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IC: Escus - Arena Vulcanus Escus turned his head toward the Glatorian of fire, whom he had only moments ago assumed to be sleeping. It was a harsh way of putting it, and Escus was glad he didn’t have to say it himself. All the same, it was hard to disagree. They couldn’t take a liability, if this was going to be as dangerous as it seemed. The Agori looked like she knew her way around the desert, but then again they already had a Ferrumite who could act as guide. He looked to the Agori, shrugged, and grimaced apologetically. But he said nothing. OOC: writing this on my phone in a lecture break so hoping the formatting doesn’t come out weird @a goose @Nato G @~Xemnas~ @Burnmad

IC: Lorqua - Streets of Atero Out into the streets, warmer still than inside the Red Star. Cool enough yet that there were still people on the streets, streets that would deaden as they reached the warmest part of the day. Walking alongside Lutenus, she considered the offer. She could use the practice, she supposed. She was going through with it now, and the fact that she was actually going to be expected to fight hadn't quite sunken in. Lutenus, not to mention everyone else, would definitely frown on it if she just surrendered. "Yeah, alright. Let's do it. You probably know better than me: where's the nearest arena?" OOC: @Toru Nui

IC: Lorqua - Red Star Inn As Lutenus turned his back to her and walked towards the door, Lorqua stood for a moment, and shook her head. She sighed, and then she jogged forward to catch up. "Yeah. Not that, uh, I think I'll make much difference for Tesara. I'm a decent fighter in the desert, decent enough to make a living at least, but it's a different beast to fight in the Arena. It's been a while. Suppose that means I've strayed, as far as you're concerned. I get it, a lot of people see it that way." She rubbed the back of her neck, just as the two of them reached the threshold of the Inn. "But I will do it. I've got two reasons to be in Tajun now. Seeing as it might be the second best place after Ferrum, to figure out something about what's going on in Ferrum." Lutenus wanted to know that too. Lorqua could tell. OOC: @Toru Nui IC: Skrall - Outside Roxtus Stables Skrall nodded along with both sides of the dispute. Both sides agreed on the one thing that Skrall was interested in, which was getting out of Roxtus. Sooner, rather than later. At the older one's words, he resumed loading the carriages with supplies. "Being on our way works for me." He looked about himself, to any of his fellows who were listening. "Not that my opinion matters. Nor should it." He spoke without malice. He was happy enough to be in motion, for now. OOC: @a goose @BULiK @Burnmad @Nato G @Toru Nui @Vezok's Friend IC: Escus - Arena Vulcanus Escus gave a slight nod to the next to arrive, a hooded and quiet Glatorian of Vulcanus. He turned back towards the voice, set his jaw, and raised his brows as the Ferrumite spoke. "That's the impression I'm getting, from what little I've heard. My sympathies." He spun his axe around and placed it on the ground, then lowered himself to sit cross-legged on the floor of the arena. He breathed in deeply, and then regretted it. All he could smell was sulfurous vapours, and the heat made the inside of his nose itch. The corners of his mouth turned up in a hint of a grimace. "All the same, who ever likes to go home anyway?" OOC: @Burnmad @~Xemnas~ @a goose

IC: Lorqua - Red Star Inn She gave Lutenus a slight smile. "Don't take this the wrong way, but, I'm only now starting to appreciate your thoroughness. Let's see them again." She breathed in and rubbed her chin with one hand. "I'm happy to leave immediately, everything I need I can carry. If we can find a driver leaving presently I wouldn't complain, we'd only need a few more blades and I'd be willing to take our chances with the desert. Is there anything keeping you here any longer?" OOC: @Toru Nui IC: Skrall - Outside Roxtus Stables Skrall rushed forward, sheathing his own khopesh and taking the now-imprisoned-again-prisoner's blade and shield from him. Having done so, he stood and gave the one with the strange physique a single firm nod. Skrall had shown good thinking, using the grappling hook like that. Then Skrall looked bashfully about himself, and spoke to no one in particular. "I apologize about the supplies in that box. I hope they weren't fragile." He held the prisoner's equipment in both hands before him, not sure what exactly to do with it. OOC: @BULiK @Vezok's Friend @Nato G @Toru Nui @Burnmad @a goose

