Not Quite Dead

IC Onamazu

One by one, my party introduces themselves. Karna does not interrupt, waiting patiently for their names.

He repeats their names, deliberately drawing out the sounds. He smiles as if he has met someone pleasant. If his expression earlier could be called a mockery of a smile, this was better described as a perversion of one. The priest makes his way to the altar, lighting several candle to better illuminate the building. Banished by candlelight, the darkness moves to corners and the areas behind objects. More a living creature than the dense blanket it was before.

"I thank you four, you have brought Onamazu here. If it were not for your actions, she would not have come."

I speak up, my tone showing my irritation. "Karna. Our relationship is not relevant to this."

The priest laughs. "I understand, this is the first time you have depended on me, do not be so quick as to betray your feelings to others." He turns to my companions once more, staring at them like the condemned. "Do you understand what this girl asks of you? Becoming a "hero" or a companion to one is a trial, you cannot escape it just because it is inconvenient. It is a like a brand, burnt into your flesh."

He walks while he speaks, drawing wide circles around the group.

"The only way you escape this trial is by finishing it, you are all aware with destiny I assume. But the rewards are great, the only way you can clean the mud from yourselves, or erase those burns that cannot be seen, is by following the fate set out for you."   He pauses, leaving his words to soak into their brains and clot like blood.

"Enough!" I interrupt him, "We came here for information, not one of your sermons."

"Heh, I see. It is pointless to talk to you and your type of people, so I was just trying to elucidate you all as to the workings of yourselves."

"I don't think anyone is here looking for elucidation of the self. Lets get back to the main topic."

"Oh? Helping others means saving yourself in the end," he grins. "I would assume you of all people knew that. The priest halts, standing in front of the group again. "Very well. I know of the one you seek. She washed up here not a day ago. A piece of refuse drifting to shore." He pauses, his face a mask  "I know nothing else."

I am angry and irritated, he won't explain anything else. This is his way, he treats things like an infuriating game.

"We're leaving." I announce, ushering the others out with me.

"Rejoice, your wishes will all come true." The priest stands by the altar, his voice easily carrying to the door. "A "hero" can only exist in opposition to evil. The evils you wish for are gestating as we speak. None on this island will be spared from them." The heavy doors close behind us.

"He is wrong..." I refuse to admit to myself that my wish carries the ugly price he speaks of. My goal is to drive evil from the island, a light does not need darkness to stand out. I will prove that.

"Well, where should be begin our search? Ta-Koro and Po-Koro are close by."

IC Brontes

"When are we gonna catch a break?" I help Verulas move the unconscious toa to a cot, before moving towards the matoran doctors. I know they're probably tired and overworked, but she did just help save them, so I figure they won't be too disgruntled.

IC Forger

I nod, Champion has explained Veteran's plan. Act the part of outsider until the refugees are gone, after that we can return to business as usual. "It seems reasonable. We'll just have to wait them out, most of the patients and doctors are very tired from the trip. I doubt they'll be ready until tomorrow afternoon."

I stand, I had let myself rest for too long. My muscles and joints ached. It was funny, even a couple small fights could be very painful if you weren't ready for them. I am not in the melancholy and reflective mood of earlier, but my brief conversation with Veneras has left me turning things over in my mind.

"Champion," I use his codename, we are alone and unlikely to be overheard. "Do you think the world is black and white?"

At least I don't have terrible hair like that Josuke guy

where is the downvote button?

OOC: I am vague with timeline and numbers of people in this post, so anyone that doesn't feel like questing can opt out.

IC Onamazu

Everyone seemed eager now, and we had not a minute to waste. I sheathed Gram and adjusted my pack and cloak, "As I said, our first stop is a church. The priest there is the knowledgeable sort, he knows and speaks with many shadier persons," incredulous looks abound, what sort of priest does that?

"In his efforts to bring blessing and peace to them!" I add, looking to reassure the others. I turn and begin to walk, setting a brisk pace. I do not look behind me, I have faith those ready and willing will be following.

