Burnmad

I believe you indicated at an earlier point in time that desecrated folks could learn Taboos. Will Barius also be gaining the 3 Taboos from Grime's song, or am I mistaken?

Edit: Also, I'm not sure if this has been addressed previously, but are non-Aspects capable of utilizing Kraata creation in any way, and if so, how?

IC: Barius - Fort Nektann

For his part, Barius was consumed with the consumption of the various dishes which Gore had placed before him. The only response he gave to anyone was to Parnassus, to whom he could speak without needing to leave his mouth unfilled with food for any period of time. This is amazing, he agreed. This food is enough to make a man weep. I don't know how he did it, but the bird tastes like chocolate, and the vegetables taste like fruit pies.

OOC: @Conway @Nato the Traveler @Sparticus147 @EmperorWhenua @Crimson Jester

IC: Morangad - Le-Metru Nuva

Morangad inhaled and shifted as Apex finally spoke, as if waking from a standing, open-eyed slumber. He took a few moments to mull over the question, hand drifting to his mask as he did. The surface of it felt colder than usual, and the power emanating from it seemed harsher-- and greater. "It feels... uncomfortable," he said. "But, so does a fresh garment or a newly-crafted tool, 'til one becomes accustomed to it. More importantly, it feels quite powerful, and I am satisfied with it."

OOC: @Sparticus147

IC: Ollem - Ruins of Water

He cocked his head, as he started to walk towards the exit. "Yeah, I think I've seen what you're talking about as well." Although, it had been at his back for much of his westward journey, he had nonetheless caught glimpses of the floating structure whenever he had stopped to take stock of his surroundings. The glinting sphere had seemed like little more than a mirage, and he might have thought it as much, were it not for its constant presence in the same location. "But wait. If that's... Locus Abeo, or whatever he called it, how in the world does that Toa intend to get there?"

OOC: @Harvali @Unreliable Narrator

IC: Barius - Fort Nektann

At the mention of food, Barius suddenly realized his intense hunger. It had been approaching mealtime when he had become occupied with this Toa Stannis, and after the unknown length of time he had spent laying on his bed, fading in and out of consciousness, he was rightly famished. At the mention of food, he immediately turned, the dangling head of the Toa draped over his shoulder narrowly missing the doorknob behind him as he did.

In his head, he heard the voice of Parnassus, querying him as to what was happening. What's going on? He repeated. We're getting dinner, that's what! There was an uncharacteristic sense of urgency to the thought, which would have made sense if Parnassus had been privy to the intensity of Barius' hunger at the moment.

OOC: @Conway @Nato the Traveler @Sparticus147 @EmperorWhenua @Crimson Jester

IC: Providence - Dead Forest

The Aspect followed this Mesi stranger towards the caves that would take them back into the underworld. He knew Zak-Yak would follow; he could only hope that the alternative of utter loneliness in an alien world would entice 'Tall Blue' to come along with them.

OOC: @Nato the Traveler @Sparticus147 @Kal the Guardian @Vezok's Friend

IC: Ollem - Ruins of Water

Still recovering from the absurd display he had just witnessed, Ollem holstered his weapon and bent down to collect the remaining noble Kanohi from the pile. Even though he couldn't use them, he could still feel by touch the power emanating weakly from them, and he reckoned they might be useful in trade if they encountered any locals in their journey.

While he was stooped, he grabbed a disk that wasn't in too rough a shape, and used its metallic surface as a mirror. The Great Kakama that they had taken from the desert Suva was still on his face, and in the time that he'd been traveling with Mahrika, it had accumulated a fair amount of dirt and grime. Perfect, he thought. It was far safer that way than in his pack. Grabbing a few of the noble masks, he produced his original, powerless mask from his pack, and left it among the pile, albeit with no small personal difficulty. But it had to be done; if the Toa decided to steal from them in the future, the presence of a powerless mask in Ollem's pack might tip him off to the presence of the more useful one that he wore on his face. For similar reasons, he gave both the noble masks he had collected off the floor to Mahrika; one of Strength, and the other of Concealment. In his own pack, he stuffed several of the least-bent disks, hoping they might still be vaguely usable. He filled the gaps with gold.

After his companion had also finished looting the room, he gestured towards the exit. Something told him the Administrator would no longer be particularly willing to answer their questions; and in any case, Kas had ought to be waiting for them outside, unless he had decided to split immediately. Which, to be fair, he might have.