IC: Qorl - The Rift With the Skakdi's gesture, Qorl began to walk. Not meeting his watching gaze, Qorl instead looked forward and past his shoulder, tracing the path of the Rift as it twisted and curved upwards to the surface. He set his jaw. Irnakk's Tooth was what they called it now, but Qorl had heard that it belonged to his people once. At least, that was what the Skakdi said. As always, they took pride in standing on the bones of the Lesterin, so whether it really ever was Kvere was a question Qorl was in no position to answer. Still, they said there was Lesterin architecture there. How would he react, when he saw that again? What styles did his ancient forefathers favour, and what did their handiwork look like now after so many generations of Skakdi rule? It was a tempting proposition, in a way. If, of course, he could ignore the obvious. "None of my people go free in Irnakk's Tooth, to my knowledge. How do you propose to bring me inside?" He looked the Skakdi in the eyes now, the corners of his mouth turning downwards inadvertently. He spoke with a certain malice, though not directed towards the Skakdi himself in specific. "I'll go nowhere in chains." OOC: @Perp

IC: Lorqua - Red Star Inn Lutenus stepped back from the chase more easily than she might have thought. Fine then. This wasn't—couldn't be, had not to be—the end of it. She turned to Lutenus and shrugged. "Looks like you're stuck with me, for now. Can't be so hard to find someone else heading Tajun-way soon." OOC: @Toru Nui IC: Escus - Outside the Arena Vulcanus Escus' eyes were wide in the still-before-sunrise darkness of the village of fire. Tajun was one of the cool and dark places of Bara Magna, Vulcanus was far from it. Heat seemed to rise from everything, charged as it all was by the village's famous lava flow. But the street still lay in deep shadow, innumerable darkened windows, doors hanging ponderously ajar. He had rested little from travel. The heat slipped beneath the door of the two-bit rooming house, so unfamiliar to one so used to Tajun's shade. He had tossed and turned in bed until he simply rose and went out, though it wasn't yet light outside. The Agori sleeping at the desk had awoken as he passed, but said nothing. Escus was the only patron, so far as he could see. Most everyone was going in the other direction. He forged out into the empty streets, towards the Arena Vulcanus. There he would meet his fellow travellers. And then on to Ferrum, the cresting sun at the horizon of his imagination. Beyond that, he could suppose nothing. "Another step in my rise," he heard spoken as if aloud in his own head. Entering into the threshold of the great Arena Vulcanus was like stepping through a wall of heat. As he knew, it was built above the lava flow itself, an engineering marvel essentially unrivaled among all the villages. He had fought there before, more times than he cared to try and count, but the heat still surprised him. Inside, he noticed an orange Ferrumite Glatorian sitting silently, seemingly tending to his equipment. Not so far away, another Glatorian lay. The one from Vulcanus was dozing, as far as Escus could tell. They must be the guides. Escus leaned on the haft of his axe. "Morning, gentlemen. I presume you're the ones I'm here to see. You—" he inclined his head slightly toward the sitting Glatorian, "—must be going home." OOC: @~Xemnas~ @a goose

