BULiK

BIG

IC: Vrill [Wise Man's Archive, The Backroom] "Maybe they were afraid of creating an army they couldn't control, empowering subordinates who could make a power grab. Antidermis isn't loyalty, it's corruption and decay - that cuts both ways." Vrill paused. "... or maybe they just didn't have enough antidermis or time to make their next move. Didn't want their Patero to go off at half pressure."

IC: Vrill [Wise Man's Archive, The Backroom] Vrill spoke rather openly - at this point the agent didn't care too much that Priicu was still here. They hadn't said anything tying their antidermis tangent to Skorm or the Kalta, so all this did was bring further credibility that Vrill and Muir were on the right side of the law, investigating signs of Makuta's influence, not internal political maneuvering. "The Turaga's legends never struck me as particularly applicable to my life, especially not my line of work..." the black Cy-Toa began, eluding an explanation of just what his line of work was. Priicu was in the room, after all. He slid his book across the table to Fenn. "But..." He leaned over and tapped on the relevant stanza. "...And betrayed him, casting a spell over Mata Nui' 'Who fell into a deep slumber.' 'The Makuta was free to unleash his shadows,' 'And unleash them, he did.' "Stannis isn't the first man who wasn't forthcoming with details on antidermis - what didn't the Turaga tell us?" Vrill leaned back in his crystal chair, letting the thought linger in the air. "Remember early in the war? Before the Kra-Toa, before Rahkshi, Parakuka - before the First Toa? Forests charred, hives swarming, tunnels flooded with lava, infection spread amongst the Rahi and sometimes even Matoran. It was always about poisoning the land to keep us in our Koros, making us fight the island just to survive instead of bringing the battle to him." "What if antidermis is the key to how he did that? Makuta always fought with influence, not soldiers. That influence never left - when he was defeated, he must have left behind that weapon for his most devout followers, like giving some matches and a keg of Stralix powder to a child. Maybe they just don't know how to fully use it yet." "We certainly don't know how to fight it, yet." Well, aside from Stannis, apparently.

