BZPRPG - Onu-Wahi

[Palm]

IC: Tio - Onu-Wahi

 

"Tsuda's right," I began, "There isn't really any good way to tell how far we are from... whatever's down there."

 

I paused for a moment to say, "Could Lehti head down the stacks to see how deep it is?" I looked to Lehti as if to see how she thought on the matter.

[Perp]

IC: Jettix

Jettix never understood why people said Onu-Koro was quiet - how there was a hushed, sort of ominous atmosphere. Some of them told him the shadows muffled everything.

Hah, he thought.

 

They'd obviously never been to Onu-Koro in the first place. Or they'd known someone who'd known someone who'd known someone who may or may not have actually been there, some description of the place passed down from superstitious Matoran to exaggerative Toa to demented Turaga to some moron who'd never set foot underground in his life.

 

Onu-Koro was the loudest Koro on Mata Nui for karzsake.

 

If the constant bustle of barter and trade around the marketplace, the din of machinery constantly running in the background, the clack-clack-clack-ing and drilling of miners and the clatter of Ussals making their way around aren't all enough, you've still got the fact that the acoustics of this place make everything reverberate like an overly-stimulated Le-Matoran.

 

those people who said this place was quiet.

 

Jettix couldn't catch a nap or imagine how anyone else who didn't live here could.

 

He stepped out of The Spade and Stone.

If he couldn't sleep, he'd walk.

Passing the Grand Bazaar, the aging Su-Toa made his way through the underground village, his eyes eventually resting on the monolithic Onu-Koro Bank.

Y'know, here they wouldn't call him a 'thief' or an 'ex-con'.

They'd call him a 'Class C'.

He didn't like the sound of that.

His eyes narrowed a bit, focusing on the fortified building, his lips twisting into a bit of a smile.

He hoped they'd soon call him a 'Class B'.

OOC: Open for interaction.

[Makuta Miras]

IC: Kajak (Onu-Wahi)

Part 1, Book 1, Chapter 1

 

Kajak shook his head, rain cascading down the sides of his mask. "They're smokestacks. Most likely, it would get too hot down there for you, Lehti. Wait- Akili, you have an Arthron, right? You could use that to check the distance down- and unless it's super noisy down there, you should be able to get a fairly accurate reading."

[Nato G]

IC: Akili.

 

"I can try, but I don't really know what the range is on this thing." Akili admitted. The last time she'd gotten the mask working had been by accident, but after a few moments, her mask power flared into life, and a vague image began to form, only for it to be ripped apart be a barrage of noise that echoed up shaft. 

 

She stumbled backwards, reeling from the onslaught. She shut off her mask. "Whatever's down there, it's very loud." 

* * * 

 

IC: Lash - Workshop.

 

Lash noticed a lot of people were no longer in the workshop. She'd heard some mutterings about refugees earlier, but she had no idea what was happening. She approached on the guards." Where is everyone? What's going on?" 

Edited January 5, 2015 by Roman Torchwick

[Toatapio Nuva]

IC Kavala

(Onu-Koro, Ussalry HQ, prison):

 

Kavala turned at Danaku. After a while of pondering, he replied "I would most certainly appreciate help. Going to the Vault is easy, but it's occupied by six powerful Skakdi so don't expect to gain much power yourself... still, I can show it to you if we ever get out."

[Daniel the Finlander]

IC: Lehti (Onu-Wahi)

 

Lehti seemed to be the only Toa Akari who actually enjoyed the rain. She let the water flow on her skin freely and soak her entire body, her eyes closed and her head raised toward the sky. When Tio suggested that she would fly inside the smoke stacks, she chuckled, opened her eyes and nudged Tio lightly on the shoulder after Kajak rejected her idea. "Do you really think I would enjoy the smell of burning, rotten corpses of plants, or coal as you plain-dwellers call it? Or well, at least I hope that they're burning coal. Otherwise...", she glanced at Kajak, "...actually, nevermind." She then turned to look at the rest of the team. "Any of you want some protection from the rain, by the way?"