IC: Lorqua - Red Star Inn Something was going on, something that Lorqua and Lutenus were clearly not privy to. Lorqua felt like she had an itch. An itch that she just couldn't scratch, because it was inside her skull. Still, it was important to be polite, wasn't it? She cast a quick glance at Lutenus, her unlikely ally in this case. It was clear he wanted to know too, perhaps just as badly as she did. She'd follow his lead. For now, at least. He had to right, that they could speak later. Everyone was going to Tajun. Even Lorqua, to the surprise of herself from mere minutes ago. But this was getting interesting, perhaps interesting enough to make it all worth it. "Hey uh, if you all need to leave pressingly that is what it is; but don't do it on Lutenus' and my account, we're not here to mess with anyone." She certainly wasn't, Lorqua just couldn't help herself from wanting to know. Lutenus, well, she couldn't say for sure. OOC: @Toru Nui @Morgan Yu @Snelly @Techn0geist IC: Skrall - Outside Roxtus Stables Having drawn his weapon, Skrall circled. The not-quite-still-a-prisoner just couldn't be fighting in every direction at once. If they really wanted to solve the issue they could all just pile on; it would solve the problem. But Skrall knew Skrall, and knew that that kind of thing seemed entirely undignified. Skrall preferred to fight in formation, not just like a brutal mob. Leave that to Bone Hunters and Southerners. Skrall with the grappling hook seemed to have the right idea, so he poised himself ready to spring. The erstwhile prisoner would be off-balance from the grappling hook, if it didn't take him down completely. OOC: @Vezok's Friend @BULiK @Burnmad @Nato G @Toru Nui @a goose IC: Escus - Vulcanus Streets Escus had found his way east from Tajun, despite the games about to start. He was drawn as if by a need, a compulsion. He told himself it was a chance to work his way upwards, and he believed it well enough. A keen observer though, if they spoke to Escus for a long time, drew out those things that he didn't say even to himself, would have been left with the impression that he would have travelled to Vulcanus, put his name on that list, no matter what he told himself. No such observer walked with Escus today, though. He had left Tajun without a word to anyone. Not that he thought he was doing anything that he didn't have a right to do: it would be wrong to stop him. It was just that, at the bottom of things, he had to do it.

IC: Dolbren - Clinging to the side of the Second Passenger Car Dolbren, now in the realm of raging winds, apprehended what he could of the voice that rushed past him. ". . . ey! . . . ou al . . . ight?" He looked towards the source of the noise, craning his neck in the direction that would be downwards, were he standing on level ground. As it was, he was clinging closely to the side of the train, stretched out almost parallel to the ground. The yeller was the Vortixx; somehow she had ended up outside the train too. That did go some way to explaining the rush to the windows in the first passenger car. And yet, she lived yet. Tougher than she looked. Or, perhaps, you had to be tough to look like that for long. The real question, of course, was what was she doing now? If the concern was genuine, it was almost touching. He had seen such attempts to reach out by people in difficult situations many times. They hoped it would protect them, if they appealed to the better nature of their foes. Dolbren did his job: empathy was nice, but he had to do what he had to do. Not like he was actively menacing the Vortixx, though. His job right now had nothing to do with hurting anyone, and she had no reason to believe otherwise. The other option was that she was working with the Sentinel(s?). She wasn't the one who threw the dagger, too far away for that. But, if he could hear what she had said, they could too. That meant he had seconds to react before they knew exactly where he was. Still, no need to be rude. He shook his head slightly back and forth; then he stuck one hand out, palm towards the ground, and rotated it at the wrist. Universal gesture of 'could be better.' It was the truth. Still light enough to raise himself up by one arm, he swung his legs out beneath him. His momentum carrying him towards the back of the train, he let go. Once again he thanked his Calix, as flew in a short arc and caught on to the front edge of the first cargo car. Then, he began to raise himself onto the roof. OOC: @Vezok's Friend @Krayzikk @Void Emissary

IC: Skrall - Roxtus Stables Skrall's brows raised. The prisoner had some fight in him yet. He was in the middle of carrying a crate of supplies to the carriage when the prisoner pulled the blade, but he hadn't moved in the scant moments since. He held the crate before him, suddenly conscious that his own blade was sheathed at his side, whereas his Thornax hurler was slung across his back and thus relatively inaccessible. He watched warily. The wiry one was speaking to the prisoner. Why was that? What was the use? Skrall could infer. The wiry one was Skrall, he knew how to fight in a group. If he was talking to a foe, it was to buy time for his comrades. Skrall had to make that time count. He drew in a breath, and then launched the crate in his hands towards the erstwhile prisoner with as much force and accuracy as he could muster. The moment the crate left his fingers, his hand was at his hip. He drew his khopesh, and set his feet in a fighting stance. OOC: @BULiK @Skrall

I really like Ranok's banjo!