OOC: This one turned out longer than I expected. Kinda bloated in some areas but worth just finishing up and getting out there at this point. Re: train heist crew, Quoribay coming to wrap up our interaction in Ko in ~days. Recommended listening: IC: Vrill [Wise Man's Archive, The Backroom] When Muir returned there was no evidence that in the intervening time, Vrill had even cracked open the book in front of him for a peek. As the Po-Toa studied intently, Vrill's mind was on the perimeter, reaching out with his element, feeling the ebb and flow of the occasional lightstone and heatstone of passers-by. He felt the invisible presence of the minerals as they meandered along what the Cy-Toa knew were the streets outside. Eventually, however, perhaps out of his own boredom, 'Syzygos' snuffed his cigarette in an obsidian ashtray of his own creation and began to actually do the work Priicu wanted - transcribing The Legend of the Bionicle from one of the archive's books onto Vrill's brand new collection of tablets. The process was almost an almost meditative affair. Pick up a slate, lay it over a page, and read. He would see the word underneath the clear crystal, and darken the crystal above it to create a perfect replica. Vrill didn't even necessarily need to understand what he was reading, it began to form an instinctual flow. There were no sentences, merely words in an endless fractal chain, much like was seen inside crystal itself. Each spiraling band of recorded thoughts unique, yet adhering to the unifying structure inherent to prose. Time. Was Vrill running out of time? When would Cyrix arrive? Time. Before. Did he remember what it was like before? Before the powers of his job? Before the powers in himself? Before. Time. How long had it been since he worked with a partner? Time. Vrill would occasionally glance back over his work, the repetition of clauses smoothing over any mistakes until perfection. The phrases had no meaning beyond their uniformity. 'In the time before time.' 'In the time before time.' 'In the time before time.' After confirming himself, Vrill moved on to the next phrase to repeat himself again and again and again. 'The great spirit descended from the heavens,' 'Carrying we, the ones called Matoran,' Matoran. Did Vrill know any Matoran, really? Korzaa? She was his boss. She was his greatest ally... but was she a friend? Where did respect end and trust begin? Did trust begin? He knew her from the system a united Matoran people created. Matoran. 'We were separate and without purpose,' Purpose. Vrill fought for the Matoran's Unity. That was his Duty. Preserve the integrity of their Unity. He had failed before and would not let that happen again. Was the Onu-Matoran Tarkhan a threat to that unity? Purpose. 'So the great spirit illuminated us' Illuminated. Did Vrill shine light on darkness? Or did the shadows only dance because of those who shone lights? Illuminated. 'With the three virtues:' Virtues. Was he on a virtuous mission? Or was this all, what, a thrill? Did Vrill's mission align with those virtues? What they stood for? Would he be too close to see the line? Virtues. ~~~ The pair worked well together, in that neither disturbed the other's focus or otherwise interrupted their entirely separate work. In record time, Vrill was keeping pace with the text, creating copy after copy, each mirror image creating a less comprehensible fractal of circular characters. When he was complete, the Cy-Toa aligned the stack of tablets, and his optics reflexively darted their focus across the first page once more as a final check. 'In the time before time,' 'The great spirit descended from the heavens,' 'Carrying we, the ones called Matoran,' 'To this paradise.' 'We were separate and without purpose,' 'So the great spirit illuminated us with the three virtues: 'Unity, duty, and destiny.' 'We embraced these gifts and in gratitude,' 'We named our island home "Mata Nui"' 'After the great spirit himself.' 'But our happiness was not to last.' 'For Mata Nui's brother, the Makuta,' 'Was jealous of these honors,' 'And betrayed him, casting a spell over' "Mata Nui..." 'Who fell into a deep slumber.' "V-"rill "Syzygos," Vrill's mind juggled its focus. His attention was stirred by his names, even moreso by them almost being used in concert. While he was nevertheless confused (annoyed, even) at the slip up, his optics continued to scan the last few lines as he listened to his partner explain. 'The Makuta was free to unleash his shadows,' "it's the Madness." 'And unleash them, he did.' "Antidermis is the Madness." "..." As if broken from a trance, there was a sizeable delay as Vrill silently turned to look Fenn in the optics. His expression was not one of shock or eureka, but a blank severity, like a Kikanalo that was deciding if it should run from or fight a predator. "Plausible." His amber gaze flickered to the book in front of him. 'Casting a spell over Mata Nui, who fell into a deep slumber.' Mata Nui was asleep, or so the Turaga's songs promised. The detective recalled something Stannis had said during Muirtagh's interrogation. "I would never have claimed to have vanquished... or destroyed... the Makuta. We defeated him. We put him into a place where he couldn't reach us so we could rest. But it wasn't a full vanquishing. Such a thing would have been impossible against something so powerful as Nothingness." Stannis's recitation of Makuta's words rung through Vrill's mind as if spoken by the lord of darkness himself. "You cannot destroy Nothing, but Nothing can destroy you." The madness was no ordinary plague. It was spread not through biotics but by special Kohlii balls hawked by a greedy vendor. Recovery was not as simple as disinfectant or building immunity through exposure. Even after Takua's news, those who ground their Comet balls to dust out of anger did not destroy the toxins. The destruction merely increased the potency, spreading the poison more effectively and making it harder to contain. Once aerosolized into dust, the disease could more easily take root in a Matoran's internals and decay them from within. By all accounts, it was a sickening way to go. 'Husked'. "Now... how can one hope to vanquish something so much a part of you? Something that exists in you and in everyone else you know?" A century later and people still shied away from the condemned quarry tunnel where the most exposed had been entombed. On occasion, Po-Koronans would check to ensure the site was still untampered. Never since has there been such a plague, though some copycats had tried to bring about their own poisonings. "The people of the world are Builders, but look into their hearts and you will find that they also have the power to destroy." After a few moments of contemplative silence, Vrill frowned. "Not plausible. Probable." Like Makuta, the epidemic had not been vanquished. In the end, the solution was that every tainted Kohlii ball in the Koro was rounded up and dumped at sea, their presence removed entirely. Only then did recoveries become the rule instead of the exception. "You cannot destroy me, no more than you can destroy the sea, or the wind, or the void. " The Madness, the Comet plague - or really, as Fenn had surmised, the Antidermis - was a force only the might of an endless ocean could salve. It could only be destroyed (as Stannis had described during the extaction from Skorm) by boiling itself away once separated from a host: once it had no outlet for its own destructive energy besides itself. Only Nothing can destroy it. "It's just as dangerous as Stannis warned; it's Makuta's original weapon."