OOC: @Harvali You have permission to move Ollem out of the Ruins, if you're ready to go. @Unreliable Narrator 

As Harvali has pointed out below, Ollem's original, unpowered mask is, in fact, still in the Stone Suva. Ignore that part of this post; I forgot how that worked.

IC: Ollem - Ruins of Water

Something about the Toa's words piqued Ollem's interest. Though still suspicious of this strange figure called Kas, the promise of information seemed plausible enough that the Matoran was willing to go along with it. For better or worse. "Very well, then."

He glanced at Mahrika for approval, and when she did not protest, he pulled his weapon from his hip. Taking aim at the chains which anchored the Ta-Toa in place, he pronounced his judgement: "Toa Kas, I hereby commute your sentence. Be wary that you do not make me regret this decision... and prepare for a rough landing." He began to fire, round after round slamming into the links at high speed. Sparks and shrapnel flew from the impact points, and the air was filled with the sound of the gunshots, echoing inside the enclosed space of the temple.

OOC: In case anyone had forgotten that Ollem has a gun. @Harvali @Unreliable Narrator

IC: Providence - Dead Forest

"Myself and my companions are more than capable of defending ourselves, should the goodwill afforded with your presence run dry," Providence assured the strange Mesi. "In fact, if it makes you more comfortable, I have a fair number of specifically non-lethal tricks under my sleeve."

OOC: @Nato the Traveler @Sparticus147 @Kal the Guardian @Vezok's Friend

IC: Barius - Fort Nektann

Carrying Stannis out of the secret garden, Barius took a moment to compose himself before he opened the door to the hallway where their companions waited.

As the door abruptly swung inward, those who had been waiting outside it could catch a brief glimpse into the room, though their eyes would more likely be on Barius, who had Stannis draped over his shoulder. Eyes unfocused and rapidly dilating, and face fixed in an uncharacteristically neutral expression, the lot might have suspected that combat had occurred between the two, were it not for the fact that neither Toa nor Skakdi bore any fresh wounds.

Barius had enough wits left about him to shut the door behind him, preserving his secrets from prying eyes. Though, he did not have enough to remember to lock it.

OOC: @EmperorWhenua @Conway @Sparticus147 @Crimson Jester @Nato the Traveler @Unreliable Narrator

IC: Barius - His Own Head / Fort Nektann

I drift in and out of consciousness for a time as I converse with the woman. It is a strange conversation, made stranger by the fact that I seem to be having it without speaking aloud. Nonetheless, it is quite pleasant, though I remember being quite frustrated for parts of it. I do not remember all of it right now, but that is alright: It feels as if beneath the words I exchanged with the woman, there was also an exchange of feelings, which was far more important and more lasting than the verbal portion of our interaction.

Eventually I find myself no longer in the endless void where I had been floating previously. The world spins around me, as if I am the center of the universe. Stretching my hand out in front of my face, I see it as a mere outline, which is filled with bones, blood vessels, nerve endings, ligaments and tendons. My vision power is on and out of control - at one moment the hand fills my sight, and at another I am zoomed so far out that it feels as if I am seeing from outside myself. I might normally be panicked by such a development, but in this moment I am calm. After all, why should I be concerned? The entire universe is in harmony with me; nothing could harm me in this state.

The couch beneath me has transformed into a bed, one which I slowly recall as having been in my new room. I do not recall how I got here, but I do recall that there was someone in this room with me. I also recall that we left three or so other individuals waiting outside the door, and it occurs to me that we had ought to reunite with them before they have been made to wait for too long.

It takes me some moments to rise from my reclined position, as I recall how to control my body-- with greater attention to the intricate details of it than ever before. When I am on my feet, I walk, like a teetering Skaklet, towards the secret chamber that we had earlier revealed. How long ago was that, I wonder? Seconds, or centuries?

I find my companion, my dear, dear friend, Stannis, laying in the late Boss' garden. He seems to be having a riveting discussion with some of the foliage. I set a shaky hand on his shoulder, and prepare to scoop him up, muttering my apologies to the plant I am depriving of its conversation partner. "Hey, we shouldn't leave your, uh, friend waiting." My voice echoes inside my head, and I grin at my own eloquence.

OOC: @EmperorWhenua

IC: Morangad - Le-Metru Nuva

Morangad seemed confused as the ritual progressed; the creation of the Kraata and subsequent infection of his mask was not what he had come to expect from a Desecration ritual. Nonetheless, he could not say that he did not feel newfound power rushing into him. He reached out and set a hand upon a dead tree limb that protruded from the swampy waters beside him-- at his touch, it shattered with an explosive crack!, blowing the log into several pieces in a shower of splinters.