IC: Lorqua - Red Star Inn She wound her way across the floor, weaving around a group of Agori who were too drunk to have any sense of personal space. The Inn had to be at its busiest right before the Grand Tournament. Like Lutenus had said, everyone was about to be heading to Tajun. And, so far as she could tell, everyone was hoping to get one for the road first. Most were having a few more than one, based on a look at some of the patrons. It was a strange group they were approaching—though in her opinion she and Lutenus made an equally surprising pair, if you knew who you were dealing with—the Tesaran Glatorian, that she was now quite sure was Skyra Daring, was happily talking with the Ferrumite; the two Agori spoke quietly with one another; and another Glatorian, whose tribe she could not place with certainty, was standing and glowering. As they drew closer, Lorqua shrugged to Lutenus. She gave her best approximation of an approachable smile towards the group, hoping the two interlopers wouldn't be too unwelcome. "Hey, Skyra, long time!" OOC: @Toru Nui @Snelly @Techn0geist @Morgan Yu IC: Skrall - Roxtus Stables Skrall, happy to actually have something to do, joined his fellows in loading supplies into the carriage. Regardless of anything else, he was in motion now. That was an improvement. OOC: @skrall

IC: Qorl - The Rift As the Skakdi stood, to all appearances lost in thought, Qorl shifted his weight on the balls of his feet and set his jaw. One way or another he was getting out of here, which was a good place to start. Senses under siege, the Skakdi had said, which would go some way to explaining Qorl's earlier bout of mania. Qorl nodded, now in thought himself. He didn't like it, but he couldn't stay here, and telling the Skakdi why he'd prefer not to show his face was a gamble. He'd have to count on anyone who was tracking him not looking for a Skakdi and a Lesterin travelling together, and not bothering to come and check who that Lesterin was. It wasn't too risky: Qorl knew how he would be perceived, a lone Lesterin travelling with a lone Skakdi. He was going to look more or less like a slave. He wasn't in Zarrava or Khy:Barr anymore, it was the rare Lesterin who wasn't in chains. And the Lesterin looking for him, being the sort of free Lesterin traders who managed to scrape out a living so long as they didn't bother the Skakdi, wouldn't be willing to follow him into a Skakdi settlement at all. So that was where he had to go, then. It would be a nest of vipers, to be sure, but at least there he had a chance. He swallowed, an operation that felt almost pleasant now that he had finally gotten something to drink, and gave a single nod to the Skakdi. "Fair enough. Lead the way." Still, he had questions. "If not to a camp, though, where are we going?" OOC: @Perp

IC: Dolbren - Iron Mahi, Continuing Chicanery Dolbren, perched on the rapidly deteriorating train coupling, was low to the ground and lucky for it. If he had been standing upright, the dagger might have hit his torso and caused some real damage. Had his eyes been open, the lazy, plummeting arc it took could have been dodged with little effort. But, again, his eyes were closed and his focus was entirely occupied. That focus collapsed when the dagger, hurtling downward, struck a glancing blow on his left arm and opened a slash down its side. He tensed, letting go of the pin and losing his balance, and subsequently slipped off of the now sharply-bent coupling to one side. His left hand, clutching the railing above him, did not falter. He gave a grunt of pain, incited by the dagger and by slamming against the body of the train, and expelled air through gritted teeth. He had, briefly, been sloppy; his unseen opponent getting a freebie was only fair. It wouldn't happen again. The Sentinels, obviously more with-it than they had expected, were playing the game well. They had obviously moved forward from the cargo section on the outside of the train. That was clever. He could assume that they already had a sitrep, knew where everyone was—except, hopefully, Quoribay and Skrol—and had assigned teams to deal with each of the heist groups. Based on the fact that the cargo section hadn't begun braking, he could also assume that despite the fireworks he hadn't fully severed the coupling. If he had, the hydraulic cables which kept the brakes on the cars open would have been severed too. That could be dealt with easily enough, so long as doing so wasn't going to leave him open to another attack. He simply needed more information. Modulating the force of his own gravity, or that of something with which he was in direct contact, was the most trivial application of his power. At a thought, he was light enough that holding himself by one arm was no strain at all. He swung himself about to the side of the train, and held on there. Laying flat against the body of the passenger car, he peered just over the edge to the space between. He felt blood on his forearm, and smiled. Let the Sentinel come, if they dared. OOC: @Krayzikk

