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oncertainty

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Everything posted by oncertainty

  1. 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
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. 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
  5. 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
  6. 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
  7. 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
  8. 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
  9. 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
  10. 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
  11. 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
  12. 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
  13. 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
  14. 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
  15. 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
  16. IC: Lorqua - Red Star Inn Lorqua leaned back against the seat and drew her hands across her scalp to the back of her head. All the same, she kept her expression absolutely neutral. That Lutenus called it an accusation made his position on the matter clear enough. That's the sort of conversation it was going to be, then. She had played this game before, somehow without much success for her or her interlocutor. Nothing to be done for it now. "Freelancer as a job, certainly, but not as a statement of my loyalties. I do what I can for Tesara in other ways than the arena." She made a soft click with her tongue against the roof of her mouth, breaking Lutenus' gaze to peer about the room. "I'd like to serve in other ways, at least. But that's not me saying no. I'm open to being convinced." She left it on that, and looked back to Lutenus. The arena was monotony at times, yes, but it was also profit. Profit that could be put in service of other things. OOC: @Toru Nui
  17. IC: Qorl - The Rift Qorl had heard that the rift did strange things to people, even his people spoke about that, but somehow the Skakdi's reaction still sent a chill down his spine. The Skakdi knew much more about this place than him, Qorl wasn't too proud to grant that, and his fear seemed completely real. Maybe Qorl had more to worry about in the Rift than he had thought. He had stayed on the surface and hoped that would keep him safe. And hoped that he, nothing more than an insect before the eyes of things like gods, would be beneath the Rift's notice. He thought it, and he meant it. Perhaps the place had affected him more than he knew. A frightening thought, heightened to a new level; the fact that he had not been afraid initially might just be how the Rift drew him in. What could it do to him? Was he not himself anymore? Had he been himself in a long time? He shuddered involuntarily. It was a slight reaction only, but a keen observer might notice it as it made its way down his extremities, culminating in a slight twitch of the fingers. Then he nodded. "I take your point." But, he had to stay alert. Even if it wasn't this Skakdi, someone was likely still looking for him. No way he could trust the Skakdi in a firefight. Probably better not to even let him know Qorl was a wanted man, after a fashion. Qorl was still in little shape to fight, and the Skakdi had no reason not to make a profit. But these were concerns for later. The trick for now was to find cover, he could trust himself to figure out a plan from there. "Do you have a camp somewhere nearby? I think I'd rather stay out of the sun." OOC: @Perp
  18. IC: Lorqua - Red Star Inn Lorqua looked up at the newcomer, gave a pleasant smile, and gestured to the other seats in the booth. "Aye, that's what they call me." She didn't wait for him to sit down to begin speaking. "You're Lutenus, yeah? I don't think we've been introduced properly, but I feel like we've been in a room together before. Back home, I mean." She rubbed her chin. She didn't forget much, but it had been a long time since she was in Tesara. Not that she was complaining, but it did mean this guy had the advantage of her right now. "You might have to jog my memory. But that's beside the point, do you need something?" Granted, this could be purely social. But she tended to trust her intuition about things she didn't know. In her experience, it was the best move if you wanted to stay alive. And she had an intuition that there was something more going on here. OOC: @Toru Nui
  19. IC: Qorl - The Rift He caught the canteen in both hands, raised it before him, and drank deep. Notwithstanding whatever dirty well the water had been dredged up from, and however much of the Skakdi's saliva was by now mixed in with it, it tasted to Qorl as rich and sweet as any vintage from his family's cellars. His opening question was interesting. Did he still not believe that Qorl had been here for ages? It was a coincidence, to be sure, perhaps that accounted for the doubt. Qorl was surprised too, but he would take what came to him. Better this Skakdi, who he knew something about, than anyone else it could have been. Qorl finished his drink with an audible gulp, and lowered the canteen. He smiled to himself for several reasons, though not least among them was that he had the pleasure of keeping his interrogator waiting in suspense, however briefly. Then he breathed out. "I can remember two nights, more or less. That being as it is, I'd say this is the third day." He wiped a solitary drop from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, and then stood still. The Skakdi could ask for the canteen back. OOC: @Perp