IC: Quoribay [Obsidian Outpost, Mess Hall] I gracefully did not make Surdo pay for that slap on the back. "Oh, Surdo, you know - just the boring details." I began, glancing towards the heavily armed and armored Skakdi as he continued to steadily march towards Minnorak. “Hmmmmm.” "Now that everyone is here we can get to the fun part -," I continued as Baz and Minno sized each other up. "Can I help you?" Everyone was silent for a few moments, not even the two titans seeming to be sure of what their future accomplice was thinking. Then the next big wrench was thrown into the works. “This one... has tried to kill me before.” What were the odds a bunch of mercs would have been on the wrong side of a client at some point in the past century? "Ah, the hallmarks of true friendship," I said, playing it off. I had to undercut it by saying something stranger and less serious, not that I was sure Baz could even comprehend such comedic genius. The crew disintegrating was the last thing I needed. At the very least, this didn't add much complexity to my problem with Surdo and by extension Baz - if anything it strengthened the reasoning for Minny and I to watch each others' backs. "'Who among us', am I right?" I continued, tilting my head to Surdo in a shrug before turning to address Baszlin. "How does the Ga-Koronan saying go? 'Let he who has no impurity throw the first Madu'?" "This gonna be a problem? It looks to me by the fact that both of you are standing there that this situation's already resolved, and it isn't a problem." "Because if it is a problem then it becomes OUR problem," I said, splaying my arms out in a gesture to the assembled mass of mercenaries.

IC: Kreigero [Echelon's Lair] He's still focused on me? Kreigero thought as Aerus kept his complete attention on her, smirking with a strange intensity in his optics. What does that mean? Her thoughts shifted back towards Syrik as he spoke again. Kreigero stood her ground as the Toa approached with the bandages and disinfectant. In that split second she was struck with the realization that while yes, something about all of this still felt so so wrong, any action she made beyond the most oblivious would only make it worse. Showing explicit distrust of the Toa would do nothing but cause some unpredictable reaction, whereas taking the offer at face value (as was clearly more plausible than she initially believed before they had returned from the cave with the items in question) had a chance of maintaining the status quo, provided the Toa didn't make any provocations. All the trapper could do was be careful - watching closely while controlling her breathing and keeping her limbs slightly tensed. The biting cold helped to keep her on edge and alert, but she knew if the Toa made a move there was only so much she could do to react at such a distance. Or if this standoff dragged on for much longer. Her pains were at times sharp and yet constantly aching, but while her senses were numbed by the cold, she could still feel how wet the cloak wrapped around her forehead was. She reached out and took the roll of bandages in one hand and the disinfectant with the other, then gave a nod of thanks to the Toa.

IC: Kreigero [Echelon's Lair] With great discipline, Kreigero didn't take her eyes off of Syrik and Aerus as Savrehn spoke. She was surprisingly lucid, alertly watching for any of their actions. She would thank Savrehn for his input later, if there was a later for both of them. Maybe even thank Atamai for not screwing it up further, if such a thing actually happened. Her lack of elaboration continued unabated.