IC: Dolbren - Iron Mahi, Outdoors on the Coupling It was important to Dolbren to know at least a little about a lot. He was not unwilling to occupy the appearance of thoughtless muscle, especially when that was expeditious for a job. But, all the same, he thought of himself as a deep thinker. Right now, however, his thoughts could not be further from himself. No, what he was thinking about now was accidents on the Iron Mahi. As he had learned from a column in the Mata Nui Daily, there was one part of a locomotive responsible for the most accidents by far. This part was the coupling. There had been some well-observed description of the particulars of the couplings in the planning stage of the heist. At either end of each car, a flat-sided metal tube projected forth from the undercarriage. These couplings met at the middle point between the cars. An oblong metal loop was inserted into the open ends of both tubes, and a pin was dropped through a hole in each tube to link it all together. The issue, in a manner of speaking, was to do with the fact that the two sides of the coupling had to be guided together by hand. Someone had to stand out on the coupling while the cars were in motion, trying neither to fall nor get their hand caught between the metal halves. It had resulted in more injuries than one might hope. And now Dolbren was doing the same operation, but in reverse, and while the train was moving way, way faster. Luckily, he had a few tricks up his sleeve which ordinary rail workers did not. Judicious application of his Calix raised his balance far above most, so he stepped out onto the coupling itself without hesitation. Once he was past the halfway point he turned completely around on the ball of his foot, just the way he had once seen a dancer do. Still balanced on the coupling, which shuddered and rattled with the movement of the train, he crouched down and put his hand on one of the pins. Now facing the same way the train was travelling, the wind made Dolbren's eyes water. Secure in his place, he simply closed them. Closing his eyes made this easier anyway. The pin could be lifted out, perhaps, but the friction of the coupling in motion would make that difficult. Dolbren had settled on a different way. Focusing, he allowed his perception to overflow his hand and felt the wrought-metal pin as if it were part of himself. He felt into the core of its form, the dense point that was inevitably pulled downwards to find a place of rest. Dolbren felt that point grow heavier beneath his touch, speeding the pin on its way downward. For a moment, nothing could be heard above the rattle and scrape of wheels on track. And then there was a creak, and a visible vibration ran through the coupling. The sound grew into a high and stuttering wail, punctuated by pops as cracks formed in the metal. A smile came to Dolbren's face as he felt the coupling shift beneath his feet. Keeping one hand on the pin, he shuffled backwards and grabbed on to the railing on the front of the first cargo car. In another moment, he knew, a wail louder again would be heard and the coupling would fall away completely. OOC: @BULiK @Krayzikk @Vezok's Friend