This would indeed help him defeat Skakdi.

Turning his attention to his exhausted patron, he looked around awkwardly. She wasn't injured, so there was little he could do but to stand guard while she recovered.

"I am pleased with this power," he said. It was, essentially, a 'thank you'.

OOC: @Sparticus147

IC: Ollem - Ruins of Water

The Onu-Matoran frowned, exasperation evident upon his face. "Where is your home, and how do you intend to get there? Moreover, what will you do when you arrive?" If you arrive, he corrected himself in his head.

OOC: @Harvali @Unreliable Narrator

IC: Morangad - Le-Metru Nuva

Morangad stared silently as Apex approached him and asked him her question. He had known since he had met the Aspect that this moment would come; it was an inevitability of dealing with her kind. Whether the Aspect in question viewed the worm as a gift or a chain, anyone who committed themself to fraternizing with the darklings was bound to have a Kraata foisted upon them at some point or another.

He had refused them at various times in his life. Though they came with undeniable power, the Tiokaha knew that they brought on dire penalties as well, not the least of which was a lifelong bond to the Aspect who birthed the slug in question; a bond which he felt was invariably unequal, more alike to servitude than kinship. And yet, in this moment, he could not find it within himself to refuse.

With the arrival of these new legions of Toa, Matoran, and various other species that occupied the head to the north, vengeance against the Skakdi was within reach. Unlike with the abomination that had contacted him the other day, he would not hesitate in accepting Apex's offer. After all, better the devil you know than the devil you don't.

"I will accept," he stated simply, meeting the Aspect's bestial eyes.

OOC: Morangad is ready to get slugged. @Sparticus147

IC: Ollem - Ruins of Water

He scowled up at the Toa. The Administrator was making what sounded like fairly dire accusations of him - even if Ollem couldn't entirely understand them - and he didn't even really seem to be denying them, so much as attempting to deflect and distract from them. The bit about transferring power from the few to the many sounded nice, but he was being kind of vague about it. And going from the Administrator's words, it seemed like he had been part of the 'elite few' himself.

"You don't seem like a good Toa to me," Ollem challenged. In his experience, the term seemed oxymoronic.

OOC: @Unreliable Narrator @Harvali

IC: Barius - His Own Head

I float within an endless void, alone. My thoughts are muddled and my memories a hazy fog.

I know that I am Barius. I know that Barius is a Skakdi. I know that Barius is strong. Very strong.

I know many things about Barius, things which come together to form an overall sense of who this person called Barius, who I am, is. But there is also much which I fail to recall. And sitting here, dazed, I feel that there is much which I have never known, which is also a part of Barius. Of me.

As I experience these thoughts, I notice that the void I swim within is no longer empty. I now rest within an oasis of existence, within this stretching expanse of nothing. Not unlike the oasis in which Fort Nektann, and with it, Barius-Who-I-Am, resides.

Most notably, I am lying on a couch. It has been a long time since I have seen a couch that was not ratty. Beneath the couch there is a rug. It is made of woven fibers, rather than rahi hide. Also resting upon the rug is a good chair, which is occupied by a Skakdi woman. She is dressed like a Warskak, but she does not hold herself like one. She looks like my mother. I find this irritating.

She speaks. "It looks like you're undergoing substance-enhanced introspection. Would you like help?" Her voice is calm and warm. She sounds like my mother. I find this irritating.

I would like help. I try to sit up to glance at my surroundings. My abdomen pains me.

"You don't have to worry. It's just us in this space. No one will see you being vulnerable."

I frown, and remain silent. I cease my attempts to sit up.

"Good," the woman says. "Just relax. You don't need to be tough right now."

I am tough, I want to say. Before I can, she is already replying: "Toughness is not an inherent quality of one's physical being, but a social role which is sometimes performed. You have no one here to impress, and therefore you have no need to be tough right now."

I am silent for a time. I allow myself to sink into the couch, muscles relaxing. The void above me is now filled with tiny pinpoints of light, which twinkle in rhythm with the universe.

OOC: Barius' therapy session, part 1.