 

 

IC: Danaku Ran (Onu-Koro prison)

 

"Good. Thank you, Kavala" he replied with a slight, grateful bow. "Silo, I assume that you won't come with us to the Vault?"

[ARROW404]

IC: Kehuri - Lash's Workshop

A messenger had come by to deliver him news. He'd been looking nervous for the last half hour or so. When Lash asked what was going on, he sighed. "Makuta worshipers have attacked Ko-Koro. They actually succeeded in driving everyone out."

[Dallior]

IC Wekar:

 

Wekar cursed after he missed the Akiri, then trodded back to his group in the cafe. As he entered, he saw them meeting with a man with a... paintbrush? Broom? Whatever. "Hello, there!" Wekar shouted to the group. "So, when do we leave to liberate Ko-Koro?"

[Specter Knight]

IC-Arkhal

 

"I've been thinking about it, and I recon it's too risky. We might get the entire Legacy after us, and before you can say 'Help us Mata Nui', Onu-Koro would be overrun! Of course, If we could find a way to distract them, maybe we could sneak in disguised as bad guys... What do you think?"

[Nato G]

IC: Lash - Workshop.

 

"They what?" Lash was surprised, somewhat. From her brief visit to Makuta's Vault she knew they had the resources to attack a village, but she didn't realise that they'd had the numbers to pull off a full-scale invasion. "But where did everyone go?" 

[Flex Lord Splash]

IC Wekar:

 

Wekar cursed after he missed the Akiri, then trodded back to his group in the cafe. As he entered, he saw them meeting with a man with a... paintbrush? Broom? Whatever. "Hello, there!" Wekar shouted to the group. "So, when do we leave to liberate Ko-Koro?"

 

IC: Crystalia

 

"Wait, you want to liberate Ko-Koro, we're going to need a lot more people for that."

[Dallior]

IC Wekar:

 

Wekar frowned, and asked, "Is the Akiri in captivity?" 

[Banana Gunz]

IC: Orphos- Cafe in Onu-Koro

 

Orphos turned Wekar with a grim expression.

 

"My friend, I don't know if that karz'd place even has an akiri anymore. And this talk of liberating Ko? Insane. At least the way y'all are going about it. Think: it would take an army to get back Ko and defeat these evil forces and whoever this 'Echelon' thinks he is. I appreciate your bravery, but this is not a mission for a single team. This is a war for entire legions. I don't know what the plans are, but from the looks of it this is something the whole island needs to get in on."

 

Orphos' face scrunched up as he put his fingers around the bridge of his nose. This is too much... too much tactics, too much politics, too much war. Will we ever see peace?

[Flex Lord Splash]

IC: Crystalia

 

"I agree with Orphos on this one, that is a choice for whole Villages to make not us."

[Dallior]

IC Wekar:

 

Wekar sheepishly hoped the rest of his team realized it was a joke.

 

"Then, should we just go on an adventure like we originally speculated?"

[Flex Lord Splash]

IC: Crystalia

 

"If we really do want to help Ko-Koro, maybe we should still go to Ko-Wahi... but go to Ihu-Koro." Crystalia said. "See if any of the refugees that must have gone there need any help or if they need help fortifying the village." If Ko-Koro could fall to Echelon then so could Ihu, that place had heavy security. Still maybe they could slow down the raiders if they came for Ihu next.

Edited January 6, 2015 by Flex Likes Groot

[Light]

IC: "I can manage them from here," Tarn said, sitting down and smiling, snapping his fingers. A single spark jumped from the fire in response. "Just have to give it fuel."

His eyes conveyed genuine shock as they talked about Ko-Koro. "The city fell? I suppose... I suppose I should get out and about more. I don't hear much down in the furnace room."