  20. IC: Lorqua - Atero, The Red Star Inn Lorqua stood in a corner of the busy inn, but she was insensitive to any and all around her. Her distraction was only natural: before her she held aloft in both hands a barrel, erstwhile full of water, now nearing empty. She held it up for a few moments more and then tapped on the far end, a last few paltry drops dripping free. Completely empty now. She then set the barrel down and sighed. It had been a close call: an accident involving poorly-secured freight and a poorly-maintained bridge resulting in the last caravan she had travelled with losing three quarters of their water rations, with half of the journey from Tesara to Atero still to go. She had made a tidy profit though, offering to forgo her share of the remaining water in return for a markup on her pay at the destination. The caravan master, an ill-tempered sort, hadn't exactly been pleased, but the desert was unforgiving. The caravan master's job was to make hard choices, and Lorqua had walked away the richer for it. Not for the first time, she was glad she had the cybernetics put in. She smiled to herself, returning to her seat in a corner booth. Maybe some other Glatorian would have rested on their laurels, but not her. Rest as little as you can, and then get back to it. There was a big world out there, and too little time to see it. OOC: Lorqua open for interaction
  21. Name: Lorqua Tribe: Jungle Species: Glatorian Gender: Female, she/her Appearance: Light armour of a rich, forest green and cool yellow wreathes Lorqua’s body. Her build is athletic by necessity, but she has a ragged and worn aspect despite her relative youth. Because of her Nectar of Life cybernetics, she often has a look of slight dehydration, skin stretched taut around her face. Equipment: A javelin, her favoured weapon. Of simple and reliable construction, she keeps a few spares strapped to her back when in the wilderness or the arena. A yellow-painted pelte, the light shield often found held in her left hand. Cybernetics (Approved by BULiK): Warrior’s Sinews: Below the elbow, her right arm is segmented and threaded with light and strong cords of woven metal. The cords are flexible and can be extended and retracted, giving her arm flexibility and variable length. Even when extended her hand still works ordinarily, and at full extension her arm is twice as long as her own height. She often uses this to climb, grab things at a distance, and extend her reach for leverage when throwing her javelin. When using the javelin like a conventional spear, she can leverage her arm to throw it out further than would be ordinarily possible and then retract it. Nectar of Life: Space in her torso which is surplus to requirements has been replaced with a series of valves and receptacles. These chambers can hold excess water in safe keeping for days at a time, if needed. When she is at the point of dehydration, she can open these valves and filter the excess water back into her system, which allows her to keep hydrated on long voyages. What had to be removed to make space for these chambers, and what effect it will have on her health in the long term? Well, she tries not to think about it too much. Personality & Traits: A restless soul, Lorqua railed against the conventional structure of Glatorian life until she realized she could leave it altogether. She is curious, often to a fault, and not without a reckless streak. She approaches her goals with an unselfconscious devotion, almost completely unwilling to turn back. History: Lorqua always strained against life in the villages. It was the wider world which interested her, taken even as a child by stories of times long past and the relics and ruins of those times which could still be found hidden deep in the deserts. Frustrated, she took up work as a caravan guard. It brought her further afield than fighting in the arena full-time, but even still she seeks broader horizons. Weaknesses: I am the cat: Lorqua is far too curious for her own good, an impulse which verges on the monomaniacal. On a good day, this can lead to rudeness. On a bad day, this is potentially fatal. She hasn’t had a very bad day yet, but she has no intention of stopping until she does. Innsmouth look: When Lorqua has to drink, she really has to drink. Her cybernetics buy her time, but when they are completely empty she is already beginning to experience dehydration, and likely hasn’t realized. Name: Skrall Tribe: Rock Species: Glatorian Gender: Male, he/him Appearance: Skrall is proud to wear armour identical to that worn by a thousand of his brothers and a thousand thousand of his ancestors. His armour particularly has a wind-worn