OOC: Syrik's a Big Guy IC: Kreigero [Echelon's Lair] The Ko-Matoran was surprised that the Toa wasn't lying about those supplies - perhaps she had misjudg- "Your Hapaka's gone." The huntress had become extremely aware that the Toa was looking to her - no, at her. The urge to shiver increased, but she fought it off with her spirit. She couldn't falter now. Must. stay. strong. Kreigero had tangled with Muaka many times in the past. She knew that apex predators guaranteed their success not just through their raw strength but by choosing their fights when they were certain it would be in their favor. It was known amongst those who roamed the drifts that if a Muaka chose you as its next meal, running away was not an option. Running was a last resort with no chance of success once you were any distance from civilization - the Muaka would always catch up, and the second you ran, you just became an easier, defenseless target. No, the only way to stop the Muaka was to puff your chest, wave your spear, and growl with the spirit of a Kane-Ra - show it that you would not go silently and it would pay dearly for encroaching upon you. Nonetheless, it occurred to Kreigero that she might have made a mistake - was sending Reyal away a show of force, or a sign of weakness? It all depended on how this unusual pair of hermits interpreted it. The more unpredictable of the two, in particular. Syrik had been nearly inscrutable until now and that worried Kreigero more than the frail Matoran who thought he was some kind of genius. "Yes," Kreigero confirmed, treating the Toa with some Ko-Koronan courtesy as she stared at him in a fruitless attempt to judge his reactions and predict his actions. Why does he look almost... pleased? IC: Quoribay [Obsidian Outpost, Mess Hall] I gave the next accomplice a nod. Karmine was another Ba-Toa I'd called out of the woodwork - I knew we'd need at least one or someone with a Pakari for moving the goods on this job, but I was particularly please at having both because that opened up so many options in our eventual plan. I knew nothing could prevent Karmine from being on the front lines on the next big fight - when he shifts into a his more rebellious personality I suspected he and Dolbren would become fast friends - and this bloodlust would be very useful since he was going to be taking some of the greater risks in the plan. In fact, he took quite well to it when I gave him the pitch because despite how dangerous it was (or perhaps because of it) his role was the thrillseeker's dream. But that's talking about the plan, I'll get to that later when I get to the part of the story where we actually go through with it and it all goes sideways, buuuuut that's a story for after another glass. Yes. You. Get me one. Don't worry you're not gonna miss the interesting part, you were already here when I told you about Surdo and Baz. Ah yeah, so where was I? The crew was really coming together. While some weren't able to make it (</3 Liacada) we still had more than enough on board to pull it off - barring any unexpected surprises popping up, but... we'll get to that.

IC: Nichou [Ga-Koro, Streets] The Onu-Matoran was considering the options that Ranok was listing when he noticed the musician's entire focus was at something over Nichou's shoulder. He turned around to see what had capture the attention of everyone else nearby - a dragon head sticking out of the water and looking into the Great Takea. "I've never seen that Rahi before... have you?"

OOC: Recommended listening: IC: Quoribay [Ko-Wahi, Obsidian Outpost, Mess Hall] So those guys I was talking about? Wasn't long before they started showing up. First was the signature tapping of an acquaintance who hadn't ever seen me before and never would - Skrol. Skrol was a solid pick for this this kind of caper because what he lacked in optics he made up for with crisply precise hearing that was my best shot - short of an Akaku - of finding what I needed once we got in the thick of it. Might be blind as an ice bat and as batty as Nuju was back in the day with all those annoying clicking noises he made, but if it worked, it worked. It helps to have someone on the crew who won't notice your optics rolling. At least, I think he can't. Anyway, he asked me what I had in mind and I was about to give him the rundown when our next puzzle piece walked through the front door with a smile. Dolbren was a prime example of the type of Toa that became commonplace after the First Toa fell but before Makuta bought the farm - easygoing guy with no qualms with kicking ### and looking for a paycheck. Independent contractor type, a real Xa-Koro type beat. In fact, I met him in the closest thing you could consider to Xa-Koro - Ko-Koro under Legacy control. Much like myself he was too savvy to believe the hype of those in charge and sign up to die for Echelon's pride, and we both managed to similarly bug out of town soon as the odds were against it. I'd been around Dol long enough to know he'd see this kind of risk as a challenge - nobody had ever done this before. Well, in this way, at least; there were a few false starts a ways back but they never went anywhere or went bad from the get-go. “You know, I’m glad I’m not late. I don’t know everyone here, and I’d rather make a good first impression. I’m Dolbren—” Ah, reminds me of the good old days, y'know? Not everyone used to be so uptight and 'introspective'. There was a time when we meant what we said and said what we meant, even though we didn't really understand what we were saying or meaning at the time. Not as many straight shooters today. I had that kind of attitude once, actually. You wouldn't believe the hijinks I got up to and how and why I did - but those are stories for another time - I'm nowhere near hammered enough to talk about those first few gigs of mine. That old school charm lifted my spirits - or maybe that was just what the Ba-Toa used his powers for. Oh yeah, as I was saying that he was saying: “—and I’m excited to work with you all. Though I fear you may have the advantage of me; you really weren’t very specific about this plan, Quoribay.” So introduced Dol to the rest of the crew "Dolbren, meet Skrol, our sound guy. Skrol, meet Dolbren. He lifts, among other things." In hindsight I maybe didn't need to point to Minnorak for the sake of introducing him to Skrol. "Minnorak here is our host at Obsidian Outpost who will help me seal the deal with our buyer afterwards, and provide muscle along the way." After racing through their introduction, I got the two of them up to speed rather quickly. "Still expecting a few more, but until they get here, I'll at least tell you the target: a self-propelled cart straight out of Nuparu's wackiest dreams. We steal it and drive away with any other tech goodies Po-Koro's shipping to Forsi." "Now, how do we do that? We'll go over that when the others arrive."

