – though dark grey skin showed here and there, his legs, his lower right arm and the entirety of his left were black metal, accented with gold. In his mechanical hands was another wooden chair, which he pushed in to face the desk. Celrys looked at the trio and beamed, a genuine warmth to his smile and excitement glistening in his eyes. “Please, please, sit. I can’t wait to hear what you have to say.” OOC: @Morgan Yu @Techn0geist @Snelly
  3. IC: NPC (Celrys' Workshop, Tajun) It was a pleasant little stone building, and surprisingly humble, tucked into the shade in one of Tajun's most affluent neighbourhoods. The only thing that gave any indication of its nature was a gold plaque by the door, upon which was embossed: CELTECH Consultations by Appointment Only The text seemed almost to glare at Skyra, its disapproval palpable. Still, the door was answered – not by Celrys, but by a diminutive, beleaguered-looking Water Tribe Agori. She was young, but her face gained a decade at least in the moment she laid eyes on Skyra. It was quite apparent she recognised her. "Miss Daring, the door was not locked. If you and your-" She looked briefly at Del, and then even more briefly – so much as to seem intentionally so – at Karak. "Companions would like to step inside, you can explain your predicament and I'll find out when he's available." IC: Somnii (Bone Hunter Stronghold; Somnii's Cell) Then he wanted her alive. She had suspected as much, but to have it confirmed… She could use that, somehow. She would find a way. "I've got good news for you, then; I've already lasted longer than I expected, but I watched nearly a dozen miners succumb to this plague. It took them all, in the end." Somnii paused, a thought occurring to her. "That's what this is about, right? I heard Crucius say I was being 'kept for observation.' If that's the case, then I think we can help each other." IC: Skrall (The Prison Wagon) Skrall sighed and shook his head. He had little love for the Bone Hunters – they were parasites, without honour or worth, and made allies of the Skrall only out of a desire for further profit. Such venality drove every decision they made; if another tribe made a better offer, they would turn on the Black Legion without hesitation. Still, he supposed, the Skrall would have to take allies where they could find them. The greed of the Hunters at least made them willing to overlook the notions of conquest and racial supremacy that so chafed the rest of the locals, and the old saying about the choices of beggars held true. This was how it had to be – for the Skrall, and for their prisoner. OOC: uhh, let's see here. @Snelly @Morgan YuYuYuYuYuYuYYuYuYuYuYuYuYuYuYuYuYuYuYYuYuYuYuYuYu @Techn0geist @Toru Nui @skrall
  4. IC: Somnii (Bone Hunter Stronghold; Somnii's Cell) The new boss? "You don't believe I imagined it." It was a guess, but an educated one – something in the Bone Hunter's reaction spoke more to shock than disbelief. Somnii's tone had shifted, now; it was more gentle, more conversational, perhaps even sympathetic. "You don't know for sure, and we both know at least some people have seen him. That means he's keeping his inner circle sworn to secrecy, and hiding himself from the rest. Why, then? Why doesn't he want you to know what he looks like?" OOC: @Toru Nui
  5. IC: Tueris (Staff NPC; The Precipice) Not stupid, he thought; Brazen. Isolation and enmity had blinded the Ash Tribe leader, but Tueris saw a cunning in the actions of the Bone Hunter. As he'd heard it, Raanu knew Somnii's family well – hearing the Hunter's story, seeing her body laid out before him in that state, it felt like a calculated move. Raanu was a wise man with a nose for danger, and he'd been raising red flags about recent changes in Bone Hunter activity. Tueris couldn't help but wonder if that had made him a target. On top of that, if the Bone Hunter was lying, they were walking through ****** and straight into a trap; if he wasn't, the same held true, and he got rid of the only person that could've told them not to. Either way, instead of guarding caravans and travelers, Glatorian from all over were off on an arduous journey to their near-certain demise, just in time for the busiest season the roads ever see. Great business for slavers. He looked to Aurax. "It's strange, alright. On that much we agree. And as for the Bone Hunters…" He trained his eye upon Somok, a new harshness in his expression. "It's easy to dismiss as savagery what we don't understand. You may not think much of Raanu, and I can hardly blame you, but I actually know him. He's a great man, and a wise leader; if he takes the Bone Hunters seriously, then so do I." Seriously as a threat, or as a source, he felt no need to clarify. To his mind, they were the same thing. OOC: @~Xemnas~ @Nato G @oncertainty @Burnmad