[Dallior]

IC Wekar:

 

"I agree with Crystalia." Wekar says, as he orders another drink. As he takes another swig, he asks, "But how will we get up? Ta-Koronians may not trust us right now."

[Flex Lord Splash]

IC: Crystalia

 

"You mean you don't think they won't let us use the cable car? I guess we could scale some mountains if we had too." she then glanced at Tarn. "Say he's a Ta-Toa, you said you want to get out more? Why don't you come with us? Help convince the Ta-Matoran to let us use the cable car?"

[ARROW404]

IC: Kehuri

"Well, there's a number of refugees that came here. My guess is they're out helping them, or sharing their concern with others."

[Nato G]

IC: Lash - Workshop.

 

"I see..." Lash said, "...very well, then. More space for me to work, I guess." 

[Shadowhawk]

OOC:

VILLAIN FORCES +1

A'ight, ladies 'n gents, let's see how this rolls.

IC: [ Hammerlock ] - Onu-Wahi / Northern coastline

So let me tell y'all a little somethin' straight off, r-r-real short an' blunt. Just so the shock of revelation ain't so terrible later on.

Like, the shock later on when you're flyin' headfirst off a sixty-story skyscraper with my cold, dark, and not-so-crazy laughter echoin' in your ears.

And then you hit the pavement (ooooh boy ouch I'm sure glad that wasn't me) and splash your brains across the whole ###### street. And my first thought is 'well now... whaddaya know that's one less stupid little punk I gotta share the air with'.

I think that makes it clear enough, hmm?
 
Mebbe not. Knowin' your kind.
 
News flash, baby. I work for the Dark Side.
 
It's my dream job. I absolutely loooove it. In fact, I love it so much, it's actually more like a hobby!
 
Only sometimes I get a paycheck.
 
awahahahahaaa
 
...

So when I wash up half-dead on a black sandy beach at the stroke of midnight in the pourin' rain, I just think of it like a major job relocation.
 
No I'm not gonna tell you where I worked before, or how I got here. It's a secret. Or maybe I just don't know. Maybe I forgot, like every other unlucky sap who washes up on an unknown exotic isle full of wild beasts, magic masks, and hot warrior babes.
 
Maybe everything I say is actually a lie, ha ha.
 
Lightning crackles in the sky, branding shadows on the rocks. I think I was drowning at one point, but not anymore. Now I'm half-swimming, half-sobbing, every last ounce of my rawwwther significant muscle mass turned to searing jelly around my nerve endings. There's air in the water and water in the air, and my chest feels absolutely like I'm gonna die.
 
Oh gods it's been a nightmare. And lemme tell you, I don't scare easy.
 
But there's slick black boulders under my hands now, and I can smell the damp earth and pine trees on the ocean wind. Everything is really dark, but my eyes are full of saltwater and pretty much useless anyhow. Swollen shut, like. From the pain or something. I pray numbly to Makuta that there's no permanent damage... a bruiser like me needs his vision.
 
I lever my way over the last barricade of rubble between me and the solid ground. I smell blood now. I think it's mine.
 
Got cut on a rock or a coral or something. Can't feel a thing. Everything hurts.
 
The waves slap at my combat boots. For some stupid reason I'm still in full body armor. But the backpack's gone, thank the Dark Lord. Helmet's gone. I can make it up beyond the tide line. I'd better, 'cause the ocean doesn't let go easy once it gets a death grip.
 
Brace, shove, rinse and repeat. Sand digs into my face. I can barely get my skull up off the ground.
 
There's a warm wind blowing, but everything's wet and it feels cold instead. Just my luck. All those battles behind me, all those battles yet to come, and I die of hypothermia on a tropical island. Dad gum, ding blast it.
 
I keep moving in a daze. My thoughts don't make sense, even to me, but I keep moving.
 
Keep... moving...
 
...
 
<insert eternity>
 
...
 
I crawl... wriggle... inch my way forever and ever and ever and finally I can feel the sorta dry pine needles sticking to my hands and I know I'm safe. But I can't quit yet. I'm still out in the open forest, exposed and vulnerable despite the twisted scraggle of pines all around.
 