IC: Morangad - Le-Metru Nuva

Morangad accepted the disk graciously, nodding to the Matoran that had offered it to him in silent appreciation. As the group left him, injured Matoran in tow, he stowed the Kanoka on his back, before turning and trudging through the muck for one final task. The other presence still pulsed weakly in the darkness, its calm acceptance now indistinguishable from barely-conscious delirium.

Reaching the presence, he saw now that he had been correct. This one was another Matoran, impaled upon a branch that the storm - or the Tahtorak that brought it - had thrown to the swamp floor. Their entire torso was pierced through; there was no way even a group of the most talented and well-equipped healers could save this one, and they had come to terms with that fact many minutes ago. Walking up beside them, he grabbed their hand and squeezed tightly, so that their fading consciousness could actually register the sensation.

I'm sorry this happened to you, he communicated wordlessly.

The Matoran's thoughts didn't change much. Their response was nothing more than a weak uh-huh. They couldn't seem to formulate actual words, even in their thoughts. Their breathing was shallow, but fairly steady. Their heartlight beat weakly and with ever-increasing slowness.

Your friends are going to be alright.

There was a delay as the dying being processed the words, and then a spreading sense of relief and comfort. They sighed softly, and Morangad thought they might have breathed their last right then, before they inhaled another small gulp of air. Face expressionless, the Tiokaha stayed there by their side, holding their hand until they passed.

OOC: @Kal the Guardian

IC: Morangad - Le-Metru Nuva

Morangad opened his eyes, after having given his location psychically to the rescue party that was coming down to recover the Matoran. He was surprised to see the familiar form of Apex in front of him, delicately lowering the injured being from their perch, closer to ground level. Or, well, water level. He nodded once, serving as both greeting and thanks. "Hold them steady," he said. "I've summoned help from the village above." He gingerly reached out and squeezed a hand of the injured Matoran, voice taking on a more tender tone. He detected fear in their mind, fear of the massive Aspect holding them in her maw. "You're going to be alright. The being holding you is here to help."

Backing away from Apex and the wounded Matoran she held steady, he set himself to work, gathering materials from the surrounding area. There was plenty of driftwood and other assorted plant matter floating by him as the water that had surged upward with the storm flowed out of the area. Taking strong limbs and lashing them together, he started work on a makeshift stretcher that they could place the Matoran upon, once the healer had done all they could.

OOC: @Kal the Guardian @Sparticus147

IC: Ollem - Ruins of Water

Ollem calmed himself, releasing a breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Even though they were chained up against the ceiling, it still took a bit of courage to refuse the Toa's order and make demands of him. He turned to Mahrika. "Yeah, that could be." Bending down, he took another look at the code. "Looks like this code refers, specifically to a Great Disk of Regeneration, forged in Ga-Metru. At least, that's what the code refers to on Metru-Nui..." He straightened his back, brow furrowing. "Wait, weren't you unfamiliar with your disk when you found it? Strange that we'd find a code for one, here in this temple..."

OOC: @Unreliable Narrator @Harvali

IC: Ollem - Ruins of Water

The Onu-Matoran squinted as the imprisoned Toa continued to banter back and forth with the disembodied voice of the Administrator. "I'm not doing anything until someone tells me why there's a Toa chained up inside this temple. In detail."

OOC: @Unreliable Narrator @Harvali

IC: Providence - Dead Forest

"Well, now, we don't need to be mean to Tall Blue. He's been through a lot." Providence set a hand on Takadox's shoulder in support. "As for my reasoning for wanting to head underground, I would like to learn more about... their culture." He gave a heavily exaggerated wink to the warlord that only a blind person could have failed to notice. Thankfully, the person he was trying to conceal his motives from was, in fact, blind.

OOC: @Vezok's Friend @Nato the Traveler @Sparticus147 @Kal the Guardian

IC: Morangad - Le-Metru Nuva

Morangad began moving as soon as he detected the fading presences of the dying Matoran. He was no Toa, but a commitment he felt nonetheless to aiding the weak, as any decent being had ought to. Picking his way through the thigh-high (albeit receding) waters of the swamp, he carefully navigated towards the panicking presence. He had heard the thoughts of enough dying beings to know that the one which was at peace was already beyond saving.

As he was moving, his mind reached out-- not to the wounded Matoran to which he was trudging, but to one of the presences lingering near the elevator, in the tree-bound village high above. Send the elevator back down immediately, he spoke directly into their head. The tone of his psychic command was calm, but firm. You are about to receive a critically injured Matoran.