IC: Lorqua - The Red Star Inn Following the line of Lutenus' outstreched finger, Lorqua could see the Glatorian too. Yellow-orange armour. The floor of the Inn was well-trafficked, but even with her unenhanced vision she could catch glimpses of the Ferrumite and a few others. Gathered about were a couple of Agori from a couple of different tribes, a Glatorian in pink and red that she definitely didn't recognize, and a green-and-black-armoured Glatorian who she thought she might. "Seems like they've gathered something of a crowd already. That's Skyra Daring, I think, can't get a perfect look from here. Of course, I imagine you already clocked that." She glanced at Lutenus' eyepiece, and chuckled reflexively. "I can't say I recognize any of the rest of them. I don't know if you were just planning to keep on looking, but as far as I'm concerned there's one good way to find out more." She slid out of the booth, rising to her feet. "Shall we?" OOC: @Toru Nui IC: Skrall - Roxtus, Towards the Stables Skrall liked rock steeds, he always had. Spikits, well, they could be temperamental. One had taken a chunk out of the back of his leg once, and he still had a small scar. Even so, he was happy to take the company of any animals over more interminable discussion. Still, he couldn't malign the older Skrall too much: the lone survivor had chosen to try and assert dominance before answering the question. The question which was, frankly, a completely natural one. Of course, he had heard the southerners were worse. By times, the south couldn't even decide who was meant to tell them what to do. They had conclaves or councils or some other sort of thing like that. The Skrall were not afraid to dispense with such barbaric tendencies. As they drew closer to the stables, a question of his own occurred to him. "Which one of us drives the carriage?" OOC: @a goose @BULiK @Burnmad @Nato G @Vezok's Friend @Toru Nui

IC: Skrall - Roxtus, War Room Skrall was glad the older Skrall of their motley group had taken charge of the disgraced one. He did not like to think about his disgraced fellow, much less look at or touch the poor wretch. Part of this was custom: one ought not take too much time with such types, they weren't worth the sand on his heel. Another part, smaller perhaps but still present, was aware of just how easily he could be in that very same place. He could not say why the unfortunate one had abandoned his post, but Skrall had by times thought of doing the same. Boredom, often, called him to go elsewhere. If duty had not held him back, perhaps it would be he who was being sold to the Bone Hunters. Pushing this thought from his mind, he gave a tense and silent salute to the general, and turned on his heels and began walking towards the door. He would be twenty paces outside the war room before he let his breath out. OOC: @BULiK @a goose @Nato G @Burnmad @Toru Nui @Vezok's Friend

IC: Dolbren - Iron Mahi, Second Passenger Car Dolbren couldn't see clearly through the small windows between the cars. His view was further occluded by the occupants of the aisle in the far car, now both Datrox and Minnorak. However, he did see something. For a moment, Baszlin was in motion. The sickly-looking Vortixx had been in the aisle for a moment too. And now—what was going on—he could just barely see a couple of passengers in the first car jerking their heads to the windows of the train. Following their lead, Dolbren rushed to the bank of windows. He pushed past and reached over a couple of Matoran, and then craned his head to see outside. Nothing of note, except the desert rushing quickly past. Nothing on the ground behind the train. And yet, something was clearly going on. He planted his palms on the wall, then pushed himself back from the wall of the train, and in one swift motion was standing in the aisle. The slightest application of his Calix kept things moving nicely. A smile was on his face now. Not a wide grin, but a predatorial, close-mouthed thing. It lingered there for just a moment, and then he turned. What was happening wasn't the plan, that's for sure. All the same, if Dolbren waited any longer he was going to get left behind. He felt like a fool just standing there. There was work to be done. Dropping any pretense of purposelessness, Dolbren wrenched the back door of the second passenger car open. He took a deep breath, feeling the wind now rushing on his face, and stepped out into the open gangway. Without even a glance back into the car, he slammed the door shut behind him. Go time. OOC: @Krayzikk @Vezok's Friend