appearance, befitting the rough living of an outrider for the Black Legion. His face often betrays his thoughts. He is quick to give a sardonic smile, and hides his emotions poorly in general. Equipment: A great Thronax hurler, wielded in two hands but capable of shooting a Thornax fruit with incredible speed and force. It has a short bayonet proceeding out from below the firing end. A khopesh of typically Skrall style, worn at the hip as a sidearm. A buckler which mimics, in smaller form, the saw-edged shields of the Black Legion. It bears the maze upon its face, but it is small and light enough to remain strapped to his forearm. Cybernetics (Approved by BULiK): Eyes of the Desert: a series of artificial nictitating membranes which he can draw over his eyes. The first layer provides only protection from wind and sand, but further layers can be activated which provide greater and greater magnification. Longstriders: Skrall can extend flat-bladed claws from the bottom of his feet. They distribute his weight more widely, allowing him to walk atop snow drifts or sand dunes. This conserves his energy over long distances, but also allows him to move more quickly and easily atop any soft particulate surfaces. Furthermore, they can serve as a nasty surprise at the end of his kick. Personality & Traits: Skrall is proud of his heritage, to be sure. He believes in the Skrall way of life. Even so, he believes that the Black Legion’s strength results from their being willing to do what others will not. As such, he has little affection for dogma. Sometimes one must change or die, and he will do his part to make sure the Black Legion does not die. If this leads him to being given a name, and thus living in the minds of his fellows forever more, then that is all the better. History: Skrall served as outrider in the great march south. A difficult and dangerous job, for it was the outriders who met with any unforeseen threats. Unlike many of his brethren, Skrall survived. Now he seeks his fortune in the arenas. Weaknesses: Skrall: Skrall is loath to shirk from a fight. Not only that, he has the confidence to think he can win. He has obvious skill, but he is still relatively untested. It remains to be seen whether he may yet find himself in over hStis head. Skrall Skrall: Neither is Skrall exactly beloved among his fellows: he is seen as having unnatural ideas about innovation and change. He hopes winning a name will lend him legitimacy in the eyes of his brethren. Name: Escus Tribe: Water Species: Glatorian Gender: Male, he/him Appearance: Escus has a wiry build, with longer than average arms giving him a slightly simian aspect. He wears thin armour of deep blue and black, favouring ease of movement over heavy protection. He habitually carries himself with a slight hunch. Equipment: He needs no weapon to fight in the arena, but in the wastelands he carries a great black-bladed battle axe. It has a Thornax launcher mounted on the back of the haft. In order to protect his hands when using his Strike Engines, he wears reinforced gauntlets, with armour plates on the primary striking surfaces. Cybernetics (Approved by BULiK): Strike Engines: Escus has had a group of pistons installed in his forearms and lower legs. They are visible even when not in use, jutting from the backs of his elbows and fronts of his knees. When activated, the pistons can throw forth his hands or feet with remarkable speed and force. He uses these often for hand-to-hand combat, and enabling quick mobility with jumps and lunges. Personality & Traits: Escus likes to fight, though perhaps not more than the average Glatorian. What Escus does have, more than the average Glatorian, is ambition. He's looking for a leg up in the world, and sometimes he comes to thinking that he ought to be given more compensation than he is currently. Why is it that the tribes couldn't exist without the Glatorian, and yet everywhere it is the Agori who rule? However, this has not always been his way. Escus seldom speaks of it, but he worries that there is an emptiness in him that he cannot fill. He has been an good Glatorian for the tribe, perhaps occasionally even a great one. And yet, he remains unsatisfied. He has never had the fire in him to make him a true master of the Arena, fought with the dispassion of one who is skilled but does not truly believe. Ambition is only his latest attempt to find what can truly satisfy him. He is quick to anger, but that anger hides a deep melancholy. History: Not yet middle aged, but aware of his aging, Escus has spent his life in the arenas fighting for Tajun. He has enjoyed this life well enough, but he does seek other opportunities, especially of late. He has been many things apart from the Arena, tried his hand at music, at trading, at playing games, at beast-handling. So far, none of these other lives has stuck. Weaknesses: Pugilist: Escus is quick to anger, especially when he thinks he hasn't gotten what he's due. Slugger: He's most comfortable fighting in close combat. In fact, he isn't particularly comfortable at range at all. If he can be stopped from closing the distance, he simply isn't nearly as dangerous.