It was about this moment that he found the fading soul he was searching for. And it was also at this moment that an unexpected complication became apparent: The Matoran in question was suspended several bio off the ground, on a cluster of Banyan roots. They would be impossible to get to without climbing, and impossible to retrieve from their perch without a great deal of jostling. The Tiokaha could tell from the panicked thoughts of the Matoran that they had sustained a back injury, and he would need to avoid moving them roughly if they were to be saved.

With a curse, he contacted the same mind in the village above as he had spoken to moments before. If anyone in your village has healing powers, make sure they're on the elevator. Either way, also send several able-bodied and dexterous beings who can follow orders and operate well under pressure. This Matoran will need to be kept still as they are moved.

OOC: @Kal the Guardian

IC: Ollem - Ruins of Water

He started as the pair heard the clanging of chains above them, and craned his neck upwards. To his credit, he didn't go invisible this time. He nodded swiftly at Mahrika's speculation, but he was frowning as he did so. "You're right, but this code would correspond to a Great Disk. No one's seen one of those in ages. People debate whether they even really exist." He gestured toward the Toa. "In any case, we can sort that out later."

A Toa? Here? He wondered how long they'd been here. He wondered a lot of things, in fact, but there were only so many he could reasonably ask right now. A good one to start with: "Who are you?" The Toa had given a name - Kas - but that was unfamiliar to him, and said nothing. "How did you wind up here?"

OOC: @Unreliable Narrator @Harvali

IC: Providence - Dead Forest

Prov moved a hand to his chin in an over-exaggerated display of thoughtfulness, hmm-ing loudly as he did so.

"Would you mind if we accompanied you?" He finally asked, seemingly oblivious to the horror the question would no doubt cause his two companions. He was curious about the underworld, and about Spiriah. Moreover, he figured that there was safety in numbers, especially when one of their number was a member of the Mesi that represented the most ubiquitous threat in the deeps.

OOC: @Nato the Traveler @Vezok's Friend @Kal the Guardian @Sparticus147

IC: Ollem - Ruins of Water

Ollem glowered at the controls, wracking his brain trying to figure out the solution to the puzzle. If it didn't have to do with the Three Virtues symbol itself, then it must have had to do with the individual virtues. At least, the Administrator seemed to be prodding them in that direction.

He turned over the symbols in his brain, trying to find something to latch on to with any one of them, but he couldn't. So he moved on to examining the dials in front of him. Each of them had 8 discrete values... perhaps a combination? He tried entering in the number of stars in each constellation. Nothing. Then his mind turned to the words themselves...

Unity...

Duty...

Destiny...

...That couldn't possibly be it...

He turned the dials to the 5th, 4th, and 7th notches, respectively.

OOC: @Harvali @Unreliable Narrator

IC: Morangad - Le-Metru Nuva

The Tiokaha turned to face the voice that had called out to him. Bowing briefly, he thanked Beruv for her offer. "I am grateful," he said, "but I think I will spend the evening closer to the swamp floor. It causes me a great deal of distress to be among so many people." Even from the current distance, he could feel the many souls hanging far above him in the trees, weighing upon his mind with a constant pressure. Sleeping among such large groups always yielded horrid dreams.

Standing there while he watched the elevator ascend, he probed around the swamp floor with his mind, seeking out anyone who might have been injured and in need of aid.

OOC: @Kal the Guardian

IC: Barius - Fort Nektann

Barius huffed. "If it's been as long as you said, then you're many generations too late to hear any word of your friend."

He seemed amused as the Toa, whom he had never once seen nor heard of before in his life, led him through the halls of the fortress he'd lived in for decades. He reckoned this Stannis fellow could have just been walking aimlessly, but to what end? Unless he had gone dotty in his old age, Barius was beginning to think that the Toa might actually be leading them somewhere.

OOC: @EmperorWhenua @Crimson Jester @Nato the Traveler @Sparticus147 @Conway

IC: Barius - Fort Nektann

He chuckled. "Dead, by his own spawn. I understand he earned it, but that was before my time. Spawn shared the same name. I took over after him, didn't care to change it." He did not mention that the most recent transfer of power he'd just referred to had occurred the day before.

OOC: @EmperorWhenua @Crimson Jester @Nato the Traveler @Sparticus147 @Conway

IC: Barius - Fort Nektann

"I'm Barius. This is Drukarus," he gestured to the purple GSR-Skak, "Corrivalis," now pointing towards the Mimic, "and Parnassus," he finished, clapping his Aspect companion lightly on the shoulder. "The rest aren't important enough for you to know their names." If the other couple of Skakdi that were part of the welcoming party took umbrage with that assessment, they didn't show it.