Vulnerable? Ha ha ha. Don't remind me.
 
I crawl on and after a while I fall over the edge of something and land in a narrow little drainage gully. It's only maybe two or three feet deep, but in my condition, it's the end of the road. It's full of mud and rubbish. Leaves, bark, ferns and bits of grass. I reach up and drag my hands over my surroundings, acquainting myself with the shape and feel of them, knowing that I'm stuck here whether I like it or not and I'd better hope I'm hidden well enough.
 
'Else the Kavinika might come out and eat me alive.
 
Fun times.
 
But it's still raining hard, and it'll cover my trail. Smash the dirt streaks, rinse out the gouges in the earth. Scent of blood might be a problem, but all I can do is pray the water keeps a-comin' down.
 
I do. I don't remember the words exactly, but it goes something like... 'O you lousy filthy stinkin' conniving eldritch god of darkness who got me into this in the first place, you'd better make sure I come through it safe and sound or I'll thoroughly wring your sorry neck when I meet you in the afterlife.'
 
Somethin' like that. Short and respectful but mostly honest. And then, because there's nothin' more I can do, I fall straight into a sleep

s o  

 
d  e   e  p
 
i  t
 
 
 
c     o    m   a

Edited January 7, 2015 by Shadowhawk

[NorikSigma]

IC: Arabeth

 

Mata Nui, what a mess.

 

She did her best to help the refugees, catching sight of Ferron, the old(duh) Turaga, talking to a refugee and a Onu-Matoran who raced off somewhere. Ishi had tasked her with finding more about him.

 

That means talking to people, she grimaced.

 

Well, he looked fine enough. Arabeth approached the smith.

 

"Hello mister. Do you need any help here?"

 

Stupid, stupid. Sounds so condescending.

 

Too late, the words were out.

[Geardirector]

IC: Ferron (Ferron's Forge)

 

Ferron looked up, quickly recognizing the Toa of Lightning, scanning the nearby area quickly for her Matoran associate, Ferron returned to looking at Arabeth.

 

"No, I don't, but these people do" Ferron said, as he stood up. Even as a Turaga, Ferron was never going to let go of what had made him in the first place, these people needed help and compassion and that he was very capable of giving.

 

"Please, if you can, help me find more refugees to attend to, these people need to be sheltered and healed as soon as possible"

[silo]

IC: (Silo/Onu-Koro prison)

"I...might." He sighed. "But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. We need to work out how to escape first...I've been here almost two weeks; that must be a record."

[Makuta Miras]

IC: Kajak (Onu-Wahi)

 

"If you could somehow shelter us from the wind, then that would be great, Lehti. I'm fine with the rain, but a certain someone-" he flicked his head towards Tsuda, who was beginning to look like a rat that had jumped into a river, got out, jumped in the sea, got out again, and was now feeling sorry for itself . "-would probably like a roof over his head." 

Another flash of lightning lit up the darkening landscape like a lamp from the sky being turned on, allowing Kajak to spot what looked like a cave entrance, some way off. The darkness seemed unbearable after the flash, but as the Po-Toa turned to face his teammates, he said in an excited voice, "Wait a second! That's a cave over there!"

 

OOC: Akari players, feel free to move us over and down into Onu-Koro.

[Shadowhawk]

IC: [ Hammerlock ] - Onu-Wahi / Northern wilderness

So yada yada yada after a while I wake up and realize I'm still alive.

Oh happy day!

Then I realize everything still hurts like ###### and it's still nighttime and it's raining harder than ever and the drainage gully is running a entire ###### river down my neck and it's already flooded my armored vest with ten pounds of cold mud and jungle sludge.

Pine forest sludge. Whatever.

But there's a strength in my tendons now that wasn't there before, and I cuss a little and peel myself out of the muck and get to my feet. I stagger and fall, almost, but I swing out an arm and snag a tree trunk and steady myself until I think I can cope.