  6. IC: Tueris (Staff NPC; The Precipice) "We don't know for sure that there even is a plague." Tueris stroked his chin absently, and allowed the silence to linger while he gathered his thoughts. "Raanu met with a Bone Hunter, who claimed he and some others found the Iron Tribe leader half-dead from this 'plague' in Iron Canyon. Only word about it came from them, and since they burned the poor girl's body to a crisp after she 'succumbed,' we don't even have any evidence – 'sides a charred corpse – to back their story up. So, you see our issue." OOC: @Nato G @~Xemnas~ @Burnmad @oncertainty
  7. IC: Tueris (Staff NPC; The Precipice) "You've really heard nothing? Seen nothing?" Tueris' eye was suspicious, but his tone was not. Though it went against his own advice, he had to ask the question the Ferrumite had overlooked; if they failed to arm themselves with as much information as possible, this expedition would be over before it had even begun. "We were hoping you might know more than we did. I know you're all pretty isolated, but if anyone would know anything…" OOC: @Nato G @Burnmad @oncertainty @~Xemnas~
  8. IC: Somnii (Bone Hunter Stronghold; Somnii's Cell) "...You don't know, do you?" The words somehow left her mouth with more confusion than judgment, genuine surprise undercutting what could otherwise have been a taunt. So taken aback was she that she almost – almost – failed to notice the Skrall slave's odd expression as he left. It was a familiar kind of admiration; acknowledging it always brought a twist of guilt to her stomach, something she had been unsettled to learn was not simply natural for anyone who found themselves placed upon a pedestal. To her mind, she was no better than anyone else – all she had ever done was speak her mind, and listen. Still, for those used to being unheard and seeing corruption go unchallenged, her attitude had often seemed to be a great relief. To Somnii, that wasn't a reflection of the quality of her personhood, or even of her leadership; to her, it was the bare minimum that should be expected of anyone, especially those in power. Therein lay the guilt: being praised and admired for so little was a reflection of how little people had come to expect. It was a failure of herself, and those in positions like hers, that led to it. For now, she filed away a note in her mind that recognised the slave as a potential ally, and turned the totality of her attention back to Taldrix. "He was the one who brought me here. Honestly, I just kind of assumed he's the guy in charge." OOC: @Toru Nui @Mel
  9. IC: Skrall (The Prison Wagon) "Have you ever seen evidence of witchcraft with your own eyes? Even once?" Skrall did not wait for a reply. "I survived because I started collecting and drinking water in the way the prisoner did; he told us the truth, from the start. We didn't face a single struggle that we ourselves didn't create – all our ailments were entirely preventable, if we had only asked the locals for help, instead of treating them with suspicion and condescension. My comrades weren't killed by witchcraft or hardship. They were killed by Skrall superiority. And if you keep thinking it's treason to admit we aren't invulnerable, you won't last very long in the Wastelands." OOC: @skrall but especially @Toru Nui
  10. IC: Skrall (The Prison Wagon) "We were a party of six; our leader died first. We initially believed that he was simply going mad – he became confused, unsure of who and where we were, then turned paranoid. We were considering killing him in his sleep – mutiny was a crime, but in this case, it could also be a mercy. He spared us the trouble by never waking up. "We thought he'd been cursed by the people of a nearby village. We took the man we thought responsible as a prisoner; when we returned to Roxtus, he would come with us to answer for his crimes. But then he started talking." Skrall's face betrayed a cold fury, passionless and raw. "Sunstroke. He diagnosed it easily, the moment we mentioned our leader's lack of sweat – as the only named one among us, he had insisted it was due to his mental and physical superiority, the same reasoning by which he refused to rest in the heat of the day or take shelter from the sun. He was Skrall; such weakness was beneath him. "Oh, we didn't believe the prisoner at first, thought it more tricks – after all, what reason did he have to tell the truth? But we favoured the shade and travelled by night from then on, and none of us met our leader's fate. But it wasn't long before the rest of us fell ill, clearly the doing of our bound companion. We were suffering fatigue, dizziness, nausea; one of our number succumbed to delirium and wandered into the desert, convinced he had seen an oasis on the horizon. We found his dessicated body lying in the sand three days later, picked clean by carrion. We were growing weaker by the day, and after another of us died in his sleep, I stated the obvious: we weren't cursed. The prisoner showed the same symptoms as us, and had identified the cause days earlier – much of our water had evaporated in the heat, and with no way of recovering what had been lost, we were rationing it. And we were rationing it too tightly." He heaved a pained sigh, clearly still troubled by the recollection of what came next. "The prisoner had suggestions – cutting into cacti, turning over rocks. Superstition and nonsense. We were Skrall, we knew how to fend for ourselves; we dug down and used the groundwater. Not two days had passed before all three of us who remained were struck down with fever and agony of the stomach; what water we drank, we passed immediately, now saturated with blood. One more scout took his own life rather than endure the pain. We two who remained knew that we were dying, and my comrade blamed the prisoner. Even I could not deny that he was the only one who was not suffering as we did, but rather than kill him as my comrade bade me, I asked him why." Skrall produced a flask of water and took a swig, savouring it. His mouth felt dry from the memories alone. His eyes, which had turned to the middle distance during his tale, fixed themselves again on the fool Skrall. "Tell me, Skrall. Tell me why I lived, and my comrades did not." OOC: @skrall but primarily @Toru Nui
  11. IC: Skrall (The Caravan) Skrall began to chuckle. "You know who I am, don't you? What became of my unit?" He turned to look the suicidally overconfident Skrall dead in the eyes. "Care to wager a guess at the glorious manner in which they fell?" OOC: @skrall, but primarily @Toru Nui
  12. IC: Tueris (Staff NPC; The Long Road to Ferrum) Tueris nodded to Aurax, though his expression was grim. Each additional member of their party was an additional life to worry about, and an additional vector for transmission. He had once read a story of a boat, travelling down a river of water; it stopped again and again along the banks, taking on a new passenger each time. It never reached its destination. The weight of its occupants forced it below the waterline, and the lot of them drowned. He followed closely behind the Ferrumite. OOC: @~Xemnas~ @Nato G @oncertainty @Burnmad
  13. IC: Somnii (Bone Hunter Stronghold; Somnii's Cell) "Wait." It went against her every instinct, but she knew that she was powerless here. She needed leverage. She needed information. Planning an escape would only go so far if she didn't even really know who she was escaping from. "Who is the four-eyed man?" OOC: @Toru Nui
  14. IC: Somnii (Bone Hunter Stronghold; Somnii's Cell) "******, I guess not. They must have been a little busy with the whole 'being dead' thing." Somnii rose unsteadily to her feet, fists clenched. "Newsflash, shitbird – you don't know me. Go find some other effigy to burn." OOC: @Toru Nui
  15. IC: Tueris (Staff NPC; The Precipice) The journey to Precipere was worryingly uneventful. Even the trails and tunnels connecting it to Vulcanus were in shockingly good condition, given how little use they saw; Tueris supposed he should be glad. After all, as he and his party emerged from the mouth of the cave directly overlooking the village, the sun had only just begun to rise, bathing its primitive stone structures in blood-red light. A more superstitious Glatorian might have considered it an ill omen, particularly given the Ash Tribe's macabre traditions. Tueris knew better: None of them were making it back alive anyway. No omen could change that. "Once we're in the village, stay silent unless spoken to. These folks aren't likely to take kindly to a bunch of heavily-armed mercs swaggering into their home. Ruster, you take point; less bad blood between your tribe and theirs." In case the epithet wasn't clear enough, Tueris fixed his one good eye on Aurax and nodded to him. OOC: @~Xemnas~ @oncertainty @Nato G @Burnmad @Geardirector @Toru Nui
  16. IC: Tueris (Staff NPC; The Long Road to Ferrum) "Then it's time we left. It'll be dawn before we reach Precipere, and we need as many daylight hours in Iron Canyon as possible. The heat may be nasty, but Skopio are nastier." IC: Somnii (Bone Hunter Stronghold; Somnii's Cell) "That's funny, I don't remember ever seeing you in Ferrum. Maybe I couldn't see you past that nose of mine." Somnii's eyes burned bright with resentment, and she felt more awake than she had in what felt like weeks. "Or maybe you're confusing me with someone else. Do you often find yourself projecting childhood grudges on people you don't know?" OOC: @oncertainty @Burnmad @~Xemnas~ @Toru Nui @Mel
  17. IC: Skrall (The Caravan) "If what you say is true, then your punishment appears unjust. I can listen to and understand that much, and it surprises me that Tirveus didn't – if anything can cut through a party of Skrall that quickly, then your presence would only have meant one more corpse on the ground. But your story invites questions: where the enemy came from, where they went, why you alone were spared. How can anyone listen to answers you won't give?"