OOC: @EmperorWhenua @Crimson Jester @Nato the Traveler @Sparticus147 @Conway

IC: Barius - Fort Nektann

Barius squinted, face full of doubt, confusion... and the slightest hint of awe, that suggested he was considering, to at least some extent, the possibility that the Toa was being truthful. As Stannis gave a promise of twofold-repaid courtesies, his customary grin returned. "Don't know about the rest of that, but that last bit is what I like to hear." His mind was working as he waved his hand, the gesture indicating his permission - indeed, his compulsion - for the pair to enter the fortress proper. The first thing that jumped out to him about the Toa's claims was that, if something truly had been waiting for him here for literal millennia, without having already been plundered by the generations of Skakdi raiders that called the fort home, then it was bound to be very well-hidden. If he could find it, then that would lend a great deal of his credence to his story. And if his story was true, then Barius suspected he had many more to tell.

"Tell ya what," he boomed, seeming satisfied with himself. "If what you're lookin' for really is here, then at least part of your payment can be in information." And if not, then you get booted out and I keep your ship, he finished in his thoughts.

OOC: @EmperorWhenua @Crimson Jester @Nato the Traveler @Sparticus147 @Conway

IC: Barius - Fort Nektann

The warlord's sneer lessened in intensity for a moment, as his attention was diverted by Drukarus' words in his ear, simultaneous with Parnassus' in his mind. The Toa was evidently from the giant head, if Drukarus knew of him. And given that Barius' Aspect patron was unfamiliar with this Korruhn, he, too, must have been from Metru-Nui. Barius, of course, had no reason to think that they did not have Aspects there.

Of course, all of that background information, while interesting, had little bearing on how the interaction would go, he suspected. The pair that had wound up at his gates seemed to want to do business-- or else they were asking for favors, in which case they were barking up the wrong tree-sized Skakdi. He reckoned he ought to establish the nature of the interaction now.

Putting on a more amicable grin (though with a sinister glint in his eyes), he elected to direct his words toward Stannis. Evidently he was enough of a big-shot to warrant speaking to; and, in any case, it was a good way to screw with the Aspect, who, as expected for one of his kind, was already posturing. "I don't recall anything being left here for pickup in recent history. Nonetheless, if it's here, we'd be glad to get it for you... provided we're given adequate compensation for securely storing it in the meantime."

He finally turned his gaze towards Korruhn... then past him, towards the wreck of the airship they'd taken here. Then back to Stannis. "As for your ship, we'd also be glad to haul it out of the sand. Whether we fix it up afterwards depends on whether you can offer us greater value for the job than we'd get from ripping it apart for scrap."

OOC: @EmperorWhenua @Crimson Jester @Nato the Traveler @Sparticus147 @Conway

29 minutes ago, Kal the Guardian said:

The images for them on BS01 makes it seem like they were part of some video game maybe.

IC: Barius - Fort Nektann

Barius shifted his weight between his feet as the gate opened, finally revealing who their latest visitors were.

A Toa and... an Aspect? Curious. The Skakdi's face assumed its natural state: A grinning sneer. "Well, well," he boomed, "ain't every day you see one of the exalted, do-gooding Toa, consorting with a demon. What brings such an odd pair to my gates?"

As he spoke aloud, his mind reached out to his own patron. Parnassus, do you know the darkling? He thought.

OOC: @Nato the Traveler @Sparticus147 @Conway @EmperorWhenua @Crimson Jester

IC: Morangad - Le-Metru Nuva

"Wait!" The Tiokaha called out, making his presence known. He had missed his opportunity; he had hesitated, and so time and the circumstances had made his decision for him. The entity was reduced to ash... or, most of it was, anyhow. There remained in the pit a single remnant of its form; one which Morangad feared might hold greater power than its appearance belied.

"Be careful with that," he called down to Sidra. He knew he was a stranger to her, but he hoped she would listen nonetheless. For some reason, having just been considering her murder, he now felt a sort of guilty sense of concern for her well-being. "I sensed an ancient and powerful presence within that abomination," he elaborated.