Soon, I reach the church. It is off of the direct roads. A backwater area so to speak. One of the few buildings incorporating wood or masonry in the floating koro. A rare and beautiful stained glass window, shaped as the holy symbols for Unity, Duty and Destiny adorns the front of the building, several bio above the heavy set of doors.

The doors open silently, the building is dark, the light filtering in through the scarce windows grey and dusty, or dimly colored by the stained glass above me. In my mind it has the air of a sacred and secluded place, not for petty matters. To others less naive and wishful; it would give the feeling of a crypt or some other underground area. Not a place meant for the sacred, but a place not meant for the living. Tall bookshelves line the antechamber, filled with old and worn tomes bearing titles like The Necronomicon, Unaussprechlichen Kulten and A King in Yellow.

Wherever the filtered light does not reach lays in shadow. Silhouettes of an altar and pews are visible in the distance, but faint. A rumbling comes from the distance, the voice of a figure walking in at the far end, wearing the heavy and dark cloak of a pilgrim.

"You do not answer my summons, and now you bring a strange party."

The figure is tall and imposing, large and formless with his cloak on. His dark gray Akaku covers all but his smile, more readily described as a smirk and his eyes, as pale and dim as a corpse. Without realizing, I take several steps back. The priest is not scary or intimidating, but he has a gloomy presence, one that makes the air about him feel heavy and stifling.

"These are my loyal companions, we are on a quest and I come here seeking advice and knowledge."

The priest walks past me, observing my companions. His stature and his dead eyes, deep beneath the Akaku give me the feeling that he looks through and inside of you, rather than at you.

"I am Karna, the one entrusted with this church. What are your names, companions of Onamazu?"

IC Skoll

"I had the misfortune to be down here looking for a drink, you were on her "lock-up-in-the-basement" list... So, I suppose I am a victim of circumstances."

IC Skoll

Skoll took a seat near Reson, the bound toa now covered in old booze, stinking like vinegar. "Bloody vortixx locked us up down here, what the karz is her problem?"

"How did you get on her bad side anyways? Snooping; didn't pay your tab; door-to-door salesman by chance?"

IC Brontes

"Well, my name is Brontes. Her name is Kimala, the De-Toa with the crab is called Kellin. I didn't catch the titan's name."

"There are a few others, I don't know the name of the ko-toa with the sword and Iden, I know another ko-toa is still in Ko-Koro, his name is (or was? I banish the thought that I had left him to die...) Dahkapa."

I can see the cable car station on the horizon, it is marked by a moderately sized stone building, the walls looming out of the constant blizzard. Right now it wasn't anything but a dark smudge in the distance. I point to it, "you ever been on one of the cable cars?"

OOC: I am not 100% sure if I have heard all those names IC. But sometimes it is difficult to know whether or not people know names IC, as most people will say, "I walk towards Wraith," rather than; "I walk towards the ko-toa with the Iden."

IC Onamazu

"Another? Excellent!" The statue-like toa had brought his acquaintance, she seemed the noble sort. Clad in golden armor and bearing a Hau.

I explain to her the events of the day, the strange group of evildoers brainwashing the fe-toa and abducting her, for what nefarious purpose she did not know.

"So, with that said. I am a hero of justice. I can tell you are all as well! So, let us be off! We'll need to gather information about the strangers, perhaps question some of the local inns and taverns. I know a priest nearby that may recognize them."

Most of the party appears... Confused, to say the least. "Maybe I didn't clarify things?"

"It will be good fun!"

IC Onamazu

Another toa has approached, a bo-toa by the looks of him, bearing bronzed armor and kakama. This brought my party to five, counting myself. What had begun as a failure was looking to be turned around, I introduce myself to the kakama wearing toa. Explaining the events that had transpired with the fe-toa and her abductors.

"Our meeting here is fate, I would ask all of you to accompany me on my quest."

What kind of musical instruments does the island have?

Like, only low tech ones? Or more complicated ones like pianos, organs or tuned percussion instruments.