  22. IC: Qorl - The Rift Qorl understood as well as a native now, water was precious out here. Seprilli didn't teach you to value water because Seprilli couldn't teach you to value water. Back home, you'd have to do some work to find a spot where, even if you turned all the way around, you couldn't see the ocean. Here on Zakaz though? This place was dry. Dry like it stuck in his mouth, tensed his cheeks, cracked the skin on his knuckles. It was enough to make you say ok, you win, I'll just lay down here and die. Days of travel on foot from anything that flowed and wasn't sand would do that to you. But that wasn't what was happening here, was it? No way this guy was making him drop the gun only to blow him away. Qorl was the one whose gun was already pointed at the ground, in stark contrast to the Skakdi's weapon. No, he was asking for this because he was going to give Qorl the canteen, and he wanted to make sure Qorl wasn't going to use the fact that his finger wasn't on the trigger anymore against him. Qorl wasn't without a doubt, but decisiveness was getting him further than caution ever had. Maybe Skakdi really did want to have his questions answered. There was a first time for everything, and it was something solid enough to build on. "Aye, we'll call that a fair trade." Trying to keep his hand steady, but unable to prevent a slight tremble which spread from his palm up his arm, Qorl slowly brought his gun level with his belt. With a thrust downward, he jammed his gun into its holster. He then raised his two hands, spread wide, palms open, and facing towards the Skakdi. He didn't break the Skakdi's gaze now. If he was going to take his chance, Qorl wouldn't give him the satisfaction of flinching. "Done. I won't even pretend to ask you to do the same thing, I know how this goes. But you give me that water and I guarantee I'll be more well disposed to talking." If he could make it through the next ten seconds, then he wasn't going to die here. He just had to make this deal. OOC: @Perp that is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange aeons even death may die
  23. IC: Gonrae - Onu-Koro Gonrae leaned over in his chair and turned back and forth, looking past Akie and down the street. She was asking him a question and he was already somewhere else. Another question. Two parallel tracks in mind now, what he was looking at and what Akie was saying. Too bad this Iron Mahi only had the one set of wheels. "Uh huh, that's about right for most people like you, at least." He was standing up as he said it. "As for what I do, well, I'm an engineer. That means a lot of different things for a lot of people, but in my case it mostly means that I design pullies and brackets and calculate tolerances for bridges and things. Not by choice, I mean, that sounds as boring to me as it probably does to you." Then he was up from the chair, and with some speed he was at the edge of the porch. He peered along the street and towards the edge of town, where something was certainly going on. The crackle and whine of a microphone coming on piqued his interest immediately. "Something interesting happening out there, any chance you'd walk with me?" Just as soon as he asked the question, he remembered he hadn't paid for anything. Nothing for it now, something was happening out there. He pulled his lenses from his mask and stowed them quickly in a pouch on his belt, then pulled a small bag of widgets from another pouch. He tossed it towards Akie, not looking to see if the Toa actually caught it. "I'm sorry, but would you mind leaving a handful of those on the table for me? I can't remember how much my drink cost, and I don't want to wait around to find out." OOC: @That Matoran with a Vahi yeah that sounds good. maybe we can say they listen while they walk towards the crowd? and thanks @Geardirector
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