IC: Lorqua - Red Star Inn There was no question in her mind that going alone was more dangerous, she knew that as well as anyone. She wasn't thinking of going alone. Rather, the speed which the larger caravans would be going would be intolerable. If it could be avoided, by a braver driver perhaps. And such a person might be willing to pay for an experienced blade, like Lorqua, to provide protection on the trail. She began to interrupt him, "No I agree, I'm not thinking of travelling alone, just that—" And then she stopped short, as Lutenus' cybernetic eye focused past her, and he remarked on something she couldn't see. She turned around quickly, entirely insensible to propriety, and tried to see where he was looking. "What is it, what do you see?" OOC: @Toru Nui IC: Skrall - Roxtus War Room Skrall continued nodding vigorously. He was in complete agreement, and even if he wasn't, in this particular case he was happy to have other Skrall occupying Tirveus' attention. OOC: @ skrall

IC: Lorqua - Red Star Inn Lorqua met Lutenus' amusement with a brief exhalation of air from her nose. She had seen Vorox attack a caravan before, it wasn't something she was rushing to see again. When it was your job to fight them off it added a further layer of negative emotion to the thing, but it wasn't pleasant for anyone. Easy for Lutenus to say. Still, he was right that going early to avoid the traffic sounded tempting. She nodded for a moment, setting her jaw in thought. "Should see if I can find anyone who's leaving soon then. If I'm going, I'd rather get on with it, I'm not much one for sitting around here." She looked throughout the busy floor of the inn. She guessed that almost everyone she could see was going to the same place as she was. It wasn't a feeling she had often. She looked back to Lutenus. "When are you leaving for Tajun?" OOC: @Toru Nui IC: Skrall - Roxtus, War Room Skrall, upon seeing the group of Skrall heading for Tirveus' war room, had simply faded in among them. Based on what he could hear of their conversation, they were heading south, and he was sure they would accept another arm to wield a blade. Not that he had asked, but so far none of them had seemed to take much notice of him, so he would cross that bridge when he came to it. The older Skrall, special forces apparently, seemed to have elected himself speaker for their group. As he spoke with an Agori at the door, Skrall glanced among his fellows. A strange group he had fallen in with, evidently. The older one, plus the quiet one with the odd physique, plus two others; one wiry, one less so. Perhaps this was a good thing. If these were to be the vanguard of the Black Legion's southern conquest, then Skrall felt more optimistic than he had in some time. The Skrall would show the Southerners that they were not an unchanging monolith. Of course, it would be too late for the Southerners. Already they had failed to prepare adequately for what was coming. As the older Skrall said why they had come to Tirveus' door, Skrall nodded vigorously. OOC: @BULiK @Nato G @Burnmad @Toru Nui @Vezok's Friend

IC: Skrall - Outside Roxtus Barracks Skrall leaned against the wall of the barracks, adjacent to the entrance, travel-dusted but still watching the horizon. He felt something moving on his shoulder, and blinked to disable his cybernetics. With a soft click the layers of nictitating membrane receded from his eyes and returned to their repository in his brow. After a moment to reacclimate himself to his ordinary vision, he looked to his should. Across it crawled a small beetle, armoured with a black and red carapace. Skrall smiled. "Hello, little brother." He plucked the beetle from his pauldron, and held it aloft before his eyes. Six tiny legs waved in the air, as Skrall turned it about and inspected it. "I must have picked you up while I was out scouting. Don't worry, I just want to get a look at you. Your armour isn't so different from mine." He knelt to the ground, and placed the beetle there. It scuttled quickly away from him. "Safe travels, little brother." He returned his gaze to the horizon. With any luck, he would be on his own travels soon. He was happy to do his duty, but just scouting out the thresholds of routes south, and making note of the comings-and-goings of Bone Hunters and Vorox and Skopios and other denizens of the desert felt empty, somehow; especially when he was so close to being able to show the Southerners his strength for real. It had to be soon. Skrall was quickly reaching his limit. OOC: @Nato G @Vezok's Friend @Burnmad @Toru Nui skrall party skrall party