  18. IC: Skrall (The Caravan) Skrall wanted to scoff, to dismiss the story out of hand. He had no patience for superstitions and ghost stories; whatever had driven Tirveus and the Legion south, it was flesh and blood. Sure, his brethren had come to Roxtus with all kinds of stories – but Skrall had been living here, in the real world. There was no room for such fanciful excuses in the south. And yet, something about the telling made the hairs rise on the back of his neck and sent a chill through his core. "Surely you must have seen something. Nothing is fast enough to kill a whole patrol and simply vanish into thin air." OOC: @BULiK @Vezok's Friend
  19. IC: Nikarra (Same Cargo Car, Same Cargo Time) Nikarra knew a heist when she saw one; she'd been involved in one or two, after all. Well, one and a half. Planning was half a heist, right? Regardless, it was pretty clear the guys in the crate were up to no good, and she'd already heard them mention a 'target'. That ruled out simple terrorism, especially since they weren't exactly the most well-armed. They could still be bounty hunters, but they were searching the cargo area, not the passenger cars – that meant thieves. And she had a pretty good idea of what they were trying to steal. IC: Nikarra (Second Passenger Car) "Vy!" OOC: @Void Emissary @BULiK @~Xemnas~
  20. IC: Skrall (The Caravan) Skrall cast his eyes over to the prisoner, awaiting his response with no small amount of curiosity. IC: Somnii (Bone Hunter Stronghold; Somnii's Cell) She was preparing a witty retort when she noticed the arrival of the Skrall slave – not exactly something she had expected to see. She looked back to Taldrix. "You guys conquer the North while I wasn't looking?" OOC: @skrall, @Toru Nui @Mel (sorry for the wait, been a busy couple weeks)
  21. IC: Tueris (Staff NPC; The Long Road to Ferrum) "Don't Ferrumites warn their kids about Iron Canyon?" Tueris shook his head. "No vehicles; we're moving on foot. The canyon gets pretty tight, and – more importantly – we can't risk the vibrations." OOC: @~Xemnas~ @Burnmad @oncertainty @Nato G
  22. IC: Tueris (Staff NPC; The Long Road to Ferrum) "Raanu does not consider the Bone Hunters a reliable source. Nor do I. And there's plenty else to fear in Iron Canyon." OOC: @oncertainty @Burnmad @Nato G @~Xemnas~
  23. IC: Tueris (Staff NPC; The Long Road to Ferrum) "I presume we all have some manner of face coverings for sandstorms; if it's in the air, those should hopefully be sufficient. Try to avoid touching anything in the village, and do not drink their water – my pack has enough supplies to get us there and back. And if worst comes to worst…" Tueris reached into his pack, and removed the strange headset. "I will be wearing this when we enter the village. It's some new Celtech gizmo, like an audiovisual telegram. It sees what I see, and sends it back to Raanu." The way he said 'audiovisual' made it quite clear that the wording was not his own; frankly, the specifics of the device were lost on him, but Raanu seemed confident that it would work. "If we can't report back, it will report back for us." OOC: @Nato G @~Xemnas~ @oncertainty @Burnmad
  24. IC: Tueris (Staff NPC; The Long Road to Ferrum) Tueris looked upon the company with something akin to disappointment; some were younger than others, but all could have had many years ahead of them. Still, he could not accomplish this alone. The die was cast. "Hmph. Very well then – I'll tell you what little we know, so that you are, at least, prepared." His good eye narrowed. "Ferrum has been out of contact for just over two weeks. In that time, rumours have begun to spread, all of them unsubstantiated; however, information from the Bone Hunters suggests that a plague may have descended upon the village. We know neither the symptoms nor the means of transmission, only that the population has – allegedly – been decimated. Somnii is believed dead. "This is not an aid mission; our purpose is reconnaissance. We are scouts. It is our job to learn the truth of what has transpired in Ferrum, and if there truly is a plague, to identify how much of a threat it poses to the rest of the Wastelands. "Unsurprisingly, this is a time-sensitive task. For that reason, we are travelling directly through Iron Canyon. The journey will take a day and a night, accounting for a rest to avoid the height of the day. We are leaving before dawn in order to make a stop in Precipere; with any luck, the people of the Ash Tribe may already know what has become of their neighbours. At the very least, they are likely to know more than we do. "Are there any questions before we depart?" OOC: @Nato G @Burnmad @~Xemnas~ @oncertainty
  25. IC: Tueris (Staff NPC; The Long Road to Ferrum) As Tueris rose to his feet, both his eyes were open at last: one glowed a fiery orange, but the other – the scarred one – was dull, clearly blind and with no prosthetic in its place. "If you're coming – and I say this to all of you – then you should not expect to return. That is the nature of our task, and if that makes you uncomfortable, then you may leave now. You will not be judged." OOC: @Nato G @Burnmad @oncertainty @~Xemnas~
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