IC: Myhruk [Ta-Koro, Streets] A Su-Lesterin walked the streets of his city. After every intersection his stagger straightened and there was more of a drive behind his steps. Something was different about him. He couldn't shake the feeling himself. Not that anyone paid enough attention to him before to notice such subtleties now. This Lesterin wasn't big on friends - he got the job done and lived his life, any while there was as much living memory and pain in this Lesterin as the next being, it was only lately that he had begun wondering what was next. Times were changing. OOC: Myhruk, open for interaction.

I just checked and the server is still up. You must be having a client side issue - try installing your client or finding a different client download, preferably one that matches the checksums on darkflameuniverses's github repo. Haven't responded yet because I don't have an answer yet. I've heard it's possible to be modded in but I'll need to find the instructions for that and the time to implement it. If I can do that, yes, eventually.

oh my... that's.... perfect

This is due to the temporary change of BZPower's front page to be on bzpower.info, while those links point to bzpower.com. if you click a link and then replace the url with .info, the image will appear. As for it being outdated, I think that's just it being outdated.

It only took *checks watch* almost six months (:yeshoney:), but we're finally on the cusp of launching Mata Nui's greatest caper: robbing a train to steal the first cars ever. If you want to join in - yes, that means you - please get in touch with me within a week. Wait, what? Yup. Train heist + grand theft auto. On Mata Nui. You heard me right. Our characters will be legends, either through infamy of their success or the wild story of how it all went hilariously wrong. How are we going to pull this off? Well, Quoribay just elaborated a basic outline of a plan in a post in Ko-Wahi, but as with any good heist movie, that's not the entire plan, and we won't spend the entire runtime showing the characters planning the nitty gritty of the plan before running through it all. There are always those twists and turns that were planned ahead that instead, we get the joy of learning as the characters do them, with maybe even some flashbacks to that IC planning session. To emulate this and prevent a deadlock of posting, what we're doing is doing a little bit of OOC planning that summarizes the IC planning, and then immediately dropping our characters in media res as the heist (or any requisite prep, depending on the plan) begins. Pretty slick, eh? How do I get involved? I've left it open ended so anyone can still join in if they want to by saying that my thief Matoran Quoribay recruited them earlier on his way to Obsidian Outpost. Or hey, maybe they came to join the Outsiders at the perfect time, that's an option too. Just give me a heads up on the character you're planning to bring and, barring any major inconsistencies, you'll be clear to just show up and join in on the fun. If I don't hear from anyone within a week we'll keeping going with the characters we have on the heist crew so far.

IC: Quoribay [Obsidian Outpost, Mess Hall] So, then I told Minnorak about everyone I'd recruited thus far, taking care to mention that Baz might be loyal to Surdo, before we took a break. I forget exactly what happened next aside from that vodka not really getting any better the more I drank, and that it wasn't long before said accomplices began to show up. Don't worry I'm not going to go into the whole planning process, but meeting the crew has some things that make it a story worth telling, and you'll see why later. OOC: Gonna give space for people to show up. No rush but no reason to delay anymore.

IC: Quoribay [Obsidian Outpost, Mess Hall] Minny was more amenable to the idea than I feared, but less than I hoped. The honesty laced in his response was a good sign, and I considered that a win, overall. All of this was quite the risk but what was even riskier was going into the heist without something watching my back. "Exactly - this is a contingency, and why I have to be able to trust you on it." "I get it, it's not my first option either, but this guy - Surdo - has crossed me in the past, and when I had the misfortune of being spotted by him on the way over, he butted into this plan with some threats on the delusion that I owe him for a debt long paid. I doubt the threats he made then are the last I'll see." "Point is - keep your eyes on him, and there might be some parts of the plan that we'll have to hide from him and anyone he brings. When the day comes, be there if he tries to throw me under the tracks. Either way, we'll want to make a scene of the train car in question to keep detectives guessing while we make our escape - but if he gets caught in the blast I'm not concerned."