OOC: @Nato the Traveler @Kal the Guardian @Sparticus147 @Toru Nui

IC: Barius - Fort Nektann

Barius ground his teeth as the alarm was raised all around him. Quickly, he sighted the reason: A technologically-advanced airship, shiny and chrome, was speeding towards the general location of Fort Nektann. "One minute," he growled to the stranger with the hot rod, who had been approaching him, seemingly looking to speak with him. He craned his neck upwards, eye tracking the position of the bulbous airship passing overhead. His pupils dilated and his irises rotated as his vision power activated, magnifying his vision and allowing him to make out the intricate details of the approaching vessel. Curiously enough, he noticed two things: The airship only had a couple of people on it, and it only had one obvious weapon that Barius could make out.

But that was all he could see before the ship made its dramatic crash landing near the front gates. Free scrap, he thought to himself. Drukarus said some words next to him, but their meaning was lost in the heat of the moment. All Barius made out was 'Barraki Pridak', a name that meant nothing to him.

Already moving for the gate, he called out to the chaotic mass of Skakdi that was scrambling around him. "Be at the ready, but don't open fire! They don't seem hostile... yet."

Now separated from the Herculean strength of his ACR, Barius was forced to wait for the gatekeepers to operate the mechanism and open the gate. During that long moment, he activated his vision power again, and took a better look at just who had dropped out of the sky and into his front yard. To his surprise, he saw what looked like a pair of Toa preparing to disembark. He noted the vessel's ramp lowering into the sand, just before the sound of grinding gears brought his thoughts back to the gate beginning to move before him. Behind him, a small group of Skakdi had materialized. They held wicked weapons at the ready, faces locked in tense scowls; they knew none of the information that Barius had discerned, and had to trust in his order to hold their fire, rather than simply blowing the airship to smithereens from a distance. Trust was not easy for Skakdi, least of all the Warskaks.

OOC: We sure are getting a lot of visitors around these parts. @Nato the Traveler @Keeper of Kraata @Sparticus147 @Crimson Jester @EmperorWhenua @Unreliable Narrator

IC: Providence - Dead Forest

Providence clapped his hands together decisively. "Well, clearly we all have some interesting tidbits of knowledge to share with - or conceal from - one another. I, for one, am inclined to do so in a place where we aren't likely to be squished at any moment... I would be fine, of course, but it would be terribly inconvenient." He looked between each of the curious beings that had accumulated in this small clearing of the Dead Forest, waiting for one of them to suggest a better locale to continue their discussion.

OOC: @Vezok's Friend @Nato the Traveler @Kal the Guardian @Sparticus147

IC: Morangad - Le-Metru Nuva

Morangad stopped in his tracks as new information was deposited into his brain by the presence, which withdrew as quickly as it had come. The dialectical process of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis began within his mind: The obscene act requested of him, and the coveted reward that would be offered in exchange, versus the conscientious reluctance, the pre-guilt that immediately made him sick to his stomach. It remained to be seen, what new force would be born of their union, and what it might drive the Tiokaha to do.

Course changed, Morangad resumed his trudging through the swelling swamp waters. He was thankful that he wore such high waders. His new target was the pit in the center of the clearing, where a single figure gazed down at a hideous abomination that could give him everything he wanted.

His mind reached out to hers, not touching it, but merely gazing at the loose ideas that escaped it; the surface thoughts that could give away so little, or so much, depending on the moment you were looking at them. Part of him hoped she would be thinking about murdering children. It would make his decision much easier. But mostly, he just wanted to glean some understanding of what the thing in the pit was. Exactly what kind of being had planted its seed of perdition within his brain? What kind of being was he considering doing business with?

OOC: @Nato the Traveler

IC: Ollem - Ruins of Water

Time to try Mahrika's suggestion, then: Making the symbol for the Three Virtues, out of the three smaller constellations of the individual virtues. In order to do that, though, they would have to overlap somehow-- or else drastically change shape, which didn't seem possible given the controls available. Maybe they would line up when they were all in the right shape? They each seemed like they translated roughly to parts of the larger image, as Ollem remembered it.

He tried turning the center dial until Duty's constellation - the one with a single star buffered on either side by nebulae - was crisp and in focus, taking up the center of the image behind the waterfall. The left dial he tried to make blurry and out of focus, so that the six stars orbiting together would look more like the single blob that occupied the center of the Three Virtues symbol. The right dial he also made roughly in focus, somewhere in size between the other two, so that the two stars would orbit around the central blob while remaining inside the bounds defined by the pair of nebulae.

OOC: @Harvali @Unreliable Narrator