/probably irrelevant

IC Forger

I smiled, "it is good to be home."

"He can repair the walls with ice for now, and clear this rubble."

IC Forger

"Several hours I'd guess. In the mean time, let's make this place look a little nicer. Clean it up for our guests."

IC Forger

"We have a lot of refugees coming. We're going to shuttle them to Ta-Koro, we're looking at perhaps a dozen trips counting their supplies." I move to a nearby chair, taking a seat. Fatigued from the trip and earlier battles.

"We are a little worse for the wear. The venture into Ko-Koro did... Well, it did not go very well. I made a rash decision, our first contact was with two toa, mutated and serving Makuta's Legacy. They told us the battle was over, that only a handful of defenders remained at the hospital. We agreed to help drive them out, but the defenders were well prepared and the situation was not as they described. They left the battle shortly after we engaged."

I finished explaining the events at the hospital after Veteran brings food and drink, we eat and discuss the stand off with the defenders, Enforcer's bargaining to save us and Judge's injuries. "Has Judge returned yet? He needed care immediately. And Zero, is she here?"

IC Onamazu

"Did you say a female Toa of Iron? I met one earlier on the beach. Black, Grey, and Silver. Newly patched up armor. Name was...uh... Ayar, I think? Any connection?"

"YES!" I shout joyously, this de-toa couldn't have come at a better time.

"That toa you saw was abducted afterwards, a group of soldiers of some type. Likely those indebted to the dark lord or his minions. They tampered with her mind and absconded with her in tow, I tried to stop them but was bested by their trickery, the fe-toa turning her own blade onto her savior..." The memory is already painful, another failure on a long list...

I turn to the small band I have gathered, it is not chance but divine providence that I have been provided with this quartet of warriors!

I move the de-toa, shaking his hand and introducing myself. "Now, we must set out to save her! Who is prepared to do so?"

IC Forger

Champion tells me of the Bo-Toa and his intentions to join up, I do not have my map any longer, but some of the landmarks from our journey to Ko-Koro are visible, I figure I can make it to the outpost in about an hour with my kakama.

"But the virtues are broken now, and I don't know where I belong"

The Ko-Toa Veneras had been quiet for several minutes before replying. He seemed a lost and confused soul. Not quite kindred with myself, as I didn't see in him the unsavory parts of myself, but I was interested in hearing his story, only... "You can find the virtues easily enough. They're just obscured in this day and age, not broken. What a hero does is uncover what is obvious to him for the world around him to see."

I hand him one more sled of supplies before bidding him goodbye, explaining I needed to go ahead and make sure our destination was ready for our arrival, "weapons and scary things hidden, more like..." I hand one to the bronze Vo-Toa as well, he seemed the helpful sort that wouldn't mind.

I activate my kakama, the landscape morphing into a white and grey blur. Soon, the obsidian outpost, my home, is on the horizon.

IC Brontes

The tall fe-toa passes by, handing me a sled of supplies and thanking me before running off with his kakama.

"Lazy ," I turn to Verulas, now with Kimala nearby. "That guy **** anyone else off? Leading a band of mercs to attack a hospital before acting like the lord and savior to a bunch of patients later?"

"**** fakers."

IC Forger

"You either are or aren't something, a hero, villain... Crazy. Telling yourself you're in the grey spectrum of morality is just an easy way of getting out of things, for people that lack the patience or fortitude to dedicate them wholly to their ideals"

"Heh, am I describing myself?" I think rather bitterly.

IC Brontes

"Oh, you know, one of life's unexpected surprises."

Verulas gave off the distinct air of not wanting to talk, not wanting to irritate him, Brontes nods and backs off, moving to help the crystal toa Kimala with her load of patients and supplies.

OOC: The wielding comment is because he can't actually use swords very well, any of them. He just knows how to forge them

IC Forger

"Anger has it's uses, a warrior, whatever their cause, can't fight on positive feelings alone. It just requires more tempering and direction than other emotions to be used correctly." I gesture to the defenders with us on our march, the female toa that fought Judge, the bo-toa mercenary and the bronze vo-toa. "If you don't mind me asking, how do you feel about our situation?"