IC: Lorqua - Red Star Inn It was tempting, to be sure. Whatever could make Ferrum drop contact entirely had to be worth paying attention to. And imagine being one of the first outsiders through the gates: were the Ferrumites all gone? Disappeared entirely? Or was there some reason they just weren't speaking to anyone? The mind boggled at the possibilities. And yet. "Well, I—" Whether their arrangement was set in stone or not wasn't the point. Lorqua did what she said she was going to do. "No, what you've been saying makes a lot of sense. I take it that exhibition matches are starting at Tajun, you have a plan for getting there? If things are getting as dangerous as you're saying, I'd sooner travel in numbers." OOC: @Toru Nui

IC: Lorqua - Red Star Inn Lorqua blinked. Lutenus looked incredulous. However, it wasn't a flat-out 'no,' so things could be worse. It took her half a second to realize he was waiting for her to say more. "Well of course the Element Lords are fascinating, don't get me wrong. It's really just all of that history out there. Our inheritance. Or, at least, it ought to be; we just have to reach out and take it." She had a far-off look again, but she continued speaking. "I hope you won't take this the wrong way. Like I said, I have as much loyalty as anyone—" Well maybe less than anyone. It wasn't that Lorqua didn't have a certain affection for her home village, but that it seemed small to think in those terms. If Lutenus was right about Roxtus and Iconox, that they were trying to shore up hegemony, that wasn't a problem simply for Tesara's sake. Lorqua had no intention of being made a slave, and that had nothing to do with her tribal affiliation. "—but there's something to be said for what's left of somewhere that isn't here. I like to catch a glimpse of another time and place. And I like mysteries. Enough of those out in the desert for a lifetime." She took a breath. "Speaking of, if nobody's heard from Ferrum, are we sending people out to check things out?" OOC: @Toru Nui

IC: Lorqua - Red Star Inn Lorqua smiled. It was a pleasant question to be asked, and the fact that Lutenus was asking it meant he might have more pull in Tesara than she would have expected. What would it take for her to fight in the games? It was what a Glatorian was supposed to do anyway; some credit to Lutenus, it seemed that he had recognized that a lecture about duty wasn't going to get very far with her. Her gaze grew far off, only for a matter of fractions of a second. She looked past Lutenus, past the crowds in the Red Star, and saw in her mind out into the endless sea of dunes. Possibility itself opened before her, in the form of a yawning portal. A door, a gateway, an opening half-buried in the sand. Treasures of long-gone civilizations would surely lie within. And then she was back in the room. She rubbed the bottom of her chin with the pad of her thumb. "Well see, uh, the way I really think I can do something for the tribe is if I could get Tesara to start funding more expeditions into the desert. Looking for ruins, stuff the Great Beings left behind, that kind of thing. I think I could do a lot of good, being a part of that. I recognize, though, that archaeology is pretty low on Tesara's priorities in times like these. So if I do my part to keep us from—" She didn't really want to say the word. It was an ugly word, better avoided. "—getting into a war, maybe you can see if you can help me with that?" She was still smiling. A winning grin, she hoped. OOC: @Toru Nui

IC: Lorqua - Red Star Inn She raised her brows. Lutenus was clearly a real patriot, a type of person for whom Lorqua had little time, but altogether he made sense. It was seeming a little too big to write off as simply fearmongering. "I'd overheard some people saying some strange things, but nothing explicit. I've been a little out of the loop, this past month or so. Been working as a hired blade on a caravan. Caravan that ended up getting delayed, just got in to Atero this morning." Lorqua gave another sigh, and shook her head. "Yeah alright, seems like something's going down. So what, you're just going around and drumming up support with every Tesaran you can find? I'm not deceiving myself into thinking my arena record is anything special, so I can't have been top of your list." OOC: @Toru Nui

IC: Lorqua - Red Star Inn She leaned in as Lutenus did, resting her chin on one hand. If he'd rather they weren't heard, then she was willing to oblige. "It's a scary story, if you're right." She sighed. "Hard pitch to say no to, I'll give you that. Iconox and Roxtus are no friends of mine. But I have to ask, do you know something I don't? What makes you think this Games will be the one?" OOC: @Toru Nui