IC: Quoribay [Obsidian Outpost, Mess Hall] "Of course - I wouldn't be assembling a crew here if I wasn't confident I knew the details," I said, mostly correct. I had plenty of time to walk him and the others through the docs I had later on, but in general, I knew what was up. But the next part was even more awkward. "However, there is one complication. Those partners I told you about? I've got a hunch one of them is gonna try to cut me loose the soonest chance he gets, and I need to know you're with me on setting him up to take the fall for us. Best way to ensure that we aren't tracked back home? Make it look like we never made it out to begin with, solve the case for the Sentinels so it never picks up steam. And to do that, they'll expect some of us in the wreckage. A bit harsh, I know, but it's necessary and it means more of a split for the rest of us." "Two Taku, one Kohlii ball." Yeah I'm never getting that image out of my head. You know that I was AT that Kohlii match? The surprise on Joske's face when - yeah, you all have heard the expression, you know how it ends.

IC: Myhruk [???] Fire. Myhruk felt it in his lungs. The flame within his chest was snuffing itself out, choking on its own ash as the oxygen in his chest was all but consumed. The blue glow of his optics lit imperfections in the water floating around him. Soon the moon's glow would drift out of sight and that would be the only light to remain. The borders of his vision became darker as he sank deeper, and then darker still, as if the water was crushing all light. When all hope was lost, after Myrhuk expelled the last of his breath in a reflexive crumpling of desperation, the Lesterin of plasma could still a light growing to meet him. At first he thought this was it. This must be a gateway to a heaven he couldn't quite remember the name of, but he soon realized the darkness remained - he felt the edge of death in his vision, promising to swallow his inner light whole. In a panic, Myrhuk flailed his arms upward at the light, and he could faintly see a splash and a silhouette before he heard the sharp fractal noise of glass shattering as the darkness swallowed him whole. Optics shot wide open, Myrhuk shook his head and grabbed at his chest. He put a hand to his face to feel something strange, only to wipe off the residue of the puddle of drool he had made for himself during his slumber. He noticed a noodle shaped drool trail leading off the table and ending in half a bottle on the floor. His arm was wet - he wiped it off on the seat cushioning. "Hey, you - you're finally awake?" A gruff voice said from across the room. Myrhuk knew it but he could hardly mumble a response. It looked like he wanted to but couldn't. "About time you head home, kid. This may be an inn but that's not a bed." Myhruk gave a silent nod to the bartender before staggering through the swinging double doors and onto the streets of his home. He took a deep breath, and felt comforted by the warmth of Ta-Koro's hot, sulfur smelling air.

OOC: Recommended listening: IC: Quoribay [Obsidian Outpost, Mess Hall] "I've acquired some manifests of Iron Mahi shipments," I began as I finished the handshake. Yes, I'll explain the big reveal when we get there, gimme a break - and get me another drink, this story isn't going to tell itself! "Po-Koro's been testing some new piece of advanced tech their lab boys in their research co-op have been cooking up for a while. It's in the final stages of development, and they've been keeping it under wraps - state secret and all." I leaned in with that little sparkle in my eye when something I'm about to say something really cool. "But I got in. Spliced their network grid," - yes, I know what those words mean. Shut. Up. - " and spied on 'em for a while, long enough to know what it is, and how important it'll be." "This gizmo, it's like a... cart that moves without needing an Ussal to pull it. Instead it uses electricity, but it doesn't have to run on rails like the Iron Mahi. It'll revolutionize transportation, militaries, shipping - massively increase the speed of inter-koro trade. We steal this prototype, any Koro or inventor - or inventor who runs a Koro - will want a peek to reverse engineer it. And Po-Koro can't explain it's stolen because nobody else knows it exists yet, and a public manhunt revealing it by saying they lost one would be awful PR for the big prize of their research initiatives." "Since it's so under wraps, the Iron Mahi has been shipping it from the tech centers to proving grounds outside the public eye. All we need to do is sneak aboard and drive it out of there and they'll be none the wiser. Nobody would expect a robbery on the Iron Mahi when it's in the middle of the desert with no means of escaping or transporting goods out of there, and that's what makes it perfect: we steal this and we have the escape vehicle to haul any other bonus goods we find along the way. We'll be cruising out of sight across the Motara within a five minute window before the sentinels are able to call in the cavalry."