IC Brontes

Brontes approaches Verulas, he is speaking with one of the mercenary, a vortixx. An imposing figure, his back covered in vivid tattoos. Or rather, he is speaking to the vortixx. His audience stays rather quiet, it is easy to surmise he is one of the quiet types.

"So Verulas, how do you feel about our predicament? Trudging through the snow with this lot?" Brontes gestures to the mercenaries that have, apparently, switched sides.

IC Onamazu

Onamazu narrowed her eyes, she did not like these two. They seemed as tricksters, perhaps not openly evil like her previous encounter. But wrongdoers of some magnitude nonetheless.

"My name matters not. I was assaulted by two toa and a skakdi in the alleyway there," she gestures with Gram. The alleyway bares the scars of the fight, portions of the buildings having collapsed inwards, and the pavement through it being a mess of mud and quicksand.

"They bested me through trickery and absconded with a Fe-Toa, a woman. They abducted her and tampered with her mind. Did you happen to see them flee?"

IC Onamazu

"That sounds exactly like something an enemy would say, or perhaps an idiot. I will make it easier to understand, I am a hero of justice. What are you?"

IC Onamazu

I am dreaming of the fire again, I am at the end of my previous dream, collapsed and waiting for death.

Pain in my side?

This is unfamiliar, a new portion of my dream, I open my eyes, erasing the vivid red landscape to see two toa looming above me, one nudging my side with his foot. The unexplained pain. One looks like a statue, the other is a greenish blue and has faint shimmering patterns on his armour. One has a Kualsi, like my foe from earlier.

I get up, sudden enough to cause alarm in the two, I back away, retrieving Gram.

"Who are you? Are you enemies?"

IC Forger

"If you will keep me company, I would be in your debt."

The ko-toa from earlier had approached, he had seemed a reasonable person earlier, if perhaps a little naive. His sword was an interesting one, the handle running perpendicularly to the blade rather than parallel with a hilt as found in most swords. If I actually knew how to wield such weapons, I would've asked to see it.

"Sure. You can help me with some of these supplies," I unclip one of the sleds of supplies I have dragging, connected to my belt with a chain. I hand the lead to him. "Thank you for your actions earlier. You seemed a fair bit cooler headed than some of the others here."

IC Forger

I allow myself a few hours of respite. The evacuating patients do not know me, what I have done, nor my past crimes. Most are matoran, born and taught of toa as heroes. So I let myself fall into that role, an actor-hero. A fake, a forgery.

Regret, shame and doubt surface, emotions I thought had been dealt with a long time ago. Hardly two days had passed since I was the confident and prideful leader, maybe it was as much a role as the one I immerse myself in now. Why had I been fighting for the people responsible for this? Only now, helping the wounded and ill, have I seen the truth of the situation. Seen the tragedy for what it is.

I could lie to myself, blame others for my poor decisions. But to what end? "Might makes right," that was something I considered a truth. A fact of the world, unchangeable by words or actions. At the end of the day, the victor was the one with the power.

So, it reasoned, the only way to achieve my ideal, what I believed was right, was to have power. Power to crush anyone that would violate it. But the power to change things held no use for me if I let my sense of self, my ideals and beliefs, fall to the wayside in it's pursuit. I had turned my mind to steel as hard and sharp as my swords. That was my error.

IC Onamazu

A sharp crack, the ice impacts the back of my head.

Everything is receding, tunnel vision setting in, getting... dark..

IC Onamazu

I swing Gram around, parrying the ko-toa's axe. Because of the awkward angle and the fact I only have one hand on it, Gram is knocked from my hands, landing several meters away. Before the ko-toa retreats I tackle him, grabbing him around his midsection and knocking him to the floor, the rubble he brought down crashing behind us. Now straddling him, I smash my fist into his face, still bloody from the fe-toa.

"YOU'RE NOT LIVING YOUR LIVES CORRECTLY!"