Rain drips off my skull and down my face and splashes on the ground. My eyes hurt, but not so bad as before, and I can see again. So I think they'll be all right.

It's dark. Visibility maybe... ten, twenty feet. Half that, if you're not trained for night ops.

I breathe in deep. Bruised ribcage, maybe a few wrenched muscles, but nothin' feels busted permanent. The cool night air clears my head a little, and I contemplate my next move. After a direct, feral fashion. Which seems appropriate to the situation.

I can't move or scout the surroundings until daylight. I'll have to stay put for a while yet, which is just as well. It'll give me time to rest a bit more, build up my lost energy reserves.

I'll need water after a while, but it's not an immediate concern. My body's maintaining internal temperature well enough on its own; no immediate need for fire either. And I've gone for days at a time without food; I can do it again if it comes to that.

Defensive measures. Immediate and only real concern. I'm a stranger here; I don't know this land. Don't know what it can do, don't know what's out there, out there, just beyond the restless haze where the village firelight hits the cool deep shadow.

Sounds mighty poetic, until you're out there among 'em.

My right hand moves to my belt, and it's with a distinct sense of relief that I feel the battered wooden hilt of my heavy survival knife, still sheathed securely in place. It's a big wicked blade, and I know what I can do with it and it doesn't make a pretty picture. Not at all.

And then of course there's my--

Oh wait. Secrets. Yeah.

...

yeah baby got an ace up my sleeve


I smirk into the darkness. Then I curl up under a tangle of scrub juniper, true soldier-fashion, and grab me another forty winks. And who knows? These forty could be my last.

But I doubt it.

Edited January 8, 2015 by Shadowhawk

[NorikSigma]

IC: Arabeth/Dervish

 

"Don't worry, I will."

 

Arabeth scanned the surroundings. Most of the refugees were tired and hungry, but her biggest concern was she saw in their eyes: fear. She understood why. After all, she had fought against the elite Echelon group, albeit with a lot of others too.

 

"You have experience in healing?"

Edited January 9, 2015 by Tenth Norik

[Not Quite Dead]

IC Tsuda

 

As soon as the cave entrance was illuminated, the miserable Ta-Toa was sprinting for it. Good thing for him that the Mask of Sensory Aptitude helped with touch and balance, otherwise he would've slipped several time

 

Putting him in contact with the ground

 

The cold and wet ground...

 

Collapsing into the mouth of the cave, he soon struggled to a sitting position. Conjuring a small orb of flame to heat him and light the cave

 

Out of the rain and illuminated by the comforting incandescent flame,he quickly snapped back to his normal and less motivated mindset

 

"Its definitely a cave!" He called back to the other Toa, "no cavebears!"

[Nato G]

IC: Akili - Cave.

 

Akili entered the cave next, using her Arthron to discern that there was indeed nothing else in the cave with them. It wasn't that she didn't trust Tsuda, it was just that... okay, yeah, she didn't completely trust him.

[ARROW404]

IC: Aar - Prison

"Enough chit-chat, ladies," Aar called to the talkative inmates as he approached. "Now which one of you is Danaku?"

[Daniel the Finlander]

IC: Danaku Ran (Onu-Koro prison)

 

He turned to look at the Matoran guard, and after a moment of silence replied "I am. Or at least that's what your colleagues told me." Danaku tilted his head to the side slightly. "What do you want?" His tone was cold, but not unfriendly, and somewhat curious.

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

"You think I did the right thing, leaving John in charge?"

 

Maybe no one would notice.

 

-Tyler

[sunflower]

IC: Dehkaz

 

Dehkaz raised an eyebrow at her comment, and gave a small shrug.

 

"John's about as qualified as one can get for the position, I think it's fine."

 

"Not like anyone's going to be able to slip anything past him without getting a signature."

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

"I think I did the right thing, too."