IC: Quoribay [Obsidian Outpost, Mess Hall] Yeah, that's why it was so empty. "I thought you were the Outsiders," I quipped. "Not the Outsider." Actually, in a sense, I lucked out - less help, less ways to split the difference, more of a cut for me. Kept control of the job under my fingertips and prevented it from becoming their sideshow. Despite that upside, I still wanted some more leverage that his allies could provide. "I've already outsourced a few members of the crew, actually, so I can work with this. Told 'em to meet me here so I could hash out the plan before the window closes on us. But if you can find some others quickly, that would be preferred." I'd tell him why in a moment, but I had to get his confirmation first. This is when I sat up straight, offered a handshake to the Big Guy and gave him The Look™. "So are you up for the score of a lifetime? We'll be legends, once they realize what we took."

OOC: Yeah, bad timing on my part. Took me way too long to get around to this, march was busy. But we're here now. Time to keep the momentum up. Also, quick vibe check. IC: Quoribay [Obsidian Outpost, Mess Hall] This guy was, as I told him at the time, "Perceptive!" Now, this Vort had the look of someone with authority, but also that classic sneaky look, y'know? Don't read too much into that you know what I mean. I've worked with plenty of Vortixx over the years don't even think abou- So point is, he wasn't talking out of nowhere, and I knew it. He saw my rugged good looks, devilishly heroic charm, and #####slaying swagger and instantly knew I meant Business with a capital B. Also, Hindsight's 2000 and all, but maybe he knew that Matoran were more likely to be giving 'im problems to solve than becoming mercs to solve 'em. In a twisted poetic way (as I often am) I was truly breaking the mold here (as I often do) by doing both at once. So I took a seat at the bar (great seats with lots of room! better than this ####in' place) besides Minny and - and can I just say, how perfect is it to have your own bar in your base? Karz, if I had that, I'd never leave! Except to refill the kegs i guess but that's where the hired help comes in - if you can afford your own bar, you can afford the butler or the beer pipeline or whatever to restock it. Anyways I took a seat down at the bar and reached into the crate of bottles my boy Minno graciously left for me on the countertop and poured myself a glass I talked. Assert dominance like I always do, you understand. "My house, your house". Or is it "your house, my house"? Point is, I was in his house but I made the ultimate gesture of partnership and respect - acting like I owned the place as much as he did. "I need more muscle for a score I've been casing. Risky, but worth it - it's not a pile of widgets, but the kind of one-of-a-kind wonder gizmos that would make Nuparu (Or Tarkhan) blush." Unfortunately it was hard to see whats inside of Toa-sized crate of various liquors from where I was seated, and in order to maximize my dominance assertion I didn't get to be picky on what I pulled out. The vodka they had? Well let's just say it's memorable because I still remember how I felt afterwards. After my throat recovered from that shot I finished my dramatic pause to continue the offer. "You and your fellas up for that kind of work still?"

I'm unsure of the exact block yard issue you're having - some have had esoteric loading issues in the past but ??? - but I have reset the server so perhaps that helped matters?

IC: Vrill [Ko-Koro, Wise Man's Archives, The Backroom] Vrill sat silent in his solitude, savoring the calm before the storm. After a time, he cracked open the book that Priicu had asked him to transcribe and nonchalantly flipped through a few pages before closing it. Huh.

IC: Nichou [Ga-Koro, Streets] At the mention of an inn, it was as if Nichou's legs finally spoke up about how long they had been without a reprieve and his internals growling at how long since he had been refreshed. "Excellent idea," the Onu-Matoran asked his companions. "Know any good places?" The first time visitor was too busy taking in the unique architecture to have any opinions on the quality of the local establishments themselves - Sigrus and Ranok were much better traveled when it came to the port city, and the carpenter trusted them to decide where lunch would be had.