 

John knew how to play hardball.

 

-Tyler

[Shadowhawk]

OOC:

Suggested listening (just because I feel like it):

(I've not much practice at linking YouTube; hope it works.)

IC: [ Hammerlock ] - Onu-Wahi / Northern wilderness

When I wake up the second time, there's a cold light of morning filtering hazy-like through the fog. The clouds are still drifting, but the rain has stopped and the wind only stirs a little now and then through the trees.

Condensed moisture drips from the pine needles. Splat-splat-splat.

I roll to my feet, shake myself like a half-dead, crippled dog, and sneeze.

I feel absolutely terrific as . Relatively speaking, I mean.

But I'm alive, intact, and the day is young and I'm here to see it happen. So I'm only complaining a little.

First things first. I need to know what I can handle physically, see if there's any weak spots in my body that I need to be aware of. So I do a few basic stretches and a couple push-ups, just to make sure everything's in working order. It hurts, but it's a stiff, superficial sort of pain, which is good. Means I'm healing.

Then I clean the mud off myself as best I can, shake the grit out of my armor, and walk carefully down to the beach to see if there's anything useful I can scavenge. A sharp rock for an improvised spear head, or maybe a straight solid chunk of drift wood for a staff.

If I'm really really lucky, maybe dead gulls and turtle eggs for breakfast. Yum yum.

Only it turns out, I go one better and hit the jackpot. The first thing I set eyes on is a dark, waterlogged chunk of leather and canvas, lodged in the boulders at the tideline. At first I don't recognize it, and then I get a bit closer and I do.

It's my backpack. The one I lost track of, last night in the drink.

I stride over and carefully work it free of the rocks. It's sopping wet but otherwise undamaged, and the canteen, bedroll, and coil of rope are all still strapped in place. I'm mighty pleased, to say the least. Something like this can mean life and death, and for me, it means the difference between roughing it and living like a king.

Anyone who doesn't appreciate clean water and hardtack is a fool. I know what I'm talkin' about.

...

Twenty minutes later, with biscuit in my belly and a fresh edge on my blade, I'm tramping up hill and over dale, heading inland through the coastal woods towards the higher elevations. South and a mite to eastwards. Take the high ground, but stay off the ridgeline.

No cause to stay put, now I've got what I need to survive out here for as long as need be. If you're alone and exposed, keep moving and watch your back. The world is hostile. If you don't know what could be, assume the worst.

Pray for peace, yon wee lads an' lasses... but pack for zombies.

And keep moving.

[ARROW404]

IC: Aar - Prison

"Today is your lucky day," he said to him, putting a hand on his hip. "You're being offered a position in the Ussalry headquarters- a consultant position- to work off your sentence."

[Daniel the Finlander]

IC: Lehti (Onu-Wahi)
 
Lehti followed others inside the cavern. She would've liked to stay in the refreshing rain for a bit longer, but decided that the team is more important than her own, personal comfort. "Tsuda, could you lead the way? You have the only source of light, after all", she asked the Ta-Toa in a friendly and cheery tone.
 
IC: Danaku Ran (Onu-Koro Prison)
 
He raised an eyebrow, and looked at Aar for a moment. It seemed like Danaku didn't fully trust him, and had trouble believing his words to be true. He asked "Why do you think that I would make a good consultant in any way? I'm an amnesiac, if you didn't know."

Edited January 12, 2015 by Daniel the Finlander

[Makuta Miras]

IC: Kajak (Onu-Wahi)

 

"Well, it's always reassuring to know that there aren't cave bears in any given cave!" Kajak shouted back at Tsuda, laughing internally at the Ta-Toa's desperation to get to the cave. He followed after Lehti, turning when he arrived at the mouth of the cave to signal to Fionne and Tio to come as well. 

[Nato G]

IC: Akili - Cave.

 

"This is a really nice cave," Akili mused, still using her Arthron to make out her surroundings as she followed the others.